Robert Norton (born about 1840) was a former slave who became a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1869 until 1874 and 1876 until 1883. [1] He was one of three brothers who held office. His much older brother Frederick S. Norton was a member of the House of Delegates from 1869 until 1871, and his younger brother was Daniel M. Norton. The brothers were reportedly the children of a slave and her owner. They escaped to Troy, New York.
Norton and his brother Daniel returned to Yorktown, Virginia after the American Civil War. He was a shopkeeper and farmer. [2]
Running as an independent in 1874 for a seat in the U.S. Congress, he criticized his White Republican incumbent opponent, James H. Platt Jr., as a carpetbagger and urged voters to elect a "colored" man. [3] Democrat John Goode won the election in November 1874.
Norton appeared on the Readjuster Party ticket in November 1881. [4]