Clinton Levering Cobb

Clinton Levering Cobb (August 25, 1842 – April 30, 1879) was an American lawyer, businessman, and Republican politician who served three terms as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina from 1869 to 1875. He was born in Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, North Carolina, where he spent much of his life and later built his professional and political career.

Cobb attended the common schools of Elizabeth City before pursuing higher education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed his studies there and subsequently read law in preparation for a legal career. After the Civil War, he was admitted to the bar in 1867 and commenced the practice of law in his native Elizabeth City. In addition to his legal work, he engaged in the mercantile business, reflecting the combination of professional and commercial pursuits that characterized many Reconstruction-era public figures in the South.

As a member of the Republican Party representing North Carolina, Cobb entered national politics during the turbulent Reconstruction period. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican to the Forty-first, Forty-second, and Forty-third Congresses, serving from March 4, 1869, to March 3, 1875. His tenure in Congress coincided with a significant period in American history, as the federal government grappled with the political, social, and economic reintegration of the former Confederate states and the protection of the rights of newly freed African Americans.

During his three terms in office, Cobb contributed to the legislative process and represented the interests of his North Carolina constituents in the House of Representatives. He held a notable leadership role as chairman of the Committee on the Freedman’s Bureau during the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses. In that capacity, he was involved in oversight and legislative matters related to the Freedmen’s Bureau, an institution central to Reconstruction policies concerning formerly enslaved people, education, labor contracts, and relief efforts in the postwar South. His chairmanship placed him at the center of some of the most consequential debates of the era regarding civil rights and federal authority in the Southern states.

Cobb sought to continue his congressional career but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress. After leaving Congress in March 1875, he returned to Elizabeth City and resumed the practice of law. He continued his professional activities there, maintaining his involvement in the legal and business life of his community until his death.

Clinton Levering Cobb died in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on April 30, 1879. He was interred in the Episcopal Cemetery in Elizabeth City. His career as a lawyer, businessman, and three-term Republican congressman from North Carolina placed him among the notable Southern political figures of the Reconstruction period, particularly through his service as chairman of the Committee on the Freedman’s Bureau during the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses.