At one time he had a very large and lucrative practice, perhaps the largest, of the members of the Westchester bar at that time.

Judge William H. Robertson' who succeeded Judge Mills in 1855, is a son of Henry Robertson, of whom a brief sketch appears in another part of this work. He was born at the family homestead in Bedford, October 10, 1823. His boyhood was spent on his father's farm, and his early education was obtained at the district schools and at Union Academy, in Bedford, of which Alexander G. Reynolds was principal. He taught school for a considerable time in Bedford and Lewisboro. He read law in the office of Judge Robert S. Hart, in Bedford village, was admitted to the bar in 1847, and in 1854 formed a partnership with Odle Close for the practice of law in White Plains, under the finn-name of Close & Robertson, which has continued till the present time. Before

1 This sketch was prepai-ed and insei-ted by the editor of this work.

attaining his majority his taste for politics developed itself and he took a warm interest in the Harrison campaign of 1840. His first vote was cast for Henry Clay in the fall of 1844. The next spring he was elected town superintendent of schools, and continued in that position for several years. He has been four times supervisor of Bedford and twice chairman of the Board of Supervisors. His legislative career began in 1848, when he was elected to the Assembly, and he was re-elected the following year. In 1853 he was chosen to the State Senate, where he at once took a prominent position. Among other public acts, he introduced the bill for establishing the Department of Public Instruction, which may justly be considered one of the most important events in the educational history of the State.