Political nominee chosen in unusual way 

Editor’s note: Following is the first part in a story series by contributing writer Brent Engel.

 A coin toss decided an 1888 congressional race involving Pike County.

Missouri Seventh District Democratic opponents Elijah Robinson and Richard Norton secretly agreed to the controversial method during the party convention in Warrenton.

The result, other than Norton’s victory by choosing heads, was bickering about details and debate about the virtue of it all.

The Chicago Tribune said “there is nothing that parallels this transaction. This is probably the only time on record when a seat in Congress was staked on the toss-up of a coin.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorialized that the story “would be quite funny if it were not quite disgraceful. Poor old Missouri!”

The candidates had similar backgrounds – growing up on farms in Lincoln County and earning a living as lawyers – but didn’t particularly like each other.

Robinson was born on Feb. 9, 1849, the oldest of four children. His father, Owen, was a native of Maryland who helped organize Nineveh Township. His mother, Elizabeth Salmons Robinson, was from Kentucky.

Robinson graduated from Watson Seminary at Ashley and read law with distinguished attorney Archibald McKee in Troy before being admitted to the bar in 1869.

After opening a law office in Bowling Green and also practicing in Louisiana, Robinson in 1870 was appointed Pike County prosecuting attorney. He was elected to the position in 1872 and 1874, and had what one history describes as “a brilliant record.”

Beginning in 1880, Robinson served six years as a circuit judge covering Pike and Lincoln counties. He and his wife, Pike County native Lelia Harris Robinson, had one son, Harris, who would graduate from Princeton and become an attorney.

“As a judge, he gave good satisfaction, administering his duties with ability,” noted the 1888 book “History of Lincoln County Missouri From the Earliest Time to the Present.”

Norton was the middle of three sons. The history book says his birth in Troy on Nov. 6, 1847, took place “on the identical spot” where his law office would later be located.

In addition to farming, his father, Elias, was a businessman who served terms as sheriff and county collector. His mother, Mary Ann McConnell Norton, hailed from Virginia.

Norton attended Westminster College and St. Louis University before getting a law degree from Washington University. He formed legal firms over the years with six other attorneys, one of whom would be instrumental in the 1888 coin toss.

“These partnerships invariably represented a strong combination of legal talent and professional union, and were recognized as the acme of strength and attainments in a legal way,” the history book noted.

In 1874, Norton married Annie Ward, the daughter of a Troy doctor. The couple had a girl of their own, Mary.

Norton became “a recognized leader” in the Democrat Party and his activities were “as prevalent in the domain of politics as in the sphere of the law,” according to the history book.

Robinson and Norton sometimes clashed in the courtroom, but didn’t face each other on a ballot until 1884. They were among six candidates for the Seventh District Democratic congressional nod.

After a deadlock at the nominating convention in Montgomery City, Robinson suggested party leaders get together in St. Louis and come up with a method of choosing a candidate.

The judge said he wanted to find the “key that would open a trail to the coveted prize.” When another contestant suggested flipping a coin, Robinson proposed drawing straws.

Norton rejected both ideas, but had an alternative in mind – one that showcased his proclivity for high-stakes stunts.

“He would rather hazard his chances on the turn of a die,” the Mexico Ledger reported.

Next time: “The Bloody Seventh.”