a Mayor of Saint Paul from 1859 to 1860, resigning as he was elected to the 2nd Minnesota Legislature from December 7, 1859, to January 7, 1861.

Outside of politics, Robertson was a newspaper editor and proprietor. In Ohio, Robertson owned the Mount Vernon Banner, Ohio Eagle of Lancaster, and the Guernsey County News and was an editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer. When Robertson moved to Minnesota,