Romulus Zachariah Linney

Linney was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, the son of Martha (née Baxter) and William Coplin Linney. He attended common schools, York's Collegiate Institute, and Doctor Millen's School in Taylorsville, North Carolina. During the American Civil War, he served in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia as a private in Company A of the 7th North Carolina Infantry. He was seriously wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

After the war, he engaged in agricultural pursuits and studied law. Admitted to the bar in 1868, he opened a practice in Taylorsville. He was elected to the North Carolina Senate in 1870, 1873, and 1882 and then to the United States Congress in 1894, serving three terms in the 44th, 45th, and 46th Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1901). While in the North Carolina Senate, Linney was a major proponent of the construction of the Alexander Railroad, then known as the Statesville & Western Railroad.[1]

Linney died in Taylorsville in 1910 and is buried in the Taylorsville Cemetery. He is the great-grandfather of playwright Romulus Linney and great-great-grandfather of actress Laura Linney.

• United States Congress. "Romulus Zachariah Linney (id: L000339)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.