The Robinson Family
Genealogical and Historical
Association
frrt ft in ,ion. ' >c*t.d
Officers, Constitution and ^By-Laws, Historical Sketches
of Early Robinson Emigrants to America,
Illustrations, Armorial Bearings,
Members of Association
PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION
NEW YORK
1902
ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRANK P. CURLEV, NEW YORK.
PRINTED BY FRANK C. AFFEHTON, New YORK.
7/
DANIhl. W. ROBINSON, ESO^ , BURLINGTON, VT.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
OFFICERS, 4
CONSTITUTION, - 5
BY-LAWS, - 6
INTRODUCTION, -. - 7-8
ORDER OF THE DAY, - 0-14
INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR, - - 15-26
REV. JOHN ROBINSON, LEYDEN, - - 27-30
THOMAS ROBINSON, GUILFORD, 31-37
PENNIMAN FAMILY, - 38-47
HERALDRY, 48-60
ROBINSON — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA, - - 61-98
MEMBERS NAMES, - 99-105
ILLUSTRATIONS.
DANIEL W. ROBINSON, ESQ., FRONTISPIECE
DEED OF INCREASE ROBINSON, - 21
JOSIAH ROBINSON HOUSE, - 24
RKV. JOHN ROBINSON HOUSE, LEYDEN, HOL., 28
TOWER ST. PETER'S CHURCH, LEYDEN, HOL., - 29
SAMUEL ROBINSON HOUSE, GUILFORD, CONN., 32
ACROSS THE SEAS, - - 33
CAKVEI> OAKEN CHEST, 1682, 35
OAKEN CHAIR, - 36
PENNIMAN-ROBINSON. 38
OKMSHY CHURCH, - - 39
PENNIMAN-ADAMS COTTAGES, - 41
ROBINSON COAT OF ARMS IN COLORS, BETWEEN PAGES 60-61
ARMORIAL HEARINGS, - 53-55-57-59
HOUSE OF GEORGE ROBINSON, SENIOR, 1660. - 63
MRS. SARAH ROBINSON ATHERTON, 64
MOVING THK " HACK LOG," . - 66
DEED OF GEORGE ROBINSON, 1718, 63
ROBINSON CREST, 1725, 69
ROWLAND K. ROBINSON, 77
HOUSE OF ROWLAND E. ROBINSON, - 7$
MRS. SARAH ROBINSON, - 83
Jons ON THE HILL. - 97
EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUK, MH
OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.
PRESIDENT.
DANIEL W. ROBINSON, ESQ.., Burlington, Vt.
VICE - PRESIDENTS.
HON. GIFFORD S. ROBINSON,
MR. INCREASE ROBINSON,
JAMES H. DEAN, ESQ., .
HON. DAVID I. ROBINSON,
PROF. WILLIAM H. BREWER,
MR. ROSWELL R. ROBINSON,
CAPT. CHARLES T. ROBINSON,
REV. WILLIAM A. ROBINSON, D. D.
MR. JOHN H. ROBINSON.
MR. CHARLES F. ROBINSON, .
MR. GEORGE W. ROBINSON. .
FRANKLIN ROBINSON, ESQ.,
Sioux City, la.
Waterville, Me.
Taunton, Mass.
. Gloucester, Mass.
New Haven, Conn.
Maiden, Mass.
Taunton, Mass.
Middletown, N. Y.
Boston, Mass.
North Raynham, Mass.
Elburn. III.
Portland, Me.
SECRETARY.
Miss ADELAIDE A. ROBINSON, . . North Raynham, Mass.
TREASURER.
MR. N. BRADFORD DEAN, . . Taunton, Mass.
HISTORIOGRAPHER.
MR. CHARLES E. ROBINSON Yonkers, N. Y.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
MR. INCREASE ROBINSON, . . Plymouth, Mass.
MR. ORLANDO G. ROBINSON, . . . Raynham, Mass.
DR. A. SUMNER DEAN, . . Taunton, Mass.
MR. FRED W. ROBINSON, . Boston, Mass.
MR. BETHUEL PENNIMAN,
New Bedford, Mass.
CONSTITUTION.
1. The name of this association shall be THE ROBINSON-
FAMILY GENEALOGICAL AND HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
2. The purpose for which it is constituted is the collection,
compilation and publication of such data and information as may
be obtained concerning the Robinson Families.
3. Any person connected with the descendants of
William1 Robinson of Dorchester, Mass.,
George1 of Rehoboth, Mass.,
William1 of Watertown, Mass.,
Isaac2 of Barnstable, Mass., son of Rev. John1, of Ley-
den, Hoi.,
Abraham1 of Gloucester, Mass.,
George1 of Boston, Mass.,
John1 of Exeter, N. H.,
Stephen1 of Dover, N. H.,
Thomas1 of Scituate, Mass.,
James1 of Dorchester, Mass.,
William of Salem, Mass.,
Christopher of Virginia,
Samuel of New England,
Gain of Plymouth, Mass.,
John Robinson of Cape Elizabeth, Me.,
Patrick Robinson of Norton, Mass.,
Daniel Robinson of Foxborough, Mass.,
or any other Robinson ancestor, by descent or marriage, may
become a member of this association.
There shall be a membership fee of one dollar, and an
annual due of twenty-five cents, or ten dollars for life member
ship, subject to no annual dues.
4. The officers of the association shall be a President,
twelve Vice- Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer. Historio
grapher, and an Executive Committee of five.
BY-LAWS.
1 . The President shall preside at all business meetings of
the Association, and in his absence a Vice- President shall per-
form the duties of President.
2. The Secretary* shall keep the records and minutes of the
meetings.
3. The Treasurer shall receive all monies of the Association.
He shall have the custody of all the funds belonging to the Asso-
ciation. He shall disburse the same under the direction of the
Executive Committee.
4. The Executive Committee shall have the control of the
affairs of the Association and its property, and shall receive for
safe custody all documents entrusted to them. It shall be their
duty to make arrangements to obtain all data and information
concerning the descendants of the aforesaid Robinson ancestors
for the purpose of compilation and publication of the same. The
officers of the Association shall be ex-officio members of the
Executive Committee.
5. The members of the Executive Committee present at any
regularly notified meeting shall form a quorum. They may fill
any vacancies that may occur in the board of officers until others
are regularly appointed.
INTRODUCTION.
The formation of a society for the collection and preservation
of family records and historical information relating to the Rob-
insons, who were early emigrants to America, and their descend-
ants, was a favorite theme for years with, at least, one of the
enthusiasts of this Association. Through his efforts the late
Hon. George D. Robinson, Ex-Governor of Massachusetts, and
his brother Charles, president of the Law School at Cambridge,
Mass., and Charles Robinson, Esq., of Medford, Mass., an Ex-
Consul to Canada, with others became interested. Had the
gentlemen named lived, doubtless an association would have been
inaugurated several years earlier, but the sudden and untimely
death of Mr. Robinson of Medford, followed shortly after by
that of Ex-Governer Robinson, and a little later on by that of
his brother, so dampened the ardor of their associates as to lead
to an abandonment of active measures for the promotion of the
scheme.
Somewhat less than two years ago it devolved upon Miss
Adelaide A. Robinson, of North Raynham, Mass., to revive the
subject. In conversation with a few of her friends, members of
the Old Colony Historical Society, she was encouraged to take
active measures for a family meeting of the descendants of her
ancestor, Increase Robinson of Taunton, one of the first settlers
of that town. She interested Mr. James E. Seaver, the genial
secretary of that society, in her project and then set herself at
work to enthuse the descendants of Increase in her plan.
A little later on, upon learning that other descendants, in
other lines of the Robinsons would join, if the call was made
.broad enough to include them, it was decided to enlarge the scope
of the proposed association and embrace all Robinsons, as now
set forth in the third article of the Constitution of this Society.
Several meetings were held which resulted in the selection
of a committee consisting of James H. Dean, Esq., as chairman.
Mr. N. B. Dean, and Dr. A. Sunnier Dean, all of Taunton, and
Mr. Orlando G. Robinson, of Raynham, to co-oj>crate with Miss
Robinson and Mr. Seaver in the advancement of the scheme
which culminated on the iSth of July, 1^90, in one of the largest
family gatherings ever convened in the old colony It was the
.X INTRODUCTION.
attendance of representatives from thirteen States ; an outstretch-
ing of the arm of the West to grasp the extended hand of the East;
a cordial uniting of the North and South in fraternal kinship.
As was remarked by one of the delegates ' ' Robinson stock
is good stock, there is no skeleton hanging from our genealogical
tree."
History has no dangerous side for us. We are not in the
temper of the piqued divine who saw in his ancestry — Alas!
what did he see? which led him to say "History has its
dangerous side. When men become so absorbed in the history
of their ancestry as to forget their present duties, or to be blind
to their ancestral weaknesses, it is harmful. If men are so
anxious to get on record that they forget to do things worthy of
record then the historic sense is not good sense."
Verily, verily, none of these things trouble us. We can
contribute the records of our ancestors in all its fulness to the
present and future generations, righteously believing that we are
doing that which is worthy of record and that our — historic sense
is food sense.
It is hoped that every member of this Association will
communicate immediately with the secretary expressing their
views regarding the time and place for our next meeting. We
desire to see a large attendance and increasing interest in these
matters which we have so much at heart.
The historiographer earnestly appeals to every member of
this Association who has not already communicated to him their
line of ancestry, to do so without delay that it may be included
in the genealogical work which he hopes to soon publish. This
request is also made to all those of Robinson blood who have
descended from an ancestor who came to America previous to the
year 1700. Record blanks will be furnished free on application.
Those who are in doubt as to their line of descent may
obtain valuable information from this source.
Members will please report to the Secretary any errors in
names or addresses that they may be corrected. It is also import-
ant that the full name be given, and in the case of married
females, the surname as well as the maiden name should be
included.
The post office address of the Secretary is North Raynham,
Mass., that of the Historiographer, Yonkers, N. Y., or New
York Citv, X. Y.
ORDER. OF THE DAY.
In arranging for the Robinson Family Meeting the Old
Colony Historical Society of Taunton, Mass., cordially extended
the freedom of their hall on Cedar Street, accompanied with the
suggestion that it would give them pleasure if the meeting could
be held in conjunction with their quarterly meeting on the J8th
of July. This generous offer was thankfully accepted.
The hour of the meeting of the Historical Society was at
half past nine in the morning. A large assembly convened. After
a half hour spent in the transaction of the regular business of
the Society an address of welcome to the Robinson Association
was delivered by the president of the Society, Rev. S. Hopkins
Emery, D. D., of Taunton, in these words : —
' ' Members of Old Colony Historical Society and Visiting
Friends :
" Taunton, through this society, has been the honored host of
several family meetings, the first, which led the list, being very
properjy that of the descendants of Richard Williams, who more
than any other is entitled to the honorable distinction of Father
of the town. This large gathering of to-day is unique and un-
precedented, inasmuch as it includes the descendants not only of
William Robinson of Dorchester and his son Increase of Taunton,
but those of George of Rehoboth; William of Watertown; Isaac
of Duxbury, son of the distinguished John, pastor of the Pilgrim
church of Leyden; Abraham of Gloucester; George of Water-
town; John of Kxeter, New Hampshire; Stephen of Dover, of
the same State ; Thomas of Scituate ; James of Dorchester ;
William of Salem; Christopher of Virginia; Samuel of New Eng-
land, and Gain Robinson of Bridgewater, Mass.
" With such a multitudinous ancestry, the wonder is, this hall
can hold the progeny. In behalf of this society, and I hope it is
not presuming too much to say, in behalf of this city, I extend
to you all a most cordial welcome. We would have you feel
entirely at home in this Historical hall. Vou are among friends
—yes, kindred spirits. Your meeting is born of the desire, in
IO ORDER OF THE DAY.
which we all share, to trace relationship and hallow the memory
of an honored ancestry. May you be prospered in your good
endeavors and go hence with only a pleasant remembrance of
Taunton, one of the many towns of New England."
After a short recess the organization of the Robinson family
was effected by the choice of the following named as temporary
officers: — James H. Dean, Esq., of Taunton, as president and
Miss Adelaide A. Robinson as secretary.
Mr. Dean addressed the members briefly, touching upon the
history of the Robinson family and outlining the purposes of the
meeting and of the organization to be formed.
It was announced that, after the formal and permanent
organization, the association would take cars for Dighton Rock
Park where dinner would be served, to be followed by exercises
of an historical nature.
On motion duly seconded, the following were appointed a
committee to draw up a set of by-laws and report the same to the
assembled members : Charles K. Robinson of Yonkers, N. Y. ;
X. Bradford Dean of Taunton, and William L,. Robinson of Glou-
cester, Mass. Also a committee on permanent organization was
appointed consisting of L,. D. Cole of Newburyport, Mass., Elmer
D. Robinson of Judson, Mass., George W. Penniman of Fall
River, Mass.
During the absence of the committees letters were read from
Mrs. Sarah Robinson Atherton a lady of more than one-hundred
years of age, a resident of Peru, Huron County, Ohio. The
letter l>ore her own signature and was in these words: —
Peru, Huron County, Ohio.
'To the Robinsons gathered at Taunton, Mass., July i8th,
1900.
"Greeting: Although I am getting on somewhat in years,
lx.-ing past my one hundredth birthday since June first, I am in
full sympathy with your meeting and am glad that I have lived
to see this day of your gathering. If it so pleases your body, I
would like my name to be enrolled in the book of members of
your association. I am 6th in line of descent from George Rob-
inson, vSen., of Rehoboth, Mass., viz. — George (i); John (2);
Jonathan (3); Jonathan (4); Noah (5).
(Signed) Sarah Robinson Atherton."
ORDER OF THE DAY. I i
Also the following from Charles H. Robinson, Esq., of
Great Falls, Mont. :—
"Great Falls, Mont. 222-4 Ave. X., July 8, 1900.
"To all of Robinson name and blood in Family meeting
assembled :
" Greeting : From the shadows of the Rocky Mountains, by
the Great Falls of the Missouri; a descendant of Rev. John Rob-
inson, the Leyden pastor sends to you sympathy and congratu-
lations. ' One touch of nature makes the whole world kin ' and
a common interest in honorable ancestry should bring us into
sympathy however distant the tie of common blood.
Again I greet you
In cordial sympathy,
(Signed) Charles H. Robinson."
Other letters were read from Hon. Gifford S. Robinson,
Judge cf the Supreme Court of Iowa ; from Abner S. Merrill,
Esq., of Boston, Mass.; from Miss Kate D. Robinson, of Mem-
phis Tenn., and J. Newton Peirce of Boston.
Prof. William H. Brewer, of New Haven, Conn., addressed
the members in his well known happy vein. He thought the
person unfortunate who had no interest in his heredity ; that
everyone needed all the data that they could obtain in relation to
their ancestry in order that they might make the most of their
own life.
Interesting addresses were also made by the Rev. S. L.
Rowland, of Lee, Mass., and others.
The committee on the Constitution and By-L,a\vs made their
report which was adopted.
It was voted that Mrs. Sarah Robinson Atherton of Peru.
Ohio, l>e elected an Honorary Memlicr of the Association.
The committee on permanent organixation re|M>rted the fol-
lowing nominations :
12 ORDER OF THE DAY.
PRESIDENT,
Daniel. W. Robinson, Esq., Burlington Vt.
VICE PRESIDENTS,
Judge Gifford S. Robinson, Sioux City, la.
Mr. Increase Robinson, Waterville, Me.
James H. Dean, Esq., Taunton, Mass.
Hon. David I. Robinson, Gloucester, Mass.
Prof. William H. Brewer, New Haven, Conn.
Mr. Roswell R. Robinson, Maiden, Mass.
Capt. Charles T. Robinson, Taunton, Mass.
Rev. William A. Robinson, Middletown, N. Y.
Mr. John H. Robinson, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Charles F. Robinson, North Raynham, Mass.
Mr. George W. Robinson, Elburn, 111.
Franklin Robinson, Esq. , Portland, Me.
SECRETARY,
Miss Adelaide A. Robinson. North Raynham, Mass.
TREASURER,
N. Bradford Dean, Esq., Taunton, Mass.
HISTORIOGRAPHER,
Charles E. Robinsou, Yonkers, N. Y.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE,
Mr. Increase Robinson, Plymouth, Mass.
Mr. Orlando G. Robinson, Raynham, Mass.
Dr. A. Sumner Dean, Taunton, Mass.
Mr. Fred'k W. Robinson, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Bethuel Penniman, New Bedford, Mass.
The report was accepted and the secretary was authorized to
cast a vote for the list reported by the committee, and they were
declared the duly elected officers of the Robinson Family Ge-
nealogical and Historical Association.
The president was escorted to the Chair and in a few well
chosen words addressed the members expressing his appreciation
ORDER OF THE DAY. \J
of the honor of serving as the first officer of such an association
of men and women.
A committee made up of Miss Bertha L,. Dean of Taunton,
Miss Hannah May Dean of Taunton, Miss Helen W. Robinson
of North Raynham, Miss Marie Robinson of Taunton, Miss
Grace F. Dean of Taunton, and Mrs. Sarah Waterman of Taun-
ton, busied itself with the registration of names of those desiring
to become members of the association.
The reception committee was one of the most active of the
day, and it accomplished much in making the members acquainted
with each other, and preventing too great a degree of formality
in the proceedings, the intention being to have a distinctively
family gathering at which all should feel at home with the other
members of the family. This committee was made up of Mrs.
Julia A. Robinson of Taunton, Mrs. Frank Robinson of East
Taunton, Mrs. Herbert E. Hall of Taunton, Miss Sarah G. Rob-
inson of Middleborough, Miss Phoebe Robinson of Taunton, Mr.
John D. Robinson of Taunton, Dr. A. Sumner Dean of Taunton,
Mr. Orlando G. Robinson of Judson, Mass., and Mr. John C.
Robinson of Middleborough, Mass.
A vote of thanks was extended to the Old Colony Historical
Society for their kind offer of the freedom of their hall for this
first meeting of this association ; also to Mr. James E. Seaver,
their cordial Secretary, and Miss Adelaide A. Robinson of North
Raynham, by whose joint efforts the organization of the associa-
tion has been expedited in a marked degree.
The formal exercises in Historical Hall were then brought
to a close and adjournment taken for the trip of eight miles, in
special electric cars, down the banks of the Taunton River to
Dighton Rock Park where an excellent ' ' shore dinner, ' ' for
which " Little Rhody " is so famous, was served and enjoyed by
the members, after which came the literary entertainment of the
day which consisted of historical papers by Charles Edson Rob-
inson of Yonkers, N. Y., an Historical Sketch of the Robinsons,
early emigrants to America ; by James H. Dean, Esq., of Taun-
ton, Mass., on Increase Robinson ; by Rev. William A. Robinson,
D. D. of Middletown, N. Y., on Rev. John Robinson of Leyden ;
by Miss Mary Gay Robinson of Guilford, Conn., on Thomas Rob-
inson ; and by the Rev. George W. Penniman, of Southbridge,
Mass., on the Penniman-Robinson family.
14 ORDER OF THE DAY.
Owing to a want of time the paper prepared by James H.
Dean, Esq., was omitted, but is here inserted on page 15.
At the close of the reading of the historical papers, Mr.
George W. Penniman of Fall River. Mass., was invited by the
president to address the assembly. In his remarks Mr. Penni-
man held the attention of all present in an able and entertaining
manner.
This closed the exercises of the day with an invitation from
Miss Adelaide A. Robinson for all the members to meet at eight
o'clock at her residence in North Raynham, a suburb of Taunton,
for a lawn party. Arrangements for special cars were made
for all who desired to attend.
The meeting was then adjourned sine die.
The evening at the residence of Miss Robinson was a most
enjoyable affair. The extensive lawn was brilliantly lighted with
locomotive headlights and Japanese lanterns. Nye's Taunton
Orchestra discoursed sweet music. Visiting members as they
arrived were received under an artistic arch of vines and flowers.
Tables of refreshments bountifully loaded were spread under the
trees.
At the close of the entertainment two special cars came up
from Taunton to bear away the branches of the Robinson genea-
logical tree.
Thus ended the first gathering of the Robinson Family
Genealogical and Historical Association, with an expression of
gratitude on every lip to those who had contributed so much
for their enjoyment.
INCREASE ROBINSON. SENIOR,
OF TAUNTON.
BY JAMES H. DEAN, ESQ.
|O far as known Increase Robinson was the first
person bearing the name of Robinson who settled in
Taunton. He was the second son of William and
Margaret Robinson who came, it is thought, from
Canterbury, England, in 1637 and settled in Dor-
chester. Nothing whatever is known of the parent-
age or birthplace of this William Robinson. Nor is
it known in what ship he came or the exact date of
his arrival. His name first appears as a member of
the church in Dorchester in a list of those belonging to that
church November 4, 1639. He was made a Freeman of the town
May 18,1642, and the following year was made a member of the
" Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company " of Boston.
His first recorded purchase of real estate was February 25,
1651, when he bought of John Phillips of Boston for /~i5° an
estate in Dorchester "near unto Naponsett River" with the
dwelling house, outhouses, barns, gardens and orchards, together
with several adjacent and outlying parcels of upland and meadow,
in all 73 acres. He owned and operated a corn water-mill on
" Tidemill Creeke, standing on the tide in the creeke commonly
called Salt Creeke or Brooke, near Captaines Neck." In this
mill he met his death, as recorded in the Diary of the Rev. John
Eliot in Roxbury Church Records : " Died 6, 5, i66S, Robinson,
a brother of ye church at Dorchester, was drawn through by ye
cog wheel of his mill and was torn in pieces and slain."
He had by his wife Margaret, four children, two sons and
two daughters.
1. Samuel, baptised June 14, 1640.
2. Increase, baptised March 14, 1642. Against his name on
the record appears in parenthesis (went to Taunton ).
1 6 INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR.
3. Prudence, baptised Dec. 1643.
4. Waiting, baptised April 26, 1646.
He married a second wife, Ursula, widow of Samuel Hosier.
Of this marriage there was no issue. His wife Ursula survived
him.
He left a will which was allowed July i, 1668. The larger
part of his real estate he gave to his oldest son Samuel. To his
son Increase, he gave four acres of salt marsh, several parcels of
upland, "and halfe of all my common rights I have in Dor-
chester and that with what I have already given him to bee his
portion." He also gave "my sonn Increase eldest sonn that
bears my name," twenty shillings. Administration was granted
to his son Increase, his son-in-law John Bridge husband of Pru-
dence, and his son-in-law Joseph Penniman husband of Waiting.
Increase Robinson, of whom I am to speak particularly,
married, February 19, 1663, Sarah Penniman who was born May
6, 1641. She was the daughter of James and Lydia (Eliot)
Penniman of Braintree. Lydia Eliot was a sister of John Eliot
the Apostle to the Indians. How long the young couple re-
mained in Dorchester before coming to Taunton to live we have
no means of telling with exactness. It was but a very few years
however, for as early as 1668 we find him interested as a pur-
chaser of real estate in Taunton and vicinity. In June of that
year a very important purchase was made of lands that had been
previously bought of the Indians on behalf of the colony. This
purchase was called The Taunton North Purchase. The con-
veyance was made by a committee of the Plymouth Government
to a large number of persons, ' ' Proprietors of the Town of
Taunton," among whom we find Increase Robinson. This
large territory in after years was divided into the towns of
Norton, Easton and Mansfield.
Another large purchase was made by Taunton men the latter
part of 1672, of territory lying south of Taunton and on the west
side of " Taunton Great River," extending four miles down the
river and four miles west from the river. This was called the
Taunton South Purchase. Increase Robinson was one of the
eighty-seven "associates" purchasers of this tract. The terri-
tory included in this purchase together with the lands called
Assonet Neck on the east side of the river, were in the year 1712
erected into a township by the name of Dighton.
In 1673 he bought the rights of Thomas Cook, Sr., in the
INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR. 17
township of Taunton. Cook was one of the original purchasers
of Taunton.. The deed was dated March 6, 1672-3, and was in
part as follows: "Thomas Cook sen'r of Portsmouth in the
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and Mary
his wife, in consideration of 200 weight of good barr iron in hand
paid, hath given sold and made over to Increase Robinson in ye
Colony of New Plymouth, house carpenter, all that right & inter-
est in ye lands in ye Township of Taunton, that is to say all that
there purchase right in ye sd township as he being one of ye
ancient purchasers of ye town of Taunton, to be to ye said
Increase Robinson ar.d his heirs and assigns forever."
Grants of land were made to Increase on this purchase right,
and to his heirs and assigns from time to time for many years.
They appear to have been mostly made in the easterly part of
the town. The deed was not recorded until 1758.
A conveyance of the so called ' ' Shawomet Lands ' ' was made
November 12, 1677 by Constant Southworth, Treasurer of Ply-
mouth Colony, on behalf of the Colony, to some thirty persons
in different parts of the Colony, six of whom, Increase Robinson
among them, being of Taunton, "for the sum of 800 pounds
that is to say for every share or 3oth part £26 135. & 4d." The
lands are described as '' containing the lands called the outlet as
well as the neck itself called Shawomet. Bounded on the east
by Taunton River, on the north by Tannton lands, on the west
partly by Swanzey lands which were purchased of the Indians
by Capt. Willet & Mr. Stephen Paine, and partly by the lands
of Rehoboth if the sd Colonies' land extend so far westward,
and on the south by ye sd neck." Increase Robinson was de-
clared to be the owner of one share.
These lands were included in Swanzey upon its incorpora-
tion in 1677, and constituted the present town of Somerset when
it was set off from Swan/ey in 1 790. The origitial record book
of the Shawomet Lands is still extant and upon its first page
bears the following inscription :
' This Book was begun in ye year 1680. by Increase Robin-
son Clark for the said purchasers."
Mr/ Robinson appears to have been an owner in the Mount
Hope lands which were conveyed by a committee of Plymouth
Colony to John Walley, Nathaniel Oliver, Nathaniel By field and
Stephen Burton all of Boston, September 14, i6So; but to what
extent or how he obtained his title a diligent search in the Bristol
f8 INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR.
County Registry has failed to disclose. He must have owned
lands there, however, for on May 6, 1692, he with Sarah his
wife conveyed to John Cary of Bristol, in consideration of thirty
pounds, twenty acres of land in Bristol. On May 5, 1692, he
conveyed to John Smith, carpenter, of Bristol, one isoth part of
600 acres of land in Bristol that had been laid out in common.
Mount Hope became the town of Bristol by the act of the
Plymouth Court in September, 1681. Increase Robinson was a
deputy to the Plymouth Court from Bristol in 1682. He was also
the constable for Bristol the same year, an office at that time of
much importance.- In 1685 he was drawn on the Grand Jury
from Bristol. From these facts we must conclude that he was a
resident of Bristol for two or three years at least and probably for
a longer time, as he does not appear to have sold his lands there
until 1692.
Probably because he was an owner in the Shawomet Lands
which became a part of Swanzey, he was appointed by the Ply-
mouth Court on a committee with Nathaniel Pecke and John
Richmond, " to run the line between the countryes land att Mt.
Hope and the town of Swanzey." This duty they performed to
the satisfaction of the Court, November 25, 1679.
While constable of Bristol he was sued by John Saffin of
Bristol, merchant, "for making a distress wrongfully upon the
person of him, under the pretence of a warrant directed to the
constable of New Bristoll." The jury found for the defendant
the cost of the suit.
In 1680 Richard Thayer of Braintree brought a suit against
Increase Robinson of Taunton as administrator of the estate of
Mr. John Paine deceased. The jury found for the plaintiff in
the sum of ^102 8s. 8d. and costs.
His name appears on a list of those who had been admitted
as "freemen," made by order of the Plymouth Court May 29,
1670, at the foot of the Taunton list. He served on the jury at
Plymouth Court in 1677 and 1681. He was one of the surveyors
of highways in Taunton in 1671, his associate being John
Macomber. In a list of heads of families in Taunton made in
1675 when Philip's war began, he is named. On May 25, 1680
the town accepted the report of a committee giving ' ' A list of
the names of the present purchasers or proprietors of the Town
of Taunton unto whom the town hath already granted or divided
lands by virtue of their enjoying either purchase lots or purchase
INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR. 19
rights to divisions of land as followeth." In this list appears,
"Increase Robinson on the rights that was Thomas Cook's."
This was the right he bought of Cook in 1673 by the deed
already alluded to.
In the roster of the Military Company of Taunton 1682,
which was divided into four squadrons, his name is found in the
first squadron.
In 1678 the Plymouth Court passed this order: "James
Walker, James Wilbore and Encrease Robinson are appointed
and established by the Court to take notice of such liquors as are
brought in disorderly into the town of Taunton, and to make
seizure thereof according to law." Verily there is nothing new
under the sun. The seizure of liquors brought in disorderly or
kept unlawfully has a wonderfully familiar sound.
We would very much like to know where Increase Robinson
lived when with his young wife leaving his Dorchester home he
first came to Taunton, and to be able to point out the spot where
his first dwelling house stood. In the case of many of the "First
Purchasers" the Old Proprietors Records of Taunton give the
location and description of their "home lots" so called. In his
case, as he was not an original purchaser, we get no light from
this source. But he gave a deed to his son Increase Robinson, Jr.
from which we can settle this point satisfactorily. As the deed
is interesting in itself, aside from this particular, I give the prin-
cipal parts of it, as follows :
" To all People to whom these presents shall come, Greet-
ing. Know ye that I Increase Robinson scn'r of Taunton in the
County of Bristol in the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New
England, — out of that fatherly affection and good will that I
bear unto my eldest son Increase Robinson, jun'r of Taunton
aforesaid, have given granted aliened enfeoffed & confirmed,
and by these presents do give, &c. to him said Increase Robinson
jun'r, One dwelling house which I formerly lived in, which house
standeth on the lot I bought of Capt. Pool, together with that
spot of ground which sd house standeth upon, that is to say the
length and breadth of the house together with the liberty of the
house before the door, reserving always the chamber in sd house
to my own use and my wife's during our lives if we see occasion
to make use thereof. Furthermore I give to my sd son these
divers tracts of land in Taunton as followeth — one four acre lot
lying on the north side of the highway, which I l>ought of Mr.
20 INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR.
John Pool and lies adjoining to the lot I bought of Capt. Pool-
also that strip of land I bought of Ezra Dean which lies between
sd four acre lot and the lane called Hoar's lane, which four acres
is to begin on the north side of the road and to run fourscore
rods norward to Ezra Dean's thicket (always reserving to myself,
heirs and assigns liberty of free egress and regress across sd lot
unto my lot which lies on the east side of this four acre lot)—
furthermore I give my sd son 4 acres of land lying on the other
side of the Great River against sd house lying between Benjamin
Dean's land and Nicholas White's land — also I give him my
twelve acres of land in the little woods lying on the south side of
James Leonard's land and on the north side of Nicholas White's
land and Joseph Hall's land — also rights to arrears of land,"
&c " Memorandum — what I have here given to
my said son Increase Robinson Jun'r is to be all his portion from
me his father unless I shall hereafter see cause to give him more
by will or deed." Dated Dec. 21, 1698. Recorded Nov. 10, 1707.
The three lots of land first described in the foregoing deed
lie adjoining each other on the north side of the highway now
Dean Street, and between the east corner of Hoar's lane now
Winter Street and the brook which crosses Dean Street some five
or six hundred feet east from Winter Street. Capt. Win. Pool
was one of the original proprietors of Taunton, and we know
that his home lot was on the westerly side of the brook above
mentioned and on the northerly side of the highway. The other
lots between that and Hoar's lane are easily identified. Mr.
Robinson does not give the dates when he bought these lots
of the Pools and Ezra Dean, and the deeds are not recorded so
far as I can discover, so that we are unable to tell how long he
had owned them.
A controversy arose in 1681 between Increase Robinson re-
ferred to as owning the land formerly Capt. Pool's and Nicholas
White owning the land originally Anthony Slocum's, concerning
the dividing line between them. It was referred to William
Harvey, George Macey and Thomas Leonard the selectmen for
decision, who fixed the line making the brook the boundary fer a
large part of the way. This carries his ownership back to 1681
at least.
In Dorchester Church Records under date of March 31, 1672
it is stated — " were admitted Mr. William Pole and his wife
members of the church at Taunton, and being dismissed were
INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR. 21
received without relation, only entering into covenant. " It is
most likely that Capt. Pool conveyed his home lot to Robinson
before he removed to Dorchester, and probably several years
before. From all the facts I have been able to gather I conclude
that Increase Robinson's first dwelling house in Taunton stood
on the lot he bought of Capt. Pool.
From the description of the dwelling house in his deed to his
son as "one dwelling house I formerly lived in," it maybe
inferred that at the date of the deed, 1698, he was living in some
other part of the town ; and of this we have abundant other
proof. We know that he owned large tracts of land in the east-
erly part of the town, now Raynham, and in the neighborhood of
Nippenicket Pond. Mr. James Edward Seaver, of Taunton,
librarian of the Old Colony Historical Society, to whom all rare
and ancient documents seem to come of their own accord, has in
his possession a considerable number of old papers that were
found hidden in the woodwork of the chimney piece of the old
Leonard house in Raynham, where they had lain for more than
a hundred and fifty years. They belonged to Capt. Thomas
Leonard and were orders, accounts, &c. , relating to the iron
works of which he was an owner and principal manager. Among
them are several original papers signed by Increase Robinson.
One of these is as follows. I give an exact photographic copy.
-'
,/^v W'J4 . /Ar> —7' „ • y ^-- • -
Si<3 "X»^*3? vr""'
»*
w »'
^- . " ~
Another reads : —
" Captain Leonard,
Sir praye Bee pleased to pay my son Increase eight pound
of my credit for this twenty lode of cole, which will Bee for his
own pit of wood and for coling my part, and I shall come and
22 INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR.
recon with you for ye Rest for I dout I shall not Bee out of Det
hut must Bring more cole ye first of November not all.
But yours to serve at all times,
Increase Robbinson Sen
Neponecket in Taunton ye 16 October 1696."
From this it would seem that at that date he was living in
the locality which had already acquired the name of "Neponecket"
which occurs often in the old records with various forms of spell-
ing, and which still clings to the beautiful lake lying partly in
Taunton and partly in Bridgewater.
This fact is further shown by the language occurring in
various divisions and grants of land made to him, some of which
I will give.
Oct. 23, 1682. "Granted to Increase Robinson 30 acres of
land at Nepinickit pond on ye southwest branch of ye pond next
his own land that he hath there already on the right that was
Thos. Cooks."
Feb. 9, 1696-7 a division of Titicut swamp was made among
the seven owners. Increase Robinson " to have 32 acres at that
end of said swamp next to his own dwelling at Neepanicket."
Jan. 3, 1694 "to Increase Robinson 20 acres joining to that land
that was formerly granted him on the southeast near Neepanickit
Pond." Jan. 29, 1696 " to Increase Robinson sen'r 27 acres near
Nepenicket."
Nov. 15, 1700 there was a layout of 72 acres at "Nipenicket"
for Ebenezer and Josiah Robinson, several parcels, ' ' all which \\as
granted to Increase Robinson now deceased," bounded in part
by Bridgewater lands and mentioning Titicut swamp, Dead
swamp and a highway leading from Bridgewater by said Robin-
son's house. Nov. 14, 1700 there was a layout by Kbenezer
Robinson of a way through lands formerly belonging to Increase
Robinson deceased, to lead near the dwelling house now standing
on said land. And he covenanted and agreed with the selectmen
of Taunton to leave and cause to be left at all times a sufficient
drift cartway with gates or bars for Bridgewater men to come by
the southerly end of the great pond into the said way.
From these descriptions it is made certain that during the
period covered by their several dates Increase Robinson owned
land bordering on Nippenicket Pond, bounded in part by Bridge-
water line, on which he had a dwelling house wherein he lived,
INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR. 2J
and that there was a road or way leading by his house through
his lands which Bridgewater men had a right to use in coming to
their lands on that side of the pond. Roads are among the most
permanent landmarks, and I have no doubt that the present road
from Raynham center to Bridgewater, in that part of it approach-
ing and skirting Nippenicket Pond, is identical with the road or
way laid out by Robinson and leading by his house.
On which side of the road did his house stand, and what was
its exact location? The house itself has long since disappeared,
but by the aid of an ancient deed and an ancient map we can fix
its position satisfactorily. Ebene/.er Robinson, one of the sons
of Increase who came into possession of the land on which the
dwelling house stood, conveyed to John Staples of Taunton
by a deed dated April 2, 1725, " that plantation of land whereon
I formerly dwelt in Taunton at a place called and known by the
name of Neepaneket by Nunketest Pond, with my dwelling
house and barn thereon standing, and is bounded easteily by
Bridgewater line," &c. "Memorandum, it is to be understood
that sd Staples, heirs & assigns are from time to time to fulfill ye
bonds given by sd Robinson to leave gates or bars where sd Rob-
inson hath been wont to uphold them for Bridgewater men to
pass thru them to their land on ye west side of ye pond."
In 1728 Morgan Cobb, surveyor, of Taunton, made a map
of Taunton for the use of the General Court on which he says he
has noted the situation of every particular house with the owner's
surname. On this map the road leading by Nippenicket Pond is
traced, and on the northeast side almost against the pond a dwell-
ing house is indicated with the name of " J. Staples" against it.
This then was the dwelling house of Increase Robinson, senior,
and it would not be very difficult I imagine to mark the site now
upon the ground. Here he passed the last years of his life and
here he died, between November 5 and December 18, 1699. This
is shown by the following entries taken from the ledgers of Capt.
Thomas Leonard found in the old Leonard house as before
noticed.
" Nov. 5, 1699, Increase Robbinson senior debtor to a potion
of pills, mint water, cordiall potions tX:c. &c."
" December 18, 1699, Increase Robinson senior, his widow,
credit by the works account a hundred of iron /"<>.> iSs <x>. "
The place of his burial is unknown.
24 INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR.
The cut here given is from a photo of a house built in 1736-7
by Josiah Robinson, Jr. , which is still standing and is occupied
by a descendant. It is situated in North Raynham about half a
mile west of Nippenicket Pond, upon land owned by Increase
Robinson, Sr., when he first removed from Taunton to that
locality.
An examination of the indexes in the Bristol County Probate
Office discloses no administration taken upon his estate. I was
led, however, to believe that he left a will and that there must
have been administration of his estate by the recitals which I
discovered in a deed given by Ebenezer Robinson to his brother
Increase Robinson Jr., dated April 4, 1706, in which he conveys
" all that E. Robinson's share in that land on the other side of
HOUSE OF )OS1AH ROBINSON, JR., BUILT IN 1756-7
the highway before Increase Robinson, being ^ of that parcel of
land and orchard that was given to him by the will of his father
Increase Robinson deceased, bounded eastward by Nicholas
White, south by the Great River, west by Ezra Dean, north by
the highway."
Administration of the estate of Increase Robinson, Jr., was
taken by his oldest son William Robinson March 20, 1738-9.
Some impulse led me to examine the papers in that estate, and to
my surprise and delight I found among them the original bond
INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR. 25
given by Sarah Robinson as executrix of her husband's will, the
important parts of which I give :
' ' Known all men by these presents, that we Sarah Robinson
widow and relict of Increase Robinson late of Taunton in the
County of Bristol in New England dec'd & John Cary of Bristol
carpenter & James Adams of said Bristol cordwayner, do stand
firmly bound and obliged unto John Saffin Esq. Judge of Probate
in the full and just sum of Eight hundred pounds" ....
' ' The condition of this present obligation is such that whereas
the above bounden Sarah Robinson is made executrix of the last
will & testament of Increase Robinson late of said Taunton dec'd
bearing date the second day of Nov. 1699, & hath now legally
proved the same. If therefore ' ' &c.
Dated April 10, 1700 Signed Sarah Robinson
John Cary
James Adams.
The will itself I have not found. In the removal of the
County records from Bristol to Taunton in 1747 which was at-
tended writh some unpleasantness, some papers may have been
lost. But there was a will and it was duly proved as recited in
the bond of his widow, and mentioned in the deed given by his
son Ebenezer already cited. The date of the will as given in the
bond was November 2, 1699, three days before the charge
against him in Capt. Leonard's ledger of " a potion of pills, mint
water, cordiall potions, &c. , &c." Doubtless at that time he
realized the approach of death and was prompted to arrange his
wrorldly affairs.
Increase Robinson and his wife Sarah Penniman had seven
children, — three sons and four daughters. Increase Jr. who
married Mehitabel Williams of Taunton, and died in Taunton in
1738; Ebenezer born in Taunton in 1680, married Mary Williams
and died in South Raynham October 9, 1753; Josiah who died
single in 1703 or 4; Sarah, who married Samuel Dean of Taun-
ton; Bethiah, who married Peter Pitts of Taunton; Hannah, who
married John Williams of Taunton, and Abigail, who married
John Forbes of Bridgewater.
From the language used in the will of William Robinson
whereby he gives " my son Increase eldest sonn that bears my
name ' ' twenty shillings, it has been naturally supposed that
26 INCREASE ROBINSON, SENIOR.
Increase had a son William, but no other evidence that he had
such a son has been found.
Josiah died while in sen-ice against the Indians. The tradi-
tion is that he became overheated in running after a wounded
deer, and in drinking from a cold spring of water died suddenly.
I have said that Ebenezer died in South Raynham. In the
deed he gave John Staples in 1725 which I have cited, he de-
scribed the premises conveyed as "that plantation of land
whereon I formerly dwelt," showing that he had removed from
there. Land was laid out to his father in 1680 in the easterly
part of the town but on the westerly side of Taunton Great River
in the vicinity of Titicut and Tareall Plain, and at the time he
gave the deed to Staples he was undoubtedly living on this land.
Referring again to the Morgan Gobi) map we find in the south-
easterly part of the town near the Middleboro line a bridge across
the Great River called Great Bridge, and on the westerly side of
the river near the bridge a dwelling house marked Lieut. Robin-
son. When Raynham was set off from Taunton in 1731, a part
of the boundary was as follows : "on the south by Taunton
Great River including all the land of Lieut. Ebenezer Robinson,
on the southeasterly or south side of said river except that piece of
land by his saw mill near the furnace, which is in Middleborough
precinct." This land has been owned and occupied by some of
the descendants of Ebenezer Robinson to the present day, and
the bridge is called Robinson's Bridge.
Here must close this notice of Increase Robinson senior.
After all how little have we been able to discover concerning
him. We would gladly know more of the man himself than can
be learned from his business transactions, and the offices of trust
and responsibility to which he was occasionally called. From
these few facts we are satisfied that he was a substantial citizen,
respected by his fellow townsmen, leaving children who honored
his memory and wrere an honor to him, and filling an honorable
place among the early settlers of Taunton. With this we must
be content.
As God ' ' renewrs the face of the earth ' ' so he renews the
generations of men. The fathers and mothers die — they live
again in their children and children's children.
REV. JOHN ROBINSON, OF LEYDEN.
AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS.
BY REV. WILLIAM A. ROBINSON, D. D.
T is characteristic of the true hero to be modestly
unconscious of his heroism. He simply goes for-
ward doing his duty, and is too busy with his work
to pose for effect or think of fame. Emphatically
was this true of John Robinson, the Pilgrim Pastor
and Leader.
But if it was difficult for him to think of himself
as a hero, it is hardly less so for us fully to appre-
ciate what it meant for him in his day to take the
noble course his conscience prompted, and face the inner conflict
and outward persecutions which he quietly braved in obeying
his convictions. It requires a careful study of his life and times
fully to understand the faith and courage he exemplified in
pursuing the course which he took in God's name. But among
the names of the heroes in God's service in that age, that of John
Robinson holds honored place.
John Robinson was born near Gainsborough, Eng. , in the
year 1575. Of his childhood and youth nothing is recorded save
that he fitted for college and matriculated in Cambridge Univer-
sity. Two Cambridge colleges claim him as a student, but
Corpus Christi appears to have the best warrant for its claim.
The Register of that college shows this entry: "John Robinson.
F., Lincolnshire. Admitted 1592; Fellow, 1598."
He took orders after his graduation in the Church of Eng-
land, but because of his modification of certain ceremonies, and
his broad and progressive views, he was suspended by the Bishop
of Norwich. Upon this, in 1604, he resigned his fellowship, and
parted finally with the Established Church. For a time he
assisted Rev. Mr. Clyfton, pastor of a Separatist Church which
28 REV. JOHN ROBINSON.
met at the dwelling of William Brewster near Scrooby in Not-
tinghamshire. Later he became pastor of that little church, and
in 1609, after many difficulties and persecutions, he with his
church escaped to Holland. Settling finally at Leyden, he
ministered to his little flock with the utmost fidelity and devo-
tion. At the same time by his counsels and his writings he
labored valiantly and efficiently to promote the cause of civil and
religious liberty. September 5, 1615, he became a member of
THE JOHN ROBINSON HOUSE, LEYDEN.
the University of I^eyden and was held in high esteem for his
scholarship and the breadth and catholicity of his views. In
1620, the younger and more vigorous portion of his flock joined
in that famous ' ' pilgrimage ' ' to America, which has meant so
much for this country and the world. Pastor Robinson gave
them his historical " Parting Counsel," and intended himself soon
to follow them to America, but was unable so to do. The father of
the writer of this sketch used to say that John Robinson had one
reason for deferring his journey to America, which has been a
limitation upon many of his descendants — he was in debt! Be
REV. JOHN ROBINSON. 29
this as it may, his hopes for reunion with his flock in America
was terminated by his death at Ley den, March i, 1625, in the
5oth year of his age. He was buried in the churchyard of St.
Peter's Cathedral, in the presence of the gentry and dignitaries
of the City and University.
In 1891, a Committee of the National Council of Congrega-
tional Churches of this country, on which the writer of this
TOWER OF ST. PETER S.
sketch had the honor to serve, caused a handsome bronze tablet
to be placed in his memory upon the wall of St. Peter's Cathe-
dral at Leyden, bearing, besides the record of his name and
offices, the apt inscription ' ' /// Memoria Aeterna Rtit Justus.
Of the six children of John Robinson, two sons, John and
Isaac are known to have come to Plymouth, Mass, in 1630.
Isaac is the ancestor of a numerous progeny. To him I trace
my family line, and the facts recorded in my genealogy are as
follows: —
3O REV. JOHN ROBINSON.
1. Isaac, born 1610, came to Plymouth 1630. Married first
1636, Margaret Hanford, by whom he had five children. After
her decease he married in 1649 a second wife, by whom he had
four children, the third of whom was,
2. Peter, born 1665, married Experience, daughter of John
Manton of Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard. He finally settled in
Scotland Parish, Windham, Conn. He was the father of fifteen
children, of whom the fourth was,
3. Peter, born 1697, married June 20, 1725, Ruth Fuller,
daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Thatcher ) Fuller, of Mans-
field, Conn. He had twelve children, of whom the ninth was,
4. Eliab, born August 22, 1742, married Lucy Williams;
resided many years in Dorset, Vt., and died in Pittsford, Vt.,
April 1836, aged 93 years. He had five children, of whom the
youngest was,
5. Septimius, born July 27, 1790, married ist, Lucy Kings-
ley, who died in 1833: 2nd, Jan. 6, 1835, Semantha Washbtirn of
Montpelier, Vt. He died at Morrisville, Vt., Sept. 27, 1860.
He had eight children, of whom the seventh was,
6. William Albert, born Feb. 24, 1840, married Sept. i,
1862, Lucy Camp Swift, of Morrisville, Vt. They have had two
children, of whom one, Mrs. Emily M. Coleman, of Fort Dodge,
Iowa, survives.
THOMAS ROBINSON. OF HARTFORD. CONN..
1640. AND GUILFORD. 1664.
AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS.
BY MARY GAY ROBINSON.
HERE stands in the town of Guilford, Conn., a half
mile northwest from the center of the village, an
old house in good condition, the second house on
the spot, where a family by name of Robinson have
been born, lived and died for the last 236 years.
In 1664 came one, Mr. Thomas Robinson, from
the then young town of Hartford to settle in Guil-
ford. He came with Mary, his wife, and seven
children, and bought this corner lot and homestead,
which for twenty-five years previous, since the settlement of
Guilford in 1639, had been owned by four men, Mr. John Caffinge
or Chaffinch, first owner; Thomas French, tenant in 1644;
Thomas Standish, son of the famous Captain Miles vStandish, of
Plymouth, Mass., 1647; Thomas Smith, 1660; William Stone,
1663, by whom it was sold to Mr. Thomas Robinson in 1664.
Thus the place passed from hand to hand till purchased by
Thomas Robinson; it has been handed down in the family name
from that day to this and is now occupied and owned by the
Robinson name of the seventh generation.
The present house was built in 1752 by Samuel Robinson,
fourth generation, Thomas, i ; Thomas, 2; Samuel, 3; Samuel, 4;
Samuel, 5; Rev. Henry Robinson, 6, who left it to his widow,
Mrs. Mary (Gushing Gay) Robinson, and four children, Mrs.
M. E. Gallaudett, Fannie \V. Robinson, Mary Gay Robinson,
Henry Pynchon Robinson, Vale College 1X63, in the seventh
generation.
The houses in Guilford are built in a compact village, while
the farms lie all around, salt marsh and upland, hill and meadow.
The Robinson house is on land that descends slightly and the
jjo THOMAS ROBINSON.
two and a half acres of the home lot look off and up towards the
east on Fair Street with its various shaped roofs, north upon a
rocky ledge that has been converted into, the handsome stone
mansion of Mr. Chester Kingman, which was built by Rev. E.
Edwin Hall, whose wife, daughter of Rev. Dr. Malan of Geneva,
Switzerland, wished to reproduce a Swiss chateau in her new
American home; also a stone building, the Guilford Institute,
a gift of Mrs. Mary Griffing to the youth of Guilford; south we
look out upon the higher swell of land that forms Broad Street,
and to the west the country road winds on over two bridges that
HOUSE OF SAMUEL ROBINSON, BUILT IN 1752.
cross two small rivers that form West river, and in the rise of
ground beyond that river is the village cemetery.
Thomas Robinson, Sr. , is the remotest ancestor of whom his
descendants have any knowledge. His name appears on the
Guilford Records for the first time in 1664, though he might have
been there earlier. He was in Hartford in 1640. There were a
number of this name in the country previous to his settlement in
Guilford ; a Thomas Robinson of Scituate in 1643 ; two of the
name, father and son, in New Haven in 1644 > Thomas Robinson
in New London, who married Mary, daughter of Hugh Wells of
Wethersfield ; Thomas Robinson in Hartford in 1640, and this
was the one who settled at Guilford.
This Thomas Robinson purchased of William Stone a spot
containing two and one-half acres, a half mile north west of Guil-
THOMAS ROBINSON.
33
ford Green, on the New Haven road. We have in our possession
a deed executed by him, bearing date October 20, 1679, convey-
ing this homestead to his son Thomas.
The Guilford History by Mr. R. D. Smith, and Steiner's
Guilford History, state: Mr. Thomas Robinson bought out the
land which was originally owned by John Caffinge in 1 664 and
afterwards became one of the wealthiest of the settlers. He was
noted for a very long and very expensive lawsuit with the town,
originating from his taking up land on the front of his lot which
was claimed by the town. The suits which grew out of this act
were appealed eventually to the Legislature, and finally were
adjusted and settled by the interposition of a committee there-
from.
There was a tradition that the first Thomas Robinson went
back to England. "He went to a far land," and that meant
across the seas ; that he found most of his kindred in England
were dead.
Thomas Robinson, Sr. , appears to have been a man of re-
spectable character and standing, as the titles " Gentleman " and
" Mr." are given him in the ancient records. He was, however,
of a warm temperament and determined purpose and l>ecame
involved in some unhappy controversies which rendered his situ-
ation at Guilford unpleasant and probably induced him near the
34 THOMAS ROBINSON.
close of his life to remove to Hartford, where he was living in
1 684-5 and where he appears to have died in 1 689 at an advanced
age.
His wife, Mary, died at Guilford, July 27, 1668. Two of
his daughters married in Wethersfield. Mary Robinson married
John Latimer in 1680, Saint Robinson married Ziba Try on.
Thomas Robinson, Sr. , had difficulty with Rev. Joseph Eliot,
minister in Guilford for thirty years and son of Rev. John Eliot,
Apostle to the Indians. He also had trouble with Governor
Leete. All these things show he was rather a testy man.
The earliest mention we have is that he appeared in a law-
suit with one of the Lords in Hartford in 1640. From that time
there are twenty-four years in which we know almost nothing of
Thomas Robinson. He probably married in or near 1650, judg-
ing from the ages of the oldest children. His youngest son,
David Robinson's age and death are on a gravestone in Durham,
Conn. , where they were more careful and accurate in the matter of
gravestones than in Guilford, because there was a quarry near by.
Rev. Henry Robinson of Guilford, Conn., supposes his an-
cestor, Thomas Robinson, Sr. , was about twenty-five years old
in 1640. He is not among the first settlers of Hartford, though
he is among the earliest. When he came to Guilford he was
about fifty or fifty-five and seventy-five or eighty when he died
in 1689. Mr. Ralph D. Smith saw the notice of his death in
Hartford.
When he came to Guilford he had his wife Mary, and at the
time of Mary's death, July 27, 1668, there were seven children,
three sons and four daughters. His daughter, Ann Robinson,
married Joseph Dudley, and from them are descended the
Dudleys of Guilford and elsewhere, the Fields, David Dudley
Field, Cyrus Field, Hon. Simeon Baldwin Chittenden, member
of Congress from New York.
A handsome carved oaken chest, "T" on one end, "R"
on the other and date "1682" is owned by Simeon Baldwin
Chittenden of Brooklyn, and was at the Chicago Exposition in
the Connecticut Building.
Robert Dale Owen married Mary Jane Robinson, 7th gene-
ration ; the artist Wed worth Wadsworth's mother, Rose Robin-
son, was 6th generation ; Colonel Francis Parsons of Hartford,
on Governor Lounsbury's staff, is of the gth generation from
Thomas Robinson.
THOMAS ROBINSON.
The second Thomas Robinson was the oldest of seven chil-
dren. He married twice and had eight children. The two
daughters of his first wife, Sarah Cruttenden, died unmarried;
his second wife was Sarah Graves, their oldest son Samuel Rob-
inson, married Rachel Strong of Northampton, Mass. She died
in one year and left one child, Samuel. Says the Rev. Henry
Robinson: "Despairing of finding her like again this Samuel
Robinson remained unmarried to the day of his death, fifty-one
years. He was shrewd, sensible and pious, and an exceedingly
companionable and interesting man. He had no taste for public
office, but was fond of books and self-culture. He was a great
admirer of President Edwards and read his works much. His
CARVED OAKEN CHEST, 1 682.
only child, Samuel Robinson, 2nd, was brought up by his maiden
sister, Sarah, who lived to be sixty-two. My father, the Rev.
Henry Robinson, remembered this Samuel, 2nd, who died in
1802, when he was a boy of fourteen. My grandfather, Samuel
Robinson, 3rd, was a lad of fourteen when his grandfather,
Samuel the ist, died in 1776, and Samuel Robinson ist, was
seventeen years old when his father the second Thomas Robinson
died in 1712, and the second Thomas Robinson was thirty-nine
when Thomas Robinson, Sr., died in 1689.
Samuel Robinson, ist, had but one child, a son; Samuel
Robinson, 2nd, had but one child, a son; Samuel Robinson, 3rd,
had four children, two sons and two daughters. These heads of
small families lived to be old men, eighty-one, seventy-seven,
seventy-seven, and my father, eighty-nine years and nine months.
They married early in life, twenty-nine, thirty-five, twenty-four;
the sons carried on the calling of the fathers and were farmers,
30 THOMAS ROBINSON.
and in the beginning of the nineteenth century were counted the
rich farmers of this farming town. They were from generation
to generation members of the Connecticut legislature. Then
came four children to divide the patrimony that for two genera-
tions had been transmitted to one heir alone. Two daughters
marry and carry off their dowries ; Sarah married Isaac Ben ton,
and their daughter Sarah, marrying Richard Starr of Guilford,
removed to Mendon, 111., leaving descendants. Eliza married
Col. John B. Chittenden of Guilford, and removed about 1832 to
Mendon, 111., leaving numerous descendants. The two sons go
to Yale College, one becomes a Congregational clergyman, the
OAKEN CHAIR.
Rev. Henry Robinson, Yale College, 1811, Andover Seminary,
1816, tutor at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me., 1817 ; the other,
Samuel Robinson, Yale College, 1817, a teacher. The farm lands
are sold, but the homestead, the second house built on the spot
purchased in 1664, was inherited by the Rev. Henry Robinson and
his four children. The brother, Samuel Robinson, a distinguished
teacher, conducted a family school for boys in it. His son was
Dr. Samuel C. Robinson, of Brooklyn, N. Y., Yale College, 1852;
his daughter is Mrs. Anna C. Hyde of New Haven.
A curious oaken chair with tape loom in back is one of the
relics in the old Robinson house in Guilford, and there are old
deeds reaching back to 1675.
The Rev. Henry Robinson returned to the old homestead
THOMAS ROBINSON. 37
after four pastorates in Connecticut, ie, Litchfield, South Farms
(now Morris), Suffield, North Killingly (now Putnam Heights)
and Plainfield, spending the last twenty-two years of his life and
dying there at the age of eighty-nine years and nine months,
September 14, 1878.
The sixth child of Thomas Robinson, Sr. , David Robinson,
and another Guilford man, Caleb Seward, were the first settlers
of Durham, Conn. The Robinson line in Durham had large
families, ten, twelve, sixteen children, who, as the space grew
too small for them, moved away and settled Granville, Blandford,
Tolland, Mass., then went to western New York, Ohio and
Illinois.
The Hon. Henry Cornelius Robinson, a leading lawyer of
Connecticut, who died at his home in Hartford the past winter,
was a descendant of David Robinson, first settler of Durham.
Isaac Chapman Bates of Northampton, Mass., Senator in Con-
gress, was a descendant. David Robinson's son, Ebenezer
Robinson, gave a burying ground and school fund to the town
of Durham.
Early in 1 700 our Robinson ancestor owned land in Martha's
Vineyard, where lived descendants of the Rev. John Robinson,
of Leyden, and we hoped from that fact there might have been
kinship with that line in England; the dates will not permit our
descent from him.
Professor William Dudley, of Leland Standford University,
Cal., a descendant of Thomas Robinson, found that Robinson
was among the names of families of Ockley, in Surrey, England,
about the time of the emigration to Guilford, Conn., 1639, of the
Rev. Henry Whitfield and his company, but we have not ascer-
tained as yet from what part of England our first ancestor,
Thomas Robinson, came. That important quest is one which
we hope our friends of this Robinson organization may help us
to pursue.
THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
BY REV. G. W. PENNIMAN.
I certainly esteem it an honor
to be invited to attend this
happy gathering, and to be
invited to speak to you a few
minutes on certain lines of
ancestry in which some of us
at least have a very vital in-
terest. It is, I regret to say,
my misfortune to be not of the
tribe of Robinson. Half of the
Pennimans have that honor,
but I have not. A diligent
search for some years has dis-
covered most of my American
ancestral names, but not a
Robinson do I find among them. It is clear that, notwithstand-
ing all the achievements of that distinguished family, they have
signal!}- failed at one point, in not fixing things so that they
could claim me as a descendant. So most of what I shall say to
you to-day will be as an outsider. But I am happy on the other
hand to see that by going back a little farther we can claim a
common Penniman ancestry.
All the Pennimans in America appear to be descended from
a single pair of emigrants. It is not ' ' three brothers ' ' with us.
It is not from several progenitors here and there that our family
springs, making it an endless task to hunt them up and dis-
tinguish them ; but it's from James and L,ydia (Eliot) Penniman
that we all derive.
We have reason to be proud of our Eliot connection. Of
Lydia's brother John, the " Apostle to the Indians," Hon. D. H.
Chamberlain has recently said : "Of Eliot it is truth to say, no
saintlier figure has adorned mankind since the star of Bethlehem
THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
39
came and stood over where the young child lay." Lydia Eliot
was baptized in Nazing, County Essex, England, 1610, daughter
of Bennett Eliot, and that is as far back as we can go in deter-
mining our Eliot ancestry.
Where James Penniman came from we do not know. I
thought once I knew, but I find I was mistaken. There is no
positive evidence of his origin. All we know is purely negative.
But there are certain probabilities which are interesting. Burke
says the family is of Saxon origin and first settled in Kent, that
the name was originally " Pen-na-man," meaning "head chief
man " ; so you see the Pennimans must have been at the head
once, however it may be now. There is now, so far as I can
learn (aside from one or two American Pennimans temporarily
ORMESBY CHURCH.
there), but one family of Pennymans in England. Mr. James
Worsley Pennyman of Ormesby Hall assures me that neither he,
nor his father, nor his grandfather, ever heard the name in Eng-
land, though they have made considerable inquiry.
Ormesby Hall is in the North Riding of Yorkeshire, near
the mouth of the river Tees, about four miles from the iron-
manufacturing city of Middlesborough, and the estate has been
in the family some four hundred years. There has been a line of
eight baronets, beginning with 1628 and ending in 1852, when
the name Pennyman became extinct ; but the estate fell to a
cousin who assumed his mother's surname of Pennyman. The
grandson of this gentleman, Mr. James Worsley Pennyman,
the present head of the family, has written out for me a most
interesting account of the Penniman home and family in England
4O THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
and sent pictures of the old home. In the strife of the ijth
century between royalist and puritan, Sir William Pennyman, of
Marske, near Ormesby, was a most distinguished royalist. He
was highly esteemed by Charles I., who appointed him governor
of Oxford and colonel of a regiment of foot. While governor of
Oxford Sir William died Aug. 22, 1643, and i" Christ Church
Cathedral at Oxford may be seen a mural tablet commemorating
his loyalty and his virtues.
But who was James Penniman, the emigrant, or Pennyman,
as frequently spelt in the early records ? It is noticeable that
James is a frequent name, occurring in ever}* generation of the
English Pennymans, that the governor's uncle was Sir James,
and that all the records of the old parish of Marske, near
Ormesby, where the Governor's branch of the family then lived,
are missing prior to 1631. Singularly enough they begin that
year, the very year that James and Lydia Penniman came to
Boston. Of course this proves nothing, but as long as we can
find no trace of the name elsewhere, we may feel the force of a
probability which Mr. J. W. Pennyman of Ormesby Hall thus
stated in a letter to me: "If one may hazard a guess, the
zealous cavaliers might look upon a round-head relative as a
disgrace to the family, and might be only too glad when his
emigration gave an opportunity to blot out all trace of his
existence. ' '
James and Lydia Penniman joined the First church at Bos-
ton, and probably lived there a few years, for James Penniman
sold to Robert Meeres house and land between present Court
and Sudbury Streets, overlooking Mill Cove. Was this the first
Penniman home in America? It must have been a beautiful
spot in the early days of Boston. As early as 1636 James
Penniman was living at Mount Wollaston, now Quincy, but
then a part of Boston. Their minister, the Rev. John Wheel-
wright, was soon accounted a dangerous heretic, and though he
and his sister, Mrs. Hutchinson, were approved and followed by
the governor, Henry Vane, and most of the prominent people
of Boston, Winthrop being elected governor, Wheelwright was
banished and fifty of his followers were disarmed, James Penni-
man among them. Savage in his ' ' Winthrop ' ' says : "In no
part of the history of any of the United States perhaps can a
parallel be found for this act" of disarming. And Dr. Pattee
in his History of Old Braintree adds : ' ' This high handed
THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
injustice left them without any protection to themselves or their
families from the scalping knife or the horrors of Indian massa-
cre." Shall we not feel proud that in those early days, when
it cost so much, we find our ancestors daring to think for them-
selves ?
Soon after this, in response to the petition of James Penni-
man and others, the town of Braintree was incorporated May 13,
1640. James Penniman's is the first name on Braintree records,
being the first in a list of six men "deputed for town affairs."
He is also said to have built the first house in Braintree. Just
where that house was I do not know. But it was very likely not
far from the location of what are now called the ' ' Adams' cot-
PENNIMAN-ADAMS COTTAGES AT QUINCY.
tages," the birthplaces respectively of Presidents John and John
Quincy Adams. In 1720 James Penniman, who must have been
grandson of the immigrant James, sold this property to John
Adams, father of President John Adams. A brick in the chimney
jamb of the older house indicates that it was built in i6S6, and in
the other house bears the date 1716. I will speak of this later.
James Penniman died in 1664, and his widow married Thomas
Wight of Medfield.
James and Lydia Eliot Penniman had nine children as indi-
cated on Boston and Braintree records, but undoubtedly there
were ten.
i. The eldest was James3, baptized in Boston, 1633, spoken
of in his father's will as an educated man. He was a felt-maker
and lived in Boston on the road to Roxbury, probably «>n or near
Summer Street, where his son, grandson, and great grandson
42 THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
lived after him, his son being called "surgeon," his grandson
" cordwainer, " and his great grandson a "physician." This
family seems to have had a large estate and to have been very
prosperous, but they have died out and entirely disappeared.
2. The next child was a daughter, Lydia2 baptized in
Boston 1635, and married Edward2 Adams of Medfield.
3. Next comes a son, John2 baptized 1637, married Hannah,
daughter of immigrant Roger Billings, and had seven children,
all of whom died young or unmarried.
4. Fourth comes Joseph2 born in Braintree Aug. i, 1639,
married for first wife, who bore all his children, Waiting2 Rob-
inson, daughter of William1 Robinson of Dorchester and sister
of Increase2 Robinson who married her husband's sister, Sarah2
Penniman, and settled in Taunton. Probably about half the
Pennimans now living descend from Deacon Joseph. I will come
back to them later.
5. The next child was Sarah2 born 1641, who married In-
crease Robinson, and I will leave others to speak of her and her
descendants.
6. The sixth child, whose birth is not on record, was prob-
ably Bethiah, who is mentioned in her mother's will (1673) as
Bethiah Allen.
7. The seventh child was Hannah, born 1648, who married
1671, John2 Hall, son of the emigrant George1 Hall, who was one
of the original proprietors of Cohannet, including present Taun-
ton, Berkeley and Raynham, purchased from the Indian Sachem
Massasoit in 1639. I suppose there are many Halls and others
in Taunton and vicinity descended from our Hannah2 Penniman.
8. The eighth child was Abigail, born 1651, who would
seem, from her mother's will 1673, to have married a Gary. She
calls her "Abigail Carie." But Braintree Records (p. 719) give
" Samuel Neale and Abigail Penniman married the 2nd mo. i8th,
'78 by Captain Mason." I cannot account for this apparent
discrepancy.
9. The ninth child was Mary2 born 1653^ who married
Samuel Paine of Braintree.
10. The tenth and youngest child wras Samuel2 born 1655,
married Elizabeth Parmenter, and probably had ten children,
but only three sons who had families. These were Nathan3,
Joseph3 and James3, and they all left Braintree, the two elder
brothers, Nathan3 and Joseph3, going to Netmocke or Mendon,
THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
43
for which plantation their grandfather, the immigrant James1
Penniman, had been one of the petitioners, and their uncle
Joseph2 one of the commissioners to settle it, though neither of
them had removed there.
The youngest brother James3 went to Medfield. And as
the old Penniman place in Braintree was sold about the time
that the brothers left for their new homes, I think it probable
that it was James3 son of Samuel2, rather than his cousin James3
son of Joseph2, who sold this property. No wife signs the deed,
and this James3 was unmarried at the time, which helps to sus-
tain this theory. Certainly it was good judgment and rare fore-
sight, if he sell the place at all, to sell it to the father of a
president and grandfather of another president of a nation, sixty
years before that nation's birth ; for by so doing the Penniman
place is preserved as a mecca of pilgrimage. The Daughters of
the Revolution now have charge of the John Adams house, and
the Quincy Historical Society, under the most efficient manage-
ment of its Curator, Mr. William G. Spear, has made the John
Quincy Adams birthplace a most delightful place to visit.
I would like to dwell on the Mendon Pennimans, the de-
scendants of Samuel2 of Braintree, from which branch I descend
myself. They have been rovers and have scattered widely.
None are left in that vicinity now, but some of them have con-
tributed to the good name of the family in many States. But I
must speak only a few minutes on the male descendants of
Joseph2 and then close.
Deacon Joseph2 and his brother Samuel2 were the two
Pennimans in the latter half of the seventeenth century, both
occupying position in their day. Deacon Joseph2 was of the
" Suffolk troop of Horse" and fought in Philip's War. His
eldest son Joseph3 died in 1691 at twenty years of age, of the
fever contracted in Phip's unfortunate crusade against Canada,
that sad affair of which the Boston preachers spoke ' ' as the
.awful frown of God." A second son, Moses3 became Episcopal.
It is remarkable that he should thus estrange himself, as he must
in a measure have done at that early day, from his brothers and
sisters and kinsmen. He had a son Moses 4 who was on the
war ship King George, stationed off the coast for its protection
in 1758, and he is called " mariner" in his will in 1761. Moses4
had a son William5, who was a shipbuilder at Boston and later
at New London, but he passed his last years at Williamstown,
44 THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
where he died in 1 809. One of his grandsons was the late Ed-
mund Burke7 Penniman, a prominent lawyer of North Adams,
whose son Edmund B. 8 Penniman is now treasurer of the North
Adams Manufacturing Co. There are descendants of this Wil-
liam5 Penniman in Pennsylvania, and in the South and West.
Another grandson was the Hon. Francis B. 7 Penniman of Pitts-
burgh and Honesdale, Penn., an editor and a forceful public
speaker, who took a great interest in public affairs, was highly
respected and took much pleasure in looking up his Penniman
ancestry. He is the only one I have found who has given the
subject much attention, and he confined his search to his own
line of ancestry.
I find that a great grandson of this William5 Penniman was
killed at Shiloh on the Confederate side, while another Penni-
man, not a near relative, was killed on the Union side in the
same battle.
Now let us go back to Deacon Joseph2. His youngest son
James3 married 1683, Abigail Thayer. From this couple the
present stock of Braintree and Quincy Pennimans descend. They
had two sons, William4 and James4, both of whom were promi-
nent men and had large families. The elder, William4, a prom-
inent citizen and an ardent patriot, married his mother's cousin,
Ruth Tha}-er, who became the " mother of fifteen children, ten
sons and five daughters, ' ' as her tombstone informs us. And
eleven of these children outlived their father, who died in 1780.
Of this interesting family one, Pelatiah5 went to Mendon to join
his cousins, married Hannah Taft and had a farge family. His
descendants all went to New Hampshire and Vermont, where
many of them are now living.
Another son of this William4 wras Joseph5, who graduated
at Harvard and became minister of the church at Bedford for
twenty-two years, 1771-93. He left three daughters and no sons.
Another son of William4 was Mesheck5 who had two sons,
Elisha6 and William6. Elisha6, born 1778, died 1831, settled in
Brookline and became one of Boston's great merchants, amassing
a large property for those days. Elisha' s6 eldest daughter Caro-
line1 married Charles Heath, and his granddaughter, Mary C. M
Heath, is the wife of Edward Atkinson. Elisha's6 second child,
Almira7, after a sojourn at the famous Brook Farm Community,
married Rev. David H. Barlow and became the mother of Gen.
Francis Channing Barlow, who won a distinguished reputation
THE PENNIMAN FAMILY. 45
as a brave and able officer of the Army of the Potomac, and was
afterward Secretary of State and Attorney General of New York.
Gen. Barlow married Ellen Shaw, sister of Robert Gould Shaw,
the gallant Colonel of the 54th Mass. Regiment, the first regi-
ment of colored soldiers from a free State mustered into the
United States service. He was killed at Ft. Wagner and his
heroic life is most fittingly and beautifully commemorated in the
' ' Shaw Memorial ' ' opposite the Boston State House. A third
daughter of EHsha6, Mary Jane7 Penniman, who died six months
ago, was the widow of Moses Blake Williams. Her sons are
Moses8 and Charles Amory8 Williams, distinguished lawyers and
business men of Boston, and Dr. Harold8 Williams, Dean of
Tufts Medical School.
Mesheck's5 other son, William6 went to Baltimore, married
and settled there, and from him descend the several well-known
business men of that city, Pennimans, Bonds, Carringtons and
others, also Prof. W. B. D. Penniman of Baltimore Medical
College. A branch of this enterprising Baltimore family settled
in Ashville, N. C., and went into business. Mesheck's5 descend-
ants have everywhere won credit for the name.
Mesheck's brother Elihu5 settled in Peterborough and later
Fitzwilliam, N. H., and their descendants went West.
Bethuel5, brother of Mesheck5 and son of William4, settled
in Abington, and his descendants are in Abington and vicinity,
also in Middleborough and New Bedford.
The remaining children of William4 and Ruth (Thayer)
Penniman remained in Braintree, where most of their progeny
have continued to this day, though it is singular, how, not only
here but elsewhere, the family has run to girls, and the surname
remains in but comparatively few families.
William's4 brother, Deacon James4, born in 1708, married
Dorcas Vinton and was one of the foremost citi/ens of ' ' Old
Braintree," and chairman of selectmen for many years. John
Adams says in his diary that the town meeting of March 3, 1766,
was the first popular struggle of the Revolution in the town of
Braintree, and the young lawyer is very happy that Deacon Penni-
man of the patriot party is re-elected, and that he (John Adams)
also secures the honor of an election to the board. Deacon James
had eleven children and eight of them grew up, but only two
sons had families, Stephen5 and Enoch s, and Enoch's5 family
has disappeared.
46 THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
Captain Thomas5 Peiiniman (son of Deacon James4 ) settled
in Stoughton, served in the French and Indian War, being at
the battle of Quebec, and also in the Revolution. Late in life
he settled in Washington, N. H., where he died. He left no
children.
Major Stephen5 (son of Deacon James4) served in the
Revolutionary War with distinction. He had eight daughters and
only one son, Stephen0 Jr. Stephen6 Jr. had six children who
grew up and four were sons. Thomas 0. 7 the eldest, a carpen-
ter, had sons, William R.8 and Thomas8, who became contract-
ors and builders, the former being in his day one of the most
prominent contractors in eastern Massachusetts. A daughter,
Anna M.8 has been for thirty years master's assistant in the
Shurtleff School for girls in South Boston.
Stephen6 Jr's. second son Stephen'1 had besides daughters,
a son Stephen8 who lives in Quincy, a son Henry8 who lives in
Winthrop, Me., and a son William W.H who died recently, but
whose son George William9, of Fall River, is with us to-day.
He and I bear the same initials, though our middle names differ.
Unlike myself he has wide fame as a public speaker, especially
in the important causes of temperance and Sunday School work.
He has also been in the Massachusetts Legislature.
Luther7, the next son of Stephen6 Jr., had a son Major
George H.8 Penniman, who was a noted lawyer and an eloquent
public speaker in Detroit, and he left a son who succeeds to his
father's profession.
The youngest son of Stephen6 Jr., was James Thayer7 Pen-
niman, who I think is still living in Quincy at eighty-one years
of age, and has a son James H.8, a leather dealer in Boston.
Thus, my friends, have I given you the briefest outline of
one branch of the Penniman family, those descended from Jos-
eph2 and Waiting (Robinson2) Penniman of the second genera-
tion. Some of you I suppose are interested in this outline. It
is very meagre, but consumes all the time I feel warranted in
taking. It would, no doubt, be pleasanter to read it or refer to
it occasionally than to hear it. I shall be much gratified to learn
that some do feel an interest in this work which is far from
finished as I would like to see it finished. I can hardly learn of
a new Penniman anywhere in the country, but I want to search
the land records, find more about where they lived and what
they did. Though a small family, and not especially celebrated,
THE PENNIMAN FAMILY.
47
it has on the whole a very creditable record. I hope you are
ready to help all you can to get together as complete an account
as we can of our family name. It is a long and tiresome work,
and I often think it takes too much time which might be better
employed. But I believe there is profound truth in the senti-
ments contained in the preface which John Adams Vinton wrote
in his book which has the only printed genealogy of the Penni-
man family. He says: " There is not an intelligent, public-
spirited, virtuous man anywhere to be found, who can safely
deny that his motives to virtue and patriotism are strongly rein-
forced by the consideration — if such were the fact — that his
ancestors were brave and upright men." We believe with
Webster, that ' ' there is moral and philosophical respect for our
ancestors, which elevates the character and improves the heart."
Burke truly said, "Those only deserve to be remembered by
posterity who treasure up the memory of their ancestors."
HERALDRY.
BY THE HISTORIOGRAPHER.
J. Bernard Burke in his "General Armory " says: " It is
not clear that our Heraldry can be traced to a more remote period
than the twelfth, or at furthest, the eleventh century. Numerous
tombs exist of persons of noble blood, who died before the year
looo, yet there is not an instance known of one with a heraldic
bearing.
' ' At first armorial bearings were probably like surnameSj
assumed by each warrior at his free will and pleasure ; and as
his object would be to distinguish himself and his followers from
others, his cognizance would be respected by the rest, either out
of an innate courtesy or a feeling of natural justice disposing men
to recognize the right of first occupation, or really from a posi-
tive sense of the inconvenience of being identified or confounded
with those to whom no common tie united them. When, how-
ever, remoteness of stations kept soldiers aloof, and extensive
boundaries, and different classes of enemies from without, subdi-
vided the force of a kingdom into many distant bands and armies,
opportunities of comparing and ascertaining what ensigns had
been already appropriated would be lost, and it well might hap-
pen, even in the same country, that numerous families might be
found unconsciously using the same arms.
" Certain it is that it was not until the Crusaders that
Heraldry came into general use.
" Under Edward I., seals of some sort were so general, that
the Statute of Exon ordained the coroner's jury to certify with
their respective signets, and in the following reign they became
very common, so that only such as bore arms used to seal, but
others fashioned signets, taking the letters of their own names,
flowers, knots, birds, beasts, &c. It was afterward enacted by
statute, that every freeholder should have his proper seal of arms;
and he was either to appear at the head court of the shire, or
send his attorney with the said seal, and those who omitted this
duty were amerced or fined.
HERALDRY. 49
' ' The earliest Heraldic document that has been handed
down to us is a Roll of Arms, made in the years 1240 and 1245.
It contains the names and arms of the Barons and Knights of
the reign of Henry III., and affords incontrovertible evidence of
the fact that Heraldry was at this time reduced to a science."
We further learn from Mr. Burke that three other similar
collections were made, "The Siege of Carlaverock," a Roll of
Arms temporary with Edward II., and another with Edward III.
These were published by Sir Harris Nicholas. The Roll of
Edward II. was made 1308-14, and included the names of about
eleven hundred and sixty persons located in the counties. The
fourth Roll, that of Edward III., Burke says, " appears to have
been compiled between the years 1337 and 1350. Its plan was
most comprehensive, embracing the arms of all the Peers and
Knights in England. ' '
In the reign of Henry V., Nicholas Upton compiled his "The
Boke of St. Albans," which is the first known work on the sub-
ject. King Henry V. issued his proclamation prohibiting the use
of heraldic ensigns by all who could not show an original and
valid right. This did not, however, include those who bore
arms at Agincourt. Notwithstanding the royal edict the abuse
continued and to such an extent that it gave rise in the sixteenth
century to the establishment of the " Herald's Visitations, docu-
ments of high authority and value." Burke says that, "All
persons who can deduce descent from an ancestor whose armoral
ensigns have been acknowledged in any one of the Visitations,
are entitled to carry those arms by right of inheritance."
Of the Crests, Burke has this to say: " The Crest yields in
honour to none of the heraldic insignia. It was the emblem that
served, when the banner was rent asunder, and the shield broken,
as a rallying joint for the knight's followers, and a distinguish-
ing mark of his own prowess Nisbet and some
other writers contend that these heraldic ornaments might be
changed according to the good pleasure of the bearer, but this
has long been forbidden by the Kings of Arms. If crests be the
distinguishing tokens by which families may be known (and this
seems most assuredly to be the intention of the device), one
might as well alter a coat of arms as a hereditary crest.'
Of the Motto, Guillim says it is " a word, saying or sentence
which gentlemen carry in a scroll under the arms, and sometimes
over the crest." Burke says, " It had its origin most probably,
5O HERALDRY.
in the ' cri Jc guerre' or the watchword of the camp, and its use
can be traced to a remote period. Camden assigns the reign of
Henry III. (1216-72) as the date of the oldest motto he ever met
with. Other authorities, however, carry up the mottoes to much
earlier epoch. Be this as it may, their general usage may be
accurately dated, if not from an earlier period, certainly from the
institution of the Order of the Garter, and after that celebrated
event (1344-50) they became very general, and daily grew in
favour.
"Mottoes may be taken, changed, or relinquished, when
and as often as the bearer thinks fit, and may be exactly the
same as those of other persons. Still, however, the pride of an-
cestry will induce most men to retain unaltered the time-hon-
oured sentiment which, adopted in the first instance as the
memorial of some noble action, some memorial war cry, or a
record of some ancient family descent, has been handed down
from sire to son through a long series of generations. ' '
It will be noticed that no mottoes grace the arms illustrated
in this booklet. The reason for it is I failed to find a motto
attached to any of the earliest coats of arms borne by the Rob-
insons. At a later date they appear in the arms of descendants,
but as there was nothing to show that they belonged to the origi-
nal arms I omitted them. The following are some of the mottoes
given in the description of the armorial bearings of the descend-
ants of the early Robinsons, viz:—
Robinson of Yorkshire and Robinson of Lancastershire have
the same motto, Virtu te, non verbis. (By bravery not by words.)
Robinson of Tottenham, Virtus pretiosior auro. (Virtue is
more precious than gold. )
Robinson of Cornwall, Loyal an mart. (Loyal to the dead.)
Robinson of Buckinghamshire, Vincam Malum bono. (I will
conquer evil by good.) Granted in 1731.
Robinson of Beverly House, Toronto, Can., Propere et pro-
vide. (Quickly and cautiously.)
Robinson of London, Spes mea in future est. (My hope is in
the future. )
Robinson of Scotland, Intemerata fides. (Uncorrupted faith.)
Robinson of Dublin, Ireland, Faithful.
HERALDRY. 51
The Rt. Hon. Sir Hercules George Robert Robinson, Bart.,
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George,
P. C., Legi regi fidus. (Faithful to the law and to the King.)
Robinson, Earl of Ripon, Qi/a/is ab incepto. (The same as
from the beginning. )
Robinson of Rokeby Hall, County of L,outh, Sola in Deo
Salus. (Salvation in God alone.)
Robinson, Lord Rokeby, Non nobis solum sed toti mundo nati.
( Not born for ourselves alone, but for the whole world. )
Robinson of Silksworth Hall, County of Durham, descended
from William Robinson of Durham, living in 1502, Post nubila
Phoebus. (Sunshine after clouds. )
Robinson of Somerset, Spes mea in faturo cst. (My hope is
in the future.)
COLORS.
The colors common in the Shields and Crests are seven, viz:
Gold designated as Or. Silver designated as Argent. Blue desig-
nated as Azure. Red designated as Gules. Green designated as
Vert. Purple designated as Purpiire. Black designated as Sable.
ARMS.
In the descriptions of the Arms,
Attired means both horns of the stag.
Baron, the arms of husband.
Chevron, lines resembling a pair of rafters to support the
roof of a house.
Cinque foil, five leaved grass issuing from a ball for its center.
Crenelle, a black background.
Couped, cut off.
Crueily, small crosses.
Femme, the arms of wife.
Gaze, an animal looking full faced.
Guardant, an animal looking full faced.
Impaled, the division of the shield by a vertical line.
Lozenges, a square figure on the shield.
Milrind, the iron in the center of the mill-stone and b\
which it is turned.
Neb n lee , waved lines.
52 HERALDRY.
Orle, one or two lines passing round the shield.
Passant, an animal in a walking position.
Regardent, an animal looking backward.
Scmee, sprinkled evenly over the surface at regular intervals.
Slipped, torn off from the stem.
Trefoil, three leaved grass.
Trippant, an animal with the right foot uplifted.
Unguled, hoofs of a different color from the body.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
PLATE I . Coat of Arms of the family of Green, formerly written
de la Greene, the name being derived from their ancient
possessions in Northamptonshire where they were seated
as early as the year 1250. An ancient Robinson family
was also located here and intermarried with the Greenes.
PLATE 2. Arms of " William Robinson out of ye North." Con-
firmed by the Herald of Arms in the visitation of Leices-
tershire in 1619, and of London in 1633. (Harleian
publications, pages 182, 204. )
The ancestor of William Robinson was probably located in
the county of Northumberland. We find his descendants in the
counties of Durham, York, Lancaster, Nottingham, Lincoln,
Leicester, Northampton, Suffolk, Hertford and Middlesex, bear-
ing titles of nobility. It is claimed by descendants in England
that the Robinsons were Saxon Thanes before the time of Wil-
liam the Conqueror. Burke in his " Genealogical Dictionary of
the Peerage and Baronetage," Edition of 1898, says: " The Rob-
insons have been seated in Lancashire for three centuries and are
Lords of the Manor of Chatburne in that county.
Plate 2 is also the armorial bearing of " Thomas Robinson,
Esq., of the Inner Temple, London, chief Prothonotary of His
Majestic' s Court of Common Pleas, and created a Baronet in
1683 ; descended from Nicholas Robinson of Boston in Lincoln-
shire, Gent., who lived in the time of King Henry the Seventh."
(1485-1509.) " He beareth Vert on a Chevron between three
Bucks tripping, Or, as many Cinquefoils, Gules." ("A Display
of Heraldry, by John Guillim, Pursuivant at Arms." London,
1724, 6th edition, page 158.)
In the same work page XI, in the department of " Honour
Civill," we read that "The Company of Leather Sellers," incor-
HERALDRY.
=,4 HERALDRY.
porated in 1383, bore as there arms: "Three bucks trippant
Argent, regardent, Gules." An ancient Robinson family in
Kingston-upon-Hull, bore as their arms: "Vert, a chevron be-
tween three bucks trippant." The Robinsons of Kentwell Hall
in Suffolk, bear the arms as displayed in Plate 2. Also Robinson
of York and London, 1634, bore the same arms ; also borne by
Charles B. Robinson, Esq., of Hill Ridgevvare, Staffordshire,
England, 1826.
To distinguish one branch of the family from another, and
the younger from the older, something was added to or altered
in the arms, called ' ' Difference. ' ' This we find in the arms of
William Robinson of London, a descendant of "John Robinson
of Crosthwayte, county of York" who married Anne Dent.
("The Publications of the Harleian Society, Vol. 17, page 204,
Visitation of London, 1633-4-5.) He bore the same Coat of
Arms as in Plate 2, with the " Difference " of a star on the shield
just below the crest. In the same Visitation of London, Thomas
Robinson another descendant of John Robinson, bore the same
Arms with the ' ' Difference ' ' of his substitution of a crescent in
place of the star.
Robinson of Beverly House, Toronto, Can., bears the same
Arms with the " Difference" of the chevron being nebulee and
in its apax a unicorn's head couped which occupies the place of
the upper cinquefoil. Arms. " Per chevron, Vert and a/,., on a
chevron, neubulee, between three stags, trippant or, a unicorn's
head couped between two cinquefoils, of the first. Crest, a stag
trippant or, semee of lozenges az., and resting the dexter forefoot
on a milrind sa."
The ancestor of these Robinsons was John Robinson of
Crostwick in the parish of Ronaldkirk, county of York, who was
born about 1550, and who married Anne Dent and was the great-
grandfather of the Right Rev. John Robinson, D. D., Lord Bishop
of Bristol in 1710, and of London in 1714. Another great grand-
son was Christopher Robinson, Esq., of Cleasby, county of York,
who emigrated to America in the time of King Charles II. and
was appointed on the i6th of January, 1679, Secretary to Sir
William Berkley, Governor of the Colony of Virginia. He mar-
ried Elizabeth Potter. It was their son, Col. John Robinson,
known as " Speaker Robinson," who was president of the Vir-
ginia Council. He married Catherine Beverley, and was the
father of Col. Beverlev Robinson of New York who commanded
HERALDRY.
56 HERALDRY.
a regiment in the British Army in the Revolution, and who mar-
ried Susannah, a daughter of Frederick Philispe, Esq., of New
York, and the Philispe Manor at Yonkers, N. Y.
Another branch descended from John Robinson of Crost-
wick, was Rev. Richard Robinson, D. D., Archbishop of Armagh
and Primate of all Ireland, and who was created Lord Rokeby.
A descendant from this branch was Alexander Robinson who
was born in 1750, in the county of Armagh, now the city of
Londonderry, Ireland, and died in Baltimore, Md., in 1845. A
great grandson, William A. Robinson, Esq., is a prominent and
influential resident of Louisville, Ky.
Plate 2 is also with " Difference " the arms — " Vert a chev-
ron between two cinquefoils pierced in chief and a Stag trippant
in base or. Crest, A Stag trippant or." of Robinson of Herring-
ton, Co. of Durham, " descended from William Robynson, living
in 1502."
PLATE 3. Arms of Sir Medcalf Robinson of Newby, county of
York, Baronet extinct in 1689 ; the great-great-grandson
of William Robinson an ancient and eminent Hamburgh
merchant born in 1522, Lord Mayor of York, 1581, elected
M. P. for the city, 1584 and 1588, and again Lord Mayor
1594; died in 1616 aged 94 and was buried at St. Crux,
York ; the ancestor of the Marquess of Ripon, Sir Fred-
erick John Robinson. Sir Medcalf Robinson married
Margaret, a daughter of Sir William D'Arcy of Whitton
Castle in the Bishoprick of Durham. "He beareth Baron
and Femme; the first Vert, Cheveron between three bucks
standing at gaze, Or, impaled with Azure, crucily three
Cinquefoils, Argent by the name of D'Arcy."
PLATE 4. Arms of Sir John Robinson of the city of London,
Alderman, Knight and Baronet, and Lieutenant of his
Majesty's Tower. "He beareth quarterly crenelle, Gules
and Or. In the first quarter upon a Tower, Argent, a
Lion passant guardant. Secondly, Vert, a buck passant
within an Orle of Trefoils slipped, Or. The third as the
second. The fourth as the first. Crest, stag trippant."
(See Plate 9.)
PLATE 5. Arms of John and Richard Robinson "Descended
from ye Robinsons in Yorkshire" (London, Herald's
visitation 1634.) Crest, stag trippant. Also the arms
HERALDRY
' t
58 HERALDRY.
of Thomas Robinson of Rokeby Park, Co. of York, and
his son Richard Robinson, D. D., Archbishop of Armagh,
Primate of all Ireland, created Lord Rokeby, and who
was born on the 5th of January, 1718. Also the arms of
Sir John Robinson, Knight, Lord Mayor of the City of
London, eldest son of the venerable William Robinson,
archdeacon of Nottingham in 1635.
PLATE 6. Crest of the Arms of Robinson of Tottenham, Eng.,
and Robinson of Ireland.
PLATE 7. Crest of Nicholas Robinson of Boston.
PLATE 8. Crest of Robinson of Somerset Co., England.
PLATE 9. Crest of Robinson of Cornwall, South wald and Suf-
folk Co., England.
PLATE 10. Crest of Robinson of Tottenham, England.
PLATE 1 1 . Crest of Robinson of Northampton and Northum-
berland, England.
PLATE 12. Crest of Robinson of Buckinghamshire Co., Eng.
PLATE 13. Crest of Robinson of Yorkshire Co., England.
PLATE 14. Crest of Robinson (Earl of Ripon.)
PLATE 15. Crest of Prof. Robinson, Edinburgh, Scotland.
PLATE j6. Seal used on letters written by Governor Edward
Hopkins, of Connecticut, 1640-54. This is the same as
the crests of Robinson of Northampton and Northumber-
land counties in England. (See Plate 1 1 . )
PLATE 17. Seal used by Governor Edward Hopkins of Con-
necticut, 1640-54.
PLATE 18. Seal of George Robinson2 of Rehoboth, Mass., found
on a deed executed by him in favor of his brother John8 ,
dated i3th of February, 1718.
PLATE 19. Seal on deed of John Robinson2 (Yeoman) "for and
in consideration of Love, good will and affection which I
have and do bare towards my Son Jonathan3 Robinson,
(Husbandman) of the Town aforesaid." (Rehoboth)
Dated March 10, 1725. Also the same found on a deed
of his " to my son Jonathan Robinson of Rehoboth afore-
said (Yeoman)." Dated the 2ist day of September, 1737.
The seals of George and John Robinson indicate the same
HERALDRY
6O HERALDRY.
line of descent as that of Sir Medcalf Robinson of Newby. (See
Plate 3. )
In the August issue of the "Heraldic Journal" for 1865,
published in Boston, there is a copy of Isaac Child's list of " The
Gore Roll of Anns, ' ' regarded as an accurate copy of the valu-
able work of Samuel Gore, or John Gore, heraldic painters in
Boston.
The earliest arms recorded are dated 1701-2, and the latest
in 1724. In the list of ninety-nine individuals for whom arms
were made there is no one by the name of Robinson, which goes
to substantiate the claim made by descendants of George1 Rob-
inson of Rehoboth, that he brought over with him a parchment
copy of the arms which appear on the deeds of his sons, George
and John.
COAT OF ARMS OK " YE ROBINSONS FROM THE NORTH,
THE ENGLISH HOME OF THE EARLY ROBINSONS,
EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF
THE ROBINSONS. EARLY EMIGRANTS
TO AMERICA.
BY CHARLES EDSON ROBINSON.
HAVE been invited by the worthy Secretary of this
Association to read at your Convention a paper on
George Robinson of Rehoboth and his descendants.
I am sure, however, that you will be far better
pleased with an outline of my genealogical re-
searches during the twenty years in which I have
been engaged in this fascinating work.
It has been altogether a labor of love with me.
No one who makes the subject a study may expect
to reap financial profit from the undertaking. The expenditure
of time and money will far exceed all possible reimbursement
accruing from the publication and sale of a family genealogy.
And yet there is unmeasured satisfaction in prosecuting the work.
I have found it a source of both pleasure and rest to delve in the
records of Robinson ancestry at the close of the fatiguing labors
of the day.
On first taking up the work I met with but little encourage-
ment. Letters written for information, to a large extent, seem-
ingly fell on uncultivated ground for they brought no return.
Others to whom I applied became enthusiastic and gave me much
valuable data which will receive due acknowledgment in the
genealogy I am hoping to publish in the near future.
There are those present who have prepared interesting
papers on their line of ancestry which will command your atten-
tion, therefore I need but briefly mention their lines in this paper.
More than twenty years have passed since I first took up the
task of tracing my Robinson ancestry. I presume that there is
not one here to-day who twenty years ago knew as little of their
ancestral line as mvself.
62 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
It was in the earl}- Spring of 1880 that my second son, then
a lad of sixteen summers, came to me with the query, " Father,
are we descended from the Rev. John Robinson of Leyden ?"
This was one of the most natural questions in the world for
a child to ask of his parent, who was a Robinson. Of course
that parent ought to know when from his cradle his eyes had
often sought with wonderment that picture on the wall which in
after years he was told was John Robinson bidding farewell to
his little church flock as they were gathered for their embark -
ment on the Mayflower to cross the trackless waters seeking for
a new and unknown home in a land of savages and forests.
I could only say to my boy, " Henry, I do not know, my
father has been dead for ten years, I never heard him say ; my
grandfather, the Rev. Otis Robinson, died the year before my
birth, you know our Bible record says that he was born in Attle-
boro, Mass., on the yth of June, 1764, further back I cannot go."
" But father, how can I find out, I want to know?" I suggested
that he write to the late Rev. Ezekiel Gilman Robinson, D. D.,
then the president of Brown University in Providence, that it
was just possible that he knew of the origin of the Robinsons of
Attleboro.
This Henry did, several letters passing between the professor
and himself. From him he learned that the professor was de-
scended from a George Robinson who bought land of the Indians
and settled in Rehoboth from which Attleboro was taken ; that
this George had a son Samuel who was his great grandfather,
and who owned and lived upon the farm in Rehoboth, then owned
and occupied by himself and which he inherited ; that the old
house unfortunately wras destroyed by fire some seventy years
previous and all the old papers and documents were then burned,
which might, perhaps, have thrown some light on the origin of
the family.
All this was exceedingly interesting, yet it was no evidence,
only a supposition, that we were from the same ancestral tree.
Further research was delegated to his brother Ned, who was two
years Henry's senior, and who was about to visit Boston relatives,
to stop over for a day at Attleboro and examine the town records.
This he did, at the same time having an interview with the late
John Daggett, Esq., the well-known historian at Attleboro, who
traced his Robinson relationship through Patience Daggett who
married Noah Robinson my great-great-grandfather.
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 63
On the 1 5th of June, 1881, our son Henry, who had become
greatly interested in his Robinson ancestry, and who was the first
to inspire within me the desire to dig down to the root of the tree,
crossed over the river to join his ancestors on the other shore.
I took up the work he was called upon so suddenly to abandon,
with a determination to collect all the knowledge obtainable on
the subject of our own branch of the Robinson family. With
this end in view I visited Attleboro and Rehoboth, examined
the town records, instructing the town clerks to furnish me a
HOUSE OF GEORGE ROBINSON, SR., BUILT BY HIM ABOUT 1 660.
certified copy of every record of a marriage, birth and death of
every person by the name of Robinson to be found on the books
of the town. I also employed a competent person to give me an
abstract from the land records of every transaction in land by
any one by the name of Robinson in Attle1x>ro and Rehoboth.
The old homestead of George Robinson, Sr., is now a part
of the farm of George H. Robinson of Seekonk, Mass. The old
house is still standing and occupied. It is supposed to have been
built about 1660, by Mr. Robinson who is designated as a car-
penter, and by him transferred to his son John for "love and
affection," Feb. i, 1689.
64 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
George Robinson's marriage is found recorded on the books
of Rehoboth to Johanna Ingraham, June 18, 1651. They had
eight children :
1 Mary, born May 30, 1652, who married Thomas Wil-
marth, June 7, 1674.
2 Samuel, born October 3, 1654, who married Mehitabel
Read, October 10, 1688, and was the ancestor of the late Rev.
Kzekiel Oilman Robinson, D. D., long the president of Brown
University,
MRS. SARAH ROBINSON ATHERTON, 1OO YEARS OLD, JUNE I, I QOO.
3 George Jr., born February 21, 1656, who married, Nov.
17, 1680, Elizabeth Guild and was my ancestor.
4 Elizabeth, born April 3, 1657, married, April 18, 1685,
William Carpenter, who was the clerk of the proprietors Land
Records of Rehoboth and Attleboro.
5 William, born March 29, 1662, who never married. He
was a weaver. His will was dated July 10, 1690, and proved
May 19, 1691.
6 Benjamin, born January 8, 1664, married, July 30, 1693,
Rebecca Ingraham.
7 John, born November 29, 1668, married, first about 1690,
Mary - (perhaps Mary Cooper), and second, August 8,
1698, Judith Cooper, daughter of Thos. and Mary Cooper. John
inherited from his father the old home place previously men-
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 65
tioned and was the ancestor of Mrs. Samuel Atherton (Sarah
Robinson) of Peru, O., who was 100 years old on the ist of June,
this year, and whom to-day you have elected an honorary member
of your association.
8 Nathaniel the last child, was born November i, 1673,
and died an infant on the gth of November of the same year.
There is a legend in the family of Preserved Robinson, who
was born in Attleboro, March 27, 1786, a son of Ezekiel, who
was the grandfather of the Rev. Ezekiel Oilman Robinson, D. D.,
previously mentioned, that their ancestor George Robinson, came
over from Scotland at the age of sixteen, and purchased from the
Indians in 1640 the farm of 250 acres, which the Rev. Ezekiel
Oilman Robinson, D. D., inherited, and which his son now
occupies.
Perhaps it was front this same source that the Rev. George
Robinson, born in Attleboro, November 23, 1754, a Baptist min-
ister of Killingly, Conn., West Bridgewater and Harvard, Mass.,
and Wilmington, Vt. , obtained his information for his little
pamphlet, published in 1831, entitled "Genealogy and Family
Register of George Robinson, late of Attleboro, Mass., with some
account of his ancestors. Compiled in 1829."
The first page of this register, a little book 3^ inches by 6
inches containing 36 pages of printed matter and as many more of
blank pages, gives this information : " Mr. George Robinson was
son of Nathaniel Robinson who was the son of George Robinson,
who came from Scotland about 1680, and settled in Attleboro,
Mass."
The facts are that George Robinson instead of coming from
Scotland about 1680, was born in Rehoboth, Mass., on the 2ist
of February 1656, and married in Dedham, November 17, 1680,
Elizabeth Guild. All of his nine children were born in Rehoboth,
Mass. The birth of Nathaniel, which Mr. Robinson fails to state,
was February I, 1692; his death, August 1,1771, when the com-
piler of the register was 27 years of age — Nathaniel being 32
years of age when his father died.
Some six years ago I spent a day with George H. Robinson
at his home in Seekonk, now a part of the original farm of the
first George of Rehobo.th. He has a fine residence not far from
the old farm house built by George, Sr., about 1660, which I vis
ited with much interest. I learned that originally the whole broad
side of the house opened like a door through which, in winter, a
66
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
yoke of oxen attached to a sled loaded with a large log, was
driven into the kitchen in front of the open fire place which oc-
cupied the entire end of the house, when the log was rolled upon
the fire, making what was known in those days as the ' ' back
log ' ' of the fire.
Through the kindness of Mr. Robinson I obtained some old
wills and deeds, which came from the attic of the old house,
which were from one hundred to two hundred years old. One
of the documents dated March 25, 1734, bore the signature of
John Robinson who was born on the 2Qth November, 1669, a son
MOVING THE "BACK LOG " FOR THE KITCHEN FIRE.
of the first George, and was a deed from him of the old home
place to his son Jonathan.
Another paper bore the signature of John's brother George,
my great-great-great-grandfather, and was a deed 182 years old,
of George to John, which bore the date of February 13, 1718.
The seals on both of these documents placed opposite the
signatures were in sealing wax and bore the imprint of what is
supposed to have been a signet ring upon which had been en-
graved a coat of arms which is herewith reproduced from an
enlarged photograph of the same. .
On another deed of John2 Robinson to his son Jonathan3,
bearing the date of March 10, 1725, was the sealing wax imprint
of a stag trippant, which I have also reproduced from an enlarged
photograph, evidently the crest of the coat of arms. The imprint
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 67
of this crest also appeared on another deed of John to his son
Jonathan, dated Sept. 21, 1737.
The finding of these imprints on the seals of these old deeds
go far towards substantiating the claim made by some of the
descendants that George1 Robinson of Rehoboth, the emigrant,
brought over with him from the old country a parchment coat of
arms which was in colors, gold, green, red and black ; that it
was handed down from father to son in the line of Preserved5
Robinson, (Ezekiel4, Ebenezer3, Samuel3, George1 ) until unfor-
tunately lost some forty or more years ago.
Ezekiel4 Robinson was the grandfather of the Rev. Ezekiel6
Gilman Robinson D. D., of Brown University, in whose family
IMPRINT OK COAT OF ARMS ON DEED OF FEBRUARY I}, 1718.
the parchment coat of anus was well remembered by a niece of
his, who for a time was the custodian of the document, and pro-
nounces the device on the seals of the deeds as identical with the
parchment coat of arms.
The Robinsons of Rehoboth and Attleboro were all patriotic
in the Revolution. My great-grandfather, Enoch Robinson was
captain of a company which marched to Roxbury the evening of
April 19, 1775, after the news of the battle of Lexington and
Concord. My grandfather, Rev. Otis Robinson, was but ten
years of age at the time, and wild to accompany his father, as
also was his brother, Obed, two years his senior. Hoth of these
lads on arriving at the age of fourteen enlisted in the army. My
68
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
4;
^ W/^r^^^S^^^y^^ ^V'fy?'
, i^^^^^^^^S^K^^
^%^^*mii^^^^^ ;;i
^,9-O^t^v /fd-^c /-^t^^c. otCM/jjt. >?«(>/?/,,«
^ ft &«?$*&?&</ 4/k'-^,.
/ /• , s'7.-' - , . *. f> " " - f \
PHOTO COPY OF DEED OF GEORGE8 ROBINSON TO MIS BROTHER JOHN, DATED FEB. IJ, \"J\8.
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 69
grandfather, who was a little under the regulation height, stood on
his tip- toes when measured, so fearful was he that he might be
rejected on that account. Thirty others who bore the name of
Robinson, all his near relatives, were in the service.
Enoch Robinson his father, had a contract with the govern-
ment for gun locks which he manufactured at Robinsonville,
Attleboro Falls, Mass., where later 011 was manufactured
" pinchbeck " jeweller}-, which was an alloy of copper and zinc,
resembling gold. Peddlers travelled on foot from the factory
into Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York,
selling their wares. Here was also established the first metal
IMPRINT OF STAG TRIPPANT ON DEED OF MARCH I O, I 725.
button factory in the United States, by Obed and Otis Robinson
in 1812.
What would these two pioneers in the business now say
could they but visit the Attleboro jewellery establishments and
inspect the goods now manufactured on the sight of their old
factory ?
It was from my effort to trace the ancestry of George Rob-
inson of Rehoboth that I was led to investigate other lines of
Robinsons.
The first Robinson in America whom I find a record of was
with Captain John Smith in Virginia. His Christian name is
not given. On the loth of December, 1607, Capt. John Smith
started up the Chickahominy River to trade with the Indians.
7O ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
He left the camp at Jamestown in charge of a Mr. Robinson and
Emery. On his return, a month later, January, 8, 1608, he
found that both Robinson and Emery had been killed by the
Indians.
In 1620, Richard Robinson came from England at the age
of 22, in the ship " Bonaventure" bound for Elizabeth City, Va.
A John Robinson, aged 21, came from England in the "Mar-
garet and John " for Virginia in 1622.
James Robinson at the age of 35, came from England in the
ship "Swan" for James City in Virginia in 1623.
Matthew Robinson at the age of 24, came from England in
the ship " Hopewell " for Elizabeth City, Va., in 1623.
Isaac Robinson at the age of 2 1 , came over from England in
the ship " Lyon " in 1631, for Massachusetts. He was the son
of the Rev. John Robinson of Leyden, and the ancestor of all the
Robinsons in America, who are descendants of the Rev. John,
as there is no evidence that his widow and other children
ever came over to this country as has been claimed by several
writers.
It almost passes belief that so little should be known, as is
now known, of the Rev. John Robinson of Leyden, the father of
the Pilgrims. It is not known for a certainty where he was
born, and nothing whatever of his parentage. It is supposed
that he was a native of some parish in Lincolnshire, Eng. , and
we also find the statement that he was in the " enjoyment of a
living" — a pastorate — near Great Yarmouth, in the county of
Norfolk. The year of his birth has been established by that of
the record of his death at Leyden, Hoi., at the age of 50, on the
ist of March, 1625. His remains lie beneath the pavement of
St. Peters Church in Leyden. From a census of the inhabitants
of Leyden in 1622, we learn of the members of his family, which
comprised Bridget White, his wife; his son John at the age of 16;
daughter Bridget, 14 years of age; son Isaac, 12; daughter Mercy,
10; daughter Favor, 8, and Jacob, an infant born Feb. 7, 1621.
Very many have been led astray by a little book bearing the
title " Items of Ancestry," published in 1894, in which the com-
piler makes this statement :
" Nicholas Robinson, born at Boston in Lincolnshire, in
1480, was the first mayor appointed in 1545 by King Henry VIII.
His son Nicholas2 Robinson, born in 1530, was the father of
Rev. John Robinson (of Leyden), born 1575."
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 71
There is not a scintilla of evidence that the Rev. John Rob-
inson of L,eyden was the son of Nicholas2 Robinson. There is
no son John in the record of the list of his children, and nothing
whatever to warrant the statement. We trust that it will be the
good fortune of this association to win the gratitude of America,
by discovering the birthplace and ancestral line of this most noted
man.
Robert Robinson, at the age of 41 or 45 (both ages are given)
came over from England in the ship ' ' Christian ' ' for Massachus-
etts, March 16, 1634. This may have been the father of the
Robert Robinson of Newbury, Mass., whom Coffin, the historian
says, was born in 1628, and married Mary Silver, Oct. 26, 1664.
In 1635 a Charles Robinson and an Eliza Robinson came to
Massachusetts, but I find no further record concerning them.
On the I yth of June, 1635, the ship " Blessing " brought to
Massachusetts, Nicholas Robinson, aged 30, Elizabeth aged 32,
Kate aged 12, Mary aged 7, John aged 5, and Sara aged \y2. I
find no further record of this family.
On the 1 6th of Sept., 1635, Isaac Robinson, at the age of 15,
embarked for Lynn, Mass., in the ship " Hopewell." I have
found no further record of him.
There was a Patrick Robinson and a Releaster Robinson who
embarked for Massachusetts in 1635. Neither their ages nor the
name of the ship are given, and no further records of them have
been found by me.
In 1635 William Robinson was booked for Massachusetts.
It has been thought that this William may have been the William
of Dorchester, in the memory of whose son Increase you have
gathered to-day.
Be that as it may, I find at the New England Historical
Rooms in Boston, the English publication of Joseph Meadows
Cowper, published 1892, which comprises the Canterbury mar-
riages, births and deaths in the parish of St. Dunstans, 1568-1618.
Under the date of Oct. 14, 1637, I find the marriage record of
" William Robinson of St. Dunstans, Canterbury, bachelor, about
21, married at Patrixbourne, Margaret Beech, same place, virgin,
of the like age, daughter of Agnes Beech, alias Streeter, now
wife of Mr. Streeter of the same place."
From the fact that William Robinson of Dorchester is on
record as having for his first wife Margaret - - and second
wife Ursula (Streeter) Hosier, is it not possible that this William
72 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
Robinson of St. Dunstans, Canterbury was the William of Dor-
chester ?
The Streeter genealogy, by Milford B. Streeter, of Brooklyn,
N. Y., published in 1896, says that Ursula Streeter was the
daughter of Stephen and Ursula Streeter of Gloucester, Mass.,
in 1642, and Charlestown, Mass., 1644, and that Ursula first
married, Oct. 13, 1656 or 1657, Samuel Hosier of Watertown,
who died July 29, 1665; that her second marriage was about 1666
to William Robinson of Dorchester.
Seven by the name of Robinson embarked from England for
Virginia in 1635, they were
John, June 6, age 19, ship "Thomas and John."
John, age 32, Matthew, age 24, June 23, ship " America."
Thomas, July 24, age 24, ship " Assurance."
Henri, July 26, age 26, ship " Primrose."
Joyce, Aug. 15, age 20, ship " Globe."
Mary, Aug. 21, age 18, ship " George."
And for St. Christopher, Jan. 6, 1634, on the ship " Barba-
does " was Edward Robinson at the age of 18.
In 1635 there were eight by the name of Robinson who were
booked for the Barbadoes, viz :
David, at the age of 20, John, at the age of 19, both on the
ship " Bonaventure," April 3.
Thomas, at the age of 31 , on the ship "Ann and Elizabeth,"
April 24.
William, at the age of 26, on the ship " Matthew," April 21.
John, at the age of 19, on the ship " Expedition," Nov. 20;
Thomas, at the age of 15, on the same ship Nov. 15.
Leonard, at the age of 20, on the ship " Falcon," Dec. 19,
and James, at the age of 15, on the same ship Dec. 25.
In the fourth series of the Massachusetts Historical Collec-
tions, Vol. 4, page 560, we find a letter of Brampton Gurdon to
Gov. Wentworth in which he states that ' ' Robinson that lived
at little Waldenfield, England," came over in 1636 with his wife
and six children in company with Mr. Nathaniel Rogers.
In 1639, Jeremiah Robinson from Singleton, Southampton,
England, was on board of the ship "Virgin," May 30, at the
age of 28, for the Barbadoes.
Under the date of April n, 1637, Ellen Robinson, age not
given, sailed from ' ' England in the ship ' ' Mary Ann ' ' for
Massachusetts.
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 73
Under the date of May 12, 1652, in the ship "John and
Sarah ' ' from England for Massachusetts were the following
named Robinsons, no ages given, viz:
Alester, Charles, Daniel, James, John and Patrick.
In 1664, Joseph Robinson aged 19, came over from England
to Ipswich, Mass.
There was a close relationship in trade in early times between
the Barbadoes and New England, and we find family connections
also, and it is quite likely that the Robinsons in both places were
related to a greater extent than we now find recorded.
The town records of Salem show that William Robinson and
his wife Isabella were residents of that town as early as 1637.
He was a tailor by trade, and they had children : Ann, born
Dec. 3, 1637; Samuel, born Jan. 26, 1640, died 1678; Mary, born
March 12, 1643; Timothy, born April 20, 1644, died 1668; Esther
born May 28, 1646; Martha, born Feb. 2, 1647, lived four days;
John who died in 1678, and Joseph.
In this same year, 1637, Anna Robinson, a widow, was ad-
mitted into the first church in Salem, also a Mrs. Robinson, is
recorded in 1638, with two in her famil}% as sharing three-fourths
of an acre of marsh and meadow lands. A John Robinson was
also admitted as a member of the church in Salem this year.
The number of the families in Salem in 1638 was about
225.
On the 3oth of March, 1640, a grant wras made in Salem of
one-half an acre of land to Norris Robinson who had two in his
family.
On the 2nd of June, 1641, John and Richard Robinson were
admitted as freemen of the Massachusetts Colony at Salem. On
the 1 8th day of May, 1642, William Robinson was admitted as a
freeman of Salem, as was also another of the same name on the
27th of December of this year.
On the 4th of February, 1647, there is a record of Dorothy
Robinson's marriage in Salem to Edward Faulkner.
In 1648 a Thomas Robinson, Sr. , and Jr., are on the tax list
of Ipswich.
The will of John Robinson, a wheelwright of Ipswich was
proved on the 30th of March, 1658. He left no children.
March i, 1657, is the date of the death of John Robinson of
Ipswich. This may have been, and probably was the father of
John Robinson, who, with eleven others from Ipswich and New-
74 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
bury were the first settlers of Haverhill, Mass., in 1640. There
was also a Joseph Robinson living in Ipswich at the age of 19,
in 1664.
To Thomas Robinson, of Boston, a cordwainer by trade, and
his wife Margaret, a daughter Jane was born Sept. 16, 1646. On
the death of Margaret he married Sarah, whose surname is not
given.
In 1640 Thomas Robinson was a member of the Church at
Roxbury. He had a wife, Silence, and brother Joseph and
William and a sister Elizabeth who married a Wells.
John Robinson was made a freeman of Dorchester hi 1641.
There was a Richard Robinson of Charlestown, Mass., who was
made a freeman June 2, 1640. He had a wife Rebecca and
children: John and Richard who were baptized May 31, 1640.
By some it is said that he was a brother of John Robinson of
Dorchester.
July 2, 1640, Thomas Robinson was defendant in a suit in
court at Hartford. This Thomas is claimed to be the ancestor of
the Robinsons of Guilford, Conn.
One Thomas Robinson is on record at Scituate, Mass., as
being "able to bear arms" in 1642. He was a deacon of a
church. I^ater he removed to Boston where he died on the 23d
of March 1665 or 1666. His will was dated on the 1 7th of March
of the same year, in which he mentions his son John as a mer-
chant in England. He was married three times; first to Mar-
garet by whom he had five children, viz :
John, born about 1635, the merchant in England.
Samuel, born about 1637, a merchant in Boston who died a
single person, Jan. 16, 1661-2.
Josiah, an apprentice to Joseph Rocke, a merchant who mar-
ried a sister of Thomas Robinson's first wife. He died in Boston
April 17, 1660.
Ephraim.born about 1641 , who died in Boston, Sept. 22, 1661 •
Thomas Robinson's second marriage was to Mrs. Mary
Woody, the widow of John Woody of Roxbury, and the daughter
of John Cogan of Boston, by whom he had five children :
Thomas, baptized in Scituate, March 5, 1653-4, died June,
1700.
James, born in Boston, March 14, 1654-5, died Sept. 4, 1676.
Joseph, baptized in Scituate, March 8, 1656-7, died April,
1703.
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 75
* Mary, baptized in Scituate, Feb. 28, 1657-8, died an infant.
Mary, baptized in Scituate, Nov. 6, 1659, who married Jacob
Greene of Charlestown, Mass., and died Sept. 22, 1661.
Thomas Robinson's wife, Mar}- Cogan Woody, died Oct. 26,
1 66 1. His third marriage was to Mrs. Elizabeth (Locks) Sher-
man, widow of Richard Sherman of Boston. This Thomas Rob-
inson was the ancestor of a family of Robinsons who settled in
Barre, Hardwick and Rochester, Mass.
There was a Thomas Robinson, Sr. , in New Haven, Conn.,
Jan. 4, 1643, and on the 1st of July, 1644, both Thomas Robin-
son Sr. and Jr. , took the oath of allegiance there.
There was a Francis Robinson who was a resident of Saco,
Me., in 1643, who was called as a counsellor in the interest of
Ferdinand Gorges and Captain John Mason in the matter of the
large land grants called " Laconia Grants." This grant was
made Aug. 10, 1622. The territory covered was bounded by the
rivers Merrimac, Kennebec, the river of Canada (now the St.
Lawrence) and the Ocean.
Abraham Robinson died in Gloucester, Mass. , on the 23d of
February, 1645. His son Abraham is said to have been the first
child born on that side of Massachusetts Bay. A long line of
Robinsons are descended from him, of which is the Hon. David
I. Robinson, late Mayor of that city.
There is the record of the marriage in Boston, Feb. 21, 1653,
of James Robinson, a mariner, to Martha Buck. They had four
children : Sarah, born in Boston, March 24, 1659; John, born in
Boston, Sept. 17, 1662, and who died Aug. 13, 1663; James, born
in Boston, July 21, 1667; Elizabeth, born in Boston about 1669.
In 1673 he gave his estate in trust to John Hall and Thomas
Brattle for the use of himself and wife during life, then for his
daughters Sarah and Elizabeth. From this we may safely infer
that his son James was not then living.
There was a Thomas Robinson on the tax list of Salisbury,
Mass., May 18, i6=>2.
One Nathaniel Robinson, of Boston, a mariner, and his wife
Damaris - - had six children, all born in Boston, vi/ :
Nathaniel, born Aug. 29, 1655; Elizabeth, born Feb. 24, 1056-7;
David, born Feb. 10, 1666; Mary, born June 22, 10(18; Robert,
born July 28, 1(171; Damaris, born Dec. 29, 1674. The daughter
Mary died in Dorchester, Jan. 21, 1718. Damaris married in
Boston, May 3, 1699, Ebenezer Dennis.
76 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
A Thomas Robinson was a resident of Long Island, N. Y.,
in 1657, and was one of the patentees in a land grant under Gov-
ernor Dongan in 1686. From him are descended probably the
most of the Robinsons now on Long Island.
George Robinson of Boston, was married by Governor Endi-
cott, to Mary Bushnell, Oct. 3, 1657. She was born in Boston,
Dec. 12, 1638, and was the daughter of John and Martha Bush-
nell. George Robinson was one of the first members of the first
fire engine company in Boston. The records of Boston give only
three children born to George and Mary Robinson, there were
probably others. The three children were George, born March
30, 1658; John, born Dec. 6, 1661; Martha, born March 31,
1665. '
Mention is made on the records only of the son George who
married first, Dec. 28, 1680, Sarah Beale, who died in Needham,
May 5, 1 703. His second marriage was to Sarah Behoney, Aug.
4, 1703. She was born in Boston Aug. 12, 1688, the daughter
of Peter and Sarah (Ball) Behoney. George and Sarah (Beale)
Robinson's children were all born in Needham, viz: Beriah, born
Jan. 7, 1684; George, born July I, 1685; John, born March 4,
1688; Ebenezer, born Sept. 22, 1692; Samuel, born Oct. 13, 1695.
By his second wife Sarah Behoney, there is a record at
Needham of two children born to them: David, born May 5,
1 704, and Jonathan, born Feb. 4, 1 705.
At Marlboro there is the record of the birth of Dorothy Rob-
inson, Feb. 20, 1709, and a Hannah Robinson, date not given.
Some descendants claim them as children of this George and
Sarah.
The Robinsons of Needham, Dudley and Webster, Mass.,
and Hartwick N, Y., are from this line, with a long line of de-
scendants from Maine to California.
We find a David and Jonathan Robinson as residents of
Exeter, N. H., from 1657 to 1683. They, with Stephen and John
Robinson, were probably the sons of John Robinson of Ipswich,
who was one of the first settlers of Haverhill, Mass., and who
removed to Exeter, N. H., in 1657, and was killed by the Indians
in 1675. He was also the ancestor of William Robinson who
founded the Robinson Female Seminary at Exeter, and the Sum-
merville Academy at Summerville, Ga., as also of the Robinsons
of Exeter, Brentwood, Epping, Raymond, Newmarket, Hampton
and adjoining New Hampshire towns.
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
77
Rowland Robinson, who was born in Long Bluff, Cumber-
land, Eng., came to this country in 1662 and at first resided in
Newport, R. I., afterwards at Narragansett. He married in
1675, Mary, the daughter of John and Mary Allen of Barnstable,
Eng. Mr. Robinson and his wife were Quakers and were the
ancestors of the Robinsons of Narragansett, Newport, R. I., and
KOWI.AND E. ROBINSON.
New Bedford, Mass. Mrs. Hetty (Robinson) Green, the richest
woman in America, is a descendant. vShe was the daughter
of Edward Mott Robinson of New Bedford and New York, from
whom she inherited the foundation of her fortune.
Vermont claims as her son an illustrious descendant of Row-
land Robinson, the emigrant, in the personage of Rowland K.
Robinson, Vermont's celebrated blind author, artist and poet,
born in Ferrisburg, Vt., May 14, '1X33, a great-great-great-grand-
son of the first Rowland.
78 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
Mr. Robinson is the youngest of four children and inherited
the homestead which his great-grandfather, Thomas, located in
the Green Mountain State, in 1791, then just admitted into the
Union.
It fell to the lot of youthful Rowland to follow the plough,
fora time, on. his father's farm. But with that inborn desire,
inherited from his mother, Rachel Gilpin, the daughter of a
New York artist, for a visible display of nature as he saw
it, he was led to seek employment in New York City as a
draughtsman and wood engraver, in which vocation his skill
from 1866 to 1873 enlivened the pages of Harper's, Frank
Leslie" s and other illustrated periodicals.
HOME OF ROWLAND E. ROBINSON, FERRISBURG, VT.
But there was the old longing ever uppermost, for the fields
and woods, rod and gun. Besides, the exacting night work pre-
ceding publication days, bore most heavily on his eyes, never
strong, constantly admonishing him to return to the Green Hills
of his native State.
His most fortunate marriage with Miss Anna Stevens, in
1870, a woman of high intellectual ability and indomitable energy,
decided his future. He returned to his farm, where since then
his creations have emanated to gratify the true lovers of nature.
Stimulated by his wife, he applied his genius and pen in
contributing to the American Agriculturist, depicting the life of
game animals and birds. Other sketches followed which ap-
peared in Forest and Stream, on whose editorial staff he was
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 79
appointed and still remains to-day. His first magazine article,
" Fox Hunting in New England," appeared in Scribner' s in 1878.
Later it was incorporated as a chapter in the Century Company' s
" Sport with Rod and Gun." He became a contributor to The
Century, Harper' s, Scribner's, The Atlantic and Lippincotf s Maga-
zine and others, illustrating with pen and pencil his productions.
Mr. Robinson began to have serious trouble with his eyes in
1887, which within a year left him almost totally blind, and all
too soon afterwards the light of day was shut out forever from
his vision. This was far, however, from incapacitating him in
his labors. Some of his most enjoyable productions have been
issued to the public through the means of a grooved board used
by him in spacing and guiding the lines of his manuscript, which
is afterwards prepared for the press by his faithful wife and
daughter.
His books, "Uncle 'Lisha's Shop," "Sam Level's Camps,"
" Danvis Folks," " Uncle 'Lisha's Outing," " A Danvis Pioneer"
and " In New England Fields and Woods" are largely of a dialect
nature, but a faithful reproduction of Vermont Yankeeisms and
the French Canuck of sixty years ago.
Mr. Robinson stands among the first in the list of dialect
writers. His " Antoine's Version of Evangeline " is one of the
best specimens of his skill, a few lines of which I give :
'•M'sieu Fores' Strim :
" One evelin we'll set by the stof-heart, a smokin tabacca,
As fas' as de chimney was smokin de spruce an' de balsam.
M'sieu Mumsin he'll mos' mek me cry wid his readin' a
story, was write, so he say, by a great long American
feller,
Baout a Frenchmans, he'll lose of hees gal 'long go, in
Acadie,
You'll hear of it, prob'ly, haow one gone on one sloop, one
on anodder."
But Mr. Robinson is as gifted in his choice of English, and
is also regarded as authority on the history of his State. At the
request of the publishers of the American Commonwealth Series
he wrote a valuable volume of the series, " Vermont a Study of
Independence." Years before he showed ability of a high type
in his chapter on Ferrisburg for Miss Hemenway's Gazetteer of
Vermont. His books are widely read and are regarded as
authoritative in the field where they have won their fame.
8O ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
Mr. Robinson* is an invalid and a great sufferer from an
internal cancer, and yet he is not despondent, but with the aid
of his energetic wife, is still prosecuting his work and adding to
his fame as Vermont's distinguished blind author in his new
manuscript story of " Sam Level's Boy."
William Robinson resided in Braintree, Mass., in 1662, but
who he was or from whence he came I have been unable to learn.
Stephen Robinson who was taxed for land on Oyster River,
in Dover, N. H., in 1663, was probably Stephen, the son of
John of Exeter.
James Robinson of Dorchester, married, Sept. 27, 1664, Mary
Alcock, who was born in 1645, and died in Dorchester on the i3th
of March, 1718. She was without doubt related to Thomas
Olcott, the proprietor of a lot in Cambridge, Mass., in 1640, who
later on removed to Hartford, Conn., and her name should
properly be spelled Olcott in place of Alcock.
Samuel Robinson of Hartford, Conn., had by his wife, Mary,
five children, all born in Hartford : Sarah, born 1665; Samuel,
born 1668; Mary, 1672; John, 1676; Hannah, 1679.
Thomas Robinson, a resident of New London in 1665, mar-
ried Mary Wells, daughter of Hugh Wells. They had children,
Thomas, Samuel and several daughters.
James Robinson was a resident of Scarboro, Me., in 1666.
He married Lucretia Foxwell by whom he had four daughters,
names not given.
Nathaniel Robinson, of Boston, in his will filed March 2nd,
1667, mentions his brother Jonathan and sister Mary, but no
wife or child.
John Robinson of Topsfield, Mass., by his wife Dorothy
Perkins, had seven children: Samuel, born Nov. 22, 1668;
Thomas, born March 18, 1671; John, born Jan. 16, 1673; Daniel,
born Sept. 16, 1677; Jacob, born June 2, 1680; Dorothy, born
Dec. 8, 1682; Joseph, born Dec. 16, 1684.
William Robinson, living in Watertown, Mass., in 1670,
upon a farm situated on a narrow neck of land, claimed by both
*Mr. Robinson died in his own home at Ferrisburg, in the same room
in which he was born, on the 15th of October, 1900, at the age of 67. The
Vermont legislature, then in session, jointly passed resolutions of regret and
condolence, paying high tribute to his memory. He is survived by his
devoted wife and loving daughters, Mary and Rachel, the latter a cherished
member of our Association.
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 8 1
Concord and Watertown, but wholly in Watertown, married,
probably in Cambridge, Mass., as early as 1667, Elizabeth Cutter
who was born in Cambridge, July 15, 1645, a daughter of Richard
Cutter and his wife Elizabeth Williams. She was born in Eng-
land about 1626, and came to Massachusetts with her father,
Robert Williams, who was born in 1608, and was by trade a
" cordwayner " in Norfolk, county of Norwich, England. They
sailed for America on the "John and Dorethy " on the 8th of
April, 1637. The daughter- was admitted to the church in Rox-
bury, Mass., in 1644, and died in Cambridge on March 5, 1662.
Of the ancestry of William1 Robinson I will speak presently.
William1 Robinson and his wife, Elizabeth Cutter, had seven
children, viz.:
i st. Elizabeth2, born in Cambridge in 1669, who married,
Dec. 20, 1693, Daniel Maggrigge of Watertown.
2nd. Hannah Ann2, born in Cambridge, July 13, 1(171, died
in Cambridge Oct. 5, 1672.
}d. William2, born in Cambridge, July 10, 1673, married
Elizabeth Upham and died in Newton in 1754.
4th. Marcy2, born in Cambridge, Aug. 7, 1676.
5th. David2, born in Cambridge, May 23, 1678.
6th. Samuel2, born in Cambridge, April 20, 1680, died in
Westboro in 1724.
7th. Jonathan2, born in Cambridge, April 20, 1682.
William2 married Elizabeth Upham and removed to Newton
where he had a large farm in what is now Auburndale, where he
was one of the selectmen of the town. David2 was lame and
helpless and died single. Samuel2 married twice, first to Sarah
Manning, March 23, 1703, and second to Elizabeth Bingham,
Oct. 16, 1711, daughter of Captain Samuel Bingham of Marl-
boro', Mass.
Samuel2 Robinson was the father of Samuel3 Jr., who was
born April 19, 1707, and married in May, 1732, Mary Leonard
of Southboro', Mass., and resided for a short time in Graf ton.
Mass., moving from thence to Hardwick, Mass., in the spriirg
of 1735. He was captain of a military company in the old
French War and in 1748 was stationed at Fort George. On his
return to Massachusetts he took the Hoosac River route, a branch
of which carried him to what is now Bennington, Yt. The fer-
tility of the soil attracted his attention to such an extent, that
later on he induced a company of his associates to join him
82 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. -
in purchasing a former grant of this territory made by Governor
Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire. This was accomplished
in 1761, and in the month of October of this year, with his fam-
ily and others, removed to Vermont and made the first settlement
at Bennington, where he was very prominent in political matters,
being appointed the first magistrate of the territory.
Mr. Robinson was with the original settlers in the land
grant controversy between New York and New Hampshire, in
which the State of New York, through its Governor, claimed
jurisdiction over the territory of Vermont, and made grants of
land which had been previously granted by the Governor of
New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth (and from whom Benning-
ton received its name). Sheriffs under Governor Golden, of New
York, were sent into the territory to evict settlers holding grants
under Governor Wentworth. This gave rise to the famous com-
pany of bold and fearless men styled "Green Mountain Boys,"
under the command of Col. Ethan Allen and Seth. Warner. Mean-
time a petition to the King was drawn up, signed by over one
thousand of the settlers and grantees asking not only for relief
against the New York patents, but to have the jurisdiction of the
territory restored to New Hampshire. Samuel Robinson was
chosen to bear this petition to England and to lay their griev-
ances before the King. On this mission he sailed from New
York on the 25th of December, 1766, arriving in Falmouth on
the 3oth of January following, and immediately proceeded to
London, where he met with much opposition from the New York
combination of wealth and influence. However, notwithstanding
the great disadvantage under which he was placed, and without
prestige or money, he succeeded in obtaining from His Majesty
an order under date of July 24, 1767, prohibiting the Governor
of New York " Upon pain of His Majesty's highest displeasure,
from making any further grants whatever of the lands in ques-
tion till His Majesty's further pleasure should be known con-
cerning the same."
Mr. Robinson remained in London for several months look-
ing after the interests of the petitioners. Unfortunately he was
taken down with the small pox in the month of October of the
same year which culminated in his death on the 27th of the
month. He was buried in London.
While the decree of the King acted as a temporary stay
upon the Governor of New York, it was not until the breaking
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 83
out of the Revolutionary war, when the lesser trouble was lost
in the greater struggle for independence, that New York, for a
time, ceased to claim further jurisdiction over this territory.
In 1776 Vermont petitioned the Provincial Congress, then in
session in Philadelphia, for admission into the Confederacy, but
being opposed by New York they withdrew. In' 1777 Vermont
declared her independence, and in July of the same year, again
applied for admission into the Confederacy, but was again
refused. Four years later, Congress offered to receive her with
a considerable curtailment of her boundaries, but this her indig-
nant people refused. In 1790 New York had evidently grown
MRS. SARAH. ROBINSON COLLECTING GENEALOGICAL RECORDS.
tired of the contention and offered to relinquish, for the sum of
$30,000, all claims to territory or jurisdiction in the State. To
this Vermont acceded, and this is the price she paid to be ad-
mitted into the Union on March 4, 1791, after fourteen years of
independence.
This Samuel3 Robinson branch of the Robinsons have been
very prominent in the affairs of Vermont, two of his descendants
having been governors of the State.
Mrs. Sarah (Harwood) Robinson, daughter of Peter and
Margaret Harwood, of Bcnnington, born Oct. 3, 1775, and wife
of Samuel Robinson of Bennington, who was born Jan. 5, 1774,
a great-grandson of the first Samuel, compiled a small book
which was published in 1837, entitled a "Genealogical History
of the Families of Robinsons, Saffords, Harwoods and Clarks."
84 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
Her information was collected under difficulties and obtained
in journeying over the country on horse-back. She made an
error at the outset, in the department devoted to the Robinsons,
in the statement that Samuel Robinson was born in Bristol,
England, in 1668, and emigrated to Cambridge, Mass., where he
died in 1730. We now know that he was born in Watertown,
Mass., April 20, 1680, and died in Westboro', Mass., in 1724,
and that he was a son of William Robinson of Watertown, M*ass. ,
previously mentioned as married to Elizabeth Cutter. He may
have come over from Bristol, England, but I find no evidence
that it was his native town. I am inclined to think him a
brother of George1 Robinson of Boston.
Another line of Robinsons sprang from Joseph Robinson, who
was born in 1644-5, and died on the i^th of June, 1719. He
married on the 3Oth of May, 1671, in Andover, Mass., Phebe
Dane, a daughter of Rev. Francis Dane of Andover. They had
five children, all born in Andover:
Dane, born Feb. 2, 1671, died Dec. 3, 1753, married Jan. 18,
1693, Mary Chad wick.
Dorothy, born Feb. 21, 1673, died Dec. 23, 1675.
Joseph, born - - 1678, died April 9, 1761, married March
20, 1706-7, Elizabeth Stevens.
Phebe, born July 21, 1682, married in 1710, John Johnson.
Hannah, born July 6, 1685, probably died young.
There seems to be some confusion as to dates respecting
Jonathan Robinson of Exeter, N. H., who undoubtedly was a
son of the John Robinson who was the first to settle in Haver-
hill, Mass., and removed to Exeter in 1657. One statement is
that he was born about 1648, married Elizabeth - — , and
died Sept. lo, 1675; that an inventory of his estate is on record
at Salem; that his wife Elizabeth, and son David, administered
upon the estate which was submitted to the court held at Hamp-
ton Falls, N. H., in 1676.
Another statement is that Jonathan Robinson, born about
1648, was a resident of Exeter, N. H., 1657-1716; that his will
was dated in 1710, and proved in 1716; that he took the oath of
allegiance Nov. 30, 1677, at Exeter, N. H.; that he was " tything
master" in 1678, and one of the selectmen in 1695, and joined
the church in 1698; that he married Sarah — — about 1670,
and had eight children all born in Exeter, viz. :
John2, born Sept. 7, 1671, will proved July 7, 1749.
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 85
Sarah2, born Oct. 29, 1673.
Hester2, born Aug. 12, 1677.
Elizabeth2, born Sept. 6, 1679.
Jonathan2, born July 9, 1681, died about 17^8.
David3, born July 28, 1684, removed to Stratham; died after
1767.
James2, born Dec. 7, 1686; removed to Stratham; (called
Captain James).
Joseph2, born May I, 1691; removed to Haverhill Oct. I,
1698, living in Exeter, 1710; died after 1767; married, had a son
Joseph.
A careful examination of all the records would doubtless
remove the obscurity surrounding this Jonathan1.
A Samuel Robinson died in Fairfield, Conn., in 1674 leaving
a widow and perhaps children.
There was an Andrew Robinson of Charlestown, Mass. , who
married Elizabeth — , and had two daughters : Elizabeth,
born in 1677, and Mary, born in 1679.
Both daughters were baptized on the loth of October, 1693.
Elizabeth was recorded as 16 years of age and her sister Mary
as 14. The father, Andrew, was on the tax list in Charlestown,
Aug. 21, 1688.
January 16, 1679, Christopher4 Robinson of Cleasby, county
of York, England, received the appointment of secretary to Sir
William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, and came to America.
He was born in 1645. He was a great-grandson of John Robin-
son of Crostwick, parish of Ronaldkirk, England, who was
born about 1550 and married Ann Dent. This John was the
great-grandfather of the Right Rev. John Robinson, D. D., who
was born in 1650, and was Lord Bishop of London in 1710 and
1714. He died in London in 1723.
Christopher4 Robinson died in 1690. He married Eli/.abeth
Potter, a daughter of Christopher Potter, and was the father of
Col. John8 Robinson, who was commonly called " Speaker Rob-
inson," and who was President of the Council in 1734, and mar-
ried Catherine Beverly, daughter of Robert Beverly, Esq., of
Virginia, formerly of Beverley, Yorkshire, England. They had
seven children among whom was Col. Beverly6 Robinson, a com-
manding officer in the British Army in the Revolutionary \Yar.
This branch of the Robinsons, being torics in the Revolu-
tion, were banished from the country, and their property confis-
86 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
cated. Some returned to England, others went to New Bruns-
wick, Nova Scotia and Toronto, in Canada, where they were
given grants of land by the English Government for their fidelity
to the King. A few descendants have returned to New York
within the past forty years.
Col. Beverly6 Robinson was born in 1722, and died in 1792.
He married in 1748, Susannah, the eldest daughter of Frederick
Philipse, Sr., and his wife Joanna, the youngest daughter of
Anthony Brockholes, the fourth governor of New York after its
cession by the Dutch to Great Britain.
Col. Beverly6 Robinson had large estates in New York.
From the first of the trouble writh America and the mother
country his sympathies were entirely with England. At the
commencement of the war he raised two battalions, principally
from his own tenantry, and joined the British army. He held
an important staff situation during the greater part of the hostil-
ities, and at the end forfeited his vast property, which, had he
been on the winning side, might have made him the Rothschild
of America.
Col. Beverly6 and Susannah Robinson had ten children,
seven of whom, five sons and two daughters, reached maturity,
viz. :
Beverly7 Jr., a colonel in the arm}-, who married Miss Ann
Dorothea Barclay and had fifteen children.
Morris1, a lieutenant colonel in the arm)", married Margaret
a daughter of Dr. Waring.
John7, who married Elizabeth, a daughter of Judge Ludlow,
and became Speaker of the Assembly in New Brunswick.
Susannah Maria7, born in 1761 and died unmarried in 1833.
Joanna7, born in 1763, and who married the Rev. R. Slade,
rector of Thornbury, England.
Sir Frederick Philispe7, K. C. B., a lieutenant-general in
the army, who married first, Grace Bowles, the daughter of an
Irish gentleman. His second wife was a Miss Fernyhoe, of
Strafford, England.
Sir William Henry7, K. C. H., a commissionary general in
the army, who married Catherine, a daughter of Cortland
Skinner, Esq., attorney general of New Jersey.
In consequence of Col. Beverly Robinson's adherence to the
King, the large estates which he held at Frederickburg, High-
lands upper patent, Philipse Manor, property at Tarrytowai
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 87
and Yonkers-on-the-Hudson, in right of his wife, were confis-
cated by the American Congress.
The English government, in consideration of this loss, gave
"compensation money" to Frederick Philispe, the father-in-law
of Col. Beverly6 Robinson, as the head of the family, ,£60,000,
and to the children £\ 7,000 each. The smallness of the sum
was accounted for on the ground that by the terms of the treaty
of peace the estates would be secured to the family, and especially
so, as L,ieut. Col. Roger Morris, who married Mary6 a sister of
Col. Beverly Robinson's wife, had, before entering the British
army, made over his property to his children, some of whom
remained lawful to the American cause.
The American government was not aware of this transaction,
and it wTould have evolved a law suit to establish the claim, which
was not then deemed advisable. Finally the matter was left
with Capt. Henry Gage Morris, a son of Lieut. Col. Roger
Morris, who, in 1809, in behalf of himself and the heirs, sold all
their reversionary rights to the property for the sum of £20,000
to John Jacob Astor. This was probably but a tithe of the value
of the confiscated property as it must then have had a value of
several millions of dollars.
Thomas Robinson appears as a resident of Wallingford, Conn,
in 1680. His daughter, Saint, was married on the iSth of August
of this year to Bezabeel Lattimer.
Jacob Robinson married in New Haven, Sarah Hitchcock,
in 1690, and had six children all born there:
John2, born Dec. 3, 1691, married Mary Barnes.
Thomas2, born Dec. 5, 1693.
Sarah2, born Dec. 24, 1695, married Samuel Bradley.
Hannah2, born Feb. 24, 1698.
Mary2, born about 1700, married Moses Sanford.
Eliakim2, born April 2, 1706, was named for his grandfather
Hitchcock.
It is not impossible that this Jacob Robinson was the Jacob
who was the son of Isaac2 Robinson of Barnstable. a son of the
Rev. John1 of Leyden.
A Thomas Robinson who, by his wife Lydia, daughter of
Nathaniel Ackley of Kast Hadden, Conn., had a daughter Mary,
born in East Hadden, Conn., Aug. 23, 1(195, who married Charles
Williams. This Thomas may also have been a son of Isaac
Robinson of Barnstable. If our supposition is correct it will
account for the two sons of Isaac Robinson not otherwise located.
88 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
Samuel Robinson, an old sea captain of Massachusetts, born
about 1700, had three children: Seth2, Jonathan2, and a son
Joseph-, born about 1734, who married Rpsannah, and had ten
children, among whom was Nathan3, born April 22, 1764, and.
died Dec. 2, 1860, who resided in Shaftsbury, Vt., and moved to
Floyd, Oneida, Co., N. Y. He was the father of Joseph Lee4,
Asenath4 and Ebenezer4 Robinson, who joined the Mormons in
1830. The latter, with others, set the type on the first Mormon
Bible, when but 18 years of age. All three of these Robinsons
were with the Mormons when they were driven from Oneida,
N. Y., to Nauvoo, 111., and from thence across the plains to
Utah. Later, when the doctrine of polygamy was promulgated,
Ebenezer4 strenuously opposed it, removing to Davis City, Iowa,
where he published a monthly called " The Return," in which he
denounced the system of polygamy and urged the return of the
Mormons to the true and original faith as promulgated in the
Mormon Bible. It may not be generally known that the Mormon
Bible is very outspoken in its condemnation of polygamy, but
such is the fact. I have received many very interesting letters
from Ebenezer4, also from his brother Joseph Lee4, who em-
braced the doctrine of polygamy and took unto himself five
wives. As may be presumed there is a long line of descendants
from this branch of the family.
William Robinson of Swansey, who married Martha Bourne,
May 26, 1720, and had five children, was in all probability the
son of William of Salem. Many of the descendants in this line
were Quakers.
Gain Robinson of Bridgewater, who was born in Ireland in
1682, and died in East Bridgewater in 1763, came to Massachu-
setts about 1720, landing at Plymouth. He resided awhile at
both Braintree and Pembroke, but finally settled in East Bridge-
water. Three of his great-great-grandsons, viz. : Increase4,
Charles4 and Enoch4, were quite prominent in the iron business
in Taunton and Bridgewater and have many descendants.
Gain Robinson may have been a brother, and probably was,
of Thomas Robinson, an emigrant from Ireland about the same
date, and who settled in Donegal, Lancaster County, Pa., and is
the ancestor of the Rev. T. H. Robinson, D. D., a professor of
theology in the Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny City,
Pa.; also of Henry Robinson, another emigrant from Ireland
about the same date, who settled in Eastern Pennsylvania, and
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 8q
from whom the Hon. Henry Robinson, Ex-Governor of Iowa, is
a descendant. It is also said that another brother came over
with the others and went East. This may have been the Dr.
Moses Robinson, who was in Gushing, Me., as early as 1727,
and left a long line of descendants. Both Gain and Moses had
an Archibald and other children bearing the same names.
Traditional history places the ancestors of these emigrants
among the "Covenanters in the early part of the seventeenth
century. In the course of events, the church of Scotland, which
was Presbyterian, decided to purge itself from every form of
Popery, retaining its own simple form of worship. Thereupon
arose a most terrible and cruel persecution of the Covenanters."
It was after enduring a long season of untold suffering that
a company of this persecuted people decided to leave Scotland
and colonize in the north of Ireland. In this company were
Gain Robinson, his brothers and sisters, father and mother.
A Josiah Robinson said to have come from Uxbridge, Mass.,
married Anna Buxton, in 1738, and settled in Spencer, Mass.,
leaving a long line of descendants.
There was a John Robinson who married at Kittery, Me.,
Dec. 10, 1722, Sarah Jordan. It also appears that there was a
John Robinson born in Kittery, July 8, 1709, a son of Captain
John and Martha Robinson. It was probably one of these Johns
who worked on Fort William Henry, on Goat Island, in 1723.
There was also a John Robinson, at Cape Elizabeth, Me., who
married Mehitable Woodbury in 1738, from whom the Hon.
Frank W. Robinson, the Mayor of the city of Portland, Me., is
descended.
In closing this long list of Robinson ancestors the question
arises, whence did they come? Surely there must be a com-
mon ancestor, only a generation or two further back, for some
of the number at least? Research of the Old Country records
establishes the fact that the Robinsons originated in the north of
England, in the counties bordering on Scotland, a hardy yeomanry,
bearing as their armorial ensign the stag trippant. And to-day
the stag in some form is the principal feature in the arms of all
Robinsons.
Henry Bouglunan Guppy, M. B., in his " Homes of Family
Names in Great Britain" published in 1890, says that "The
name ot Robinson has its great home in the North," that the
Robinsons, are "distributed all over England, except in the
OX> ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
southwest where the name is either absent or extremely rare.
The great home is in the Northern half of the country, the
numbers rapidly diminishing as we approach the South of Eng-
land. Northamptonshire may be characterized as the most
advanced stronghold of the Robinsons on their way to the
metropolis. ' '
On searching the American records, for the connecting
family links with the mother country, the conviction becomes
almost firmly established that, with few notable exceptions, our
Robinson ancestors sought to eliminate all trace of their ancestry,
and to sever all connection with the land of their nativity.
Notwithstanding this we have every incentive to push forward
our good work, for hidden in some obscure recess we will be
sure to find the object of our search.
If the silent graves in our cemeteries could but speak, our
longing for knowledge would be appeased. But our legacy is — '•'
search thoroughly every record with the determination to win
from obscurity every item of information, then the victory will be
ours.
Some twelve months or more ago, we read in one of the best of
our New York dailies a long communication from Boston, setting
forth the investigation of Spiritualism by Prof. James H. Hyslop,
of Columbia University, through Richard Hodgson, 1,1,. D., of
Cambridge University, the head of the American Branch of the
Societ)r for Psychical Research, and his celebrated medium, Mrs.
L. A. Piper. The article further stated that the late Bishop
Phillips Brooks had become deeply interested in Mrs. Piper's
sittings in the last years of his life; also Prof. James of Harvard,
Prof. Newbold of the University of Pennsylvania, the Rev. Minot
J. Savage, W. D. Howells, Dr. S. Weir Mitchell of Philadel-
phia, Prof. Langley of the Smithsonian Institute, Profs. Shaler,
Trowbridge, Norton and Nichols of Harvard, and William E.
Gladstone.
With the feeling that here was an open door for obtaining
information from our ancestors, and that we must let no oppor-
tunity pass, I addressed a letter to Prof. Hodgson, outlining the
information desired, suggesting that it would be an excellent
test of Mrs. Piper's power to communicate with departed
spirits, and that no person in America could have the slightest
information as to the knowledge we sought, but that time
and money would be spent to investigate the truth of what
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 9!
she might impart. The following is the reply received from the
Professor :
AMERICAN BRANCH
OF THE
Society for psychical Research.
RICHARD HODGSON, LL. D.,
SECRETARY AND TREASURER.
5 BOYLSTON PLACE.
BOSTON, MASS., July 28, 1899.
CHARLES E. ROBINSON, ESQ.,
Dear Sir : — Your letter of July 151)1 reached me only this morn-
ing, owing to its being misaddressed.
I regret that there will not be any opportunity of putting any
enquiries on your behalf through Mrs. Piper. She stopped sitting
several weeks ago, and will not resume until about next November.
Further, her trances are arranged chiefly by the trance personali-
ties themselves. Very little opportunity is given to make any en-
quiries at all on behalf of outsiders, and very little opportunity is
given, indeed, for outsiders to have any sittings. I have had for a
long time a very long waiting list of persons who have prior claims,
and I cannot hold out any hope that we shall be able to make any
enquiries on your behalf.
Enclosed please find circulars of our Society.
Yours sincerely,
R. HODGSON.
Imagine my disappointment and dismay on reading this
epistle from the Professor. No information was to come to us
through the mediumship of Mrs. Piper. She was not of that
oracular school. I trust some of you may be more fortunate
than myself in seeking for knowledge in the spirit land.
But as to the origin of the name of Robinson. Who was
the first to bear the name and where did he live ?
In speaking of this a few days ago to a most worthy Chris-
tian lady, whose good opinion I most highly prize, I made the
remark that it has only been about nine hundred years that the
people had surnames. This started the good woman on her
favorite theme, and led her to make this rejoinder : ' Why, Mr.
Robinson, how can you say this, have you forgotten your Bible ?
Just read the i6th verse of the 3rd chapter of St. Mark where it
says : 'And Simon he surnamed Peter.' '
92 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
As I may be again called to account, should I fall into the
same error, it is well that I keep on the safe side and say that
nine hundred years ago the people were in clans without sur-
names, except as one tribe was designated from another and all
bore the same common surname.
From the earliest advent of articulate man names must
have been given to tribes of humanity, to animals, to places and
things. How else could they have been distinguished ?
From the historical works on this subject we learn that the
earliest of personal names are those which indicate not an in-
dividual but a group, made up naturally of kinsmen and so desig-
nated for reasons of convenience.
Previous to the year 1000, family names were entirely un-
known. Sixty to seventy years later, on the ascendency of
William the Conqueror, to the throne of England, surnames began
very slowly to be adopted, but so little progress did it make that
another hundred years passed before it had extended much be-
yond the higher nobility, and even as late as the year 1300 the
old custom still clung of designating a person by his or her
given name.
On the advent of William the Conqueror, the Anglo-Saxon
gentry adopted the Christian names brought over by their king,
of William, Robert, Richard and Henry, in place of their Anglo-
Saxon names, Alfred, Edgar, Egbert and Ethelred. Later on,
during the reign of Henry III., 1216 to 1272, it became impera-
tive among the gentry to assume surnames, indeed it became a
matter of disgrace not to have a double or family name.
We read that the marriage of the natural son of Henry I., to
the wealthy heiress of Baron Fitz-Hamon wras objected to by the
lady in these words :
" It were to me a great shame.
To have a lord with outen his twa name."
It was during the time of the " pet name epoch," so called,
which dated from about the year eleven hundred, that the nick-
name of Robin appeared from the Teutonic name of Robert.
From Robin to Robinson was but a step.
There is probably no other surname more prolific in its
legendary character than that of Robin and Robinson. In this
connection we call to mind the beautiful legend of the robin
plucking a thorn from the crown Christ wore when bearing His
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 93
cross. "As Christ bore His cross to the place of His crucifixion,
wearing the crown of thorns on His brow, a robin alighted upon
His head and plucked from the crown a thorn which pierced its
own breast, dyeing it not only with its own blood but with that of
our Saviour, thus becoming the ancestor of our Robin-red-breast
of to-day."
It was the robin who covered the babes in the woods with
a blanket of leaves when left by their cruel uncle to their fate,
and a friend informs me that to this day children refrain from
throwing stones at the robin.
The celebrated Robin Hood lies buried, we are told, at
Kirkless, once a Benedictine nunnery, in Yorkshire, England,
with the following remarkable inscription on his tombstone :
" Here undernead dis laitle stean
laiz robert earl of huntingtun
near arcir ver az hie sa geud
and pipl kauld in robin hood
sick utlawz az hi an iz men
vil england niver si agen
Obiit 24 (1214) Kal Dekembris 1247."
" Robin Hood's Wind." This, in Lancaster, is the name given
to a wind that blows during the thawing of the snow, and
derives its name because it is alleged that Robin Hood
once said that he could stand any wind except a thaw wind.
"All round Robin Hood's barn." This simply means the corn
fields in his district.
"Robin O' the Wood." This is the first mention of Robin
Hood in English literature, and is found in the B text
(second version) of Skeat. The date is supposed to be
about 1377.
"To sell Robin Hood's pennyworths," says Fuller in his
"Worthies," is " spoken of things sold under half their
value, or, if you will, half sold half given."
"Robin Hood Festival." This is an ancient festival held on
the first and succeeding clays in May. and from which
undoubtedly originates our celebration of the first day of
May.
"Robin of Redesdale." Under his leadership fifteen thousand
farmers and peasants, in 1468, marched to Banbury and
captured the Earl of Pembroke.
94 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
" Robin of Doncaster. " The History of Doncaster, England,
by Dr. Edward Miller, contains this enigmatical epitaph :
" How, How, who is hear
I Robin of Doncaster and Margaret my feare
that I spent that I had
that I gave that I have
that I left that I lost
A. D. I579-"
'.' Bonny Sweet Robin," was the tune to a ballad in (594, en-
titled, "A doleful adew to the last Erie of Darby."
" Robin Concience." This is a quaint poem written by Martin
Parker and bears the date of August 3, I 579. It is said
to have been the second book published by John Walley.
It bears the title of ' ' Robin Concience with i j Songs in i i j
parts. ' ' It purports to give the trials of ' ' Robin in his Pro-
gress through Court, City and Country; with his bad Enter-
tainment at several Places ' ' in search of an honest man.
I have time and space for but a few stanzas :
" I have been quite through England wide,
With many a faint and weary stride.
To see what people there abide,
that loves me :
" Poor Robin Concience is my name,
Sore vexed with reproach and blame ;
For all wherever yet I came,
reproach me.
" To think that Concience is despised,
Which ought to be most highly prized :
This trick the devil hath devised,
to blind men ;
" 'Cause Concience tells them of their ways,
Which are so wicked now-a days.
They stop their ears to what he says,
unkind men.
AT THE MERCHANTS.
" Quoth he, " Friend Robin, what doest thou,
Here among us merchants now?
Our business will not allow
to use thee :
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 95
" For we have traffic without thee,
And thrice best, if thou absent be ;
I for my part will utterly
refuse thee."
WITH THE MILLER.
" Away with Concience I'll none such,
That smell with honesty so much ;
I shall not quickly fill my hutch
by due toll ;
" I must for every bushel of meal,
A peck, if not three gallons, steal,
Therefore with thee I will not deal,
Thou true soul."
" Robin Goodfellow. " This is the title of " a curious jest book,
published in 1639." A copy was sold about fifty years
ago for £25. IQS.
" Robin Cushions, " is the name given in England to a green moss,
turf tipped with crimson.
" Round Robin." This is said to have originated in Yorkshire,
the English home of an ancient Robinson family. " In
the East Riding of Yorkshire the term is designated of a
petition in which all the names are signed radiating from a
center so as to render it impossible to discover who was
the first to sign it. ' '
The name of ' ' Round Robin ' ' is also given in Eng-
land to a small pan cake ; also to a sacramental wafer.
In Dr. Peter Heylin's controversy, over his church His-
tory, with the Rev. TJiomas Fuller, he says: "The
sacrament of the Altar is nothing else but a piece of
bread, or a little predie round robin."
" Robins Last Shift," was the title of a Jacobite newspaper, "or
Weekly Remarks and Political Reflections upon the most
material news. Foreign and Domestic, by George Flint,
Gent. , London, printed by Isaac Dalton, in the year 1717."
There were but eleven issues of this publication when it
was suppressed for its unsparing severity of the conduct
of James II. and his adherents.
"Robins," as the cognomen of a political party, may have been
a revival of the title of "Robins" which was given
to the opponents of Mr. John Coventry (son of the
96 ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMF.RICA.
Lord Keeper) who, in the interest of the Court, was a
candidate for Somersetshire. Why they were so called I
have not been able to learn.
"Robinson Crusoe." Daniel Defoe evidently gave this name
to the heio of his world-wide read story after a family by
the name of Robinson Cruso (without the final e) living
at King's Lynn, Norfolk. We are told in English "Notes
and Queries ' ' that ' ' the name has been borne by father
and son from time immemorial."
When Defoe was attending school at Stoke Nevving-
ton he associated with a student by the name of Cruso
who ma}' have been of this King's Lynn family.
Umbrellas were called ' ' Robinsons ' ' when first introduced into
England. In France, for a century, they went by the
name " Un Robinson." William Bates of Birmingham,
England, in a paper of fifty years ago, says the name
originated " from the huge umbriferous machine beneath
which the hero of Defoe sheltered himself on his island
from the ardor of a tropical sun."
"Robinson." This is the name given to a rustic garden by a
Parisian hostess, "reviving an old fashion of the days of
Marie Antoinette, who often gave ' Robinsons ' at the
Trianon or St. Cloud."
" Quicker than Jack Robinson." Francis Gross, the English
antiquarian and historian, tells us that this expression
came from the action of a most volatile individual by the
name of John Robinson who, in calling upon his neigh-
bors would disappear before his name could be announced.
But to return to the origin of our family name of Robinson.
It came from some man of olden times who was known by the
name of Robert and who had a favorite son to whom he gave
the pet nick-name of Robin, this Robin having a son who went
by the name of Robin's son, or for short, Robinson. We must
not, however, fall into the error of supposing that the name
originated from any one Robert, as it was a common name in
many clans.
Many familiar surnames have been derived from Robert.
That of Robarts, Roberts, Robertson, Robins, Robison and
Robson. Then we have the nick-name of Dob for Robert, from
which has come Dobbs, Dobson, Dobbins, Dobinson, Dobbinson
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA. 97
and Dobynette, and from Hob, another nick-name for Robert,
has come Hobbs, Hobson, Hobbins, Hopkins and Hopkinson.
Then from the Welsh we have Ap-robert, Ap- robin, Probert and
Probyn.
Many surnames were derived from the location of the resi-
dence of the individual. Thus a family living on a hill, who
had previously been known by the name John, would be identi-
fied as "John on the Hill," which in the course of time would
be shortened to John Hill. His children would first be known
as " John's sons," and later on some bright, pushing member of
the family would adopt the name of John Johnson. In like
manner an individual living near a small stream of water, who
was known by the name of Robert, would be identified as Robert
JOHN ON THE HILL. ROBERT BY THE BROOK.
by the brook, or in time as Robert Brook. His first favorite son
might bear the pet-name Robin which in another generation
would develop into Robinson. Thus we see how impossible it is
to tell from what Robert the name of Robinson first came.
But who can say that the origin of the name will not some
day be known. With all the wonderful researches now being
pushed forward with so much vigor in Egypt, and the astonish-
ing finds that are made, may it not be possible to trace our
family back even to Adam ?
Within the ancient city of Nippur, a considerable portion of
whose walls have been laid bare, parts of which were built more
than four thousand years before Christ, who knows but what we
98
ROBINSONS — EARLY EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA.
may read the story on some monument yet to be unearthed
whereon is recorded the story of Adam and his downfall ; of his
expulsion from the garden of Eden ; of the mighty wind which
carried his companion and himself in a cloud of dust far out into
an unknown land where he lay insensible for a time ; of his
search for Eve, and when found, of their grief over their unfor-
tunate condition, and vows of repentance for their sin ; how in
the midst of their deep sorrow they were visited by a bird bear-
ing in its beak a seed from the apple which had been the cause
of their great calamity ; of the planting of the seed in the earth
by Adam's own right hand, with the prayer that it might grow
into a tree whose branches thereof would cover his children's
children ; of his naming the land after the bird who brought the
seed, that it might henceforth be known as the land of Robin
and the people thereof as Robinsons.
PHOTO CUT OF THE EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR.
MEMBERS OF
ROBINSON FAMILY GENEALOGICAL
AND HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
HONORARY MEMBER.
Atherton, Mrs. Sarah Robinson Peru, Huron Co., Ohio.
LIFE MEMBERS.
Brewer, Professor William H 418 Orange St., New Haven, Conn.
Robinson, Mr. Charles Edson 319 Warburton Ave., Yonkers, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. Charles Kendall 529. Second St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Robinson, Charles P., Esq 31 Nassau St., New York.
Robinson, Daniel Webster, Esq Burlington, Vt.
Robinson, Miss Emily E 1513 Corcoran St., Washington, D. C.
Robinson, Franklin, Esq 203 Cumberland St., Portland, Me.
Robinson, Mr. Frederick A Maiden, Mass.
Robinson. Hon. Gifford Simeon Sioux City, Iowa.
Robinson, Mr. Roswell R Maiden, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Willard E Maiden, Mass.
Verner.Mrs.Murry A. (Birdie Barbara Bailey), Cathalyce Parke, Pittsburgh, Pa.
MEMBERS.
Armstrong, Mrs. Mary A. Robinson Adrian, Mich.
Atherton, Mr. George Watson Peru. O.
Austin, Mr. C. Downer P. O. Box 1225, New York City, N. Y.
Barbour, Mr. Edward Russell 49 Neal St., Portland, Me.
Beeman, Mrs. Phebe Stone P. O. Box 624, Warren, Mass.
Boynton, Mr. Edgar A Hornellsville, N. Y.
Brenniman, Mrs. C. D Brooklyn, Iowa.
Brett, Mr. George Greenwood 50 Cedar St. , Somerville, Mass.
Brigg, Martha Anna Robinson . 150 Pitman St., Providence. R. I.
Bronson.'Mrs. E. P. (Ida Robinson) 1704 Hayes St., Nashville, Tenn.
Butler, Mrs. Ellen Robinson Peru, Ohio.
Carter, Miss Martha C 143 Main St., Oneida, N. Y.
Catlin, Mrs. Mary Robinson 304 So. First St., Rockford, III.
Chargs, Mrs. Julia C., Box 65 Central Square, Oswego Co., N. Y.
Cobb, Miss Jessie 65 Clinton Place, Newark, N. J.
Cogswell, Mrs. William (Luella Childs) 117 Summer St., Medford, Mass.
Cole, Mr. L. D Newburyport, Mass.
100 MEMBERS OF ASSOCIATION.
Comey, Miss Hannah Robinson Foxboro, Mass.
Comey, Mr. John Winthrop 52 West 54th St., New York, N. Y.
Comey, Miss Vodisa J Foxboro, Mass.
Comings, Mr. Alfred Cario, 111.
Comings, Mr. Uriel L P. O. Box 550, Windsor, Vt.
Crawford, Mrs. Mark L. (Annie C.). . . .'. ...27 Iowa Circle, Washington, D. C.
Crumb, Mrs. Adelaide V. (Kilburn) 147 Main St., Oneida, N. Y.
Gushing, Mrs. Hannah Robinson Pawtucket, R. I.
Cushman, Mr. Willard Robinson Attleboro Falls, Mass.
Danielson, Mr. Simeon Danielsonville, Conn.
Dean, Miss Bertha L 22 Clinton St., Taunton, Mass.
Dean, James H., Esq 94 Dean St., Taunton, Mass.
Dean, Mr. N. Bradford ' 88 Dean St., Taunton, Mass.
Devoll, Mrs. Mary R. G Long Plain, Mass.
Donavan, Col. John St. Joseph, Mo.
Douglass, Mr. Willard Robinson. ...New York Life Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
Dow, Mr. Herbert B 136 Congress St. , Boston, Mass.
Dow, Mrs. Judith Ellen Robinson 75 Front St., Exeter, N. H.
Dows, Miss Amanda . Cazenovia, N. Y.
Dyer, Mr. Benjamin F South Braintree, Mass.
Elmes, Mr. Carleton Snow North Raynham, Mass.
Farson, Mrs. Robert Bruce (Clara M. C.) St. Charles, 111.
Farwell, Mrs. John V 109 Pearson St., Chicago, 111.
Feakins, Mrs. Martha Kirk Kirkland, 111.
Fuller, Mrs. A. C 99 Union St. , Blue Island, 111.
Fuller, Mrs. Mary R 101 Austin St., Cambridgeport, Mass.
Gilmore, Mr. Abiel P. R Long Plain, Mass.
Gilmore, Mrs. Chloe C. D Long Plain, Mass.
Gordon, Mrs. Lillian Sophia Robinson u Major St., Toronto, Can.
Goward, Mr. William E Easton, Mass.
Graves, Mr. Charles B New London, Conn.
Hall, Mrs. George G. (Isabela Martha) 78 Beacon St., Boston, Mass.
Hall, Mrs. Herbert E. (Emily A) Taunton, Mass.
Hammond, Mrs. Ashley King (Jessie Robinson).
5727 Delmar Ave., St. Louis, Mo.
Hammond, Miss Cora E Boonton, N. J.
Harnden, Mrs. M. J Rowland, Iowa.
Harris, Mr. Charles 68 Mason Bldg., Boston, Mass.
Haskins, Mrs. H. M. R McLean, N. Y.
Hayman, Mrs. Mattie Knox 301 East 7th St., Little Rock, Ark.
Heath, Mrs. Bertha R 13 Garden St., Nashua, N. H.
Hemingway, Mrs. Celia E. R McLean, N. Y.
Hitch, Mrs. Louisa A. R 119 Mill St., New Bedford, Mass.
Holman, D. Emory, M. D 330 West 57th St., New York, N. Y.
Holmes, Miss Mary E Sharon, Mass.
Hubbard, Mrs. Charles D. (Gertrude Robbins) Erie, Pa.
MEMBERS OF ASSOCIATION. 1O1
Jenkins, Mr. E. H.( (Director Conn. Agricultural, Experimental Sta.)
New Haven, Conn.
Jenkins, Mr. James Jr 80 Washington St., Oshkosh, Wis.
Jenkins, Mrs. Robert E. (Marcia Raymond).. 89 E. Madison St., Chicago, 111.
Jones, Mrs. Calista Robinson Bradford, Vt.
Kauffman, Mrs. J. S York St. , Blue Island, 111.
Kennedy, Mr. Elijah Robinson 33 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Keyes, Mr. Arthur H Rutland, Vt.
Kimble, Mrs. E. M 322 High St., Rowland, Iowa.
Kirk, Mrs.J. Frank (Abbie F. Robinson) 264 Pleasant St., New Bedford, Mass.
Lacy, Mrs. Mary Robinson Dubuque, Iowa.
Lakin, Mrs. Augusta A Bennington, N. H.
Larned, Mr. Charles 1025 Tremont Bldg., Boston, Mass.
Leach, Mrs. Agnes Amelia (Robinson) Franklin, N. H.
Lee, Mrs. Frederick H 20 William St., Auburn, N. Y.
Leech, Mrs. Angeline Box 297, Frankfort, N. Y.
Lewis, Mrs. J. F. Sumner Foxboro, Mass.
Linnell, Mr. John W., Jr Maiden, Mass.
Litchfield, Mr. Wilford J Southbridge, Mass.
Little, Mrs. G. Elliotte (Mary Robinson) 640 West End Ave., New York.
Lothrop, Mrs. Elizabeth H North Raynham, Mass.
McClelan, Hon. Arthur R Riverside, New Brunswick, Can.
MacLachlan, Mrs. Harriet R 550 Chenango St., Binghamton, N. Y.
Miller, Miss Carrie E 36 Cottage St., Lewiston, Me.
Miller, Frank, Esq., Pres. D. O. Mills Bank Sacramento, Cal.
Mower, Mr. Calvin Robinson. Box 474, Rockford, 111.
Norton, Mrs. Mary J Wood's Hole, Mass.
Osgood, Mrs. Mary Satterfield Estherville, Iowa.
Packard, Mrs. Fred. L. (Josephine A.) i . . .North Easton, Mass.
Paine, Mrs. Walter J 120 Tremont St., Boston, Mass.
Payson, Mrs. Julia A Box 344, Medfield, Mass.
Penniman, Mr. Bethuel New Bedford, Mass.
Penniman, Mrs. Eliza A 3 Elm St., Quincy, Mass.
Penniman, Mr. George W Clinton, Mass.
Pelton, Mrs. F. Alaric (Mabell Shippie Clarke) Arden, N. C.
Pettee, Mrs. Maria W Foxboro, Mass.
Pierce, Mrs. H. F Tekamah, Neb.
Pinney, Mrs. Wm. H. (A. Augusta Robinson)
350 Central St., Springfield, Mass.
Pitcher, Col. David Austin 821 A Union St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Poor, Mrs. Janette H. South Exeter, Me.
Potter, Miss Emma 322 Irving Ave., Syracuse, N. Y.
Price, Mrs. E. R North Attleboro, Mass.
Richmond, Mrs. Howard 32 George St., Providence, R. I.
Richmond, Mrs. L. M Klburn, 111.
102
MEMBERS OF ASSOCIATION.
Robinson, Mr. Albert William.
Robinson
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Ricker, Mrs. Lizzie P .............. 217 West Boylston St., Worcester, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. A. Warren ...................................... Napa, Cal.
Robinson Miss Adelaide A ......................... North Raynham, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Adrian G .................... 504 Central Ave., Hanford Cal.
. P" °' E™ 2933- Boston, Mass.
I I Monadnock St., Dorchester, Mass.
Mr. Alfred J ............................ 4 State St., Bangor, Me.
Mrs. Annette ..................... . ...... North Raynham, Mass.
Miss Annie E ................ 20 Webster Ave., Somerville, Mass.
Mr. Arthur ................................... Clear Lake, Minn.
Mr. Benjamin F ....... 603 North Pine St., Colorado Springs, Col.
Prof. Benjamin Lincoln ........ 42 Shepard St., Cambridge, Mass.
Mr. Bernard Noyes .............. 134 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
Caroline D ........................................ Castine, Me.
Capt. Charles A., 104 West Chelton Ave.,
Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mr. Charles D .................................. Newburg, N. Y.
Mr. Charles E ..................... 140 Oxford St., Portland, Me.
Mr. Charles F ........................... North Raynham, Mass.
Mr. Charles H ................. 264 Dayton Ave. , St. Paul, Minn.
Mr. Charles H .......... 322 Fourth Ave. No., Great Falls, Mont.
Mr. Charles L ......... Western National Bank, New York, N. Y.
Capt. Charles T ...................... Broadway, Taunton, Mass.
Mr. Clement F .................................. Brunswick, Me.
Mr. Cyrus R ............................... East Concord, N. H.
Hon. David I ................................ Gloucester, Mass.
Mr. Denison ........................... ..... Hewlett Hill, N. Y.
Dr. Edwin Putnam .................. 12 High St., Newport, R. I.
Miss Emily A .................................... Exeter, N. H.
E. M ............................................. Phillips, Me.
Miss Flora B ..................... P. O. Box 344, Medfield, Mass.
Mr. Frank C .............................. East Taunton, Mass.
Mr. Francis Walter ...... 15 Thetford Ave., New Dorchester, Mass.
Hon. Frank Hurd ........................... Hornellsville, N. Y.
Mrs. Franklin (Martha A. S.)..2O3 Cumberland St., Portland, Me.
Mr. Fred. W ..................... 458 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
Mr. George A ............................ West Mansfield, Mass.
Mr. George F ................ 20 Webster Ave., Somerville, Mass.
Mr. George H .................................. Pawtucket, R. 1.
Mr. George O ....................... Moffat Bldg., Detroit, Mich.
George O., Esq ................................ South Paris, Me.
Mr. George Rensselaer.. Chestnut, Cor. I2th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
Mr. George W ...................................... Elburn, 111.
Dr. Hamlin Elijah ............................... Mary ville, Mo.
Mr. Harold L ................................... Uniontown, Pa.
Mrs. Harriet H ..................... 35 Lincoln St., Maiden Mass.
Miss Hannah B ................................ Somerset, Mass.
Miss Helen M ...... ............................. McLean, N. Y.
Miss Helen R .................................... Maiden, Mass.
Robinson, Hon. Henry ...................... . ...... Box 5, Concord, N. H.
MEMBERS OF ASSOCIATION.
103
Robinson, Mr. Henry M Danbury , Conn.
Robinson, Mr. Herbert L 322 Fourth Ave. No., Great Falls Mont.
Robinson, Mr. Herbert S Paxton, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Herbert Woodbury Box 1839, Portland, Me.
Robinson, Brig. Gen. H. F Phoenix, Ariz.
Robinson, Mr. Horatio Alvin 13 Garden St., Nashua, N. H.
Robinson, Mr. Horace Ravenna, Neb.
Robinson, H. S Andover, Mass., and 60 State St., Boston, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Increase Waterville, Me.
Robinson, Miss Jane A Maiden, Mass.
Robinson, Dr. J. Blake 217 Cumberland St., Portland, Me.
Robinson, Mr. James Bartlett 307 Wethersfield Ave., Hartford, Conn.
Robinson, Mr. John C Middleboro, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. John H 55 Kilby St., Boston, Mass.
Robinson, Dr. John H Homer, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. Joseph H Farmington, Utah.
Robinson, Rev. Joseph H Pelham Manor, N. Y.
Robinson, Rev. Julian B West Boylston, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Leonard Leland Hotel, Emporia, Kas.
Robinson, Miss Lillian L St. Cloud, Minn.
Robinson, Miss Maria L 178 Main St., Orange, N. J.
Robinson, Miss Marie D 40 Somerset Ave., Taunton, Mass.
Robinson, Martha G 19 Walden St., Lynn, Mass.
Robinson, Miss Mary B Chester, Place, Wellsborough, Pa.
Robinson, Miss Mary C Q3 Chandler St., Worcester, Mass.
Robinson, Miss Mary C 44 Thatcher St., Bangor, Me.
Robinson, Miss Mary Elizabeth 140 Oxford St., Portland, Me.
Robinson, Miss Mary Gay Guilford, Conn.
Robinson, Miss Myra S 91 Cottage St., Pawtucket, R. I.
Robinson, Mrs. O. P. (Mary Louise) '..56 East Third St., Corning, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. Orin Pomeroy 56 East Third St., Corning, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. Orlando G Raynham, Mass.
Robinson, Prof. Oscar D 501 State St., Albany, N. Y.
Robinson, >Ir. Philip Eaton 284 High St., Medford, Mass.
Robinson, Miss Rachael Ferrisburg, Vt.
Robinson, Dr. Reinzi Danielson, Conn.
Robinson, Miss Sarah D Box 368, Bloomington, 111.
Robinson, Miss Sarah G Middleborough, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Sam S Linden Lake, Mich.
Robinson, Mr. Samuel R Antrim, N. H.
Robinson, Mr. Samuel S Box 126, Pontiac, Mich.
Robinson, Miss Sarah J 178 Pleasant St., Attlehoro, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Silas Luce, Neb.
Robinson, Mr. Solomon D Falmouth, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. Sylvanus Smith Metamora, 111.
Robinson, Mr. Thomas Box 35, Dedham, Mass.
Robinson, Rev. Wm. A., D.D 115 East Main St., Middletovvn, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. William A 49 Drummond St., Auburn, Me.
Robinson, Mr. William A Gloucester, Mass.
IO4 MKMBERS OF ASSOCIATION.
Robinson. Mr. William H West Chazy, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. William H 375 Main St., Worcester, Mass.
Robinson, W. G Oswego, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. William L East Gloucester, Mass.
Robinson, Mr. William M 29 Madison Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Robinson, Mr. William Philip Auburn, N. Y.
Robinson, Mr. William Whipple 117 So. Olive St , Los Angeles, Cal.
Rowland, Rev. L. S Lee, Mass.
Ruggles, Mr. Henry Stoddard Wakefield, Mass.
Sherman, Hon. Buren Robinson Vinton, Iowa.
Sherman, Miss Evelyn M Waterloo, Iowa.
Sherman, Miss Florence Belle Waterloo, Iowa.
Sherman, Mr. James P Waterloo, Iowa.
Sherman, Mr. Ward B 315 41 st St., Chicago, 111.
Sinclair, Mr. John E Station A, Worcester, Mass.
Southworth, Mrs. A. C Lakeville, Mass.
Spaids, Mrs. Susan E 3245 Indiana Ave., Chicago, 111.
Spaulding, Mr. Edward Russell 40 Purchase St., Boston, Mass.
Speare, Mrs. Alden (Caroline M.) 1023 Centre St., Newton Centre, Mass.
Stebler, Mrs. Jordan (Ellen Walker).. Madison & Eutaw Sts., Baltimore, Md.
Stanford, Mrs. Lydia F. R Chatsworth, 111.
Steenburg, Mrs. Laura H Burdick, Kas.
Storms, Mrs. Lucretia R Boston, Mass.
Stotesbury, Mrs. Sarah Louise 6362 Sherwood Road, Philadelphia, Pa.
Tracy, Mrs. Sarah D. R Raynham, Mass.
Verner, Miss Alyce Chip Cathalyce Parke, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Verner, Miss Catharine Bailey. Cathalyce Parke, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Verner, Master James Parke Cathalyce Parke, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Waterman, Mrs. Zeno (Sarah Wood Robinson).g Everett St., Taunton, Mass.
Weeks, Mrs. Edmund Cottle Tallahassee, Florida.
Wellington, Mrs. B. W. (Anna Robinson)..? West Second St., Corning, N. Y.
Wetherell, Mrs. Erminie C Holyoke, Mass.
Whitten, Mrs. Marcia F 132 Magazine St., Cambridgeport, Mass.
Whittemore, Miss Lucella Washburn 358 Pleasant St., Worcester, Mass.
Williamson, Mrs. Mary Robinson 704 North State St., Jackson, Miss.
Wilson, Mr. George L 591 Lincoln Ave., St. Paul, Minn.
Wright, George R., Esq Wilkes Barre, Pa.
C
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