Descendants of Richard de WAKELEG'-WAKELEYE-WAKELEY

Notes

590. Robert WAKLEY-WAKELY

GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH FOR
JOSEPH LEE ROBINSON ANCESTORS
PREFACE
A key aspect in the research and analysis of the descendants of Joseph Robinson, b. c.
1728, was the recognition of the great genealogical importance of exploring and using different
name spelling patterns for analyzing and comparing with other genealogical data. When one is
attempting to resolve what appears to be a “dead end” in a research program, it is imperative that
one does not automatically reject such variant name spellings; these should be recorded for later
evaluation.
In the United States, up to and even beyond the Civil War period, variances in spelling
were a common occurrence; a uniformity of spelling rules, such as we now use, did not then exist.
Also, the education of many recorders usually was irregular. Recorders wrote a name or place as
it sounded to them and spelled it as they thought it should be written. Also different recorders
might use a shortened version of a longer surname when writing. If an individual with a dialect
or accent gave his name to a recorder, an error in spelling that name was almost automatic.
Mistakes in spelling also can occur when a record is extracted; especially so, when the recorder
must interpret old style penmanship that was written with a quill pen and might be faded, blurred,
and almost illegible.
Variant spellings of surnames are commonly found in many older records. The following
pairs of names, which were found during my research, show the variant spellings that may be
encountered: Phares/Ferris, Dewell/Duel, Holly/Hawley and Walkly/Wakeley. When speaking
the name “Robinson,” if one stresses the first two syllables and drops the pitch of one’s voice at
the end, the name sounds like “Robins” instead of “Robinson.” It should be noted that, even as
late as 1841, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Record of Proxies for Baptism,
Nauvoo, IL, George Tate1, found our ancestor Joseph Lee Robinson’s name written “Joseph L.
Robins.”
When one is dealing in a particular research area where vital records are non-existent or
haphazard, the acceptance of variance in surname spellings is often imperative for successful
identification of one’s ancestors.
When I have been unable to locate an ancestor within the area where he was known to
have resided, the following steps have been helpful in finding and identifying that ancestor:
1. Look for the same given names attached to a variant spelling of the surname, using
all types of records for this search.
2. Search for the names of in-laws and other family members, such as brother, sisters,
and children, which could indicate that one is in the right area.
Whenever the name of one’s ancestor appears in the right place, at the right period of time, with
other family names in the same area and no other contradictory evidence is uncovered, one can
conclude that the lost ancestor has been found, despite the variant spelling of his name.
1. see entry #38, Appendix 2, Research Sources
http://www.planetnielsen.com/joseph_lee_robinson/
7 March 2000
Dear Readers and Family Members,
In my attempt to republish Ms. Valantine’s work, I have only to change some minor grammar and
page layout styles. This work is not formatted in the same font as the original book. Therefore, the pages
will not be in the original placements. The original page numbers are noted as such: [PAGE 1]. If the page
brake came in the middle of a paragraph, the page number is indicated at the original placement in the
paragraph. This is so that the index in the back of the book will still be useful to the family members. The
information, footnotes and section breaks are in their original places. I hope that by making this work
available for republication that more will be inspired with the Spirit of Elijah and the windows of heaven
will open to find the ancestors and have the necessary work done in the Holy Temples of God.
I have made bold all of the names, not just Ms. Valantine’s line of ancestry. The original text has many
type styles and information layouts. I have attempted to standardize this as much as possible. This has also
been a reason for the changes in where the page breaks have been taken. I have spelled out state names and
added counties where room has allowed.
At this time, I do not have authorization from Nola Valantine to republish this work for
republication onto a CD format. I have attempted to communicate with Ms. Valantine and have not
received her permission. Ms. Valantine’s work is so valuable for the depth of research and the authority in
which she speaks, that it is essential to the study and research of Joseph Robinson’s ancestors and
descendancy. Please study this work prayerfully and you too will find how thoroughly she had done her
research of this great and vast family.
A special thanks to Laura Jean Blomquist Weaver and Victoria Sue Robinson Negron and others
for their wonderful gifts and spirits that have helped proof-read, edit, re-edit and aided this work to come
forth. Thanks to my husband for sharing with all of you my time, energy and faith that this is indeed the
Lord’s work on this earth. I pray that we will all be together again as one in the Household of Faith, with
our Heavenly Father, in the House that has been prepared for us by those who have gone before and
accepted the fullness of the Gospel for which we strive to do this work for their sakes.
Included in this CD is a GEDCOM file of all the genealogy that has been found, submitted or
prepared that I have been given, researched or entered. If discrepancies have happened in family records, I
have attempted to correct any mistakes and have indicated in RED highlighting that there is a discrepancy
in the text information and indicated in the “notes” the differences in the records of the individuals.
Therefore, this work is included as a bonus and has been included as a gift to you.
Sincerely,
Christie Lynn Webb Roberts
INTRODUCTION
The ancestry of Nathan Robinson, b. 1764, has been a particularly difficult line to
research. This was due to the lack of vital records and the scarcity of complete recorded land
transactions in the areas in which he resided. An additional complication to the problem of
locating records one could examine was that his parents, Joseph & Rosanna Robinson, settled in
towns along the colony boundaries of New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The land in
these border areas was in dispute, with frequent boundary line changes. Since each colony
claimed the real estate, there often was a duplicate sale of the same piece of land by different
parties. Many land transactions were never legally recorded, but were a private contract between
the grantor and grantee.
In 1970, when I began to research Nathan Robinson, his birthplace was listed as
Shaftsbury, Vermont; yet the source records for Vermont did not confirm this. There was another
Robinson family that settled in the neighboring town of Bennington, with a similar naming
pattern for their children. Unfortunately, an exploration of the Bennington Robinson family
proved negative, as I didn’t locate any records exhibiting a genealogical connection with our
Nathan or his brothers and sisters.
The list of Nathan’s parents, brothers, and sisters is from the Memorandum Book, kept by
Ebenezer Robinson, b. 1816. Up to 1970, no one had been able to find other records of Nathan’s
brothers, sisters, and parents. Thus, one of my major tasks was to verify the parentage of Nathan
and his brothers and sisters, and find their birthplace. It was my final goal to extend this line of
Robinson’s.
In my desire to learn more of these ancestors, I was following in the footsteps of many of
Nathan’s descendants, in whom this drive has been prevalent. Genealogical records were kept by
those who chose, in the 1800’s, to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and
moved west, as well as by those who did not, but remained in the Ohio area.2
My parents, A. Merlin Steed and Alice Wilcox, were both descendants of Nathan
Robinson and his second wife, Mary Brown, coming through their grandchildren Oliver Lee and
Anna Maria, the children of Joseph Lee Robinson, b. 1811, and Maria Wood. Several times, my
parents did extensive research in New England on the Robinson line, hoping for a breakthrough.
In the pursuit of this goal, they became personally acquainted with many of Nathan’s descendants
that remained in Ohio. Their mutual desire for knowledge of their ancestors brought these distant
cousins together in friendship. Many genealogical stories and family remembrances were shared
and compared. Eventually, through this friendship, my Mother was entrusted with a treasury of
letters, notes, and papers that dealt with Nathan Robinson and his children. These data included
additional information on Nathan’s father and some of his brothers. A few of these notes and
letters are even written in Nathan’s own hand. These precious papers were accompanied by an
old daguerreotype of Nathan taken when he was ninety years of age.
My Mother, through much exertion, accumulated a large amount of research [PAGE 2]
material. Before these earlier research efforts could be used, however, a great deal of analytical
work remained to be done. In comparing her material with that of the “Ohio” Robinson’s, I
found a lot of data that agreed but also some that was contradictory and others of doubtful
authenticity.3
When the task of sorting, comparing and analyzing was completed, I made my final
evaluations and outlined a research program for Nathan Robinson. My goals were as follows:
1. Study the history of the areas involved in the search and learn what type of records would
be available.
2. Determine the birthplace of Nathan Robinson, born 1764, and the birthplace of his first
children, as there were conflicting locations listed.
3. Establish the veracity of the names for his brothers and sisters as given by Ebenezer
Robinson, in his Memorandum Book.
4. Verify the name of Rosanna as the mother of Nathan.
5. Locate the birthplace and parents of Nathan’s father, Joseph Robinson.
6. Extend the ancestry of Nathan as far back as possible.
Unfortunately, the records were not available that would have allowed me to discover the
town of origin for Joseph Robinson, b. c. 1728. Therefore, in an additional effort to achieve the
goal of extending this line, I determined to learn as much as possible about the families of
Nathan’s brothers and sisters. In making a study of their families, I hoped to find a clue that
would lead to the birthplace and parentage of Joseph and Rosanna Robinson. My actual search
period extended from October 1970 through July of 1990, with some clarifying searches
continuing over into June of 1992. At the finish of these procedures, I had accomplished all my
goals, excepting the positive extension of the ancestry of Joseph Robinson.
While the research of Joseph’s other children did not help in my ambition to extend the
Robinson line, it did produce a large volume of information that was not available from other
research sources. Rather than just tossing aside this data, I decided to assemble my findings in
this book, with the hope that future researchers may be spared years of frustration in going over
the same data and encountering the same problems that faced me.
The format for this book is as follows: CHAPTER I starts with Samuel Robinson, born
about 1615, who, I believe, is the earliest identified ancestor on my Robinson line. Chapter I also
covers his son and grandson, both also named Samuel. CHAPTER II deals with Joseph Robinson,
b. c. 1728, and his wife Rosanna. Joseph was the great-grandson of the first Samuel. In each of
the succeeding chapters, one of Joseph and Rosanna’s 10 children are discussed along with their
posterity. The final chapter covers the ancestry of Mary Brown, the second wife of Nathan
Robinson, b. 1764, who was the sixth child of Joseph and Rosanna. Following the text are two
pages of PHOTOGRAPHS, including a copy of the 140-year-old glass plate photo of Nathan
Robinson. Next are 8 pages of PHOTOGRAPHIC COPIES of the more important original handwritten
documents referred to herein. APPENDIX 1, KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS, lists abbreviations used in
this book and information on references to census data.
[PAGE 3] APPENDIX 2, “RESEARCH SOURCES,” lists and describes the relevant sources that I
used in my research. The ENDNOTES encountered at the end of each chapter refers to numbered
items listed in APPENDIX 2. APPENDIX 3, NOTES ON SOURCES, gives statements of genealogical
data on the Robinson family and identifies the sources of those statements.
It is my with that the family groupings within might help some readers learn more of their
ancestry and thereby by enabled to also extend their genealogies. Ever the optimist, it is my hope
that, perhaps among the descendants of Nathan’s brothers or sisters, someone might be able to
contribute additional information that would extend this family line.
Human error does creep in; I apologize for any such errors. It should be understood that
the records, which are available, are not abundant for the time period and areas covered by this
research. Even so, many records, though not of prime research status, are still informative. Much
of the data, after gathering, needed to be compared and analyzed before it could be used with any
degree of certainty. Nevertheless. Until new historical records come forth which can uncover
new knowledge of the early New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut areas involved, I believe
that, based on what is now available, there is a sound basis for the conclusions within.
As I have learned of these men and women, I have come to appreciate them. I feel I
know them as individuals; they were good, upright and religious people. This has been a
fulfilling and rewarding project for me.
Nola Steed Valantine
2505 Whittier Dr.
LaCrescenta, CA
November 23, 1992
(1) Genealogical data obtained from the Ohio Robinson cousins and the sources of the data are found in
APPENDIX 3, NOTES ON SOURCES.
(2) See APPENDIX 3, NOTES ON SOURCES.
[PAGE 4]
MY LINE OF DESCENT FROM SAMUEL ROBINSON B. C. 1672
Samuel Robinson
b: c. 1672 ENG
Joseph Robinson = Rosanna ?
b. c. 1728 (of CT) b. c. 1732 (of CT)
Nathan Robinson = 2. Mary Brown
1764-1860 1774-1827
Joseph Lee Robinson = Maria Wood
1811-1893 1806-1872
___________________________________________________
Oliver Lee Robinson = Lucy Miller Anna Maria Robinson = James
David Wilcox
1833-1886 1837-1877 1838-1897 1827-1916
Annie Amelia Robinson = Franklin David Steed James Henry Wilcox = Mary Magdalene W
1870-1939 1869-1915 1855-1938 1857-1928
Amasa Merlin Steed = married = Fanny Alice Wilcox
1889-1963 1888-1958
Nola Steed = Vernon Edwin Valantine
Nov 1930 Sep 1928
________________________________________________________________________
1. Valery Elain Valantine 2. Craig Steven Valantine 3. Mark Edwin Valantine 4.
Alice Eileen Valantine
b. 22 May 1951 b. 17 Dec 1953 b. 28 Mar 1955 b. 20
Sep 1956
w. Sacramento, CA w. Los Angeles, CA w. Glendale, CA w.
Glendale, CA
md Steven Glenn Stewart md. Lisa Renee Taylor md. Cynthia Mae Foote md. Mark
Randels Beckstrom
1. Cameron Glenn Stewart 1. Brandon Steven Valantine 1. Joshua Mark Valantine 1.Ammon
Spencer Beckstrom
b. 13 Apr 1981, CA b. 7 Sep 1978, UT b.26 Dec 1979, CA b.30 Nov
1976, CA
2. Megan Valery Stewart d. 7 Sep 1978 2. Emilee Mae Valantine 2. Aaron
Mark Beckstrom
b. 15 Jul 1986, CA 2. Brett David Valantine b. 26 May 1982, CA b. 25 Apr
1979, CA
b. 4 Nov 1980, CA 3. Sara Nola Valantine d. 26 Apr
1979, CA
3. Carrisa Renee Valantine b. 25 Apr 1985, CA 3. Austin
David Beckstrom
b. 16 Sep 1983, Ca 4. Jonathan Mark Valantine b. 20 Apr
1982, CA
b. 22 Sep 1986, CA 4.
Alexander Ted Beckstrom
5. Jared Dean Valantine b. 23 Sep
1988, CA
b. 20 May 1988, CA 5.
Andrew Joseph Beckstrom
b. 23 Apr
1993, CA
[PAGE 5]
CHAPTER I
SAMUEL ROBINSON 1, SAMUEL 2 AND SAMUEL 3
One of the earliest renderings of the surname of Robbins was “Robynes,” which dates from the Battle of
Hastings. The Norman word for hamlet, town or village was “Bynes” and the word “Ro,” was a prefix and as such
was applied as the Scots used “Fitz” or “Mac”, the meaning being “of” or “up.” There was an early Samuel
Robins/Robinson who came to the colonies from Theddingworth, Leicester, England; he settled at Salisbury,
Massachusetts. There were other Robins/Robinsons also coming into the colonies at about this same time period.
The information I have for a Samuel Robinson 2 is meager and comes from only one source, Joseph Lee
Robinson, born 1811. Joseph Lee was a son of Nathan Robinson, born 1764. He have his ancestral line in an old
letter which was seen by A. Calvin Brewster, and who reported the same to my mother4 sometime in the 1950’s,
writing that Joseph Lee Robinson had said, “My father’s name was Nathan, his father’s name was Joseph, who was
the son of Samuel, who was the son of Samuel.”
Another son of Nathan Robinson, Ebenezer, born 1816, wrote a letter to his niece, Caroline Robinson Bliss,5
giving information dealing with their ancestry. This letter was dated in 1888. He wrote that his “father was of
English extraction, but born in New England.”6 In addition, he names some of the children of his ancestor Samuel,
saying that his [great] “grandfather had three sons, Seth, Jonathan, and Joseph.” After a thorough search of the
genealogical information of the early Robinson’s, both in Ohio and in Utah, who were descendants of Nathan
Robinson, born 1764, I can state positively that Ebenezer was the original source for these names.
Both Joseph Lee Robinson and his brother, Ebenezer, stated that their great grandfather’s name was Samuel.7
Joseph Lee referred to him as “an old sea captain.”8 In an 1888 letter written by Charles E. Robinson to one of his
Ohio relatives,9 he reported that Joseph Lee Robinson had said that his great grandfather was an “old sea captain born
about 1700.” In another source he wrote that the birth date of great grandfather Samuel was in 1660.10 He also
imparted this same information to his grandson, James Henry Wilcox.11 It is my conclusion that the name of his great
grandfather was Samuel and that his date of birth would have to have been close to the earlier date, bout 1670.
Using the information given by Ebenezer that Samuel Robinson had three sons named Seth, Jonathan and
Joseph, I made a search of the records of New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut looking for a Samuel Robinson,
born about 1670 to 1700. This Samuel should also have a father named Samuel. It would be an extra dividend if he
was a sea captain. Additionally, there should be in the same vicinity of our Joseph Robinson, a Jonathan and /or a
Seth Robinson of a close enough age to allow them to be brothers. Since Joseph Lee Robinson had referred to him as
“old,” I took this to mean that his great grandfather Samuel was an older man when he fathered Seth, Jonathan and
Joseph.
In the search for a Samuel Robinson, “sea captain,” I found the following references:
1. In the New York Colonial Manuscripts, Vol. IV:685, “Letter [PAGE 6] from the Earl of Bellomont to the
Lords of Trade,” dated Boston, 9 July 1700; the Earl wrote “I sent yesterday for Capt. Robinson, the
Master of a ship belonging to this town, who arrived here from London in the week of May…that a week
before he sail’d he met Mr. Weaver at the Sun Coffy-house behind the old Exchange…Capt. Robinson
sail’d out of the River the 21st of March;”
2. In the same collection, Vol. V:232, a letter from, “Captains Pinhethman and Marshall to Governor Hunter
of New York,” dated 2 March 1711, mentions a “Capt. Robinson, the Commander of Her Majesty’s ship
Dedford, a man of war, etc.” These are the only two references that I uncovered of a Robinson “sea
captain.” I was unable to ascertain the given name of either of the captains referred to. This could be
further pursued.
SAMUEL ROBINSON 1
Only in one location was I partially able to meet the specifications. In the town of Fairfield, Connecticut, I
found two Samuel Robinson’s in the correct time period, and with a younger Jonathan Robinson in the same general
area of my Joseph Robinson. However, there were no records of a Seth Robinson. A Samuel Robinson (1?), and his
wife Constance12 appear in the Fairfield land records13 on 6 March 1670, when they purchased from Edward Adams,
seven acres of land in “Barlow’s Plain.” This same Samuel :
1. Died in April of 1674, and the inventory of his estate was held on 9 August, 1674,14 at Fairfield.
In the Land Records of Fairfield, December 4, 1673, Abraham Adams was given by the will of his father,
Edward Adams, deceased, 10 acres of land at Barlows Plain. [This was the same Edward Adams who sold the land in
Barlow Plain to Samuel Robinson (1), in 1670.] The land was bounded on the North and West by the land of Widow
Robinson, and, also on the West, by the highway. In the actual will of Edward Adams written 4 August, 1671,
Volume 2, pages 60-61, it states, “Item I give to my son Abraham Adams ten acres of land in Barlows plaine lying
next that I gave Samll Robinson.”
SAMUEL ROBINSON 2
It is my premise that the gift of land referred to in the will of Edward Adams was not to Samuel (1) but rather,
to Samuel Robinson (2). It would have been made as a gift of inheritance to an unnamed daughter who had married
Samuel Robinson (2). As an example of this, four years after the marriage of Edward Adams’ daughter Mary, he
made just such a gift of land to her and her unnamed husband [Luke Guire] in November, 1668. I believe Edward
Adams’ gift of land was the home lot where Samuel Robinson (2) built his house.
Constance,15 the widow of Samuel Robinson (1), died at Fairfield by December 5th 1680. The Courts
Administration on “both the said deceased effects,” records that Samuel Robinson (2) was named by his parents,
Samuel (1) and Constance, as their “sole heir,” and left 1 ¼ acres at Barlows Plain.
Samuel Robinson (2) was on the land records and witnessed probate records at Fairfield beginning as early as
1680 and continuing on through 1692. However, Samuel (2) does not appear on the marriage records of Fairfield
until 20 Aug 1691, when he is married to Abigail Lockwood, (aged 17).16 They had one child, Damaris, born in 1696.
I believe that the following records will bear out my premise that this was a second marriage and that Samuel (2) had
been previously married.
[PAGE 7]
In one particular land transaction, dated 23 Day of December 1686, Samuel Robinson (2) had purchased of
Nathaniel Adams, his home lot, with housing etc, which consisted of 7 acres including the building lot of Nathaniel’s
deceased father Edward Adams. This parcel of land was bounded on the West by the highway, North on the meadow
of Abraham Adams, South with the land of Nathan Adams, on the SE and NW by the Common. As this land was
surrounded by property owned by various Adams family members, it implies that there might be some family
relationship to Samuel Robinson (2). Family property such as this was not usually sold to an unrelated individual.
At a later date, this revealing addition was added at the bottom of the foregoing document. On the 26 of Jan
1687 [four years before his marriage to Abigail Lockwood], the document reads, “…know all men whom it may
concern…whereas Samuel Robinson has bought of Nathaniel Adams his homelot, housing and lands on a deed
bearing the date 23 Dec 1686…By good causes known to me, I, Samuel Robinson, for myself and heirs…do promise
to refund to Nathaniel Adams…his lands and housings upon several condition…”
It is my conclusion that Samuel Robinson (2) was a son-in-law of Edward Adams which would make
Nathaniel Adams his brother-in-law and that his marriage to Abigail Lockwood was a second one. This conclusion is
based on the following items:
1. Certain land transactions between the Adams family members and Samuel Robinson as well as the
will of Edward Adams stating that he had given land to Samuel.
2. Robinson’s statement in the Fairfield records in December of 1686, that he has heirs, verifies that he
is already a married man with at least two children [heirs] born to him.
3. As already stated, Samuel Robinson (2) married Abigail Lockwood, 20 Aug 1691. Further evidence
that this was a 2nd marriage for Samuel (2) is that she was not born until 1674/75. This would make
her only 4 years old in 1680, when her future husband, Samuel (2), was old enough to be involved
with a land transaction.
4. Samuel (2) served as executor and administrator of several probates and was involved in land actions
beginning in the year 1684. He would have to be “of age” to participate in these actions.
5. The will of Samuel (2) was dated 2 Apr., 1698,17 which was but 2 years after the birth of his daughter.
In his will, he left his considerable estate to his young wife Abigail and their daughter Damaris.
Although no former marriage or additional children are mentioned in the will, it does not necessarily
mean that there was not an additional child or children from an earlier marriage.
6. During this period of time, it was not at all unusual, when writing a will, to omit the mention of any
children previously provided for. The purpose of the will was to insure that one’s widow and
underage children would be taken care of, that the estate would be disposed of according to one’s
desires, and that outstanding debts would be paid. It was customary during one’s lifetime to endow
some kind of inheritance upon one’s children when they either “came of age” (21 years) or married.
Therefore, it became unnecessary to mention such adult children in one’s will.
7. There was, in addition to the early land transaction, another matter which indicates that Samuel (2)
was quite a bit older than his wife. This was that Samuel (2) after making the usual statements in his
will that he is “very sick and much indisposed in body,” then continues on and makes the
[PAGE 8] remark, that he is “sound in my memory and understanding.” This was hardly the words of
a young man! This statement was usually reserved for those of a “ripe old age.”
I have been able to trace the land transactions of Samuel Robinson (2) throughout the Fairfield records and
have found evidence for his purchase of each property mentioned in his will. The properties given to his widow and
daughter were named in his will as purchased from Joseph James, Nathaniel Adams, John Cabel, Josiah Harvey,
Joseph Rowland, Cornelius Hull and Thomas Sherwood.
SAMUEL ROBINSON 3
I place Samuel Robins (3) as the father of Joseph Robinson, b.c.1728, for the following reasons:
1. Edward Adams stated in his will dated 4 August, 1671, that he gave Samuel Robinson land in
Barlows Plain. I propose that Samuel Robinson (2) had first married a daughter of Edward Adams.
2. Samuel Robinson (2), on 23 December, 1686, bought land from Nathaniel Adams and then, in and
amendment to the deed on 26 January, 1687, agreed to return the lands which he had bought of
Nathaniel Adams for “good causes Know to me…” [which I believe was a family relationship of a
Brother-in-law] and “I, Samuel Robinson for myself and heirs…” This was evidence that Samuel (2)
was a married man with children before his marriage to Abigail Lockwood. Note that Nathaniel’s
first two land actions were with his brother Nathan Adams, 18 Dec 1686, and then with Samuel
Robinson only five days later on the 23rd.
3. Finally, there is the land record in Fairfield, dated March 1697, in which Samuel Roberson bought
land from Henry Sherwood. I interpret that this Samuel Roberson was the son of Samuel Robinson
(2) by a previous marriage. In all the land transactions of Samuel Robinson (2), both on the land
records and as mentioned in his will, there was no purchase or selling of land to a Henry Sherwood.
His only Sherwood purchase was from a Thomas Sherwood.
Additionally, while search for Seth, Jonathan and Joseph Robinson in this area. I came across this
observation in “History of Fairfield County,” by Schenck.18 He was commenting about the Jonathan Robinson, b. c.
1730,19 who was residing with his family in Fairfield. Schenck said, referring to a posterity for Samuel (2), “It does
not appear that he left a son, but in the Green Hill Parish Records the following is found…” He then continues to
give the marriage dates of Jonathan Robinson to his tow wives20 and of his children.21 When I read his observation, I
surmised that Mr. Schenck had also noted the age difference between Samuel (2) and his young wife and had come to
the same conclusion as I had concerning an earlier marriage for him. While Schenck doesn’t identify any children
from this earlier marriage, the implication is that Jonathan was a strong candidate for a descendant of Samuel (2).
Accordingly, my Samuel (3), would be of an appropriate age to have fathered Jonathan Robinson/Roberson, b. c.
1730,22 and Joseph Robins/Robinson b. c. 1728. Both Jonathan and Joseph name three of their sons, Samuel, Seth,
and Jonathan. There is good reason to believe that these two are indeed brothers.
One further piece of data to consider which adds strength to Fairfield being the choice for the original colonial
home of the Robinson’s is that [PAGE 9] Fairfield County, Connecticut, is adjacent to the “Oblong” in Dutchess
County, New York. In the next chapter, I discuss the uniqueness of the Oblong/Equivalent land as it related to the
Connecticut and New York colonies. It was here, in the Oblong, that Joseph, b. c. 1728, the father of Nathan
Robinson, b. 1764, settled prior to February 1758. This added to my conclusion that my Joseph Robinson was born in
the Colony of Connecticut.
When analyzing the data given in this chapter, it was my judgment that Samuel (1) would have been born
around 1613 in England and would have come to the colonies around 1670. Samuel (2) would have been born about
1648, also in England, and was a widower when he married Abigail Lockwood. By the time of his death n 1698, his
son, Samuel (3), would be an adult and, therefore, already have received an inheritance from his father. Samuel
Robinson (3) would have been born about 1672, and he might have become a “sea captain”, which would make him
difficult to trace on town records. I believe that this third Samuel, by a late remarriage, was the father of the Seth,
Joseph, and Jonathan recorded by Ebenezer Robinson.
ANCESTRY OF JOSEPH ROBINSON B. C. 1728
SAMEUEL ROBINSON (1) md: abt 1643 CONSTANCE (CABLE)
b.c.1613 England b. c. 1622 England
m.c.1643 England d. by Dec 1680 Fairfield, CT
died: w/Inv. 9 Aug 1673 Fairfield, CT
1. Samuel Robinson (2) md: 1st _________Adams md: 2nd Abigail Lockwood23
b. c. 1645 England b. c. 1648 CT b. 1675 CT
d, at Fairfield, CT md: abt 1669 m. 20 Aug 1691
w/d 2 Apr. 1698 d. abt 1677 Fairfield, CT
inv./d: 18 Apr 1698 _______________
1. Samuel Robinson (3) md: 1st ? md: 2nd abt 1721
b. c. 1671 New England Mother of Seth, Jonathan and Joseph
of Fairfield, CT
“an old Sea Captain”
1. Seth Robinson
b. c. 1723
2. Jonathan Robinson md: 1752 1st Lucretia Thorp/Thorpe
b.c.1725 of CT bap: 10 Aug 1735
md: 1st 12 Apr 1752 where: Greenfield Parish, Fairfield
where: Fairfield, CT d: 25 Jun 1761 in 26y
bur: 3 Jun 1811 where: Fairfield, Fairfield, CT
where: Weston, Fairfield, CT
(All Children were baptized at Greenfield Parish, in Fairfield)
1. Samuel Robinson
b. 31 May 1753 Fairfield, Fairfield, CT
2. Seth Robinson md: in 1776 Hannah Lyon
b. 11 Aug 1754
d. 1 Dec 1811 at Easton, Fairfield, CT
3. Daniel Robinson md: 3 Apr 1776 Ester Nichols
b. 8 Jan 1756 (md: date is from Pension Application)
d. 19 Oct 1834 Walton, Delaware, NY
[PAGE 10]
4. Jonathan Robinson
b. 2 Nov 1760 Fairfield, CT
d. 30 Dec 1761 Fairfield, CT
The earliest ancestor of Lucretia Thorp that I found was her 2nd great grandfather, William Thorp, who died in 1679.
Her great grandparents were John Thorp and his 1st wife, Hannah Frost. Their son, Samuel Thorp (Sr.), who died at
Fairfield, 26 April 1758, and his wife, Margaret, who died 3 November 1767, age 80, were the grandparents. The
father of Lucretia was Samuel Thorp, Jr., baptized 16 December 1711 at Fairfield and died in 1787. Her mother was
Hannah Winton, born 2 February 1713/14 at Fairfield and died, 11 Apr 1806, age 92.
SECOND MARRIAGE OF JONATHAN ROBINSON SR.
Md: 2nd: 14 Apr 1763 at Greenfield Parish, Fairfield, CT Elizabeth Canfield
b.c. 1742 of CT
1. Elizabeth Robinson md: Oct 1789 Seeley Jewell
bpt: 18 Nov 1764 (age 11 months) Easton, CT b. c. 1760 of CT
d: 31 Jan 1812
2. Jonathan Robinson md: Lois Gilbert
bpt: 13 Sep 1765
3. Lucretia Robinson md: Levi Burr
bpt: 9 Sep 1768
Other Robinson’s were24 4. Anna Robinson; 5. Desire Robinson m: Aug 1790 at Easton, Robert Mills; 6. Ezekiel
Robinson m: Oct 1791 at Easton, Olive Hall; 7. Clarissa Robinson b: 23 Jan 1777, m: Mr. Jennings, Bridgeport.
Son of Samuel (3) and 2nd Wife
3. Joseph Robinson md: 1749/1750 Rosanna
b. c. 1728 CT b. c. 1732 of CT
(They had 10 children-see chapter II.)
FAMILY OF EDWARD ADAMS
Since it is my supposition that Samuel Robinson (2) married as a first wife a daughter of Edward Adams of
Fairfield, I am including her family with that of the Robinson’s.
Edward Adams md: abt 1640 Mary (Savage)
b. c. 1617 England b. c. 1619 England
w. p. & inv. 11 Nov 1617 Fairfield d. 1687 Fairfield adm. of Estate 2 Dec 1687
inv. filled: 19 Feb 1674 md 2nd by Oct 1677 Anthony Beers
probate agreement: 5 Oct 1677 son of James Beers, Sr.
1. Samuel Adams md: 15 Jul 167— Mary Meeker dau of Robert
b. c. 1642 md: 2nd: Moses Lyon aft Feb 1694
w: New Haven4 md: 3rd: John Thorpe aft Mar 1698
d: inv.: 10 Feb 1694
w: Fairfield, CT
Son Abraham b. c. 1677, at his father’s death was bound out to his uncle Abraham Adams, Sr. Other sons
were Daniel b. 1679; David b. 1689; and John b. 1692.
2. Mary Adams md: 23 Feb 1663 1st Luke Guire Sr.
b: abt 1644 d: aft Nov 1668
w: Milford, CT md: by Aug 1671 2nd ____ Merwin
d: Apr 1712 md: 3rd Stephen Sherwood
[PAGE 11]
3. Luke Guire, Jr. md: abt 1687 Rebecca O’Dell dau of John
b: abt 1665 b: 1671
w: Fairfield, CT w: Fairfield, CT
d: Inv.: 11 Apr 1699 d: 1741 Fairfield
w: Fairfield, CT md 2nd: Robert Turney
This couple were also ancestors of min, through their daughter Hannah. Stephen Sherwood, who was the 3rd
husband of Mary Adams was the son of Thomas Sherwood Sr. by his 2nd wife Mary. Stephen had been md. 1st to
Rebecca Turney and 2nd to Hannah Jackson. Mary Adams was his 3rd wife.
CHILDREN OF EDWARD ADAMS & MARY (SAVAGE)
3. daughter Adams md: abt 1668 Samuel Robinson (2)
b: abt 1648 b: abt 1645
w: New Haven Co., CT w: England
d: abt 1677 Fairfield d: Apr 1698 Fairfield
1. Samuel Robinson (3) md: 2nd abt 1721
b: abt 1671 Mother of Seth, Jonathan & Joseph.
w: Fairfield, CT
1. Seth Robinson b. c. 1723
2. Jonathan Robinson b. c. 1725
3. Joseph Robinson b. c. 1728 md: Rosanna
Probably others.
4. Abraham Adams md: 1st (Sarah Lockwood)
b: 9 Sep 1650 mother of his children
w: Fairfield, CT
d: 9 Aug 1729 in 80th year md: 2nd: Martha ________
w. d.: 22 Aug 1748 w. p.: 6 Feb 1749 she md: next ________ Miller
He and 1st wife had Deborah, Hannah, Mary, Abigail, Susannah and Elizabeth.
5. Nathaniel Adams unmd.
b: abt 1655 “now of age, 5 Oct 1677”
w: Fairfield, CT
d: bfr 1693 He had died by the time of his brother Samuel’s will.
w: Fairfield
In the will of his Father, Edward Adams said that he owned a stone house which was on the land of his son
Nathaniel. Although Nathaniel’s land is referred to by his father in November of 1671, there is evidence to show that
Nathaniel was not yet “of age” at that date. The “agreement” held in Fairfield, October 1677, wherein it stated that
Nathaniel was then 21 years old. The earliest land action of Nathaniel was dated 18 December 1686. It is apparent
that his father cited the land which would come to the under-age Nathaniel when he became of legal age.
6. John Adams no issue
b: abt 1658 “under age 5 Oct 1677” He purchases land in Apr 1689.
w: Fairfield, CT
d: inv.: 7 Nov 1693 Mentions brothers Samuel, Abraham, Nathan and sister Mary.
7. Nathan Adams md: by 5 Nov 1687 1st Mary James dau of Joseph
b: abt 1660 b: abt 1665 Fairfield
w: Fairfield, CT md: 2nd: Anna_________
d: w. d. 22 Aug 1748
Nathan fathered 10 children. His daughter Mary married Luke Guire III. On 5th Oct 1677, an agreement to the
will of Edward Adams, deceased, involved three of the sons of Edward Adams; [PAGE 12] Nathaniel, John and
Nathan. Nathaniel was now 21 years old, and John and Nathan were underage. John Adams chose Lieutenant John
Banks to be his guardian; Anthony Beers and his wife Mary (the widow of Edward Adams) chose Samuel Adams,
(the brother of Nathan) to be the guardian of Nathan. This agreement was entered into 5 years after the death of
Edward Adams.
In a land record dated, 5 Nov 1687, Joseph James of Fairfield, conveyed land to Nathan Adams, because
“Nathan Adams hath married my daughter Mary with my consent.”
4. Alice Wilcox Steed, see entry #35.
5. See Research Sources, entry #3D.
6. Item #3C.
7. See items #3, 3D, 19, 19A, and 22.
8. Items #19 and 26.
9. Lucille Stoneman Arthur, item #2D and 22A.
10. See source entry #19.
11. See entry #26.
12. See Research Sources, items #249 and 250.
13. Items #226 and 250.
14. See item #227.
15. In the original records I have studied, I believe her name to be Constance, not Comfort.
16. Daniel Lockwood’s will, in 1691, gave ages of his children. His daughter Abigail, age 17, is “the wife of Samuel
Robinson.”
17. Item #227.
18. See item #249.
19. Greenfield Hill Church, Fairfield, records list the baptisms of Jonathan Robinson, his wives and children on P. 193.
20. Jonathan Robinson md. 1st Lucretia Thorp, April 1752, and 2nd Elizabeth Canfield, 14 Apr 1763.
21. Lucretia’s children were Samuel, b. May 1753; Seth, b. 11 Aug 1754; & Jonathan, b. 2 Nov. 1760.
22. Elizabeth (2nd wife) had dau. Elizabeth, b. 18 Nov. 1764; Jonathan, b. 13 Sep 1765; Lucretia, b. 9 Oct 1768.
23. Abigail’s parents were Daniel Lockwood and Abigail Sherwood. See items #249 & 250 for more data on these
surnames.
24. See item #249
[PAGE 13]
CHAPTER II
JOSEPH ROBINSON B. C. 1728, HUSBAND OF ROSANNA AND SON OF SAMUEL (3)
The direction of my research on my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Robinson b. c. 1728, the 3rd son of Samuel,
b. c. 1670, was first built upon information provided by his grandsons, Joseph Lee Robinson, b. 1811, and his brother
Ebenezer, b. 1816 [both sons of Nathan Robinson, b. 1764]. They stated that their grandfather’s name was Joseph and
their grandmother’s name was Rosanna, he and other relatives served in the War of the Revolution, and their
grandparents were born in one of the New England states. In 1882, Ebenezer wrote to his brother Samuel, b. 1806,
stating “Our Grandfather and several Uncles fought in the Revolutionary War, fighting for that glorious liberty we
now enjoy…our father was too young to fight.”26
For additional research direction, I turned to original notes and letters written by and to various Robinson’s, spanning
the years 1785 through 1888. A small scrap of yellowed paper measuring 3 ½ inches by 8 inches provided one of the
two keys to solving the location of the Robinson family prior to their movement to Hebron, New York in the late
1780’s. This Hancock promissory note was dated “Hancock, February 18th 1785,” and reads: “I promise to pay to
Joseph Robinson on order the some of Thirty Pounds L.M. to be paid in the year one Thousand seven hundred and
Eighty seven on the Twentyfift Day of December if then Not paid interest until Paid for Value Recd as Witness my
hand.” The note is signed by Amos Hall and witnessed by Peter Wells and Israel Ely. All these names were later
found on the records of the town of Hancock, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Evidence that this note was never
collected in full, is found on the reverse side, where it was endorsed several times as follows:
Pay the within to: Nathan Robinson (by) Joseph Robinson
Eli Hawley (by) Nathan Robinson
Andrea Storms27 (by) Eli Hawley
Jesse Robinson (by) Nathan Robinson”
The second key document was Revolutionary War Pension Application28 number S11323, applied for by
Nathaniel Robinson in September 1832, at the Court of Chancery in Ononadaga, New York. This pension
application, together with the Hancock loan note, verified that this Nathaniel was among the sons of Joseph and
Rosanna Robinson. Furthermore, it confirmed Hancock, Massachusetts, as of January 1776, as the former home of
the Robinson’s. Within this document, Nathaniel states he was born on the “…9th of December 1758, in the then
called Oblong, in Dutchess County, New York;” giving an earlier, heretofore unknown place of residence for his
parents, Joseph and Rosanna. Nathaniel enumerates his various terms of war service and lists his other places of
residence; several of these service times and places coincide with those of his brothers Joseph Jr. and Jonathan, and
brother-in-law Robert Wakely, all of Hancock.
This pension application, along with the Hancock promissory note, made it possible to identify Nathaniel as
the son of Joseph Robinson. Moreover, these two items opened a whole new area of research possibilities on the
Robinson [PAGE 14] family, prior the Shaftsbury, VT. And the Hebron, NY periods.
With this crucial information, I was able to place Joseph and Rosanna Robinson in two specific places of
residence from 1758 to 1776, a period of eighteen years, and research efforts turned to these localities. As the search
and analysis of Joseph and his family was very area-oriented, I have subdivided this chapter by location, as follows:
The Oblong, Dutchess County, New York; Hancock, Berkshire County, Massachusetts; and Hebron, Washington
County, New York. All of these locations lie along the boundary of New York, on the west and Connecticut and
Massachusetts on the East.
Before concentrating on these areas, I analyzed another Robinson family located in Bennington, Vermont.
This family had been given as the ancestral line for Joseph by various descendants of Nathan Robinson, b. 1764.
However, after careful research into the records, I can find no ancestral connection. These Bennington Robinson’s
were descended from a Capt. Samuel Robinson, born 1705, in Cambridge, Massachusetts and married to a
Marcy/Mercy Leonard; they moved to Hartwick, MA. In 1728, where Samuel served as a Captain in the French and
Indian War, and settled next in Bennington, VT, in 1761. This man served in the Revolution, from the town of
Bennington, and was the one named as the father of my Nathan Robinson, b. 1764, by some of his descendants. They
submitted this erroneous information to the Daughters of the American Revolution as their basis for membership.
This mistake is understandable as Nathan Robinson, b. 1764, did reside in neighboring Shaftsbury, Vermont,
from 1797 to 1817 and some of his children erroneously ascribed his birthplace as Vermont. Nathan, however, gave
his birthplace as New York on both the 1850 and 1860 Census. There was also the similarity of a Captain Samuel, (a
sea captain) and some of the children’s names in the two families were similar. However, birth dates of the
Bennington Robinson’s do not match known data on my ancestry. Most importantly, strong evidence places my
Joseph, b. c. 1728, his wife Rosanna, and family, in Hancock, MA., at the same time that the other Joseph Robinson,
b. 1745, and his wife, Mary, were residing in Bennington, Vermont.
THE OBLONG, DUTCHESS COUNTY (NOW PUTNAM) NEW YORK
While the pension application of Nathaniel Robinson, b. 1758, placed his parents, Joseph and Rosanna, in the
Oblong, further investigation showed that this search would be a difficult one. New York State did not begin
recording vital statistics until the 1830’s and for some areas of New York, it was even later than that. For the areas in
which I was searching, and for the period 1750-1850, there are a few marriage bonds and licenses recorded, and some
few church and ministerial records29 with vital statistics. Thus, for the most part, it was necessary to search other
sources, such as land and court records.
The Oblong was not a town but an area. It was also called the Equivalent Lands. It consisted of a strip of
land only one and a quarter mile wide, running from the Westchester County, New York-Fairfield County,
Connecticut north-east boundary line, then continued north along the border corridor of these two states, up to the
Massachusetts state line. This narrow strip of land was in dispute as early as 1650, by New Netherlands and the
United English Colonies. Together with lands along the Long Island sound, it continued to be a source of contention
between the colonies of New York and [PAGE 15] Connecticut for many years. In May of 1731, the dispute ended
when Connecticut ceded the Equivalent Land to New York.
A description of the southeast part of the Oblong held their patents from the Connecticut Colony. The lower
end of the Oblong rapidly disappeared as a separate entity into the county of Westchester; not so of the Oblong lands
in Dutchess County, which retained their separateness for many years. This was primarily due to its different land
holding characteristics. Oblong lands could be bought by the settlers in fee simple, which guaranteed title from the
colonial government, rather than merely renting or leasing, as was customary at this time for the Dutch proprietors
who owned huge estates to the West and the North of the Oblong in Dutchess Co. The inhabitants of Dutchess
County were never harassed by Indian attacks, but they had occasional trouble with wolves and panthers. The
southern-most part of the Oblong was mountainous but most of the rest was well-watered upland. Quakers from Long
Island immigrated to the upper Oblong in April of 1755.
The reference books for Dutchess County, New York, refer to the early settlers (prior to 1756) as coming
from Connecticut and Long Island. A Martin Preston was the 1st settler in the southeast part of the Oblong; another
early settler was Peter Hall, who came in 1749 and settled on a tract of land originally belonging to William Smith
and James Brown. The first “Letters of Patent,” were taken out 8th June 1731, by Thomas Hawley, Nathan St. John,
Samuel, Benjamin, Benedict, Thomas and Ebenezer Smith, Joseph Lee, James Brown etc.; all inhabitants of
Ridgefield, Connecticut.30
Many of the early settlers attended church in Connecticut. On August 23, 1743, Reverend Elisha Kent of
Newton, CT., purchased 500 acres of land in the Oblong, identified as lot #11. In the “New York Genealogical and
Biographical Register,” Vol. 32:213, is a brief account of this man and his church.31 He was 1st pastor of the
Fairfield East Association, which adjoined the South Ward of Dutchess Co. The parishes were known as East and
West Philippi. Reverend Kent left his charge in Newtown, CT, because he was opposed to the existing religious
establishments in that Colony.
In the 1740’s the adjoining parishes in the South Ward of Dutchess County, now known as Southeast and
Carmel, were then named East and West Philippi. This area was in the southeast part of the Highland Patent, owned
by the Philipse family. These two names were used for many years. For a time, these parishes were Rev. Kent’s
charge. After 1750, he confined his labors to the church at East Philippe. At this time, most settlers were coming
from Cape Cod. Before 1745, a log-meeting house and a graveyard were built. It and the graves of early worshipers
have disappeared. Around 1754, a new frame a building was erected about two miles from the first, and this replaced
the earlier log church. In the burying ground near the 2nd church, most tombstones have cracked and fallen and
inscriptions are illegible.
[PAGE 16]
In the rest of this chapter, many of the reference source documents used variant spellings of the Robinson
surname. Please see the Preface for a discussion of this subject and the importance in genealogical research of
pursuing such spellings.
My Joseph Robinson first appears in the Oblong on the Dutchess County tax lists32 for February 1758, under a
variant spelling of his surname, Robins, and he remains on the twice-yearly recorded listing through June 1760, when
he joins the New York militia. Joseph Robins next reappears on the tax list for the South precinct (later named the
Southeast precinct), during the years February 1763, through 1771. He is not on the tax lists after this date. He does
appear on a few court records.33
Other Robinson’s are also shown on the lists within the South Precinct as follows: Giles Robinson, starting in
February 1741; Nathaniel Robinson, starting February 1742/3; Peter Robinson and Nathaniel Robinson, Jr., both in
June of 1753; Ebenezer Robinson in June 1756; and Wheaten Robinson [who is also on land records for Ridgefield,
Fairfield County, Connecticut] and Josiah Robinson in February 1759. It is possible that there is a family connection
among some or all of these Robinson’s: [a] these farms were in close proximity to each other, and [b] several of their
names were later given to children and grandchildren of Joseph Robinson.
Joseph Robins, Roberson, Robinson, etc., is not recorded on the land records for Dutchess County, and
neither are most of the other Robinson’s mentioned in the foregoing paragraph. It must be remembered that the
recording of vital records was not the only area in which New York Colony was remiss. Except for the taking of
taxes, many land transactions were ignored in any official way. To further complicate research efforts in New York,
what deeds were recorded in these early years were often recorded years after the fact. Perhaps most land transactions
were a private affair between the parties involved! When searching wills,d eeds, court records and other similar
papers, all variant spellings for the surname Robinson were noted. Other Robinsons found in the records and living in
the Oblong during the same period of time as our Joseph were Nathaniel Sr., Nathaniel Jr., Wheaton Robinson (also
spelled Roboson and Robertson), Isaiah and Josiah Robinson, and John, Ebenezer and Isaiah Robinson (three brothers
from Cape Cod).
Other names which were found to be associated in various ways with Joseph, and were also in the Oblong’s
South and Southeast Precinct between 1765-1777 are as follows: BUTLER—Daniel and Jeremiah (Joseph’s son
Samuel b. c. 1770, first wife was named Phebe Butler/Butter); LEE—Joseph34 and Noah who, while owning land in
the Oblong, actually lived at Redding and Ridgefield in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Both towns abut against the
southeastern edge of the Oblong. HALL—Henry, John, Peter, Samuel and Morton; TROBRIDGE—Thomas [Joseph’s
son Joseph Jr. b. c. 1752, wife was ester Trowbridge]; MOREHOUSE—Elisha John and Andrew. An Andrew
Morehouse resided in Hebron, New York at the same time as the Robinson’s. Joseph’s son Seth, b. 1766, married a
Lucy Griswold, the widow of a Mr. Morehouse.
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR
Joseph Robinson was listed as a soldier in the French and Indian Wars,35 on a muster roll for Dutchess
County, dated 1 May 1760. These bloody conflicts [PAGE 17] continued for seventy years, from 1690 to 1760. A
fascinating glimpse into the society and mores of Dutchess County during this time may be obtained by the review of
a court case involving Joseph Robinson and others.36
In the month of September 1761, Joseph, being in the militia, was dispatched along with nine other men under
the command of a Sargent Philip Cassady. Their orders were to capture and return three deserters from the 17th
Regiment who were hiding out in the Nine Partners area. In an attempt to capture one of these deserters who had
separated himself from the others, Sargent Cassady divided his force. One group was sent to continue the for the
remaining deserters, while he and his men would attempt to apprehend the lone deserter. In this effort, he found
himself and the four soldiers with him (including my ancestor Joseph Robinson), “set upon” by some of the local
citizens and an “affray” ensued.
Instead of apprehending the deserter, the militiamen were themselves captured, manhandled, jailed, and then
hauled before an unfriendly Dutchess County judge, a “Justice Roswell Hopkins who abused them very much…and
would not even suffer them to say a thing in their defense.” This judge found the soldiers guilty of instigating the
“affray” and he ordered them to be sent to Poughkeepsie for punishment.37 Fortunately, when Sargent Cassady gave
his report on the incident to the officials at Poughkeepsie, he and the militia men with him were apparently
exonerated, as the record does not indicate any punishment.
While I was unable to find any record of Joseph Robinson before his appearance on the February 1758 tax
lists for the South Precinct in the Oblong, yet, from accounts of his grandsons Joseph Lee, b. 1811 Ebenezer b. 1816,
as well as other Robinson descendants, I have concluded that Joseph and Rosanna were probably born somewhere in
the Colony of Connecticut and were married about 1749/50. They probably resided within or near the vicinity of
Fairfield County and it is likely that their first two children, Joseph Jr., b. c. 1750, and Elizabeth, b. c. 1754 were born
there. Unless otherwise noted, the names of Joseph’s and Rosanna’s children come from the previously-referred-to
statements of Ebenezer and Joseph Lee Robisnon.38 Both the exact and the approximate dates for births and
marriages, as well as family extensions, were developed from my researches.
The Dutchess County records now available for viewing may at some future time be augmented, since the
County Clerk’s office in Poughkeepsie is reported to have “38 large cases of old files in the basement that were not
cataloged” or were otherwise inaccessible. A few years ago, that office had hopes of obtaining grant funds to enable
this work to commence. I do not know if this work has begun.
The birth date of Joseph and Rosanna’s next two children were confirmed by Revolutionary War records
which show son Jonathan as 19 years of age as of 30 may, 1778, and son Nathaniel gives his birth date as 9 December
1758,39 on his pension application. Hannah was born about 1761; my ancestor Nathan was born 22 April, 1764; Seth
was born in 1766;40 Isaac was born about 1769; Samuel born about 1772. The next year, the family moved from the
Southeast Precinct in the Oblong, to Jericho Plantation in Massachusetts, where their last child, Rosanna, would be
born in 1774.
In June 1771, Joseph’s name appears on the tax lists for the last time [PAGE 18] and does not reappear on the
subsequent lists. Apparently, shortly before leaving the area, the oldest son, Joseph Jr., married Esther Trowbridge
and the newly married couple joined with them on the move to Massachusetts.
HANCOCK (JERICHO PLANTATION) BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
Berkshire County was established in 1761 from Hampshire County.41 Hancock was a long, narrow farming
district, being about two miles wide and nearly 16 miles long. It lay in a north-south orientation and was incorporated
as a town in 1776. It is located in the far northwest corner of Massachusetts, on the eastern New York and southern
Vermont borders. Its original name, Jericho Plantation, evidently was given because the area is bounded by
mountains on each of the long sides, similar to the biblical Jericho. The Plantation’s name was changed to Hancock
several years later in honor of John Hancock, the renowned signer of the Declaration of Independence. This town was
an important place for temporary settlement in the westward movement. Many pioneer families of the westward
migration stayed here for a while before moving on.
The first land grant was to an Asa Douglas, issued only nine years before Joseph and Rosanna came with their
family, around the year 1771/2. Farmsteads were still being hacked out of the virgin wilderness and months and years
of hard labor would be spent in felling trees, sawing the wood, clearing the land, planting crops, and building log
cabins and outbuildings. It was here that their last child, Rosanna, was born in 1774. Probably in this same year, their
eldest daughter Elizabeth married Robert Wakeley, identified as an Englishman.42
As the children of Joseph and Rosanna matured, more marriages occurred; Jonathan married Phebe Preston
about 1779 and Nathaniel married Hannah Smith about 1777. One more marriage probably took place in the town of
Hancock, with daughter Hannah marrying Ephraim Andrews about 1781.43
Neither the Robinson’s names nor Robert Wakeley’s name appears in the town’s vital records, nor on the
records for the Baptist Church. The church’s records do not begin early enough to cover the time when the
Robinson’s first came into Hancock. “The Searcher,” printed in 1969,44 contains a copy of the town’s vital records.
The article states the birth, marriage and death data were “obviously collected and recorded, several years after the
events occurred.” This might explain why the Robinson names are omitted. Other names connected with the
Robinson’s are in the article:45 Hall, Ely, Hazard & Brown.
HANCOCK TOWN MEETING BOOK
Photographed by George F. Tate
After fruitlessly searching many sources covering areas where other evidence showed that the Robinson
family had lived, I was overjoyed to find Joseph Robinson in the records of Hancock Town. Joseph Robbinson was
among those voted-in as surveyors of roads46 on 22 March, 1781. These records primarily consist of the monthly
business of running the town, with a scattering of vital records now and again. Other persons listed who inter-related
with the Robinson’s were Amos HALL47; Briggs, Reuben, Thomas, Caleb, Warren and Benjamin HALL; Israel ELY,48
Reuben and Noah ELY; Reynolds Calhoon; and Peter WELLS.49
Also listed on these records are eleven male members of the BROWN [PAGE 19] family. This fact may be
relevant to Joseph’s son Nathan’s 2nd marriage to a Mary Brown. Human nature remains the same, and Hancock, at
the early time, had problems one might encounter today; on page 49, an episode is recorded of one Ephraim Bowman
who was to collect the taxes from 1780-1782. This he did by the also “absconded with the loot” to New Lebanon,
Albany Co., New York.
In 1974, George F. Tate50 obtained permission to photograph the Town Meeting book, through the courtesy of
Richard Young, Hancock Town Clerk. George was informed that the earliest town records were locked in an old safe
and were inaccessible. These records are considered private property and even Mr. Young had not been given access
to them. At the time, it was hoped that funds could be found to have these records processed and installed in a new
Town Hall in time for the Centennial Celebration in 1975. As of 1986, there is still no new Town Hall and the
records were still unavailable. Perhaps the earlier land records might be found among these papers. If so, and when
access is allowed, the first land purchase by Joseph Robinson and Robert Wakeley could be studied, to learn the name
of their last place of residence prior to arriving at Hancock. Whether it was the Oblong or another stopping place on
the way, this information could be of help.
LAND RECORDS OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MA
Robert Wakeley and some of the Robinson’s, with the usual variations in surname spelling, also appear on the
Berkshire County Land Records.51 At times, Robinson is spelled one way on the index and a different spelling within
the document. More than once, I have encountered the surname written two differing ways within the same
document. Berkshire Co. was divided from Hampshire Co. in 1761.
These land records are of the utmost importance as they contain a document with the names of Joseph and
Rosanna Robinson together, and other documents listing, variously, Joseph and his family members. Joseph
Robinson Jr. and his wife Esther sign a land transaction here. The earliest land record 52 for Joseph is dated about
1780; Thomas Farrington is the grantor, and Noah Ely, Shebna Spink, Palmer Gardner, John Foster, Henry Covell,
William Buck and Joseph Roberson and Amos Hall are the grantees. Unfortunately, the records available do not
cover the early 1770’s when the Robinson’s would have first entered Hancock. All of the recorded land transactions
listed below state that Joseph is already a resident of Hancock, so obviously there is an earlier record. The Thomas
Farrington listed as the grantor of some of these land records came from Groton, MA., where he was one of the
original proprietors.
Berkshire County Massachusetts, Northern Registry, “Proprietors Compilation.” Book B-page 423: Dated 22
December170 and recorded 11 February 1784.
Thomas Farrington of Hancock…for 53 pounds, received of Amos Hall53 of Hancock, yeoman…175 acres
land, butted and bounded Easterly on Palmer Gardners and Shebney Spinks lands, northwardly on Land of Joseph
Robens Jr. etc. Southwardly on land of Noah Ely’s. Witnesses-David Cummins & Gardner Eldred.
Book B:389—Dated 16th of June 1781 (also Book 15:258, Commonwealth of MA) Recorded 3 June 1783.
Thomas Farrington of Hancock, gentleman. For 30 pounds lawful money…paid by Joseph Roberson of
Hancock, yeoman…certain tract of land in Hancock…south side of highway…on the corner made between Mr.
Robinson and [PAGE 20] his son Jonathan…containing ninety-seven acres and 20 perch. Witnesses-David
Cummins & Henry Covel.
“Middle Registry of Deeds,” Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts. Book 21-page 160: Dated28 June 1783 and
recorded 1 February 1785.
Eleazer Bareman, Hancock, gentleman…for 4 pounds lawful money…paid by Capt. Shibner Spink, Joseph
Robins, William Keech, Shribner Spink Jr., Joseph Robens Jr., Henry Covil and Robert Wakley, all of Hancock…a
certain piece of land for the use of a public road…etc. Witnesses- Reuben Ely & Noah Ely.
Northern Registry, Berkshire, Massachusetts, “Proprietors Compilation” Book B-pages 548 & 549: Dated 16 January
1784 and recorded 12 Aug 1785.
Thomas Farrington of Hancock…for 17 pounds lawful money…paid by Joseph Robinson of Hancock,
yeoman…tract of land in Hancock…bounded by Capt. Spinks land…containing 63 acres. Witnesses-Samuel Hand &
Benaiah Douglas.
Book B:591—Dated 17th of February 1785 and recorded 8 March 1785.
Joseph Roberson of Hancock, yeoman…for the sum of 210 pounds lawful money etc…paid by Amos Hall
of Hancock…land bounded northwest corned of Joseph Roberson Jr. farm…between Cahoon and said Roberson till it
comes to land belonging to Joseph Roberson Jr…. containing 97 acres.
Signed, Joseph Roberson
Rozanna Roberson
Witness-Peter Wells, Isaac Wells & Israel Ely
Book B:592—Dated 17th February 1785 and recorded 8 March 1785.
Joseph Roberson Jr. of Hancock…for the sum of 109 pounds…paid by Amos Hall of Hancock…land
bounded as follows…Shibner Spinks line…Reynolds Cahoon property…containing 63acres.
Signed, Joseph Roberson Jr.
Ester Robinson
There are no land records to confirm Nathaniel Robinson’s (son of Joseph and Rosanna) pension application
declaration of residence here. However, his personal assertion, in addition to the fact that his father, mother, and
brothers Joseph Jr. and Jonathan, as well as his brother-in-law Robert Wakeley were all living there, substantiate his
statement. Further validating evidence was found within the Revolutionary War records.
On pages 194-195 in the book, “History of Berkshire County” published 1885, is a listing of the men from Hancock
who served in the Revolution. The Robinson men listed were as follows: Joseph Robins, Nathaniel Robins,
Jonathan Robinson, and Joseph Robinson, and son-in-law, Robert Walkley. Others listed who were associated
with the Robinson’s were Steven and William Smith, Caleb Trowbridge, John Preston, Timothy Hall, Noah Ely,
Reuben Ely, Daniel, David, James and Jonathan Silas and Solomon Brown and Ebenezer Andrus. (Andrus is a
variation of Andrews.)
In the neighboring town of Lanesborough are an Abraham and John Andrews, and Isaac Andrus/Andrews serving in
the war. Joseph and Rosann’s daughter Hannah, married an Ephraim Andrews.
[PAGE 21]
DATA ON THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION
“THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION,” by Christopher Ward, a two-volume work, contains many interesting details of this
conflict and of the militiamen and Continental soldiers who fought in it. Before continuing on, I wish to bring forth
some of his data. When discussing this war, I will use Mr. Ward as my source material.
Page 29. “To oppose the regularly organized, fully equipped and trained British troops, Massachusetts had only its
militia. That term must be understood in its true meaning. The militia included the entire potential fighting strength of
the province. Every man between the ages of sixteen and sixty years was required by law to possess a gun and its proper
equipment of ammunition and accessories, and to be enrolled in the company of his own township. He was supposed to
turn out at certain intervals, perhaps four times a year or oftener, with the rest of his company for training; hence the
common appellation, ‘trainbands.’
“The primary purpose in instituting this system in the early days of the Colony ha been to provide for defense
against attacks by the Indians; there was no intention of sending the militia out of the province. But when, on the
outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754, it became necessary to furnish a force to operate in French territory, a
new arrangement was authorized….” Ward states that service was made voluntary; officers were appointed by the
governor; drums were beaten within the province for enlisting of volunteers. Joseph Robinson, because of his service in
this French and Indian War, fits nicely into the next sentence! “By their experience in the trainbands, but more
especially by their service in actual war, many Massachusetts men had become familiar with the duties of a soldier.”
“You will note, upon further reading of the military service of the Robinson me, that some were “called out at the
time of the alarm.” These men were called out, not on the first alarm of an impending battle, rather, “alarm companies”
were in fact a last ditch effort and were used as a last resort, composed of boys, old men, magistrates, and clergymen.
Not the primary fighting force at all, but, instead, those men who for one reason or another had remained behind during
the first muster call.”
Page 31. “But few of these Massachusetts troops, of any class, were uniformed. The great majority came to their
training days and turned out on alarms in their civilian clothes. Their guns were of any sort: Brown Bess muskets
surviving the French and Indian War; muskets issued in King George’s War thirty years before; even perhaps a few
Queen Anne’s War arms, twice as old; American-made muskets of all date; fowling pieces, blunderbusses, any kind of
gun that would fire bullets or buckshot, except rifles. The rifled gun was unknown in New England. The accouterments
of the American Militia were few and simple; a powder horn and a bullet pouch or a cartridge box, a bullet mold, and a
bag of extra flints were the essentials. There might be added a haversack and a rolled blanket. Some of them, not many,
had bayonets.”
Page 78. “The following is an “engaging eyewitness description” of the appearance of the Massachusetts Militia. “To a
man, they wore small clothes, coming down and fastening just below the knee, and long stockings with cowhide shoes
ornamented by large buckles, while not a pair of boots graced the company. The coats and waistcoats were loose and of
huge dimensions, with colors as various as the barks of oak, sumac and other trees of our hills and swamps, could make
them and their shirts were all make of flax, and like every other part of the dress were home-spun. On their heads was
worn a large round top and broad brimmed hat. Their arms were as various as their costume; here an old soldier carried
a heavy Queen’s arm, with which he had done service at he Conquest of Canada twenty years, previous, while by his
side walked a stripling boy with a Spanish fusee not half its weight or caliber, which his grandfather may have taken at
the Havana, while not a few had old French pieces, that dated back to the reduction of Louisburg. Instead of [PAGE 22]
the cartridge box, a large powder box, a large powder horn was slung under the arm and occasionally a bayonet might be
seen bristling in the ranks.”
As Joseph Robinson saw action in the battle of Bunker Hill, a summary of that battle is pertinent. Again, the details are
from Ward’s book. Bunker Hill stands on the Charlestown Peninsula, across the Charles River from the city of Boston.
The major battle occurred at Breed’s Hill, southeast of Bunker Hill. The British forces were led by General Howe and
Lord Cornwallis. Although the Patriots were forced to retreat, the British suffered heavily, losing one-third of their
force, while storming the hastily built rebel defense works.
General William Prescott led the American forces. There were four distinct elements in the fortifications: the redoubt,
the breastwork, the rail fence, and the wall to the beach. Colonel Woodbridge’s men were part of those who manned the
redoubt and the breastwork at the battle of Bunker Hill. The redoubt was the main defense work. It was chosen for
Breed’s Hill, as it was nearer Boston and Bunker Hill being higher and nearer to the Neck, was to be their only avenue of
escape if driven from their works on Breed’s Hill. Therefore, auxiliary defense works were erected on Bunker Hill to
give cover, if need be, for a retreat. The redoubt itself, comprised a 6 foot earthen wall, 8 rods square, with a angular
projection (a redan) near its middle on the south side, facing Charlestown. Near the southeast corner was a protective
line of breastwork, about 20 rods long running down the slope of the hill to the swamp. As the Battle took place on June
17th 1775, when Joseph was there at Cambridge, he was undoubtedly part of that renowned battle. Although the Patriots
were forced to retreat, the British paid a prohibitive cost in casualties for an outpost of little value.
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. Vol. 13,54 was the key source of information for Joseph
Robinson and his sons at the time when they were serving in the War. The references for Joseph Robinson Sr., born
about 1728, were listed under Robenson, Robinson and Robens.
______________________________________________________
Page 396. Joseph Robernson, private, Jericho (Hancock), of Captain Asa Barnes Company and Colonel Benjamin
(Ruggles) Woodbride’s Regiment, signs a receipt for advance pay in Cambridge on 25th June 1775.
Joseph Robenson, private, same company and regiment. At a muster roll dated 01 August 1775, he is reported to have
enlisted on the 25th May 1775, with a service of 2 months, 8 days.
Page 456, Joseph Robinson, Jericho, private, Same Company and Regiment, Company return dated 28 September
1775.
Page 394, Joseph Robens, same Company and Regiment, order for a bounty coat or the equivalent in money, dated 23
October 1775.
It was common practice to apply for bounty money or items of the same value as part of one’s pay for serving.
There are additional references to sons Joseph Jr., Jonathan and Nathaniel, as well as son-in-law Robert Wakeley,
listed under variations of their surnames. Their records will be dealt with in succeeding chapters. These men enlisted
and served frequently, sometimes at the same date and in the same company and regiment. As I studied these records,
I was touched by the willingness of these men to risk their lives for the freedoms we so casually enjoy.
______________________________________________________
The spelling variations for the sons of Joseph Sr. in these records are as follows: for Joseph (Jr.)—Robbins, Robers,
Robins and Robinson; for Nathaniel—Robbins, Robins, and Robbens; and for Jonathan—Robinson, Roberson,
Robbins, Robingson, Robeson. I was pleased to locate in Volume 13, page 454, a description of Jonathan Robinson
of Hancock, taken April/May 1778: age 19 years; stature 5 ft. 2in.; complexion, sandy; engaged for town of
[PAGE 23] Hancock.
While on one of his tours of duty, Nathaniel Robinson was in the White Creek area of Washington County, New
York. Apparently he liked what he saw for, in the spring of 1781, he, wife Hannah, and family moved to White
Creek. In the year following, he moved into the Black Creek area within the village of Hebron. Shortly thereafter, his
brothers Nathan, a bachelor; Jonathan, who was married to Phebe Preston; and brother-in-law Robert Wakeley and
their sister Elizabeth, his wife, followed. Joseph Jr., who participated twice at Saratoga, chose nearby Ballston as his
next home, in 1785.
The Robinsons’ move was typical for that period. Usually, bachelor sons were sent ahead of the rest of the family,
sometimes accompanied by a married son and family. They would scout out the best lands and begin housing and the
clearing of land, in preparation for farming. Afterwards, a letter would be sent home to report on the conditions of the
new location; then, if favorable, the rest of the relations would follow. Although both Nathaniel and Jonathan
Robinson, as well as Robert Wakeley, owned farms in Hancock and would have sold them before moving, there is no
land transaction recorded.
On the 6th of Nov 1785, Reverend Clark Rogers, of the Baptist Church, in Hancock, purchases 559 acres of land in
Black Creek, Washington County, New York. This patent was laid out to Duncan Cambell and was called the
Cambell Patent. The purchased land is described as having houses, fences, timber and water. Later, his sons Joshua,
Thomas and Clark Jr. are found on the land records, as they are selling portions of this same land. Black Creek was a
town within the village of Hebron.
HEBRON, WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEW YORK
This is where the third and final portion of the Joseph and Rosanna Robinson’s story occurs. Hebron was then a
farming township on the eastern edge of New York that abutted the state of Vermont. Hebron is about 35 miles north
from Hancock, and, like Hancock, it is situated in a valley surrounded by hills, although Hebron’s hills are broader.
In order to follow this portion of their story, it is necessary to know of some of the boundary changes that shaped both
the counties of Washington and Warren in New York State. The area these counties would later occupy was
originally within the bounds of Albany County, which was formed in 1683. Charlotte County was formed from
Albany County in 1772 and then, for obvious reasons, the name was changed to Washington County in 1784, right
around the time the Robinsons moved there. Originally, the town of Thurman, which was formed on 10 April 1792,
was part of Washington Co. but it was incorporated into the new County of Warren in 1813.
This town of Thurman embraced a large area within its boundaries, and other towns were later formed therefrom: the
towns of Bolton and Chester in 1799, and Johnsburgh in 1805, etc. Because of this, it was possible that a family,
living in Thurman in 1792, could, without moving, find themselves over the years living in two or three towns.
Warren County was formed from Washington in 1813. The earliest records of Thurman have been lost. Again, it is
important to note that New York law did not require the recording of deeds by county until 1810.
[PAGE 24]
None of my Robinsons are on the land records of Washington County. A search of the land records of Albany
County, which had jurisdiction until 1772, over the Washington County area, also proved negative. What
arrangements the Robinson family made in the purchasing of land would have had to be a private matter with no
official county documentation. As mentioned earlier, it was possible that they purchased their land directly from
Elder Clark Rogers of Hancock or his sons. However, the family is on record in the Hebron Town Book.55 The
district of Black Creek covers the years 1784-1786.
HEBRON TOWN BOOK
The following data are from the Town Book of Hebron. Names are spelled as they were originally written.
Page 16, 13th July 1784—Nathen Robison (son of Joseph Sr.) is among those chosen as path masters for the town.
(Note that this is a year before his father and brother Joseph Jr. sell their Hancock farms. Nathan is 20 years old and
unmarried.) A Capt. Nathen Smith is chosen assessor.
Page 19, 3rd May 1785—Jonathon Robison (son of Joseph Sr.) and Elisha Morehouse chosen as path master, Capt.
Nathen Smith chosen as supervisor.
Page 23, 16 December 1785—a road was laid our, which ran along the north side of John Robison’s lot and the south
of James Robison’s lot, by said Robison’s house. And Aaron Smith is one of the commissioners. (I have not learned
who these other Robinson men were.)
Page 26, 2nd May 1786—John Robison and Capt. Nathen Smith were chosen as path masters.
Page 34, 2nd April 1787—A road was laid out beginning at the road by Joseph Dickesons and Jonathan Robisons (son
of Joseph Sr.)
Page 34, May 1787—A road was laid out by Aaron Gibbs, Capt. Smiths and John Robisons and Calven Smith.
Page 42, 13th May 1788—A road was laid out by Thomas Morehouse’s house, and Isaac Morehouse’s land.
Page 47, 7th April 1789— Among the path master chosen were Israel Ely, Jedidiah Smith and Jonthan Duele.
Page 72, 3rd April 1792—Capt. Nathen Smith was voted in as one of the assessors and Israele Ely as one of the
constables.
Page 73, 3rd April 1792—Among those voted in as path masters were Nathen Smith, Nathan Robens (son of Joseph
Jr.), Jonathen Duele and Isaac Morehouse.
Page 77, 2nd April 1793—Some of those voted in as path masters were Jonathen Robison and Nathaniel Robens sons
of Joseph Jr.) and a Jacob Darling (Nathan Robinson loans money in 1794 to a Stephen Darling).
Page 97, 1st April 1794—Voted in as path masters were William Butler, Thomas Hall, Stephen Robison and Isaac
Morehouse.
[PAGE 25]
Page 100, 1795—Path master district No.27, James Dickinson, Path Master. His district began at Granville and ran to
Levi Duels (Levi was the husband of Rosanna Robinson, the youngest child of Joseph Sr. and Rosanna).
Page 104, 7th April 1795—Path masters were Jacob Darling, Stephen Robison and John Robison. As stated above, I
do not know if there was a relationship between these two Robinsons and my Robinsons.
1790 CENSUS HEBRON WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEW YORK56
As expected, the Robinson family is listed on this census under diverse spelling variations of their surname. The
following excerpts from this census list those persons who were related in some manner to my Robinsons.
Page 206
Head of house, Jonathan Duel-
one male over 16, one male under 16, three females. [This could be the brother of Levi Duel, who was the
husband of Joseph’s youngest daughter Rosanna.]
Page 206
Head of house, Joseph Robins-
two males over 16, one male under 16, no females. [This is Joseph Robinson Sr.’s son Nathan, age 26, and
son Samuel? Either the recorder made a mistake in saying there was no female here, or the mother, Rosanna,
is dead.]
Page 206
Head of house, Jonathan Robins- one male over 16, one male under 16, three females. [This is Joseph
Robinson Sr.’s son and his family.]
Page 206
Head of house, Nathaniel Robbins- one male over 16, two males under 16, three females. [This is Joseph
Robinson Sr.’s son and his family.]
Page 208
Head of house, Levi Duel-
one male over 16 and one female. [This is Joseph Robinson Sr.’s daughter Rosanna and her husband.]
Page 207
Head of house, Robert Wakeley-
one male over 16, two males under 16, four females. [This is Joseph Robinson Sr.’s daughter, Elizabeth and
her family.]
Page 207
Head of house, Enoch Baker-
one male over 16, five males under 16, two females. [His son, Enoch Jr., would soon marry Mary/Polly, the
daughter of Robert Wakeley and Elizabeth Robinson (daughter of Joseph and Rosanna)].
On Pages 206 and 207, other names are listed that are connected with Joseph Robinson: Isaac, Samuel and Thomas
Morehouse (at Hancock, there was an Isaac and Thomas Morehouse0; Daniel Plumly (Plumbly); and Stephen
Darling. These latter two men signed notes, which were held by Nathan Robinson, b. 1764. Also on the census are a
James and a John Robinson, whom I have not placed. Matthew and James Pettis appear (a Mina Pettis witnessed a
loan note for Nathan Robinson). The Preston surname also appears here.
______________________________________________________
On the 1790 Census for Becket, Berkshire County, MA, is an Ezra Paschal (Pasco) who would later marry as his 2nd
wife, Hannah, the daughter of Ephraim Andrews and Hannah Robinson (who was the daughter of Joseph Sr. and
Rosanna).
[PAGE 26]
It was most likely that Seth Robinson, the 7th child of Joseph and Rosanna, married in Hebron, about 1790, Lucy
Greiswold the widow of a Mr. Morehouse.
Except for two, all the married children of Joseph and Rosanna Robinson were living, at the time of the 1790 Census,
within the township of Hebron. Their daughter Hannah, married to Ephraim Andrews, possibly was living in the
town of Stillwater, Washington County (later Saratoga Co.), New York. There were eleven Andrews families on the
1790 Census for Stillwater, and one of these was an Ephraim Andrews and family on page 345. The eldest son
Joseph Robinson Jr., his wife Esther, and their family were living just a few miles away in Ballston, Albany County
(later Saratoga Co.) New York.
By the time of the 1800 Census, Joseph Robinson Sr. had either died or moved out of Washington County, with the
rest of his sons and their families in the general westward movement of the populace. Only the family of Robert and
Elizabeth Wakeley remained behind.
Ephraim and Hannah Andrews moved to Thurman around 1791. Perhaps Joseph Sr. moved with them or came later
in 1797 with his youngest daughter, Rosanna, and her husband, Levi Duel. A Joseph Robinson is an early settler
living here at the same time. He is mentioned in the early records, but it was not of genealogical value. A probate
search for Joseph and Rosanna Robinson in Washington, Onondaga, Albany and Warren Counties, New York, and
Bennington Co., Vermont was negative. Nathan Robinson, their son, kept a record of the deaths of his negative.
Nathan Robinson, their son, kept a record of the deaths of his brother, Isaac and Joseph Jr., but he was silent on the
death of his parents.
______________________________________________________
The following research has validated Nathaniel Robinson’s pension application information. Joseph Robinson and his
family resided within the Oblong in Dutchess County, New York., from at least February 1758 to June 1771, when
Joseph was still on the tax lists. Joseph Robinson is also found on the court records and the French and India War
rolls.
The Robinson name went through many variations in spelling. Joseph Robinson and family members were found
under various spellings on both land and military records of Hancock, Berkshire County, MA. from at least August
1775 through February 1785. Most of Joseph and Rosanna Robinson’s family moved to Hebron, Washington County,
New York. Son Nathaniel moved in 1781, son Nathan by July 1784, son Jonathan was there as of May 1785, and
Joseph Sr., Robert Wakeley and Levi Duel were all there as of the 1790 Census. Joseph Robinson Sr. and family
have been located and identified for the years 1758 to 1790.
This is the last time I could identify Joseph Robinson Sr. as a resident within a particular town. In the succeeding
chapters, I present the accounts of each of Joseph and Rosanna’s children and a record of their posterity as far as I was
able to identify them.
In Chapter VIII, I discuss a possibility, in connection with their son Nathan and the names he gave his children, for
identifying a person, Amos Hall, as being the father of Rosanna. If this is correct, Rosanna’s surname would be
“Hall.”
[PAGE 27]
Joseph Robinson Sr md: abt 1749/50 Rosanna
Born: abt 1728 CT born: abt 1732 CT
Died: aft 1790 (Hebron, NY) died: bef 1790 (Hebron)
1. Joseph Robinson Jr md: abt 1769 Ester Trowbridge
b: 1750 CT b: 1754
m: abt 1769 the Oblong, NY d: aft 1910
d: 5 Jan 1799; Ballston, Saratoga Co., NY w: Saratoga Co., NY
2. Elizabeth Robinson md: abt 1774 Robert Wakeley
b: 1754: CT b: 1747
m: abt 1774; Hancock, MA w: Kent, England
d: 24 Feb 1808; Hebron, NY d: 16 Nov 1831; Hebron, NY
3. Nathaniel Robinson md: abt 1777 Hannah Smith
b: 9 Dec 1758; the Oblong, NY b: 1758
m: abt 1777; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
d: aft 1840; NY
4. Jonathan Robinson md: abt 1782 Phebe Preston
b: 9 Dec 1758; the Oblong, NY b: 1762
m: abt 1782; Hancock, Berkshire, MA d: Jul 1812; Marcellus, Onondaga, NY
d: bef Jun 1808 Marcellus, Onondaga, NY
5. Hannah Robinson md: abt 1781 Ephraim Andrews
b: 1761; the Oblong, Dutchess, NY b: 1758 Canaan, Litchfield, CT
m: Jun 1781; Hancock, Berks, MA d: bfr June 1835
d: Jul 1835; Junius, Senaca, NY w: Junius, Senaca, NY
6. Nathan Robinson (My 3rd great grandfather)
b: 22 Apr 1764; the Oblong, Dutchess, NY
d: 2 Dec 1860; Russell, Geauge, Ohio
md: 1st Sarah Clark b: 28 July 1791
md: 2nd Mary Brown b: 21 Feb 1803 Shaftsbury, VT
md: Lydia Moore b: 3 Feb 1830; New York (widow)
7. Seth Robinson md: abt 1790 Lucy Griswold (widow of Mr. Morehouse)
b: 1766; the Oblong, NY b: 1772; NY
m: abt 1788 d: aft 1850; Lisbon, NY
d: 1856; Lisbon, St. Lawrence, NY
8. Isaac Robinson unmarried
b: abt 1769; the Oblong, Dutchess, NY
d: 16 Mar 1797; NY
9. Samuel Robinson
b: 1772: the Oblong, Dutchess, NY
d: bfr 1850; Wilson, Niagara, NY
md: 1st Phebe Butter/Butler md: abt 1793; Bennington County, VT
md: 2nd Milla Dann/ Dunn md: abt 1809; Madrid, St. Lawrence, NY
[PAGE 28]
10. Rosanna Robinson md: 1790 Levi Duel
b: 1774; Hancock, Berkshire, MA b: 6 Apr 1770; NY
m: 1790; Hebron, Washington, NY d: 23 Sep 1845; Horicon, NY
d: 27 Apr1837; Horicon, Warren, NY
The succeeding chapters will each deal with one of these children from the eldest on through the youngest.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(25) See Appendix-Notes on Sources, 1st page paragraph 3 and 5. Also see introduction.
(26) Source 3C.
(27) Could be a misspelling of Stearns.
(28) To learn more of this document, see Chapter V on Nathaniel Robinson.
(29) I searched cemetery, court, land, marriage, church and probate records of Dutchess Co., NY, with negative results.
(30) See items 41,228, 229, 251, 252, 253, 254.
(31) See item 228. In General Session of Court of Common Pleas, May-Oct. (see item 230), Moss Kent and Samuel Ellwell Jr.
are in litigation with Joseph Robbins. Perhaps this is in regard to a land transaction, if this is a relative of the Rev. Elisha
Kent. I was unable to locate the entire litigation suit and this refers to a court index only, dated May 1764, May 1765, Oct
1768, and Oct 1769.
(32) See source number 11.
(33) See item #39, which was the only court action found, except for the already cited “affray”. This was a suit brought against
Joseph Robins by Samuel Ewell Jr. This action was found in Ancient Documents of Dutchess County, NY number 6711,
dated October 1768. There was nothing of genealogical value here. Other court records searched were: The New York
Dutch Court, 1661-1741; New York Court Records Notarial and Mortgages 1655-1755; Court of General Sessions of the
Peace, 1683-1762; New York Court Miscellaneous and Civil Records, Minutes, 1742-1790.
(34) This Joseph Lee was the ancestor of Mary Brown, who married, as the 2nd wife, Nathan Robinson, born 1764 in the Oblong.
Nathan was the son of Joseph and Rosanna Robinson.
(35) See item 41.
(36) See item 39.
(37) See items 39 and 40. In item 39, Joseph’s surname is spelled both Robbins and Robinson.
(38) See item Appendix B and also see Appendix C, Notes on Sources.
(39) See item #4, which shows Nathaniel Robinson born 9th Dec 1758. Also see Volume 13:454 of item #5, where Jonathan
Robinson of Hancock is stated to be 19 years old as of 30th May 1778. Nathaniel would also be 19 years old since he would
not turn 20 until December, which would be another 7 months. For both brothers to be 19 years in May of 1778, they would
have to be twins.
(40) See entry 127.
(41) In Hampshire County, Mass. Land records, a John Collier of New Malbury, sells for 30 pounds, lot 95 in the 3rd division of
land in New Malbury, to Joseph Robenson of Canaan, Litchfield County, Conn. The date is 1 Feb 1760, deed recorded 31
Mar 1762. I [PAGE 29] do not know if this is my Joseph Robinson. However, the Oblong is not too far from this town for
him to have done so.
(42) See item 146.
(43) All names for the spouses of Joseph and Rosanna’s children were listed by Ebenezer Robinson.
(44) See item 257, number2: pages 58-66 and number3: pages 106-114.
(45) Of interest is the birth of a Deidamy Carr, a most unusual name. Joseph Robinson’s daughter, Hannah also names one of her
daughters Deidamy or Deidama. It’s spelled both ways in different sources. There is also born here in October of 1784, a
Roxanna of Rozanna Ely, (Joseph Robinson’s wife is named Rosanna, which was also an uncommon name during that time.
(46) See item 12. In the original document, this item is found on page 29, dated 22 March 1781. The Record of the Town
Meetings of Hancock began on the 26th of August 1776, when the inhabitants of Jericho agreed to call the town Hancock.
(47) See entry #15.
(48) See above.
(49) See above.
(50) See item #38.
(51) See items #7,8, and 9.
(52) See item 7.
(53) Several times I have singled out the name of Amos Hall. The Hall family predated the Joseph Robinson family in the
Oblong. A peter Hall came in 1748 and settled on a tract of land originally belonging to William Smith and James Brown.
Later on at Milltown, Edward Hall operated a mill on the Croton River. There was a road leading to the town of Danbury
Connecticut. Also, Halls were living at Hancock, etc.
During these early years of settlement, it was common and even customary for relatives to settle, migrate and relocate near
one another. There is a strong possibility for the supposition that Amos Hall was related to the Robinsons; he bought
Hancock land along with Joseph Robinson Sr.; Amos Hall’s farm adjoined that of Joseph Jr.; Both Joseph Robinson Sr. and
Joseph Robinson Jr. sold their farms to him when they left Hancock. There is the Hancock loan note for 30 pounds made
out to Amos Hall 18 Feb 1785, from Joseph Sr. One day after he and his son sell their two farms to him. In those years 30
pounds was a large sum for a farmer to amass and this unredeemed note was kept for many years by Nathan Robinson b.
1764, the son of Joseph Sr. The name of Amos was not used in naming Robinson children, therefore, it is most interesting
to note that Nathan Robinson and his 1st wife Sara Clark, after naming their first son Clark, then name their 2nd son AMOS.
The surname of Joseph Seniors’ wife Rosanna, is unknown, and as before mentioned, Amos not being a Robinson name,
perhaps Rosanna was a “Hall”.
(54) See entry 5
(55) See item 10. George F. Tate photographed these on 6 June 1974 at the office of the Town Clerk. The book mostly contains
minutes and highway records.
(56) See items 57, 58 and 59.
[PAGE 30]
CHAPTER III
Joseph Robinson Jr. b. c. 1750, husband of Ester Trowbridge, and son of Joseph and Rosanna
Joseph Robinson Jr., the son of Joseph and Rosanna Robinson, would probably have been born in Connecticut, about
1750 or earlier, which was prior to his parents moving to the Oblong, when he was bout 6 years old. As there was
also a family with the surname of Trowbridge living in the Oblong, he and Esther might have grown up together and
married about 1769, shortly before the time his parents moved to Hancock.
Joseph Robinson Jr’s nephew, Ebenezer Robinson b. 181657 (the son of Joseph’s brother Nathan b. 1764), said that his
Uncle Joseph “married Esther Trowbridge and had four children, Clark, Isaac, Phebe and Levi.” The Census and land
records I have examined indicate more children than these. Following are the records that pertain to Joseph Robinson
Jr. and his wife, Esther Trowbridge. A Caleb Trobridge family is in Hancock, on the 1790 Census and in Washington
County, NY on the 1800 Census.
HANCOCK, BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MA
Originally called Jericho Plantation, Hancock was the home of Joseph Robinson Jr. and his wife Esther, from about
1771 until 1785. Joseph Jr. is found on both the land records and the military records of Hancock58, Berkshire
County, Massachusetts. As with his father, Joseph Jr’s. surname was spelled many ways. In military records for the
War of the Revolution, Robinson was spelled Robbins, Robins, Robers, and Robinson. On Berkshire County land
records, his name was written Robens, Robertson and Roberson. On one document, he signed his name Joseph
Roberson Jr. while his wife signed her name Ester Robinson.
Joseph and his wife Esther would have begun their family at Hancock, and several of their children were born here.
This would be a strenuous time for the young couple, as Joseph had land to clear which involved felling trees and
digging up stumps and rocks in preparing for planting. Fences would be built to keep their animals in and strays out.
A log cabin would be constructed for his family and sheds for his animals. We know his farm was near that of his
father and his brothers, for the land records tell us this.
Beginning in December of 1776, he fulfilled his first term of service in the Revolutionary War. He continued to serve
off and on until November 1781. This would be a very demanding time for his family, as Esther and the children
would have the responsibility of running the farm. For additional information see Chapter II.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS
“MASSACHUSETTS SOLDIERS AND SAILORS OF THE REVOLUTIOANARY WAR,”59 Vol. 13, is the source for the
following references to Robinson in the Revolutionary War. Mine were the only Robinson men, including variations
of their surname, to serve from the town of Hancock.
[PAGE 31]
[PAGE 32]
Joseph Robbins—private: page 383
Enlisted 16 Dec 1776-discharged 15 Mar 1777. Muster Roll dated Ticonderoga 25 Feb 1777, Cap. Wm. Douglas
company of Col. Benjamin Simonds, Berkshire Militia. (His brother, Nathaniel Robbins, also served with him.)
On page 427, there is a statement that Joseph Robins, private, entered the service at the same date, same company.
The company marched to Ticonderoga. His service was 96 days and he was discharged 22 Mar 1777.
Fort Ticonderoga is on a bold, squarish promontory a mile long and three-quarters of a mile wide. It juts out from the
western side of Lake Champlain. On its southwest, the waters of Lake George pour into Lake Champlain through a
mile long, very narrow gorge. The highest elevation on the promontory is about seventy feet above the lake. Here it
was that the French had chosen to build a star-shaped stone fort, with five bastions, in 1755.
It was partially blown up prior to the British take-over, and after the “Peace of Paris,” in 1763, it had fallen into decay.
After its capture, 10 May 1775, by the patriots, under the command of Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, vigorous
efforts were made to strengthen its defenses. Both militia and Continental soldiers were put to work building new
blockhouses, breastworks and redoubts. It was also necessary to have more manpower to man the extensive new
works.
______________________________________________________
Joseph Robins-private: page 383.
Enlisted 26 April 1777-discharged 19 May 1777. Roll sworn to at Lanesborough. Service 24 days. Captain Joseph
Barns Company of Co. Benjamin Simonds Regt. By order of General Gates, they marched to Saratoga.
During this time, extensive preparations were going on that led to battles at Bennington and Saratoga. The remains of
Colonel Seth Warner’s regiment were gathered at Manchester and this was where the next term of service for the
Robinsons occurred.
Joseph Robers-private: page 398
Enlisted 16 July 1777-discharged 29 July 1777, service 14 days. Marched from Hancock to Manchester. (also
serving with him were his brother Nathaniel Robbens, p. 370, and brother-in-law Robert Wakeley.) Lieut. Thoas
Gould’s detachment of Col. Benjamin Simonds’ Regt.
______________________________________________________
Burgoyne captured Ticonderoga on the 5th of July, 1777, and by the 30th, he had reached the Hudson. The field of
action was shifting from Boston to New York. It was the intent of the British forces to isolate New England from the
rest of the colonies. The plan was for General Howe to advance up the Hudson while General Burgoyne would march
down the Hudson towards Albany, establishing a chain of posts along the way. He would have effectively split the
colonies and thereby deprived them of strength.
On the 13th of August, the British sent a large force under the command of a Col. Baum, a German. Their mission
was to loot the town of Bennington, VT and the surrounding areas of cattle, horses and carriages. In short, to terrorize
the neighborhood. To counter this, additional militias were called out and Baum was routed, at the cost of 1,000 men.
[PAGE 33]
______________________________________________________
Joseph Robins-private: page 427
Enlisted 14 Aug 1777-discharged 20 Aug 1777, service 7 days at Bennington, 34 miles from home. (His brother
Nathaniel, p 429, and brother-in-law Robert Wakeley also served with him.) Rolls endorsed service at Manchester,
under Capt. Wm. Douglas’ Co. of Col. Benjamin Simonds’ Regt.
Since the actual battle of Bennington took place on 16 August 1777, when Joseph was in the militia, the two Robinson
brothers and brother-in-law Robert Wakeley were probably involved. The British defeat encouraged the patriots in
their campaign against Burgoyne.
______________________________________________________
Joseph Robins-private: page 417
Enlisted 7 Sept 1777-discharged 30 Sept 1777. Service 24 days. Company marched to Pawlet, 70 miles from home.
Roll dated Hancock (Serving with him are his brother Nathaniel, p. 429, and brother-in-law Robert Wakeley.) Col.
Benjamin Simonds’ Regt.
The 1st battle of Freeman’s Farm (or 1st battle of Saratoga) took place 19th of Sept 1777, a few miles outside Saratoga.
The opposing generals were Gates and Burgoyne. The British advance southward was halted.
______________________________________________________
Joseph Robbins-private: page 383
Entered 28 Oct 1780-discharged 29 Oct 1780, service 2 days. Called on the “Alarm” of 28 Oct 1780; Roll dated
Hancock. Capt. Wm. Douglas Company of Col. Benjamin Simonds’ Rdgt., Berkshire Militia.
______________________________________________________
Joseph Robinson-private; page 458.
Enlisted 18 July 1781-discharged 1 Nov 1781, service 3 months, 21 days. “Up the Mohawk River”, including 5 days
(100 miles) travel home. (His brother Jonathan also served with him.) Roll sworn to in Berkshire County. Capt.
Samuel Clark’s Co., a detachment of Col. Barnabus Sears’ Regiment.
This was the period of savage Indian attacks within the Schoharie and the Mohawk Valleys. These fierce skirmishes
were from January 1781, to October, 1781.
LAND RECORDS OF HANCOCK, BERKSHIRE, MA
It was here in the Berkshire County Land Records that I first found the names of Joseph Jr. and his wife Esther on a
record. Please refer back to chapter II for information dealing with the condition of the early records for the town of
Hancock. The records available commence several years after the Robinsons first purchased land about 1771/2.
“Proprietors Compilation” Berkshire County, Northern Registry District.
Book B: page 423.
Dated 22 Dec 1780 and recorded 11 Feb 1784. Thomas Farrington of Hancock, to Amos Hall of
Hancock, for 53 pounds, 175 acres…Bounded easterly on Palmer Gardners and Shebny Spinks
land…northwardly on Joseph Robens jun. westerly on Daniel Osborn and Gershom Sharmens
land...south on the land of Noah Ely. Witnesses: David Cummins & Henry Covil.
______________________________________________________
Book B, page 591-592.
Dated 17 Feb 1785 and recorded 8 Mar 1785. Joseph Roberson of Hancock, Berkshire Col, MA,
Yeoman…for the sum of 210 pounds lawful money, paid by Amos Hall, of Hancock, yeoman…Sell to
him 97 acres more or less…Beginning [PAGE 34] northwest corner at stake and stones, the northwest
corner of Joseph Roberson Junr. Farm…on a line between Cahoon and said Roberson…to the land of
Joseph Roberson Junr.
Signed, Joseph Roberson and Rozanna Roberson.
Witnesses: Peter Wells, Isaac Cowan and Israel Ely.
______________________________________________________
Book B, page 592.
Dated 17 Feb 1785 and recorded 8 Mar 1785. Joseph Roberson Junr. Of Hancock,…sells to Amos Hall of
Hancock…for 109 pounds…bounded by …Shibner Spinks land…to Reynolds Cahoon. 63 acres and 40 rods.
Signed, Joseph Roberson Junr. and Ester Robinson.
Witnesses: Peter Wells, Gideon Ellis and Isreal Ely
“COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS COUNTY BERKSHIRE, NORTHERN DISTRICT REGISTRY OF DEEDS.”
Book BK. 21, page 160. Handwritten.
Dated 28 June 1783. Eleazer Bateman of Hancock, for 4 pounds paid by Capt. Shibner Spink, Joseph
Robins, William Keech, Shibnar Spink Jun., Joseph Robens Jun., Henry Covil and Robert Wakeley all of
Hancock, sell a piece of their land for a road.
Witness: Reuben Ely and Noah Ely.
______________________________________________________
The previous land transaction for 17th of February 1785, made to Amos Hall, was the last land sale made by Joseph
and Esther in Hancock. Please see “The Hancock Note”60 dated 18 Feb, 1785, wherein a Joseph Robinson loans
Amos Hall thirty pounds, to be paid back 25 Dec 1787. On the back of the note are several endorsements: the first,
Nathan Robinson from Joseph Robinson; 2nd, Eli Hawley from Nathan Robinson; 3rd, Andrea Storms from Eli
Hawley; and, lastly, Jesse Robinson from Nathan Robinson.
It is my supposition that the original note was made out by Joseph Robinson Jr., the brother of Nathan, and eventually
found its way into the hands of Jesse, the son of Joseph Jr. From Jesse, the note went back to Nathan Robinson, who
had it among his papers at the time of his death. It is obvious that the Jesse endorsed on the back of this note is not
the son of Nathan, for Nathan’s son Jesse wasn’t born until Sept, 1799. This name was given to a grandson of Joseph
Jr. His brother Nathan also named his third son, Jesse.
During Joseph’s service in the war, he had the opportunity of observing the area surrounding Saratoga, New York. It
was to the town of Ballston that Joseph Jr. chose to relocate, instead of Hebron where the majority of his Father’s
family would move. I have been unsuccessful in locating the record of Joseph’s first land purchase in Ballston, which
should have stated his last place of residence.
BALLSTON, SARATOGA COUNTY, NY
Ballston was named after the Reverend Eliphalet Ball, of the congregational Church, who came from Bedford,
Westchester County, NY, in 1770 with his group of parishioners. Shortly after the Revolution, the town grew rapidly
as new settlers moved in. these people generally came with fellow church members and old neighbors. Among the
earliest of these who came before the war were Joseph Morehouse from Connecticut and Thomas Smith from
Dutchess Co., NY. Originally, the settlements of Milton, Charlton, Galway, Providence, Edenburgh and part of
Greenfield were all a portion of Ballston.61
In addition to the Rev. Ball’s congregation moving en masse to Ballston, [PAGE 35] the 1st Congregational Church
earlier came as a group from Canaan, CT, beginning as early as 26 June 1752, and settled at Stillwater, NY. Ephriam
Andrews and family, the father of Joseph’s sister Hannah’s future husband Ephriam Andrews Jr. were among those
who came in 1752. Later, after the marriage of Hanah, she and her husband also moved into Stillwater. Several of
the brothers and sisters of Joseph Jr. were at one time allied with the Baptist faith.
One important family that moved to Ballston in the early years was that of John Lee, born the 18th of October 1747, in
Salisbury, Litchfield County, CT. He was the eldest son of Joseph Lee Jr. and his wife Mary Holly. John’s older
sister Mary lee was born the 3rd of May 1743, at Redding, Fairfield Co., CT. This sister, I believe, married Samuel
Brown and their daughter, Mary Brown, would become the 2nd wife of Joseph Robinson’s brother Nathan.62 John Lee
and his family made the move from Danbury, CT, around 1790, and settled west of Rock City Falls. His son (Rev.)
Elias Lee, born 18th of June 1765, in Ridgefield, Fairfield, CT, came to Ballston, where he became the 1st pastor of the
Baptist Church at Ballston Spa in 1791, and served for 28 years. Before this, the Reverend Lee had served in the 1st
Church of Troy.
Reverend Elias Lee was such a powerful preacher that his flock increased from 29 members to 94, during a great
revival in 1799. In 1797, his church became a member of the Shaftsbury Association, under the name of the 2nd
Milton Church.63 At a meeting held 2 Nov 1802, a Joseph Robinson was listed as a trustee. Perhaps he was a
descendant of Joseph Jr., who had died in 1799.
This area became famous for its hot springs, which were believed to be a source of rejuvenation as well as a cure-all
for various bodily ailments. Ballston Spa became a mecca for many people. The Spa became quite celebrated, and
even General Washington made a visit here in 1783. Its reputation as a cure for bodily ailments attracted Joseph Jr’s.
brother, Nathan Robinson, to visit here in about 1790.
Nathan Robinson recorded the deaths of several of his family members on the back of an account record of loans and
sales, during the year 1809. Among the statistics, he wrote these words “the death of my Brother Joseph January 5th
A. D. 1799.” There are no probate records in Saratoga County for Joseph Robinson, or for any variation of that
spelling.
Esther Robinson does not appear as head of House anywhere on the 1800 Census for NY, nor did I find her on the
Probate Index for Saratoga Co., this led me to conclude that she was probably residing with one of her married
children. Her child, Isaac, on the 1800 Census, Fairfield, Herkimer Co., NY appeared to have an older woman living
at his home together with children older than his should have been. This was probably Esther and her children.
______________________________________________________
Going back to the old scraps of paper originally belonging to Nathan,64 the brother of Joseph Robinson Jr, and now in
my possession, another point to be made here is the presence of 4 loan notes made out to an Isaac Robinson, by
Nathan Robinson. The two notes dated at Shaftsbury, 23 Feb 1802, and signed Isaac Robinson,65 have a different
signature than that on the two loan notes, dated Fairfield,66 13th and 14th of March, 1800, and also signed Isaac
Robinson. The difference in the two signatures is more evident on the original notes than on Xerox copies.
The 1st Fairfield, NY note, dated Fairfield, March 13, 1800, reads, with [PAGE 36] spelling as written: “I for value
recived of do promis to pay unto Nathan Robinson on order the just sume of fifty dolars pabel in a Yoak of salabel
oxen by the tenth day of October next with intrest untill paid and the pay to be delivered at Shaftsbury as witness my
hand Isaac Robinson, in presents of Mima Pettis.” The 2nd note reads: “Fairfield March 14th day 1800. We for value
recived do promis to pay unto Nathan Robinson on order the sume of seven dolars in the corse of next winter to bee
delivered at shaftsbury as witnes our hands Isaac Robinson & Nathan Closson, in presents of Nathan Closson & Isaac
Robinson.”
Below is my list of the family of Joseph Jr. and Esther Robinson. These were compiled from several sources, none of
which were birth or marriage records. Such records are nonexistent for this time and area in NY. The compilation
was made from Census, land, probate and other records. Also, a key clue to this family was obtained from the
Memorandum Book of Ebenezer Robinson (see earlier quote from Ebenezer in the chapter.67
THE FAMILY OF JOSEPH ROBINSON JR. AND ESTHER TROWBRIDGE
Joseph Robinson Jr md: abt 1769 Esther Trowbridge
b: abt 1750; CT b: abt 1750; CT (1of 5 females/1790)
m: abt 1769; Oblong, Dutchess, NY still living 1800 (over 45/1800)
d: 5 Jan 1799 w: Fairfield, Saratoga, NY
w: Ballston, Saratoga, NY d: Saratoga County, NY
______________________________________________________
ｦ
1. Joseph Robinson Jr (III) b: abt 1770; Oblong, Dutchess, NY
2. Isaac Robinson b: abt 1772: Hancock, Berkshire, MA
3. Levi Robinson b: abt 1773; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
4. John Robinson b: abt 1775; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
5. Phebe Robinson b: abt 1777; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
6. dau Robinson b: abt 1779; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
7. Jesse Robinson b: abt 1781; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
8. dau Robinson b: abt 1784; Ballston, Albany, NY
9. dau Robinson b: abt 1787; Ballston, Albany, NY
10. Clark Robinson b: abt 1790; Ballston, Albany, NY
One more observation another loan note belonging to Nathan Robinson, b. 1764, which appears to involve another
son of his brother Joseph Jr. This note is from Nathan to a Samuel Comstock, in Shaftsbury,68 dated February 1807.
On the back of this note is an endorsement, “pay the within to Jesse Robinson, (by) Nathan Robinson.” Nathan’s son,
Jesse, was born in Sept 1799, making him too young to be the Jesse referred to, even if Nathan waited a few years to
collect on this debt. However, Nathan’s oldest brother, Joseph Jr., has both a son and a grandson named Jesse. There
is a Jesse Robinson selling land69 with his wife Phebe, on 31 March 1813, in Ballston, NY. This Jesse would be older
than Nathan’s son. I believe that he was the Jesse noted on the back of the 1807 and 1785 notes.
It is my conclusion that the Isaac Robinson on the Fairfield, (New York), loan note was Nathan’s nephew, Isaac, who
was the son of his brother Joseph Jr. Furthermore, the Isaac Robinson on the Shaftsbury VT, loan note was the
brother of Nathan and Joseph Robinson, who died in 1807.
Joseph and Esther Robinson are also found on land records at Ballston, Saratoga County, NY. His name is spelled
Robinson, Robertson, and Robison. [PAGE 37] Sometimes, his name is spelled two different ways in the same
document.
His first recorded land transactions on the 20th of July 1786. Joseph is already “of Ballston: when he buys this land.
Accordingly, Joseph and Esther would have moved from their Hancock farm shortly after selling out to Amos Hall in
February of 1785.
LAND RECORDS OF SARATOGA, NY70
Book CD: 454, 455, 456-dated 20th July 1786.
Thomas Palmer, late of New Burgh in Ulster Co., deceased, By his will, Beriah Palmer of Ballston, deeds to Joseph
Robinson of Ballston, Albany Co. 76 and ¾ acre in Ballston, for 79 pounds, 16 shillings.
______________________________________________________
Book A: 242, 243—dated 1 Jan 1793.
Joseph Robertson of Ballson, Saratoga, NY, sells 24 acres of land in Ballston for 60 pounds, to Isaac Armstrong of the
same place.
Signed Joseph Robinson and Ester Robinson
Witnesses: Duncan Oliphant & John Robinson.
In the 18 June 1795 recording of the above transaction, the wife writes her name Ester Robinson. In the examination
of this index and document, I noticed that Robinson was also spelled Robison and Robertson within this document.
______________________________________________________
Joseph Jr (III), 1st Child of Joseph Robinson Jr. and Esther
1. Joseph Robinson Jr (III) md: abt 1791 ___________ (Palmer ?)
b: abt 1770 b: abt 1773
w: Oblong, Dutchess, NY d: bef. 29 Apr 1824
d: by 20 Sep 1831; Ballston, Saratoga, NY w: Ballston, Saratoga, NY
wd: 29 Apr 1824, Ballston, NY
______________________________________________________
ｦ
1. son Robinson (eldest son, living at time of will)
2. Ebenezer Robinson (2nd son)
3. Jesse Robinson (3rd son)
4. Henry Robinson (4th son)
5. Jabez Robinson (5th son)
6. Joseph Robinson (6th son)
7. William Robinson (7th son)
8. Ruth Robinson (eldest daughter)
9. Hannah Robinson (2nd dau)
10. Zilpha Robinson (3rd dau)
11. Phila Robinson (4th dau)
12. Esther Robinson (5th dau)
The evidence points to the above as being the eldest son of Joseph Jr. and Esther. After the death of Joseph Robinson
Sr. in 1799, this Joseph appears on the Census records for Ballston from 1800 through 1820. Another consideration
supporting this conclusion is the naming pattern of some of his children. This Joseph names two of his sons,
Ebenezer and Jesse. (Joseph Jr.’s brother, Nathan, also names tow of his sons, Ebenezer and Jesse. In the oblong, the
name of an Ebenezer Robinson appears.) This Joseph also names two of his daughter, Hannah and Esther. This
would also fit the pattern, as his mother’s name was Esther and his father had a sister named Hannah.
[PAGE 38]
WILL OF JOSEPH ROBINSON (III)
Joseph (III)’s will was dated 29 April, 1824.71 the Surrogate Court of Stillwater, Saratoga Co., probated the will of
Joseph Robertson, “late of the town of Ballston,” on the 20th Sep 1831. He names his sons Ebenezer
Robertson/Robinson of Lee, Berks. MA and Jesse Robertson/Robinson of Ballston, as executors. In this document,
the surname is spelled Robertson by the signs his name, Joseph Robinson. There is no mention of a wife. He asks to
be buried in “the ground reserved for that purpose on my farm, on which there are now some graves.” Perhaps his
parents and wife are buried here. His children were listed in this order:
Eldest son: name not given. 1/16th part. His inheritance was to be held in trust, in the hands of the executors
and used for him “as they judge his necessities require.”
Second son: Ebenezer Robinson, of Lee, Berkshire, MA. To receive 2/16th part.
Third son: Jesse Robinson, of Ballston, 2/16th part.
Fourth son: Henry Robinson, 1/16th part.
Fifth son: Jabez Robinson, 2/16th part.
Sixth son: Joseph Robinson, “to my two granddaughters, heirs of my 6th son Joseph, who’s names are to me
unknown,” 1/16 part divided equally.
Seventh son: William Robinson, 2/16th part.
Eldest dau.: Ruth (Robinson), 1/16 part
Second dau.: Hannah (Robinson), wf of Barzilla Richmond, 1/16 part.
Third dau.: Zilpha (Robinson), wf of ___________ Mix.
To the children of his daughter Zilpha Mix: Hiram Mix, Joseph Mix, George Mix, Orpha Mix, Phila Mix, and Irene
Mix, 1/16th part, to be divided equally. Apparently _______, Orpha and Phila Mix were the eldest, as they are her only
children named as being “given notice” of the Probate.
Fourth dau. Phila (Robinson), 1/16 part.
Fifth dau.: Esther (Robinson), wf of James Resco. 1/16th part.
Those named in the will who were “Given legal notice” of its probate were: William Robertson, Zilpha Mix, Orpha
Mix, Phila Mix, Esther C. Resco (wife of James Resco), Hannah Richmond (wife of Barzilla Richmond), and Jabez
Robertson.
1790 CENSUS BALLSON, ALBANY COUNTY, NY
page 17
Head of house—Joseph Robison (Jr),
Three males over 16, two males under 16, and five females.
page 17
Head of house—Ebenezer Robison,
One male over 16, one male under 16, and two females.
Also living here were Samuel and James Lee; Gershom, Enos and Joseph Morehouse; and John Griswold. There
were also Sylvanus, Pegleg, Willm, Silace and Ichabod Brown. (Spelled as written.)
1800 CENSUS BALLSTON, SARATOGA, NY
Although Joseph Robinson Jr. had died before this census taking, there [PAGE 39] were still some Robinson men in
Ballston.
page 16
Head of house—Joseph Robson,
One male 10-15, one male 16-25, one male over 45, two females 16-25, and one female over 45.
page 16
Head of House—Ebenezer Roberson,
Two males under 10, one male 10-15, one male 26-44, two females under 10, one female 10-15, one female
26-44.
Head of House—Jabez Robinson,
One male 16-25, and one female 16-25.
Ebenezer and Jabez were the sons of Joseph Robinson (Robson). There’s a possibility that the listed Joseph is also a
son of Joseph jr. and Esther. See the explanation listed below for the children of this couple.
______________________________________________________
On the succeeding Census’s for Ballston are: Joseph Robbbinson/Robertson, 1810, through 1830, and Ebenezer
Robinson/Roberson, 1810.
______________________________________________________
Isaac, 2nd Child of Joseph Jr. and Esther
2. Isaac Robinson md: abt 1793 _______________
b: abt 1772 (over 16/1790, 26-44/1800) b: abt 1744
w: Hancock, Berkshire, MA
______________________________________________________
ｦ
1. dau Robinson b: abt 1794 (-10/1800); New York
2. dau Robinson b: abt 1796 (-10/1800); New York
3. son Robinson b: abt 1798 (-10/1800); prob. Fairfield, Herkimer, NY
4. dau Robinson b: abt 1800 (-10/1800); Fairfield, Herkimer, NY
Joseph had a brother named Isaac, so it is not unexpected that he would name one of his sons Isaac. I found Isaac
Robinson listed on the 1800 Census for Fairfield, Herkimer County, NY. Among his uncle Nathan Robinson’s papers
are some loan notes Nathan made in Fairfield to Isaac Robinson, in March 1800 and January 1802.72 One loan is
witnessed by a Mima Pettis; there is an Ebenezer Pettit living in Fairfield, 1800 Census. A Wm. Pettis loses a
Washington Co. NY Justice Court case, 6 June 1811, to Nathan Robinson, brother of Joseph Robinson Sr.
1800 CENSUS FAIRFIELD, HERKIMER, NY
page 170
Head of house—Isaac Robinson,
one male under 10, one male 26-44, three females under 10, one female 26-44, and two females over 45. (I
believe that one of these females over 45 is his widowed mother, Esther, and the older children listed below
would be Isaac’s brothers and sister.) 1 male 10-15, 1 male 16-25, 1 female 10-15, 3 females 16-25.
______________________________________________________
Levi, 3rd Child of Joseph Jr. and Esther
3. Levi Robinson md: abt 1796 _______________
b: abt 1773 (over 16/1790, 26-45/1800) b: abt 1775
w: Hancock, Berkshire, MA
[PAGE 40] ______________________________________________________
1. son Robinson
b: abt 1797 (-10/1800); Ballston, Saratoga, NY
2. son Robinson
b: abt 1799 (-10/1800); Ballston, Saratoga, NY
______________________________________________________
Rosanna Robinson, the youngest sister of Joseph Robinson Jr., was married to a man named Levi Duel. It is likely
that this son of Joseph’s was named after his brother-in-law.
1800 CENSUS BALLSTON, SARATOGA COUNTY, NY
page 15
Head of house—Levi Roberson,
Two males under 10, one male 26-44, one female 26-44. Levi Robinson also appears on the Ballston Census
of 1810.
SARATOGA COUNTY LAND RECORD
Vol. GG: 35.
On the 31st of Jan. 1838, Levi Robinson, of Edinburgh, Saratoga, NY, makes a purchase of 20 acres in
Edinburgh, for $300. He purchases the land from the heirs of Stephen Jackson, deceased, who were
Ruama Jackson; George Pease and Emily his wife; Robert Kennedy and his wife Maria J. Kennedy; all of
the town of Edinburgh; and Stephen B. Jackson and Caroline his wife of Northampton, Montgomery, NY.
The land was in Palmer’s Purchase, on land that was quit-claimed to the heirs of Philip Livingston,
deceased, and abuts the land belonging to the heirs of David Wells, deceased.73
______________________________________________________
John, Pheve, Unnamed dau, & Jesse, 4th , 5th, 6th, & 7th children of Joseph Jr and Esther
4. John Robinson md: bfr 2 Nov 1802 Getty (Gettey) ____________
b: abt 1775 (under 16/1790) b: abt 1777; NY
w: Hancock, Berkshire, MA
On the 2nd of Nov 1802, he and his wife Gettey were living in the town of Halfmoon, in Saratoga County. He was old
enough to be a witness to a Ballston land transaction of his parents on 1 Jan 1793.74
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. Phebe Robinson
b: abt 1777; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
She was one of the 5 females listed on the 1790 Census, and her age was given as 16-25/1800 on the Fairfield,
Herkimer, NY Census.
______________________________________________________
6. dau Robinson
b: abt 1779; Hancock, Berkshire, MA
She was one of the 5 females listed on the 1790 Census, and her age was given as 16-25/1800 on the Fairfield,
Herkimer, NY Census.
______________________________________________________
7. Jesse Robinson md: abt 1801 Phebe __________
b: abt 1781 (under 16/1790, 26-45/1810) b:
w: Hancock, Berkshire, MA (26-45/1800)
___________________________________
ｦ
1. daughter Robinson, b: abt 1802 (under 10/1810); Ballston, Saratoga, NY
[PAGE 41]
2. son Robinson, b: abt 1805 (under 10/1810); Ballston, Saratoga, NY
3. daughter Robinson, b: abt 1808 (under 10/1810); Ballston, Saratoga, NY
It was likely that Joseph Jr. would name one of his sons, Jesse. This same name was chosen by his brother, Nathan,
for one of his sons. See the earlier references to a Jesse Robinson, in connection with the Shaftsbury Vermont loan
note from Nathan Robinson to Samuel Comstock, 9th Feb 1807, and the back of the Hancock note. There is also a
Ballston land transaction involving Jesse and Phebe Roberson.
1810 CENSUS BALLSTON, SARATOGA, NY
page 212
Head of house-Jesse Robertson,
One male under 10, one male 26-44, two female under 10, one female 26-44.
LAND RECORDS FOR SARATOGA COUNTY, NY
Volume I:138
The 31st of Mar 1813. “Jesse Robertson (‘Robinson’ in Index) and Phebe his wife in conjunction with
Sylvester Blood and his wife Loattee his wife,” all of Ballston, sell to Jesup Raymond, also of Ballston,
10 acres of land in the town, for the sum of $400. The property is along the road that leads from the
Courthouse to Stillwater. The land being sold is within the 9th and 10th division of the town. It is
bounded by a small lot of land belonging to Sylvester Blood, and then the lands belonging to Amos