Alexander Robinson1

b. 15 January 1805
FatherMitchell Robinson2 b. 23 Jun 1776, d. bef 27 Dec 1847
MotherRachel Edmiston2 b. bet 1775 - 1780, d. Oct 1863
Birth15 Jan 1805 Alexander Robinson was born on 15 Jan 1805 in Virginia.3 
Childhood  He grew up on his parent's farm on the north side of the Middle Fork of the Holston River. The land surrounded the old Ebbing Spring Cemetery. 
Marriage1 Apr 1830 He married Rachel (?) on 1 Apr 1830.4 
Migration  Alexander and Rachel lived in Virginia for a few years where their first son was born about 1832. However, by the birth of daughter Ann (abt 1836) they had migrated to Illinois.  
Cens-18401840  He may have been the Alexander Robinson enumerated in 1840 in Hancock County, Illinois. The household included 2 males 5-9, 1 male 20-29, 2 females under 5 and one female 30-39. 
Legatee21 Nov 1847  On Nov. 21, 1847 Alexander's father, Mitchell Robinson, wrote his will in Washington Co., Virginia. He left sons Alexander and Edward $5 each. Edward, like Alexander, had migrated to Illinois some years earlier.2 
1850  Alexander probably died before June 1850 as Rachel was enumerated as the head of the household that year. She lived in McDonough County, Illinois, where she was enumerated adjacent to Alexander's brother Edward. Rachel's household included James (18), Ann (14), Jane (12), Edward (10) and Oscar (8).5 
9 Dec 1867  On Dec. 9, 1867, the heirs of Alexander Robinson, living at Henderson Co., Illinois, sold their 1/6th interest in the lands of Jane Robinson deceased [Alexander's sister], in Washington Co., Virginia. The land was described as the Ebbing and Flowing Spring Farm. The heirs [deed would have included spouses] were listed as: Rachel H. Robinson, James M. Robinson, Mary A. Robinson, William Bunger, Rachel A. Bunger [signed deed as Ann E. Bunger], Henry Evans, Jane Evans, Edward C. Robinson and Sarah J. Robinson. Mitchell Robinson left the land to Jane in his 1847 will.6 
  In 1880 Rachel was enumerated living with her daughter and son-in-law William and Ann E. Bunger in Burlington, Iowa. She was 74 years old and reported that she was born in Virginia, but her father was born in Scotland and her mother was born in Pennsyvania.7 

Research Comment:

High On A Windy Hill includes a 1960s era reading of the stones at Ebbing Spring Cemetery. One of the stones still legible at that time is reported to have read:

Alexander Robinson, d. 19 May 1884, age 77y


Many online trees have attached this headstone reading to Alexander, son of Mitchell Robinson and Rachel Edmiston. Although this initially seems logical, given that Alexander's family owned the land for many years, the 1867 deed referenced above shows that Alexander, son of Mitchell and Rachel Robinson, died long before 1884 and probably not in Virginia.

Related Links and Images:

For more information on the Robinson land on the Middle Fork of the Holston River in Washington County, see Ebbing Spring Cemetery

Family

Rachel (?) b. abt 1806
Children
  • James M. Robinson6 (circa 1832 - )
  • Ann Robinson6 (circa 1836 - )
  • Jane Robinson6 (circa 1839 - )
  • Edward Robinson6 (circa 1840 - )
  • Oscar Robinson5 (circa 1842 - )
Last Edited21 Oct 2013

Citations

  1. [S2] Catherine McConnell, High On A Windy Hill, p. 174. Alexander's was one of the very few stones at Ebbing Spring Cemetery that was still present and legible when the cemetery was "read" in the 1960s. It read: Alexander Robinson, d. 19 May 1884, age 77y.
  2. [S701] Mitchell Robinson will (1847), Washington Co., Virginia Will Book 10: 366. The will, dated 21 Nov. 1847 and proved 27 Dec. 1847, named son John Robinson and E.A. Robinson executors. It was witnessed by James Robinson, Moses Robinson and William Houston.
  3. [S3116] Frances Cooke Chan, Ancestors of Edna Katherine & Pearl May Barlow: allied families of Robinson, Edmiston, Wilcox, Alton, Farwell, Welby, Harwick & Martz, digitized images, Family Search (http://www.familysearch.org/ : accessed March 2013), p. 35. Ms Chan cites Alexander's name and birth date to notes copied from a Robinson family Bible by Ruth Richards of Creston IA. The Bible was held by Mahlon Robinson of Washington Co., VA.
  4. [S3116] Frances Cooke Chan, Ancestors of Edna Katherine & Pearl May Barlow: allied families of Robinson, Edmiston, Wilcox, Alton, Farwell, Welby, Harwick & Martz, digitized images, Family Search (http://www.familysearch.org/ : accessed March 2013), p. 35 [Ms Chan cited several sources in general for her information on the children of Mitchell Robinson and Rachel Edmiston to include: a Robinson family Bible, and researchers Howard Jones and Ethel L. Handley. Her entry for Alexander Robinson states he married 1 April 1830 but does not provide the name of the bride.
  5. [S2858] Rachel Robertson [sic] household, 1850 U.S. census, McDonough Co., Illinois, pop. sched., p. after 277 stamped, dwelling 674, family 674, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Feb. 2012. Household includes: Rachel Robertson [sic], 4_, b. VA; James, 18, b. VA; Ann, 14; Jane, 12; Edward, 10; Oscar, 8; all b. IL.
  6. [S2857] Washington Co., Virginia Deed Book 27: 290. Deed dated 9 Dec. 1867 at Henderson Co., IL; the heirs of Alexander Robinson (named as: Rachel H. Robinson, James M. Robinson, Mary A. Robinson, William Bunger, Rachel A. Bunger [deed signed Ann E. Bunger], Henry Evans, Jane Evans, Edward C. Robinson and Sarah J. Robinson, all of Henderson Co., IL) for $250, sell to W.H. Price of Washington Co., VA a 1/6th interest in the estate of Jane Robinson known as Ebbing and Flowing Spring Farm.
  7. [S2860] __ [image is black] Bunger household, 1880 U.S. cens., Des Moines Co., IA, pop. sched., Burlington, ED 111, page 152 (stamped), dwelling 9, family 14, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Feb. 2012. Household includes: __ Bunger, image is black], cont. next page: Ann Bunger, 44, wife, marr, b. IL, parents b. VA; Arthur, 19, son, sgl, mail agent, b. IL; Mira [recorded as Bunger], 17, dau, married, b. IL; Louise, 12, dau, b. IL; Wm, 9, son, b. IL, sick with fever; Charles, 6, b IL; Wm Do_n, 22, son-in-law, telegraph operator, b. IA; Rachel Robinson, 74, mother-in-law, widowed, b. VA, father b. Scotland, mother b. PA.