Rowland Robinson Mary Allen

Hannah Robinson   William Robinson Abigail G. Hazard

Christopher Robinson Rhuhama Champlin

Abigail   Christopher   George   Elizabeth   Robert   Jesse   Hannah   Matthew   William

Mary Potter Matthew Robinson (bolded above) Mary Potter

John Rowland Samuel Maria Frances William Sarah Edward Hannah S. Ayrault

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The Robinson Family has been traced by Lillian Millett and others back through Scottish and English kings to the first century A.D. The historical account on this page was in part motivated by the Mormon genealogy website. Specific dates are from Rhode Island cemetery records and (less dependably) from Hazard's book Recollections of Olden times; Rowland Robinson and his unfortunate daughter.

There is a Robinson Genealogical Society, through Paul Bunnell, email "BunnellLoyalist@aol.com"

• Rowland Robinson, born 1654 in Long Bluff, Cumberland, England; married Mary Allen in 1676 in Newport, Rhode Island, having at least two children, William and Hannah. Died in Kingston, Rhode Island in 1716. His daughter Hannah was reported to be very beautiful, and was one of the subjects of a largely genealogical book, Recollections of Olden times; Rowland Robinson and his unfortunate daughter.

  From History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island by J.R. Cole, W.W. Preston, 1889 Rowland Robinson, the first, ran away from his parents and escaped on board a ship from England to the colonies, and bound himself to a carpenter. By good behavior he soon got advanced in business, and bought from the Indians large tracts of land on which he built partly with his own hands the homestead in Point Judith. He married a rich farmer's daughter, had many children, and from his eldest son, William, the Robinson family are descended. Rowland Robinson was born in 1654 at or near a place called Long Bluff, in Cumberland, England. He came to this country in 1675, and in 1676 married Mary, the daughter of John and Mary Allen, who were from Barnstable, England. Rowland Robinson died at his residence, situated near the pond or cove of Pettaquamscutt river in 1716, aged 62 years. He and his wife were both buried in the Narragansett Friends' burial ground, South Kingstown, about two miles south of Tower Hill village.

• Mary Allen, born 4 February 1653 in Kingstown, Kent, Rhode Island colony. Mary died in Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island in 1716
• William Robinson, Deputy Governor of colonial Rhode Island, son of Rowland Robinson, and brother of the legendary Hannah Robinson, about whom a book was written : the Mormon genealogy website states : William Robinson, born 26 Jan 1693, No. Kingston, Newport, RI, married 2 Mar 1727 in Rhode Island. Died 19 Sep 1751 in Point Judith, Washington, RI . Kathy Bossy of the Pennaquamscutt Historical Society in Wakefield, RI, says that an oil painting of William Robinson exists ; he was a wealthy man.
• Abigail Gardiner Hazard, second wife of William Robinson. Abigail's family tree has been traced through 50 generations of Scottish and English royalty back to the first century, though there are multiple interpretations for Anglo-Saxon records before 600 A.D. Among these royal ancestors is the legendary King Coel ("Old King Coel"), who would then be Hannah's (great)⁵⁰-grandfather ! who was born in the year 125 A.D.
  Born Abigail Gardiner, married Caleb Hazard on 19 Nov 1719, and married William Robinson on 2 March 1727
• Chistopher Robinson, first child of Gov. William Robinson by his 2nd wife, born 1728, married 1752, died 1807. Christopher's children were : Abigail (1755-1803), Christopher (1756-1849), George (1758-1760), Elizabeth (1760-1822), Robert (1765-1831), Jesse (1766-1808), Hannah (1769-1849), Matthew (1772-1821), and William (1774-1803). Hannah married a John Perry and they had children :
  • Robinson Perry
  • John G. Perry
  • Oliver Hazard
  • others
  The Rhode Island Cemetery index lists Christopher Robinson (1728-1807) buried in the Riverside Cemetery, High Street, Wakefield.
• Rhumama (Susannah) Champlin, born 1731, died 1783. An extensive genealogy of the Champlin family is available through the Millett family in Arizona
• Matthew Robinson

  born 1772, youngest of 10 children of Christopher Robinson. Matthew died 1821 See email. Some Mormon records state death occured in 1825. Matthew Robinson is listed for the 1820 census as living in South Kingston, Rhode Island, with the following children: one male child age less than 10 (probably S. Ayrault) one male child age 10-16 (probably Edward) no male children between 16 and 18 3 male children age 16-26 (probably Rowland, Samuel, and William) one male age more than 45 (Matthew himself) 3 female children age less than 10 (probably Frances, Sarah, and Hannah) 1 female child age 10-16 (probably Maria) no female children age 16-26 one female age 26-45 (his wife Mary) The Rhode Island Cemetery index lists a Matthew Robinson (1773-1825) buried in the Riverside Cemetery, High Street, Wakefield.

  Member of Matthew's family

• Mary Potter (first), died 1801 at age 24
• Mary Potter (second), married in 1802 to Matthew Robinson, died 1836. It is not known how these two Mary Potters are related, if at all. Mormon records (search under Matthew Robinson) appear to identify the first as "Mary L. Potter, married 1797", and the second as Mary Segar Potter (married to Matthew Robinson on 24 April 1803, died 9 Jan 1828). The Rhode Island Cemetery index lists a Mary Seager (Potter) Robinson, born "1783c", died 9 Jan 1828, buried in Swan Point Cemetery, Blackstone Blvd., Providence , R.I.
  The name "Segar" also arises in the Brown family
• John P. Robinson, born 1799, a twin, died 1801, aged 2 years.
• Rowland Robinson, born 1799, a twin, married 1834; died 1859, aged 60 years; left children
• Samuel S., born 1801; married 1825; died 1874, aged 73 years; left children
• Maria, born 1803, died 1831, aged 27; was never married. The Rhode Island Cemetery index lists a Maria Robinson, born "1821c", died 1849, buried in North Burial Ground, North Main Street, Providence, R.I.
• Frances W, born 1804; married Benjamin Balch 1842; died 1845, aged 41 years; left no children. The Rhode Island Cemetery index lists a Frances W. Balch (born abt 1812, died 16 Jun 1845) buried in Grace Episcopal Cemetery, Providence.
• William C., born 1806; died 1827, aged 21 years. The Rhode Island Cemetery index lists a William C. Robinson (1806-1827) buried in the Riverside Cemetery, High Street, Wakefield.
• Sarah Ann, born 1807, died at age 25. The Rootsweb cemetery index lists a Sarah Anne Robinson, born "1815c", died 19 June 1843, the exact date of a dedicated poem, buried in Grace Church Cemetery, Elmwood Avenue at Broad Street, Providence, Rhode Island, in Plot 244, which contains members of the Balch family (see sister Frances above).
• Edward W., born 1809; married 1835; has no children. An Edward W. Robinson is listed in the 1880 Rhode Island census as having been born in 1809, with wife Julia A. Robinson, who was born about 1821 in New York
• Hannah, born 1811 according to the account given by Hazard in his 1879 book, Recollections of Olden times; Rowland Robinson and his unfortunate daughter. It is probable that this date is off by several years. Probate for Matthew Robinson was sought from South Kingston, Rhode Island, but not yet found.
  According to the Hazard book above, Hannah married an Edward Larned, but this last person cannot be located in any US census, and his name may have been mis-copied from hand-written accounts used by Hazard.

  Paul Bunnell, author of a book on the Roninson family, writes: "my Robinson Book ...... I did this book for a friend, William Champlin Robinson III who lives here in Massachusetts. He had original letters going back to the 1700-1800's. The Hannah Robinson info came from a letter that William Champlin Sr. dated 22 April 1930 to the Newport Historical Society on the family genealogy. This part of the letter was not clear so that is why I placed "?" by her husbands name (Edward Larned).

  Alternatively, Hannah Potter Robinson was born 16 June 1820 in Kingston, Rhode Island. Hannah died of pneumonia 4 January 1901, in Chicago; Hannah's Cook County death certificate was obtained, but it does not reveal information on her parents. Hannah created a high-quality photo album and was the object of a book of poems.

  Carroll Flood, great-great-granddaughter of Hannah, owns a writing book dedicated "To Hannah P. Robinson presented by her brother E.W. Robinson". This book contains 36 handwritten poems dated 1842 and 1843, and a story attributed to "Will" which was added about 1893. This writer (Tom L. McFarland in December 2003) suggests that the book was begun as Hannah prepared to move to Baltimore with her new husband, Edmund Landis, but includes memorials to Hannah's sister Sarah who died about 1843.

• S. Ayrault, born 1814; not married. The Rhode Island Cemetery index lists a Stephen Ayrault Robinson, born 1799, died 8 April 1877 buried in the Riverside Cemetery, High Street, Wakefield. Mormon records also list this man, but the 1799 birth date would imply he was not the son of Matthew Robinson. There is also a Stephen Ayrault Robinson, cousin of Rowland Hazard (Rowland married Mary Peace), and this Stephen Ayrault Robinson was already in business with his cousin in 1789. Hence , the name "Stephen Ayrault Robinson" had apparently gained enough favorable notoriety that it was copied.

At this writing, the above tree cannot be firmly linked to the trees for Hannah (Potter Robinson) Landis. It is probable that the above dates are off by several years. Probate for Matthew Robinson was sought from South Kingston, Rhode Island, where he is listed as living for the 1820 census, but his probate has not yet been found.

Furthermore, if we assume that the birth dates in the book are all wrong by exactly the same number of years, then we can calculate the error size as follows. The book states the the two oldest daughters were born in 1803 (for Maria) and 1804 (for Frances). The 1820 census shows only one daughter age 10-16, which must be Maria. The next youngest daughter (born the following year) had not reached aged 10 at census time. Thus, Maria must be exactly 10 years old at census time (1820), and thus was born in 1810. The book claims Maria was born in 1803, 7 years earlier, which now becomes an estimate of error size for the dates in the book. The book also claims Hannah to be born in 1811. If all dates in the book are 7 years too early, then Hannah would have been born in 1818, which is only two years earlier than recorded for Hannah Robinson who married Edmund Landis.