The Early Generations – A Tentative Outline
There are still mysteries in the early generations of the Robbins family. Owing to the sameness of names in the family as well as the paucity of records, we can only come up with a tentative outline of the family of Jacob and Mary Robbins. Some names, dates, and relationships are well established, others are the result of conjecture. We have more resources now than family historians had before the 1990s. I started genealogical research in the late 1970s using a typewriter and the U.S. postal service.
Today we have personal computers and the Internet, giving us quick access to records and the ease to search many records quickly and efficiently. History problems that I didn’t think would ever be solved have been cleared up but other still remain.
This outline is subject to change with further research. Some controversies, such as the question of whether Bethiah Vickery was married to two separate men named William Robbins, with children from each marriage, is not addressed in this outline. Future blog posts may cover those issues. Corrections and additional information is welcomed, but it must be accompanied by documentation.
First Generation
Jacob Robbins (dates unknown) married Mary [–?–]
Second Generation: Children of Jacob and Mary Robbins
William Robbins (1761-1834) – married Bethiah Vickrey
Absalom Robbins (1765-1859) – married Mary Ogle
Jacob Robbins Jr. (1767-?) – married Rachel Robbins, Nancy Hanks, and possibly others
James Robbins (c1771-?) – married Hannah Jarrett
Mary Robbins (c1774-1844) – married Valentine Chastain*
Martha “Massey” Robbins (1779-1863) – married Rene Chastain*
Margaret Robbins (c1784-?) – married Thomas Robbins Sr.
*The Chastain family is well researched by a national family association. I have not followed their research for some years and the children of Mary and Martha are not listed here.
Third Generation: Child of each sibling
Children of William Robbins
Abel Robbins (1779-1865) married Mary Watkins
Charity Robbins (1781-?) married Buell Wooden
Benjamin Robbins (1783-?)
Marmaduke Robbins (1786-1838) married Elizabeth Parsley
Jacob Robbins (1786-1873) married Polly Parsley
Elizabeth Robbins (1788-1872) married Jesse Watkins
Mary (“Polly”) Robbins (1791-1851) married John Kirkpatrick
Nathaniel Robbins (1793-1863) married Nancy Robbins
John Robbins 1795-1881) married Margaret Warble and Ruth Anderson
William Robbins (1797-1868) married Eleanor Anderson
Charlotte Robbins (1799-1874) married Abraham Anderson
Theodoshia (“Dosha”) Robbins (1804-1881) married John Herren
Children of Absalom Robbins
Micajah Robbins Sr. (1788-1865) married Elizabeth Vickery
Elizabeth Robbins (1790-c1886) married Philip Stark
George Robbins (1792-1887) married Nancy Pruitt
Nancy Robbins (1797-1880) married Nathaniel Robbins
John Robbins (c1799-1857) married Edith Sanders
Mahala Robbins (1802-1866) married David May
Absalom Robbins Jr. (1810-?) married Jemima Hanks
Charity Robbins (c1811-1892) married James Hanks and John Purvis
Children of Jacob Robbins Jr.
John Henry (“Hance”) Robbins (c1797-?) married Catherine Ferguson
William Robbins (1801-1864) married Mary Moffett and Elizabeth (Ferguson) Robbins
Aaron Robbins
Jacob Robbins III (1809-1896)
Children of James Robbins:
Ransom Robbins (1793-1868?) married Rebecca Green, Polly Wooden, Elizabeth Guin
Jacob Robbins (1796-1874) married Mary (“Polly”) Robbins
Mary (“Polly”) Robbins (1798-1886) married James Green
John Robbins (1805-1888) married Mary Margaret Deweese
Matilda Robbins (1807-1888) married Thomas Robbins
James Robbins (1811-1885) married Mary (“Polly”) Burton
Andrew Martin Robbins (1814-1882) married Mary (“Polly”) Hale
Children of Margaret (Robbins) Robbins
Thomas Robbins Jr. (c1805-1858) married Matilda Robbins
William R. Robbins (c1807-1880) married Polly Turner and Hannah C. Chastain
Mary (“Polly”) Robbins (?-?)
(This last family is probably the least well documented family line at this time).
Robbins Roots 
Hi Kevin.
I can’t tell you how glad I was to find your blog. We’ve connected before on Ancestry & via email awhile ago. I really appreciate all of the research & time you’ve put into this, and sharing it. You are an inspiration to me. The love of genealogy must run in the Robbins DNA.
I think I’ve shared this with you before, but for the sake of any other family that may see this, I am connected to Jacob and Mary through their son Absalom & Mary Ogle, then their son Micajah and his wife Elizabeth Vickery. Their son Micajah Cajer married Elizabeth Swink & had Zachary Taylor Robbins. He married Mary Minerva Dalton (rumored to be related to the Dalton Gang). Their son, Charles Henry married Nettie Widener and had my father Harold Emory Robbins.
Let me tell you, he did his part to keep the Robbins legacy alive, HaHa. He fathered a set of twins at age 17 which they were either given up for adoption or he signed away his parental rights to. Then he had 3 children with his first wife, 4 with his second and 7 with my mother. I am the baby of 16.
Thank you again for all of your research and sharing photographs.
Your kin,
Darla Robbins-Saltzman
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Thanks Darla! Good to hear from you again. I hope to have some stories about your line of the family on here too. If you have any articles or anything to share, feel to pass them along via my email. And, let others know about the blog too. We need as many readers as possible. Kevin
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