Family Groups

Mary and Martha (Robbins) Chastain and Their Families

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As these two daughters of Jacob and Mary Robbins didn’t have descendants in Decatur County and because I haven’t personally done much research on them, I wasn’t going to write a post about Mary and Martha at first.  But then I decided, for completeness, I could not leave them out and should at least provide what little information I have about them.

The first thing to know about Mary and Martha is that they married probable brothers, named Chastain, and the Chastain family has had lots of genealogical research done and even has a family association that has been in existence for a long time:  The Pierre Chastain Family Association.  This association is so well organized that when they have had family reunions in the past they’ve sent out flyers to just about every library in the country (I’ve received them at my library on the Oregon coast!).

Many years ago I acquired the book, Little Otter to Lost River: A History of the Chastain Family of Washington County, Indiana, by Claude E. Cook (1976).  Most of my knowledge of the Chastains comes from this resource, as does the specific names, dates, and locations I write about here.  If interested, you can obtain a copy of the book, along with other publications, from the Chastain Family Association’s publication page.  Cook admits that some of the information in his book is based on his own research with some speculation.

There are some Robbins-Chastain ties among descendants of William, Absalom, James, Jacob, and Margaret Robbins, but they are too convoluted to go into here.  However, some of us do have DNA matches with descendants of the various Chastain cousins.  Note that the name Chastain is sometimes spelled Chasteen, Chastine, Shastine, Shasteen, and many other alternatives. 

Mary (Robbins) Chastain

Mary Robbins was born about 1774 in Guilford (now Randolph) County, North Carolina, the eldest daughter of Jacob and Mary Robbins.

She was married to Valentine Chastain on 24 September 1791 in Franklin County, Virginia, with Valentine and her brother William Robbins as bondsmen.  Jacob and Mary Robbins and William and Sary Chastain gave consent for their children to marry, which was witnessed by Mary’s brothers William and Absalom Robbins. 

Valentine Chastain was supposedly born about 1768 (though as his parents gave consent for his marriage I’d suggest a birthdate closer to 1770).  The Chastains were likely of French Huguenot origin.  He was a taxpayer in Franklin County, Virginia, up to 1802 whereupon he moved to Shelby County, Kentucky, and then on to Henry County.  The Robbins and Chastain families seemed to have traveled the same path from Franklin County, Virginia, to Kentucky and then on to southern Indiana, though they separated in their final destinations.

According to author Claude Cook, Valentine Chastain entered land in Scott County, then part of Jefferson County, Indiana, in 1816.  In 1818 the Scaffold Lick Baptist Church was organized at his and Mary’s home (about one mile west of the village of Blocher in Scott County) and I was provided copies of some of these early church records a number of years ago (it would be nice to have such records for the Decatur County churches!).  Valentine was also involved in setting up the Coffee Creek Baptist Church in next-door Jennings County in 1822.

Cook discusses the death dates for both Valentine and Mary and I will include his conclusions here:

“Chambers, in his “History of the Scaffold Lick Church,” gives a death date of October 9, 1843, for Valentine Chastain; however, two entries in the Minutes of the Records of the Church give the date as October 6, 1843.  These Church Minutes were written by Nathaniel Robbins, a son-in-law of Valentine Chastain and it is felt by me that they should be considered the more accurate  The first entry (1843 in the context of the records) reads as follows:  “Be it remembered that on the 6th day of October 1843 our beloved Father Valentine Chasteen departed this life, aged 74 years.”  The second entry (1844 in the context of the records) reads:  “Be it remembered on the 6th day of October 1843 that our beloved father Valentine Chastain departed this life at three P.M. aged 75 years and also Mary his wife died the 16th day of July at 10 o’clock aged 73 years.”  It is my opinion that Mary died in 1844.”

In an article in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of Connections:  The Hoosier Genealogist, author Timothy Mohon lists death notices from the Coffee Creek Baptist Church, which notes about Valentine:  “He was a man of great piety and goodness of heart.”

In listing the children of Valentine and Mary (Robbins) Chastain, I only include spouses where they have married Robbins’:

  • Rebecca Chastain (c1794-c1870) – married a Richard Robbins and lived in Scott County, Indiana.
  • Martin Chastain (c1795-1845) – lived in Scott County, Indiana.
  • Frances (“Franky”) Chastain (c1796-c1845) – possible daughter.
  • Harmon Chastain (c1798-c1877) – married a Lovila (“Vila”) Robbins and lived in Scott County, Indiana.
  • Elizabeth Chastain (c1801-1878) – married a Nathaniel Robbins and lived in Scott County, Indiana.
  • Sary Chastain (c1800-1805-c1847) – possible daughter.
  • Mary Chastain (b. c1806-c1838/39) – lived in Scott County, Indiana.
  • Valentine Chastain, Jr. (1808-c1866) – married a Martha “Massey” Robbins and lived in Scott County, Indiana.

Martha (“Massey”) (Robbins) Chastain

Martha Robbins, referred to as “Massey” or “Massy” in records and in this post, was born about 1779 in Randolph County, North Carolina.  Randolph County was formed that same year out of Guilford County, so depending on Massey’s actual birthdate, officially she could be listed as being born in either location.

Massey Robbins married Rene Chastain, sometimes spelled as “Renny”, on 17 September 1795 in Franklin County, Virginia.  Rene and Massey’s brother William were bondsmen, with Jacob and Mary Robbins giving consent for her to marry, witnessed by William again and Rene’s brother Valentine Chastain.  The marriage was performed by Randolph Hall, preacher for the Pigg River Baptist Church.  Interestingly, Hall has been named as the minister officiating at William Robbins and Bethiah Vickery’s marriage in North Carolina but I’ve never found any documentation to support this.  Perhaps Hall was also following the same North Carolina to Virginia path as the Robbins family.

Rene Chastain was born about 1776 in Virginia.  After his marriage Rene appears on the Franklin county tax lists for 1796 and 1797 but owned no land there.  He first appears in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1806, then moved on to Henry county, appearing in the tax lists there until 1814.  Claude Cook first found Rene in Washington county, Indiana, in 1820 when he purchased land next to Lost River.

As there is no record of a will for Rene or Mary, nor any probate records, Cook identified their possible children through quit claim deeds, as Rene divided his land into eight parts.  In the list of their probable children below, I have only included spouses where they married Robbins’:

  • Absalom Chastain (1797-1853) – lived in Washington county, Indiana, and then moved to Clay county, Illinois.
  • Elizabeth (“Betsy”) Chastain (c1802-c1865/70) – lived in Washington county, Indiana.
  • Margaret Chastain (c1804-?) – lived in Washington county, Indiana.
  • Rene Chastain Jr. (1806-1898) – lived in Washington county, Indiana.
  • Valentine Chastain (1809-1893) – lived in Washington county, Indiana.
  • Hannah C. Chastain (c1810/1811-1876) – married a Valentine Robbins and lived in Washington county, Indiana.
  • Abner Chastain (c1812/1813-1898) – lived in Washington county, Indiana.
  • James Chastain (c1818-?) – lived in Washington county, Indiana.

The two Robbins-Chastain sisters lived in Washington and Scott Counties, Indiana, to the south and southwest of Decatur and Jennings Counties. For reference, here is a map showing the relative locations of those counties.

Washington and Scott Counties, relative to Decatur and Jennings

[Jacob Robbins-Mary and Martha Robbins]

James, Jacob, and Margaret Robbins and Their Families

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I decided to combine these three children of Jacob and Mary Robbins into one post primarily because I don’t have a lot of source material about each one.  My biographies of each will be rather short.  While they didn’t all live in Decatur county, Indiana, each had some part of their family reside there.

Some of these families first settled in Jennings and Scott counties, Indiana, located to the south of Decatur.  Keep in mind distances here are fairly small so even if someone lived in another county, they could actually be just down the road.  Here is a map, just for comparison, of the geographical closeness of these areas.

1845 Indiana

James Robbins

When was James Robbins born?  He married in 1790 and no consent by his parents has been found, though there is one for his wife.  That would indicate he had reached the age of 21, providing a birth year of 1769 or earlier, in North Carolina.  Then, he appears in the 1830 and 1840 Jennings county, Indiana censuses, with an age given as being between 50 and 60, and 60 and 70, respectively.  That would give a birthdate ranging from 1770 to 1780.  I’m going to propose a birthdate of about 1769 to 1770.  (I had always listed the next brother, Jacob, as older than James, but this re-evaluation of the few sources we have made me switch them in my records).

James married Hannah Jarrett on 3 August 1790 in Franklin county, Virginia.  Hannah’s grandparents provided consent.

Hannah Jarrett’s grandparents give consent for her to marry James Robbins

The next records in which I find James are tax records for Shelby county, Kentucky, where he first appears in 1797 continuing through 1805.  It should be noted that, as ever with the Robbins family, there was another James:  that one being a first cousin, the supposed son of Nathaniel Robbins, James’ uncle, and a few years younger.  That James seems to have moved to nearby Bath county, Kentucky.

Also in Shelby county, in 1804, our James was a bondsman and a witness for his sister Margaret’s marriage to Thomas Robbins (see below).

And that is the last record in which I find James and Hannah Robbins until 1830 where he appears in the Jennings county, Indiana census:  1 male aged 50-60 (James), 1 female aged 50-60 (Hannah), and two males aged 15-20 (presumed to be sons James Jr. and Andrew M.).  James is again found ten years later in Jennings county, now 60-69, with one female 60-69 (Hannah) in the household.  Neither James nor Hannah are found again after that and presumed to have died in the 1840s and buried at some currently unmarked location in Jennings county.

Bottom of the deed – executed in 1839 but not recorded until 1847

In looking at land records in Jennings county, I was excited to find one recorded in 1847 where James and Hannah Robbins sold land to Jacob Robbins.  That would have advanced their lifetime a bit in the records.  Unfortunately, the land transfer actually took place in 1839 but wasn’t recorded until 1847.  Jacob probably had a reason to demonstrate legal ownership at that point and took the deed to the courthouse for recording, still leaving us with the 1840 census as the last appearance of James in the records.

James and Hannah Robbins are believed to be the parents of the following children:

  • Ransom Robbins (1793-1868) – lived in Jennings county, Indiana, before moving to Le Sueur county, Minnesota.
  • Jacob Robbins (1796-1874) – lived in Jennings and Fulton counties, Indiana.
  • Mary (“Polly”) Robbins (1798-1886) – married James Green and lived out her life in Jennings county, Indiana.
  • John Robbins (1805-1888) – lived in Jennings, Clinton, and Fulton counties, Indiana.  Note: he was married to Mary Margaret Deweese in Decatur county – she being the relative of other Deweese’s who married Robbinses in Decatur.
  • Matilda Robbins (1807-1888) – married Thomas Robbins Jr., son of Margaret (below), lived out her life in Jennings county, Indiana.  Their son Absolem Robbins moved to Decatur county, Indiana, where they have descendants to this day.
  • James Robbins (1811-1885) – lived in Jennings and Jackson counties, Indiana, before moving to Cloud county, Kansas.
  • Andrew Martin Robbins (1814-1882) – lived in Jennings, Jackson, and Marshall counties, Indiana, before moving to Le Sueur county, Minnesota.

Jacob Robbins (II or Jr.)

Jacob Robbins, another son of Jacob and Mary, was born anywhere from about 1767 to 1773 or later in North Carolina.  The earlier date has been passed down in the family but the latter is deduced from his age in the 1840 and 1850 censuses and is the date I’m using.

The first record in which he appears is his marriage to Rachel Robbins, a daughter of his uncle Nathaniel and aunt Ann Robbins in 15 November 1790 in Franklin county, Virginia.  Both sets of parents give consent for the marriage and brother William is one of the bondsmen.  If consent was necessary for the marriage then Jacob was under the age of 21, giving a birth year no earlier than 1769.  Because his marriage required a consent from his parents, while his brother James’ marriage the same year did not, I’m working on the assumption that James was the elder.

Consent by parents for Jacob and Rachel Robbins to marry

It is said that Rachel Robbins died young, around 1801, and that Jacob Robbins then married Nancy Hanks.  This Nancy Hanks should not be confused with Abraham Lincoln’s mother Nancy Hanks – despite wildly inaccurate trees on Ancestry and elsewhere, Abe’s mother was not married to Jacob Robbins before Thomas Lincoln.  However, it is believed that she was a cousin of Abe’s mother.  I’m not going to go into the murky history here but you can read my previous post about the Robbins-Hanks-Lincoln connection.  It is also suggested that Nancy (Hanks) Robbins died early and Jacob married a third time, one suggestion being to a Sarah Jane Johnston.  I have found no marriage records between Jacob and anyone other than his first wife, Rachel.

One of the problems with identifying this Jacob in the records is that once he came of age (he is estimated to have reached 21 sometime in the early 1790s) it is hard to distinguish between he and his father and, later, his nephew Jacob, son of William.  In the early Kentucky tax records, for example, it’s hard to tell them apart as we find listings for Jacob, Jacob Sr., and Jacob Jr. The name Jacob appears in Shelby county from 1796 to 1804, then picking up in Henry county in 1805 and running through 1825.

I’ll briefly mention some of the history written down by Jacob’s grandson, Harvey Robbins.  Harvey’s stories, a bit imaginative and not always accurate or consistent as they were derived from oral history on these early generations, unlike his first-person accounts of the trip west and the Indian wars, still provide some color for these early years.  He recorded that his grandfather Jacob was involved in the Pigeon Roost settlement of southern Indiana, infamous for the massacre by Indians that took place in 1812. The attempt to settle in Indiana failed because of this and Jacob returned to Kentucky. Harvey also mentions that his grandfather was nicknamed “Big Toe” Jake while his son, Harvey’s father, was called “Little Toe” Jake.  Neither the event or the nicknames appear in any historical record.

I believe he is the Jacob Robbins who appears in the 1840 Scott county census, listed as a male between the ages of 60 and 69, with one female between the ages of 40 and 49 (identity unknown), and one male under 5 (unknown; a grandchild perhaps?).  And then in the 1850 Decatur county census he is listed, age 77, living with a 12-year-old John H. Robbins, relationship unknown.

I covered this in a previous blog post here but it is possible we have a photograph of this elderly Jacob Robbins.  The photo below came from the late Patrick Masterson, a descendant of Jacob, and he claimed that this photo was of Jacob Robbins.  Photography was becoming more widely available in the 1850s – could this be the earliest example we have in the family?

Said to Jacob Robbins (1773-after 1850)

Below is my list of the children of Jacob Robbins.  Because of the gap in birthdates it is certainly possible that he had additional children, who either died in infancy (except for family records there were few sources in early Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana that would list these children), or are simply unknown to us.  This is where some DNA research (of which I am not an expert) could prove useful, especially for those who have genetic matches to Robbins families that don’t seem to fit elsewhere but point towards this family line.

  • Aaron Robbins (c1791-?) – nothing much known.
  • John Henry (Hance) Robbins (1797-?) – lived in Decatur before moving to Scott county, Indiana.
  • William (“Rock Creek Billy”) Robbins (1801-1864) – lived out his life in Decatur county, Indiana and has descendants there today, I believe.
  • Jacob Robbins (III or Jr.) (1809-1896) – lived in Decatur county, until 1852 when he and his family, along with cousin Nathaniel and family, moved to Oregon.

Margaret Robbins

We do not have a lot of information, at present, about Margaret Robbins and her husband Thomas Robbins.  Margaret was probably born about 1784 while the family was living in Franklin county, Virginia.

The first record she appears in is her marriage to Thomas Robbins in 1804 in Shelby county, Kentucky.  The bondsmen were Thomas and her brother James, consent was given by parents Jacob and Mary (indicating a birthdate later than about 1783), which was witnessed by her brothers Absalom and James Robbins.  While it is unclear who Thomas Robbins parents were, it has been suggested that his father was Richard Robbins and his mother possibly a Catherine (to date I’ve found no documentation for this), with Richard being suggested as the eldest son of Nathaniel and Ann Robbins, making Margaret his first cousin, once removed.

Permission for Margaret Robbins to marry Thomas Robbins

Thomas Robbins appears in the 1806 and 1807 Shelby county, Kentucky, tax lists, before showing up in Henry county in 1808 and continuing through 1814.  Their absence after that suggests that Thomas and Margaret may have been among the early settlers of Indiana.

While their oldest son Thomas Robbins Jr. appears in the 1830 Jennings county, Indiana, census, Thomas Sr. is not found there.  It is possible that one of the two other Thomas’s in that census year in Indiana, one in Jefferson county (next door to Jennings) and one in Daviess (a bit to the west) are our Thomas Sr. but the information doesn’t jibe clearly (not that that is unusual in census records).

There are several confusing land transactions in Jennings county which refer to Thomas’ widow Margaret and heirs (listed as Thomas Jr., William, and Polly Robbins).  These records focus on a particular 40-acre section of land in that county, transferred back and forth beginning in 1840, suggesting a death date for Thomas before that.  As Margaret is not found in the 1850 census, at least under the name of Robbins, it is possible she was deceased by that date.  Further research, including into potential probate or court records for Thomas Sr., might clear up some of the questions.

The children of Thomas and Margaret Robbins:

  • Thomas Robbins Jr. (1805-1858) – married Matilda Robbins, daughter of James (above), lived out his life in Jennings county, Indiana.  Their son Absolem Robbins moved to Decatur county, Indiana, where they have descendants to this day..
  • William R. Robbins (c1807-1880) – lived in Jennings county before moving to Washington county, Indiana.
  • Mary (“Polly”) Robbins (?-after 1843) – nothing much known.

[Jacob Robbins-Jacob and James and Margaret Robbins]

Absalom Robbins Sr. and Family

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The second known child of Jacob and Mary Robbins was Absalom, born 11 September 1765 in Rowan (now Randolph) county, North Carolina.  The area in Rowan county the Robbins family lived in later became Randolph when it was formed in 1779.  (Note that Absalom is sometimes also spelled Absolem, among other variations; the name comes from the Bible where it is commonly spelled “Absalom”).

Signature of Absalom Robbins

We have his birth date from the deposition he gave in support of his sister-in-law Bethiah’s application for a pension based on his brother William Robbins’ Revolutionary War service.  In his deposition, Absalom states that:

“…he was born on the 11th day of September 1765 in Randolph County North Carolina that he resided in his said native County from the time of his birth until the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.  He was too young to serve in the army during those years of trouble but he was still old enough to observe passing events, and he still has the most vivid recollection of many incidents of that period.  He further states that he is the brother of William Robins late of this county [Decatur] who died on the 11th day of Sept 1834, and who was at the time of his decease a pensioner under the government of the United States and the husband of Bethia Robins, who is an applicant for a pension….”

Absalom was married to Mary Ogle on 13 March 1787 in Franklin County, Virginia.  Mary’s parents were Hercules Ogle and Mary Carson, probably.  There are several records mentioning Absalom and father-in-law Hercules, besides the 1787 marriage bond where both were the bondsmen for the Robbins-Ogle marriage.

Unlike his brother William, for whom I have found no land records in Virginia, in 1790, at the age of 25, Absalom Robbins is listed in the Montgomery county, Virginia, tax books as the owner of taxable property “in the district of Thomas Robinson, Commissioner, formerly the upper district of Botetourt County and now the lower of Montgomery County for the year 1790.”

Excerpt from Virginia land record

Absalom Robbins, as assignee of father-in-law Hercules Ogle, received a land grant for 56 acres on the Mine Creek waters of Little River adjoining Ogle’s land, and he received a land grant for 56 acres on the Mine Creek waters of Little River adjoining his own lands.

In 1791 Absalom was a witness, along with his brother William, to the marriage of his sister Mary Robbins to Valentine Chastain.

In 1800 he is first found in the Shelby county, Kentucky, tax lists, where he appears through 1805, thereafter appearing in Henry county, Kentucky.  In 1804, while in Shelby county he witnessed the consent given by his parents for his sister Margaret to marry Thomas Robbins.

Later in 1809 in Henry county he gave consent, along with his wife Mary, for their daughter Elizabeth Robbins to marry Philip Stark.  In 1818 he gave consent, alone, for son John to marry Edy Sanders.  He appears in the 1810 and 1820 censuses for Henry county and appears in that county’s tax lists through 1828.

There is then a gap of some years before we find Absalom in any more records (I have not found him in the 1830 census).  In 1838 he received a land patent in Decatur county, Indiana, for 40-acres in Section 4 of Township 9 North, Range 9 East (located about midway between Harris City and Gaynorsville).  Other neighboring land owners in his section include his nephews Marmaduke and Nathaniel Robbins, Nathaniel’s son William Franklin Robbins, and several other names associated with the Robbins family:  Herren, Meredith, VanTreese, and Burke.

Approximate location of Absalom’s land in Decatur County

In 1842 Absalom Robbins married Susannah Huffman, for some reason in Hendricks County, Indiana, which is located to the northwest of Indianapolis, quite a distance from his home in Decatur County.  The couple sold part of the same land that Absalom had received in 1838 to Jacob Deweese in 1847.  Deweese was married to Absalom’s grandniece, Mary Helen Robbins (daughter of Marmaduke and granddaughter of Absalom’s brother William).  And in 1853 in they sold part to “Absolem Robbins of Breckinridge County, Kentucky.”

By the early 1850s some of Absalom’s children had moved out of Decatur County, including Nancy (to Oregon in 1852), John (to Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois by 1840), Mahala (to Missouri by 1840), Absalom Jr. (to Kentucky by 1840), as well as numerous grandchildren, in particular the children of Micajah (to Kentucky by the early 1850s).

While Absalom and Susan were living in Decatur County for the 1850 census, he apparently decided to join his Kentucky children and grandchildren, and moved to Breckinridge County, Kentucky, by the mid to late 1850s.

While it is rare to find death records for this time and place, we are lucky to find Absalom Robbins listed in the 1860 Mortality Schedule of the U.S. Census.  The mortality schedule was a special enumeration collecting the details of those persons who died within the previous census year.  In 1860 the census enumerators listed the “name of every person who died during the year ending 1st June, 1860, whose usual place of abode at the time of death was in this family.”  And lo and behold, we find Absalom:

Absalom Robbins entry in 1860 Mortality Schedule

Now, he wasn’t quite 100 years old, he was 93, but who’s quibbling at that point?

It is suggested, but not confirmed, that he might be buried in the same decrepit cemetery where Absalom Jr. and Jemima are buried in the Old Robbins Schoolhouse Cemetery (you can find a brief description on FindAGrave here).

Below is my list, believed to be complete and accurate, of the children of Absalom and Mary Robbins. This list of names comes from miscellaneous family records, county histories, and the occasional other document that provides a relationship.

There is one possible problem with my list:  Absalom Robbins Jr.  Some oral family history says that Absalom had a son Absalom Jr. who in turn had one son Absalom III, who was married to Jemima Hanks.  I’ve made the case that there were only two Absaloms, and that Absalom III was really the youngest son of the elder Absalom.  I won’t go into all the reasoning here, and I may very well be incorrect, but you can read my blog post about it here. Note that some of the dates below are estimates based on available records.

  • Micajah Robbins (1788-1865) – lived out his life in Decatur county, Indiana.
  • Elizabeth (Robbins) Stark (1790-1886) – married Philip Stark, lived many years in Decatur county, before moving to Boone county, Indiana.
  • George Robbins (1792-1887) – lived out his life in Decatur county, Indiana.
  • Nancy Robbins (1797-1880) – married her cousin Nathaniel Robbins, lived in Decatur county, until 1852 when she and her family moved to Oregon.
  • John Robbins (1799-1857) – lived in Decatur county, Indiana, before moving on to Missouri and Iowa.
  • Mahala Robbins (1802-1866) – married David May, lived in Decatur county, Indiana, before moving to Missouri and Texas.
  • Absalom Robbins Jr. (1810-1885) – lived in Decatur county, Indiana, before moving to Breckinridge county, Kentucky.
  • Charity Robbins (1811-1892) – married (1) James Hanks and (2) John Purvis; lived out her life in Decatur county, Indiana.

I believe that today there are descendants of Micajah, Elizabeth, George, and Charity in Decatur county, Indiana.

My next family group post will discuss three siblings of William and Absalom:  Jacob Jr., James, and Margaret.

[Jacob Robbins-Absalom Robbins]

William Robbins Sr. and Family

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This is the first in a series of blog posts about major Robbins family groups in anticipation of this years’ Decatur County, Indiana, bicentennial reunion.

The eldest son of Jacob and Mary Robbins appears to be William Robbins, who was born on 21 September 1761 in Rowan county (now Randolph), North Carolina (Randolph county not being established until 1779).  William served in the North Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War (you can read about that here:  https://robbinsroots.blog/2017/07/01/william-robbins-teenager-in-the-american-revolution/) and was married to Bethiah Vickrey, a daughter of Marmaduke and Elizabeth Vickrey, on 27 February 1779.  (Vickrey may also be spelled Vickery).

There is a family tradition that Bethiah Vickrey was married to two separate men named William Robbins.  I’m not sure that I believe this account.  I won’t go into all the reasoning here but the marriage date above comes from Bethiah’s application for a pension based on the service of this William Robbins in the war.  All of the known children were born after this date.  Therefore, either Bethiah was married to one William and not two, or she lied on the application.  Without any further evidence, one way or another, except for oral family tradition, for the purposes of this post I’m assuming one marriage to one William Robbins.

Following the Revolutionary War, which devastated parts of North Carolina with partisan, brother-against-brother violence and destruction, William and Bethiah moved to Franklin County, Virginia, with other members of the Robbins family.  One marriage bond there in 1791 lists William as a witness to the marriage of his sister Mary to Valentine Chastain.  Another marriage record in 1795 has William, along with his brother Absalom serving as a bondsman for the marriage of their sister Martha (called “Massey”) to Rene Chastain.  I have not found William in any land records in Virginia, either Franklin, nor nearby Montgomery county where others of the family lived.

William and Absalom Rob[b]ins witness the marriage of their sister Mary Robbins to Valentine Chastain

William Robbins does appear in Henry Co., Kentucky deeds, and he appears in that county’s tax lists beginning in 1804 and continuing through 1825. He also appears in the 1810 and 1820 censuses there in confusing census entries, and in 1822 was a bondsman along with John Herren to Herren’s marriage to William and Bethiah’s daughter Theodoshia.  At some point after that he moved to Decatur County, Indiana. 

On 26 May 1826 he was a granted a federal land patent to 80 acres of land in Decatur County, located in Section 9 of Township 9 North, Range 9 East, about half way between todays Greensburg and Westport.  Others in the same section were his son Nathaniel Robbins; nephews Micajah, George, and Henry Robbins; and son-in-law Abraham Anderson.  Surrounding sections were also full of family members. 

Location of William Robbins property in Decatur County, Indiana

Later, in 1831, William and Bethiah deeded the property over to their son-in-law Abraham Anderson, who was married to their next to youngest daughter Charlotte.  The deed entry records that “for and in consideration of the natural love and affection which he the said William Robins hath and beareth unto the said Abraham Anderson as also for the better maintainance support livelihood and preferment of him…” and that further “…it is express[ly] understood that the said William Robins is to have the use and possession of the above granted premises as long as he lives, and at his death the above deed to be of Full Force and virtue in law.”  The closeness of the parents to Charlotte and her husband is also underscored in the 1850 census where the widow Bethiah is listed living in the household of the couple.

Signature of William Rob[b]ins from his pension application

William applied for a pension based on his service in the North Carolina militia on 31 October 1833.  Following his death, his widow Bethiah applied for her portion of the pension, with a supporting affidavit from William’s brother Absalom.

William died on 11 September 1834 and is buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Decatur County.  His widow Bethiah survived until 8 December 1850, living until she was 90-years of age.

William Robbins gravestone installed by the D.A.R.

The three oldest children of William and Bethiah were born in North Carolina before the parents had left the area.  All of the remaining children were born in Virginia, with exception of the youngest who was born after they arrived in Kentucky. 

Below is a list, believed to be complete and accurate, of the children of William and Bethiah Robbins. This list of names comes from miscellaneous family records, county histories, and the occasional other document that provides a relationship.

  1. Abel Robbins (1779-1866) – lived his entire adult life in Henry county, Kentucky.
  2. Charity Robbins (1780-c1832) – married Buell or Boal Wooden and lived in Henry and Oldham counties, Kentucky.
  3. Benjamin Robbins (1781-1841) – said to have gone to Tennessee.
  4. Marmaduke Robbins (1786-1838) – settled in Decatur county, Indiana.
  5. Jacob Robbins (1786-1873) – lived first in Decatur county then moved to next-door Bartholomew county, Indiana.
  6. Elizabeth Robbins (1788-1877) – married Jesse Watkins and they settled in Scott county, Indiana.
  7. Mary (aka “Polly”) Robbins (1791-1851) – married John Kirkpatrick and they lived in Decatur county, Indiana.
  8. Nathaniel Robbins (1793-1863) – married his first cousin Nancy Robbins – they lived in Decatur county, Indiana, and then traveled to Oregon in 1852.
  9. John Robbins (1795-1881) – lived out his life in Decatur county, Indiana.
  10. William Robbins, Jr. (1797-1868) – lived out his life in Decatur county, Indiana.
  11. Charlotte (Lottie) Robbins (1799-1874) – married Abraham Anderson and they lived out their lives in Decatur county, Indiana.
  12. Theodoshia (Dosha) Robbins (1804-1881) – married John Herren; they lived in Decatur County until they moved to Missouri, and then finally on to Oregon in 1845.

Of these children, the only one known, for certainty, to have descendants today in Decatur County is William Robbins Jr.

Some of the children had descendants in the county for many, many years, but over time they moved elsewhere in Indiana, elsewhere in the U.S, or, in a few cases, moved internationally.  A few of the family lines just petered out in recent decades.  I believe that the last descendant outside William Jr.’s family (in fact a descendant-in-law – is that a term?), was Dorothy (Meek) Gannon who died in Greensburg in 2007.  She was the wife of William Emerson Gannon, a descendant of Polly (Robbins) Kirkpatrick.  The descendants of William Jr. in Decatur county were prolific, as were the family members who moved elsewhere.

However, William Sr. wasn’t the only child of Jacob and Mary to settle in Decatur County and leave descendants; my next post will discuss their son Absalom Robbins, who also has descendants there today.

[Jacob Robbins-William Robbins]