Category: Genealogy

I Had Another Robinson Article Published in the NEHGS Register

I am excited to say that I have had another genealogy article published in the New England Historical Genealogical Society Register. If you are interested here is a PDF of the article.

Increase-Robinson-NEHG Register Summer 2022Download

I have at least three Robinson lines of ancestors. This article is about my seventh great grandfathers, Increase Robinson Jr. He is an ancestor of my great grandmother, Fannie Robinson Erb.

I think it is interesting that each of us has 512 seventh great grandfathers. In 2017 I had my first genealogy article published. It was also about one of my seventh great grandfathers, George Robinson. He is my direct male line ancestor.

If you are a descendant of Increase Robinson I would love to hear from you.

My Sister – Barbara Uldene Robinson Simpson – May 25, 1954 to November 17, 2022

My younger sister, Barbara died Thursday, November 17. She was an amazing person and a wonderful sister.

She knew what she wanted in life and pursued it with focus. Her Christian faith was her rock. Her family meant everything to her. I will miss her enormously.

Here is her obituary:

Barbara Uldene Simpson née Robinson, aged 68, went to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday, November 17, 2022 while living at home in University Place, Washington. Barbara was an earnest and faithful Christian, a regular attender and member of Faith Presbyterian Church, Tacoma. She sacrificially devoted herself to serving her Lord, family, and Christian brothers and sisters. Barbara died peacefully with family at home after living with ALS for 6 years.

Born in Bismarck, North Dakota on May 25, 1954 to Donald Wayne Robinson and Margaret Helen Robinson née Gibson, she was the second of four children. Barbara graduated valedictorian in 1972 from London Central High School in High Wycombe, United Kingdom while living with family in Farnham Commons, Buckinghamshire. She earned a degree in zoology from Iowa State University in 1976 and a doctor of dental surgery from the University of Washington in 1980.

Barbara served as an Army dentist at Ft. Lewis, Washington and Taegu, South Korea until June 1984. The Rev. Dr. Robert S. Rayburn, pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church, introduced Barbara and Michael Simpson to each other and they were married on June 8, 1985. They had four children, David, Jonathan, Elizabeth, and Mary.

Barbara loved being a full-time mother. In addition to being active in the ministry of the church, she loved knitting, sewing, playing the piano, cooking, gardening, and painting. When the children got older, Barbara returned to dentistry and worked as a hygienist at 6th Ave Dental in Tacoma for 11 years. During her last years, while enduring the ravages of ALS, she graciously kept her eyes on the Lord and was an inspiration to many.

Barbara is survived by her husband, Michael Gray Simpson, children David and his wife Katelyn Simpson of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jonathan Simpson, Elizabeth and her husband Logan Green, and Mary and her husband Scott Ligman all of Tacoma. She is survived by three siblings, Marion and her husband Duke Vermazen of Reno, Nevada, Elizabeth and her husband Steven Thompson of Memphis, Tennessee, and Charles and his wife Annie Robinson of Seneca, South Carolina as well as cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The Simpson family plans a viewing on Monday December 5th, 6-8 pm at Haven of Rest Funeral Home in Gig Harbor. All are invited. The burial is planned for Tuesday December 6th at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent. If you plan to attend please be there at noon sharp. The burial will be at 12:30 pm sharp. A Memorial Service is planned for 4 pm at Faith Presbyterian Church also on Tuesday December 6 th followed by a reception in DeSoto Hall. All are invited to the burial, memorial service, and reception.

We are so thankful to our Lord and loving church family during this time. It was such a comfort to have your love and support throughout the years and it brings us peace knowing that Barbara is in Heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Barbara in Reno, Oct 16 2009
Barbara’s wedding picture – June 8, 1985
Barbara probably about age 8 in the summer of 1962

Finding where My Great Great Great Grandfather Lived in County Cavan, Ireland

My Great Great Grandmother,  Margaret Robinson Gibson emigrated from Ireland to Canada with her two sons Alexander and Humphrey about 1867. (Coincidentally my Mother Margaret Gibson Robinson had a very similar name. I have three distinct Robinson lines in my family tree. Two on my Dad’s side and this line on my Mom’s side of the tree.)

My Great Great Grandmother’s husband, my Great Great Grandfather, Robert Gibson died  in Ireland before Margaret and her sons emigrated. The marriage record of Margaret and Robert documents that they were married in 1857.

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The certificate also shows that she was from Prospect in County Cavan and that her Father was Humphrey Robinson.

Humphrey Robinson is clearly listed in Griffith’s Valuation.  Ancestry.com provides a good description of Griffith’s valuation.

” referencing approximately one million individuals who occupied property in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. Griffith’s Valuation, or Primary Valuation of Ireland, was executed under the direction of Sir Richard Griffith to provide a basis for determining taxes. This involved establishing the value of all privately held lands and buildings in both rural and urban areas in order to figure a rental rate for each unit of property. The resulting survey was arranged by barony and civil parish, with an index to townlands appearing in each volume. The original volumes of the survey are held in the National Archives, Dublin, and Public Record Office, Belfast.’

Here is Humphrey Robinson’s Griffith’s Valuation entry in Prospect, County Cavan.

Griffiths Valuation Prospect

The Ask About Ireland Griffith’s Valuation website allows you to see an old map of a location from the Griffith’s list. Here is Prospect.

Ask About Ireland Prospect Map

The land marked with the number 5 on the peninsula in the map is where Humphrey Robinson lived. The really cool thing is that you can slide the slider in the top right corner and see the location on Google maps today.

Ask About Ireland modern Prospect Map close

When Duke and I were in Ireland in September of 2018 we were able to go to this precise location. Exactly where the two buildings are in the middle of the map below (above the S of Prospect) we found the ruins of two old houses!

Very close up Ask About Ireland modern Prospect Map

Humphrey Robinson Property

Humphrey Robinson Property 2

Humphrey Robinson Property 3

We found the houses my ancestors lived in! It was an amazing experience.

Humphrey Robinson along with his son, Humphrey Robinson Jr. and daughter-in-law Eliza Johnston and two grandchildren, William Johnston Robinson and Mary Jane Robinson emigrated to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1864. They left Liverpool in April and arrived in Brisbane in August. Four months on board the “Earl Russell”. Humphrey was 73, His son and daughter-in-law were each 31, and his grandchildren were 6 and 3 respectively. Their ship’s register is in the Queensland State Archives. What a trip it must have been!

Humphrey and his family are buried in Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane.

Coincidentally  when I was eleven my family moved to Brisbane. We lived there for five years. We knew very little then about my Mother’s family. My Mother had no idea that her Great Great Grandfather had also lived in Brisbane. She probably even had cousins in Brisbane!

I am published!!

As many of you know I am an avid genealogist and have been since I was a teenager. I love doing research, solving mysteries, and putting it all together. So I am beyond excited that for the first time ever I have an article published. It is about my immigrant ancestor George Robinson and his family and it was published in The New England Historic Genealogical Society Register. If you are interested here is a PDF of the article. nehgr_summer_2017_vol_171_George_Robinson_article

I have published genealogy related blog posts in the past. They can be found here.

 

 

My Dad – Donald Wayne Robinson June 26, 1927 – September 9, 2014

My Dad, Don Robinson died Tuesday September 9, 2014. He was 87 years old.

He moved to Reno in 2008 after my Mom died. He and I went out to Starbucks almost every day for coffee. He leaves a big hole in all of our lives. I'm sharing his obituary with you here.

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Donald Wayne Robinson, 87, died Tuesday, September 9, 2014, in Reno, Nevada.

Born June 26, 1927, in Minot, North Dakota, the son of Ruth and Ray Robinson, he moved to Reno seven and a half years ago from Escondido, California where he and his wife Margaret had lived for twenty years.

He grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota. He joined the Navy in the spring of 1945 prior to graduating from high school. His parents accepted his diploma for him.

Don graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1950. On September 24, 1950 he was united in marriage with Margaret Helen Gibson. They were married for 57 years until her passing in 2007.

He worked for Standard Oil which later became Amoco, for thirty-three years. He helped design and construct the Standard Oil refinery in Mandan, North Dakota. In March of 1964 he and Margaret with their four children moved to Brisbane, Australia where he was a Project Engineer for the construction of the Amoco refinery on Bulwer Island. In 1969, the family moved to London, England and then to Milford Haven, Wales where he was project manager for the construction of the Amoco refinery there. In 1974, he and Margaret moved to Fungerumi, Zaire, Africa where he managed the construction of a copper cobalt mine for Amoco. A year later, when that project was cancelled, he accepted a position in Chicago as Manager in Synthetic Fuels Development with Amoco, and the  family moved to Wheaton, Illinois. He was elected Vice Chairman of the Council on Synthetic Fuels and appointed to the National Coal Council by the Secretary of Energy. He retired from Amoco in 1986 subsequently he and Margaret retired to Escondido, California.

 He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1956. It is a tribute to his strength that for more than 58 years he never let the challenges of living with diabetes define his life or limit his activities. He climbed the Grand Teton, enjoyed an annual fishing trip with friends at Lake of the Woods, traveled the world, moved more than twenty times and loved, provided for and supported his family. Donald was a faithful Christian all his life. He lived his faith.

Mr Robinson was preceded in death by his wife Margaret Helen Gibson Robinson and his granddaughter Jennifer Margaret Gail Thompson. He is survived by his four children and their spouses; Marion and Duke Vermazen of Reno, Nevada, Barbara and Michael Simpson of University Place, Washington, Elizabeth and Steven Thompson of Memphis, Tennessee, and Charles and Annie Robinson of Mendon, Massachusetts; sister, Dorothy Jensen of Centerville, Minnesota; nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

 Funeral and burial occurred Sept, 22 in San Diego and Escondido, California

The family suggests memorials to The American Diabetes Association, The Glaucoma Research Foundation or The Salvation Army.

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If you would like to read about my Mom her eulogy is here

I miss both of them a lot. I was so lucky to have them for parents. They always believed in me. I can honestly say that I am who I am today because of them.

Red Coat Picture