USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume II > Part 64
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ROBINSON The original name of the Robinson family was doubt- less Robert or Roberts, which after a while became Robin son of Rob- ert and was finally merged in Robinson. It is said that "no other surname is more pro- lific in its legendary character than this." De- foe gave his hero the name of a family living at Kings, Lynn, county Norfolk, England, Robinson Cruso ( without final e) English "Notes and Queries." states that "this name has been borne by father and son from time immemorial." It is claimed that the Robin- sons were Saxon Thanes before the time of William the Conqueror, and that they were seated in Lancashire for three centuries, being lords of the manor of Chalburne in that coun- ty. The name is more commonly found in the north than the south of England, and North- amptonshire is the stronghold. The spelling of the name varies and is recorded on parlia- ment rolls and Calendar of Proceedings in Chancery Robynson and Robbynsone, and some claim that Robson is a contraction. The meaning of the original Robert is "famous in counsel" from rode "counsel" and bearht, bert or bericht, "bright." The following mottoes are among those in use on the family arms of the Yorkshire and Lancashire branches: Vir-
tute non verbis, "By bravery not by words," and Virtus pretiosior auro, "Virtue is more precious than gold."
(I) Thomas Robinson, emigrant ancestor who came from England to Boston, Massa- chusetts, has been proved to be identical with the Thomas of Scituate, on removing there be- fore 1643. He married, 1652, Mary Woodey, of Boston, and on the Boston Records is called "of Scituate." Children : Thomas, born 1652; Joseph, 1656; Mary, 1657; Mercy, 1659. The sons removed from Scituate. He was killed by the fall of a tree, 1676.
(II) Thomas (2), eldest son of Thomas (I) and Mary (Woodey) Robinson, was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1652. He mar- ried Sarah, daughter of Edward Denison, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, whose brother Dan- iel was major-general of the Massachusetts colony during King Philip's war. Thomas in- herited part of his father's homestead and also inherited property from his maternal grand- father, John Cogan ( father of his mother who was the widow of John Woodey at the time of her second marriage). Thomas (2) was a cordwainer. He died in June, 1700. His widow died in Roxbury, November 15, 1710, aged fifty-three. Children: I. Thomas, born 1677, married, 1707, Sarah Beswick. 2. Sarah, December, 1679, married, 1704, John Ingolds- bury, and ( second), 1707, John Pewry. 3. Joseph, baptized November 20, 1681, died young. 4. Elizabeth, September 26, 1686, died young. 5. James, March 15, 1689-90.
(III) James, the youngest son of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Denison) Robinson, was born in Scituate, March 15, 1689-90. He married Patience, daughter of Captain Samuel Rug- gles, of Roxbury, who was born November 7, 1690, died January. 1768. He inherited his father's home on Washington street, Boston, which he sold about the time of his marriage and moved to Rochester, where his brother- in-law, Rev. Timothy Ruggles, resided. Some of his children later on settled in Hardwick and Barre, Massachusetts. His will was proved March 11, 1762, when he was seventy- two years of age. Children: I. James, born in Boston, March 1, 1711-12. 2. Thomas, born in Boston, September 15, 1713, died young. 3. Samuel, born in Rochester (and all that follow), November, 1715. 4. Thomas, April 20, 1718. 5. Sarah, July 9, 1720, married Ebenezer Spooner, of Rochester. 6. Dorothy, March 13. 1722, married, 1743, David Peck- ham, and (second) Major Ebenezer Haskell in 1749. 7. Denison, July 16, 1725. 8. Jo-
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seph, September 13. 1727. 9. Hannah, No- vember 16, 1730, married, 1764, Benjamin Green.
(IV) James (2), eldest son of James (1) and Patience ( Ruggles) Robinson, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, March I, but ac- cording to family records February 29, 1711- 12. He married, July 3, 1739, Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Smith. He resided on the road to Barre. his farm being included in New Braintree, when incorporated and an- nexed to Hardwick in 1814. He was one of the carly pioneers, for when he settled the region was all a wilderness. He was distin- guished for his industry, economy and strict honesty and consequently became possessed of a large estate. He died May 21, 1790, aged seventy-eight years. His widow, Elizabeth, survived him.
(V) Benjamin, son of James (2) and Elizabeth (Smith) Robinson, was born in or near Barre, Massachusetts, and was baptized September 13. 1747. There is but little on record concerning him or his immediate fam- ily. He resided in Barre. His will, made September 3, 1793, codicil September 3, 1799, was proved October 1, 1799, and mentions "wife Hannah" and "children": Anna Gates, Susanna, Henry, James, Benjamin, Hannah, wife of Orin Trow; Joseph, John, Josiah Moses, Cushman Ebenezer and Daniel Fos- ter."
(VI) Daniel, youngest son of Benjamin and Hannah Robinson, was born in Barre, pre- sumably 1767-68. No dates being given, the children recorded above are probably not in correct order. This Daniel ( supposed to be Daniel Foster) was "of Monson, Massachu- setts," and married, April 28, 1788, Anna. daughter of Isaac Bridges, who died Novem- ber 9, 1843, aged seventy-seven. The record reads: "Daniel Robinson, shoemaker from Harwick to Deerfield about 1829. He was a Revolutionary soldier 1782-84. He lived at Great River and died March 23, 1840, aged seventy-five." Children : Alvin, died s. p., November 8, 1864, aged seventy-five, and twin daughters, Arethusa and Minerva, born Oc- tober 13, 1794. About this date, the name of Daniel Robinson disappears from Deerfield records and he probably went to Monson, Mas- sachusetts, and died there. Other children were possibly born and recorded in that town, among them a son Samuel.
(VII) Samuel, son of Daniel and Anna ( Bridges) Robinson, was born in Monson, Massachusetts, and married Thankful Adams. He was a wool manufacturer and resided at
Monson until the summer of 1823, when he, with several others, followed to Maine a com- pany of seventeen unmarried men who in 1820 had gone from Monson, Massachusetts, to commence the new settlement at Monson, Maine. Children : 1. George W., of Thomas- ton, Maine, married Esther E. Benner, Jan- uary 18, 1847. 2. Edward Warren. 3. Al- fred Ely. 4. Hiram, drowned July 4, 1831.
(VIII) Edward Warren, second son of Samuel and Thankful ( Adams) Robinson, was born in Monson, Massachusetts, July 4, 1826, married, May 21, 1848, in Thomaston, Harriett M., born at St. George, Maine, daughter of Captain William and Jane (Hen- derson) Watts, and granddaughter of Captain Samuel and Mary (Robinson) Watts, of Thomaston. He was a merchant tailor ; a Re- publican, and held the office of postmaster at Thomaston. Children : I. Samuel Frank, born April 3, 1850. 2. Clara Maria, December 7, 1851. 3. Harriett Rose, 1860. 4. George William, about 1866, residing in St. Paul, Minnesota. Many of the Maine Robinsons are of Scotch-Irish descent, but not those who came from Massachusetts. They, however, intermarried, as will be seen. Among those emigrants who came from the north of Ire- land in 1719 and settled on the St. George river, Maine, was Dr. Moses Robinson, who afterward located at Broad Cove (Cushing) about 1727. He had a son Moses, who mar- ried Sarah Carver and had a daughter, Mary Robinson, who married Captain Samuel Watts, of Thomaston, Maine, and was the grandmother of Harriett M. Watts, wife of Edward Warren Robinson.
(IX) Samuel Frank, son of Edward War- ren and Harriett M. (Watts) Robinson, was born in Thomaston, Maine, April 3, 1850, and was educated at the Thomaston high school. He engaged in business early, first as a mer- chant at Thomaston and Rockland, then pur- sued banking, insurance and real estate in Kansas and Washington. In 1898 he began the brokerage business, dealing in bonds and stocks in New York city, and has been thus engaged for the past ten years. He is a Re- publican, and a Royal Arch Mason, but has held no office. He is a charter member of the Maine Society in New York. He married, at Thomaston, May 22, 1873, Martha Ellen, daughter of William and Lucinda ( Flint) To- bey, and granddaughter of Captain Joseph and Sarah (Jones) Flint, of Damariscotta, Maine. She was born at Thomaston, June 25, 1851. Her father, William Tobey, was a master mariner, a lineal descendant of James Tobey,
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of Kittery. His great-great-grandfather, Richard Tobey, was actively engaged in the Indian wars. Her maternal grandfather, Cap- tain Joseph Flint, was a surgeon in the revo- lutionary army and was captured on a priva- teer and carried as prisoner to England. He was also captain of the militia in the war of 1812 and was stationed at Fort Edgecomb, Maine. Children of Samuel F. and Martha E. Robinson: I. Frank Warren, born April 9, 1877, of Buffalo, New York. 2. Harriett Lucinda, May 28, 1880. 3. Helen Tobey, July 28, 1882. 4. Agnes Clara, September 13, 1884. 5. Wendell Rice, January 1, 1889. The eldest daughter is the wife of Frank E. Hanly, residing in Buffalo, New York. The youngest son is with W. R. Grace & Company of New York.
The Pine Tree State has RAYMOND long been very grateful for the members of the Ray- mond family that have made their way to her rugged coast or bravely threaded their way to the site of her inland towns. All have borne the sturdy characteristics of the ancestor, William Raymond, who is mentioned as early as 1652 as a steward of a trading company of Englishmen of Laconia. He bore the title of captain, for he was commander of a company in 1690, and died June 29, 1708. By a deed recorded at Salem, Massachusetts, it is clearly proved that this William Raymond had a brother John, who without doubt rendered val- uable services for our country. \Villiam Ray- mond came to Beverly, Massachusetts, about 1652, and married Hannah, daughter of Ed- ward Bishop, and from these descended some of the best citizens of Massachusetts and other New England states. The first representative of this goodly stock to come to Maine was Paul Raymond, who settled at Great Sebas- codegan Island, Harpswell. His name occurs in the second list of selectmen of that town, in 1739, and he held that office in a very helpful manner for many years, and also was one of the best of the pioneer settlers of the old town by the sea. His descendants became the most worthy of the settlers in Brunswick, Bowdoin- ham, and other inland towns. The second Raymond who made his way to Maine was William Raymond, who took part in the bat- tle of Bunker Hill, and in all the battles un- der General Washington. He was one of the earliest settlers at Wayne, making his way thither on foot by spotted trees from his home in Massachusetts. He married first, Elizabeth Wing, and second, Mrs. Sally Hicks, and from
him descended a long line of most worthy people of Maine and some helpful residents in other states. All the other Raymonds who have come to Maine have borne good traits, and have at once helped in manly and womanly fashion in the communities where they have located.
( I) Samuel Raymond.
(II) Samuel T., son of Samuel Raymond, is said to have been born in Lyman, Massa- chusetts, and died in Westbrook, Maine, 1867. He received a good education in the Lyman schools, and at the age of eighteen years went to Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he worked for a Mr. Boardman as a grocery clerk for a few years. He then started in business for himself, and was a very success- ful grocer. He removed from Charlestown to Westbrook, Maine, in 1842, and bought a fine farm of over one hundred acres, on which he lived a very quiet and happy life until his decease. He had but little to say on political subjects, though he was a well-read man, and his few words had a strong influence among all who knew him in a thorough manner. He was a very zealous and faithful Congregation- alist. He married Elizabeth C., daughter of James Andrews, of Charlestown, Massachu- setts. Children: 1. Marlon Marcus. 2. Adele M., married Mr. H. W. Gage, of Portland, and resides at 92 State street in that city. 3. King S., who died on a plantation in the south, at the age of twenty-one years ; he had gone thither to regain his health.
(III) Marlon Marcus, son of Samuel T. and Elizabeth C. (Andrews) Raymond, was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1841. He graduated from the Westbrook high school and from the Gorham Academy and Fryeburg Academy. He went into the packing business in Portland with J. Winslow Jones in 1858 and remained there until 1876, when, on the death of his father he removed to Westbrook and took charge of his farm. He had six boys and thought that it would be a grand thing for them to be thus brought up and to learn in a thorough manner the work there. After a time he divided this farm into house lots, as the city grew and prospered, and these lots were sold from time to time at a good advan- tage. Much valuable land has been sold to the S. D. Warren Pulp Paper Company. Mr. Raymond has also been much interested in other real estate. He retired from active busi- ness in 1905, and leads a very happy life on the remaining part of the old farm. He is a very faithful attendant at the Congregational church. He is much interested in Free Ma-
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sonry, and is a member of the lodge, chapter and commandery. He married Hattie, dangh- ter of Caleb Swan, of Denmark, Maine. Of eleven children, those who grew to manhood and womanhood were: King S., Samuel T., William W., Frank, Herbert, Richard S., Min- nie, who married a Mr. Chapman, of Portland.
(IV) King Smith, son of Marlon Marcus and Hattie (Swan) Raymond, was born in Westbrook, Cumberland Mills, April 9, 1867, and resides at Cumberland Mills. He gradu- ated from the Westbrook high school in 1882, and from Gray's Business College in 1889. He then returned to Westbrook and studied phar- macy under Dr. Swan, studying chemistry, &c., and passed the state board examinations in 1885, when he conducted the druggist's business in a very successful manner, in 1892 erecting a three-story structure, which has the store beneath and the living rooms above. In politics he is a Democrat, and was elected city treasurer in 1896, holding this office until 1898, at which time he was elected mayor, heing the first Democratic mayor of the city, and he was re-elected in 1899. He has served as chair- man of the Democratic city committee and as ward committeeman has held many minor offices. In 1906 he was elected treasurer of Cumberland county, and he still holds this office. He is a charter member of the local order of Red Men and a member of the Ma- sonic lodge, chapter, council and commandery, has held various offices, and is now comman- der of St. Albans Commandery, K. T., of Portland. He is a member of the Lauriston Temple of Mystic Shrinc. In 1892 he mar- ried Mabelle, daughter of Sylvester Dawson, of Westbrook, who is a very active member in the Congregational church and a very promi- nent woman in musical and social clubs. They have one child, Mildred G.
The Deerings of Maine have DEERING the unusual fortune of main- taining for nearly three cen- turies their residence in substantially the same locality at which their first American ancestor landed, and for nearly two centuries of being, in the line here traced. among the foremost in the business, social and literary circles of the largest city of the state. Though toward the close of the seventeenth century, Indian war- fare had driven all the white settlers from Cumberland county, we find the representa- tives of this family not only did not leave the state, but soon returned to their former home. The name, at first spelled in almost as many ways as it has letters. is not very common in
England where by intermarriage it is con- nected with the Washingtons of Lancashire, the ancestors of the first president.
(I) George Deering, housewright and planter, came to Richmond's Island, off the shore of Cape Elizabeth, about 1635, and for two or three years was in the employ of Rob- ert Trelawney, who maintained under John Winter a fishing and trading post there. In 1637 he removed to Blue Point in Scarbor- ough and no further account of his life is found, save the quaint record of his deposition in 1645 in the matter of the unnecessary noise made by a certain Captain Robert Nash that "he heerd many peces shot about Strattons Island and upon farther Inquire he undarstode that it was a drunken bout between Nash and the Ilandrs which putt him and his wife and neighbours into such a fright that they all thought the French or other enimyes had bin at hand." His widow, Elizabeth, married Jonas Bayley.
(II) Roger, son of George and Elizabeth Deering, was probably born at Scarborough, but removed to Kittery before 1663, where he followed his occupation of shipwright till his death. His name is appended to several of the petitions to the king and the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony relative to the changes of government. He died June 26, 1676. His widow, Joan, married William Crafts and kept an inn "near the meeting house." She survived her second husband and died about 1713. The children of first mar- riage were: Roger, Clement, Thomas, Joseph, John, who died unmarried ; Joanna. who mar- ried Joseph Couch, and Sarah, who married Dennis Hicks.
(III) Clement, son of Roger and Joan Deering, married, in 1678, Joan, daughter of John and Joan Bray, of Kittery. She was the maternal aunt of Sir William Pepperell, and her father, like his, came from Plymouth, England. At her death in 1707 she bequeathed to her daughters, Joanna and Miriam, her share in her father's house in that city. Her husband seems to have been a shipwright and died prior to 1695. She was then licensed by the court to keep a house of entertainment. The well-built house in which she dwelt is still standing, and a view of it may be seen in "Stackpole's Old Kittery and her families."
(IV) John, only son of Clement and Joan (Bray) Deering, was born June 17, 1680, mar- ried, December 12, 1705, Temperance, daugh- ter of Captain William and Elizabeth (Lang- don) Fernald. She was the granddaughter of Reginald Fernald, who came to Portsmouth in
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1631 as the surgeon of Captain John Mason's company and was subsequently prominent as clerk of court, recorder of deeds and town clerk, and of Tobias Langdon, the ancestor of the distinguished New Hampshire family of that name. John Deering was a sea cap- tain and died in 1712, leaving two sons, Will- iam and John. His widow married Ebenezer More, by whom she had four children, and died May 19, 1761.
(V) John (2), son of John (I) and Tem- perance (Fernald) Deering, was born July 16, 1710, married, March 13, 1732, Anna, daugh- ter of Nicholas and Deborah ( Grindall) Dunn, of Boston. He was a ship master and, like his father, commanded the vessels of his cousin, Sir William Pepperell. He died at sea in 1758. Besides four children who died in in- fancy, they had four sons and four daugh- ters, Susannah, Nathaniel. John, Mary, Anna, Miriam, Samuel and Joseph. His widow mar- ried Deacon James Milk, a wealthy merchant of Portland, then Falmouth, and died Septem- ber 7, 1769.
(VI) Nathaniel, son of John (2) and Anna (Dunn) Deering, was born January 29, 1736. Feeling the responsibilities of the oldest son, he removed to Portland at his father's death and engaged in trade, being associated with his father-in-law. At the latter's death in 1772. he inherited a share in his large estate, a portion of which was the large and valuable tract of land lying between Exchange and Market streets, and extending from Middle street to the low water mark. He lived him- self at the corner of Exchange and Fore streets till the destruction of the town by the British in 1775. Subsequently he lived where the postoffice now stands. Actively interested in public affairs, he served as selectman re- peatedly. In 1776 he bought and fitted out the ship "Fox" as a privateer, letters of marque and reprisal having been issued to him and others by Governor Hancock. This ves- sel inflicted considerable damage in return for the severe losses inflicted by British cruisers. On February 1, 1777, he was commissioned a captain in Colonel Peter Noyes's regiment, by the Council of Massachusetts bay. After the war he was the first to resume business in the town and extended the pier at the foot of Ex- change street, then known as Deering's wharf, but subsequently, from its length, as Long wharf. Here he extensively engaged in vari- ous commercial enterprises. By his purchases of large and valuable tracts of land in differ- ent parts of the city. he laid the foundation of the Deering and the Preble estates. Among
these purchases was the beautiful grove of oaks, since given by the family to the city, and immortalized by Longfellow in his poem "My Lost Youth." A man of energy, business ca- pacity and unswerving integrity, he died Sep- tember 14, 1795, in the vigor of life. Mr. Deering married, October 15, 1764, Dorcas, daughter of Deacon James and Sarah (Brown) Milk, who survived him, dying in I826. There were four marriages between these two families. His mother married her father. His brother John married her sister Eunice. Her brother James married his sister Mary. Mr. Deering left but two children, James and Mary. The latter married, in 1801, Commodore Edward Preble, U. S. N., cele- brated for his bombardment of Tripoli.
(VII) James, son of Nathaniel and Dorcas · (Milk) Deering, was born August 23, 1766, at Portland, died September 21, 1850. He was educated during the troublous times of the revolution at Dummer Academy, Byfield, Mas- sachusetts, under Master Moody. Before at- taining his majority he entered into business with his father, and on the latter's deatlı con- tinued, aided by the wise advice of his mother, the improvements of the large landed estate which then came under his control. Judicious management and the prosperity of the city. to which his own exertions contributed in no small measure, led to a great increase in the value of his holdings. In 1804 he erected the Deering Mansion on his large farm in West- brook near Deering's Oaks, introduced the best varieties of fruit trees and adopted the latest and best methods of farming. He was a director for many years of the Maine Bank, and of the Atlantic & St. Lawrence railroad, to the building of which he was the largest subscriber in Portland. He displayed liber- ality in the development of his lands, and the town of Deering was named in his honor. He married, March 9. 1789, Almira, daughter of Enoch and Mary ( Parker) Ilsley, who died in April, 1855. Children : I. Nathaniel. 2. Harriet. 3. Mary L., who never married. 4. Dorcas, married Hon. Thomas A. Deblois. 5. Almira, married Henry Merrill, Esq. 6. Ellen Maria, married Hon. William Pitt Fessenden.
(VIII) Nathaniel (2), son of James and Almira ( Ilsley) Deering, was born June 25, 1791, at Portland, was prepared for college at Phillips Exeter under Benjamin Abbot and graduated at Harvard with honors in 1810. He studied law with Hon. Ezekiel Whitman and was admitted to the bar in 1815. He prac- ticed his profession with success for several years at Skowhegan, but returned to Portland
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in 1830 and soon relinquished law for litera- ture, in which he had already won a standing in that early circle of American writers, com- posed of Willis, Percival, Mellen and Neal. Ile was for a short time editor of Statesman, published in the interests of Henry Clay, and a constant contributor to the daily papers. He was asked by Bryant to accept a place upon the New York Evening Post, but declined. In 1830 he published his "Carrabasset," a tragedy in five acts founded on the massacre of Father Rasle. This was followed by a comedy en- titled "Clairvoyants." Both of these have been put upon the stage at Boston and at Portland. In 1851 appeared his tragedy "Bozzaris," the most carefully written of his productions and one which received warm praise from the crit- · ics of that day. He was also popular as a humorous writer, and many of his stories and skits, appearing anonymously, were widely copied in the newspapers of the day. A man of sterling character and possessed of great talents, he was prevented from taking that leadership in the community which was his due by extreme modesty and a certain self- distrust. He died at the family mansion in Deering, March 25, 1881. Mr. Deering mar- ried, October 4, 1824, Anna Margaret, daugh- ter of Major John Z. Holwell, of the British army. and his wife Martha ( Jackson) Hol- well. Major Holwell's father was a lieutenant- colonel of the "Scots Gray" and a grandson of Governor Holwell of Bengal, one of the few who came out alive when confined in the ter- rible Black Hole of Calcutta in 1756. Chil- dren: 1. Edward, died in 1858 in early man- hood. 2. James, after a brilliant war record in the United States navy, and service of sev- eral years in the army, died in 1876. 3. Georgiana, wife of E. E. Upham, died in 1881. 4. Harriet H. 5. Margaret D., wife of A. H. Gilman. 6. Marion D., widow of Colonel George F. Noyes. 7. Henry, who survived his parents.
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