Monday, May 15, 2017
Events Leading to the Robinson's Move to Upper Canada From Vermont
Civil War 1861 to 1865 |
Ontario, Canada |
1776 USA born after Revolutionary War-July 4th
1777 Vermont first USA state to prohibit slavery
1829 Abiathar Smith Robinson born-December
1834 Julia Ann Tuller born -December
1834 Slavery abolished in Great Britain
1834 Start of Underground Railroad from South USA to SW Ontario, Canada to escape slavery
1852 Julia Ann and Abiathar marry in Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont, USA, February 29
1852 Edward Rix Robinson born, Vermont USA in November not on 1870 census
1853 Edgar C Robinson born, Vermont USA on 1870 census age 17
Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
1856 Possible time of move to Canada: Why? What was Lure?
Had they been Loyalists? Quakers? Land hungry? Abolitionists?
1857 Nellie Elizabeth Robinson born Upper Canada (English Speaking) in October on 1870 census age 11in Wenona, Marshall, Illinois
1859 Wenona, Marshall, Illinois incorporated-on RR Line
1861 Emma Hattie Robinson born Canada in August on 1870 census in Wenona age 9
1864 John C Robinson born Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 21 on 1870 census in Wenona age 7
Map of Upper Canada (in orange) with contemporary Canada (in pink) surrounding it |
"The Province of Upper Canada (French: province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the United Kingdom, in order to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees of the United States after the American Revolution. The new province remained, for the next fifty years of growth and settlement, the colonial government of the territory.
Events in Canada from 1852 to 1865: Robinson Tree Genealogy
Exploring time spent in Canada:
1852 - The Grand Trunk Railway receives its charter.
June 6, 1854 - Canada and the U.S. sign a Reciprocity Treaty, ensuring reduction of customs duties (June 6).
1855 - Bytown is renamed Ottawa.
1856 - The Grand Trunk Railway opens its Toronto-Montréal line.
November 17, 1856 - Grand Trunk Railway completed
1857 - Palliser Expedition sent to explore Ruperts Land.
1857 - Queen Victoria designates George-Étienne Cartier's choice of Ottawa as capital of the Province of Canada.
1857 - Desjardins Canal railway bridge collapse, Hamilton, Ontario - 60 killed
April 25, 1858 - Start of Fraser River Gold Rush
November 19, 1858 - The Birth of British Columbia
1858 - The Halifax-Truro line begins rail service.
1858 - Chinese immigrants from California arrive in British Columbia, attracted by the Fraser River Gold Rush.
February 2, 1859 - - Ottawa Chosen as the Capital of Canada
November 9, 1859 - Reformers Hold Convention
1859 - James Carnegie, the Earl of Southesk is the first tourist in Western Canada.
September 1, 1860 - Prince of Wales lays cornerstone of the Parliament buildings.
June 27, 1860 - First Queen's Plate Horse Race
1860 End of Underground Railroad Usage
1861, April 12-start of Civil War, USA
November 8, 1861 - Britain Arms Canada During the Trent Crisis
1861 - Joseph Howe becomes Premier of Nova Scotia.
1862 - Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick accepts its first woman student.
1862 - Start of Canada-wide Smallpox Epidemic - 20,000 killed
1862 - Smallpox Epidemic starts to decimate Haida people of Queen Charlotte Islands, BC - 9,400 killed in the next decade, to 1872
September 1, 1864 - Charlottetown Conference takes the first steps toward Confederation; originally designed to discuss Maritime union; (to Sept. 9).
October 19, 1864 - St. Albans Raid - 25 Confederate States of America soldiers using Montréal as a base raid St. Albans, Vermont; they rob three banks of $200,000, torch the town and kill one person. "On October 19, 1864, St. Albans was the site of the St. Albans Raid, the northernmost Confederate land action of the American Civil War, which was an enemy cavalry raid and bank robbery across the border from Quebec, Canada.. References to "St. Albans" prior to this date generally refer to the town center, which now belongs to the city. The town was incorporated in 1859, and the city in 1902.]
1865 Julia Robinson born listed on 1870 census as born in Wenona, Marshall, Illinois
October 10, 1865 - Delegates Meet at the Québec Conference to Plan Confederation. They identify the Seventy Two Resolutions that set out the basis for union; to October 27, 1865.
1867, July 1; Canada divided into Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
1869 William S Robinson born in Wenona Marshall, Illinois
1870 Frank Hugh Robinson born on June 21 in Wenona (my grandfather)
1870 USA Census: Abiathar and family are in Wenona, Marshall, Illinois.
1875 Minnie J. Robinson born in Wenona.
1879 Arthur Roy Robinson born in Wenona.
1883 Coal mine in Wenona which offers jobs. " The principal mine in this county is located at Wenona, on the Illinois Central railroad, and is operated by the Wenona Coal Company. The mine is comparatively new. It went into operation in the summer of 1883."
St. Albans, Franklin, Vermont was about 100 miles or less to Royalton, Windsor, Vermont. It is a major port for immigration to and from Canada. One would think that this Robinson family would have known about the Underground Railroad's goings on. After all, I do not know for sure what town Abiathar was born in. I do know he was living in Tunbridge, Orange County in 1852 when he was 23 years old. It's even possible that some of the St. Albans' Robinsons could have been their relatives. findagrave.com lists 152 Robinsons in Franklin County.
It may be that Julia Ann was the instigator of moving to Upper Canada, especially to Ontario. Her mother was Asenith Durkee and they must have had lots of relatives up there. There were many Durkees living throughout the area. For example, there was a Sarah Durkee who married on January 2, 1860 in Oxford, Ontario, Canada. An Ontario death happened to William Durkee at age 76 with parents Myran Durkee born in Smithville and Elizabeth Meredith. William's wife was Ellen Durkee. Gladys Durkee used the St. Albans Vermont Boarder Crossing in 1895 to go to Norwich, Canada.
I even found a Sarah Fannie Tuller, 5'7" green eyed 34 year old lady crossing from Madoc, Ontario, Canada to Vermont in 1895. Sarah was heading for Michigan for a permanent stay. She was Welsh! Ah ha! The biggest puzzle I've had is that my grandfather, Frank Hugh Robinson had said that they were from Wales. DNA shows we have mostly Irish matches. That must have come from Julia Ann Tuller and not Abiathar and the Robinsons. I've just found her buried in Madoc, Canada. I thought she would stay in Michigan. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=159526489 . I have found 14 Tullers in Upper Canada on this website and also 139 Durkees.
I have found that Rowland T. Robinson of Ferrisburgh, Vermont was active in helping with the Underground Railroad. " Rowland Thomas Robinson (1796-1879) made abolition the cause of his life
and sheltered fugitives at Rokeby,his home in Ferrisburgh, Addison, Vermont. Both Thomas, his father, and Rowland T. Robinson
managed the family's grist and saw mills and built up one of Addison
County's largest sheep farms during the early decades of the 19th century.
Rowland Thomas's son Rowland Evans Robinson (1833-1900) was an artist and
author; he wrote a series of folktales, published by Houghton Mifflin, that
were enormously popular in Vermont at the turn of the century as well as
several Underground Railroad stories. Of his children, Rachel (1878-1919)
became a successful commercial artist, Mary (1884-1931) worked as a
botanical artist before becoming a wife and mother, and Rowland Thomas
(1882-1951) tended the family farm, now converted from sheep to dairy.
"Rowlie," as he was known, and his wife Elizabeth did not have children, and
when she died in 1961, she left the site to be operated as a museum.
Ferrisburgh, Addison, Vermont's Rokeby |
Name | John W. Robinson | |||
Event Date | 04 Aug 1927 | |||
Event Place | Shirland, Winnebago, Illinois | |||
Gender | Male | |||
Race | White | |||
Age | 77 | |||
Birth Year (Estimated) | 1850 | |||
Birth Date | 30 Dec 1849 | |||
Birthplace | St. Albans, Vt. | |||
Father's Name | Isreal Robinson | |||
Father's Birthplace | Suanton, Vt. | |||
Mother's Name | Caroline Spaulding | |||
Mother's Birthplace | Morristown, Vt. | |||
Occupation | Retired | |||
Residence Place | Shirland, Ill. | |||
Spouse's Name | Henrietta Miller | |||
Burial Date | 07 Aug 1927 | |||
Burial Place | Rockton, Ill. |
Next question should be, why immigrate to Illinois, and especially to Wenona? In 2010 it had only 1,056 people and that was going down from 2000. I visited the cemetery a number of years ago and it is a very very small town. What was that attraction? The cemetery was gorgous, and the soup and hamburger were the best in the USA, I think, but what could have attracted people 150 years ago? I saw lovely fields of corn growing alongside the road to the cemetery. The fertile land must have attracted them as everyone in those days were farmers. Abiathar did have a farm in Wenona and a field with a horse and a bull, that I know. My grandfather, Frank Hugh Robinson was a teamster and could manage 4 horses together for his wagon. He had a favorite horse as a kid. His parents were very religious and very strict: possibly Methodists who did not work on Sundays of any sort.
Resource: http://canadachannel.ca/todayincanadianhistory/index.php/Events_1815-1867
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2013/09/19/underground-railroad-canada/2833115/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada
http://vermonthistory.org/educate/online-resources/underground-railroad-project/essay-the-underground-railroad-in-vermont
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Canada_Emigration_and_Immigration
http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/402-canadian-immigrants.html
The book/article is
ROWLAND T ROBINSON, ROKEBY, AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN VERMONT
by Jane Williamson.
Labels: Abaiathar Smith Robinson, abolishinists, British, Canada, Civil War, Montreal, Quebec, Rowland T. Robinson, slavery, St. Albans, Underground Railroad, Upper, Upper Canada, Vermont