Bombay, New York: Home to Some of Our Robinsons of Shoreham, Addison, Vermont

Nadene Goldfoot                                         

Abiathar Smith Robinson, b: December 1829, said he was born in New York on one of the census, but the other said he was from Vermont.  He married in Tunbridge, Orange, Vermont and presumably was living there, too.  His parents have never been found so I could verify them.  He was born in 1829.  John Quincy Adams was president to 1829 and then Andrew Jackson was president.

On who I think were his parents, I have found  Samuel Robinson dying in 1850 in Bombay,Franklin, New York.   The ancestor of interest who died in Bombay, New York was born in 1795 when George Washington was President from 1789 to 1797.  Now you know how far back we have to go to get census information or any other written records of people's family highlights; birth, death, marriages.

                   Bombay, New York

Bombay is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 1,357 at the 2010 census. The town was named after a city in India, now known as Mumbai, by an early landowner whose wife was from Mulund, a prominent suburb of Bombay. The Town of Bombay is in the northwest part of the county, south of Canada-United States border.

In 1804, when Michael Hogan appeared in New York with his wife, Frances Hogan, née Richardson, he was greeted with a warm reception. The Irish-born ship captain, merchant, land speculator, and also slave trader and privateer had arrived with a big fortune that, he claimed, was due to his wife—an “Indian princess.”

For the newspapers of the time, the arrival was grist for the newsprint mill: They called Frances a “dark-skinned Indian princess,” and fell in with most of Hogan’s braggadocio, which included the claim that on his marriage, he had received a dowry of “400,000 English sovereigns, or about two million dollars,” or according to other sources, “40,000 pounds in gold.”

In no time, Hogan bought land in the city, and then some months later (in 1806) in northern New York, the region measuring several thousand acres that lay only a few miles to Canada’s south. The land Hogan acquired he soon renamed Bombay, for his wife, a native of Bombay, which was then in the East India Company’s possession.

Today, the town of Bombay in north New York has, according to the US census, a population of around 1,300. Within it are two smaller hamlets—Hogansburg (Hogan named it after himself) and South Bombay. Its website proudly lists two country clubs and a casino among the town’s attractions. A history section briefly mentions the founder but doesn’t really answer the question—who was Michael Hogan?

Bombay in Franklin County (New York) is a town located in United States about 436 mi (or 702 km) north of Washington DC, the country's capital town.

Hogan bought 20,000 acres (81 km²) north of the Adirondack Mountains, including the Town of Bombay, which was named in honour of his wife's birthplace. Their son, William Hogan, served as town supervisor, and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1822. In 1829 he was appointed as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Franklin County, and in 1830 he was elected to Congress.

Settlement of the town began around 1805. The region was known as Macomb's Purchase, related to a massive purchase by a land speculator when New York first put up former Iroquois lands for sale. The town of Bombay was organized from part of the town of Fort Covington in 1833.

In 1877, the town was devastated by a plague of grasshoppers, which consumed more than half of the field crops.

                                Descendants of Samuel Robinson

1  Samuel Robinson b: 1795 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont d: 1850 in Bombay, Franklin, New York

.. +Mendora Mandana Phelps b: September 28, 1798 in Orwell, Addison, Vermont d: December 04, 1871 in Norfolk, St. Lawrence, New York

. 2  Almonzo Robinson b: May 05, 1822 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont d: 1901 in Waupun, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

..... +Louisa Day b: December 20, 1820 in Bombay, Franklin, New York d: January 21, 1863 in prob. Wisconsin

..... 3  Almanzo Robinson, Jr. b: 1846 in Bombay, Franklin, New York d: November 22, 1920

......... +Sarah Jane d: in army widow on pension

..... 3  Alonzo D. Robinson b: 1848 in Bombay, Franklin, New York d: 1829

......... +Josephine Hillyer b: March 19, 1862 in Waupun, Fond du Lac, Dodge, Wisconsin

..... 3  Allen Phelps Robinson b: March 23, 1851 in Bombay, Franklin, New York d: January 15, 1929 in Stratford, Brown, South Dakota

......... +Theresa K. Allen b: 1853 d: 1905

. 2  Milo Robinson b: 1824 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont d: 1901 in California

. 2  Samuel Byron Robinson b: 1828 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont d: September 03, 1902 in Turtle Lake, Polk, Wisconsin

..... +Nancy b: 1829 in Bombay, Franklin, New York

. 2  John HARRISON Robinson b: October 30, 1829 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont d: May 19, 1899 in Crowley, Adia, Louisiana

..... +Cynthia Unknown b: Abt. 1829

. 2  Mary Robinson b: 1834 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont

. 2  Sarah Robinson b: 1837 in Bombay, Franklin, New York

. 2  Phebe Robinson b: 1843 in Bombay, Franklin, New York

1.  ALMONZO⁸ ROBINSON  (SAMUEL⁷, JOHN⁶, GEORGE⁵, NATHANIEL⁴, GEORGE³, GEORGE², PHILIP¹) was born May 05, 1822 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont, and died 1901 in Waupun, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.  He married LOUISA DAY September 09, 1845, daughter of ORRADA DAY and ELIZA ALLEN.  She was born December 20, 1820 in Bombay, Franklin, New York, and died January 21, 1863 in prob. Wisconsin.

More About ALMONZO ROBINSON:

Census: August 15, 1850, 28, Bombay, Franklin, New York
Occupation: August 15, 1850, Inn Keeper Bombay, New York

More About LOUISA DAY:
Census: August 15, 1850, 29, Bombay, Franklin, New York

More About ALMONZO ROBINSON and LOUISA DAY:

Marriage: September 09, 1845

Children of ALMONZO ROBINSON and LOUISA DAY are:
                   i.       ALMANZO⁹ ROBINSON, JR., b. 1846, Bombay, Franklin, New York; d. November 22, 1920; m. SARAH JANE; d. army widow on pension.

Notes for ALMANZO ROBINSON, JR.:

5/15/1i9 found Sarah Jane Roinson widow to private -WWI ??  receiving pension.  1907-1933.  Almanzo died 22 Nov 1920

More About ALMANZO ROBINSON, JR.:

Census: August 15, 1850, 4, Bombay, Franklin, New York

                  ii.       ALONZO D. ROBINSON, b. 1848, Bombay, Franklin, New York; d. 1829; m. JOSEPHINE HILLYER; b. March 19, 1862, Waupun, Fond du Lac, Dodge, Wisconsin.

More About ALONZO D. ROBINSON:

Census: August 15, 1850, 2, Bombay, Franklin, New York

                 iii.       ALLEN PHELPS ROBINSON, b. March 23, 1851, Bombay, Franklin, New York; d. January 15, 1929, Stratford, Brown, South Dakota; m. THERESA K. ALLEN, February 17, 1874; b. 1853; d. 1905.

More About ALLEN ROBINSON and THERESA ALLEN:

Marriage: February 17, 1874

Resource: https://qz.com/india/1081064/how-a-slave-trader-created-a-bombay-in-new-york/