Treasure Chest Thursday - Robbins Families in Arkansas

What a thrill it was for me discover information about the Robbins families in Arkansas in three past issues of “Madison CountyMusings.”  The biggest find was pages 9 through 25 complied and submitted by Lorine Ames in the 1983 Spring issue (volume II, number 1).  How I regret that I never connected with Lorine during her lifetime, but how grateful I am she published what she had gathered. 

  

Information new to me on page 11 was, “At Durham, Wash Co.,Ar. where the early Robbins Families settled, there is an old cemetery about 500 yds. east of White River and 1/8 mile north of school building.  Size approx. 60 to 70 lots.  On personal inspection in 1981, the only legible stone inscriptions were of three infants of Robert and Sara Robbins with dates 1844, 1847, and 1849. The only other family names were Maloy.” [sic]  I followed this up with a search on findagrave.com and found the cemetery listed under the name Malloy Cemetery.  Based on Lorine’s information, I added two more infants of Robert and Sara(h) Robbins to the listing and all three infants to my genealogy records.

Four more gems are mentioned on page 12.   The first of these is the “Williams and Hanna Families Manuscripts by David Hanna in State Library, Austin, Texas” [sic].  Naturally I'm planning to go take a look at that information in the near future because those are the surnames of men who "married into" the Robbins families.  They were also neighbors in Arkansas and Texas.  Some research that bears closer study mentions a possible link to Texas Ranger Captain Johnny Williams who donated the land for the Cherokee Hanna Cemetery.  I've already looked at the online catalog on Texas State Library website and found the call number for it.   

The second thing mentioned was the “Estate and Property Settlement of Enos Robbins ca 1860, in Williamson Co., Tx.” [sic]   Since I had not really focused on Enos, I went to the County Clerk's office in Georgetown, and paid a dollar a page for the documents.  I have really enjoyed going through them and of course will be blogging about them in the future.

A third is the McCord Cemetery, which I’ve now located on findagrave.com, “was also known as the Robbins Cemetery and may be found as such on death certificates of the 1920’s.”  The gravestone of Nancy, wife of Richard Robbins, that was still standing, but barely legible at the time of Lorine’s writing, has had a newer stone added that is legible.  Photos of both markers have been included on Nancy’s memorial page.

The very last line on page 12 mentions a book by Lloyd McConnell.  I now know there are several books by him I need to locate.  I also need to visit Madison and Washington Counties in Arkansas!  That lead me to look at the Fayetteville Public Library website.  There I found a Request for Research Form that I filled out and sent with a $15 check to their Grace Keith Genealogical Collection.  I have received a packet of information that includes a copies of

•  pages from Lloyd McConnell's "The Robbins of Washington County Arkansas",

•  a newspaper article about the McCord Cemetery,

•  information about land, deeds, marriage records, and other documents, and

• pages from the "Flashback", the local genealogical quarterly, with information about the Robbins.

All of this treasure is from the first three pages of Lorine's article.  As I continue studying it, I'm hopeful I'll find even more.  Then there are two more pages of information submitted by Lorine in Vol. 1, No. 4, Winter 1982.  They are about Enos Robbins and his daughter, Lucinda.

Even though these aren't my direct lines, they are part of my Robbins family who came from Washington and Madison Counties in Arkansas to the Milam and Williamson District in Texas.  Finding all of this information makes me feel as though I've struck gold!

 

Sentimental Sunday - 29 Years Ago Today

Far too many years ago and far too soon, my mother, Iva Mildred Conley Robbins, passed from this life on a Friday night, September 23, 1983. 

When I started writing this, the focus was on the night she died, but I decided to save that for more personal memoirs and write instead about what a wonderful mother I had and a few of my many memories of her life because she was such a loving person and loved her family so dearly.  She would do everything she could ahead of time so she would have as much time as possible to spend with her grandchildren when they visited.

She loved to cook and sew for us and she excelled at both.  The family has many precious memories about those talents.  We loved her homemade rolls and her cooking in general.  She remembered everyone's favorite dessert.  When I had a friend spend the night with me she would drive us crazy as teenagers listing all the choices for breakfast, but it just wasn't cool to eat breakfast, so we would usually decline.  She made delicious jellies and jams which is one of her talents I have never attempted.  I will never be as talented at cooking or needlework as she.

Her love of flowers is something I also share, but absolutely do not have the green thumb she had.  Unfortunately I didn't think to dig up the lily she got from her Aunt Violet's yard or the spider lilies that bloomed by our front steps in Abilene before Daddy sold the house.  When I choose something red or pink, especially in flowers, I think of her because she loved those colors.

Now it warms my heart to see pictures of flowers blooming in my daughter's flower beds.  I am certain she must have inherited that love from both of her grandmothers, but it saddens me that she does not really remember her Grandma and how they were so very close.  She even insisted she had to have a "night, night cap" because her Grandma wore one.  (Sitting in a rocking chair with her feet propped on a stool while watching TV was more likely her Grandpas' influence.  These pictures were both taken in 1982 while she  had a black eye from a fall.)

Since it is September, and the month for the  West Texas Fair in Abilene, I want to include this memory.  Mother's Uncle Will Conley gave her an apple tree he grafted just for her.  She planted it in the back of our house, but when we added on to the house the tree was literally at the back door steps.  Since it was precious to her, Daddy cut a hole for the tree so it was growing up through the roof he built around it between the back porch and carport.  Mother would climb up a ladder to get on the roof and tie little bags made from scraps of netting around the apples so they would drop in the bags and not bruise.  The bags also kept insects from damaging the apples so many of them were flawless.  For several years she won first prize for her apples at the fair and was pleased she had beaten others who had professional gardeners.  It always amused me that she used one of the first place ribbons as a bookmark in her Bible.  How I wish we had taken a picture of that tree with the various colors of netting tied in it, but I do have at least two of the blue ribbons.  Only the "back yard neighbors" knew the secret of her beautiful prize winning apples and the reason the tree was adorned with colorful balls of netting.

Two more things so dear to me are memories of her humming as she worked in the kitchen and how she loved opening the blinds each morning to greet a new day.  Rarely does a day go by without me smiling and remembering her as I open the blinds in my home.  

 Packed away in one of my many boxes, I have the 1983 calendar that hung on Mother and Daddy's wall.  Some time after her death, Daddy filled the square for the 23rd of September with black.  It broke my heart when I saw it.  Obviously this date still holds some sadness for me, but I am so thankful she was my mother and that I have so many happy memories of her that continue to comfort and inspire me.

Amanuensis Monday - The Will of Richard Robbins

I have transcribed this without indicating obvious errors except in two instances.  I have tried to replicate the spacing and have ended each line where it ends on the original for easier comparisons.  My plan is to follow this up with some excerpts from the probate records and discussion of the documents.

Washington County, Arkansas - Will Book A-B, Pages 28-29

Will of Richard Robbins                                                     Old A 38

  In the name of God.  Amen. 

  I, Richard Robbins being merely debilitated in body

but of a sound and disposing mind and memory do

make and publish this my last will and testimony

and wish it to be remembered by all as such.

First, I wish my body incased in a plain......

Second, I wish my persable property soled and the money

colected and all my just debts paid.  I do give to

my beloved wife Nancy Richards, and Lizebeth &

George & James and after all just debts is paid

I wish those above stated to retain the balance of

my estate & should my beloved wife Nancy marry

I want her to have a childs’ part & should schee

remain single              I want my three little children

and my daughter that is above named

in the will to take all that is left, and I do

apint my sons Enos and Aaron the executors to my

last will and testament, and I want them to at to

dividing the property equal between the above named

heirs, and I wish it to be understood by all. 

  In testimony where of I have herunto set

my hand and seal this 12th day of November

his

1844               Richard          X         Robbins   Seal

                                                mark 

Witnesses: Evan Williams, Stewart Carlile. 

I Evan Williams        Signed the testators name

at his request.

State of Arkansas,

County of Washington. 

Be it remembered that on this

23d day of November AD 1844 before me J.C. Pittman

Clerk of the Circuit Court and Ex officio Clerk of the

Court of Probate within and for the County of

Washington aforesaid came Evan Williams and

Stewart Carlile in proper persons to me personally

[page 29]

known and after being by me duly sworn stated

that Richard Robins, the testator to the foregoing

will authorized Evan Williams one of the subscribing

witnesses to the same to assign his name, and that

the said testator then in in [sic] the presents [sic] of both the

subscribing witnesses made his mark with his own

hand, that at the time of making such mark

he declared to them that the said instrument was

his will and testament  that each of them signed

his name as a witness at the end of said instrument

or will at the request of the said Richard Robins

and that to the best of their knowledge and belief

the said Richard Robins at the time he made his

mark and acknowledged the said instrument to be

his will and testament. 

Evan Williams  =  Stewart Carlile  

Sworn to and subscribed before me the day and date

above written

J.C. Pittman   Clerk. 

In testimony wherof I, JC Pittman   Clerk of

said Court of probate have hereunto set my

hand and affixed the seal of said Court at office

this 23d day of November AD 1844. 

 J. C. Pittman   Clerk.

Sentimental Sunday - Robbins Genealogy

Once again I've been doing lots of things related to genealogy, but not adding to my blogs.  This afternoon I decided I was ready to jump back into it.  As I opened the editor to begin, my heart sank as I was faced with my brother's picture and obituary.  How can it be almost four months since he left this life and how can it seem so recent and so long ago at the same time?  With that said, what I plan to write about first is my continued search for my Robbins ancestors.  Let me also preface this by saying others before me have been searching as well, but with the wealth of information so readily available and easily shareable via the Internet, the search for evidence will go on.

As I was going to renew my efforts, a few weeks ago I began by going back over what had been done before.  Much to my delight I rediscovered a folder labeled "Lelah's Robbins Notebook" containing information given to me by Daddy's first cousin, Lelah Robbins Horton.  Another folder is labeled "1968 Letters from Lelah".  The first letter is dated Aug. 22, 1968.  In it she says, "I'm glad you were pleased with our Robbins history."  Now I can confirm I began working on our family genealogy at that time. 

It made me smile remembering the thrill of getting an envelope of information from her in the mail.  I was touched by her kindness and offered to type things for her in exchange for her passing along her information for me to copy.  It seems we corresponded weekly until some time in October, but by then my senior year in high school and my part time job took priority.  After that came college, my first teaching job, marriage, and our daughter which is why the next folders are dated 1984.  Hopefully I repaid dear Lelah a little by typing some of her notes and her papers for membership in Daughters of the Republic of Texas and United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Unfortunately I only met her in person once and I don't have a picture of her.  Perhaps I can locate some of her family and get a photo.  (I'll put that on my To Do List in my Legacy Family Tree program.)  Since I commented earlier that the Internet made sharing much easier, I did a search, but did not find a photo of her.  I have a subscription to Ancestry.com and have found many pictures, but none of her.  I also checked to see if someone had uploaded a photo to the memorial page I created for her on findagrave.com.

What I did find was a list of the Members of the Fort Worth Genealogical Society with her named listed (number 84) as a member in 1958.  I do not know when she started her research, but I know she visited many court houses and cemeteries over the years.  I also know she shared what she found with others because I still come across references to her and her research.