First of all, after the painful process of collecting the 90+ grandchildren of George Washington Baker and his wife, Esther Robertson, I must be out of my mind going through the same process with Esther’s parents. On the positive side, Samuel and Elizabeth only had 50+ grandchildren that I have found.

Second, most of the data on George and Esther’s children was more clear cut than some of what I’ve found on Samuel’s children. While the Bakers had somewhat of a family mob mentality, migrating in swarms from place to place, the Robertsons were more likely to move on with few other Robertsons. Add to that all the ways in which Robertson can be spelled – Robetson, Roberson, Robinson – and how common the name is, there is much more uncertainty about some of these family relationships. I’ve commented in the instances where things get muddled and messy.

Perhaps other Robertson descendants will come across this compilation and will be able to share actual documents and vital records that link these people together.

Here we go!

Children of David Robertson and Ailey Allen, married 25 June 1811, Madison County, Kentucky, are:

1. Nancy, born c1813, Madison County, Kentucky; died 28 February 1895, Clay County, Kentucky; married Abel Bishop, 23 October 1833, Madison County, Kentucky. Abel was born 20 April 1812, Kentucky; died 26 April 1887, Clay County, Kentucky.
2. Elizabeth H., born c1815, Madison County, Kentucky; died after 1880, probably Clay County, Kentucky; married Charles Cole, 6 April 1840, Clay County, Kentucky. Charles was born c1810, Lee County, Virginia; died 24 July 1858, Clay County, Kentucky. Death register gives cause of death as “killed.” It is odd that David Robertson gave permission for Elizabeth to marry, even though census records consistently place her year of birth about 1815, except for the 1870 census, which gives 1824 as her year of birth.
3. Drucilla, born c1819, Madison County, Kentucky; died before 31 July 1865, probably Clay County, Kentucky; married William H. Allen, 27 December 1838, Madison County, Kentucky. William was born April 1821, Kentucky; died after 1900, Clay County, Kentucky. He married (2) Sarah (Herd) Spurlock, 31 July 1865, Clay County, Kentucky. Sarah was born February 1823, Kentucky; died after 1916, probably Clay County, Kentucky.
4. Allen E., born 25 March 1822, Madison County, Kentucky; died after 1910, when he lived with son George’s family; married (1) Lucinda Allen, 21 January 1848, Clay County, Kentucky. She was born c1830, North Carolina; died after 1880, probably Clay County, Kentucky. There is a birth record for a Nancy J. Robertson, born 17 March 1874, Clay County, Kentucky. Father named is Allen E. Robertson and mother is Emily Clark.
5. Sarah (Sally), born c1823, Madison County, Kentucky; died after 1880; married William B. Allen, 9 September 1843, Madison County, Kentucky. William B. was born c1811, Kentucky; died 1870-1880, Clay County, Kentucky.
6. Silas Columbus, born October 1828; Madison County, Kentucky; died after 1900, probably Clay County, Kentucky; married Malinda Reid, 7 July 1864, Clay County, Kentucky.

David and Ailey reportedly also had daughter Mary Ann and sons William B. who married Sallie and James, who perhaps removed to Texas. The 1830 census supports the six children above. The 1840 census accounts for Allen, Silas, Sarah and a daughter (perhaps ?Elizabeth) still at home. However, there are also 2 females, aged 20-29 and 15-19, who can’t be accounted for in the 1830 census and a male 10-14 years old, also not accounted for in 1830. The male is likely William Moberly, David’s nephew and the youngest of the three Moberly brothers, for whom he served as guardian. There may have been some other relatives living with them, too. There are also no Robertson/Robinson marriages to be found in Clay or Madison Counties in the 1840s. I have found no evidence for the existence of James, William B. or Mary Ann.

Children of Esther Robertson and George Washington Baker, who married 14 July 1800, Garrard County, Kentucky, are:

1. Elizabeth, born c1800, Kentucky; died 1850; married Michael Stufflebean, 25 December 1817, Estill County, Kentucky
2. Samuel, born 3 December 1803, Kentucky; died c1875, Montgomery County, Iowa; married Rachel, reportedly Davidson, c1827, but no record has been found of the marriage or of her maiden name. Rachel was born c1812, Kentucky; died 1 December 1874, Montgomery County, Iowa.
3. Susannah, born c1805; died c1846, Linn County, Missouri; married William McCollum, 7 May 1824, Estill County, Kentucky. He also died about 1846 and I think they were both cholera victims.
4. Jane, born c1806, Kentucky; died c July 1846, Linn County, Missouri; married William Baker, 15 September 1825, Clay County, Kentucky. He died in September 1846, two more victims of the horrible cholera epidemic that struck. It is thought that William Baker was a son of Boling Baker and Elizabeth Bunch.
5. John R., born c1809, Kentucky; married Susannah Baker, 15 January 1829, Morgan County, Indiana. Susannah was born c1812, Indiana; died between 1850-1860, probably either in Linn County, Missouri or Denton County, Texas, where the family lived at the time. Susannah was reportedly a daughter of Morris Baker and his wife, Rhoda. John R. married (2) Jane (MNU), before 1860. Jane may have been previously married to a Mr. Smith, as there was six year old Mary Smith living with them in 1860. By 1865, the family had moved on to Johnson County, Kansas. They were still there for the 1870 census, but no trace has been found of John, Jane, or children Robert and Melinda at home with them in 1870.
6. Caroline, born c1811, Kentucky; died after 1880; married Balaam M. Baker, 12 June 1826, Clay County, Kentucky. Balaam was born c1806, North Carolina and died c1868, Linn County, Missouri. Caroline married (2) William Miner, c1869, probably in Missouri. He was born c1800, Virginia; died 2 February 1880, Linn County, Missouri. It is thought that Balaam Baker was the son of Revolutionary War soldier George Baker and Susannah Morris.
7. Nancy, born c1812, Kentucky; died after 1880, probably in Antelope or Boone County, Iowa; married David W. Nance, 20 May 1831, Morgan County, Indiana. David was born c1793 in Tennessee and also died after 1880, likely in Iowa.
8. Andrew Jackson, born 1813, Kentucky; died in the fall of 1848, Linn County, Missouri; married Ailey Baker, 15 June 1836, Morgan County, Indiana. She hasn’t been found in the 1850 census and nothing further is known of their family. It is thought that Ailey was a daughter of Morris and Rhoda Baker, as she lived with them in 1860 after Morris died.
9. Martha; reportedly married George Baker, who died before 1847. No marriage record has been found and no further information on this family. This Martha was declared insane in 1848 by the Linn County, Missouri court and I don’t believe she ever married.
10. George Robinson (Robertson?), born 13 July 1820, Kentucky; twin to Esther; died 1 May 1892, Linn County, Missouri; married Polly McCollum, 15 December 1842, Linn County, Missouri. Polly was born c1824, Kentucky; died after 1880. Some say that he married Mary Lavina Johnson, but either that information is wrong or else it was a second marriage that I haven’t been able to find.
11. Esther, twin to George, born 13 July 1820; reportedly married James Baker, but I have found no record of the marriage or of them in 1850 or later. I have found three other Esthers married in Linn County to other men, but none seem to have a time period where they could have been married to James Baker.
12. Robert, “Surly Bob,” born 24 August 1824, Kentucky; died 3 July 1884, Sullivan County, Missouri; married Elizabeth J. Couch, 2 April 1844, Linn County, Missouri. She was born c1823, Tennessee; died after 7 June 1900, Sullivan County, Missouri, when she lived with her son’s family.

Children of Mary Robertson and William Midkiff, who married on 14 June 1803, Madison County, Kentucky, are:

1. William Edgeman, born c1806/08, Tennessee; died before 22 August 1863, when Ruth applied for a widow’s pension; married Ruth Goodrich, 4 November 1832, Shelby County, Indiana. Ruth was born c1808, Virginnia; died after 22 August 1863, possibly Jasper County, Illinois.
2. Daughter, born 1811-1815; died after 1830. No further record and the only Midkiff marriage in the 1830s in Shelby County is for William, above.

Children of Sally Robertson and Robert Gordon, who married on 18 April 1805, Madison County, Kentucky, are:

Allen Robertson stated that his aunt, Sally, and Robert Gordon removed to Mississippi. If they did so, they left soon after their marriage in 1805 and didn’t stay long, as Robert Gordon appears on the 1812 tax list for Warren County, Tennessee, where he lived the rest of his life. Also on the same list are James Gordon, John Gordon and John Gordon, Jr. Unfortunately, marriage records don’t begin there until 1852, long after the children had married. From various sources online, I have pieced together the following family group. Robert married (2) Sally Hayes, 20 January 1848, Cannon County, Missouri. Sarah’s estate inventory was filed on 31 March 1866, but she hasn’t been found in the 1860 census. The 1820 and 1830 censuses indicate there were nine children in the household. Robert Gordon left a will in 1854, leaving all to his wife until she died or married for a third time. Then the estate was to go to “my children,” but none were named!

1. Daughter, born c1806, (female, born 1806-1810)
2. Daughter, born c1808, (female, born 1806-1810)
3. William George, born 10 June 1810, Tennessee (male, born 1806-1810); died 4 April 1894, Lamar County, Texas; married (1) Susan (Sukey) Walling. Susan was born 1 April 1807, Tennessee; died 1 August 1881, probably Lamar County, Texas. (2) Elitha M. Conn or Carr, 4 December 1886, Lamar County, Texas. No further information about Elitha except her marriage record. She likely may be the Elitha M. Carr living in Galveston, Texas in 1880 with her brother-in-law’s family and then found widowed and living with the James Moore household in St. Francis County, Arkansas. Her name is very unusual. She was born between 1836-1844, New York; died after 1900. It appears she had no children.
4. ?Martha, born c1813, Warren County, Tennessee (female, born 1811-1820); reportedly married James Walling. There is a marriage recorded in White County, Tennessee on 14 November 1843 for James Walling and Martha HOWARD. Given that Martha would have been about 30 at that time, this easily could be a second marriage for her. Some online sources state that she is Martha Mobley, but I haven’t found any documents to support the idea that a Martha Mobley married James Walling. If she was previously married to a Mr. Howard and the 1843 marriage is, indeed, her, then all the children listed in the 1850 family aren’t hers unless they were Howard children instead of Wallings. Because the Wallings have a son named Davidson, born in 1857, and Martha Gordon had a brother, Davidson, I think this family might be correct. I also can’t find death certificates for any of her children, which might name their parents. Furthermore, I can’t find any other marriage for James Walling, either. This family is a mystery.
5. Isaac, born c1815, Warren County, Tennessee (male, born 1811-1820); died before 15 April 1861, Union County, Illinois, when his brother, William, was the guardian of his two daughters in Clark County, Missouri. The court record noted that Mary Isabelle and Julia were lately of Union County, Illinois. Mary Isabelle married William Clay Trent, 19 October 1868, Scotland Count, Missouri. She was born 19 November 1850, Illinois; died 23 February 1873, Clark County, Missouri. Isaac was enumerated as Isaac “Jorden” in 1860, Union County, Illinois. With him were Isabelle, 10, Edward, 7, Julia, 4, a housekeeper from Virginia and her daughter, Rebecca and Maryte Martin, and two farmers, Franklin and Lewis Rayner, both born in Illinois. Isaac was a carpenter and is in the 22 June 1860 agricultural schedule, so he died between then and 15 April 1861 probably in Union County, Illinois. Julia supposedly married James C. Purciller in 1874, but I can’t find a marriage record and she died before 1880 when he married Julia Whitney on 4 March 1880 in Denton County, Texas. Supposedly, Julia Gordon gave birth to at least a couple of children, but I haven’t found any evidence of them.
6. Sarah (Sally), born c1816, Warren County, Tennessee (female, born 1811-1820); reportedly married Phillip Smith. There is a marriage record for Philip A. Smith to Mrs. Sarah Walker recorded on 23 June 1854, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. A marriage for Sarah to a Mr. Walker hasn’t been found and there were no Walker children living with the Smiths in 1860. This family is another mystery.
7. Anna Jane, born 3 June 1819, Warren County, Tennessee (female, born 1811-1820); died 16 March 1890, New Madrid County, Missouri; married Alexander Daniel Cruchon, 24 March 1841, St. Louis, Missouri. Alexander was born c1791/1800, Switzerland; died between 1870-1880 in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
8. James Madison, born 1828, Warren County, Tennessee (male, born 1826-1830); died 28 November 1892, Scotland County, Missouri; married Jane Byars, 8 January 1853, Warren County, Tennessee. Jane was born 22 February 1835, Tennessee; died 24 January 1901, Scotland County, Missouri.
9. Davidson, born c1829, Warren County, Tennessee (males, born 1826-1830); died 1907, Houston County, Texas; married Mrs. Martha Moberly, before 1880. They had no children together and it appears that Davidson had no children with anyone else.

Tomorrow, I will share data on the remaining children and grandchildren of Samuel and Elizabeth (Harris) Robertson.