Because my recent research goal has been to answer the question “Where and when did James and wife Elizabeth (Williams) Lakin die,” I find that I’m not able to step away yet from the Lakin family.

There are several reasons for this.

1. I need to know how many James Lakins were living in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the 18th century. That will enable me to determine whether records I find for James Lakin pertain to my guy or perhaps to another man of the same name.

2. Sometimes, although one child agreed to care for aged parents, he was unable to do so for whatever reason. Researching records pertaining to other children might uncover new information about James and Elizabeth.

3. In the digging that I’ve already done, I have noticed that many online websites have dates and records attached to the incorrect person. By expanding my Lakin fishing net, I can do my own documenting with correct information attached to the right person.

To review the family structure of James and Elizabeth Lakin, they were the parents of nine known children – James, Robinson (aka Robertson), Ambrose, Elizabeth, Hannah, Nathaniel, Susanna, Mary and Sibbel.

There are two children for whom I have found no further information past their births. The first is James, born 21 August 1718. While some have him married to Elizabeth, I believe to be an instance of attaching a wife to the wrong man. For this James, I find no marriage date, nor any deeds or probate records. The James who married an Elizabeth was the grandson of our James and Elizabeth and was the son of Robinson and Hannah (Dodge) Lakin. That James married Elizabeth Shattuck on 5 November 1772 in Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

The second child is daughter Susannah, born 24 September 1731. There is a marriage for one Susannah Lakin to Samuel Styles of Lyndeborough, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, but that record pertains to another grandchild of my James and Elizabeth, who was the daughter of Ambrose and Mary (Cram) Lakin.

There is a third child who has no descendants. That is Hannah, born 15 September 1726, who never married. She died in Pepperell, next door to Groton, on 24 December 1807. Her age at death matches this Hannah.

A fourth child who married not once, but twice, is Elizabeth. She married (1) Josiah Lawrence, 3 December 1746 and then (2) Whitcomb Powers, 18 October 1758 in Pepperell after Josiah died. However, I find no children born to Josiah and Elizabeth. Whitcomb and Elizabeth reportedly had a daughter, Elizabeth who was a teacher in Dunstable, Middlesex, Massachusetts. However, I have found no records pertaining to her, nor have I found death records for Whitcomb and Elizabeth. It is not known if their daughter married and/or has any descendants.

Nathaniel Lakin, the sixth born child in the family, married Sybil Parker on 23 January 1755 in Pepperell. However, Nathaniel died in 1780 and no records of children born to this couple have been found.

I’ve recently covered the family of Ambrose Lakin and, in the past, I’ve written about Mary Lakin, who married Oliver Shepley.

The remaining children of James and Elizabeth who married are Robinson and Sybil.

Today, we will look at the life of Robinson, who was likely named Robertson (and sometimes found that way) in honor of his paternal grandmother, Elizabeth (Robertson) Lakin.

Robinson is another family member who has been mixed up with someone else. His son, Robinson Jr., served in the American Revolution and received a pension. However, some of his service has been incorrectly attributed to his father, who would have been 56 years old at the start of the war. Certainly not impossible, but the military records all pertain to Robinson Jr.

Robinson Lakin was the second son and second child of James and Elizabeth Lakin, born 17 February 1719/20 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He died 16 August 1796, Pepperell, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Robinson married Hannah Dodge on 15 April 1746 in Groton and they were the parents of nine children:

1. Anna, born 16 January 1747, Pepperell; married Fifield Holt, 5 November 1772, Wilton, Hillsborough, New Hampshire. Her birth is also recorded in Groton, but on 16 January 1746.
2. James, born 2 June 1749, Pepperell; died 10 June 1821, Pepperell; married Elizabeth Shattuck, 5 November 1772, Pepperell. James served as a drummer during the Revolutionary War.
3. Elizabeth, born 2 June 1751; died 25 November 1753, both in Pepperell. Note Mary’s death date below – some kind of epidemic?
4. Mary, born 4 September 1753; died 8 November 1753, both in Pepperell.
5. Robinson/Robertson, born 10 September 1755; died 4 January 1838, both in Pepperell; married Hepzibeth Lakin, (intentions) 31 October 1780, Pepperell.
6. Elizabeth, born 14 December 1757; died 3 November 1774 of dysentery.
7. Winslow, born 27 August 1759; died 23 September 1840, Francestown, Hillsborough, New Hampshire; married Elizabeth Sawtell, 6 July 1781. Winslow also served in the American Revolution.
8. Nathaniel, born 10 June 1762; died 2 October 1816, Pepperell; married Mary Dodge, 18 January 1785, Groton.
9. Mary, born 29 December 1766; She may be the Mary Lakin who married Jonathan Nutting, 20 or 28 October 1800, Pepperell. He served in the American Revolution and died in Groton on 29 August 1843, aged 88 years. If she is the same person, it appears they had no children together and no death date has been found for Mary.

Therefore, five of Robinson’s and Hannah’s nine children may have descendants today.

No new clues have surfaced regarding Robinson’s parents. (: