Category Archives: Robertson

Robertson

12 for ’26: Samuel Robertson (c1755-1826), Madison County, KY

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Today, I’ll share two discoveries concerning Samuel Robertson, born c1755, reportedly in Scotland, and who settled first in Rowan County, North Carolina before eventually settling in Madison County, Kentucky by 1800. He is one of my husband’s 5X great grandfathers.

Two new documents appeared during this search. The first, which isn’t really a surprise and can be found on Ancestry (if I had looked there) is Samuel’s second marriage record.

Elizabeth Harris, his first wife, died before 1810 as there is no adult female in the home at that time. She was the mother of at least ten children.

I had noted Samuel’s unknown second wife in my software program, but never went looking for her. Well, FamilySearch’s full-text search took care of that:

The Clerk of the Madison County Court will pleas to Issue Licences for Samuel Robertson to Marry [?] my Daughter Elizabeth Adkinson Given under my hand and Seal this 3r day of July 1811.

Eliz Adkisson

Teste: Thomas Squires
William brother

Therefore, on 3 July 1811 or shortly after, Samuel Robertson married (2) Elizabeth Adkinson/Adkisson in Madison County, Kentucky. One mystery solved. It is unknown whether Elizabeth (Adkinson) Robertson had any surviving children. They may have had one child and then Elizabeth died before 1820 as that census shows Samuel, over 45, a male (probably son William), 26-45, a female 16-25 (probably William’s wife, Sally Hooten, who he married in 1818), plus a male under 10 and a female under 10.

The second document was a surprise and the only one (thankfully) that I’ve found like it:

Commonwealth of Kentucky Madison County and Sct Robert Scott by his atty complains of Samuel Tatom Jessey Hackworth Pleasant Adkinson and Joseph Miller and Samuel Robertson in custody etc of a plea of trespass, assault and battery and false imprisonment for that the said, Samuel Tatom, Jessey Hackett (amended to Hackworth), Pleasant Adkinson and Joseph Miller and Samuel Robertson on, the eleventh day of July in the year of our lord eighteen hundred and eight at the circuit and County aforesaid, with force and arms &c to wit, with swords, staves, knives and sticks made an assault upon the said Robert and then and there beat, wounded and illy treated the said Robert, whereof the said Robert was in great danger of losing his life. And also, for that the said Samuel Tatom, Jessey Hackworth Pleasant Adkinson Joseph Miller and Samuel Robertson afterwards, to wit, on the same day and year at the circuit and County aforesaid, with forces and arms, &c to wit with swords, knives, staves and guns, made another assault upon the said Robert Scott and then and there again beat, wounded, impressed and ill treated the said Robert Scott.

There are a number of other pages in the file, but most are court summons to a number of people to appear to testify in “this controversy” including Elizabeth Robertson on 30 August 1808, which narrows her date of death to between then and the 1810 census.

What caused the attack is not explained in the court record, but on 6 March 1809, Robert Scott filed to dismiss the suit saying he had settled with the men.

Robertson

Samuel Robertson & Elizabeth Harris: Finding Documentation for Peripheral Data

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It is time to head back to the colonial frontier tracing some of my husband’s family lines.

Samuel Robertson, by all (undocumented) accounts, appears to have been the immigrant ancestor of this Robertson family.

From a few published sources, it is evident that descendants began documenting the story of the Robertson family in the later part of the 1800s, interviewing old timers who were youngsters and knew Samuel Robertson in his old age. However, the information collected is pretty much heresay, as little documentation has been found.

My goal is to uncover proof for some of the statements and assumptions made for the migratory path of Samuel Robertson and his family in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

I have written about the descendants of this couple in posts several years ago. Today, I am hoping to be able to find documentary evidence that the Samuel Robertsons mentioned in my timeline (below) either are my man or definitely are not. Tax lists and land deeds might help determine whether there are two men of the same name that other researchers have latched onto and merged into one person.

Samuel Robertson was born c1755 to unknown parents, likely in Scotland. His Scottish origin is also unproven. It is thought that Samuel married Elizabeth Harris c1778, probably in Virginia. Other researchers have placed Samuel on the 1777 tax list of Goochland County, Virginia, along with Thomas Harris, who may be the father of Elizabeth. Both lived in Richmond District at the time.

However, Samuel was a young man on the move, headed west. It is thought that Samuel’s first child, David, was born in Rowan County, North Carolina about 1780. In 1787, one Samuel Robertson, who may be my husband’s Samuel, along with a William Robertson, possibly his brother or father, appears on the Goochland County, Virginia tax list.

Whether or not that Samuel is my Samuel is uncertain. It is certain that Samuel and Elizabeth migrated to Kentucky via North Carolina, as Samuel was taxed in Caswell County, North Carolina in 1790 and might be the Samuel Roberson taxed in Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1791. The family was probably living in Garrard County, Kentucky in 1800, as Samuel’s daughter Esther married there that summer. What is also certain is that by 1810, the Robertson family was well settled in its new home in Madison County, Kentucky.

Little is known about Elizabeth (Harris) Robertson. The 1810 Kentucky census includes a female over the age of 45, which would fit Elizabeth. By 1820, the eldest female was in the 26-44 age range so Elizabeth had apparently died. It’s possible that the female could be an unmarried daughter of Samuel’s, but it is also possible that Samuel married a second time after Elizabeth’s death. If so, the name of his second wife is unknown.

Because of the many moves this family made, a timeline is helpful to track them:

1755 – Samuel reportedly born in Scotland
1777 – A Samuel Robertson on the Goochland County, VA tax list with Thomas Harris
1780 – Samuel’s son, David, reportedly born in Rowan County, NC
1781 – Samuel’s daughter Elizabeth reportedly born in Rowan or Caswell County, NC
1787 – A Samuel Roberts with a William Robertson on Goochland County, VA tax list
1791 – Samuel Robertson taxed in Bourbon County, KY
1800 – Daughter Elizabeth married George Baker, 13 July 1800 in Garrard County, KY
1810 – Robertson family living in Madison County, KY

Samuel and Elizabeth were the parents of ten children born roughly between 1780 and 1801:

Children:

  1. David, born c1780, reportedly Rowan County, North Carolina; died after 1870, probably Clay County, Kentucky; married Allie Allen, 25 June 1811, Madison County, Kentucky.
  2. Esther, born 11 December 1781, Rowan or Caswell County, North Carolina; died after 1850; married George Baker, 13 July 1800, Garrard County, Kentucky
  3. Mary, born c1783, North Carolina; died after 1850; married William Midkiff, 14 June 1803, Madison County, Kentucky. William died before 1830, after the family migrated to Shelby County, Indiana.
  4. Sarah, born c1785; married Robert Gorden, 18 April 1805, Madison County, Kentucky. This family moved to Warren County, Tennessee.
  5. John, born c1787; died July 1859, Jackson County, Missouri; married Nancy Cox, 16 April 1816, Estill County, Kentucky
  6. James, born c1789; married Nancy Wheeler, 24 July 1817, Madison County, Kentucky. It is thought that James migrated to Shelby County, Indiana with the Midkiffs.
  7. Alexander, born c1795; died after 1820; married Nancy Grisham, 14 August 1817, Estill County, Kentucky.
  8. Martha, born c1797; died after 1830; married William Moberly, 24 December 1818, Madison County, Kentucky.
  9. Son, born c1799; died young
  10. Henrietta, born c1801; about December 1828, Shelby County, Indiana; married Kimble Edgeman Midkiff, 4 February 1819, Estill County, Kentucky.

 

Harris, Robertson

Samuel Robertson’s & Elizabeth Harris’s Children and Grandchildren, Part 2

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Here are the remaining grandchildren of Samuel Robertson and Elizabeth Harris, to finish the descendants begun on 15 March 2017:

Children of John Robertson and Nancy Cox, who married on 16 April 1816, Estill County, Kentucky, are:

  1. Lucinda, born c1817, Kentucky; died 12 November 1856, Jackson County, Missouri; married Nelson A. Warren, 4 June 1835, Jackson County, Missouri. Nelson was born 19 January 1812, New Jersey; died 3 May 1891, Jackson County, Missouri. Nelson married (2) Margaret A. Choate, 10 June 1860, Jackson County, Missouri. Margaret was born 12 June 1842, Virginia; died 11 November 1879, Jackson County, Missouri.
  2. Permelia (Ermela), born c1817, Kentucky; died 1850-1857, Andrew or Holt County, Missouri ; married Ethelbert R. Brown, 21 September 1837, Jackson County, Missouri. Ethelbert was born 4 November 1810, Giles County, Tennessee; died 13 January 1880, Andrews County, Missouri. Ethelbert married (2) Mary E. Tipton, c1856, Missouri. Mary was born c1825, Kentucky; died after 1880, probably Andrew County, Missouri.
  3. James, born c1830, Kentucky; died after 1850. No further record.
  4. Archibald, born March 1832, Kentucky; died after 1900, probably Jackson County, Missouri; married Malinda Jane Baker, 11 March 1869, Linn County, Missouri. Malinda was born March 1852, Missouri; died after 1900, probably Jackson county, Missouri. In 1860, a man matching his age and born in Kentucky was an inmate in the Missouri State Penitentiary.
  5. Samuel J., born 16 December 1833, Jackson County, Missouri; died 9 April 1914, Jackson County, Missouri; married Judith Barnhill, 11 January 1859, Jackson County, Missouri. Judith was born 8 August 1842, Ray County, Missouri; died 3 April 1917, Jackson County, Missouri.
  6. George, born 19 December 1835, Missouri; died 22 July 1882, Jackson County, Missouri; married Julia (Jones) Smith, 14 October 1869, Jackson County, Missouri. Julia was born c1846, Virginia; died 1 March 1911, Jackson County, Missouri, where she lived with her daughter’s family.
  7. Elizabeth, born 6 April 1838, Jackson County, Missouri; died 9 April 1913, Jackson County, Missouri; married Washington Perry Gibson, 21 December 1852, Jackson County, Missouri. Wash was born 10 August 1825, Kentucky; died 22 May 1899, Jackson County, Missouri.
  8. Octavius, born c1840, Missouri; died 18 October 1927, Cherokee County, Kansas; married Louisa (Eliza) Jane, 11 November 1869, Jackson County, Missouri. Eliza was born 31 March 1847, Missouri; died 7 January 1933, Cherokee County, Kansas.

Children of James Robertson and Nancy Wheeler, who married on 24 July 1817, Madison County, Kentucky, are:

NOTE: He is probably the James Robinson who married (1) Fanny Hubbard, 21 April 1814, Estill County, Kentucky. I suspect that Fanny died soon, perhaps giving birth to her first child. James married (3) Susan, perhaps the widow of Mr. Ford. Susan was born 8 January 1802, Kentucky; died 14 October 1885, Shelby County, Indiana. She and James appeared to have no children of their own together.

  1. Samuel, born 11 November 1820, Madison County, Kentucky; died 9 August 1846, Shelby County, Indiana; married Rebecca Montgomery, 20 October 1842, Shelby County, Indiana. Rebecca was born c1829, Indiana; died 9 September 1897, Shelby County, Indiana. She married (2) William Ford, 12 October 1848, Shelby County, Indiana, as his second wife. William was born 17 August 1805, Kentucky; died 26 May 1857, Shelby County, Indiana. Samuel and Rebecca had two children – Nancy, born c1844 and Samuel, born c1846.
  2. John W., born 21 November 1821, Madison County, Kentucky; died 15 February 1896, Shelby County, Indiana; unmarried.
  3. Thomas Wheeler, born 16 December 1826, Shelby County, Indiana; died 6 March 1888, Orange County, California; married (1) Clarinda Howard, 28 February 1849, Mahaska County, Iowa. Clarinda was born c1828, Kentucky; died 19 January 1856, Mahaska County, Iowa. (2) Keziah (Shelby) Collier, c1859, Tulare County, California. She was born c1831, Schuyler County, Illinois; died 25 July 1906, Orange County, California.
  4. Mary, born 19 February 1828, Shelby County, Indiana; died 8 March 1904, Shelby County, Indiana; married Thomas C. McCabe, 4 May 1847, Shelby County, Indiana. Thomas was born c1828, Indiana; died 7 September 1895, Shelby County, Indiana.

Children of Martha Robertson and William Moberly, who married 24 December 1818, Madison County, Kentucky, are:

 NOTE: David Robertson was guardian to Thomas, William and Clifton. The estate was settled in May 1833.

  1. Clifton, born c1820, Madison County, Kentucky; died after 1880, probably Clay County, Kentucky; married Sarah, perhaps Bishop or Burns, c1840, possibly Pulaski County, Kentucky. She was born c1819, Kentucky; died 24 April 1898, Pulaski County, Kentucky.
  2. Thomas, 20 January 1821, Madison County, Kentucky; died 11 October 1908, Shelby County, Indiana; married Julila Barnes, 17 February 1842, Shelby County, Indiana. Julila was born c1825, Kentucky; died 17 June 1901, Shelby County, Indiana.
  3. William, born c1823, Madison County, Kentucky; died after May 1833, but there are several William Moberlys born in Kentucky living in 1850 and there isn’t enough information to determine if one of them is him.

Children of Alexander Robertson and Nancy Grisham, who married on 15 August 1817, Estill County, Kentucky, are:

  1. James E., born 20 January 1819, Madison County, Kentucky; died 17 October 1912, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana; married (1) Eliza Thompson, 3 September 1840, Shelby County, Indiana. Eliza was born c1823, Indiana; died June 1851, Shelby County, Indiana. (2) Susan Williams Gwin, before 1860. Susan was born c1823, Virginia; died 9 November 1893, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana.
  2. Sidney, born 27 January 1821, Madison County, Kentucky; died 20 February 1908, Shelby County, Indiana; married Nancy Fisher, 26 December 1839, Shelby County, Indiana. Nancy was born June 1821, Kentucky; died 10 February 1907, Shelby County, Indiana.
  3. David, born 4 _____ 1824, Madison County, Kentucky; no marriage record found for him and not found in 1850.
  4. Fountain G., born 9 August 1825, Madison County, Kentucky; died March 1876, Shelby County, Indiana; married Reheresina Chew, 19 February 1846, Shelby County, Indiana. Reheresina was born c1827, Virginia; died 31 July 1894, Shelby County, Indiana. Yes, Reheresina is the name on her death certificate.
  5. John, born c1828, Madison County, Kentucky; died before 1860, when Gabriella is living with her parents and four Robertson children in Clark County, Illinois; married Gabriella Stafford, 7 March 1850, Shelby County, Indiana. Gabriella and the children aren’t found after 1860.
  6. Josephine, born 5 April 1830, probably Indiana; died 21 March 1912, Shelby County, Indiana; married David (James in marriage record) Louden, 6 April 1847, Shelby County, Indiana. David was born 1 December 1826, Kentucky; died 2 January 1894, Shelby County, Indiana.
  7. Harvey, born c1832, Shelby County, Indiana; died 22 May 1890, Shelby County, Indiana; married Mary A. Palmerton, 30 November 1856, Shelby County, Indiana. Mary was born 26 November 18238, Shelby County, Indiana; died 16 November 1919, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
  8. Lydia Jane, born 4 November 1834, Shelby County, Indiana; died 18 August 1866, Shelby County, Indiana; married Amer Gibbons, 10 June 1860, Shelby County, Indiana. Amer was born c1834, Indiana; died 22 August 1866, Shelby County, Indiana, only four days after his wife, likely in an epidemic. They had one son, Daniel, who died as a toddler in 1863, so there are no descendants in this line.

Children of Henrietta Robertson and Kimble Edgeman Midkiff, who married on 4 February 1819 in Estill County, Kentucky, are:

NOTE: Henrietta died between 28 October 1828, when the heirs of Samuel Robertson filed a land deed, and 31 May 1829, when her husband remarried.

  1. Mary, born c1821, Kentucky; died after 1880, probably Taylor County, Iowa; married Andrew R. Derrickson, 24 February 1842, Shelby County, Indiana. Andrew was born 7 January 1818, Ohio; died 27 April 1895, Taylor County, Iowa.
  2. Archibald, born 20 January 1822, Tennessee; died 22 December 1876, Shelby County, Indiana; unmarried.
  3. Samuel, born 8 April 1824, Tennessee; died 8 September 1907, Crawford County, Illinois; married Mary Jane Keck, 13 January 1848, Shelby County, Indiana. Mary Jane was born 27 October 1829, Virginia; died 4 May 1907, Crawford County, Illinois.
  4. Thomas, born c1821-1826, Kentucky; died 1860-1870; married Mary Mullen, 30 October 1859, Shelby County, Indiana. Mary was born c1836, Indiana; died after 1880, possibly Shelby County, Indiana.
  5. Elizabeth, born 7 June 1827, Tennessee; died 28 February 1898, Taylor County, Iowa; married John Brown Larrison, 4 March 1847, Shelby County, Indiana. John was born 11 January 1823, Ohio; died 26 September 1891, Taylor County, Iowa.
  6. Caroline Matilda, born c1829, Indiana; died 8 February 1894, Shelby County, Indiana; married (1) John Cotton, 12 September 1847, Shelby County, Indiana. John was born c1820, Ohio; death date unknown. This couple may have divorced and he may be the man who died in 1893 in Marshall County, Iowa. (2) John William Yager, 9 March 1864, Shelby County, Indiana. John was born c1819, Kentucky; died 16 February 1877, Shelby County, Indiana.

There you have it – the good, the bad and the ugly, documented facts alongside of wishful thinking. At least, it is all in one place like the Baker data, which will make further research a lot easier. The next person won’t have to look in a zillion different places trying to collect it all.