It seems the surname ROBINSON has become very difficult to trace back but we do have a little on my maternal lineage.
John Robertson was born in South Carolina about 1787. (I use Robertson as opposed to Roberson/Robinson because I believe this spelling is correct and also to be consistent.) His parents were immigrants from Ireland who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina from Belfast in1767. John was first married to Nancy Collins in Putnam Co., Georgia on May 12, 1808. They produced six children: 5 sons and 1 daughter. John's second wife was Selah Pike born in 1805, Edgefield Co., SC. Selah's father was John Pike who served in the War of 1812. Her grandfather was Joseph Pike and he served in the Revolutionary War from SC. John Robertson and Selah Pike were married on June 4, 1821, Walton Co., Georgia. We know that John and Selah lived in Fayette Co., Georgia in 1830 but moved to Alabama about 1837. The United States census of 1840 showed them in Coosa Co., Alabama.
John and Selah had several children one of whom was my great-grandfather, Martin Van Buren Robertson, born in June 1838. Gratefully for this writer, his name was shortened to Van!
Van married Mary Jane Smith on October 18, 1858 in Telladega Co., Alabama. Mary was born August 2, 1838 and was the daughter of Anderson and Laripa Smith. Laripa was a full blood Cherokee Indian from Georgia. On November 17, 1863 Van enlisted in the Confederate Army and was assigned to the 61st Alabama Infantry Company F. On July 18, 1864 Van was wounded at the battle of Snickers Gap in Virginia. While recovering from his wounds he contacted measles which resulted in his loss of hearing and other problems that afflicted him for the rest of his life. Van was paroled from active duty on May 18, 1865 in Montgomery, Alabama. The 1880 census showed that the family still lived in Coosa Co. and had 6 daughters and 5 sons. One of these sons was my grandfather, Allen James Robertson born March 2, 1873. Sometime around 1888 or 1889, the Robertson family moved to Faulkner Co., Arkansas and it was in this area that Van and Mary Jane spent their last days. On December 27, 1915, Van died.
Allen James married Margaret Elizabeth Polk on January 3, 1892 in Mt. Vernon, Arkansas where he died January 26, 1940 from adult diabetes. My grandmother, Lizzy, was born June 26, 1874 in Dover, Arkansas and died December 23, 1955 in Cairo, Illinois. Margaret Elizabeth was daughter of John O. Polk whose ancestors have been traced back to Robert Bruce Pollock from about 1625 in Donegal, Ireland. John O. Polk was born June 26, 1851 and married Rebecca Jane McKinney in Pope City, Arkansas on September 24, 1873.
Allen and Lizzy produced eleven children: John, b-1893, d-1918; Warren, b-1894, d-1970; Bertha, b-1898,d-1978; James "Doc", b-1900, d-1969; Wilson, d-1903, d-1994; Etta, b-1905, d-1985; Frances, b-1907, d-1987; Virginia, b-1909, d-1998; Leona, b-1911, d-1968; Ozella, b-1913, d-1974; Jesse, b-1915, d-1985. My mother was Leona, born November 23, 1911. She married my father, John Cecil McCulley, in 1930.
For the story about my McCulley family just click the name.
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