John Rowlandson Robinson Sr.
March 6, 1815-August 9, 1891
While they were in Nauvoo, John R. and Alice received their patriarchal blessings from John Smith, John on 9 April 1845 and Alice, the 14 April 1845. Alice’s father James Coupe was of the tribe of Levi and Alice comes from the lineage of Judah. John R. was a Seventy in Nauvoo and on 28 July 1844 just one month after the death of Joseph Smith, John was in the Nauvoo temple doing work for family members. John would later name two sons after the memories of Hyrum and Joseph. John and Alice had another son Richard Ammon and it is possible that this family of four left with the main body of the Church in 1846 when they were forced to leave Iowa.
When Richard Ammon was only two years old Alice became very ill and knew that she would soon die. She called for her 15-year-old sister Jane and asked her to take care of her children and be their mother. Jane had been living with John R. and Alice in Nauvoo. Alice died 30 May 1847 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa leaving her husband and two little children.
Several attempts were made by John R. to visit ladies of his acquaintance, but none of them returned interest. One evening, John R. turned to Jane and said “If it’s all right with you, I think we had just as well raise these children together.” John R. and Jane were married by John Birch on 24 August, 1847 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Jane was only 15 and a-half years old having been born 27 February 1832. This new family crossed the plains in 1852 in a company with Isaac Bullock as captain.
The John R. family was among those who began a settlement at Paragonah in the spring of 1853. Pronounced Pa-ra-goon-ah, and sometimes Pa-ra-goo-ne, the Utes say the word means many springs or marshes. Paragonah has become an important little town because of its location almost directly over an early Indian village and burial ground. Excavations made have uncovered Indian homes and skeletons.
Brigham Young came through the area and advised the Saints to build a fort and John R. helped with the construction and his family moved there in 1855 and lived here for nearly ten years. This piece of land is where the church house stands today. A ward was not organized at first but each Sunday morning the settlers would leave the fort and walk the distance to Parowan for worship. People dwelt here in this fort in safety until 1862 when new homes were built and a community began to prosper. The first sawmill in Paragonah was built and operated by Orson Adams, John R., and Richard Robinson. John R. also built the first grist mill, the old burr mill type, which furnished flour for the settlers for many years.
John R. died 9 August 1891 at the age of seventy-six and according to the records of the Parowan cemetery the cause of death was dropsy. Jane lived many years after the death of her husband during which she had other children living with her. Jane loved to weave and one night, upon returning home from work, John found his wife sitting at the loom exhausted, working a piece of cloth which she felt needed to be finished that night. John took over the weaving while Jane rested. When the cloth was finished Jane made a tiny garment, and in the morning the new little garment was found on the new baby which had been born during the night. Jane eventually died 12 December 1909 at the age of seventy-seven and is buried in the Parowan cemetery next to her husband. At the time of John R.’s passing he left Jane thirteen children, all except three were married with their own responsibilities.
John Rowlandson Robinson
John Rowlandson Robinson Sr. was born March 6, 1815 in Capham, Yorkshire, England. He left England in 1842 with a group of LDS Church members to come to the United States. Among the Saints were James Coupe and his daughters, Alice and Jane. John married Alice Coupe while on the Atlantic Ocean on March 5, 1842. The ceremony was performed by Lyman White. Two children Sarah Ann and Richard Armon were born to this union at Nauvoo, Illinois. John's family was living in Nauvoo at the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum in June of 1844.
John was a wheelwright by trade, and while living in Illinois and Iowa he manufactured many wagons for the Saints who came West. Many of the wagons were without tires, and one even came west to Iron County with rawhide wrapped on portions of the fellies1 where they were wearing thin.
When Richard was two years old his mother, Alice became ill and her dying wish was that her sister Jane take care of her children and rear them as her own. Alice died May 30, 1847 and after considering the circumstances, John asked Jane if it wouldn't be better to raise the children together. They were married August 24, 1847 by John Birch at Pottawatomie Iowa. While living there, James was born October 9, 1849 and William March 21, 1852.
As they were preparing to come West, John traded wagons for provisions and household equipment to help them on their way. With four children, they started their journey in wagons drawn by Oxen in the Bullock Company. While crossing the plains, John became very ill. This was at the time the quails came and were so tame, that the people caught them for food. But he was so week and sick, he couldn't even so much as reach out his hand to get one.
After many privations and hardships, they arrived at Parowan in the winter, December of 1852. (They crossed the Plains with the Isaac Bullock Company, arriving in Salt Lake City between 21 September and 3 October 1852.) They moved to Paragonah in the spring of 1853, but the Indians were so bad they had to go back to Parowan in the fall. John R. Jr. was born there April 6, 1854.
About this time, the Cottom family stopped at Parowan on their way to the southern part of the territory. They had had a long hard trip, the children having become ill with whooping cough after leaving Salt Lake City. The settlers at Parowan were very reluctant to take them in. John, however, invited them to stay at his home; although he had five children. It is interesting to note that none of his small children contracted the disease.
This same year, John helped build the fort at Paragonah and moved his family there in 1855, occupying the South West room in the fort.
John R. Robinson and Mary Carter organized the first Sunday School at Paragonah in the latter part of May, 1858, which was held in the North East corner of the fort. John gathered old rags and paper from the different families and sent them to Salt Lake City in exchange for small scriptural verse cards, which were given to the children. He also held night school at the same place for his children and all who wished to come.
Jane, Alice, Lucinda, and Thomas were born in the fort. The other children, Margaret, Joseph, Hyrum, Eliza, Emma, and George were born at their home in Paragonah2.
When the people moved from the fort, John secured a lot on which to build and after he and his wife and children had cleared the brush away, a log cabin was built. This made a more comfortable home for himself and family, which consisted of his wife, and fifteen children. Later, he built an addition, including a cellar beneath, that became the first store in Paragonah.
In or about 1863, he was called to help settle Panguitch, where he raised the finest wheat that ripened in that valley. However, he did not move his wife and small children to Panguitch and because of Indian troubles, it was thought best to vacate the town and he moved back to Paragonah.
The old saw mill east of town was built by John Robinson and Orson Adams in the fall of 1866 or the spring of 1867. This saw mill had a saw erected that went up and down rather than the circular type that is used now. From this mill, Richard and his brothers sawed the lumber for the old Burr flour mill which was erected in 1869 by John R. Robinson, his son Richard, and Dennison Harris. The wheat was ground into flour between two stones.
People came from many surrounding towns to have their wheat ground into flour at this mill. The water did not freeze as early in Paragonah because of the warm springs up Red Creek Canyon, which fed the mill. In the fall there was a great demand for flour. Each wanted to use his own grain because some wheat was better than other wheat. The wheat from Panguitch had usually been frozen, making a dark colored flour. Often, the people who came from long distances had to stay in Paragonah a week before it would be their turn to have their wheat ground. The millers kept blow snakes at the mill for mousers. Who knows but what some of them may have become part of the flour by accident. At least Thomas Robinson said he had saved one of them from that fate by pulling it out by the tail.
Besides being engaged in the above-mentioned enterprises, John held different political offices. Among these was Precinct Justice. He is said at one time to have told a lawyer from Parowan, who was telling him what to do, “if you think you can come down here and tell me what to do, you have the wrong hog by the tail!”
From some of the stories I have heard of great grandfather, he must have been a very stern man. My grandmother had a new dress with puckers on it, which he thought was just a waste of cloth. When she told him a person might just as well be out of the world as out of the fashion, he banged his fist on the table so hard the dishes bounced up and down and said, “fashion be damned!”
Another time, he cut off Aunt Jane's bangs up close to her head because he thought they were silly. Later, he went down and apologized to grandmother for this. As I remember grandmother, I'd bet she was plenty out of sorts about this. She was no meek little woman who bowed her head to the head of the household. Even if it was her father in law.
However, every one says that great grandfather was a just man and maybe people had to be stern to live through the things they experienced. He was always interested in the welfare of his community and gave freely of his services to make it better. He died August 9, 1891 at the age of 76.
Written by a great grandchild in 1950.
Excerpt from "Our English Ancestors"
by Elizabeth Applegate
John Rowlandson and Ann Lucas were married at Bolton-le-Sands, Lancashire, on 27 November 1784. John was a husbandman of Timrigg, Over Kellet, and Ann was a spinster. They stated that they were both 22 years of age. Their elder daughter Ann was christened 13 November 1785 in Over Kellet and Margaret on 7 October 1787. The father's abode was Kear Holme Lane, Lancashire. John Rowlandson was drowned less than five years after his marriage while bathing on the Warton sands. He was 28 years of age and was buried 11 August 1789. Ann married Michael Lancaster 2 September 1790 and five children were born to this union. Ann died on 30 April 1798 at Over Kellet at age 35.
Ann Rowlandson, their daughter, was married to Richard Robinson (said to be of Thorton) on 6 May 1806 in St. Cuthberts, Over Kellet, the same church she was christened in over twenty years before. Richard and Ann's first child, Margaret, was born on 29 May 1807 and was christened on 21 June 1807 in Bentham, a chapelry since 1662 with a population in 1831 of 2102. The father gives his residence as Forlands. Gazetteers were consulted and there is no village or hamlet by that name printed in them. The English people have been prone to name their farms and houses and it can be assumed that this is true in this case.
In May 1809 Richard and Ann were living at Hawkheath, a farm not far from Clapham, a parish since 1596 which included several small surrounding villages. It is in this parish that Richard and Ann, the parents of John R. Robinson, had recorded the births of seven children and the deaths of two. Clapham had a population of 982. Some of the family researchers have felt that our people were not members of the Church of England but were non-conformists or protestants. English law required that all of the ordinances pertaining to births, marriages, and deaths be performed and recorded in the state church. Among the burials in 1809 was listed Margaret, daughter of Richard Robinson, a farmer of Hawkheath, who died on May 6 and was buried May 9. She was not quite two years old. That same year of 15 November a daughter Peggy was born to Richard Robinson and Ann of Hawkheath and she was christened December 10. As I read of the death of little Margaret my heart was touched by their loss. The daughter who was born six months later was christened Peggy. Peggy is a nickname for Margaret and is a silent witness of their loneliness for their firstborn. On 4 February 1812 the third daughter Ann was born and was christened on March 1. The father's abode was still Hawkheath.
By 1815 Richard and Ann were living on a farm named Dubgarth. Hawkheath is not far from Dubgarth and is situated on the opposite side of the main road out of Clapham. The next four children were born while the family resided at Dubgarth. On 23 April 1815 two boys were christened, William and John. Could these boys be twins? This question could not be answered by this single entry. In the 1816 Clapham Parish burial list was the name of William Robinson who lived at Dubgarth, who was buried February 7 and was one year old. The question was solved and our John was a twin. Named in the baptisms of 1817 was William, the son of Richard and Ann Robinson who lived at Dubgarth and whose profession was a farmer.
In the year 1823 on December 25, Sarah, a daughter of Richard and Ann Robinson of Dubgarth, was christened. The last entry concerning this family on the Clapham parish records is the christening of a son Richard on 7 June 1827. The father's residence was Cythe Birks which can be assumed is a farm as it is not listed in a gazetteer as a town.
It is at this time that we lose track of this family. We do know that a son Thimothy (this is the spelling of his father, Richard) was born and he gives his birthdate as 15 May 1830. Thimothy died in Circleville, Piute County, Utah, on 28 January 1923 in his ninety-third year.
The early LDS branch records in both Lancashire and Yorkshire have been searched to find this family and learn where they accepted the gospel. No trace was found of them. The next documented information we have of this family is in Nauvoo, Illinois. ....
... James Armistead, whose mother was a Rowlandson, was a cousin and also a brother-in-law of John R. Robinson.
It is recorded on a St. George Temple record that Ann Rowlandson Robinson was baptized in 1841 with no day or month given. Mary Coupe Armistead was "baptized a few months before 1 September 1841." John R. Robinson was baptized on 14 July 1844.
Ocean Voyage and Nauvoo Period by Elizabeth Applegate using records of Lula R Bastian
It is not known whether the Robinsons were acquainted with James Coupe and his family while they lived in England or whether they met on board the ship bound for America. Many searches of shipping records have been made trying to locate the passenger lists to determine who came on the ship. There is a period from the first week in October 1841 to the first of April 1842 that the shipping records of New Orleans, Louisiana, are missing. Two searches were also made at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and they also reported that these same records are missing.
According to family tradition, John R. and Alice Coupe were married 5 March 1842 aboard ship by Lyman White. In hopes of finding where Lyman White lived and if he kept a journal, a search was made of a list of the early missionaries, but he was not listed. My father, Dennison H. Robinson, told me many years ago the couple were remarried after they landed in the United States. The name of Lyman White is very similar to Lyman Wight, who was an apostle in 1842. A search was made in Volume IV of The History of the Church, which covers this time period to try to locate the whereabouts of Lyman Wight. We found that on 2 October 1841 Lyman Wight resigned from his mission of gathering means for the Temple and Nauvoo House. On 1 January he was in Ohio. On Sunday 27 March 1842 the Prophet Joseph records on page 569: "I also witnessed the landing of 170 English brethren from the steamer Ariel, under the presidency of Elder Lyman Wight: also about $3,000 worth of goods for the Temple and Nauvoo House." Our Robinson and Coupe ancestors could have been among those English saints and Elder Lyman Wight could have performed the marriage of John R. and Alice.
Alice was the oldest child of James Coupe and Ann Holden of Haslingdon Grane, Lancashire, England, and was born 18 December 1818. Her sister Mary was born on 24 December 1821. Two others, Ann and Ellis, died in infancy. Their mother, Ann Holden Coupe, died in 1823.
James Coupe married Alice Collings a widow with three daughters named Betty, Mary, and Ellen. These girls were sealed to James Coupe and their mother in the St. George Temple on 9 June 1904.
On the 4th of January 1829 a son, John, was born, followed on 27 February 1832 by a daughter Jane. Their mother died in 1833 at the age of 38 years.
Alice was reared in a religious home as her father had been a faithful and consistent member of the Methodist denomination. It has been estimated that 75 percent of the residents of this area were non-conformists.
Surely the Lord had his eyes on these good people and prepared them to discern truth when they heard it. In July 1837 the first LDS missionaries who were called to serve in England sailed up the River Mersey, landed at Liverpool, traveled to Preston, Lancashire, and there introduced the gospel to England. From Preston the gospel was taken from village to village until many souls accepted the restored gospel. Among the early converts was James Coupe, who joined the Church in 1840 or 1841. Alice, Mary, and Jane, his daughters, accepted the gospel and were baptized. Their brother John never joined the Church.
We have several unanswered questions relating to this family leaving England to gather with the Saints in America. Many of these questions could be answered if we could find the shipping records to see who came with James Coupe and daughters Alice and Jane. In 1842 John was only 13 years old and we wonder at him being left behind at such a tender age. John later married the daughter of a wealthy cotton mill owner and eventually inherited this property. When Albert Smith of Beaver filled a mission in England around 1930 he called on these relatives, enjoyed their hospitality, and was aware of their wealth. (See Albert's own history for details of this visit in Chapter 13, Emma Josephine.)
Back to our story. John R. and Alice Coupe Robinson had a daughter, Sarah Ann, who was born on 22 December 1842 in Nauvoo.
Through correspondence with the Nauvoo Restoration Incorporated, it was learned that there were three other John Robinsons, not including ours, in Nauvoo. That is probably why on a Record of Seventies in Nauvoo, 1844-1845, the name of John Robinson is listed and the letter "R" is written just above the space between John and Robinson. He gives his father as Richard, his age as thirty, his birthdate as March 6 and his baptism as 14 July 1844 by Joh(?) Carson. He was a member of the 25th Quorum of Seventies which was organized 1 April 1845. This is the first time that any record shows the initial "R" in John's name.
It has always touched my heart to know that on 28 July 1844, just one month and one day after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, John was in the Nauvoo Temple doing baptismal work for family members.
Our people were gathered with the Saints during the traumatic period of severe persecution following the deaths of Joseph, the Prophet, and Hyrum, the Patriarch. John R. later named two sons in remembrance of these great leaders who sealed their testimonies with their blood.
John R. received his patriarchal blessing from John Smith on 9 April 1845 at Nauvoo. Alice was given hers on 14 April 1845 with John Smith again as mouth, the same day her father James Coupe received, his. It is interesting to note that Alice came from the lineage of Judah and James Coupe was of the tribe of Levi. Ann Rowlandson Robinson had her blessing given her on 6 June 1845 by John Smith and was of the lineage of Joseph.
John R. and Alice had a son born on 18 May 1845 at Nauvoo who was named Richard Ammon. There was no documentation of this birth until about 1975 when the Lord opened a door. It happened like this:
Arlene Eakle, who was hired by the family to supervise our research, was giving lectures on the West Coast on genealogy. One night immediately after one of her lectures in the Los Angeles area a man came up to her and told her that he had eight of his great-grandfather's journals and wondered what to do with them. He named his ancestor as James Armistead of Pleasant "Grove, Utah. Sister Eakle had earlier made a survey of the records of Elizabeth R. Applegate, of Richfield, Utah, and remembered reading an informative letter written by a James Armistead. Instead of flying home that night as scheduled, Sister Eakle stayed and xeroxed all of these precious journals, which were difficult to read because of deterioration. We owe a big debt to James Armistead who recorded all the letters that he wrote and all the letters that he received. One of these letters documents the birth of John R.'s oldest son and is given in full below. (This letter was written by James Coupe to his daughter Mary and her husband who were living at that time in Blackburn, Lancashire, England):
City of Nauvoo, Hancock Co., 111. U.S.
26 May 1845
Dear Son and Daughter:
I received your kind letter yesterday dated March 3, 1845, informing us of your health and welfare of which we are glad to hear. It finds us all in good health except Alice who was delivered of a son a week ago yesterday and they both are doing well. I am satisfied with my present situation. I enjoy the comforts of my own house and lands. I have got my Patriarchal Blessing and am well satisfied. I am of the house of Levi, and have the blessing of being a member of the Church forever.
I want some of my sisters to get my age and send it to me. Also the name of my grandfather and also any great grandfather and great grandmother if they can.
Very Respectfully Yours,
James Coupe
The baby referred to is Richard Ammon Robinson. This letter is found in Journal #6.
It is probable that John R., Alice, and two children, and Jane left with the main body of the Church in the exodus of 1846 when they were forced to flee into Iowa to escape persecution and death. We know that John R.'s father Richard and his daughter Sarah Robinson Harwood did not leave, and we presume that Richard's wife Ann did not accompany them either. It is recorded in a family Bible that Ann Rowlandson Robinson died in March 1847.
On 25 August 1848 Richard Robinson married an English widow named Hannah Thornber, the ceremony being performed in Nauvoo by Ralph Harris, a minister of the gospel. In a letter that Richard wrote to "Sons John and Thimothy" on 10 April 1852 just five days before his death he mentions that his wife died in December (she died 6 December 1850) and that his health had deteriorated until he had moved in with a Lambert family the first of April. Further research revealed that Hannah Thornber Robinson's youngest daughter had married a Lambert. Three different sources record the death of Richard Robinson who died of dropsy on 15 April 1852 at Nauvoo, Illinois. His age at death was 69 years and 3 or 8 months. (See photocopy of the above-mentioned letter on page 10.)
In this last letter Richard also mentioned a James Harwood who had moved to Fair View, Fulton, Illinois. Further research disclosed that the wife of James Harwood was named Sarah who was born in England about 1823. In the 1880 Soundex this family was living in Prairie Township in Hancock County, Illinois. Sarah was the mother of at least nine children and is undoubtedly John R.'s sister who was christened 25 December 1823.
"Crossing the Plains and Acknowledgments" by Elizabeth Applegate using records of Lula R. Bastian
According to family tradition, when Richard was two years old, Alice became very ill and knew that death was near. She called her 15-year-old sister Jane to her bedside and asked her to promise to take care of her children' and give them a mother's love and care. Both Jane and her father had lived with John R. and Alice after arriving in Nauvoo until James died in 1845. After James' death, Jane had continued to live with John R. and Alice. Alice Coupe Robinson died in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, on 30 May 1847, leaving the young husband, two small children, and the fifteen-year-old half-sister.
According to stories which have been handed down through the years, John R. began visiting the ladies of his acquaintance, hoping to find one sooner or later who would become his wife. However, none of them interested him. One evening on returning home, remembering Jane's promise to Alice, he turned to Jane and said in words to this effect, "If it's all right with you, Jane, i think we had just as well raise these children together." John R. and Jane were married by John Birch on August 24, 1847, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Jane was only 15 1/2 years old.
Jane Coupe was born in Lancashire, England, on February 27, 1832, the daughter of James and Alice Collings Coupe. Her mother died in 1833 at age 38, leaving Jane and an older sister, Alice, to keep house for their father. (Earlier in this history Jane is included in the story, so it will not be repeated.)
In the 1850 Census of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, John R. Robinson was listed as a "waggon maker" who was born in England and gives his age as thirty-five. Jane, also born in England, was seventeen; Sarah was eight; Richard was five, and James barely one. The record indicates that Sarah and Richard had attended school within the year. We learn that James C. was born October 9, 1849, and another son, William, on March 21, 1852, while they were living in Iowa.
In the Immigration Index we find that John R. Robinson, wife, and four children (no names given) crossed the plains in 1852 in the 17th Company with Isaac Bullock as captain, arriving in Great Salt Lake City. His brother Timothy also came with a wife and daughter in the same company.
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Special Note
This history wouldn't be complete if we didn't acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our quest to locate and identify our English ancestors. The Armistead journals, and the Armistead letter written in 1904 to Richard Amnion and Eliza May provided valuable clues and answered many questions. The letter written in 1852 by Richard Robinson (see photocopy on the following page) and brought to the Robinson Reunion in 1975 (discovered by members of the Albert Smith family of Beaver in an old family trunk) proved to be a veritable gold mine. It was a voice of authority from the past, providing valuable clues for further research. For many years researchers in England had searched unsuccessfully for the deaths of Richard and Ann in England. These searches included examining court records for wills and probates. We now have proof that both Richard and Ann came to this country and died here. Because John R. recorded that he had been baptized for Henry Towers, a brother-in-law, we were able to find Peggy and her family in two English censuses.
President Harold B. Lee once promised a large gathering of genealogical workers that if they did all they could that the Lord would open doors, but they must be sure to do all they could. This promise was fulfilled to me through a letter written by John Armistead on 24 August 1862 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, to his brother James who was living in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and who recorded this letter in a journal. These brothers are cousins of John R. The following excerpt is taken from this letter, and the William referred to is John R.'s younger brother:
I saw Cousin William Robinson last night and told him that I was going to write to you, and he wished to be informed of the whereabouts of his brothers John and Timothy and his sister Sarah and his father. Tell John Robinson that his sister Peggy has been dead for 5 or 6 years. William and family are well—all except himself are out of employment and suffering like thousands of others. Cousin William's address is number 10 Banktop, Pink St., Blackburn.
Blackburn was a large city and this address was like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. The last we knew of William he was living in Bentham, Yorkshire (1841 census) and we would never have looked for this family with seven children in a large city in another county. Five of the children were cotton weavers but William with his agricultural background was listed as a "gardiner."
Over forty years ago the John Baxter family from Utah County moved to Junction, Piute County, Utah, where I was living, and we became good friends. Several years later they moved back to Orem and John later died. Rosa Baxter married into the Armistead family. About five years ago she sent me the only known picture of Alice Coupe Robinson. Another miracle!
There are people yet to find and questions to be answered before our work is finished. I feel close to our English ancestors and am so humbly grateful that I have been permitted to assemble this material. I have not taken this assignment lightly, always striving for accuracy by documentation. I pray that my efforts will be acceptable to family members, both living and dead.
--Elizabeth R. Applegate
SOUTHERN UTAH PERIOD compiled by Hazel Jean Robinson
SOUTHERN UTAH PERIOD
--Compiled by Hazel Jean Robinson from histories by
Lula Bastian and other sources as noted
The balance of this history was taken from previous histories and consolidated by several people, so no particular credit will be given except where noted.
Family tradition and early family histories state that John became very ill. At the time the quails came and the people caught them and had them for food, John was so weak that he could not so much as reach cut his hand to get one. From the book, Ensign to the Nations, by Rich, page 46, we read that this miracle took place while the Saints from Nauvoo were gathered on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River, and had been there at least three weeks awaiting aid from the main group then at Council Bluffs. On October 9, before starting the trek westward, these refugees consisting of perhaps seven hundred men, women, and children, "witnessed what to many of them was just as much a gift from God as his feeding the Israelites in the wilderness: flocks of quail suddenly alighted in the camp, and the Saints were able to capture many of them alive as well as to kill many more."
We now rejoin the John R. Robinson family in the Isaac Bullock Company as they travel across the plains.
We learn from the book Prelude to the Kingdom by Larson that there was an unusually heavy Mormon migration to the West in 1852. At least twenty-one companies, averaging sixty or more wagons to the company, brought approximately 10,000 settlers to the Salt Lake Valley. Many came as a result of the final evacuation of the Pottawattamie lands which, though "indended as a temporary resting place in the flight to Zion, had assumed too much of an aspect of permanency."
After many privations and hardships they arrived at Parowan about December of 1852, nearly two years after the initial settlement of Parowan, the "Mother town." The Church population of the community at that time was nearly 400 persons.
The John R. Robinson family was among the group which began a settlement at Paragonah in the spring of 1853. However, because of Indian depredations, they had to move back to Parowan in the fall of the year. It was in Parowan where John R. Jr. was born on April 6, 1854.
At about this time the Cottom family stopped at Parowan on their way to the southern part of the territory. They had had a long, hard trip, the children having become ill with whooping cough after leaving Salt Lake City. The settlers at Parowan were very reluctant to take them into their homes. John, however, invited them to stay at his home, although he had five small children. It is interesting to note that none of his family contracted the disease.
Because of its importance in the history of the John Rowlandson Robinson family, and because this family played such a major role in its development, the following history of Paragonah during this period is included:
THE HISTORY OF PARAGONAH
(Taken from the book History of Iron County Mission, part of which was taken from writings of Nora H. Lund)
"In Iron County, Utah. Pronounced by the Indians Pa-ra-goon-ah, also Pa-ra-goo-ne. The Utes say the word means many springs or marshes. Before the water was diverted into the upper fields, there were many swamps and marshes in the low lands." U.H.Q., Vol. I, No. 1, p. 5-25.
Paragoonah was settled by a company from Parowan under the presidency of William H. Dame. Orson B. Adams, Marius Ensign, Robert Miller, John Topham, Job Hall, Charles Hall, John R. Robinson, Charles Y. Webb, Joseph Barton, Stephen Barton, and Benjamin Watts were in the company of original settlers.
As the pioneers traveled through this Parowan Valley on their way
to make the first settlement at Parowan, they were quick to see the possibilities in this part of the valley as being suitable for agriculture because of the beautiful stream of water that came down from what is known as Red Creek Canyon. So in the year 1851 two brothers, Job and Charles Hall, came down from Parowan and laid off 40 acres of land just south of town, what is known as Black Rock. They did not make their homes here but traveled back and forth from Parowan, a distance of four and one-half miles.
The next year, 1852, other men came from Parowan to join them, among whom were Charles Webb, William H. Dame, John Topham, Robert E. Miller, William Barton, and Benjamin Watts. They did not move their families from Parowan, as they were fearful of the Indians attacking them. These men built rude huts of cedar posts and logs to shelter them while they were planting their crops. They succeeded in clearing and planting about 300 acres of land. This first year proved to be prosperous because their crops were good and they were so encouraged that part of them decided to move their families from Parowan and settle here permanently. Some of these settlers solved the problem of shelter by building dugouts. These dugouts were built like a cellar and were made warm and comfortable.
New families were added to this little band of settlers, among which were Grandma Sally Barton and her sons, and the John R. Robinson family.
In the spring of 1853 crops were again planted and everything looked favorable for another splendid year, but in July of this year the Indians became troublesome. The pioneers had to abandon their homes and flee to Parowan for protection. However, the Indians did not destroy all the crops, and with difficulty the remaining crops were harvested and taken to Parowan.
When the Indian war broke out, Col. George A. Smith and Lieut. W. H. Kimball with thirty-six men arrived in Iron County, Utah, with orders for all settlers outside of forts to move into the forts for protection. Accordingly, all the settlers in Paragonah, about twenty-five families, moved back to Parowan. Those that had log houses moved them, and the ones with adobe homes tore them down. President William H. Dame had just completed a house costing $3,000. This was a great loss to the settlers.
An account of the move back to Parowan is given in "From the Valley of the Mississippi to California," journal of the expedition of E. F. Beale, Supt. of Indian Affairs in California, and Gwinn Harris Heap; and also in From Missouri to California in 1853 by Gwinn Harris Heap, 1854:
2 August 1853. Soon after sunrise a few Pah-Utahs, the first of the tribe which we had seen, came running down a hillside to meet us, and accosting us in a friendly manner, asked whether we were Mormons or Swaps (Americans). They informed us that a Mormon village was not far off, and Mr. Beale, riding in advance of our party, in a few hours arrived at the town of Paragonah in Little Salt Lake Valley.
It contains about 30 houses, which although built of adobes present a neat and comfortable appearance. The adobes are small and well pressed and are made of a pink colored clay. The houses are built to form a quadrangle, the spaces between them being protected by a strong stockade of pine pickets. Outside the village is an area of fifty acres inclosed within a single fence and cultivated in common by the inhabitants. It is called the Field, and a stream of water running from the Wasatch Mountains irrigates it, after supplying the town with water.
We did not remain long at Paragonah, for soon after our arrival, the inhabitants in obedience to a mandate from Governor Brigham Young, commenced moving to the town of Parowan which was four miles southward, as he considered it unsafe with the smallness of their number for them to remain at Paragonah.
It was to us a strange sight to witness the alacrity with which these people obeyed an order which compelled them to destroy in an instant the fruits of two years labor, and no time was lost in commencing the work of destruction. Their houses were demolished, the doors, windows and all portable woodwork being reserved for future dwellings; and wagons were soon on the road to Parowan, loaded with furniture and other property.
We left Paragonah in the afternoon and rode to Parowan over an excellent road made and kept in repair and bridged in many places by the Mormons. We passed at a mile on our left a large grist and sawmill, worked by water power. This ride to Parowan formed a strange contrast to our late journeyings through the wilderness. At all the crossroads, finger posts and mile-stones measured the distance.
For the next two years, 1854-55, there was no effort to make a settlement in Paragonah. It was during these two years that John R. and Jane dedicated everything they owned over to the Church under the law of consecration. (See document on the following page.) About this time President Brigham Young came down through this part of the country on a tour of inspection, and when he viewed the situation he called the first settlers to come back and make permanent homes. He also invited anyone else who wished to come. As a means of protection he advised them to build a fort. He came down, selected and dedicated the spot where the fort was to be built. The spot of ground dedicated is where the Church house stands today.
In the spring, John R. Robinson and his son Richard, John Topham, Marius E. Ensign, Robert E. Miller, Job Hall, Charles Hall, Wi11iam, Joseph P., Stephen S., and Samuel Barton, Orson Adams, John Prothero and his son Jonathan, and Benjamin Watts were the men that returned to begin to prepare the adobes for building the fort. This fort was to be made 100 feet square and two stories in height. The lower walls were three feet thick and the walls of the upper story were two feet. It took approximately 375,000 adobes to build the lower story. There was only one entrance to the fort. There were no outside windows in the lower story but in the upper story several were inserted which also served as port holes.
The dwelling houses were connected with the outside of the fort but extended all around the fort facing the center of the fort. Each family was given rooms according to the number of members in the family. The northeast corner was a large room which served as a church, school house, and amusement hal1.
Although the fort was not completed the first year the pioneers lived in it quite comfortably. Their amusements were limited, but heartily enjoyed by all. Every Thursday evening they met in prayer meeting. They had spelling bees, and the women had spinning bees where they made raw wool into yarn to be woven into cloth. They took turns in holding these bees at each other's homes and were rewarded with supper.
The first teacher was a Mrs. Carter. School usually continued for three months. The three R's were the principal subjects taught, and since there was no age limit in the school, anyone could attend school who wished to do so. The school teachers were paid so much for each pupil and they took in payment anything they could use that the settlers could spare.
A ward was not organized at first, and every Sunday morning the settlers could be seen leaving the fort, traveling the four and one-half miles to Parowan to worship God.
Each family had a few milk cows which were herded and guarded on the meadows by the men. The women were given turns to use all the milk to provide butter and cheese for their families. In fact, they were as one big family, united in their work. The men, when going to the canyon for firewood, went in companies or squads of six to eight. During this time the people lived in suspense lest their homes or crops be destroyed, and they were always prepared for attacks which might be made by the Indians.
As their cattle and horses increased in numbers, it was necessary to build a corral, which they did just north of the fort. The men took turns in guarding it at night and then herding the cattle in the day on the meadows. The families that lived in the fort were John Topham, John R. Robinson, Benjamin Watts, Orson B. Adams, Job Hall, Charles Hall, John Prothero, James Williamson, Grandma Sally Barton, Marius E. Ensign, William Robb, William E. Jones, Silas Smith, and Timothy Robinson. The fort was considered one of the strongest and safest forts in this part of the country. The people dwelt here in safety until 1862. About 1860 a town-site was selected and measured off. The blocks were to be 24 rods square and the streets 8 rods wide.
The year 1862 saw new homes being built and the people leaving the fort, and it was not long until they had established a prosperous little community.
Like all other pioneer communities, the settlers did not come from the idle rich, nor, from the slum districts. But they were the doers of the energetic, ambitious class. Here we found men and women who excelled in almost every vocation in life. There were shoemakers, tanners, carpenters, millers, blacksmiths, musicians, school teachers, harness makers, and nurses. All the women understood the art of dyeing the wool different colors by using tan bark, oak, rabbit brush, etc. Consequently, shops and mills were soon built. The first sawmill was built and operated by Orson Adams, John R. Robinson, and Richard Robinson. John R. Robinson also built the first grist mill, the old burr mill type, which furnished flour for the settlers for many years. Benjamin Watts built the tannery for the purpose of making leather. The sandstone wheel used in the monument by the Church house was taken from that tannery.
In 1861 and 1862 the first meeting house was built out of adobes and stood just east of the present Church building. (See photo on page 35.)
It was not all work with these early settlers; they had their good times too. They held singing school, husking bees, and dances which were held at night. The boys wore hickory trousers and the girls linsey and calico gowns. Some danced barefooted and still other exchanged shoes with their neighbors so that all might enjoy the good times.
Between 1868 and 1870 the Indians again became troublesome. The people dared not travel far unless in companies of twenty or more for fear of an attack. All the able-bodied men were supposed to be minutemen, ready to go at a moment's notice. No lives were lost during this trouble, but Indians raided the valley and stole a great number of good cattle and horses. Through the efforts of the Church leaders at Salt Lake City, permanent peace was finally made with the Indians. Consequently the people in the little town of Paragonah began to cultivate more ground for farming and to build better homes.
When the settlement became so thriving, it was seen that a ward must be organized. In accordance with this, Silas S. Smith was set apart as the first bishop. From then to the present time (1959) the following men have served the people faithfully and well: Erastus Mclntire, William E. Jones, Stephen S. Barton, Thomas W. Jones, K. Doyle Robinson, J. Leonard Topham, Gilbert Robinson, and Victor Robinson.
The town has become quite important because of its being built almost directly over an early Indian village and burial ground. Many excavations have been made from Eastern states and California organizations, uncovering many interesting Indian homes and skeletons.
John R. helped build the fort in Paragonah and moved his family there in 1855, occupying the southwest room in the fort for nearly ten years.
*******
The first Sunday School at Paragonah was organized in the latter part of May 1858 under the direction of John R. Robinson and Mary Carter. They held it in the northeast corner of the fort. John gathered old rags and paper from the different families and sent them to Salt Lake City in exchange for small scriptural verse cards which were given to all the children. He also held night school at the same place for his children and all others who wished to come.
Four more children were born to John R. and Jane Robinson while they lived in the fort, namely Jane Elizabeth, Alice, Mary Lucinda, and Thomas.
The children who were large enough were sent out to gather wool from fences and sagebrush, which was then carefully washed by their mother, then picked, corded, spun, dyed, and woven into cloth. This was done mostly by the mother's able hands, but perhaps some of the older girls were encouraged to help.
Most of the women went under a large bridge across the creek, which ran through the northern edge of Paragonah, to do their washing. One day when Jane was there doing her family laundry, a terrible storm came up and she barely escaped with her tub and clothes from being washed away by the flood.
When the people moved from the fort, John secured a lot on which to build a home for his family, which was located at 1st South and 2nd East. After he and his wife and children had cleared the brush away, a log cabin was built, which made a comfortable home for them. Six more children were born at this home: Margaret, Joseph, Hyrum, Eliza, Emma, and George. Later he built an addition with a cellar underneath, which became the first store in Paragonah. (The lot is now owned by members of the Calvin Robinson family.)
Jane continued to do a great amount of weaving. At one time she spun and dyed enough yarn and wove enough cloth for dresses for herself and all her daughters and one granddaughter, and a suit for one son. (Some
family members maintain that a bolt of cloth was bought and used for this purpose, that Jane did not do the complete job as described above.) Then the family, most of them in their new attire, was photo graphed in a most interesting family group picture John R. and Jane were photographed together the same day.
Jane also clerked in the family store in the cellar of their home, from which people purchased groceries and other small necessary items.
One night, upon returning home from work, John found Jane sitting at the loom almost at the stage of exhaustion, working on a piece of cloth which she felt needed to be finished that night. John took over the weaving while Jane rested. When the cloth was finished Jane made a tiny garment, and in the morning the new little garment was found on the new baby which had been born during the night.
For this large family she did all the knitting and sewing until the girls were old enough to help. Even when the neighbors called, the knitting was going on, for with so many stockings to knit there was not a minute to spare.
It must have been a very hard trial for Jane when she lost two of her children while very young.
In about 1863 John was called to settle the town of Panguitch, where he raised the first wheat that ripened in that valley. He did not move his wife and children to Panguitch, however. Because of Indian troubles it was thought best to vacate the town and move back to other settlements.
n the fall of 1866 or the spring of 1867, John, along with Orson Adams, built a sawmill east of Paragonah. Their saw went up and down rather than in a circular movement. From this mill Richard and his brothers sawed the lumber for the burr flour mill which was erected in 1869 by John R., his son Richard, and Dennison Harris.
The flour mill was situated on the creek east of town, and at that time was the only one in this part of the country. People came from as far north as Richfield and as far south as Washington to have their wheat ground into flour. The wheat was ground between two stones, and it was a slow process. It was often necessary for people who came from great distances to stay in Paragonah a week before it came their turn to have their wheat ground, as everyone wanted flour made from their own wheat. The wheat from the Panguitch area often had been frozen, which made a darker flour. Wheat from this mill was also shipped to Pioche and Silver Reef. Flour was often traded to the Indians for fresh fish, which the Robinson family enjoyed. Most of the sons of John R. spent time working in the mill. Hyrum became known as "Miller Hy," to differentiate between him and his nephew Hyrum Banks Robinson.
One day an Indian brave and his son came to the mill. The boy stole something and was caught, so his father gave him a good sound whipping—not because he stole, but because he was caught.
Blow snakes were kept at the mill to catch mice. One time a large snake almost got ground up with the flour, but was pulled out by the tail by Thomas, and just in time!
The trademark "Triple X" was used on the sacks of flour ground at the old burr flour mill. This brings up an interesting story. Several years ago Marie and Charles Leveque of Louisiana were visiting in Paragonah with her parents, Eddie and Belle Edwards, who lived in the original Richard Ammon Robinson home. Charles decided to look in the attic of the old granary, and he saw a piece of metal, rolled in a scroll shape, and curious to see what it might be, he unrolled it. Though it was tarnished and covered with daubs of paint, he was able to discern the name of "Robinson" and the word "Paragonah." He volunteered to take it back to Louisiana where he knew someone who would be able to restore it to its original state. After the expert worked on it, Mr. Leveque had it framed and brought it back to his in-laws as a wedding anniversary gift. The words "DeBerry, 43 Fulton St., N.Y. 3095" are plainly discernable, which supposedly is the company which made the trademark sign for the Robinson flour millRobinson home. Charles decided to look in the attic of the old granary, and he saw a piece of metal, rolled in a scroll shape, and curious to see what it might be, he unrolled it. Though it was tarnished and covered with daubs of paint, he was able to discern the name of "Robinson" and the word "Paragonah." He volunteered to take it back to Louisiana where he knew someone who would be able to restore it to its original state. After the expert worked on it, Mr. Leveque had it framed and brought it back to his in-laws as a wedding anniversary gift. The words "DeBerry, 43 Fulton St., N.Y. 3095" are plainly discernable, which supposedly is the company which made the trademark sign for the Robinson flour mill.
John R. must have been quite a stern man, as evidenced by the following two stories.
Emma Schofield Robinson, his daughter-in-law, had a new dress with puckers in it which he thought was just a waste of cloth, and he proceeded to tell her so. When she retorted that a person might as well be out of the world as out of fashion, he banged his fist on the table so hard the dishes bounced up and down as he shouted, "Fashion be damned!"
Another time he cut off his granddaughter Jane's bangs up close to her head because he thought they were silly. Later he went down and apologized to her mother, Emma, for his actions. Emma was likely plenty out of sorts about the matter, but she was a meek little woman who bowed her head to the head of the household, her father-in-law.
On the other hand, everyone said that John R. Robinson was a man, and perhaps people had to be stern to live through the things which they experienced.
Jane was a very courageous, trustworthy, God-fearing woman and most of her visiting around the neighborhood was in the service of the Relief Society or in helping those less fortunate than herself.
It has recently become evident that perhaps Jane did not learn to read and write. As we consider her marriage and great responsibility at a very young age, we see that this was possible. Deeds have been found which show her making her mark with an "X". (See the Warranty Deed on the following page.)
Several instances in the life of Jane show that she was full of charity, as seen previously by the example of taking the Cottam family into her home when they arrived in the Parowan Valley in desperate circumstances. Others include the braiding of a straw hat for Brother Benjamin Watts and cooking the first meal the Williamson family had after entering the Parowan Valley.
Another wonderful experience was in June 1878, five months after the St. George Temple had been dedicated, when John R. and Jane and family members traveled by team and wagon from Paragonah to St. George to do baptisms, endowments and sealings for their relatives and friends. These names with their relationship given, have provided important clues in research work. In fact, many years ago early researchers, who were hired by the family, selected a wrong line which they later said to disregard. John and Jane on this first visit to the St. George Temple listed the names of his grandparents. We will be forever grateful for the information we gleaned and for their devotion and love for their families.
John R. was always interested in the welfare of the community and gave freely of his services to make it better. He held different political offices, among which was Precinct Justice. It is said that one time when a lawyer from Parowan tried to tell him what to do he answered, "If you think you can come down here and tell me what to do, you have the wrong hog by the tail!"
The John Rowlandson Robinson family takes great pride in the part their ancestors played in the development of this part of the State of Utah. The Robinsons truly left their footprints in the sands of this area and are to be cherished by their posterity. John R. became a citizen of the United States while Utah was still a territory. (See the copy of his citizenship certificate on page 24.)
John R. Robinson died August 9, 1891, at the age of seventy-six years, five months, and three days. According to the Parowan cemetery records, the cause of death was dropsy. It is said that he weighed well over 200 pounds when he died. He is buried in the Parowan cemetery.
Jane lived many years following the death of her husband. Most of the time she had other children living with her. Her daughter Eliza May lived at home with her mother and did not marry until after Jane had died. She inherited the family home. George lived at home for several more years until he married and moved into his own home. Mary Lucinda and her daughter lived with Jane for some time, also. Emma Josephine lived at home with her mother and others for a time after her husband passed away. So we know that Jane was not left alone. Many of the other children and their families lived here in the community and visited at the family home often.
For two years prior to her death, Jane lived in Beaver at the home of her daughter Emma Josephine Smith.
Jane Coupe Robinson died at the age of seventy-seven years, on December 12, 1909, and is buried in the Parowan cemetery beside her husband.
At the time of John R.'s passing, he left his good wife Jane and thirteen living children to mourn his passing. All the children were married and with their own responsibilities except three.
John Rowlandson Robinson – The missing years
I have been working this year on a family history projects related to John Rowlandson Robinson and his next younger brother William Robinson. The first portion of the document fills in the blanks in John Rowlandson Robinson’s life between 1827 and 1844. John had a twin named William who died as an infant shortly after their birth in 1815. Another son was born to their parents, Richard Robinson and Ann Rowlandson Robinson on 14 September 1817. Consistent with a very common practice in England at that time, the next child of the same gender as the deceased child received the same name - in this case William. At the end of this document, additional information about William Robinson’s life and descendants will be provided.
John Rowlandson Robinson
The missing years describe the period between the birth of Richard Robinson in 1827 (son of Richard Robinson and Ann Rowlandson) at Clapham, Yorkshire, England and the Nauvoo documents beginning in 1844. Timothy Robinson, last child of Richard and Ann Robinson, reported he was born in 1830 but no location is given or can any record be found in any parish near Clapham where the other children were born. The book, “The Life and Times of John Rowlandson Robinson”, in Part I, “Our English Ancestors”, By Elizabeth Applegate, reports that “the early LDS records in Yorkshire and Lancashire had been searched in an effort to discover where the family accepted the gospel but no trace was found of them. The next documented information was in Nauvoo”. This period I am characterizing as “the missing years”.
I will describe several documents I have discovered that give substantial new information about John Rowlandson Robinson and his parents and siblings during the 1827 to 1844 period. In 2002, I decided to do family history research on William Robinson, John’s next younger brother who stayed in England. In my research I discovered that William married Ann Carr on 15 February 1836 in Bentham, Yorkshire. Bentham is the parish immediately north and west of Clapham parish and within a few miles of the last known residence of Richard and Ann Robinson and family. I have a copy of the marriage record and one of the witnesses of the marriage is none other than one John Robinson. William was 18 years of age at the time of has marriage, a relatively young age for males to marry in England during that period. I believe that the John Robinson on the marriage record is John Rowlandson Robinson who would have been approaching his 21st birthday. This suggests that the Richard Robinson family was likely in or near the Clapham area until some of them emigrated to Nauvoo in 1842.
The second document of importance is found in the records of the 25th Quorum of Seventy in Nauvoo. This Quorum was organized in March of 1845 and its minutes record that its last meeting in Nauvoo was held on 9 March 1846. Brigham Young and other principal church leaders had crossed the Mississippi river on the ice at the end of February of that year. The minutes of this meeting contain poignant language describing their trials since, as characterized in the document, the ”reorganization” of the Church presumably after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Quorum leader reports that while there was considerable apostasy from the Church during this period, that to the best of his knowledge all member of the 25th Quorum of Seventy had remained faithful. There was great sadness expressed by the members that their association in promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ would be ending. The minutes, which can be reviewed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints archives in Salt Lake City, reveal that John R. Robinson was a faithful member of the Quorum. The Quorum met weekly and John attended almost all meetings. He was active in supporting various projects of the Quorum. For example, the Quorum determined or was requested to provide olive oil for use in anointing in the Nauvoo temple. John contributed $.125 to this project. The largest contribution by a quorum member was $1.00 and the smallest $.05. He also donated 3 days of labor to the building of a house for a church leader. Another project was the making of wine. John contributed $.25 to buy sugar for this project. The entry of most interest is the autobiography of John R. Robinson found in the minutes of the Quorum.
A typescript of the autobiography is reproduced below:
Robinson, John H. [R]
“John H. [R] Robinson, born in the Parrish of Clapham, York County, England, March 6, 1816. Age 29 years in 1845. The son of Richard and Ann Robinson, Who was the son of William Robinson, who was the son of Richard Robinson. Who [I] was baptized by Elder James Casson on the 14th of July, 1841 in Lancashire, Blockburne. [Blackburn]. Ordained to the office of priest by Elder Thomas Ward, at Clifhero, [Clithero] Lancashire, on the 23 of December, 1841. Moved from thence to Liverpool and from thence to Nauvoo, on the 27th of March, 1842. Ordained into the Quorum of the Seventies on the 9th of April, 1845.”
John reported that he was baptized on 14 July 1841 in Blackburn, England by Elder James Casson. Elizabeth Applegate reported that “he was baptized on 14 July 1844 by Joh(?) Carson”. His autobiography confirms John was a member of the church when he emigrated. The correctness of Casson rather than Carson as the baptizing Elder can be confirmed by noting that a James Casson participated with John Rowlandson Robinson doing baptisms for the dead in the Nauvoo temple on 28 August 1845. Missionaries in those times liked to go to the Temple with their converts just as they commonly do now. The transcription errors made in producing the documents Elizabeth Applegate relied on are obvious. This correct date and location of John Rowlandson Robinson’s baptism set off bells in my head because the family of James Coupe was in Blackburn, Lancashire at that time and Elizabeth Applegate reports in “The Life and Times of John Rowlandson Robinson” that Mary Coupe, Sister of Alice Coupe and half sister of Jane Coupe, both of whom subsequently but sequentially became a wife of John, was baptized a few months before September 1, 1841 in Blackburn, Lancashire. Elizabeth Applegate also reports that St. George temple records also indicate that Ann Rowlandson Robinson was also baptized in 1841 but no date or location is known. Clearly, John Rowlandson Robinson knew the Coupe family in Blackburn in the summer of 1841 which makes his marriage to Alice Coupe during the ocean voyage in March of the following year better understood. John goes on to report in his autobiography that he was ordained a Priest in Clithero, Lancashire on 23 December 1841 by Elder Thomas Ward. There is no record of this ordination in the Clithero branch records but there is a record of an Elder Thomas Ward ordaining other Priests in Clithero in 1841 so there is independent collaboration of John’s account. I would hypothesize that John found the gospel in Blackburn while living away from his parents. He participated in the Clithero branch after his baptism perhaps because that was closer to his parent’s residence. Perhaps Richard and Ann as well as Timothy and Sarah were baptized at Clithero in late 1841 but the records are not complete enough to come to either confirm or disprove the conclusion. Clithero is midway between Blackburn and Clapham and probably the closest LDS branch to Clapham at that time. Another possibility is that the family had moved to Clithero which was the nearest significant industrial center to Clapham and that several family members were working in factories. A search of the English 1841 census for Clithero in addition to Clapham and Bentham might be fruitful but has not been completed. In his Seventies Quorum biography, John reports that he moved from Clithero directly to Liverpool and that he arrived in Nauvoo on 27 March, 1842. This appears to confirm what Elizabeth Applegate postulated about the family traveling on the ship “Tremont” which departed from Liverpool on 12 January 1842. That would mean the family departed Liverpool about 6 months after John was baptized, and 20 days after he was ordained a priest. The journal of Thomas Callister, a passenger on the Tremont, reports that they arrived in New Orleans on 6 March 1842. Applegate reported that he married Alice Coupe on board ship on 5 March 1842 which would have been the day before arrival. Thomas Callister in his journal reports the party left New Orleans on 18 March aboard the steamer “Ariel” and arrived in Nauvoo on 28 March. Joseph Smith, Jr’s journal records the arrival of the Ariel, which he witnessed, as occurring on Sunday 27 March 1842 consistent with John’s account.
William Robinson
The two children of Richard and Ann who were married at the time the parents came to the United States, Peggy and William, did not emigrate to the United States nor did they become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Peggy died in approximately 1656. I have completed a family history project on William and his descendents. Through 1900, I have been able to identify about 50 individuals who are children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and spouses by doing computer searches of the indexed United Kingdom census records. One of his descendants, Elizabeth Knowles, had Temple ordinances performed by an LDS member in the London Temple in the 1990’s. I conclude that at least one of William’s descendents is an LDS church member in England. My efforts to identify this person have had no results.
John Rowlandson Robinson did Family History
One of the more interesting accounts that is referred to but not detailed by Applegate is John’s visit to the Nauvoo temple to do baptisms for his kindred dead. On 28 July 1845, he was proxy for the following: William Robinson, his grandfather; Richard Robinson, his great grandfather; Richard Robinson, his great uncle; John Rowlandson, his grandfather; Thomas Rowlandson, his great uncle; and Timothy Iveson, his great grandfather. (the temple record is spelled Ivison, which perhaps explains the incorrect spelling of Iveson in most LDS family history records) As referred to earlier, also doing baptisms that same day was none other than James Casson, the Elder who had baptized John in England. (see pages 88 and 89 of book D of Nauvoo temple baptism records).
Patriarchal Blessing
On 9 April 1845 John Rowlandson Robinson received his patriarchal blessing from Patriarch John Smith. An index indicates that his lineage was through the tribe of Judah. I have attached a photocopy of it to this document.
Sources:
Document: John’s autobiography
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Archives, Salt Lake City.
Seventies quorum, records 1844-1975.Call number CR 499, Reel 79.
Document: Nauvoo temple baptisms
Family History Library, Salt Lake City.
Book D Page 88. Film number 0183379 – 1st floor.
Document: William Robinson marriage
Family History Library, Salt Lake City.
Bentham, Yorkshire Parrish marriage records for 15 February 1836.
Glenn H. Robinson contact details:
Email – glennhrobinson@msn.com
Phone – 8018789354
Mail – 581 E 9270 S, Sandy Utah, 84070
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