James Robison

	Date	Location	Notes	Sources
Marriage			possibly to Elizabeth Means
Death	> Jan 1844		will signed 4 Jan 1844 in Slippery Rock Twp., Butler Co., PA

Ancestry chart segment

 Generation 5             Generation 6             Generation 7
 
                                               +-- [unknown]
                                               |
                      +-- James Robison -------+
                      |   (<1800->1844)         |
 James Robison, Jr. --+                        +-- [unknown]    
 (~1832-1907)         |                        
                      +-- Elizabeth Means [?]   
                          (>1800-~1844)         
                            

Sources:

Children

Name	Gender	Date of Birth	Birthplace	Spouse	Notes	Sources
John Robison	M
Margaret Robison	F
William David Robison	M	4 Dec 1836	Butler Co., PA	Catherine Harriet Trembly
Robert Robison	M
James Robison, Jr.	M	~1832		Eleanor Jane Hines	Direct line
Joseph Robison	M

Places of Residence

Location	Dates	Notes	Sources
Slippery Rock Township, Butler County, PA	? - 1844+

Sources

Ref. Num.	Description	Image of original
2	1830 United States Federal Census, Slippery Rock Twp, Butler Co, PA, page 11. Census is not dated. Family headed by James Robinson: 2 males <5,1 male 5-10, 1 male 30-40, 1 female <5, 1 female 20-30. The ages and location are appropriate for James Robison and Elizabeth Means and their children. The family next door is headed by James Clark (age 40-50) who is cited as a "long time friend" in the will of James Robison
3	1840 United States Federal Census, Slipperyrock Twp, Butler Co, PA, page 11. Census is not dated. Family headed by James Robinson: 2 males <5, 2 males 5-10, 2 males 10-15, 1 male 15-20, 1 male 40-50, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 30-40. The ages and location are appropriate for James Robison and Elizabeth Means and their children. This would include James Robison, Jr.. The will from 1844 list five children but implies that there are more.
4	Will of James Robison, Estate file # R-42, Register of Wills office, Butler County Court House, PA; microfilm at Butler Public Library, Wills Vol. B p. 295. Signed 4 Jan. 1844. Lists son John, "5 youngest children" Margaret, William, Robert, James, Joseph. Guardian Alis Mc(Bride?); friend James Clark, executor. Witnesses ___ W. McBride & Thomas Clark	(Complete transcription)
5	Personal correspondence from Elizabeth Wilson Williams.	N/A
6	Personal correspondence from Doris Jean Cochran, granddaughter of William David Robison, Jr.	N/A

Source notes

• The will of James Robison does not mention his wife and does appoint a guardian for his five youngest children. This would seem to imply that Elizabeth Means died prior to 1844. She appears to still be present in the 1840 census.

Research

• 1810 United States Federal Census, Center Twp., Butler Co. PA. J. Robison household contains one male 26-44 and one female 26-44. This age range does not fit for James Robison who was only in his 40's in the 1840 census and thus could not be older than 20 here. Even given some range for misstated dates of birth, the variance here is too large. It is possible that this could be James' father, but we have no way to support this at this time and the lack of male children argues against it. Close inspection of the numbers in the census list reveals that the figure interpreted as zero for males under 10 might be a different value, but the zeros in the 10-15 and 16-25 categories are pretty clear. According to the later census, James should be between 10 and 20. Since there is also no evidence for James in the 1820 census, perhaps he moved into the area in the 1820's.

• The 1820 census for Butler Co lists two families headed by Robinsons, Samuel Robinson in Muddy Creek Twp is probably too young to be James's father. John Robinson, in Center Twp is >45 (James would be in his 20's for this census). Neither family lists a male in the age range for James. There are three Means families in Muddy Creek Twp, but only one headed by Thomas Means has a female of the right age for Elizabeth. No data beyond census location supports these persons as relatives of our Robinson and Means families.

Conjecture

• From the 1895 History of Butler Co., p. 611, re. churches in Worth Twp.: Notes on the United Presby. Church organized in 1809 as the "Mouth of Wolf Creek Church", lists founding member David Robinson. We would expect this person to have been born by 1790 or earlier. Whether he is of the same generation as James Robison is a guess, as James' birthdate is unknown. James' children are born in the 1830's.
• The 1883 History of Butler County, by Waterman, p. 64 has the biography of a Thomas Robinson, son of Thomas Robinson, Sr., was born in Armagh Co. Ireland 4 July 1825. He came to the US with his parents in the spring of 1832 and located in Middlesex (now Penn) Twp., Butler Co. in spring of 1836. He married (20 June 1854) Ann E. DeWolf. He was elected to the Legislature in 1860; for many years was editor of the Butler Eagle.