Dennis Robinson Family

[mink]

Hi Hermin--great anecdotes from Featherstonehaugh--but I am getting confused. The mention of the beautiful, fair-haired girl was from 1835. If Whitehair was about 17 in that year, can she have been the daughter of Thomas Robinson? I thought Tom Tanka, himself, had been born between 1820-30. Are you sure these aren't the kids of *Dennis Robinson*, Madeleine and Tom? I have a kind of bug and feel a little dizzy today--so I am going back over the posts to try to sort this out.

[mink]

Okay, Hermin, I noticed your correction about Robinson. So Dennis was the scoundrel and I think all signs point to the beautiful blonde being Madeleine Robinson LaRocque. You may recall that we established, in the LaRocque Family thread, that Madeleine was not really born in 1810 but more like around 1820. Madeleleine gave her age variously over the years but that she was around 17 in 1835 is very possible. You may also recall that I had written: "Also, if a girl was born in 1810 and didn't marry until 1837, she would have been the oldest first-time bride anyone ever heard of in those days when it was common for white or metisse females to marry at 15 or 16. Among native Americans the age was even younger."

So now Madeleine getting married to LaRocque at Prairie du Chien in 1837 makes sense. Somehow, she must have gotten downriver, even if she didn't go with Featherstonehaugh.
I also wrote:

"In his unfinished autobiography, Henry Sibley, first governor of Minnesota, mentioned that, in 1834, when he was traveling north from Prairie du Chien, the only habitation between this place and "St. Peter's" [Mendota] belonged to a man named Rocque. Sibley and his companions stayed at Rocque's house and found themselves charmed by the man's pretty 16-year-old daughter. Sibley didn't mention her name, but evidently recalled her many years later while writing his memoir."

I am beginning to wonder if Rocque's pretty "daughter" wasn't the stunning Madeleine, herself. In his later years, Sibley may have thought he had stopped at Rocque's house in 1834, but he may have confused that with a later year. And mixed-up [La}Roque's own wife as a daughter in his mind. Somehow, I have the feeling this was the same "unforgettable" girl of Featherstonehaugh's narrative. Wish we could see a photo of Madeleine LaRocque even in her later years.


Read more: oyate1.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=requesthere&action=display&thread=2358&page=2#ixzz1hCiOVa9e

[mink]

Dang! No! I just found this, looking through the posts:

"Joseph Rocque, b. ca. 1785, bp. (as Augustin Joseph) 19 May 1798, age 13, at St. Charles Mo., (Parish records of St. Charles, MO) and died in the fall of 1835 at his trading post at Little Rock on the Minnesota River. (Sibley's papers)."

This is a different Joseph Rocque that Sibley knew It is not the husband of Madeleine Rocque. ;D

[mink]

[/quote]I incorrectly inserted the first name Thomas. Featherstonhaugh only mentioned the trader Robinson by surname. Being that Featherstonhaugh made the trip in 1835, the Robinson who fathered the flaxen-haired 17 year old must have been Dennis Robinson or another Robinson not related to Thomas, Madeliene or Ann.[/quote]

MR, I think you can be fairly confident it was your ancestor Dennis and that it was he who was the friend of Featherstonhaugh's "Moore". This is from

images.library.wisc.edu/EcoNatRes/EFacs/NAPC/NAPC09/reference/econatres.napc09.nwoolworth.pdf

"Hazen Mooers and Dennis Robinson in 1819 built two American Fur Company posts in western Minnesota. Sent out in 1818 by by James H. lockwood, Mooers and Robinson moved in the spring of 1819 into posts at Lac qui Parle and Big Stone Lake. Lockwood also sent Duncan Campbell to a trading post at the mouth of the Minnesota River; Scott Campbell to a trading post at Traverse des Sioux; and Augustin Rocque to a wintering post at Lake Pepin." (Sibley Papers, Roll 1}

Thomas Robinson, the son of Dennis, lived as a Dakota with the band of Wakute. He, of course, married a daughter of the chief. In due course Thomas became a guide but, after the Dakota war, he seems to have been interned at Fort Snelling. Why this was I do not know. One of the sisters of Thomas [Featherstonhaugh did not mention another sister besides Whtehair] seems to have married a man with the first name of "John". I could not read his surname because that page of "Through Dakota Eyes" was not available in the Googlebook.

[hermin1]

Good information mink. The first child of Thomas Robinson was 9 years old according to Thomas's affidavit,but I couldn't make out the age of the second daughter,Mary, or that of Celestia Jane. At the time of the affidavit, they were living at Wabasha ,Minn.
In Rev. Aiton's 1849 Census He listed Tom robinson with 2 children. No mention was made of his wife, mary jane Wakute(Wigiwin or Wagiwin). I asked poncalady where Mary jane was then, and she couldn't answer me. mary jane stayed in Minnesota(see the 1885-1900) mdewakanton Censuses kfor Minnesota).then she apparently moved to Flandreau yto be with oneof her daughters and died there @1811.Unfortunately ponca lady and the other descendents have been unable to find her grave in Minnesota or in Flandreau.. I believe she was interred in the Old Indian Cemetery at Flandreau in an unmarked grave.

[hermin1]

I might add that their daughter,Sarah Robinson, was married by 1850(+ or minus a couple years) to henry Dumarce, nd had several children with him. then they separated, and she wed one of the Mackeys and had children with him.Celestia married Thomas Mackey, and her cousin martha had a child by Sarah's husband, according to Mr. Brill's Redwing chart.

[madrock]

Dec 21, 2011 11:27:30 GMT -5 hermin1 said:

re. the excerpts you posted, I ran across mention of an englishTrader named Robinson(no first name mentioned) back about the time mentioned in the book, in the Minnesota,regions. In fact, i believe he too had a son named Thomas Robinson.I believe he is mentioned in one of the Metis History websites i haunt for information.
in my collection of records I have 3 Thomas robinsons, the one you have been seeking info on, a Thomas Robinson who was a full blood and died in 1885,and the Thomas Robinson who married Cetan Wicakte's daughter Mary victoria Frazier. he died @ 1907 . His wife died after 1910 in South Dakota.One of their daughters married a Rockwood(mixed blood).

I also have three Thomas Robinson's from the same area and era in my notes and I need to sort them out in the next couple of days so I can update the beginning post to this thread.

[madrock]

Dec 21, 2011 16:20:36 GMT -5 @mink said:

Dang! No! I just found this, looking through the posts:

"Joseph Rocque, b. ca. 1785, bp. (as Augustin Joseph) 19 May 1798, age 13, at St. Charles Mo., (Parish records of St. Charles, MO) and died in the fall of 1835 at his trading post at Little Rock on the Minnesota River. (Sibley's papers)."

This is a different Joseph Rocque that Sibley knew It is not the husband of Madeleine Rocque. ;D

Again, I need to stop and sort out all the new (to me) information has developed on this thread. I need to have birth and death dates added to the names of the Joseph's & Augustin's Rocques to keep from getting mixed up. It looks like the same now for the Thomas Robinson's. hermin1 & mink I really appreciate the input.

[madrock]

I believe I have enough documentation now to add a sister to Thomas & Madaline Robinson, children of Dennis Robinson and a Dakota woman. Her name would be Mary who married John Moores, son of Hazen Mooers. I'll get that info up before I start updating the Dennis Robinson family.

[mink]

MR and Hermin, it really is fun talking to you guys about all this. And, Rocky, I hope you are enjoying the expanding romance of your family. What a background! I wish my own were nearly as interesting. Yours was part of history in the making. Growing up in St. Paul, MN, I went to a few different schools but, in all of them I had as classmates the descendants of the pioneers of the Mississippi River Valley. Today I wonder how many of them take any interest in their heritage. I remember that, in grade school, a boy with the last name of Lord was asked to stand up and we were told his was one of the first families [true] to settle around Fort Snelling. Evidently he or some family member had been proud enough to inform the teacher of his ancestry. I also recall passing the portrait of Father Lucien Galtier in the same school every day, never dreaming, of course, that I would one day write his biography.

[hermin1]

madrock: in one of my notebooks, I have note that Thomas Robinson and John Mooers were good friends and had land allotments adjacent in Minnesota. Thomas 's grave with marker is in the middle of a farmers field in Minnesota in the city or town where he died.
Thomas and wagiwin or wigiwin/s daughter Mary Louisa( this is the daugther mentioned in thomas's affidavit) married ?Stoops and had a daughter with him, then she married Sam Bluestone,son of John Bluestone.mary Louisa died in 1932 in Minnesota.

[madrock]

Dec 22, 2011 11:36:45 GMT -5 @mink said:

MR and Hermin, it really is fun talking to you guys about all this. And, Rocky, I hope you are enjoying the expanding romance of your family. What a background! I wish my own were nearly as interesting. Yours was part of history in the making. Growing up in St. Paul, MN, I went to a few different schools but, in all of them I had as classmates the descendants of the pioneers of the Mississippi River Valley. Today I wonder how many of them take any interest in their heritage. I remember that, in grade school, a boy with the last name of Lord was asked to stand up and we were told his was one of the first families [true] to settle around Fort Snelling. Evidently he or some family member had been proud enough to inform the teacher of his ancestry. I also recall passing the portrait of Father Lucien Galtier in the same school every day, never dreaming, of course, that I would one day write his biography.

Yes, I have an interesting varied ancestry and it all comes together in the Upper Mississippi River region. My paternal ancestry contains Dakata Mdewakanton (Eastern Woodland Sioux) and the early French trappers and traders to the region. My maternal ancestry contains German's and Irish who came to America in the middle 1800's because they were starving in their homelands in Europe. Today is the first day of winter so it begins my best available time for research (no golf weather!). I have some work I done today to load as soon as I reply to one more post.

[madrock]

Dec 22, 2011 13:03:20 GMT -5 hermin1 said:

madrock: in one of my notebooks, I have note that Thomas Robinson and John Mooers were good friends and had land allotments adjacent in Minnesota. Thomas 's grave with marker is in the middle of a farmers field in Minnesota in the city or town where he died.
Thomas and wagiwin or wigiwin/s daughter Mary Louisa( this is the daugther mentioned in thomas's affidavit) married ?Stoops and had a daughter with him, then she married Sam Bluestone,son of John Bluestone.mary Louisa died in 1932 in Minnesota.

Thanks, I'll add this to my Thomas Robinson notes and see what it all looks like next week. I have some of todays typing to add next.

[madrock]

I believe I have found enough documentation to name a third child of Dennis Robinson; a female with a first name of Mary, but no maiden surname can be determined at this stage of the research. The documentation follows John Moores, the son of Hazen Mooers, and is mainly census reports at this time (12/22/2011). In the book THROUGH DAKOTA EYES, Anderson and Woolworth state that John Moores, after 1867, settled in Lincoln County and married a sister of Thomas Robinson's. There are severel more references to John Moores in the book on the 1862 Uprising but none that would yet make reference to Mary Robinson. [See footnote 1]

In the 1850 FEDERAL CENSUS for Minnestory Territory, Wapashaw County there is a John Mooers enumerated. [See footnote 2]

There is no 1855 MINNESOTA STATE CENSUS available. [See footnote 3]

A search of the 1860 FEDERAL CENSUS did not disclose an enumeration of John Moores or Mooers so far. [See footnote 4]

A search of the 1865 MINNESOTA STATE CENSUS did not disclose an enumeration of John Moores or Mooers so far. [See footnote 5]

A search of the 1870 FEDERAL CENSUS did not disclose an enumeration of John Moores or Mooers so far. [See footnote 6]

In the 1875 MINNESOTA CENSUS, Lincoln County, Town of Lake Benton there is a John & Mary Moore. Their color/race is confusing; the enumerator used a code of H or N and Ancestry.com determines the code to be Negro! [See footnote 7]

In the 1880 FEDERAL CENSUS, State of Minnesota, Lincoln County there is a John Moore (color White, b. abt. 1824) & his wife, Mary Moore (color Indian, b. abt. 1839) [See footnote 8]

In the 1885 MINNESOTA CENSUS, Lincoln County, there is a John Moore (b. abt. 1823) & his wife, Mary Moore (b. abt. 1830). Their color/race is confusing; the enumerator used a code of H or N and Ancestry.com determines the code to be Hindu! [See footnote 9]

The 1890 FEDERAL CENSUS was almost entirely destroyed in a 1921 fire so there will be a ten year 'location/migration"gap between the 1885 & 1895 Minnesota censuses. [See footnote 10]

In the 1895 MINNESOTA CENSUS, Lincoln County, there is a John Moor (Indian b. abt. 1828) & his wife, Mary Moor (Indian, b. abt. 1842) [See footnote 11]

~ ~ ~

[footnote 1] - THROUGH DAKOTA EYES - Narrative Accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862, Edited by Garry Clayton Anderson / Alan R. Woolworth, Endnote 10, page 216:
John Moores was the son of Hazen Mooers, a trader, and a Dakota woman. He was born in 1826 near Red Wing's village at the mouth of the Cannon River and lived there with his mother until he was about fifteen years old. He then joined his father and learned about the fur trade. They moved to the Redwood Agency in 1853, and by 1855 John was clerking for James W. Lynd. He was active in the war proteching the captives and spent the winter of 1862-1863 in the Dakota camp at Fort Snelling. After scouting for the army, 1863-67, he settled on a claim in Lincoln County and married a sister of Thomas Robinson's. He died on January 1, 1899.
Sources: A. E. Tasker, "Early History of Lincoln County (Lake Benton, Minn, - Lake Benton News Print, 1936, reprinted 1973) at p.294 & "Tyler Journal", January 6, 1899

[footnote 2] - 1850 FEDERAL CENSUS, Minnesota Territory, Wabasha, District 1, Dwelling & Family 12:
Mooers, John, 30, male, Indian farmer, birthplace Bluefountain, Minnesota. No other family members enumerated.
[John's birth date calculated as 1820.]

[footnote 3] - The 1855 MINNESOTA STATE CENSUS for heads of household has been largely lost. The published schedule for Wright County has survived, as have manuscript copies for the counties of Chisago, Doty, and Superior.

[footnote 4] - Although nothing has been found so far in the 1860 FEDERAL CENSUS, the book THROUGH DAKOTA EYES has entries for John Moores living in the Lower Sioux Agency area.

[footnote 5] - 1865 MINNESOTA STATE CENSUS. Minnesota state enumerations now include all members of the household. Also in 1865, “Soldier or Sailor in service on June 1, 1865” was included.

[footnote 6] - 1870 FEDERAL CENSUS. More searching line by line needs to be done on this census for John Moores. But he could have been moving and missed by enumerators.

[footnote 7 ] 1875 MINNESOTA STATE CENSUS, Lincoln County, Town of Lake Benton, Family No. 5:
Fred Brull, age 19, male, color white, nativity Wisconsin, parents nativity New York
C Brull, age 18, female, color white, nativity Pennsylvania, parents nativity Pennsylvania
William Brull, age 11, male, color white, nativity Minnesota, parents nativity New York
John Moore, age 49, male, color H or N, nativity Minnesota, parents nativity [dashed]
Date of birth calculated as 1826
Mary Moore, age 43, female, color H or N, nativity Minnesota, parents nativity [dashed]
Date of birth calculated as 1832
Eleza Moore, age 7, female, color H or N, nativity Minnesota, parents nativity Minnesota
Martha Moore, age 75, female, color H or N, nativity Minnesota, parents nativity [dashed]
Fanny Moore, age 24, female, color H or N, nativity Minnesota, parents nativity Minnesota
[The enumeration form asks for color with no instructions for code. The enumerator describes the five Moore's H or N. Ancestry.com notes that H or N represents Negro.]

[footnote 8] - 1880 FEDERAL CENSUS, Minnesota, Lincoln County, Hope Township, Enumeration District No. 139, Dwelling & Family No. 23:
Moore, John, White, Male, age 56, Head of family, married, Farmer,
Place of birth MN, Father's place of birth MN, Mother's place of birth DC
Date of birth calculated as 1824
Moore, Mary, Indian, Female, age 41, Wife, married, Keeping House,
Place of birth MN, Father's place of birth MN, Mother's place of birth MN
Date of birth calculated as 1839
Robertson, Samual, Indian, Male, age 23, Cousin, single, Farmer,
Place of birth MN, Father's place of birth MN, Mother's place of birth MN
Robinette, Theo., Indian, Male, 20, Cousin, single, Farmer,
Place of birth MN, Father's place of birth MN, Mother's place of birth MN

[footnote 9] - 1885 MINNESOTA CENSUS, Lincoln County, Hope, District 2, Family 19:
John Moore, age 62, Male, Color marked H, Place of birth MN, Parents not of foreign birth
Mary Moore, age 55, Female, Color marked H, Place of birth MN, Parents not of foreign birth
Mattie Moore, age 35, Female, Color marked H, Place of birth MN, Parents not of foreign birth
Samuel Robinson, age 23, Maile, Color marked H, Place of birth MN, Parents not of foreign birth
Oliver Robinson, age 8, Male, Color marked H, Place of birth MN, Parents not of foreign birth
[Note: The enumeration form asks for color to be marked W, B, M, C or I for White, Black, Mulatto, Chinese, or Indian. However, the enumerator marks the five individuals as H. Ancestry.com notes that H represents Hindu.]

[Footnote 10] No 1890 FEDERAL CENSUS available for Lincoln County, Minnesota. The 1890 FEDERAL CENSUS was almost entirely destroyed in a 1921 fire. Wright County is the only county in MN that has some saved data from the fire.

[footnote 11] - 1895 MINNESOTA CENSUS, Lincoln County, Hope Township, District 12, Family 90:
Moor, John, age 67, Male, Indian, Place of birth MN, Occupation Farming, Scout during the Rebellion
[Birth date calculated as 1828]
Moor, Mary, age 53, Female, Indian, Place of birth MN, Occupation Farmers wife
[Birth date calculated as 1842]
Moor, Oliver, 18, Male, Indian, Place of birth MN, Occupation Farming Carpenter
[Birth date calculated as 1877]

[hermin1]

ming: the girl White Hair mentioned in 1835 could not have been Thomas's daughter. he wasn't old enough to do the dirty deed to whoever was her mother. hahaha

[mink]

Dec 23, 2011 11:30:16 GMT -5 hermin1 said:

ming: the girl White Hair mentioned in 1835 could not have been Thomas's daughter. he wasn't old enough to do the dirty deed to whoever was her mother. hahaha

Did I say she was Tom Robinson's daughter? I don't recall it. I have had in mind she was the daughter of Dennis Robinson.

[mink]

If anyone wishes to know more about the mysterious Hazen Mooers , his biography is included in the "Mooers Family Newsletter", starting in the fall of 1998

www.mooers-law.com/MooersMemoirsAutumn1998.pdf

and continuing in the winter edition:

www.mooers-law.com/MooersMemoirswinter199899.pdf

Or see both together and more on this site:

www.mooers-law.com/MooerMemoriesOpeningPage.htm

[madrock]

Dec 23, 2011 15:27:20 GMT -5 @mink said:

If anyone wishes to know more about the mysterious Hazen Mooers

Great Hazen Mooers source of information.

It's a three part series, so you need to read this also:

www.mooers-law.com/MooersMemoirssummer1999.pdf

I found it on the third link you posted.

[hermin1]

it was John Mooers who had the farm nearby Tom robinson's.

[hermin1]

mink: I read that section of Featherstone's Journal too, and nowhere is there mention of the trader Robinson's first name being Thomas.
this would rule out the one thomas Robinson9died 1885) that i have in my records.