Our
Robbins-Davis Connection
Based on the research of Keena Robbins Kartak


Information regarding the early generations in our Robbins family --which we have not
yet been
able to verify-- is based on notes found in the files of Keena Robbins Kartak
after her death in
1983. Although we have been able to fill in a few of the blanks and
expand on Maitland Robbins'
military service during the Civil War, it has been difficult to
identify our early Robbins from the many
Robbins who lived in New York in the 1700s and
early 1800s. Only recently, with the vast amount
of information available online and easy
connections to "new" cousins, has it been possible to
begin to verify our Robbins ancestors.


Ancestors of Keena Robbins Kartak 

Generation No. 1

1. JOHN1 ROBBINS was born 1745 in Herkimer County, NY. (unverified)
Note: Keena cited Census of 1780, but did not list which census. At that time, counties, towns, and other geographical areas each conducted their own census. Prior to the Revolution, the British Colonial Government authorized individual census in the separate colonies. Keena's census information is unverified.

Child of JOHN ROBBINS is:
2. i. JOHN2 ROBBINS, b. October 19, 1774, Herkimer County, NY. (unverified)


Generation No. 2

2. JOHN2 ROBBINS (JOHN1) was born October 19, 1774 in Herkimer County, NY. He married JENNY (?) ROBBINS. She was born 1784 in Herkimer County, NY. (unverified)

Child of JOHN ROBBINS and JENNY ROBBINS is:
3. i. ISAAC3 ROBBINS, b. November 09, 1807, Herkimer County, NY. (unverified)

As new information becomes available in census records, it's looking like Isaac's father may have been a Robbins from Hounsfield, Jefferson Co. NY. There are several with sons the right age in the 1820 Census.


Generation No. 3

3. ISAAC3 ROBBINS (JOHN2, JOHN1) was born November 09, 1807 in Herkimer County, NY. No marriage information has been verified. According to Keena's files, he married (1) ZERIHA LEE and (2) CLARINDA WARD, who was born Abt. 1818. It's not clear which was his first wife, although the 1850 Census seems to indicate it was Zerna.

He is found in Dwelling House # 248 with his family identified as # 249 in the 1850 Census in Henderson, Jefferson Co. NY

Isaac Robbins 41 Carpenter & (unreadable)
Zerna C. 39
Annis (?) 17 female Is this Anginette? See names below
John L 12
Martha 10
Maitland 4 (sic) Maitland would have to have been 7 in 1850 as per verified data
Ann G 2
Infant 2/12 male

In the same house as family # 248 is Isaac's daughter Jane and her husband, Saxton Ames, with 7 mon. old twins, Angeli and Angelina.

Notes for ISAAC ROBBINS: Keena Robbins Kartak's files included notes --some are no more than jots-- indicating confusion regarding the mother of Isaac's children. Zerna Lee? Clarinda Ward?

Additional notes in Keena's files re dates of Isaac's re- marriage in Adams, NY Methodist Church and a note re the death of Zernah Lee 8 Feb 1861 at Henderson, NY. Another note indicates Clarinda was previously married to Mathew G. Babcock.

Military service: October 01, 1861, in Watertown, NY, Isaac enlisted in the 35th NY, CO. K 186 NY Volunteers. Nine days later, his son Maitland volunteered. A Mathew G. Babcock enlisted in the same 35th Volunteers in Watertown, NY on September 28, 1861. Mathew died of his wounds in Washington, D.C. a year later. Was he Clarinda's son from an earlier marriage? Or wild guess: Clarinda's first husband?

Children of ISAAC ROBBINS:
4. i. MAITLAND SANFORD ROBBINS, b. February 15, 1843, Jefferson County, NY;
d. October 24, 1929, Park Rapids, MN.
ii. JANE, m SAXTON AMES
iii JULIA m (?) Ferguson;
iv. FREELOVE, m Jerome Fuller;
v. ANGINETTE, m Hiram Penny;
vi. LUCY, m John McRae;
vii. JOHN b 1838, m Kate Holsenberg;
viii. SAMUEL b 1850 (?)
ix. MARTHA - died in infancy.
x, ELIZA- died in infancy

Keena wrote, " Isaac remarried and had 2 more children: Fred and Mabel."


Generation No. 4

4. MAITLAND SANFORD4 ROBBINS (ISAAC3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born February 15, 1843 in Jefferson County, NY, and died October 24, 1929 in Park Rapids, Minnesota. He married HELEN FRANCES DAVIS October 18, 1869 in Glencoe, MN. (Source: Davis Family Records/Bible), daughter of DAVID DAVIS and MARY JAQUITH. She was born February 23, 1850 in East Cambridge, MA, and died February 27, 1934 in Buried at old cemetery, near Lake Marion, MN.

Military Record: MAITLAND SANFORD ROBBINS: Served NY Enlisted K Co. 35th Inf Reg. NY
10 October 1861 Watertown, NY; Rank: Priv Age19
Mustered Out at Elmira, NY on 05 June 1863

Re-enlisted: 18 December 1863 Henderson, NY.
Served NY Enlisted H Co. 18th Cav Reg. NY
* Reduced to ranks of Full Private on 30 December 1864.

31 May 1866 Discharged Co H NY Cavalry at Victoria, TX

Source: New York: Report of the Adjutant-General Pub. by/on 1894-1906

After 5 years of service which included an enormous number of battles, he was still only 23 years old! Note his age given in the official record at the time of his enlistment was19, but if his date of birth is correct in our files, he was a year younger. The next record of him is his marriage in Minnesota to Helen Francis Davis on October 18, 1869.

Keena gives the location of Maitland and Helen's wedding as Glencoe, MN. with Dr. A. McWright officiating. She noted her source as being Helen's Bible. This bible is currently in a relative's possession --somewhere amongst boxes of family archives-- and hopefully, will be located and available soon.

A New York boy discharged from the army in Texas and a girl from Massachusetts: Where did this couple meet? There are some indications that Helen's family may have been in Minnesota prior to her wedding. A Helen F. Davis is listed as a single woman in what appears to be a boarding house in a 1870 Census in St. Paul Minnesota, but this may be a different person, as according to Keena, our Helen Francis Davis was married in the fall of 1869. The same census lists several David Davis families in the state at that time.

In 1869, the State of Minnesota published a guidebook for settlers and tourists, which was aimed at attracting settlers to the area. It is very possible that the Robbins read it, poured over its many pages, and joined in the westward movement to Minnesota. The guidebook was enough of a success that within a few years, the state nearly quadrupled its population!

After their wedding on October 18, 1869 , Maitland and Helen are next reported in Sherburnville, IL, where in November of 1870 their first child, daughter Cora, was born. Keena writes that "...soon after her birth, Maitland and Helen, along with the Sturdavents, Hoffmans, and Ames families, all related, and the Alexanders, close friends, moved to what became Brownton, McLeod Co. MN. It was here that in June of 1873 Maitland and Helen's son Wallace was born in a house in which the previous settlers, the White family, had been massacred during an Indian uprising." [Note: The Ames are most probably Maitland's sister Jane and her husband Saxton Ames]

Civil War Pension Index
Maitland S. Robbins
Images Online #: 1883 State Filed: Minnesota
Widow: Helen F. Robbins

Source Information: National Archives and Records Administration. Civil War Pension Index. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000. Data indexed and imaged from National Archives and Records Administration. General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. T288, 544 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.

Children of MAITLAND ROBBINS and HELEN DAVIS are:
i. CORA ZITELLA ROBBINS, b. November 05, 1870, Sherbunville, IL; d. September 21, 1897; age 27.
Married John Hogle October 22, 1892;

5. ii WALLACE DAVID ROBBINS, b. June 11, 1873, Brownton, MN; d. April 17, 1961
Park Rapids, MN.

iii. MARY ESTELLA ROBBINS, b. August 01, 1875; d June 29, 1943
Married James Clark September 3 (8?) 1895 . Lived in North Dakota.

iv. MAUD IZELLA ROBBINS, b. September 18, 1877; d. July 25, 1899, age 22 years;
m William Meinke November 1897

v. SAMUEL ROBBINS, b. June 02, 1879; d. November 07, 1880, age 17 months.
Buried in cemetery near Lake Marion, MN.

vi. HELEN OLIVE ROBBINS, b. April 30, 1881; date of death unknown.
m Adnah Sackett October 1897

vii. ORISSA "MOLLY" ROBBINS, b. December 27, 1882; d. August 27, 1899, age 17 years.

viii. LAUREL LEONE ROBBINS, b. February 22, 1887; d. July 14, 1899, age 12 years.


In July 4, 1899, Maitland and Helen's only living son, 26 year old Wallace, was married to
Kristina Edmon, daughter of a Swedish immigrant family of Clarissa, Minnesota. The previous
seven years had been a emotionally mixed period for the Robbins family, beginning first with the
marriage of Cora in 1892, followed by that of Mary in 1895. 1897 brought the marriages of both
Helen Olive and Maud, but also the death of Cora, probably in childbirth. By the summer of 1899, there's no doubt that Wallace's parents as well as his remaining five sisters, particularly Molly,
age 17, and Laurel, age 12, were happy to have a wedding to celebrate. Tragedy struck the family
again, however, and within seven weeks of the wedding, three sisters would be dead of "quick consumption". They were buried in the Greenwood Cemetery, Park Rapids, Minnesota.

Of Maitland and Helen's eight children, only Wallace, Mary and Helen outlived their parents. A photograph of Maitland and Helen taken in the 1920s seems to reflect their sorrow.  (See the Robbins Album)



Generation No. 5

5. WALLACE DAVID5 ROBBINS (MAITLAND SANFORD4, ISAAC3, JOHN2, JOHN1) was born June 11, 1873 in Brownson , MN, and died April 17, 1961 in Park Rapids. He married (1) KRISTINA EDMON July 04, 1899 in Long Prairie, MN, daughter of OLAF EDMON and AGNES ANDERSDATTER. She was born July 14, 1881 in Offerdal, Sweden, and died September 10, 1930 in Park Rapids. He married (2) FRANCIS TUBBS.

Children of WALLACE ROBBINS and KRISTINA EDMON, all born Park Rapids, MN are:
i. LAUREL ANITA6 ROBBINS, b. May 15, 1900; d. November 02, 1979.
m John Carlson May 30, 1930

ii. ETHEL H. ROBBINS, b. May 12, 1901; d. July 23, 1901.

iii. WILLIS SANFORD "BUD" ROBBINS, b. October 24, 1902. d. July 1981, San Joaquin, CA.
m. Josephine Reach; 5 daughters, VIola, Elizabeth, Joanne, Madonna Roe, Mary.

iv. HELEN AGNES ROBBINS, b. January 02, 1906, d. 1997, St Paul, MN.
m Charles Heldt, no children

v. KEENA LAVERNE ROBBINS, b. February 26, 1909, d. December 1983, Seattle, WA.
m. (1) Justin Ewald Sjolund-Peterson; sons, Richard and Justin "Jerry" Peterson.
m (2) Stanley Kartak; sons David and Thomas; adopted daughter, Delores.

vi. VIVA LETITIA ROBBINS, b. October 26, 1911, d. January 16, 1977, San Francisco, CA.
m. Robert H. Bahmer; 3 children, Henry, Kathryn, and Clifford.

vii. OLIVE "PAL" ROBBINS, b. July 24, 1913, d. November 09, 1997, Santa Maria, CA.
m. (1) Zack Lemon, (2) Harold Smothermon; Three sons, one daughter.


The descendants of Wallace and Kristina Robbins are scattered across America from
Boston and New York City and other east coast locations to Washington, California,
Arizona, Texas, Idaho, Montana and many places in between. They represent a cross-
section of America, and include artists, missioners, entrepeneurs, craftsmen, housewifes,
intellectuals wearing both white and blue collars, politicians and even a bureucrat or two.

Questions? Comments? Please Write


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