Richard Robbins (abt. 1610 - abt. 1683)

Born about 1610 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Elizabeth (Unknown) Robbins — married 26 Mar 1673 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about Apr 1683 at about age 73 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], Julia Howard [send private message], and Jana Cyrus [send private message]

Richard Robbins migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 285) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Birth

Born: About 1610.

Marriages and Children

Married: 1st - Rebecca Unknown, by 1639 when they were admitted together into the First Church of Charlestown. ^[1]

Married: 2nd - Elizabeth Unknown on 26 March 1673 at Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. ^{[2] [3]} She was married first to John Cooley, 2nd to Gilbert Crackbone, and 3rd to Richard Robbins. See notes below for a common error as to her name.

Children of Richard and Rebecca Robbins: ^{[4] [5] [6]}

• John Robbins.
• Samuel Robbins.
• Nathaniel Robbins.
• Rebecca Robbins.

Notes

Immigration: Exact date unknown - likely in 1639 or 1640 as the first known record is in May 1640.

Offices:

• Selectman of Cambridge, 1651 and 1655. ^[7]
• Juror, witchcraft trials, 1680. ^[8]
• Richard and his wife Rebecca were admitted to the Charlestown Church, May 24, 1640. They removed to Boston and again to Cambridge, where they settled on the south side of the river until about 1673, when he removed to the center of the village, on the Crackbone place.
• He deeded March 14, 1678-79, to his son Samuel thirty-six acres: to son Nathaniel thirty-four acres, and June 7, 1681, to daughter Rebecca thirty acres. He married (first) Rebecca : (second) Elizabeth Crackbone. March 26. 1673-74.

Common Errors to Avoid

• Incorrect parents: It has been said that Richard Robbins of Cambridge, John Robbins of Wethersfield, Nicholas and Thomas Robbins of Duxbury, and Samuel Robbins of Salisbury were all brothers. As such, they are identified as children of John and Hester Robbins of Thedingworth, Leicestershire, England. This has long since been refuted by Donald Lines Jacobus;^[9] however, the widespread and repeated publication of the claim has allowed this erroneous information to persist. The only evidence cited to link these men is the 1665 will of Samuel Robbins of Salisbury. In his will, Samuel clearly identifies his mother and father as John and Hester Robbins of Thedingworth as he makes them his default heirs if none of his brothers are willing to come to New England. Rather than prove that Richard Robbins is his brother, the wording of this will makes it clear that none of the children of John and Hester Robbins besides Samuel were currently living in New England in 1665. In fact, there is no evidence to link Richard Robbins to any Robbins family in England or to any of the other Robbins who were living in the colonies at the time.
• Incorrect parents: He is also often said to be the son John Robbins and Anne Pitt. ^[10] This John Robbins is sometimes confused with John Robbins of Wethersfield but was in fact of St. Martin’s Le Orgar in London. ^[11] He made his will 23 August 1627 and it was proved 1 October 1627; in it he names among others his sons John and Richard Robbins. Though this Richard is not ruled out as a possible candidate for being Richard Robbins of Cambridge, Massachusetts, there is no evidence to prove or even suggest that this may be true.
• Name of First Wife: She is sometimes said to be Rebecca Welles. There is no evidence to support this LNAB.
• Name of 2nd Wife: She is usually called Elizabeth Coolridge, widow of Gilbert Crackbone. Anderson in his Great Migration study has show that she is Elizabeth unknown, who married 1st John Cooley, 2nd Gilbert Crackbone, and 3rd Richard Robbins. ^[12]

Sources

Footnotes and Citations:

1. ↑ Hunnewell, James Frothingham,ed. Records of the First Church in Charlestown, 1632-1789. (1880) :10, record of admittance to church. books.google.com LINK
2. ↑ Cambridge. Vital records of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, vol. 2: Marriages and Deaths. (Boston, 1915):335. Archive.org LINK
3. ↑ Paige, Lucius Robinson. History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877: with a Genealogical Register, Volume 2. (1877):518, 641. books.google.com LINK
4. ↑ Cambridge. Vital records of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, vol. 1: Births. (Boston, 1914):605. Archive.org LINK
5. ↑ Sharples, Stephen Paschall. Records of the Church of Christ at Cambridge in New England, 1632-1830, Comprising the Ministerial Records of Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, Admission to Covenant and Communion, Dismissals and Church Proceedings. (Boston, 1906). Archive.org LINK
6. ↑ On admittance to the church of Cambridge, the four children of Richard and Rebecca Robins are named with a note that the first was baptized in Charlestown.
7. ↑ Paige, Lucius Robinson. History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877: with a Genealogical Register, Volume 2. (1877):468. books.google.com LINK
8. ↑ NEHGR vol. 1 no. 2 (April 1847):139. First Settlers of New England, by S.G. Drake
9. ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines. The Granberry Family and Allied Families: Including the Ancestry of Helen (Woodward) Granberry. (Hartford, Conn., 1945) (Download available at [www.familysearch.org]):307-308, Robbins Family.
10. ↑ E.g. Robbins, Eugene W. The Robbins Families of New England: A Genealogical Study. (2004) [Download available at familysearch.org].
11. ↑ NEHGR vol. 49, no. 3 (July 1895):369-404. Genealogical Gleanings in England: John Robbins, by Henry F. Waters. P. 373, will of John Robins of St. Martin’s Le Ogar in London.
12. ↑ Anderson..Great Migration: Vol. II: C-F. (2001): 226

Source List:

• Jacobus, Donald Lines. The Granberry Family and Allied Families: Including the Ancestry of Helen (Woodward) Granberry. (Hartford, Conn., 1945) (Download available at [www.familysearch.org]):307-308, Robbins Family.

• Essex Institute. The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, vol. II 1665-1674. (Salem, Mass.: The Essex Institute, 1921) :298-299, will of Samuel Robbins. archive.org LINK
• Robbins, Eugene W. The Robbins Families of New England: A Genealogical Study. (2004) [Download available at familysearch.org].

• NEHGR vol. 49, no. 3 (July 1895):369-404. Genealogical Gleanings in England: John Robbins, by Henry F. Waters. P. 373, will of John Robins of St. Martin’s Le Ogar in London.

• Hunnewell, James Frothingham,ed. Records of the First Church in Charlestown, 1632-1789. (1880) :10, record of admittance to church. books.google.com LINK

• Paige, Lucius Robinson. History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877: with a Genealogical Register, Volume 2. (1877):518, 641. books.google.com LINK

Acknowledgements

• Will Robbins.
• WikiTree profile Robbins-777 created through the import of for wiki.ged on Nov 1, 2011 by Dale Wood.
• WikiTree profile Robbins-527 created through the import of BDM7-7-11.ged on Jul 8, 2011 by Brian McCullough.
• Thank you to Julie Baldwin .