Sarah (Jennings) Robertson (1750 - bef. 1826)

Born 1750 in Hanover County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Wife of John Robertson — married 1775 in Colony of Virginia

Descendants

Died before Jul 1826 before age 76 in Nottoway, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Sarah was born in 1750, daughter of William Jennings and Agnes Dickenson/Dickerson.^[1][2]

Sarah married to John Robertson. She was mentioned in the will of her father (written 19 Oct 1793) as "Sarah Robertson."^[1]

Sarah and John Robertson had nine children (incomplete list):^[1]

1. Mallory W. Robertson
2. John Archer Robertson
3. James H. Robertson

She passed away in July 1826. ^[3]

William Jennings, who came here from Hanover County, settled on the Little Nottoway and John married his daughter, Sarah Jennings.

Sarah’s uncle, Joseph Jennings, ran an “ordinary” that could serve meals to people passing through. In August 1797, Nottoway County granted him a license to keep an ordinary at his house. Notes on Southside Virginia (Watson), p. 78 Called Robertson’s Tavern, and later “Eleven Oaks,” it was on the outskirts of Crewe on the old road to Nottoway Court House.

The Union Army burned “Eleven Oaks” during the Civil War and a frame church later stood on the site. A warped and rusted iron fence around the family grave yard is all that remains. Old Homes and Families in Nottoway (Turner) 1st. ed. 1932, pp. 160-1

Various Deeds and Court Records

John’s name appeared in a variety of court records. He witnessed the will of Thomas Yarbrough in 1768, Amelia Co. Will Bk. 2X, 1761-71, p. 271 and was security for the estate of William Johnson in 1769. Amelia Co. Will Bk. 2X, 1761-71, p. 273

On 23 May 1775, he and Sarah deeded Henry Jennings 100 acres in Nottoway Parish, Amelia (now Nottoway) County, for £80. The deed described the land as on the south waters of Little Nottoway River, next to Snail Creek and John Fowlkes Jr., Marston Green, and Waller. Although according to this deed, John had acquired the land earlier from a Johnson, we can find no such deed. Amelia Co. Deed Bk. 13, 1774-76, p. 184

On 23 Oct. 1775, John Jennings sold 202 acres near Mallorys Creek in Amelia County to John Robertson for £100. Amelia Co. Deed Bk. 13, 1774-76, p. 277 When John bought this land from Dickerson Jennings 19 May 1773 for £100, it was next to the property of Henry Anderson, William Craddock, and Richard Ligon and was about two miles south of present-day Crewe, Va. Amelia Co. Deed Bk. 12, 1773-74, p. 167

In 1782 and 1785, Amelia County listed John Robertson head of a household of 8 whites and 5 blacks. Heads of Families at the First Census 1790, Va., pp. and col. 12C, 82C

In 1791, John and Sarah Robertson sold tracts of land between Mallorys Creek and Cold Water Branch to James Jennings and to Henry Jennings. Nottoway Co. Deed Bk. 1, pp. 137-8 This was probably part of the 202 acres. In 1792 John bought 100 acres from his half-brother George Cabiness Robertson that had belonged to their father. Nottoway Co. Deed Bk. 1, p. 328.

In 1801, John was a surveyor of the road from Nottoway Meeting House to Rowland’s Church. Tax records of 1811 show John Robertson and 3 of his sons owned “chairs,” or buggy.

By 1820 John Robertson was farming with 17 slaves.

John Robertson was the foreman of the jury that returned a verdict of not guilty in the celebrated trial of Dr. George Langston Griffin Bacon for the murder of Dr. John Segar Hardaway in 1818.

John’s will

John prepared his will 11 July 1826. Nottoway Co. Will Bk. 5, 1822-27, p. 421

Will of John Robertson 11 July 1826 (Abstract) Item. All debts to be paid. Item. To son James D. Robertson one bedstead and furniture and one cow and calf to him and his heirs forever. Item. After the payment of debts and the above specified legacy to son, James D. Robertson, the balance of my estate, both real and personal, to be equally divided amongst the following named children and grandchildren. One portion to Archer Robertson, one other portion to William Robertson, one other portion to James D. Robertson, one other portion to Henry I. Robertson, one other portion to the children to Jennings Robertson, one other portion to the children of John Robertson, one other portion to Nancy Jennings, and one other portion in the hands of Archer Robertson, as trustee for the benefit of Edward Robertson’s wife and children. Item. The Negro man Booker, for which a bill of sale was lately executed to Henry I. Robertson to be included within the estimate of the estate, or said Henry I. Robertson to account for his full value. Item. The Negro girl in the possession of daughter, Nancy Jennings, to be taken into estimate of estate and to be accounted for in like manner. Item. Property heretofore given daughter Elizabeth May to be considered as her full part of estate, conferred on her and her heirs forever. She is therefore, intentionally omitted from this will.

Witnesses to the will were John Howell Knight, Joseph Motley Fowlkes, and Forster Hudson. John died in Nottoway County during Oct. 1826 and they proved his will 2 Nov. 1826. John’s sons, Archer and William Robertson, were executors and they and Henry R. Anderson, Joseph C. Fowlkes and Tyree Glenn Bacon were sureties for a $10,000 bond. The inventory of his estate listed 11 slaves, extensive land holdings, and personal property of $4,053.

sources Harrison, John M. and Aubrey Starke. “Maternal Ancestors of Sidney Lanier.” Genealogies of Virginia Families from the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1981(4):160-182. • Poet Sidney Lanier was the son of Mary Jane Anderson. This article covers Lanier’s ancestors including Hezekiah R. Anderson, Archer Robertson, John Knight, and Knight’s wife, Elizabeth Woodson.

Jackson, Lena E. and Aubrey Starke. “New Light on the Ancestry of Sidney Lanier.” Genealogies of Virginia Families from the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1981(4):151-159. • Emphasis on the Lanier ancestry of Sidney Lanier, son of Mary Jane Anderson, and grandson of Sampson Lanier.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} John M. Harrison and Aubrey Starke. (Apr 1936) "Maternal Ancestors of Sidney Lanier (Concluded)." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Historical Society, JSTOR.org (Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 160-174, citing p 163).
2. ↑ William Jennings, Jr., DAR Patriot Ancestor #A062454 (accessed 23 August 2023).
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 31 August 2020), memorial page for Sarah Jennings Robinson (1750–1826), Find A Grave: Memorial #111602963; maintained by Samantha (contributor 47228335) Unknown, who reports an Unknown cemetery.

• OneWorldTree Title: OneWorldTree, Ancestry.com
• Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.Original data - Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.Original data: Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.)
• John M. Harrison and Aubrey Starke. (Apr 1936) "Maternal Ancestors of Sidney Lanier (Concluded)." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Historical Society, JSTOR.org (Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 160-174).
• "Public Member Trees", database, Ancestry.com (accessed 14 April 2018), profile for Sarah Jennings.

Acknowledgements

• GEDCOM file submitted by Dale Rideout Ancestry. Imported on 29 November 2011.
• This biography was auto-generated by a GEDCOM import. Jennings-3099 was created by Ronald Rideout through the import of Jennings family2014.ged on Sep 23, 2014.