In 1784 Christopher married Esther Sayre, daughter of Rev. John Sayre, who came to the Colonies on behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. On 20 Feb 1785, Esther Robinson, wife of Christopher Robinson, received a grant of 55 acres of land in Maugerville Parish, Sunbury Co., NB.[1] Looking for better opportunities, in 1788 the family moved to Canada (present-day Quebec and Ontario) and he began articling to become a lawyer. In 1792, Simcoe, now Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, offered him a post as a minor surveyor general and he moved to Kingston (Ontario).
In 1794, he received his license to practice law and, in 1796, he was elected to the 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada representing Ontario & Addington. In 1797, he played a role in establishing the Law Society of Upper Canada.
No record of the proceedings of the assembly survives for his period of service, except for the 1798 session. Robinson played an active role that year and sponsored a bill, which never became law, “to enable persons migrating into this province to bring their negro slaves”. Christopher Robinson was from a family that enslaved Black people and was also the sponsor of the 1798 Bill to authorize and allow persons coming into this Province to settle to bring with them their Negro Slaves. Though the bill passed the first three readings in the Assembly, the Legislative Council tied up the bill until the close of the parliamentary session, and in doing so prevented it from becoming law. The introduction of this bill reflected an opposition to the abolition of slavery in the province. [2]
Of better family and education than most of the loyalists who came to Canada, Christopher Robinson was nevertheless able to obtain official preferment only because of his link with Simcoe. He seems always to have been disappointed that the more comfortable life to which he felt his birth, education, and loyalty entitled him did not materialize. One of the few Robinsons from Virginia who supported the loyalist cause, he was cut off from most of the family.
Financial difficulties followed Robinson throughout his life. He acquired property through land grants, but at the time of his death in 1798 he was indebted after moving to York that year.
Robinson died suddenly on 2 November 1798 after returning to York from a long trip on horseback. The cause of his death is uncertain, but his son John Beverley remembered it as an acute attack of gout aggravated by cold and exposure.
Christopher Robinson is mentioned on the plaque erected in 2000 at the Old Garrison Burying Ground in Toronto, where he is interred. It's located at Victoria Square, a block of land south east of King and Bathurst Streets. He is also memorialized on a plaque at St Alban the Martyr in Adolphustown.
Christopher and Esther had 6 children. His son was Sir John Beverley Robinson, Chief Justice of York. His son Peter is considered founder of Peterborough, Ontario, a veteran of the War of 1812, representative of the provincial parliament, member of the Legislative Council, and Commissioner of Crown Lands for Upper Canada. His cousin was Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson of New York. His son William Benjamin Robinson married Elizabeth Ann, daughter of William Jarvis (Upper Canada official), and his daughter Mary married Major Stephen Heward, formerly of the Grenadier Guards and later Auditor-General of Upper Canada. His daughter Sarah Anne married D'Arcy Boulton (1785–1846), the son of G. D'Arcy Boulton, who built The Grange (Toronto) and also served as Auditor-General of Upper Canada.
Date & Place of Birth: 1763/4 Colony of Virginia, Date & Place of Death: 2 Nov 1798; York, Upper Canada.
Adolphustown plaque[1]
Christopher was mentioned on a memorial in Victoria Memorial Park, Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada with a death date of 2 November 1798.[3]
This person was mentioned in the book Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution; with an Historical Essay in 1864.[4]
Christopher was mentioned in his Aunt Judith Robinson's 1774 will.
Acknowledgements:
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Categories: College of William and Mary | Ontario, Jurists | Upper Canada United Empire Loyalists | Loyalists, Virginia, American Revolution | Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada | Queen's Rangers, American Revolution | Canada, Notables | Notables | United Empire Loyalists