Robinsonpage

Welcome to The Robinson Family Page, which furnishes historical detail beyond the site index, exploring three generations of Robinsons in the line of Thomas Robinson of Talbot County, Maryland.

5. Annie Robinson (Blann)--(1852-1939) Anna E. Robinson was the wife of Robert Arthur Bland. It is she who has been credited with changing the spelling of the name from Bland to Blann, when her oldest son George first went to school and had to spell the family name. George claimed that he himself initiated the change. Arthur's grandson, Ellis Blann, related that his father told him he thought the Blands were from Ireland; also he had heard that Arthur went down to the courthouse and had the name changed legally to help avoid the confusion between so many Blands in the area. While this is possible, it may be unlikely, since Harold Blann testifies that as a very young boy, he visited his great-grandmother, Annie, and, while he sat in her lap scribbling what he thought was intelligible writing, she advised him: "It is very important for you to learn how to read and write properly. Your great-grandfather (Arthur) never learned how to write because he never got the chance to go to school as a child." (We should add that the name was occasionally spelled "Blann" even at the beginning of the nineteenth century.) Annie's family lived in Trappe and she was buried in Springhill Cemetery in Easton, MD. Her father was Solomon M. Robinson and her mother was Sarah "Sally" Turner. Their first-born was Thomas (born Oct.12,1849), and then Annie was born in 1852, shortly before the death of her 19 year-old mother (It is possible that Sarah died from complications in childbirth with Annie). On Jan.18, 1853, Solomon remarried the widow of his older brother William, Margaret A. Seymore (1811 or 1813-1881). They had a son later that year, also named William, who grew up as Annie’s foster-brother. The 1850 Talbot Co. census for the city of Easton, MD. shows a 25-year old Solomon Robinson living with 17 year-old Sarah and one year-old Thomas. Annie married Arthur Bland on Jan.3,1771 and together they had nine children. Unlike her husband, she was very religiously-oriented. While some of their children took after their father's character, two of their sons became preachers, probably as a result of the mother's influence. Annie lived to be 87, passing away in 1939.

6. Solomon M. Robinson --Born in May 31, 1826, Solomon was the fourth (?) of seven children, born to Thomas and Nancy Robinson. According to one unverified source, his middle name was McMahon. He married Sally Turner on July 12, 1848. After giving birth to two children, she died in 1852 and Solomon remarried his older brother's wife, Margaret, who bore another son, William, in 1853. The 1860 census shows Margaret (b.1811) living with Solomon along with Anna, age 9, and William T., age 8, and a John McMahon, age 40. (It is not known whether the first son, Thomas, survived, as he is not listed in their household). The names of Solomon's known brothers are: William (b. ca. 1818?), Charles (b.1834), and Noble (b.1836). According to the 1850 census, there was a sister named Susan A.(b.1838) and according to family records by Anna Blann there were two other brothers: Andrew & George (b.1820). Solomon Robinson survived his second wife by one year, dying on July 24, 1882.

7. Thomas Robinson --The father of Solomon Robinson and grandfather of Annie R. Blann. His wife was Nancy (b.1805)--maiden name not recorded--and his parents are unknown (Though a Solomon Robinson of Caroline Co., son of Solomon and Rachel Robinson, who had an unidentified child around Thomas’s age is a strong possibility as Thomas' father). Thomas is listed in the census as a farmer in the Trappe district of Maryland, born in 1795. He appears to have had a brother, William (b. 1802), who was staying with Thomas at the time of the 1850 census. (Thomas' first name may also be spelled Tamas.) Thomas and his wife were still alive at the time of the 1860 census (which indicates that both were born in Maryland), but they do not appear in 1870, probably having died. According to family tradition, Thomas (or his ancestors) are thought to have immigrated from Scotland.