KERR FAMILY CHRONICLES

© Christopher Earls Brennen

CHAPTER TEN

THE ROBINSON FAMILY

Families with the name of Robinson have lived in the Cookstown area since the beginning of the plantation of Ulster. In particular one Robinson family has a long residence in the townland of Ballysudden, parish of Derryloran. In the 1664 and 1666 Hearth Money Rolls, Henry Robinson is listed as resident in Ballysudden. Then in 1766, the Hearth Money Roll or list of householders in the parish of Derryloran lists Robert Robinson in the townland of Ballysudden. Whether they are ancestors or not is unknown.

Area around Moneymore where the Robinsons lived.

Thomas Robinson was a labourer born about 1800. It seems likely that Thomas lived in Drumard, Parish of Lissan, County Tyrone for his son lists that as his place of residence at the time of his marriage. The children of Thomas Robinson:

  1. John Robinson was born about 1835, the son of Thomas Robinson, a labourer. At the time of his marriage in 1856 he was of full age, a bachelor and a labourer living in Drumard, Parish of Lissan which is west of Cookstown. Family legend recalls that John married a woman whose surname was Dallas and according to the Civil Register of Marriages John Robinson married Anne Dallas on Nov.27, 1856, in Tamlaght Parish Church, Coagh. Anne was a minor, a spinster and a weaver, from Ballydawley which is just north of Coagh. Her father was James Dallas, a labourer. Both John and Anne made their marks. Samuel Dallas and Robert Murtagh(?) were witnesses. In the Griffith valuation of about 1863, John Robinson is listed as holding a house worth 1 pound in the townland of Urbal, just south of Coagh and in the parish of Tamlaght. The house is owned by Robert Cowan. In the Civil Register of Births there are records of the birth of a number of children to John Robinson, a labourer, and Nancy Robinson (formerly Dallas) in Urbal, Coagh. It seems almost certain that these records refer to the parents of our ancestor, Jane Robinson. I have found other instances in which the names Anne and Nancy have been interchanged. At the time of his daughter Jane's marriage in 1893, John Robinson was a labourer living in the townland of ``Ballymena'', Cookstown, County Tyrone. Ballymenagh is on the northeastern outskirts of Cookstown. The Robinsons belonged to the Church of Ireland. In the 1911 Census 79-year-old general labourer John Robinson and his 76-year-old wife Ann Robinson are listed as living in house #9 in Urbal, Coagh, with their daughter, Ellen Robinson.

    Marriage certificate of John Robinson and Anne "Nancy" Dallas.

    The children of John Robinson and Anne or Nancy Dallas:

    1. Samuel John Robinson was born to John (listed as a laborer) and Anne Robinson of Ballydawley and was baptized in Tamlaght on Apr.18, 1858.

    2. Thomas James Robinson was born to John (listed as a laborer) and Nancy Robinson of Urbal and was baptized in Tamlaght on Apr.23, 1860.

    3. Ellen Mary Robinson was born to John (listed as a laborer) and Nancy Robinson of Urbal and was baptized in Tamlaght on Mar.15, 1862. In the 1911 Census, 47-year-old unmarried Ellen Robinson is listed as living in house #9 in Urbal, Coagh, with her parents.

    4. Sarah Jane Robinson, our ancestor, was born on Jan.14, 1864, in Urbal, Coagh, the daughter of John Robinson (a laborer) and Nancy (Dallas). On Nov.1, 1893, Sarah Jane Robinson married William Neill in the Registrar's Office in Cookstown. On the marriage certificate she is listed as being of full age and her father is given as John Robinson, a labourer. Her children are described in Chapter 7.

    5. Margaret Anne Robinson was born on May 11, 1866, in Urbal, Coagh, parish of Tamlaght, the daughter of John Robinson, labourer, and Nancy (Dallas).

    6. A female child, Robinson, born on Aug.20, 1867, in Urbal, Coagh, to John Robinson and Nancy (Dallas).

    7. William Robert Robinson was born on Nov. 3, 1869, in Urbal, Coagh, parish of Tamlaght, the son of John Robinson, labourer, and Nancy (Dallas).

    8. Eliza Ann Robinson was born in Coagh, County Tyrone, on Jul.9, 1872, the daughter of John Robinson of Coagh (a laborer) and Nancy (Dallas).

    9. Matthew Robinson, whom Sadie Kerr knew, was born in Coagh, County Tyrone, on Feb.8, 1875. Younger than Sarah Jane, he married a woman named Sarah. They lived in Coagh and had ten children. In the 1901 Census Matthew Robinson is listed as a 23-year-old agricultural labourer living in the townland of Mullaghtironey near Coagh. Also in the household were his wife, Sarah aged 25, and two children, Emma J. aged 2 and William John aged 1. The family belonged to the Church of Ireland. In the 1911 Census, 35-year-old farm labourer Matthew Robinson and his 35-year-old wife, Sarah Robinson, are living in house #8 in Mullaghtironey, Coagh, with their six children as indicated below. The children of Matthew and Sarah Robinson:
      1. Emma J. Robinson was born about 1899. In the 1911 Census, 12-year-old Emma Jane Robinson is listed as living in house #8 in Mullaghtironey, Coagh, with her parents.
      2. William John Robinson born about 1900. In the 1911 Census, 10-year-old William John Robinson is listed as living in house #8 in Mullaghtironey, Coagh, with his parents.
      3. Matthew Robinson. In the 1911 Census, 8-year-old Matthew Robinson is listed as living in house #8 in Mullaghtironey, Coagh, with his parents.
      4. Nancy Robinson. In the 1911 Census, Annie Robinson is listed as living in house #8 in Mullaghtironey, Coagh, with her parents.
      5. Margaret Robinson. Margaret does not appear in the 1911 Census and so may have died prior to the census.
      6. Thomas James Robinson. In the 1911 Census, 4-year-old Thomas James Robinson is listed as living in house #8 in Mullaghtironey, Coagh, with his parents.
      7. Samuel Robinson. In the 1911 Census, 2-year-old Samuel Robinson is listed as living in house #8 in Mullaghtironey, Coagh, with his parents.
      8. George Robinson married and had three sons and three daughters. One of the sons is G. Archibald Robinson who now lives at Hillcrest, 101 Springfield Road, Moneymore, Co. Derry BT45 7NN.
      9. Robert Robinson.
      10. Mary Robinson married Bertie Booth.

    10. Susan Luisa Robinson was born in Coagh, County Tyrone, on May 7, 1879, with Betty McClarnon present at the birth. Since oral family history does not remember her, Susan may have died young.

  2. Thomas Robison may have been a brother of John. On Apr.24, 1849, Thomas Robison, a bachelor labourer of full age from Drumard whose father was farmer Thomas Robison, was married in the Second Presbyterian Church of Cookstown to Mary Dunn, a full-age spinster from Culreaghy whose father was farmer Joseph Dunn.

Christopher E. Brennen