Historical gazetteer of Steuben County, New York : with memoirs and illustrations


Elisha Robinson was born

Notes for Elisha Robinson:
Elisha Robinson was born in Vermont, May 31, 1795. When a lad he came to this town in company with Joseph Phelps, and was one of the pioneers of the town [Dansville]. He took up a farm southeast of Beachtown--now owned by his son, L.K. Robinson--made a small clearing and built a house on the hill, south of the present residence of his son. This was built according to the architectural style of that day, of logs, with a stick chimney, and a fire pit at which, he used to say, the children could "sit upon the floor and let their feet hang off." After completing his house he started on foot for his former home in the Green Mountains, where on March 12, 1814, he married Lucinda Wood. Returning, he brought with him a yoke of steers belonging to Charles Olver, Sr., attached to a sled upon which rode his bride. When Mr. Robinson started for Vermont he had five dollars. With this he made the round trip and had one shilling left when he returned home. Soon after he made a logging bee, and the remaining shilling was invested in "O be joyful" [home brew]? with which to make glad the hearts of the merry yeomen. Some seasons the crops were in adequate to supply the settlers with food necessary to sustain life. Mr. Robinson often had to go below Dansville, a distance of fourteen or fifteen miles, to get labor in order to buy provisions for his family. On one occasion, while returning with a sack of rye flour on his back, with a companion, he entered a house where they found a cake of rye bread baking in the ashes, and the mistress absent. Their hunger was so great that they divided the cake between them, and left flour enough to make
another loaf. Mr. Robinson was twice married. His children by his first wife were Marcena, George, John, Mordecai, Matilda, Pheobe A., Hannah, William, Simeon, Sarah, Helen, Liscomb K., and James H. His second wife was Rachel Ellis, by whom he had two children, viz: Olive and Oscar.

was a soldier in War of 1812; a shoemaker & farmer.

4. Pages 278, 281, 284. "!BIOGRAPHY-RELIGION-BROTHER: Dansville town
settled by people from Addison & Rutland Counties, Vermont, including
Elisha and John Robinson. Elisha still lives on his first farm at age
83, and is father to L.K. Robinson. Joshua Healy, Elisha Robinson &
Charles Oliver left VT in 1815 to go to Dansville. Elisha Robinson a
trustee of Universalist Church in Rogersville, 1852-1866, and an early
member was John Robinson. Liscomb Robinson served in Civil War: Co F
141st NY inf, enlisted 11 Sep 1862."