| Notes |
- b. say 1745, d. 1788. He was in Orange Co., New York, at the birth of his son Philip about 1771, and the name of Philip Roblin appears in a list somewhat vaguely described as comprising "the individuals who held a town office of some kind ... from 1765 to 1775 ... in Cornwall, Bloominggrove and Monroe," printed in Eager's Outline History of Orange County (1847). The three towns referred to lie in the south-east part of the county, and Cornwall was the home of his father-in-law. The names of Philip Roblin and his presumed brother Owen Roblin appear side-by-side in an undated but contemporary list of refugees "bound for Nova Scotia," his family consisting (besides himself) of one woman and four children. Next, the names of Philip and Owen Roblin appear close together in an undated list, presumed to be from 1784, of Loyalists in "Quebec" (which then included present-day Ontario), Philip being called a carpenter, and his family consisting of one man (himself), one woman, one male child over 12, 2 males 6-12, and 2 females under 6 years (another daughter having evidently been born since the family's arrival in Nova Scotia). His Loyalist petition, presented at Montréal in 1788 (the year of his death), reads, in part:
Claimant says he was at Sorell [in Quebec] in the Fall [of] 1783. Is a native of America. Resided in Orange Co. [N.Y.].... Now lives at Bay of Quinty. Had 15 acres of land... and a grist mill and saw mill in Smith's Cove [recte Clove, in Monroe Township], Orange Co. They came to his wife on the death of her father, Garret Miller, left by will....
He came with Vanalstine to Upper Canada 1784 with 5 children (Provision List 1786)
Settled: 1784 North side of Hay Bay, Lennox-Addington, ON, Canada
John Roblin, who was the first of the Roblins to come into Canada, and at the time of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War was settled with his brother, Stephen, in New Jersey, was of English or Welsh descent. He tried to remain a non-participant in the war; but as he sat on his stoop one evening, a party of Continental scouts came by, and, without any provocation or previous warning of any kind, fired fourteen shots at the house. Having ransacked the premises, they demanded that they be told where the money was concealed; and in order to make them divulge the hiding place, John Roblin, although already wounded in the knee, was stripped nearly naked; and his brother, Stephen, was hung to a tree by his thumbs. The party, being baulked in their search, became grossly offensive, one man pointed his musket at John Roblin's wife (putting the point of the bayonet to her breast) and dared her to call George the Third of England, her King. She did dare; but just as the fellow was about to fire, a comrade with a finer sense of decency and manliness, knocked the musket aside.
John Roblin seems to have been taken prisoner, as he was placed in a rebel hospital, where his treatment was so neglected that he became a lifelong cripple. In his absence, his wife complained to General Washington of the treatment they had received; and the family were not again disturbed.
The Roblins were among the families who came to Canada in the Major VanAlstine party; and landed at Adolphustown on the 16th June, 1784. In the records of the first town meetings held in Adolphustown, dated 1794, appear the names of John Roblin, Owen Roblin, Sr., and Owen Roblin, Jr. Dr. Canniff states that Stephen Roblin also came with his brother John.
In the annual return of the inhabitants of Adolphustown taken in 1812, John Roblin's name appears but as there is no recurrence of it afterwards, or of that of his wife, it is evident that his death must have occurred about that time. His wife was Elizabeth Moore, who is mentioned in Playter's History of Methodism as being the second largest contributor to the Adolphustown Methodist Church, which was built, in 1772, on Paul Huff's land, and was the first Methodist church in Upper Canada. Dr. Canniff states that after her husband's death she removed to Sophiasburg, where she bought a hundred acres of land for twenty-five dollars (which she paid in weaving) and that she herself cut down the trees and built her own log cabin. She subsequently married John Canniff, the founder of Canniffton, and great uncle of the historian.
-----From Jerry Turner------
During the revolution Philip's role in the struggle within Orange County is not that clear. He is mentioned in the report of the Committee of Safety in the precinct of Cornwall, Orange Co, NY 1776. These people were later classed as the royalists and thence pro-British. He has also been described as hiding Tories on his farm and taking part in some robberies near his home. His brother William was hotly pursued by the rebels. It is believed Philip was part of the Barracks corps while in New York.
He signed on with Peter Ruttan's Company # 6 of Associated Loyalists in New York before the evacuation. In the original list of 1783 there were 86 persons listed with Captain Peter Ruttan but eventually only 791 made it up river with Major Van Alstine. Some never even left New York.
Over wintered with other loyalists at winter quarters in Sorel, Quebec with wife, 1 son over 12 (john), 2 sons over 6 and 2 daughters under 6. They came up river in the spring of 1784. Each family had been provided with a tent, some clothing, implements and tools and a cow and were to receive help from the government for three years. A village of tents was set up at Adolphustown and during the summer lots were drawn to exchange for a deed of land. The brothers Philip and Owen drew part of lots 24-25, Con 4. Adolphustown
They were located about two miles west of Paul Huff's house where the meetings on Hay Bay were held but across the bay on the tip of land which came to be called Casey's Point. In his claim to British Government in Feb of 1788, he states that his old home was at Smith's Cove, Orange County, New York; and that here he had 15 acres of which 1/10 of an acre had a grist and saw mill on it. This property came to his wife Elizabeth Miller from her father Garret Miller and had been in Phillip's possession for 6 months. Philip also had a lease on 150 acres for 6 years from Philip Livingstone on which he had made improvements. He had 4 horses, 1yoke of oxen, 6 cows and 15 sheep with 35 bee hives. Philip produced a Certificate of Sequestration that Commissioner Elihi Marven had seized the property and chattel of the claimant Philip Roblin. In the British cause he was forced to leave all this property and chattels when he fled, to the wilderness of Canada. Philip Roblin produced an affidavit sworn before Peter Van Alstine at the Bay of Quinte by Nicolas Wessels
of the amount of the claimant's property.
- source- Loral Wanamaker papers, page 82
Smith's clove (cleft) is in town of Monroe about 1 mile from pioneer museum.
Orange county Map on file Lost property after revolution - "wife's inheritance"
Loyalist claim: Roblin, Philip, Orange co. NY Memorial received 15 April 1786. claim 15 acres. Share of profits from grist and sawmill; 150 acres of leased land etc.
Evidences: Deposition Feb 1787 orange Co. by Elihir Marvin that claimant was near
neighbour who was taken to court as loyalist and bound over when despondent was in charge of bench. This is interesting in that it suggests he went back to USA to seek disposition - only conjecture.
The Commissioners of Sequestration in Orange County were: John Coe, Gilbert Cooper, Gysbert Kuyper, Elihu Marvin, Isaac Nicoll, John Terneur and Jesse Woodhull. They made lists of the personal Estates sold, and lists of those who hired farms; paid for inventories of Estates, and for bringing Horses, Grain &c to them; and gathered Forage for the Public Magazine at King's Ferry. The Claimants against Confiscated Estates were paid in Certificates which, as late as 1791 were received by the County Treasurer in payment of " Specie Arrears of Taxes". The Sales of the Commissioners reached a total of £6083.8.8., from January, 1778 to March, 1778.
Deposition 3 Jan 1788 Adolphustown by Nicholas Wessels that he knew claimant resided at Smith's clove in Orange Co.and inherited property as legatee to wife Deposition 21 Jan 1788 Kingston by George Galloway that claimant had leased farm (A013/15/248-251) Family is also listed in the Haldimand papers with 1 man, 1 woman, 1 son above 12, 2 sonsbetween 6 and 12, 2 daughters under 6, 1 son under 6 for a total of 7 - Philip Roblin between1783 and before may/june 1784
His sons Philip and Owen were recommended for 200 acres each as UE loyalists - UPPER CANADA LAND BOOK C JULY 1797
Upper Canada Land Book C
1st July, 1797 - 31st July, 1797 Philip Roblin's boys applied for land and received same Roblin, John - Praying for lands as a loyalist. Recommended for 200 acres as a U.E. Loyalist.
Roblin, Philip & Owen - Praying for lands as loyalists. Recommended for 200 acres each as U.E. Loyalists.
Playter's History of Methodism (1862) throws some light on the family of Philip Roblin. Referring to the formation of the first Methodist class in Canada at Paul Huff's, in Adolphustown, it states that "Two miles west of Paul Huff's, where the meetings on the Hay Bay were held, lived a widow with her four sons and four daughters. Philip Roblin, her husband, died in 1788. The house was larger than ordinary, having two log houses joined together. With the best accommodation, and well inclined to the new preacher, the Roblins lodged him and took care of his clothes." Two years later, in 1792, the Hay Bay Church, the first Methodist Church in Canada, which is still standing, was built. In a list of subscribers to the cost of construction is found the name of Elizabeth Roblin. She subscribed 12.0.0. A reference to her is as follows: "Elizabeth Roblins is the widow already mentioned. She and her husband came into Canada about the end of the war. They entered by way of Lake Champlain, (as did great numbers of the congrants) passed up the Richolieu river, and wintered at Sorel, -living on rations allowed by the Government. In the spring, the family passed up the St. Lawrence, in batteaux, or flat bottomed boats, came to the Bay of Qunite, coasted the numerous bays and inlets, and finally took possession of land on the Hay bay. It is worth of remark that the wintering of the emigrants in Lower Canada, while a great convenience to them, resulted in an evil to Upper Canada which is still increasing, and can never be got rid of. The French farmers grew thistles on their land, as now. The emigrants filled their beds with the straw. The beds were carried to the different farms in Upper Canada in the batteaux. The thistle seeds found their way to the land, and the land has never been free from thistles since. The subscription of the widow was very liberal; indeed, the Roblins of the Bay of Quinte have always been hospitable and liberal minded people."
Philip appears to have been born and lived in Smith's Clove, NY. He married Elizabeth Miller, probably also of Smith's Clove, in about 1772. He is on the Cornwall precinct register as having signed the 'Committee of Safety and Observation' in 1775 but appears to have changed his views and remained loyal to the crown. He is recorded as having taken part in a raid of rebels (i.e., Loyalists) on a household in 1782 that resulted in some physical harm to the raided family and notoriety for the raiders. Philip and his wife Elizabeth and five children likely left Smith's Clove for Montreal in the fall of 1783 and wintered in Sorel with their children before moving on to the Bay of Quinte in 1874 where the family settled on the point north of Hay Bay (several colourful accounts are appended). Philip seems to have died relatively young, at 38, of unrecorded causes and, in light of the date, is probably buried in the Adophustown burying ground.
Wannamaker claims that Philip and Elizabeth operated a mill (presumably flour and/or timber) in Smith's Clove, a mill that came into their possession upon the death of Elizabeth's father Garrett, only six months prior to their departure for Canada. Also according to Wannamaker, this mill and land became forfeit when they left for Canada. The location of this mill is somewhat dependent upon the location of Smith's Clove, which never described a town but is more likely descriptive of a valley running from about Newburgh/Cornwall on the Hudson River to Sloatsburg/Suffern on the New York/New Jersey border. Wannamaker became convinced that Smith's Clove is the current town of Monroe (NY).
My visit to Monroe in July 2001 left me with a somewhat different view than Wannamaker. It seems clear that the Town of Monroe was a creation of David Smith who purchased land, that encompasses the current town, in 1741 from Philip Livingston. He then formed a small lake by damning the Ramapo River and built a gristmill at its outlet (the house of Smith still exists in 2001). It seems extraordinarily unlikely that two mills would have existed at the same place at the same time. That Phillip, according to himself, was leasing land from Philip Livingston is not, per se, remarkable as Livingston was one of the Cheesecock Patentees of 1738 and may well have owned substantial land in the Clove. If Philip had a mill, it was not likely in Monroe.
A more likely location is in the general area about midway between the current towns of Monroe and Cornwall-on-Hudson and mid-way on a direct line between Goshen and Fort Montgomery (on the Hudson). Indeed this area is actually marked as 'The Clove' in the 1779 map on page 17 of the book on the Village of Monroe.
I a visit to the Adophustown Museum (at the Park) in 2002, revealed that only in the spring of 2002 was Philip and Elizabeth's original house on the point taken down to make way for construction of a new house on the same 'footprint' near the water. While modified and added to several times over the years, the original house has been preserved 'in a barn' in PE county for future re-construction. [2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13]
- (Research):Stephen Roblin says he was born in New Jersey. Philip Roblin says he is a "native" of America to me this says they were born in the US. We know that Philip came to Orange County from Bergen County. I do not believe that any of them were born in either England or Wales. I have seen nothing that supports that. Our earliest Roblin was in America by 1722 and owned land in PA. He lost his land due to unpaid taxes and disappears by 1727. I believe this Owen Roblin is either the father or grandfather of our Roblin group. There is a baptism in New Jersey of a Catherina Roblin Jun 5, 1741 by Owen and Rebecca Roblin.....this could be the same Owen that was in PA or it could be a son. In addition there is a Peter Roblin who family say came from PA to South Carolina and received a land grant there in 1741. DNA testing about 2 yrs ago indicate that this Peter Roblins is related to the families of both Philip Roblin and Owen Roblin.....though his name has changed over the years to Robling. The land he held in SC was named Roblyn's Neck. I believe that the Owen Roblin of PA and Peter Roblin are related and could be brothers.
Petition for land - Stephen Roblin June 16, 1797...wherein he said he was born in state of New Jersey. Granted 300 acres 24June 1797.
In his claim he says "he was at Sorell in the Fall of '83. Is a native of America Resided in Orange Co. .....
There is a family in Wales that interests me greatly as it has the names of our New Jersey/New York Roblins and the names of Peters family.....his son names his son Lewis, which is a unique name for the Roblin family.
Philip ROBLIN
" WILL: 1663, East walton, Pembroke, Wales
Family 1 : ELIZABETH
1. Alice ROBLIN
2. Lewis ROBLIN
3. Penelope ROBLIN
4. John ROBLIN
5. Henry ROBLIN
6. Peter ROBLIN
7. George ROBLIN
8. Owen ROBLIN
9. Elizabeth ROBLIN
Ann who is suppose to have married Nicholas Wessels was suppose to have been a sister to John and Stephen who came from New Jersey. We have never had any proof that she actually existed. We do know that Nicholas was married to Ann Smith, that we have proof of. So though I have kept Ann Roblin as Nicholas's first wife, there is no proof.
I believe there is another sister for Stephen, John and Ann. This is based on the treason charged against Stephen....he is identified in those charges as "Stephen of Harrington Twp, Bergen" May 1783 Maria Roblin of Harrington Twp married Cornelius J. Westervelt. Because they both lived in the same twp and the name Roblin is not common I believe they are siblings. There is also a Catherine Roblin who married Yellis/Giles Mandeville abt 1795 in Wantgo, Sussex Co but I have no idea of how she fits into this. And there is an Abraham Roblin b. 1764 who lived in New York and died Sept 29, 1820, who had a son Edward. Abraham died while in the military when a bridge collapsed in Westmoreland, NH.AS you probably know, Edward the brother of Owen and Philip seems to disappear, no one has traced him. I find it very interesting that Abraham names a son Edward. The story goes that Edward went to Nova Scotia, but I believe that is incorrect. Owen and Philip are on a list of settlers going to Nova Scotia but went to Ontario instead and I think that is where that story comes from. Edward is not on that list with them.
Re Edward, you ask where he is found there are several mentions of him in Orange County records, He was a known member of the Claudius Smith gang and there is an amusing story of him being jailed and talking the jailors daughter into helping him escape. If you simply google Edward Roblin of Orange County New York you will come up with a whole list of articles about him. He has been considered the "bandit" of the Roblin family but Philip too was arrested for his activities, people do not seem to know that.
Sept 1782 List of Refugess bound for Nova Scotia (Loyalists in the American Revolution, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, Volume III, Refugees - pg 392)
Philip Roblin 1-1-4
Owin Roblin 1-1-4
Richard Smith 1-1-1 (son of Claudius Smith)
George Galloway 1-1-2 (witness for Philip Roblin's land petition)
I am a Wessels descendant, my grandmothers mother was a Wessels. Nicholas Wessels was suppose to have married Ann Roblin. Nicholas's sister, Sarah married John Roblin. Until recently we believed that Sarah died in 1817 or 1821 (can't remember) this is incorrect. It comes from the belief that Sarah left her property in PE Co to Stephen Wessels, this also is incorrect. In 1817 (I think it was registered 1821) she sold the property to Stephen. Sarah went on to remarry and had another child, she did not die until 1840. After her death her husband and her son John Roblin tried to reclaim the property she had sold, which by that time was in the hands of Owen Wessels who helped him develop the property and build a church on it. They were not successful and John Jr died before the case was finished.
It is also believed that Owen Roblin Jr and Elizabeth Roblin were the children of John Roblin and Sarah Wessels, This too is incorrect, I wrote a proof that Owen Roblin was the son of Owen Roblin Sr years ago and I think that is accepted at this point. The fact that Elizabeth is not a child of John and Sarah has not been as widely shared and I am not sure how many people know about this. I have a proof for that as well....the basic fact is that Sarah was not old enough to have been Elizabeth's mother.....there are other things as well that indicate that Elizabeth is the "missing" 4th child of Owen Roblin Sr who came to Ontario with 4 children, two over the age of 10 and 2 under the age of 10. If you have any interest in this I can share that with you.
Well, this has not proved to be such a "quick" response but that is it in a nutshell. I do not support the birth of any of our Roblin's as being from England or Wales. I do believe that they came from Wales but that the parents of our Roblin were here before the birth of our oldest known Ontario settlers.
Will take a look at your poster later, I am presently working on the Stickle family and am in the process of selling my house and arranging to move out of the US.
You say...Based on British records that have recently come online, it does seem more and more like Owen, Ann, Philip, John & Stephen were all siblings and that their father was Philip (bef.1725-aft.1769) with Owen's mother being Grace Meredith, possibly dying in childbirth and the other four's mother Anne Meredith (probably Grace's sister, maybe a twin). Have you info that would put this interpretation into question?
I would be VERY interested in what records you refer to,....I know another Roblin researcher has put together a theory that our Roblins were born in England but I think it is wrong and that he is manipulating what information he has to make it fit his theory and have told him as much and have not heard back from him again.
I have about ten online trees on Ancestry....and do have some of my Roblin information there: 1) Owen Roblin Tree..http://person.ancestry.com/tree/63886267/person/44111206480/facts and 2) John Roblin and Sarah Wessels Tree http://person.ancestry.com/tree/71033516/person/42227975890/facts
Regards,
Linda Herman:
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- 1788
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