Robinson, Thomas R. (Thomas Richardson), 1761-1851

vol. 1, p. 35 ("Robinson family of Narragansett"). Thomas Richardson, born 1761; married Jemima Fish 1783; died 1851, aged 90 years. Mrs. Robinson died in 1846, aged 85 years. They left children: 1. Abigail, married Nathan C. Hoag.... 2. Rowland T., married Rachel Gilpin of New York.

Quaker Thomas Robinson left Newport, Rhode Island, to stake his claim in Vermont — a brand new state with a bright future — in 1792. His children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren lived and thrived on the land he purchased in Ferrisburgh for the next 170 years. The Robinsons remained productive and respected members of their community until 1961, when the site became a museum. Thomas Richardson (1761–1851) and Jemima Fish Robinson (1761–1846). Thomas and Jemima Robinson were raised in prosperous, well-established Quaker families in Newport and Portsmouth, Rhode Island. They moved their young family to the wilds of Vermont in 1792 and soon purchased the property that would be home to their descendants until 1961. Thomas established saw, grist, and fulling mills on the Lewis Creek a few miles away and in 1810 purchased some of the first Merino sheep to be imported from Spain, setting Rokeby on the path to distinction as one of the largest sheep farms in the region.

vol. 2, p. 102-103. Thomas Richardson Robinson, fifth child of Thomas Robinson, was born in Newport, Rhode Island, December 4, 1761. He belonged to the Society of Friends, and in 1791 removed from Rhode fsland to Vergennes, Vermont, then an incorporated city. He remained there about five years, and in 1796 purchased a tract of land in the town of Ferrisburgh, on what is now known as "the old stage road." Here he erected the Robinson homestead.... December 5, 1787, Mr. Robinson married Jemima Fish, who was born May 6, 1761, at Portsmouth, and two children were born to them. Abigail and Rowland. David Fish, father of Mrs. Robinson, was a Quaker and during the greater part of his life followed the occupation of a farmer. He volunteered during a smallpox epidemic at Newport to care for the diseased, after doctors and nurses had died, and while performing this duty contracted the malady, which caused his death. Thus his wife, Lydia (Dennis) Fish, was left with a large family of children to care for. She was a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Durfee) Dennis. Thomas R. Robinson died July 3, 1851, and his wife died November 3, 1846.

Vol. 7, p. 29. Robinson, Thomas Richardson, of Thomas and Sarah, Newport, [married] to Jemima Fish, of David and Lydia, Portsmouth, Dec. 5, 1787.