Robinson Family of Brandon and Hough on the Hill
The Robinson family had been farming in the Brandon/Hough area since at least the early 17th century. By the nineteenth century one branch of the family were based at Brandon Old Hall Farm. The Robinson family were usually referred to as graziers. This can imply cattle or sheep, but was probably the latter; for example in 1835 there was a newspaper report of Mr Robinson of Brandon selling his flock and chattels.
We’ve organised the family by generations, starting with the earliest record we have so far, a William Robinson born around 1700 and his wife Jane.
Another branch of the family moved to Brandon in the early 19th century and took over Brandon Lodge Farm. They are described in this section.
Generation 1
William and Jane Robinson lived in Brandon or Hough at the start of the 18th century. By 1755 he was certainly a farmer in Brandon. They had 6 children:
- Anne Robinson, born Dec 1728
- William Robinson, born May 1731 but died in Dec 1731
- Francis Robinson, born Jan 1732
- Mary Robinson, born Oct 1735
- Richard Robinson, born 1736
- John Robinson, born 1740
Generation 2
Francis Robinson (b 1732) married Anne Hole (born about 1740) in South Muskham, Nottinghamshire in May 1771. They lived in Brandon, where Francis was listed as a Grazier in 1788 and 1802. Their children, born in Brandon, were:
- William Robinson, born Mar 1772
- Elizabeth Robinson, born Apr 1774
- John Robinson, born Dec 1775
Generation 3
William Robinson was born about 1772 in Brandon, Lincs, the son of Francis and Anne. In 1802 (31 May) he married his cousin Elizabeth Hole in South Muskham, Notts. She’d been born in Askham, Notts in 1775, the daughter of Samuel Hole and Ann (nee Boot). Her father was the brother (possibly half brother) of William’s mother Anne (nee Hole).
William and Elizabeth settled in Brandon where, in 1807 and 1833, William was a grazier. They probably lived at Brandon Old Hall, however, after the marriage of their son William in 1841 the son was at the Old Hall, whilst William senior and Elizabeth lived with their unmarried younger son Frederick and daughter Ann Eliza at Church Lane Farm (200 acres).
William and Elizabeth both died in Brandon and were buried at Hough; Elizabeth in Aug 1851 and William in Dec 1856. Their children had all been born in Brandon:
- Ann Eliza Robinson, born 1803
- Jane Robinson, born 1804
- Francis Robinson, born 1806
- Mary Robinson, born 1808
- Edward Robinson, born 1810
- William Robinson, born about 1815
- John Robinson, born in 1817. He died in Jan 1822 in Brandon, aged 4.
- Frederick Robinson , born 1820
Elizabeth Robinson (b. 1774) married Henry Hole at South Muskham in Dec 1801, 6 months before Elizabeth’s younger brother William married Henry’s younger sister Elizabeth. They lived at Little Carlton, near South Muskham. A daughter, Elizabeth Robinson, was born in 1804. Elizabeth senior died in 1847 and Henry in 1849.
Generation 4 – Children of William and Elizabeth Robinson
Ann Eliza Robinson (b 1803) never married. In 1841 & 1851 she was helping her parents and Frederick run Church Lane Farm, Brandon. Between 1851 and 1858, both her parents died, Frederick married and William’s wife died leaving 5 children, so she moved back to help at Brandon Old Hall Farm. But in 1871 (age 67) she was lodging in Hough on the Hill with Richard Barker, a retired farmer, probably at Mill Mound Cottage, Hough. She died at Hough in Nov 1880 .
Jane Robinson (b. 1805) also never married. In 1841 she was living with her parents and Frederick and Ann at Church Lane Farm. By 1861 (we haven’t found her on the 1851 census) she’d return to Brandon to help her brother William at Old Hall Farm. In 1871 (age 64) she was lodging in Kirby in Ashfield, Notts with Mr & Wm & Caroline Cook. She died in Nottinghamshire the following year.
Francis Robinson (b 1806) married Matilda Butt, June 1842 in Risley, Derbyshire. She’d been born in Sandiacre, Derbyshire about 1813. In 1843 (when their daughter was christened in Hough) Francis was a farmer in Hough. In 1851 they were living in Spittlegate, Grantham and he was living on a pension. Their daughter (who ended up as a companion of a maternal cousin in Derbyshire) was:
- Elizabeth Matilda Robinson, born 1843
Mary Robinson (b. 1808) – we’re still following several leads about what happened to Mary.
Edward Robinson (b. 1810) – we haven’t found any other trace of Edward, he may have died in infancy.
William Robinson (b. 1815) married Ann Carr in 1841 in Birmingham. She been born about 1820 in Birmingham, the daughter of John Carr and Hannah Dunderdale. William and Ann seem to have taken over the tenancy of Brandon Old Hall and it’s 600 acre farm. Ann died aged 36 in Dec 1855. William’s sisters Anne Eliza and Jane then lived with him, presumably helping to look after the children; but by 1871 the sisters had left and he was farming 750 acres. In 1881 the farm had shrunk to 350 acres and his unmarried children Elizabeth and William (& 2 servants) were living with him. William died in Brandon aged 72 in Nov 1886. William and Ann’s children, all born in Brandon, were:
- Henry Robinson, born in 1842.
- Elizabeth Robinson, born about 1843.
- John Charles Robinson, born in 1844.
- William Robinson, born in 1846.
- Mary Alice Robinson, born about 1848.
- Frank Robinson, born in 1849.
- Jane Margaret Robinson, born in 1851.
- George Carr Robinson, born in 1853.
Frederick Robinson (b. 1820) seems to have run Church Lane Farm in Brandon. At the age of 38 he married Caroline Bradley in 1858 in Nottinghamshire. She was the daughter of William Bradley and Jane (nee Collingham) and was born in Cromwell, Notts in 1833. In 1861 they were still in Brandon but in 1871 they were living in Wilsford, Lincs, where Frederick was a gamekeeper. In the meantime, 2 of the children had been born in Stapleford, Lincs (near Newark). By 1881 Frederick and Caroline were living at 11 St Leonard’s Terrace, Newark with their 4 children. We’ve found no record of the family thereafter, so they may have emigrated.
• Philip Edwin Robinson, born in Jul 1860 in Brandon.
• Frank A Robinson, born 1864 in Stapleford, Lincs.
• Ellen J Robinson, born about 1866 in Stapleford.
• Kate Robinson, born about 1868 in Newark, Notts.
Generation 5a – Children of William Robinson & Ann Carr
Henry Robinson (b 1842) lived in Brandon until at least 1861 but by 1871 he was farming 150 acres in Hough on the Hill (another branch of the family already lived here) and his sister Mary was with him. After his marriage to Isabella Elizabeth Emma Smith in Jan 1872 in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire they moved to Cambridgeshire. Elizabeth had been born Dec 1842 in Middlesex.
In 1881 they were living in Hardwicke St, Newnham Croft, Grantchester, just outside Cambridge, where he was an assistant professor of chemistry. This picture of Henry and his family was taken in Scotland in 1883.
In 1891 they were in Chesterton (the other side of Cambridge) and he was a chemistry lecturer. Henry died in Cambridgeshire in 1894 but was buried in Hough. Later that year Isabella and the children emigrated to Canada. In 1901 she was in Knee Hill, Alberta. In 1906 she was in Calgary (with William and Anne).
Henry and Isabella had the following children:
- William Alexander Robinson was born 24 Jun 1873 in Hough On The Hill.
- Euphemia May Robinson was born May 1877 in Kilmalcolm, Renfrewshire.
- Anne Carr Robinson was born in 1880 in Grantchester, Cambs.
- Olive Beatie died in infancy at Hough Grange in 1886
Elizabeth Robinson (b. 1843) did not marry but stayed as a housekeeper with her parents at Brandon Old Hall. After her father’s death in 1886 she continued to live at the Old Hall with her brother William, until her death in 1899.
John Charles Robinson (b.1844) was living with his father at Brandon Old Hall up to 1871. During the 1870s he married Annie Cooper and they had 2 children, Frances and Annie (we can’t find any records of the marriage or children, but they may have been non-conformists, perhaps living in Frieston).
In 1880 the family emigrated to New Zealand, accompanied by John’s younger sister Mary Alice. They sailed from London on the sailing ship Dunbritton on 12 Mar 1880 (amongst a total of 56 passengers) and arrived at Port Chalmers, Otago on 13 Jun. They shared a (2nd class) cabin. On the final day of the journey, whilst the ship was off Otago Heads, another son was born. He was named Robert Chalmers Robinson, after the nearest port. He was christened in Port Chalmers on 9 Jul 1880 and was thereafter known by his middle name. The iron hulled barque Dunbritton had been be built in 1875 and was based in Glasgow. She sank of May Island in the Firth of Forth in 1906. John Charles died in Dunedin in 1916.
William Robinson (b.1846) lived with his father at Brandon Old Hall. After the latter’s death in 1886 he seems to have taken over the farm. The last record of him in Brandon is in an 1896 trade directory but by 1901 (age 54 and after his sister Elizabeth’s death) he was lodging with John & Eliza Barker in Manthorpe. He died in 1911.
Mary Alice Robinson (b.1848) had moved up to Hough with her brother Henry by 1871. In 1880 she emigrated to New Zealand with her brother John Charles and his family.
Frank Robinson (b.1849) was living in Brandon with his father in 1871, but he died in Edinburgh in Feb 1873. He may have been visiting his brother George, or perhaps he too was a student at the University. His body was brought back for burial at Hough.
Jane Margaret ‘Tottie’ Robinson (b. 1851) married Samuel Partridge in 1881. He was the son of William Partridge and Hannah Carr (we haven’t yet established a link between Hannah Carr and Jane’s mother Ann Carr, but they may have been sisters). Samuel Partridge was born about 1847 in Aston, Warwickshire, England. His father family were doctors but he became a sea captain. In 1881 Jane was boarding with the Partridge family in Meriden Cottage, Meriden, Warwickshire. In 1891 Frank was living with his uncle and aunt, William & Elizabeth Robinson, at the Old Hall, Brandon, whilst Samuel (master mariner) and Jane were boarding in Newcastle. Samuel died about 1897. In 1901 Jane was living in Caythorpe. Samuel and Jane had a son:
Frank William Partridge (b. Brandon, 1884) married Frances G H Burton in Newark in 1910. She’d been born in Allington about 1885, the daughter of Philip and Frances Burton. They may have lived at 15 Stanley St in Newark, though there was a Partridge in Hough parish in 1913. Frank served in the First World War, in the Lincolnshire Yeomanry (regimental number 16106), the Machine Gun Corps (56066) then the Corps of Hussars (79168). He was awarded the Victory and British War medals, but we haven’t been able to find his service record.
George Carr Robinson, (b. 1853) studied chemistry at Edinburgh University. In 1875 he was awarded the Hope Prize scholarship and in 1877 he was appointed fellow of the Royal Scottish Society. In 1878 he was working in the University’s chemistry department (a condition of the scholarship). He married a Scotswoman, Janet (Jessie) and they moved to Hull, where he became a professional chemist and a daughter Daisy was born in 1882. On the 1891 census the family were staying with his brother William at Brandon Old Hall; it’s not clear if they were living in Brandon, or just visiting. In 1901 they were living at 413 Anlaby Road, Hull and he was listed as a manufacturing chemist. However, the following year he was declared bankrupt. At the time they were living at 295 Spring Bank West and he was described as a chemist and analyst , and a chemical works manager. He died in Hull in 1906, but the probate wasn’t proved until 1912.
Generation 5b – Children of Frederic Robinson & Caroline Bradley
Philip Edwin Robinson (b. 1860 in Brandon) moved with his parents to Newark, where by 1881 he was an assistant checker on the Great North Railway. He died in Nottinghamshire in 1884.
Frank A Robinson (b. 1864 in Stapleford) also moved to Wilsford, then Newark. In 1881 he was a corn miller in Newark.
Ellen J Robinson (b. 1866 in Stapleford). In 1881 she was a dressmaker in Newark.
Kate Robinson (b. 1868 in Newark) was a 12 year old schoolgirl in Newark in 1881.
Generation 6 – Children of Henry Robinson and Isabella Elizabeth Emma Smith
