Category: Robbins

Daniel Robins, husband of Sarah Blatchley

This article was first published on my RootsWeb site and is republished here, lightly edited, on 15 September 2026. If you have information to add or correct, please get in touch.

Details about Daniel Robins, who married Sarah Blatchley, are sparse. Much of the information that follows is speculation based on a few facts, which I derived from a lot of research. Known sources are cited in the footnotes.

Daniel Robins was likely born between 1730 and 1740 in New Jersey. Although the exact location of his birth is unknown, it is likely to be either Morris County or Hunterdon County. Daniel died before 1793.1 Likely locations are Ontario, Canada, or New Jersey, or somewhere between them.

He married Sarah Blatchley about 1757 in New Jersey. She was born on 23 November 1739 in New Jersey.2 She was the daughter of Ebenezer Blatchley and Hannah Miller. Sarah died sometime between 2 April 1814 and 6 January 1835, likely in Thorold, Lincoln County, Ontario.3

The research of the Blatchley family recorded in History of Medicine in New Jersey: And of Its Medical Men, from the Settlement of the Province to A.D. 1800 states that Sarah Blatchley had a sister, Mary Blatchley, and that Mary was the wife of Joshua Robins.4 The speculation is that Daniel and Joshua were brothers. I believe they were the sons of Joshua Robins of Hunterdon, Morris, and Sussex Counties, New Jersey.

1773: Oxford Township, Sussex County

Daniel is difficult to find in any New Jersey records. However, in July 1773, I believe he lived in Oxford Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. He appears in this tax list:5

“131 acres Dainnel Robins” — July 1773 Oxford Township, Sussex County tax list.

I have not found any land or deed records that correspond to this property. So I don’t know when or how he came to own it, nor can I find when the ownership went to someone else.

It is important to note that the location of the property changed county boundaries several times in a 125-year period. Oxford Township was part of Hardwick Township, and both townships were in the following counties in the years shown:

  • Burlington County, 1699–1714
  • Hunterdon County, 1714–1739
  • Morris County, 1739–1753
  • Sussex County, 1753
  • Warren County, 1824

1796: Sarah’s petition to the Crown

By 1793, Daniel had died, and Sarah Robins, with “3 sons and 3 daughters,” went to Ontario, Canada.6 On 6 May 1796, Sarah petitioned the British Crown for land:7

Upper Canada Land Petitions, Volume 423, Microfilm reel C-2740, Petition R2/47

To his Excellency John Graves Simcoe, Esquire Lt. Gov and commander in Chief of the Province of Upper Canada In Council

The Petition of Sarah Robins of the Township of Thorold widow who came into the Province three years ago [1793] with three sons and three daughters and has never received any Land. Respectfully shews, That your petitioner is desirous to settle on the lands of the Crown in this Province being in a condition to cultivate and improve the same. That she is ready to take the usual oaths and subscribe the declaration that she professes the Christian religion and obedience to the laws and has lived inoffesively in the conuntry which she has left. Prays your Excellency would be pleased to grant her Four Hundred acres of land upon the terms and conditions expressed in your Excellency’s proclamation bearing date of 7th day of February 1792 or such other quantity of land as to your Excellency in your wisdom may think meet. And your petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray.

Niagara 6 May 1796

Recommended for 200 acres if not given before. Entered in Land Book B, page 90.

Received July 12 1796. Confirmed 8 October 1796 in Land Book B page 29

A warrant issued by William Dickson Esq 12 June 1806. Patent fee paid see within.

From this document, we know that she had at least six children. However, I believe she had at least two other sons who remained in Sussex County, New Jersey.

The two sons who stayed in New Jersey

Both of these men were on a militia list in Oxford Township, Sussex County, in 1793.8 They were:

MILLER ROBINS, born on 6 July 1758 in Oxford Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. He married ?. He served in the U.S. military during the Revolutionary War and applied for a pension. He died between 1845 and 1853 in Lawrence County, Ohio.9

ABSOLOM ROBINS, born between 1760 and 1770. He died after 1800, probably around Hope, New Jersey. He married ELEN ?.10

The three sons and three daughters who went to Ontario

As for the “3 sons and 3 daughters” who went with her to Ontario, I believe they were:

Joshua Robins

Born between 1759 and 1765. He died in August 1799 in Thorold Township, Lincoln County, Ontario. One Ontario land record about this Joshua was full of very helpful information, including proof that John Clark (my ancestor) was the brother-in-law of Joshua, Daniel, and Blatchley Robins.11 A transcription follows:

Upper Canada Land Petitions, R [misc] 1–12 1797 445A, microfilm C-2804; RG1, L3, Vol 445a, R Bundle Misc, No. 10

To the Honourable the Governor in Council

The Petition of Bleaxy Robins Humbly sheweth

that your Petitioner’s Brother Joshua Robins next immediately older than your petitioner died in August last possessed of Lots no 190 and 191 in the Township of Thorold County of Lincoln as pr. Land Board Certificate Herewith—

That your Petitioner [esteeming?] himself lawful heir to this Land Now prays to transfer his Rights thereunto unto his Brother Daniel Robins as he firmly believes this was the wish & intent of his deceased Brother

& he prays your Honors to [?] that the deed may issue in the name of the said Daniel Robins—

And your Petitioner as in duly bound will ever pray.

Blachly Robins

Personaly appeared before one Robert Hamilton Esq a Justice of the Peace for the District of Niagara John Clark the Brother in Law to the above Blachly Robins who on oath declared that the said Blachly Robins was the Brother of the deceased Joshua Robins & next to him in decent — And that he was also persent when his said Brother in Law signed the forgoing Petition to Relingquish his Right of succession on favor of their younger Brother Daniel Robins.

his X mark John Clark

Sworn before me at Queenston Feb 28 1800 — Rbt Hamilton JP

Petition of Blachly Robins to the Honble the Governor [?]

[?] office 15 July 1802 — The certificate is to be returned to the Petitioner who is referred to the Commis. By Order of the Gov. James Green

[?] 14 Dec 1802 — To [?] over until it appears who was the Heir of Joshua Robins & for proof that he died intestate.

Mary Robins

Born between 1770 and 1780. She died after 15 July 1822 in Thorold, Lincoln County, Ontario.12 She married JOHN CLARK before August 1794, probably in New Jersey. He was born between 1760 and 1773 (he was likely 21 or older in 1794); he made a settler’s petition on the same day as his brothers-in-law Joshua Robins and Blatchley Robins.13 He died on 4 December 1812 in Ontario, Canada.14

Anna Robins

(This is a tenuous assumption. See the note that follows.) Born between 1770 and 1780. She died after 1836.15 She married JOB STROWBRIDGE. He was born about 1772 in New York. He died on 12 August 1836 in Thorold, Lincoln County, Ontario.16

Note: I have no concrete evidence that Ann (or Ana), wife of Job Strowbridge, is a sister to my ancestor Mary Robins. However, she gave testimony in the “Heir and Devisee” case for John Clark Jr., son of John Clark and Mary Robins, in which she said she knew John Clark before his marriage to Mary and that she was at the birth of John Clark Jr.17 I’m certain that John and Mary were married before they went to Ontario. So whoever Ann Strowbridge is, she would have had to know the couple before they married and before they moved to Ontario, and then moved to Ontario at the same time they did and stayed in close contact. These facts made her a likely candidate for the second daughter of the three who came with Sarah Robins to Ontario.

A transcription of that record follows. This is a lengthy file; the excerpt below is only the portion that provides the testimony of Anna Strowbridge.

1822 June–July. Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files, Case File Number 40-0536

…

And the said Ann Strowbridge as aforesaid being duly Sworn on Oath Depseth and saith that she is well acquainted with John Clark of the Township of Thorold in the District of Niagara Province of Upper Canada Farmer who Claims Lots Nos. 211 and 212 in the Township of Thorold aforesaid. That she Deposeth was present at his birth and hath been acquainted with him since a child until this day. And also swears that she knew John Clark late of Thorold deceased the Father of the present Claimant John Clark. And was acquainted with him before he was married and knew him well as a [? neighbor] until his death. And Deponent also says that she ? believes John Clark as aforesaid deceased and Father of John Clark no Claimant Died without having made any last Will and Testament. And that said John Clark the new Claimant is of the age twenty five years and is the eldest son and heir at law of his said deceased Father John Clark as aforesaid And further Deponent saith not.

Sworn before me at Niagara this 15th June 1822. Ralfe Clench, Commissioner, District of Niagara

[signed] Ann (her X mark) Strowbridge

…

Blatchley Loyd Robins

Born between 1760 and 1770. He died about July 1814 in Thorold, Lincoln County, Ontario.18 He married ANNA HANNAH (unknown maiden name). She died after 1817.19 He owned two lots, 158 and 194, in Thorold Township, Lincoln County, Ontario, that he received from the Crown.20 His will was written in 1814 but it wasn’t recorded until 1863.21

Sarah Robins

Born about 1775 in New Jersey. She died before 1851, likely in Windham, Norfolk County, Ontario. She married PETER BOUGHNER.22 He was born in 1770 in New Jersey. He likely died in Windham, Norfolk County, Ontario.

Daniel Robins

Born in 1777 in New Jersey.23, 24 He died after 1851 in Gainsborough, Lincoln County, Ontario. He married MARY ? before 1805 in Ontario. She died before 1851 in Gainsborough, Ontario. He received land from the Crown that was located in Wainfleet.25

The two Daniel Robinses of Gainsborough

There were two men named Daniel Robins who lived in Gainsborough Township, and they are frequently confused.

The Daniel son of Sarah Robins lived on “broken front” lot 7, concession 1 of Gainsborough.26

The other Daniel was born in New Jersey in 1765 and owned lots 11 and 12 in concession 2 of Gainsborough.27 He received those lots from the Crown. He had a brother Stephen and a sister Abigail, both of whom also lived in Ontario.28 Their remaining brother, Isaac, remained in Sussex County and later moved to Columbia County, Pennsylvania.29 These siblings were the children of Daniel Robins of Knowlton, Sussex County, New Jersey (who died there in 1802), and his wife Anne (maiden name unknown).30

Sarah’s land in Thorold

The land that Sarah received from the Crown was lots 192 and 193 in Thorold Township, Lincoln County, Ontario.

In 1806, the Thorold township papers documented that Sarah received her certificate of residence:31

1806. Thorold Township papers, pg. 000461

Sarah Robins — 13 June 1806 — Widow, lots 192 & 193 — Order in Council Oct 8 1796 — Survey paid, fiat #840 — Description 11086 — 13 June 1806 — Certificate of Residence 23 May 1805 — Book of letters No. 15, p. 2322

pg. 000464 — Signed letter stating Sarah had lived on the lots for 8 years: James Ryan, Blackley Robins, Fanny ?, Rebecky ?, Edward Topham, Aaron Dennis

1807: fifteen acres to John Clark

In 1807, she sold 15 acres of the south end of lot 193 to John Clark (Senior).32 The deed was not recorded until 1831; deed No. 1351.

Sarah Robins to John Clark deed, No. 1351, Bargain and Sale. Recorded the 22nd day of August 1831 at 9 o’clock, and on the oath of Daniel Robins. Signed Johnson Stewart, Dep Regr, for John Lyons, Register.

Upper Canada, Niagara District, To wit: Daniel Robins of the Township of Gainsborough in the said District yeoman ?——— oath saith that the said John Clark eldest son and heir at law to the late John Clark the grantee in the within named sign and seal the Memorial for the said Registry thereof and Sarah Robins the grantor sign and seal (and as her act and deed deliver said deed to which Memorial relate to the purposes therein mentioned and further trust he this Deponent is a subscribing witness to both Instruments. I hereby certify that I have administred the foregoing oath of proof to the above named Daniel Robins twenty second day of August 1831 at Niagara in said District.

Johnson Stewart, Dep Regr, for John Lyons, Register

A Memorial to be Registered pursuant to the Statute in each case made and provided of an Indenture of Bargain and Sale and bearing date the ninth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seven (1807) between Sarah Robins of the Township of Thorold County of Lincoln and Niagara District of the Province of Upper Canada widow of the first part and John Clark of the township county district and province aforesaid yeoman of the other part whereby it is witnessed that the said Sarah in consideration of the sum of fourteen (14) pounds lawful money of the said Province to her by the said John Clark in hand well and truly paid at or before the sealing and delivery thereof, the receipt thereof acknowledged hath granted, bargained, sold, aliened, released, conveyed and confirmed unto the said John his heirs and assigns all that certain tract or parcel of land containing by ?admeasurement fifteen acres situate in the Township, County and Province aforesaid which said fifteen acres of land were granted by ?Setters patent under the great seal of the said Province to the said Sarah Robins being in the South end of lot number one hundred and ninety three in the Township of Thorold which tract of land is described or otherwise known as follows, that is to say, Beginning at the South East angle of lot number one hundred and ninety three then North seven and a half chains then West twenty chains then South seven and a half chains then East twenty chains to the Beginning Together with all houses out houses, ?edices, buildings, orchards, gardens, woods, underwoods, ways, paths, waters, water courses, easements, profits, commodities, advantages, ?emoluments, and hereditaments, whatsoever to the said part or parcel of land and premises belonging or in any wise belonging or which to or with the same now or at any time heretofore have been held, used, occupied, accepted, reputed, or taken or known as part of a parcel or number thereof or of any part thereof and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents issues and profits, of all and singular the said thereby bargained and sold premises and every part and parcel thereof with the appurtenances and all the estate rights title interest property possession claim, challenge and demand whatsoever either in law or equity of her the said Sarah in and to all and singular the said premises and every part and parcel thereof.

TO Have and To Hold, all and singular the said tract or parcel of land hereditaments, and premises and with the appurtenances unto the said John his heirs and assigns to the only property use and behoof of the said John his heirs and assigns forever and to and for no other use intent or purpose whatsoever which said Indenture is witnessed by Caleb Hopkins late of the Township of Thorold in the Niagara District schoolmaster, Blachley Robins late of the same place deceased yeoman, and Daniel Robins of Gainsborough in the said district of Niagara yeoman and this Memorial thereof is hereby required to be Registered by me John Clark – son and heir at law the ?——— grantee herein named. As Witness m hand and ?seal as ?———ston, this 17th day of August 1831

Signed John Clark (Seal)

Signed and seald in the presence: ?Chas ? Leonard, Daniel Robins

1814: the Overholt hundred acres

In 1814, Sarah received 100 acres from Abraham Overholt, and on the same day she sold it to her son Daniel Robins. These deeds weren’t recorded until 1852 and 1835, and Sarah had passed away before 1835.33

1814 Apr 2, #497, Vol B, page 80. Bargain and Sale. Abraham Overhold and Elizabeth wife to Sarah Robins, 100 acres. (This deed was not recorded until 1852 Nov 7.)

1814 April 2, #10113. Bargain and Sale. Sarah Robins to Daniel Robins.

A Memorial to be registered pursuant to the Statute in such case made and provided of a Deed bearing date the second day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fourteen & Whereby Sarah Robins late of the Township of Thorold in the county of Lincoln in the District of Niagara in the Province of Upper Canada Widow deceased for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred pounds lawful money of the Province afsaid to her in hand paid by Daniel Robins of the Township of Thorold county District and Province aforesaid Yeoman hath given and granted unto the said Daniel Robins his heirs and assigns forever, all that parcel tract of land situate in the Township of Thorold in the County and District aforesaid containing by admeasurement One hundred Acres be the same more or less number 161 in the said Township of Thorold.

Together with all wood and waters there on lying and being under the reservations limitations and conditions there in after expressed which said One hundred acres are butted and bounded on the West side of Joshua Robins lots or may be otherwise known as follows that is to say commencing at the North East angle of the side respectively then running South fifty chains thence West twenty chains thenc North fifty chains and thence East twenty chains to the place of beginning in each line be teh same more or less.

To Have and To Hold all and singular the above granted premises and every parcel thereof with the appurtances unto the said Daniel Robins his heirs and ssigns forever which said Deed is witnessed by Abraham Overholt of the Township of Pelham Yeoman, Isaac Overholt of the Township of Thorold Yeoman and John Clark of the same place Yeoman all of the District of Niagara And this Memorial thereof is hereby required to be registered by me the said Grantee therein named Witness my hand and seal this sixth day of January in the year of our Lord 1835.

Signed and Sealed in presence of John Clark, Thomas Jennings

(signed) Daniel Robins

John Clark of the Township of Thorold in said District yeoman make an oath and saith that he saw the within named Sarah Robins the Grantor (now deceased) equate? and deliver forth purposes therein mentioned the Deed ? which be annexed is a Memorial also saw the within named Daniel Robins Grantee sign and sela the said annexed Memorial for the Registry thereof and further that he this Deponent is a subscribing witness to both Instruments. I hereby certify that I have administered the foregoing oath of proof to the said John Clark the Sixth day of January 1835. (signed) Thomas Jennings, Register for John Lyons. (signed) John Clark

Source citations

  1. Sarah Robins Petition. Upper Canada Land Petitions, Volume 423, Microfilm reel C-2740, Petition R2/47. Sarah Robins was a widow when she went to Ontario in 1793. ↩
  2. Ebenezer Blatchley family. History of medicine in New Jersey: and of its medical men, from the settlement of the province to A.D. 1800. Wickes, S., & Dickinson, J. (1879). Newark: M.R. Dennis, p. 152. ↩
  3. Sarah Robins to Daniel Robins deed. Ontario Land records v.P-Q nos. 9790-10811, 1834-1836, Memorial #10113, 1814 Apr 2. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 0170157. ↩
  4. Ebenezer Blatchley family. History of medicine in New Jersey: and of its medical men, from the settlement of the province to A.D. 1800. Wickes, S., & Dickinson, J. (1879). Newark: M.R. Dennis, p. 152. ↩
  5. Oxford twp., Sussex Co., New Jersey, July 1773 tax list. Tax ratables, Sussex Co., 1773-1822. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 865491. ↩
  6. Sarah Robins Petition. Upper Canada Land Petitions, Volume 423, Microfilm reel C-2740, Petition R2/47. Sarah Robins went to Ontario in 1793 with 3 sons and 3 daughters. ↩
  7. Ibid. ↩
  8. #56 Absolm Robins and #58 Miller Robins, listed in the “from Township of Oxford” section of page 281. New Jersey in 1793: An Abstract and Index to the 1793 Militia Census of the State of New Jersey, page 281. ↩
  9. Miller Robins Revolutionary War pension application. Veteran’s name: Miller Robbens; state: New Jersey; pension number R. 8,858; additional name: Miller Robins; GS film number 972054; affiliate publication number M804; digital folder number 004168361; image number 00020; affiliate identifier 14133312. “United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSZ1-3ZF: 11 December 2014), Miller Robins, pension number R. 8,858, service New Jersey; from “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” database and images, Fold3.com; citing NARA microfilm publication M804 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1974); FHL microfilm 972,054. ↩
  10. Absolom’s wife’s name was on their daughter Sarah’s marriage record when she married Israel Swayze. New Jersey, Marriages, 1678-1985: Israel Swayze and Sarah Curlis, married 25 Aug 1856 at Hope, Warren, New Jersey; groom’s father Joshua Swayze, groom’s mother Mary; bride’s father Absolum Robins, bride’s mother Elen. Indexing project (batch) number M02602-8; source film number 584584. “New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZG8-1P9: 12 December 2014); citing 584,584. ↩
  11. “Blexley” Robins petition for brother Joshua Robins, deceased. Upper Canada Land Petitions RG1, L3, Vol 445a, R Bundle Misc, No. 10. Library and Archives Canada, microform digitization. ↩
  12. 1822: gave deposition in her son John Clark Jr.’s heir and devisee case. John Clark (Jr.), Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files, Case File Number 40-0536. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 1314010. ↩
  13. John Clerk petition. Upper Canada Land Records, Assignments. Record group MF MS 81, Volume 050, page 28. ↩
  14. Mary Clark (as widow). Military Pensions of Widows and Orphans. National Archives of Canada, RG5, A, 1, Vol 30, Reel C-4547. ↩
  15. Anna Strowbridge named in husband Job Strowbridge’s will in 1836. Lincoln Co. Ontario Probate Records, Volume 4, p. 118. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 0579150. ↩
  16. Job Strowbridge, buried in Fonthill Municipal Cemetery (Browns North). Fonthill Municipal Cemetery Browns North OGS #4631, Pelham Township, Welland County. The Ontario Genealogical Society, Niagara Peninsula Branch, 1997. ↩
  17. 1822: gave deposition in John Clark Jr.’s heir and devisee case. John Clark (Jr.), Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files, Case File Number 40-0536. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 1314010. ↩
  18. Blatchley Robins will. ↩
  19. 1817 Thorold tax assessment list: Hannah Robins 0.6.10, between Garrett Teller [Ganet Tellen] and Jacob Ostrander (and near Mary Clark, likely widow of John Clark). Thorold Assessments and census 1817, 1835 & 1837, extracted for the 15th anniversary from Notes From Niagara, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1995, page 2. ↩
  20. 1794 August 9th; August 16th. Settler’s petition for property, Blackley Robins, Thorold twp., lots 158 and 194. Upper Canada Land Records, Assignments. Record group MF MS 81, Volume 050, page 28. Note: this was the same day that John Clark and Joshua Robins made their settler’s petitions. ↩
  21. Blatchley Robins will, No. 11469. Written 3 July 1814. Recorded 8 June 1863. Welland Co. Ontario Land Records, Thorold Township, Old Series, v. E-F (10601-14228, 15-2829, 1-59), 1862-1868. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 170972. ↩
  22. “The Buchner and Boughners.” Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement: Or, Norfolk’s Foundation Builders and Their Family Genealogies. W. Briggs, 1898, page 28. Google Books. ↩
  23. Daniel Robins, age 75, born United States, living in the household of Daniel Robins, age 41, born Canada. 1851 census; census place: Gainsborough, Lincoln County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule A; Roll C_11736; Page 19; Line 22. ↩
  24. Daniel Robins land petition says he was a native of New Jersey. Upper Canada Land Petitions, Volume 426, Microfilm reel C-2742, Petition R9/23. Library and Archives Canada, microform digitization. ↩
  25. Daniel Robins land grant: 1809 Nov 10, patent to Daniel Robins, Lot 32, 5th concession, 200 acres, north and south parts, Wainfleet. Abstract index books of Wainfleet Township 1796-1865. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 170983. ↩
  26. 1825: Daniel Robins of Gainsborough buys from Jacob Beam of Clinton lot 7, broken front, Gainsborough (#5220). Land records of Lincoln County, Gainsborough Township, v. A-B (36-10804), 1847-1860. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 170123. Memorial #5220. ↩
  27. Daniel Robins, settler’s petition for property. Upper Canada Land Records, Assignments. Record group MF MS 81. #1029 Daniel Robins, north halves 11 & 12 in conc. 2 Gainsborough, 200 acres. Assigned Newark 30 Sept 1795, Cert. Hon. Peter Russell. Age 30. Where born: New Jersey. Farmer. (With Stephen Robins, age 27, and William Dilce, age 27, all born New Jersey.) ↩
  28. Sussex Co., New Jersey deeds (abstracted by Marshall Lake). Dated 2 Feb 1804 — grantor: Daniel ROBINS of Gainsborough Twp, Lincoln Co, ON, Canada; grantee: Isaac ROBINS of Knowlton Twp, Sussex Co, NJ; amount $100; 4 tracts (216 3/4 acres); previous owners: tract 1, Richard CLARK (4 1/4 acres) 15 Apr 1779; tract 2, Adam & Elizabeth SNIDER (143 1/2 acres) 7 Aug 1793; tract 3, Daniel VAUGHAN (57 acres) 2 Apr 1795; tract 4, William SWAGG (12 acres) 22 Oct 1802; witnesses John ARMSTRONG, Jacob ARMSTRONG. Notes: Daniel ROBINS is identified as an heir of Daniel ROBINS, late of Knowlton Twp, died intestate. Dated 19 Jun 1815 — grantor: Jacob VAUGHAN of Gainsborough Twp, Lincoln Co, ON, Canada (husband of Abigail Robins); grantee: Isaac ROBINS of Knowlton Twp, Sussex Co, NJ; same 4 tracts; witnessed 31 Jan 1816; witnesses Ira SHERER, Isaav READ; judge John ARMSTRONG. Notes: Jacob VAUGHAN is identified as an heir of Daniel ROBINS, late of Knowlton Twp, died intestate, and as the son-in-law of Daniel ROBINS, dec’d; wife of Jacob VAUGHAN: Abigail. Recorded 26 Jun 1824. ↩
  29. Isaac Robins Revolutionary War pension record. United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NS8Q-WQQ: 11 December 2014), Isaac Robins, pension number S. 22954, service New Jersey; from “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” database and images, Fold3.com; citing NARA microfilm publication M804 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1974); FHL microfilm 972,063. ↩
  30. Estate records for Daniel Robins of Knowlton, Sussex Co., New Jersey. Estate file #988S. Year: 1802. ↩
  31. Sarah Robins, Thorold. Township papers, 1783-1870s, Thorah — Thornbury — Thorold — Thurlow (to p. 263). Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 1403161. ↩
  32. Sarah Robins to John Clark deed. Welland Co. Ontario, Thorold Township, Old Series v.A (81-11151), 1798-1836, Memorial #1351. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 170968. ↩
  33. Abraham and Elizabeth Overholt to Sarah Robins. Welland Co. Ontario, Thorold Township, Old Series v.A-B (53-3777, 5-3306), 1847-1855, Memorial #497. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 170970. — Sarah Robins to Daniel Robins deed. Niagara District Ontario Land records v.P-Q nos. 9790-10811, 1834-1836, Memorial #10113, 1814 Apr 2. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, microfilm 0170157. ↩

Joshua Robins of Hunterdon, Morris, and Sussex Counties, New Jersey

This article was first published on my RootsWeb site and is republished here, lightly edited, on 15 September 2026. If you have information to add or correct, please get in touch.

Details about Joshua Robins are sparse. Known sources are cited in the footnotes.

Joshua Robins was likely born between 1698 and 1710 in New Jersey. Although the exact location of his birth is unknown, it is likely to be Monmouth County. Joshua died in New Jersey after 1766 and possibly around 1775.1

His parents were Daniel Robins (b. 1666, d. between 1733 and 1737) and his wife Mary [surname unknown].

His children

Joshua’s wife’s name is unknown. But he had at least two sons:

Daniel Robins was likely born between 1730 and 1740 in New Jersey. Although the exact location of his birth is unknown, it is likely to be either Morris County or Hunterdon County. Daniel died before 1793. Likely locations are Ontario, Canada, or New Jersey, or somewhere between them. He married Sarah Blatchley about 1757 in New Jersey. She was born on 23 November 1739 in New Jersey. She was the daughter of Ebenezer Blatchley and Hannah Miller. Sarah died sometime between 2 April 1814 and 6 January 1835, likely in Thorold, Lincoln County, Ontario.

Joshua Robins Jr. was likely born about 1740 in New Jersey. Although the exact location of his birth is unknown, it is likely to be either Morris County or Hunterdon County. Joshua died in Ontario after 1817. He married Mary Blatchley sometime between 1760 and 1773 in New Jersey. She was born on 29 October 1742 in New Jersey. She was the daughter of Ebenezer Blatchley and Hannah Miller. Mary died before 1804, in either New Jersey or Ontario.

Any other children are unknown at this time.

1714–1737: the Lebanon Township property

Joshua Robins’s father, Daniel Robins, died sometime between 1733 and 1737, and in March 1737 Joshua took out a mortgage on property in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, that was originally surveyed for his father. Details of the original survey follow, from Robins, Robbins of New Jersey, page 222:2

Book A, page 186, Hunterdon County south branch of Rarington (Raritan) River 1714, Survey 333 acres to Daniel Robins

By virtue of a Warrant from the Council of Proprietors bearing date ye 10th day of March 1714 surveyed this tract of land unto Daniel Robbins in _____________ ye head of ye South Branch of Rarington River in Hunterdon County. Beginning at a white oak tree Corner of Marcy Daurdwart’s (?) [ed. note: perhaps this should say Francis Davenport?] land thence Southeastwardly thirty degrees fifty six chains to a Corner marked DR (2) Thence Northeastwardly sixty degrees sixty three chains to a corner black oak tree marked DR (3) Thence N. Westwardly thirty degrees Sixty three chains ? to a corner maple tree marked K (4) Thence S. Westwardly by sixty degrees sixty chains to ye first highways. Surveyed by John Reading May 13 1717. Inspected and approved by ye Committee of Proprietors and ordered to be recorded John Wills Clerk

Transcribed 3/5/2006 by John Wm Taylor

The property was located near Middle Valley; in 1739 this area became Morris County. From Early Germans in New Jersey by Theodore F. Chambers (Dover, N.J., 1895), page 172: “David Zofrin (Sovereign) bought the Daniel Robins tract of 333 acres, which had belonged originally to Samuel Johnson. This land located in the area called Flocktown in Morris Co. near Schooley’s Mountain.” Daniel Robins settled in Amwell Township.

Note: early in my research, I confused the property described in this survey with 333 acres that Daniel Robins owned in Amwell Township. The Amwell property is a completely different 333 acres, and is well described and documented by Hunterdon County historian Marfy Goodspeed in her article The Two Taverns at Robins Hill.

Additional details about the Lebanon Township / Flocktown property that Joshua Robins mortgaged in 1737:

  • It is located in present-day Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey.
  • It was adjacent to Joseph Pidgeon and Benjamin Wright when Pidgeon’s property was surveyed in 1718. Joseph Pidgeon’s land sold in 1721 to Isaac Miranda. Benjamin Wright’s property was sold to John Eaton before 1761 and then to Matthias Thomas (year unknown).
  • Also adjacent is Samuel Furness’s property, which he bought in 1720 and which was later bought by Andreas Flock in 1773.

Many of Flock’s children went to Canada; a couple of his daughters were married to the Hansler brothers, Andrew and George Hansler, who had property dealings in Ontario with John (a son of Joshua Robins Jr.) and Daniel Robins (a son of “widow Sarah Robbins“).3

The property is roughly seven miles from Samuel Swayze’s burial location at Chester Congregational Cemetery. Samuel was the grandfather of several Swayzes who went to Ontario, including Mehitable (the second wife of Joshua Robbins Jr.), Mary and Israel (all children of Samuel’s son Israel), and Isaac (the son of Samuel’s son Caleb).

Chambers included a hand-drawn map of the area in his book: Chambers’s map (PDF).4 Here is a snippet. D. Robins’s property is under the “OWN” in FLOCKTOWN.

Detail from Chambers’s map of Washington Township, Morris County. D. Robins’s property lies under the “OWN” in FLOCKTOWN.

1737–1750: Joshua’s mortgage

Details of Joshua’s mortgage on this property are found in two sets of records.5, 6

1737. Family History Library film #1028302, Hunterdon County Loan Office, Account Books and Mortgages, No. 8:

Joshua Robins of the Township of Amwell Township in the County of Hunterdon Doth Convey by Deed of Mortgage for Consideration of Twenty Pounds to him in hand paid by the Commisioners of the Loan Office of the County of Hunterdon the following tract or parcel of Land Situate in the Township of Lebanon and County aforesaid and is butted and bounded as follows VIZ

Beginning at a White Oak tree Corner of Francis Davenport’s land and marked FD thence south Easterly thirty degrees and fifty six chains to a corner hickory tree marked DR thence North Easterly Sixty Degrees sixty three chains to a Corner black oak tree marked DR thence North Westerly thirty degrees fifty six chains to a corner maple tree marked IK thence South Westerly sixty degrees sixty three chains to the first mentioned corner containing three hundred and thirty three acres. In witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand The Twenty fifth day of March Anno Domini 1737.

Joshua Robins

Signed in the presence of James Neilson, Job Robins

Joshua Robins’s signature on the 1737 mortgage.

1737–1750. Family History Library film #946855, No. 8. (The first page of this record is a printed form repeating the specifics of the agreement and property description and providing the terms of the mortgage.) The annual interest payments run as follows:

Hunterdon April 27th 1738 — Joshua Robins paid the sum of Two pounds five shillings being part of Twenty pounds. Interest due thereon for one year.

Hunterdon March 27th 1739 — Two pounds three shillings and nine pence.

Hunterdon April the 29th 1740 — Two pounds two shillings and six pence.

April 30th 1741 — Two pounds one shilling and three pence.

Hunterdon April 6th 1742 — forty shillings.

April the 28th 1743 — thirty eight shillings and nine pence.

Hunterdon April 26th 1744 — thirty seven shillings and six pence.

Hunterdon April 24th 1745 — Thirty six shillings and three pence.

Hunterdon April 24th 1746 — Thirty five shillings.

Hunterdon April 30th 1747 — Thirty three shillings and nine pence.

Hunterdon April 26th 1748 — Joshua Robins by Job Robins paid the sum of Thirty two shillings and six pence.

Hunterdon April 27th 1749 — Joshua Robins by Job Robins paid the sum of Thirty shillings and three pence.

Hunterdon April 26th 1750 — Thirty shillings.

Each entry records interest due for one year on the principal of twenty pounds. See both sets of records in Joshua Robins’s mortgage (PDF).

1741: Maidenhead Township tax list

Joshua, Job, and John Robins appear on a tax list in Maidenhead Township. Job and John are believed to be two of Joshua’s brothers. Job was also a witness to Joshua’s mortgage in 1737, and it appears he might have paid Joshua’s mortgage in 1748 and 1749.7

Maidenhead Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey tax lists:

  • Job Robins
  • John Robins
  • Joshua Robins

Today Maidenhead is Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in Mercer County, halfway between Princeton and Trenton. Lawrenceville was founded as Maidenhead in 1697, as part of Burlington County in the colony of West Jersey. In 1714 the village became part of Hunterdon County. It remained in Hunterdon until Mercer County was created in 1838. In 1798 the New Jersey Legislature legally incorporated the Township of Maidenhead. In the 1800s the name was changed to Lawrenceville.8

1747: arrested with a counterfeiting ring

The next record I found for Joshua was in 1747, when he was arrested as part of a large counterfeiting ring in Morris County. From Colonial and Revolutionary Morris County by Theodore Thayer (Morris County Heritage Commission, 1975), page 115:9

When counterfeiting was rampant in Morris County, it was difficult to convict the perpetrators. Many of the counterfeiters were popular young men with many influential relatives and friends. Furthermore, many of the inhabitants did not look upon the crime as inimical to their interests; rather, they viewed the actions of the counterfeiters as clever and smart. In fact, to perhaps the great majority, the counterfeiters were popular heroes. They did not perceive the great harm which this form of lawbreaking could cause to a community.

As early as 1744 there were several indictments against counterfeiters for altering paper money, but no arrests appear to have been made. Then in 1747, a whole ring of counterfeiters and passers of counterfeit bills were arrested and jailed. The number and good station in life of most of the men reveal the prevailing disposition toward counterfeiting. The names of the arrested were: Timothy Conner, Seth Hall, Jonathan Hathaway, John Pipes, Job Allen, Andrew Morrison, Abraham Southerd, Samuel Blackford, Sylvanus Totten, and David Brant, all of Morristown. In addition there were Abraham Hathaway, Jacobus Vanetta, John McNeal, Joshua Robins, Abraham Anderson, Robert Livingston, Court Timery, and Isaac Woortman. Through the laxity of Sheriff Caleb Fairchild, all the prisoners broke jail and escaped to the homes of friends and relatives. Governor Jonathan Belcher and his Council agreed that counterfeiters could not be convicted in Morris County and proposed that henceforth they be removed from the county for trial. The Assembly, however, disagreed, and the proposal was dropped. Chief Justice Robert Hunter Morris wanted Sheriff Fairchild prosecuted for allowing the prisoners to escape but no action was taken.

It was not until the Court of Oyer and Terminer was established in Morris County in 1750, with Chief Justice Nevill presiding, that some of the counterfeiters were again arrested and brought to trial. David Brant was found guilty, fined L25, jailed for three months, and put on good behavior for seven years. Ebenezer David was fined L5, ordered to stand in the pillory one hour, jailed for six months, and put on good behavior for nine years. Jeremiah Wright received a fine of L10 for assisting the counterfeiters and was put on good behavior for seven years. Finally, Peter Salter was fined twenty shillings and put on good behavior for two years for counterfeiting pieces of eight. These sentences were light; after all, the law prescribed the death penalty for counterfeiters.

It was not until 1752 that the county had another session of the Oyer and Terminer Court. This time nine persons were charged with assisting counterfeiters. The culprits, almost all of whom had been indicted in 1747, were Abraham Hathaway, Jonathan Hathaway, Job Allen, Andrew Morrison, John Pipes, Timothy Comer, Sylvanus Totten, Seth Hall, and Samuel Blackford. The Court, perhaps for lack of evidence, decided not to try the men at the time. They were all released in their own recognizance and ordered to appear at the next court. When it met again in September 1753, the men simply were given small fines on charges of misdemeanor and dismissed.

Although the punishments handed down by the Court in 1750 and 1753 were light, the actions of the Court were such that counterfeiting did not again appear in Morris County for nearly twenty years.

1754: The King vs. Charles McConnell

In April 1754, Joshua Robins, his son Joshua Robins Jr., the wife of Elisha Robins (Mary), the daughter of Elisha Robins (Jane), and others were witnesses to the attack on a horse by Charles McConnell in Newtown, Sussex County, New Jersey:10

Sussex May Session 1754

The King vs Charles McConnell

The Defendt Being Charged with this Indictment pleads Not Guilty

? Harrell — file May 30th 1754 — Russell Clerk(?) — ? Billa Vora ? — William Scholey? Foreman

Evidence for the King: Elisha Robins’s wife; Joshua Robins; Elis. Robins’s daughter; Joshua Robins Jun.; Perkins (?) Lovell; Richd. Slough; Elisha Coller; Eliz. Hadly (?); Hazen

Province of New Jersey, County of Sussex

The Grand Inquest for our Sovereign Lord King for the Body of the County of Sussex Being (then and then) Duly Charged Sworn and Affirmed upon the Respective Oath and Affirmation of at least twelve honorable and Lawfull men of the said County, Do present That Charles McConnell late of New Town in the County of Sussex aforesaid yeoman Being a person of a Turbulant, Malitious, and Malevolent Principal and Disposition and Designing Contriving and <?> and Jonathan Smalley to prejudice and Injure the fifth day of April in the Twenty Seventh year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the faith. At New Town aforesaid in the County of Sussex aforesaid and within the jurisdiction of this Court a Certain Roan Coloured Mare the property of the aforesaid Jonathan Smalley (then and there) <missing> with a certain knife or some other sharp weapon, did <missing> unlawfully wickedly and maliciously (in the Belly of the said Mare) Stab, Cutt and wound, By which said <missing> to the great damage of the said Jonathan Smalley <missing> and most purnatious [pernicious?] Example of all others in such case Delinquent and against the peace of our said Sovereign Lord the King that nowis his Crown and Dignity.

Harrell, AS Genl.

This record places both Joshua Robins [Sr.] and Joshua Robins Jr. in Newtown, Sussex County, in 1754, although it is unclear whether they were visiting or whether they lived there. Elisha Robins was another brother of Joshua.

Additional details about this incident were mentioned on a web page written by a descendant of Samuel Hazen:

The name of Samuel Hazen is the first of the family to have been found in New Jersey records. In an old volume at Newton appears this record: “At a court of General Sessions of the Peace held at Hardwick, County of Sussex, on the Third Tuesday in February in the year of our Lord one Thousand seven hundred and fifty five and in the Twenty eighth year of his Majesty’s Reign — The King vs. Charles McConnell — Indictment for misdemeanor. The attorney general opened the cause — and the following Evidences pro Rege — Mary Robins, Jane Robins, Joshua Robins, Saml. Hazen, Thomas Wolverton.”

Soon after this date, the names of Thomas and Daniel Hazen appear in the same book of court records, and in 1778 the name of Nathaniel Hazen [son of John]. This corroborates the general tradition among their descendants that three or four brothers came from Connecticut to New Jersey at about the same time. The only known child of Samuel is his son Samuel.

I haven’t been able to find the specific record described here that names Mary Robins and Jane Robins. The copy I have only says “Elisha Robins’ wife” and “Elisha Robins’ daughter.”

See King vs. Charles McConnell (PDF).

1759: the Belcher petition

A few years later, on 15 May 1759, Joshua Robins and Elisha Robins of Sussex County were among names on a petition to Governor Jonathan Belcher and Council “from the inhabitants of Sussex County, on a frontier of the province next to Pennsylvania, asking that greater efforts be made to defend the province against the French and Indians.”11

The Joshua Robins and Elisha Robins signatures on the 1759 Belcher petition.

To me these signatures look like they were made by the same person. Perhaps one of them signed both names?

To see the entire petition with all signatures, see the Belcher petition, 1759 (PDF).

In any case, from this record I believe we can conclude that Joshua Robins Sr. and his family, which included sons Daniel and Joshua Jr., likely lived in Sussex County by 1759, if not earlier.

1759–1760: Robins and Roberts

Also in May 1759, Joshua Robins was in a Sussex County court case, Daniel Roberts vs. Joshua Robbins,12 and in another in July or August 1760, Joshua Robins vs. Daniel Roberts.13 These cases were for money each said the other owed him.

1766: “late of Hunterdon”

Hunterdon miscellaneous court records, #29958:14

1766 Joshua Robbins late of Hunterdon, appear at court in Trenton 1st Feb next (1767?)

Answer to assignees of Henry Snyder an insolvent debtor (Daniel Casse? and Thomas Lowry) a plea of trespass of the case to their damage of 18 pounds proclamation money. Witness William Morris, Esq judge of said court at Trenton, 23rd Oct fifth year of our reign.

The fact that Joshua is referred to as “late of Hunterdon” but is still living — as is apparent from the judge’s request that the sheriff find and bring Joshua to the court — seems to indicate that Joshua had once lived in Hunterdon but no longer did. This makes sense given that other records have him as an inhabitant of Sussex County starting in 1759.

1775: a will that may or may not exist

One of the most frustrating mentions of Joshua Robins in a record is a statement on page 90 of The Shackletons, a book about the genealogy of Richard Shackleton written by Bernice Close Shackelton and published in 1972. It states that Richard witnessed the will of Joshua Robbins:15

The passage in The Shackletons (1972), page 90.

Unfortunately, there is no source for this statement.

I contacted a Shackleton researcher, Mary Shackleton, and she was also at a loss to find a source for it. I also contacted the New Jersey State Archives, and the archivist looked in all the places she could think of but could not find a will for Joshua Robbins. The places looked were:

  • New Jersey, Published Archives Series, First Series
  • Index of wills, inventories, etc. in the Office of the Secretary of State prior to 1901 (1912)
  • Unindexed wills of Sussex County, 1784–1820

So did Ms. Shackleton make a mistake? Or did a Joshua Robins will exist that is now missing?

The volunteer at the New Jersey State Archives did say that there are a few collections of wills that cannot be searched — Colonial Non-New Jersey, Closed, and Conserved:

  • Some of the original files, now at the New Jersey State Archives, have been “closed” to public access due to their poor condition.
  • Some of the original files have received “conservation treatment” due to their prior poor condition.
  • There are a few “Colonial non-New Jersey” wills that were recorded with the New Jersey Secretary of State’s Office, which are listed in volume 3 of this published set. [See volume 3, “Addenda,” pp. 1449–1452. Volume 3 also contains the listing for Sussex County Wills & Inventories, pp. 1294–1343.]

So for now, if a will of Joshua Robbins exists, I haven’t found it. If someone out there finds it, I hope they’ll contact me.

Source citations

  1. Joshua Robins, last record found in 1766. Hunterdon New Jersey, Misc. court records, loans, etc., no. 29780–30090, 1713–1860. Family History Library microfilm 819087. ↩
  2. Robins, Robbins of New Jersey. Taylor and Hoffman, 2006. ↩
  3. 1810 April 9, #3050: John Robbins and Tabitha his wife to George Hainsler, 100 acres, south end Wainfleet lot 31, 5th concession. Source: Land Records of Welland Co., Wainfleet Township, v. A–B, Old Series (31-13088, 41-9463), 1797–1847. Family History Library microfilm 170985. — 1814 Dec 2, #5408: Daniel Robins of Thorold and Mary his wife sell to George Hansel of Pelham, N 1/2 lot 32, 5th concession in Wainfleet, 100 acres. Source: images.ourontario.ca — an indenture of land sold from Daniel Robins of Thorold to George Hansil of Pelham for Lot 32 (100 acres) in the 5th Concession of the Township of Wainfleet. ↩
  4. Chambers, Theodore Frelinghuysen (1849–1916). The early Germans of New Jersey: their history, churches, and genealogies. Published 1895. ↩
  5. Account books and mortgages, 1733–1748. Hunterdon County (New Jersey) Loan Office. Family History Library microfilm 1028302, items 1–4. ↩
  6. Mortgages, 1733–1748. Hunterdon County (New Jersey). Family History Library microfilm 946855. ↩
  7. Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1643–1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 1999. Original data: Jackson, Ronald V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp., New Jersey Census, 1643–1890. ↩
  8. Maidenhead history, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. ↩
  9. Thayer, Theodore. Colonial and Revolutionary Morris County. Morris County Heritage Commission, 1975. ↩
  10. Joshua Robins [Sr.] and Joshua Robins Jr., witnesses in “The King vs. Charles McConnell.” New Jersey State Archives, Sussex County Court of Common Pleas, Indictments series 1754–1936, 1754–1778, Box 1. ↩
  11. Joshua Robins and Elisha Robins among names on petition to New Jersey Governor Belcher from the inhabitants of Sussex County, dated 1759. Manuscript Collection–SAH: Oversized (New Jersey State Archives), Box 1-41, folder 5. ↩
  12. Daniel Roberts vs. Joshua Robbins. Sussex County Court of Common Pleas, Case Files, Box 3. ↩
  13. Joshua Robbins vs. Daniel Roberts. Sussex County Court of Common Pleas, Case Files, Box 3. ↩
  14. Joshua Robins, last record found in 1766. Hunterdon New Jersey, Misc. court records, loans, etc., no. 29780–30090, 1713–1860. Family History Library microfilm 819087. ↩
  15. Shackelton, Bernice Close. The Shackletons, a book about the genealogy of Richard Shackleton. 1972, pages 88 and 90. ↩