ROBERTSON-MCLEOD, 1800's Nova Scotia

[jeannie1000cc]

Hi again J.J.,

I visited the Stewiacke Valley of Nova Scotia this past summer. I was fortunate to find an individual who had collected oral history in the 1950's from the elders of the region. This person was able to add detail to my family group of James and Jane Peters. Such as, where I had a birth year he filled in the date, where I had a child's middle initial he filled in the middle name. He also gave me death dates which check out.

So far, this the the only source I have for Jane's parents names. Given the fact her name shows up as Robison, Robeson, Robbison and Robinson on her children's records, and also the fact that the two names become intertwined in 17th-18th century Scottish records, and the fact that Robertson is a much more popular name in the region than Robinson, it seems plausible. What I was dearly hoping for during my visit was a marriage record, learning of the destruction of the parish church was a heartbreaker.

Sorry for running on ... again   

Jeannie

[J.J.]

Not at all, this is your family!... Let's hope the oral history proves to be correct. I know my husband has a cousin who is into oral history from elders and has now named most people in his unmarked photos...but ...the actual ages don't match the age of the image in some cases...
Wish we could get them on a census, as you say...It will be hard to prove that you are going down the right road.

We never seem to have any helpers in Nova Scotia  pity

aghadowey... Thanks for the clarification on the names...  J.J.

[J.J.]

In case he is a brother, as he is having children around the same time/area as Jane?
You may want to look at this fellow in Earlton, Colchester, Nova Scotia 1881, married in 1853 Pictou and had son James Henry "Robson" 1864 in upper Stewiacke ( Danial Robson & Caitarine Peters)
I think this is they in 1881 Census - Earlton, Colchester, Nova Scotia
 Danial ROBINSON  Scottish age 50 b. Nova Scotia  Storekeeper ( but was a farmer and a tailor /see births) Ch of Scot 
 John A ROBINSON  age 27      Nova Scotia      Tailor
 William ROBINSON age 17      Nova Scotia      Tailor
 James H. ROBINSON age 15      Nova Scotia      Farmerson ??
( Catherine missing in household)


 also a Mary Jane Robson born  in 1866 to Danial Robson & Catherine in Upper Stewiacke, Colchester
 

[valeriec]

I found this information on the Colchester Historical Society Museum and Archives
www.genealogynet.com/resident/colchester/home.htm
under archives/cemetery index
William Robinson buried in Castlereagh Cemetery, no death date

Eleanor Robinson b. 1838 d. 1916
William Robinson b. 1823 d. 1895
Elizabeth E. Robinson b. 1864 d. 1902
Ida M. Robinson b. 1862 d. 1903
Sarah J. Robinson b. 1866 d. 1866
These five are all buried in the same plot in the Debert Cemetery, Debert, marker # 24

Eleanor could be your Ellen.

I checked the 1838 census information and couldn't find anything on the Robinson but Patrick Peters is listed in Upper Stewiacke

I hope this helps point you in the right direction and hopefully it is the family you are looking for.

Val

[valeriec]

I found this information on the 1901 Census through auntomated geneaolgy.

Mrs. Robinson, b. 1839
living with the David Maxwell family, mother of Mrs. David.
Five Islands, colchester county, district 29
This could be your elusive Ellen/Eleanor Robinson. I haven't found the family on the 1911 census so it is possible that they moved around quite a bit following the work.

I checked  Jane Wile's site at www.genejane.com. This was once a free site but now you have to pay for details. You can still search the index and if you find something that you want to follow up on, you can pay to do a search.
I would definitely check out this site as the owner has been working on research for about 30 years and has over 200,000 names in the database most in Colchester co. There are numerous books on families available for Colchester Co. such as the Miller Book which has families from the early to mid 1800's.
Have you checked ancestry.ca to see if anyone else is researching the same families as you.
I will keep searching for information and post if I find anything else.
Val

[J.J.]

Hi, Val  ...just pointing out that this Ellen would have to be a generation's age older as Jane Peter's nee Robinson was born circa 1837, and Ellen is supposed to be her mother.
Good idea to use the genejane site....hopefully if you find something, the charges aren't too steep...but one pays for ancestry info etc, so I guess it is worth it if the research proves to be valid....
 

[jeannie1000cc]

In fact I found a 1871 census entry for a William and Ellen Robertson in Middle River (Pictou) followed by deaths registered in closeby Hopewell (1872) for William Robertson and Ellen McLeod.

J.J., right about the age thing 
The William (78 yrs) and Ellen Robertson (75 yrs) I found in the 1871 census (both born Scotland) are living next to a large Robertson family. I theorize that the head of household, Henry Robertson (50, b. NS), is their son.

The death register entries I found for William Robertson and Ellen McLeod were both in May, two weeks apart, 1872. Ages of 80 and 76 respectively match the ages of the couple in the census.  Both had the same informant, Ellen Robertson. Looks likely to be a daughter with the deceased being also named Ellen.

So I will assume the oral history to be correct until proven otherwise, especially since there is evidence of a couple of the same name and appropriate age living nearby the Stewiacke Valley.

To summarize, I am looking for proof of this family/relationship:

William Roberton, b. 1792, Scotland (head)
Ellen Roberston (nee McLeod), b. 1795, Scotland (wife)
Henry Robertson, b. abt. 1821, Nova Scotia
Ellen Roberston, b.?
Jane Robertson (my g.g.g.grandmother), b. 26 Apr 1836, Nova Scotia

Val, thanks for the tip on the site, it looks promising and is so nice to know someone has worked so hard on such a specific region. No matter what I may find, I'm very pleased to know of it. I'll give it a go later on and get back to you with news.

[jeannie1000cc]

GeneJane is a wonderful site, however nothing there to further me on. 

The one and only thing I did find on my family at least made it worth the while, as it was good for a laugh. As I mentioned before I'm a bit further on in my Peters line. BTW Val, your earlier post of finding a Patrick Peters 1838 census is my family 

Patrick Peters m. Christy McLeod (date & place unknown), children:
John, b. 1822, d. Mar-16-1850 of smallpox
Alexander, b. abt. 1829 d. Jan-17-1893 or 1903 (waiting on req. conf.)
James, b. Apr-19-1834, NS, d. Jun-27-1911, Ipswich, MA
Mary
Margaret b. abt.1819, d.1848
Christy
Catherine

So after all that set-up, here is what I found out about my g.g.g.uncle:

"Alexander Peters of South Branch, stewiacke, came in on No. 1 express this morning bound for Pictou. Not being accustomed to travel he boarded the Pictou accomodation bound for Halifax instead. When the train was under way at a good rate of speed he discovered his mistake and most rashly jumped from the fast moving train, striking the ground and sustaining a very serious compound fracture of the leg. The train was stopped and he was brought back to the station. Drs. Kent and Yorston were soon in attendance and with the assistance of other physicians took the suffering man in charge." (Truro Daily News, April 17 1891)

Hope you both got a chuckle from this

Running on again . Alexander is in the 1871 census living with his brother James' family, while his wife is living separately with two daughters. He remarried in 1880 to Euphemia "Effy" Thompson. Odd for an Irish Catholic.

This is a picture of his son I was most fortunate to find on my NS trip:

[J.J.]

Pictou Genweb http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nspictou/

Pictou Wills & Probate Records
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nspictou/

our N.S. resource page
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,224493.0.html
I just added some Colchester sites at the bottom which includes a fabulous pioneer book but don't see your surnames...