Mug Book Monday: Joseph Josiah ROBBINS (1820 - 1905)

"Mug books" are collections of biographical sketches usually found within county histories of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, particularly in the United States. Each Monday, I'm highlighting ancestors or relatives who were featured in these mug books.

     "JOSEPH J. ROBBINS, farmer, was born in Otsego County, N. Y., December 4, 1820, and was married January 15, 1842 at Tioga County, Pa., to Miss Marinda Robbins. He enlisted September, 1861, in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Pennsylvania Infantry, which was consolidated with teh Fifty-Eighth Pennsylvania Infantry. He was discharged January 9, 1865, at Chapin's Far, Va. He lost his eyesight by sunstroke in 1864, and still suffers from the same cause. He came to this township, May, 1865, locating on his farm a short distance north of Hesperia. He has resided for some time in the village of Hesperia. He has seven children--Charles H., Emmeline C., Berson [sic - Benson], Benjamin L., Evaline E., Benjamin F. [sic - Ben Franklin], and William W."

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Joseph was my fourth-great-grandfather. His wife Marinda was his second wife, and she was my ancestor, too. Their son, Charles, was my third-great-grandfather. I wrote a little sketch about Joseph's Civil War service, here. All the details about Joseph's life mentioned here appear to be correct, as I analyze them against other documents. The only exceptions are his children's names. Their full names, with correct spellings, should be: Charles Henry, Emeline Catherine, Joseph Uzza Benson, Benjamin Leader (he went by "Lee"), Evaline L., Ben Franklin (nicknamed "Frank") and William Wallace Robbins. Evaline died in March 1880 and William died in July 1882. It's possible the material for this book was gathered several years prior to publishing, and therefore the death of Evaline (and possibly William) before publication would not have been noted.

This biographical sketch was taken from History of Manistee, Mason and Oceana Counties, Michigan, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, published in Chicago by H. R. Page & Co., 1882. Joseph's sketch was found in the Oceana County section, on page 147. This county history, along with many other Michigan ones, can be found at the Michigan County Histories and Atlases Digitization Project website.