My Genealogy Hound

JAMES L. ROBINSON, the popular Supervisor of Calvin Township, Cass County, was born in Howard Township, this county, on the 27th of January, 1848, and is one of three sons (one being older and one younger than himself) born to Nathan and Margaret (Hanson) Robinson. His father was born in New York State, November 15, 1820, and was the son of William Robinson, the latter being a descendant of English ancestry and the elder of two sons, though the place of his birth is beyond our research. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.

Accompanied by his family, Grandfather Robinson came West in 1880, and settled in Erie County, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming. Politically, he was a Whig, and in his religious belief he was a prominent member of the Presbyterian Church. He was twice married, and by his first union had two sons, the father of our subject being the elder. The other son was killed by being thrown from a horse when a young man. William also came to an untimely end by an accidental death. In Erie County, Ohio, he was caught in the machinery of a gristmill and instantly killed. The second marriage of Grandfather Robinson resulted in the birth of the following children: William, Thomas, Susan and Alice.

Nathan Robinson had but few educational advantages, and in 1840, when but twenty years of age, he landed in Cass County with but seventy-five cents in his possession. For a time he worked out by the month, and finally bought forty acres of land in Howard Township, running in debt for the greater portion of the purchase price. He was a man of determined will and a hard worker, and when he set out to do anything he saw no obstacles in his way, and even though he had, he would have overcome every hindrance in the path to success, for he was one of those men who know no such word as “fail.”

March 27, 1845, Nathan Robinson married Miss Margaret Hanson. In 1852 he left his wife and two children, of whom our subject was the younger, on the home farm and set out overland for the gold fields of California, where for two years he was successful as a gold miner, and at the end of that time returned with a fair-sized fortune. Soon after his return he purchased more land in Howard Township and conducted farming operations on an extensive scale. A Republican in politics, he was at one time a candidate for Supervisor of Howard Township, but as that township was overwhelmingly Democratic he failed to secure the election. At the time of his death, September 3, 1879, he was the owner of seven hundred acres of land in Cass County and was a very wealthy man.

Margaret, the mother of our subject, was the daughter of John and Nancy (Salsbury) Hanson. She was reared in New York State and came to Michigan in an early day with her parents. She died at the old homestead in Jefferson Township, June 16, 1891. Of the brothers of James L., Myron was the eldest and was born March 9, 1846; he married Miss Annette Krom, and they have two sons. Freemont, the youngest, was born May 14, 1856; he married Miss Helen Lowman, the sister of our subject’s wife, and they live on the old homestead in Jefferson Township that fell to Mr. Robinson on the death of his mother. They have no children.

James L. Robinson grew to manhood on his father’s farm, receiving but the ordinary common-school education offered by the schools of that time and place. For many years he and his brother were in partnership with their father in his extensive farming and stock interests. On the 12th of February, 1871, he married Miss Mary J. Lowman, who was born in Clarke County, Ohio, being the daughter of James and Nancy (Rench) Lowman. She was six years of age when her parents came to Michigan and settled in Jefferson Township, Cass County, where her father now lives, being one of the leading citizens of the community.

Our subject removed to Jefferson Township in 1867, and in 1872 he and his wife came to the place where they now live, and which was a part of his father’s estate. Their interests remained identical until the death of his father in 1879, when the property fell to him from his father’s estate. He now owns and operates a farm of two hundred and seventy acres, under a high state of cultivation, and upon which he conducts successfully general farming and stock-raising. He has devoted special attention to the raising of fine stock, in which he has met with more than ordinary success. Aside from his farming and stock-raising interests, he has been engaged in the lumber business, owning an interest in the large sawmills at Cassopolis and at Calvin Centre, being in partnership with C. W. Bunn, the wealthy colored lumberman. In the spring of 1892, after the large sawmill at Cassopolis burned down, he sold his interest in the mill, but still retains his interest in the stock at Calvin Centre.

An ardent Republican in politics, Mr. Robinson has served in many local offices, to which he has been elected on the ticket of that party. In 1889 he was elected Supervisor of his township and has been re-elected every year since, at present serving his fifth term. He fills the office with great credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituency. He is administrator for several estates and manages them with marked ability. He is considered one of the foremost citizens of his county and township. He and his wife have but one child, Floyd N., now (1893) twenty years of age. He was educated in the Notre Dame University at South Bend, Ind., and resides in Grand Forks, N. Dak., being engaged in the transportation business.