Source:Fleming-robinson/content
IN LAST week's story much was left unsaid concerning Gen. William Robinson, or William Robinson, Jr., as he was known in business circles. For many years he was one of Pittsburgh's leading business men. His life was a busy and eventful one.
There was a brief directory of Pittsburgh's merchants published previously to James M. Riddle's directory of 1815. This first directory was compiled and published by Patterson & Hopkins, booksellers, whose store was at Wood and Fourth streets (now avenue).
The directory, however, was not published as a separate volume, as was Riddle's, but was incorporated in an alumnae [sic] of their issue, termed "The Honest Man's Alumnae [sic]." It contains 137 names, only firms and individuals doing business here. It appeared in 1812.
In this directory we find the line:
Robinson, William, com. merchant, corner of Wood and Front.
Riddle goes more into particulars in 1815. He puts Gen. Robinson in as follows:
Robinson, William Jr., commission merchant, ne. corner Wood and Water and ne. corner of Wood and Front—dwelling ne. corner 3d and Ferry.
From these lines it can be readily deduced that Gen. Robinson was a merchant in Pittsburgh at the time of the incorporation of the city and had undoubtedly been for some years previously. He remained a dominating factor in Pittsburgh business circles throughout most of the fourscore years he lived here.
Reference was also made to Gen. Robinson's connection with Aaron Burr's scheme of a southwestern empire. We find some account of Robinson's connection with Burr in a little book published in Parkersburg, W. Va., a decade ago, under the title: "Historic Blennerhassett Island Home; an Expedition Against Spain One Hundred Years ago."
It is a concise and well-written work, the author being A. F. Gibbens.
There is nothing related incriminating William Robinson save that he attempted with 13 companions to join the expedition. Mr. Gibbens tells the story of these young adventurers thus:
Several days previous to the flotilla's departure from the island, a party of fourteen young men, late students, fresh from academy, with Morgan Neville and William Robinson, Jr., sons of influential and rich parents, widely and favorably known, adventurous and hoping to join the expedition to the Spanish dominions, embarked in a flatboat at Pittsburgh for the purpose. When nearly opposite the mouth of the Little Kanawha their boat was during the night driven ashore by the wind and ice, and the next day they were all arrested by the militia forces at Newport, and in their own craft escorted to the island to await the return of Colonel Phelps, then still absent at Point Pleasant.
The young men, restless under their captivity and disappointment in not connecting with the Blennerhassett flotilla, in their humor and chagrin, ridiculed their captors in homespun, and threatened legal retaliation for their arrest and detention.
Such impertinence became unbearable to the guards and justices of the peace were sent for to Newport. Reece Wolfe and Daniel Kincheloe responded and in one of the richly furnished apartments of the island mansion the trial was conducted.
The young men with ability and humorous adroitness pleaded their own cause, and nothing of a positive and unpatriotic character being produced, they were released.
During this rather comical examination and the absence of the Colonel, who was a soldier and a gentleman, a spirit of license and devastation took possession of the militiamen left in charge.
Newport, mentioned at the mouth of the Little Kanawha, seems to have been the original name of Parkersburg. Col. Hugh Phelps was in charge of the Virginia militia which had been assembled to carry out President Jefferson's proclamatory orders and avert the expedition.
It was midwinter when these events occurred. Blennerhassett and 40 or more men had got away on the night of December 10, 1806, and the island was left with Mrs. Blennerhassett and her two little sons and some slave servants who were to follow later.
Mrs. Blennerhassett arrived from Marietta, O., where she had failed to meet her husband and his men, and on her return found an appalling state of affairs, to which William Robinson and his companions were witnesses.
James Parton in his "Life of Aaron Burr" states:
First of all, the militiamen broke into the wine cellar and there drank themselves into vandals. Then they ravaged the house, destroying and disfiguring wherever they went; firing rifle balls through the painted ceilings, tearing down costly drapery, and dashing to pieces mirrors and vases. Then they rushed like so many savages about the grounds, destroying shrubbery and breaking down trellises and arbors.
In the midst of this destruction Mrs. Blennerhassett returned; but the embarrassments of her situation and her anxiety for the success of the expedition were such that she surveyed the ruins of her abode with indifference.
"In this dilemma," Gibbens states, "the young men from Pittsburgh who had been relieved of captivity prepared to continue their journey and with sincere sympathy and courtesy offered her and her helpless children an apartment in their boat."
At this juncture Col. Phelps arrived from his fruitless attempt to check Blennerhassett's flotilla down stream. The colonel witnessed with inward mortification and anger the wanton destruction of the premises and the evidences of revelry and ruin by his men during his compulsory absence, and turning upon them exclaimed vehemently:
"Shame! Shame! Shame upon such conduct! You have disgraced your district and the cause in which you are concerned!"
Courteously then and kindly he met the released strangers, acceeded [sic] to their wishes and that of their invited guest for the voyage, aided her in preparation for departure and expressed to Mrs. Blennerhassett sorrow for the rudeness shown by his men, assuring her of what she already knew that had he been present the vandalism would not have happened.
On the next morning, December 17, with the assistance of the Colonel and the young men from Pittsburgh, some needed furniture, part of the library, trunks and provisions were put aboard another boat, that of A. W. Putnam of Belpre, O., who also assisted in the departure—and lashed alongside, sadly, with shattered dreams, the Blennerhassetts, wife and boys, bade adieu to a once blissful abode and the boats sped on their way.
Early in January the Blennerhassett family was reunited at Bayou Pierre on the lower Mississippi.
This was the extent of the Pittsburghers offending. A spirit of adventure prompted them to enter upon the expedition and that they were misled there can be no doubt.
It is correct to say these young men were well connected. They had been students at the original Pittsburgh Academy, established in 1782, the forerunner of the present University of Pittsburgh.
Among the names enrolled in this school between 1789 and the date mentioned we find Pressley Neville, William Robinson, William Wilkins, Steele Semple, Neville B. Craig, Morgan Neville and H. M. Brackenridge. In later years many other well-known and prominent Pittsburghers of those days were students.
Morgan Neville was the son of Col. Pressley Neville and grandson of Gen. John Neville. Morgan Neville was a writer of acknowledeged [sic] ability and later one of the editors of the Pittsburgh Gazette.
The Burr expedition was a failure. Both Burr and Blennerhassett were arrested, each on two charges, treason and for misdemeanor, that of preparing and providing means for a military expedition against a foreign prince with whom the United States were at peace.
The trial took place in Richmond, Va., in June, 1807. On the list of the numerous witnesses are to be found the names of Morgan Neville, Col. Hugh Phelps and Waldo, or A. W. Putnam, who are mentioned in the account above.
The Burr–Blennerhassett story is now ancient history. Both were set free—both were wrecked in fortune and influence.
Pittsburgh's part in the expedition was slight, but slight as it was it had an evil effect upon young Robinson, for those were exciting days in politics.
Histories at hand do not mention Robinson's companions other than Neville. Perhaps cotemporary Pittsburgh newspapers do and this may be looked up.
After abandoning his island Blennerhassett settled in Mississippi near Natchez and began to cultivate cotton. After 10 years he sold out at a loss.
His sad life, if written even briefly, would fill more space than can be given. The family resided awhile in New York, Montreal and in Bath, England, and then on the island of Guernsey, where Blennerhassett died February 1, 1831, penniless and brokenhearted.
In 1842 his widow returned to the United States and endeavored to secure relief from the United States government for the utter losses at their island home in 1806. In this effort she secured the aid of Henry Clay, who urged the passage of a bill reimbursing her with all the sincerity and ardor for which he was noted.
But pending the passage of the bill Mrs. Blennerhassett, worn out and mortified with toil and suffering, died in New York city.
Clay's efforts brought to the attention of Congress many facts presented in the form of depositions. Among them a joint one from Morgan Neville and William Robinson, Jr. Some facts recited therein differ slightly from Gibbon's account.
It appeared in this evidence that the Pittsburgher's boat was driven ashore on the night of December 13, 1806, and "on Backus Island one mile below Mr. Blennerhassett's house." Backus was the previous owner of the island, who conveyed it to Blennerhassett in 1799, hence the name Backus was first given the island.
The wind being high, the Pittsburgh party remained on the island until about 3 p. m., when they were attacked by 25 well-armed men who rushed furiously upon the little group and compelled their surrender.
Upon arrival at the mansion, Robinson and his companions found the revelry at full height; and they were fully disgusted at the scenes of riot and drunkenness. The deposition concludes:
We were detained upon the island from Saturday evening until Tuesday morning, during which time there were never less than 30, and frequently from 70 to 80, men living in this riotous manner entirely on provisions of Mrs. Blennerhassett. When we left the island, a cornfield near the house, in which the corn was still standing, was filled with cattle, the fences having been pulled down to make fires. This we pledge ourselves to a true statement of those transactions, as impression was made on us at the time.
The two little boys who were witnesses to the looting of their first home were named Dominick and Harman, Jr., then aged 7 and 5. Neither prospered in life; the latter an invalid, died in the almshouse on Blackwells Island, N. Y., in 1854.
Dominick became a heavy drinker and after various wanderings, assited [sic] by old friends of his father, went to St. Louis, Mo., where he was lost sight of.
There was a third son, Joseph Lewis, born in Mississippi, who became a lawyer in Missouri and who died in St. Louis after the Civil War, in which he had served as an officer in the Confederate army. Several daughters died in childhood in Mississippi.
The Blennerhassetts passed through Pittsburgh on their way to settle on their Ohio River Island.
From the account above it appears that in the history of Burr and the Blennerhassetts, Pittsburgh had some part through Robinson and his companions, and not a dishonorable part by any means.
There are descendants of Gen. Robinson living in Pittsburgh today. Mrs. Anna Robinson Speer, wife of Maj. James P. Speer of Craft avenue, Oakland, died in 1910. She was the eldest daughter and the last survivor of the General's 10 children.
Mrs. Speer was born in the old mansion on Federal street and was first the wife of John Cust Blair of the old firm of Shoenberger, Blair & Co. Mrs. Speer was 82 years of age at her death. Maj. Speer died in 1912.
In Stockton avenue there is commemorated another type of pioneer, Joseph Stockton, minister, educator, publisher of school books, some of whose grandchildren and great-grandchildren are with us today and notable people in our community.
Joseph Stockton was born in Franklin county, Pa., February 25, 1779. He was the son of a farmer who moved to Washington county in 1784. Joseph's mother was Mary McKemy, whose father was one of the early Presbyterian ministers in the colony of Pennsylvania.
Young Joseph was sent to Jefferson College at Canonsburg, came under the instruction of the founder of that college, the Rev. Dr. John McMillan; graduated at the age of 19, and in 1799, at the age of 21, was licensed to preach.
May 8, 1800, Joseph Stockton married Miss Esther Clark of Washington county, and in the fall of that year moved to Crawford county and was installed the first pastor of the infant church in Meadville. He remained in Meadville nine years, having charge also of the Meadville Academy, which became later Allegheny College.
In 1809 Joseph Stockton came to Pittsburgh and was chosen principal of the Pittsburgh Academy. This academy, May 10, 1822, was formally organized as the Western University of Pennsylvania and remained such until a few years ago when the name was changed to the University of Pittsburgh.
Joseph Stockton remained in charge of the Academy during these years, and published the Western Spelling Book and the Western Calculator, an arithmetic. Both books were extensively used as school books throughout the Western country.
While in charge of the academy here Mr. Stockton found time and opportunity to minister to a small congregation of his denomination—Presbyterian—in Indiana township, Allegheny county. The church edifice was a rude log structure on the Kittanning road, eight miles from Pittsburgh, and was known as the Pine Creek Church.
For a time he also preached on Sundays to the soldiers at the Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville, and continued these labors up to 1829.
In 1819 he removed to the north side of the Allegheny, then an inconsiderable hamlet. He had purchased the property on the northeast corner of what is now Stockton avenue and Arch street, and on this lot erected a modest frame dwelling, to which he later built an addition.
In this humble, though comfortable and pleasant home, he passed the remainder of his days. The original home was razed prior to 1886, and on the lot there now stands the edifice of Trinity Lutheran Church.
Joseph Stockton was a busy man always. He organized soon after his arrival in Allegheny the congregation which became the First Presbyterian Church of Allegheny.
The Joseph Stockton home and the original building of the First Presbyterian congregation are shown today. Monument Hill, then called "Hogback Hill," later Seminary Hill, is seen at the left of the church. The church edifice seems to be at or near what is now Stockton and Sherman avenues.
After he had resided on the North Side for a few years Joseph Stockton opened an academy in a building on the northwest corner of Federal and Robinson streets, which took the name, "The Allegheny Academy," and became as noted as the Pittsburgh Academy, and here the youths of the young city of Pittsburgh and its suburb, Allegheny, acquired a thorough education in the English branches and the rudiments of a classical education.
The location of the Allegheny Academy was directly across from the Gen. Robinson mansion and its spacious grounds. These were especially well kept, many of the original forest trees having been preserved and had attained great height. The Robinson gardens too were as beautiful as the floral artists of that day could make them.
The stately mansion and the once handsome grounds suffered from the ravages of time and floods and when the old mansion was torn down after the general's death in 1868, it presented a sorry spectacle of old-time grandeur and the surroundings were even more disheartening in appearance.
Stockton's academy favorably and centrally located, prospered greatly. The busy principal was one of the organizers of the Western Theological Seminary, the first buildings located on the summit of Hogback Hill, and changing that name to something sensible and significant.
Joseph Stockton was one of the professors in the seminary. During these years the town of Sharpsburg was growing and with the canal's completion it became a place of importance. Mr. Stockton organized the first Presbyterian congregation in Sharpsburg as a separate charge, having previously divided his time between the Sharpsburg and Pine Creek congregations.
