Mary Lee Brady, Ph.D.

Sarah  Robinson we know for certain was born abt 1879-1880 into a family of coal miners in southwestern Virginia, and based on the other names listed in below census a reasonable conclusion is that both William and Robert Carter living in her home were relatives to the Carter families in Bedford County.  The 1880 census data shows that when a few month old, she was taken from Virginia by her father and mother to Idaho where Lindsey worked as a coal miner. 

We are inclined to believe that Sarah Robinson moved from Virginia as an infant with her coal miner father and mother to Iowa; and apparently returned to Bedford when she was about fourteen years of age or earlier wherein Stephen Martin became her teenage sweetheart.   and fifteen years of age wherein she gave birth to her son Lewis named and raised as Lewis Marshall Robinson until such time as his surname was changed to Martin. (before his registration during World War I as Lewis Marshall Martin).

                                       Idaho Black History Museum

Lewis Robinson Marshall Martin, born abt 1895

Lewis Marshall Martin, Sarah's son, was born in Bedford County, Virginia during 1895 when she was approximately 15 years of age.  We are relatively certain that his father was 17 year old sweetheart Stephen Martin, born abt 1877 unable to marry or support her and Lewis until both reached age of consent and he had employment to support them. 

We assume that she lived with her relatives in Bedford sometime before and after the birth of Lewis.  Mrs. Rosa Jones Johnson Rosa Jones, born 14 June 1914 of Bedford City Virginia, born abt 1914 and the cousin of Lewis Marshall Martin recently advised us that her mother Hettie Jones was a first cousin to Sarah Robinson.  She said that Ada Robinson and James Hampton Robinson were siblings, not offspring of Sarah.  She also noted that Ada was a prominent school teacher and James Hampton Robinson was a prosperous carpenter.  

The natural father of Lewis Marshall Martin may have been Louis Marshall but we doubt it to have been so because Sarah Robinson apparently married Stephen Martin of Bedford County as soon as she was legally able to do so around 18-21 years of age pursuant the laws and customs.  It is important for her descendents to understand that Sarah's plight was very common then and now with teenage girls having babies.  It was common practice among caring families to facilitate means and methods for the new mother and child often by in-family capabilities such as moving the mother to distant relatives to discourage a repeat "puppy love" pregnancy. It is likely that soon after wet-nursing Lewis ended, the family encouraged her movement to live and learn a skill with grandmother Matilda Robinson in Philadelphia, leaving Lewis in the care of his Uncle Isaac.

Sarah's distant cousin Jesse Robinson Jackson, born abt 1941 Jackson tells an interesting story about his mother's "puppy love" and pregnancy by Noah Robinson and their families being opposed to marriage because they were so young and incapable of prescribed household responsibilities determined by "uppity" African Americans. 

Sarah Robinson was born into a family of Black and Mulatto coal miners in the States of Virginia, West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania and up and down the Allegheny Mountains coal veins that stretched from Alabama to Pennsylvania.  We ought not fail to understand that long before and after slavery, ... tens of thousands of African-American men were valued as miners of coal and salt for the growing colonist and post-independence populations.

Sarah's life reads like that of a woman whose experiences ranged from being born in southwest Virginia to a mother named Mary, and within months moving to Iowa with her and coal miner father to live among family friends from Bedford County Virginia.  There is sufficient evidence to believe that Sara Robinson, mother of Lewis Marshall Martin, was daughter of one of the Robinson brothers or cousins in the coal field areas of western Virginia and West Virginia. It appears that she may have been the offspring of at least two or perhaps three generations of coal miners, slave and free. 

We are of the opinion the Black and Mulatto Robinsons like Sarah were also cousins and siblings to the Black and Mulatto Carters of Virginia whose origins can be easily traced back to the era of Carter plantations in Virginia.  Our view is that enslaved mothers had the privilege of naming their offspring and the fact that surnames such as Robinson, Carter and Lewis appeared in the post-Civil War records gathered by Census takers is because the matrilineal culture in place told offspring who their fathers were. 

The majority of blacks who migrated to Idaho and Iowa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also worked as coal miners.  Before the Civil War, Iowa had only a small black population, but in the 1880s that number increased considerably. Unfortunately, many of the early blacks were hired as strike breakers by Iowa coal operators. In later decades, however, coal companies hired blacks as regular miners.

Name:	Sarah Robinson
Home in 1880:	Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa
Age:	2m
Estimated birth year:	abt 1880
Birthplace:	Virginia
Relation to head-of-household:	Dau (Daughter)
Father's name:	Lensey Robinson
Father's birthplace:	Virginia
Mother's name:	Mary E. Robinson
Mother's birthplace:	Virginia
Neighbors:	View others on page
Occupation:	At Home
Marital Status:	Single
Race:	Mu
Gender:	Female
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Lensey Robinson 23 Mary E. Robinson 19 Sarah Robinson 2m Robert Carter 19 William Carter 25 George Lewis 21

The 1900 U.S. Census shows that Sarah lived for awhile in Philadelphia with her grandmother Mildred Robinson after son Lewis was born in Bedford Virginia in 1895.  We do not know for how long, but can speculate that she married Stephen Robinson before World War I because Lewis was registered for the draft with the name Lewis Martin suggesting that he was legally adopted by Stephen.

Sarah Robinson, born abt 1879

 

Stephen Martin, born abt 1877

Name: Stephen Martin Home in 1880: Ridgeway, Henry, Virginia Age: 3 Estimated birth year: abt 1877 Birthplace: Virginia Relation to head-of-household: Son Father's name: Henry Martin Father's birthplace: Virginia Mother's name: Jennie Martin Mother's birthplace: Virginia Neighbors: View others on page Marital Status: Single Race: Black Gender: Male Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane: View image Household Members: Name Age Henry Martin 40 Jennie Martin 36 Martha Martin 19 Aggie Martin 14 Bettie Martin 13 Henry Martin 10 Caroline Martin 8 Eliza Martin 7 Stephen Martin 3

Stephen Martin
Home in 1920:	Somerset, Somerset, Pennsylvania
Age:	46
Estimated birth year:	abt 1874
Birthplace:	Virginia
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head) [Head]
Spouse's name:	Sarah Martin
Father's Birth Place:	Pennsylvania
Mother's Birth Place:	Pennsylvania
Marital Status:	Married
Race:	Black
Sex:	Male
Home owned:	Rent
Able to read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Stephen Martin 46 Sarah Martin 47 Catharine Martin 17

Walter Toliver Home in 1930: Hampton, Hampton (Independent City), Virginia View Map Age: 45 Estimated birth year: abt 1885 Birthplace: Virginia Relation to Head of House: Head Spouse's name: Sarah Toliver Race: Black Occupation: Education: Military Service: Rent/home value: Age at first marriage: Parents' birthplace: View image Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Walter Toliver 45 Sarah Toliver 45 Rockie Toliver 30 Mamie Toliver 28

The most notable coal community in Iowa was Buxton. Located in northern Monroe County, Buxton contained almost 5,000 people. By contrast, most coal camps averaged around 200 residents. Consolidation Coal Company owned and operated Buxton and instigated many progressive policies. Perhaps most unusual, Buxton had a high black population, at one time almost 54 percent. Most social and economic institutions were racially integrated and the town contained many black professionals. Buxton existed from 1900 to 1922 when coal seams around the area were depleted. Black families then moved on to Des Moines, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and to communities outside the state.

African-American Coal Miners

African-American Coal Miner Beginnings

Virginia Coal Fields

African-American Coal Miners In Iowa

                                        Iowa Coal Miners

Household:  Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace  Linsey ROBINSON   Self   M   Male   B   32   VA   Carpenter   VA   VA   Mary ROBINSON   Wife   M   Female   B   30   VA   Keeping House   VA   VA   John ROBINSON   Son   S   Male   B   3   VA   At Home   VA   VA   Joseph ROBINSON   Son   S   Male   B   11   VA   At School   VA   VA  Source Information:     Census Place E.D. 139, Spotsylvania, Virginia   Family History Library Film   1255391   NA Film Number   T9-1391   Page Number   455D

Household:  Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace  Linsey ROBINSON   Self   M   Male   W   68   VA   Farmer   VA   VA   Elmira ROBINSON   Wife   M   Female   W   55   NC   Keeping House   SC   SC   Larking B. ROBINSON   Son   S   Male   W   19   AL   At Home   VA   NC   Lenard F. ROBINSON   Son   S   Male   W   19   AL   At Home   VA   NC   Decater F. ROBINSON   Son   S   Male   W   16   AL   At Home   VA   NC   Jackson ROBINSON   Son   S   Male   W   15   AL   At Home   VA   NC   Theodocia ROBINSON   Dau   S   Female   W   13   AL   At Home   VA   NC  Source Information:     Census Place District 153, Erath, Texas   Family History Library Film   1255302   NA Film Number   T9-1302   Page Number   98B

	Martin TOLAVER			Household
		Male
	Other Information:
		Birth Year	<1842>
		Birthplace	VA
		Age	38
		Occupation	Servant
		Marital Status	S <Single>
		Race	B <Black>
		Head of Household	David M. WATT
		Relation	Other
		Father's Birthplace	VA
		Mother's Birthplace	VA
	Source Information:
		Census Place	Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania
		Family History Library Film	1255094
		NA Film Number	T9-1094
		Page Number	410B

Household:  Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace  Lewis MARSHALL   Self      Male   B   40   VA   R.R. Employe   VA   VA  Source Information:     Census Place Barboursville, Cabell, West Virginia   Family History Library Film   1255401   NA Film Number   T9-1401   Page Number   75A

Household:  Name  Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace  Powhatan MARSHALL   Self   M   Male   B   45   VA   Laborer   VA   VA   Emily MARSHALL   Wife   M   Female   B   28   VA   Keeping House   VA   VA   Ida MARSHALL   Dau   S   Female   B   19   VA   Laborer On Farm   VA   VA   Oliver MARSHALL   Son   S   Male   B   15   VA   Laborer On Farm   VA   VA   Earnest MARSHALL   Son   S   Male   B   3   VA      VA   VA   Louis MARSHALL   Son   S   Male   B   2   VA      VA   VA  Source Information:   Census Place Forest, Bedford, Virginia   Family History Library Film   1255355   NA Film Number   T9-1355   Page Number   92A

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