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Lensey Robinson, born abt 1857
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Mary Lee Brady, Ph.D.

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African-American Coal Miners In Iowa

The name Lensey/Linsey like the names Jack/Jackson and even Maxwell are clues to be pursued in our speculation about Robinson relationships in both bodies and spirits such as the virtues of risk taking that is self-evident in the lives of coal miners.  Such characteristics anywhere on earth are not be found in average young men or women.  African-American young men since the very beginning of coal mining in Virginia, ... demonstrated their courage to go into the bowels of the earth where a relatively few men of any color or caste have ever dared.

Name:Linsey Robinson
Home in 1900:Washington, Jasper, Iowa
Age:41
Birth Date:May 1859
Birthplace:Virginia
Race:Black
Gender:Male
Relationship to Head of House:Head
Father's Birthplace:Virginia
Mother's Birthplace:Virginia
Spouse's name:Mary E Robinson
Marriage Year:1877
Marital Status:Married
Years Married:23
Occupation:View on Image
Neighbors:View others on page
Household Members:
NameAge
Linsey Robinson41
Mary E Robinson33
John Robinson17
Fred Robinson12
Linsey Robinson8
Margurite Robinson3/12
 
 

Sarah Robinson, Lewis Marshall Martin's mother 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.

African-American Coal Miners

African-American Coal Miner Beginnings

Virginia Coal Fields

African-American Coal Miners In Iowa

Italian emigration differed from earlier emigration in that it tended to be male dominated. Typically, the Italian male emigrated with financial support of family or friends. Once in Iowa, he worked in the mines to pay back his sponsors; then he began to save to bring his wife and family from Italy. For two generations, Italian males worked in coal mines scattered throughout central and southern Iowa. Beginning around 1925, however, the Iowa coal industry began to decline. By the mid-1950s only a few underground mines remained in the state.
    
Life in a coal camp differed greatly from life in more settled Iowa communities. Most residents described the camps as bleak and dismal. The typical coal camp contained a company store, a tavern and pool hall, a miners’ union hall, and an elementary school. Only rarely did coal camps contain churches or high schools. Coal camp residents had few social or economic opportunities. Most sons followed their fathers into the mines, and daughters tended to marry miners and continued to live in the camps.

The majority of blacks who migrated to 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.

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.

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. 

                                        Iowa Coal Miners

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1878

Indiana

Son

David J.,
Catherine

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1879

Iowa

Son

Samuel Gibson

Laura L.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1833

Maine

Self (Head)

Laura L. Gibson

Samuel

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1840

Pennsylvania

Wife

George Gibson

Samuel,
Laura L.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1861

Wisconsin

Son

Dora T. Gibson

Samuel,
Laura L.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1863

Wisconsin

Dau (Daughter)

Harlow J. Gibson

Samuel,
Laura L.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1865

Iowa

Son

Samuel R. Gibson

Samuel,
Laura L.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1867

Wisconsin

Son

Joseph Chilton

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1835

England

 

William Vancleve

Mary

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1846

Ohio

Self (Head)

Mary Vancleve

William

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1850

Ohio

Wife

Girty Vancleve

William,
Mary

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1873

Iowa

Dau (Daughter)

Edward E. Vancleve

William,
Mary

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1876

Iowa

Son

Lonzo M. Vancleve

William,
Mary

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1877

Iowa

Son

Mirtal M. Vancleve

William,
Mary

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1879

Iowa

Dau (Daughter)

Vandon Nicholson

Melisse

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1851

Ohio

Self (Head)

Melisse Nicholson

Vandon

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1857

Iowa

Wife

Cleo Nicholson

Vandon,
Melisse

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1877

Iowa

Dau (Daughter)

Charles Nicholson

Vandon,
Melisse

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1879

Iowa

Son

William D. Titus

Louisa

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1846

Indiana

Self (Head)

Louisa Titus

William D.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1850

Ohio

Wife

George Titus

William D.,
Louisa

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1876

Iowa

Son

Josheway W. Nash

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1854

Maryland

 

Lottie Shiverly

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1864

Iowa

 

Lensey Robinson

Mary E.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1857

Virginia

Self (Head)

Mary E. Robinson

Lensey

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1861

Virginia

Wife

Sarah Robinson

Lensey,
Mary E.

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1880

Virginia

Dau (Daughter)

Robert Carter

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1861

Virginia

 

William Carter

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1855

Virginia

 

George Lewis

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1859

Virginia

 

George Dumont

Precilla

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1845

Ohio

Self (Head)

Precilla Dumont

George

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1852

Ohio

Wife

Nora Dumont

George,
Precilla

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1868

Ohio

Dau (Daughter)

Sarah Dumont

George,
Precilla

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1870

Ohio

Dau (Daughter)

Anna Dumont

George,
Precilla

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1873

Ohio

Dau (Daughter)

Ferdinand Dumont

George,
Precilla

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1875

Ohio

Son

Emma Dumont

George,
Precilla

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1879

Iowa

Dau (Daughter)

Joseph Henry

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1856

Pennsylvania

 

Charles Garrison

Mima

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1837

Virginia

Self (Head)

Mima Garrison

Charles

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1840

Virginia

Wife

Mary Garrison

Charles,
Mima

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1862

Virginia

Dau (Daughter)

Eugene Garrison

Charles,
Mima

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1868

Virginia

Dau (Daughter)

James Garrison

Charles,
Mima

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1872

Virginia

Son

Catherine Garrison

Charles,
Mima

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1875

Virginia

Dau (Daughter)

Paulena Garrison

Charles,
Mima

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1879

Virginia

Dau (Daughter)

Frank Walker

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1861

Virginia

 

Eltes White

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1860

Virginia

 

William Harris

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1864

Virginia

 

Lewis Walker

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1859

Virginia

 

Nelson C. Pendleton

 

Des Moines, Mahaska, Iowa

abt 1857

Virginia

 

1880 United States Federal Census

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About 1880 United States Federal Census

This database is an index to 50 million individuals enumerated in the 1880 United States Federal Census. Census takers recorded many details including each person's name, address,...

 

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