Virginia Colonial Militia (Pre-Revolution)
American Revolution (Patriotic Service)
Major William Robinson was a Gentlemen and planter who lived on 500 acres in Spotsylvania County, Virginia which he purchased from a 5000 acre land patent belonging to his father, John Robinson, President of the Governor’s Council of Virginia. On September 7, 1743 William Robinson took the necessary oath and was commissioned with the rank of Major in the militia for Spotsylvania County. The time period suggests the French and Indian War but we have no record that he served in that conflict directly. He used the title of “Major” throughout the rest of his life as evident in tax records. Given the requirements of men in those days, we can assume that he would have been active in drilling and readiness of the local militia.
William was the brother of the Speaker John Robinson, Virginia House of Burgesses. We might say that the Speaker was infamous as being that person shouting, “Treason! Treason!” in response to a particular speech delivered by Patrick Henry before the House of Burgesses. We might further conclude that the Speaker’s loyalties fell on the side favoring George III in the troubles that would boil over into the American Revolution but he died before the Declaration of Independence so we may never know unless some writing exists that suggests otherwise. William, on the other hand, is recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution as a Patriot having supplied beef and blacksmith work to the cause of the American Founding. The “ancestor” number assigned to William by the D.A.R. is A097787. At least one of William’s sons, Francis Robinson, served as a soldier in the revolution.