Charles Robinson, Grundy County

In 1892 Jeffrey Coop reported on the good conduct of Charles Robinson. Charles had been sent to Illinois in 1889 and had apparently spent most if not all of his time in the Coop home. By 1900, Charles was still living with the Coops at the age of 23. The Coops moved to Oklahoma sometime before 1910 and Charles stayed in Illinois. In 1910 Charles was a hired hand on the farm of William Heap in Kendall County, but in 1914 he would marry Etta Wylie, the daughter of a nearby farmer, and with her establish a home and family.

In 1914, Charles was 36 years old, but he and Etta would have sufficient time to have four children. In 1920, they had returned to Charles first Illinois home -- Grundy County. There they lived on a rented farm and had their first two sons -- Russell and Wylie.

Charles' brother, William, also lived with them. In earlier censuses William Robinson was also living in Grundy County and working as a farm laborer with first the Severn family and then the Higgins family. William continued to live with his brother from 1920 to 1940. Charles and William were both buried in the same cemetery in Kendall County, where they made their final home.

Charles and William never owned a farm of their own, like many orphan train riders. Charles had three sons and one daughter, Betty.

Charles and William Robinson may have been the same boys who appeared in the New York census in 1880 with James and Theresa Robinson, two native New Yorkers of Irish and German heritage. The only way to know if James and Theresa are truly the parents of Charles and William is to take a look into the records of the New York Juvenile Asylum. (www.newyorkjuvenileasylum.com)