Family Focus: Andrew McRobie

So I've been doing so much research these past few weeks, I wasn't even sure how to go about presenting it. First things first, I've found an awesome site that provides vital records for most West Virginian counties. Through this, I've managed to find birth registers, marriage registers, and death certificates (all scanned originals). The site is: http://www.wvculture.org. It's been an amazing wealth of information.


So I've decided to slowly focus on one person and their family at a time. Starting with John William's line, this post will be about his oldest son Andrew.

Andrew's mother was John William's first wife. Her name is still unknown. He was born in 1816 in Maryland. She died sometime before 1823. It is unknown if she had other children after Andrew, although the 7 year gap makes it plausible.

Finding records for Andrew has proven to be a little difficult so some of these records are pure speculation.

1. There is an Andrew McRoby that appears on the 1840 Census. Since the names of members of households weren't listed in 1840, we can't be 100% positive, but I'm wagering an educated guess that this is John's Andrew and not Elisha's Andrew.
2. Andrew is counted twice on the 1860 census.
3. Andrew served in the 3rd West Virginia Cavalry in the Civil War.
4. I also found a record (noted in a previous post) for an Andrew McRoby buried in Arlington National Cemetery that served in the West Virginia Cavalry and died during the Civil War.

PLEASE NOTE: I have no confirmation that the Andrew buried in Arlington National Cemetery is the same as John's Andrew. In fact, it does contradict some previous research, but still I feel it shouldn't be ruled out. Andrew does not appear on any censuses after 1860 (including the Veteran's schedules). It is a plausible explanation, albeit, not a confirmed one.

Andrew had five children with an unknown wife:
Archibald (born in 1839)
Daniel (born in 1843)
Jane* (born in 1845)
Issac (born in 1847)
William (born in 1849)

*Jane is not found on any census records but is listed in Wilma Sander's McRobie Genealogy and "The Burbach-Poorbaugh-Purbaugh Family in America 1771-1974" as the daughter of Andrew. So far I have not seen a record, nor talked to anyone, that would contradict these sources.

If anyone would like specific sourcing information and/or would like to see any documents, I am glad to share whatever I have. Just shoot me and email. Also, I'd like to make clear that this research is in no way infallible. If anyone has information to contradict it, I'm open to all possibilities.

Happy hunting!

Head Count, 1840 Census, 1850 Census

So the current head count for direct descendants of William McRobie Sr. is at 367 (give or take a few). And this also doesn't include anyone that's currently living. However, very few of these people until recently were actually confirmed. I was just counting on everyone else's good research to pull through. So I've finally decided to sit down and confirm some more relatives and here's what I've slapped together (listed by household):

Text file: 1840_Census_Transcribed.rtf

Listed on the 1840 Census:
John William McRobie
Elisha Dewitt McRobie
William McRobie
Andrew McRobie (s/o John William)

Text file: 1850_Census_Transcribed.rtf

Listed on the 1850 Census:
John William McRobie Household
.....Delilah [51]
.....John [26]
.....Hugh [22]
.....Jane [21]
.....Silena [16]
.....Abraham [14]
.....Elisabeth [11]
.....Francis [10]
.....Hester [8]
.....Thomas [6]

Elisha Dewitt McRobie Household
.....Azenath [43]
.....Hannah [26]
.....Sarah [22]
.....Michael F [19]
.....Elisabeth [12]
.....Winfield [1]

William McRobie Household
.....Sarah [33]
.....Magdalene [10]
.....Ellen [8]
.....Lucy [6]
.....Rhoda [4]
.....Roland [2]
.....Rachel [1]

John McRobie Household
.....Mary [36]
.....Samuel [10]
.....William H [8]
.....John [6]
.....Henry C [5]
.....Francis [4]
.....Martha [3]
.....Hugh [1]

Andrew F McRobie Household
.....Elisabeth [26]
.....Harriet [1]

William P McRobie Household
.....Lucinda [27]
.....Columbia [1]

Some notes:
The 1840 census only lists the Heads of Households' name. Other than that, it lists the number of people in the household divided into age categories. By comparing the 1840 to the 1850 census, I was able to conclude who was who.

Figuring out which Andrew was which was slightly difficult. I believe that the Andrew McRobie in the 1840 census is the son of John William because he is already married at the time. Andrew F McRobie's (Elisha Dewitt's son's) wife would have only been 15 at the time, so this seems unlikely. Also I have a wedding date for them (though unconfirmed at the moment) in 1842. The first Andrew (John William's son) seems to disappear from the 1850 census. I've tried different variations of his name, and have searched in Virginia as well, and haven't found anything yet. If anyone has found this information let me know!

Also interesting to note, that William P McRobie (son of Elisha Dewitt) was living in Barbour County, Virginia in 1850. Barbour County was formed in 1843, and is now part of West Virginia. It's fairly close to the Maryland border, and definitely plausible that he had moved.



So the official confirmed relative count is now up to:
54