Son of Capt. John Robinson and Abigail Parsons

Married Elsie Permelia Stoddard, 29 May 1863, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

Children - Isaac Payson Robinson, Leah Lois Robinson, Joseph Martin Robinson, Mary Ann Robinson, Cyrus Robinson, Franklin Robinson, Emily Robinson, Wilford Robinson, Elsie Permelia Robinson, Effie Robinson, Orson Hyde Robinson, Zina Robinson, Jennie Robinson

History - Isaac Payson Robinson was born 17 March 1835 in Cushing, Lincoln County, Maine, the ninth child and fifth son of John Jr. and Sarah Abigail Parsons Robinson.

Isaac’s parents accepted the message of missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were baptized on 4 July 1844. Four of their children were baptized at that time. They were Eveline Permelia, 17: John Jr., 15: Sarah Abigail, 11: and Isaac P. who was nine. Young Lawrence was not quite seven at the time. He was baptized in 1847 somewhere on the plains, on the trip to the Valley.

The family sold their farm and moved to Nauvoo, Illinois to join with the Mormons. The route taken to Nauvoo is not known for a surety except for the part where they (the family) sailed up the Mississippi River of Nauvoo. Being a seafaring man, this seems plausible. According to Memoirs of Lillis Subina Robinson Belnap, John Sr.’s family sailed to New Orleans on a sea going vessel, then took a river boat up the Mississippi to Nauvoo.

When John Sr., Abigail, and their five children reached Nauvoo, they settled on the northeast quarter of Lot #125 in the City of the saints. On 20th of January 1846, John Sr. and Abigail received their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple. On 4 February, the first wagon pulled out of Nauvoo and crossed the mighty Mississippi River on the first leg of the 2,000 mile journey to the Rocky Mountains.

Sometime in the month of July, the Robinsons arrived in the vicinity of Winter Quarters. Driving their outfit down a gully, they camped by a beautiful spring. Because of the lateness of the season, Brother Brigham said it was best to wait until spring before starting for the Rocky Mountains. Food supplies were depleted and much repair work was needed on the wagons. The camp was moved to Cutler Park near a grove of timber. A temporary town was laid out on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River.

John Sr. and Abigail made ready to join the big company which left Winter Quarters on 10 June 1847. They gave their son-in-law, George Whitaker, (married to Evelyn) three oxen, making it possible for the young couple to travel with them in the same company.

The John Robinson Sr. family was assigned to the second 10 of the first 50 of the 100. Abraham Haogland was made captain of the 10 families. The wagon train crossed the Missouri River and traveled about 10 miles where they camped on a large, open plain.

On 9 September, 1847, the weary travelers met President Brigham Young near South Pass. He and his party were returning to winter Quarters. The president had been away from the body of the Church for five months. The weather was cold and stormy.

The family of John Sr. and Abigail Robinson rolled into the Valley on 2 October 1847. They lived with their family in Salt Lake City for a short time. They were then counseled by Church leaders to settle in the Jordan area. In the spring of 1849, they moved to West Jordan. Here a ward was established and John Sr. served as its first bishop.

Following a mission to Nova Scotia, John Sr. and Abigail moved their family to a little settlement at the mouth of Weber Canyon, about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City. It was called Easton, later renamed Uintah. Here John Sr. built a log house and took up land for farming. The family became involved in the branch of the Church there.

It was here that Isaac met his future bride, Elsie Permelia Stoddard. A daughter of Amos and Leah Fickes Stoddard, she was born 12 September 1845, in Nauvoo, Illinois. Elsie was four years old when her family crossed the plains to the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Isaac met Elsie at a well site where he had taken his horses to be watered. He was 22 and she was 12. He told her that he was going to California to work in the gold fields and when he came back they would be married.

Isaac was gone six years, working in the gold fields around Sacramento. He returned home with $600.00 in gold. They were married in Salt Lake City in the Endowment House on 29 May 1863.

Isaac and Elsie moved to Mountain Green, Morgan County, Utah where he took up land owned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Here they built a large one-room log house. Land was cleared and crops planted. Isaac found the soil to be rich and productive. There was plenty of irrigation water available from Strawberry Creek to take care of their needs.

They had a herd of dairy cows, a few sheep and a flock of chickens. Elsie made butter and sold or bartered it in Ogden stores for other grocery staples.

Twelve of their thirteen children were born while they were living in this area. They were Isaac, Leah, Joseph, Mary, Cyrus, Franklin, Emily, Wilford, Elsie, Effie, Orson and Zina.

Isaac played a leading role in the building of a school house located south of the roadway between Dry and Gordon Creeks. He served as chairman of the school committee and assisted in raising funds for the ******** of the school house.

In the fall of 1883, Isaac and Elsie were called by the Church to help settle the Gila River area in Arizona. The Mountain Green (Utah) farm was sold to Ira Spaulding, who gave Isaac $50.00 and assumed his contract with the railroad company. Ira lived on the farm until about 1890 and then sold it to John Heber Robinson, Isaac’s nephew. Part of this farm is still owned by one of John Heber’s grandsons. (1991)

Isaac and Elsie Permelia loaded all their worldly goods into a wagon, along with their 12 children, and set out for the Gila River Valley in Graham County, Arizona. It was in December of 1883.

The oldest child, Isaac, was about 19. Baby Zina was less than two weeks old. The older boys drove a herd of livestock along behind the wagon.

Roads were dusty and rough with few settlements along the way. The route must have been south through Cedar City or St. George, then east to the Short Creek area.

Here the descent to the bottom of the Colorado River Gorge was less hazardous and not nearly as steep. The bottom was reached with no serious trouble. Isaac reported that they traveled along “smoothly” until the end of December. Camp was made at Navajo Wells, Apache County, where two mares were lost.

By the time they reached the summit of the Buckskin Mountains, it was snowing. By 9 January, there were two feet of snow, the primitive road was covered and they became lost. Fearing for their lives, Isaac took the best horse and set out for help at House Rock. Here he found a small settlement of Church members who made him welcome. Bishop Farnsworth and two neighbors took fresh horses and returned with Isaac to his stranded family. Soon the travelers rolled into House Rock, safe and sound.

On 14 January, they set out again and traveled to Jacob’s Pool. Snow was now two and a half feet deep. After a brief stay at Jacob’s Pool, the family continued on to Lee’s Ferry on the Colorado River. And here in the deep gorge of the Colorado, the Robinson family stayed for about two weeks. This was said to be the only place on the canyon to cross the river for a distance of 500 miles. The river at this point could not be forded because of the water level.
Jacob Hamblin and J.W. Powell had brought in lumber by mule pack and built a crude boat named the Canyon Maid. This was before 1870.

John D. Lee arrived in the area in December of 1871. Lee’s wife named the spot “Lonely Dell” and they settled in. He put up a house and when spring came he planted crops and dammed the river for irrigation water. Lee later built a better boat and named it the Colorado. Ownership of the crossing passed to the LDS Church and later to Coconino, Nevada County. This is the spot where those going from Utah to Arizona had to cross the river.

Isaac and Elsie again resumed their journey. Their wagon was loaded onto a ferry along with family members and ferried across the turbulent river. All of the livestock swam across. All---that is--- except a heifer calf that Isaac prized.

Fearing that the little animal could not make it across the swift flowing stream, he tied it behind the ferry boat. But the swift water swirled around the ferry and sucked the little calf under and she was drowned. It was a great disappointment for Isaac. The journey by wagon was resumed.

Soon after leaving Lee’s Ferry, the family had a very singular experience, and they remembered it the rest of their lives!

AN INDIAN GOOD SAMARITAN

One night after the family had made camp, an elderly, dignified Indian came into camp and asked Isaac where they were going. He was told that they were bound for the Gila River Valley.

The Indian then asked for a horse and gun, which Isaac gave to him in spite of his wife’s strenuous objections because she was fearful of the consequences. From that day on they would see the Indian either riding on the road ahead or watching from the ridges overlooking the road. But he never camped with them.

On two occasions he shot wild game and brought it into camp for the family to eat. This continued until the road topped the last mountain north of the Gila River Valley. When they were ready for the descent into the valley, the Indian came to them, pointed to the valley and said, “Gila.” He dismounted from the horse, handed Isaac the gun and walked away. His job was completed!

This unexpected adventure stirred their curiosity. They later learned that he was the chief of one of the local tribes. Some of his braves had turned renegade and were plundering many of the outlying ranches. The chief was acting as escort to protect Isaac and his family from his renegade braves. It was an unforgettable, heartwarming experience.

The family arrived on the Gila River on 14 March, all healthy and strong, and crossed the river to Smithville (Pima). “I will never know why we left Smithville, because that was where we intended to stop. But we were out of flour and couldn’t get any work there, so we started up the river, Isaac said.

As they were leaving town, Brother Alvin Kempton blessed the family with 100 pounds of flour. They traveled on to Safford where Isaac and the boys looked for work. Brother Martin Allred, a stranger, told Isaac to go to the Glasby Store and get what groceries they needed on his account. Isaac and his son, Isaac, Jr., went to Fort Grant and found work breaking up heavy sacaton land for $2.50 per acre.

Sacaton is a coarse grass which grows on alkaline soil, and is used for hay. They hauled posts in Sacaton and earned another $74.57, then returned to their home. Isaac earned $6.75 making adobes in Stockton: Leah was paid $13.50 working for Brother Crookstein.

Isaac and Elsie looked for a farm where they could plant a garden. On 28 April, 1884, they purchased five acres of land from Thurston, paying $60.00 for it and water rights from the mill tailings. The lot was covered with mesquite stumps which had to be dug out. Isaac filed on and claimed some 160 acres of land near Thatcher. The mesquite was so thick that they had to grub some of it out before they could even pitch a tent.

An adobe house was built and land cleared for framing. They had other business enterprises over the years. In 1885, Isaac and his sons decided that the community needed a place for entertainment, so the Robinson brothers built an entertainment center called the Robinson Hall. It was made of adobe and was completed in 1895. The Grand Gila opening was held 10 January 1896. More than 112 couples arrived for the dance and celebration in wagons and buggies.

The hall was used for dances and socials. Suppers were served in the evenings and Elsie did all the cooking. The family was all jovial and musical and could sing. Isaac taught his children the songs, which they sang with delight. The men all had bass voices. The hall was also used for Church meetings and conferences. The hall eventually burned to the ground.

Another enterprise was an ice business. The men in the family made some square tubs of wood. These were hauled to a creek on Mount Graham. In the winter the tubs were filled with water, where it froze. The ice was then hauled down to their home and stored in sawdust, then sold in the summertime to their customers. With plenty of makings, it is probably safe to assume that Elsie treated her big family to plenty of ice cream and other frozen desserts.

During the hot summer the tubs made great bath tubs. They would be filled and set in the back yard so the sun could warm the water. They made great boats, too. Some of the older boys would put the tubs in the canal which ran through their back yard. They would then ride downstream in the tubs. It was an exciting adventure for kids!

Isaac was outspoken when he thought the situation called for it. Because of this, he and the Stake President were not always happy with each other. The latter owned a flour mill, but Isaac refused to take his wheat to the mill to be ground. Instead, he hauled it down the road three miles to a mill in Safford. This did not set well with the Stake President.

Shortly after this, Isaac and a friend were attending a horse race. He and the friend made a bet. Isaac had a nickel and his friend had a handkerchief. Those were the bets. Nobody knows who won the bet, but Isaac was tried for gambling and was excommunicated from the Church. He wrote to the Presidency of the Church and protested this action. Two Apostles were sent to Thatcher to investigate. After much discussion and investigation, one of the Apostles concluded by saying. “I see where the shoe pinches. Brother Robinson, you can take your wheat to any mill of your choice to have it ground into flour, and you will not lose your membership (in the Church) by so doing.” The matter was closed.

Each year Isaac threshed the grain and stored it at a mill in Pima. On one trip to the mill he was driving up a steep dugway when the team of horses bolted. The wagon tipped over and Isaac and Elsie were buried in the grain that poured out onto the hillside. Luckily, no bones were broken and no injuries suffered.

Isaac’s family remembers that he was short in stature and had a long grey beard. In his later years, he never worked, just worked his kids. He like to stay around home. He would sit in a chair and read the Standard Works of the Church. He was very quiet in a crowd, and had very little education. The Robinsons had the reputation of being “big-footed.”

Isaac loved drinking his tea. His daughter, Zina, tells of an incident that happened when Isaac was in Stake Conference. The visiting General Authority gave a talk on the Word of Wisdom. Everyone in the congregation that would commit to giving up their tea and coffee were then asked to stand. Zina remembers that her father started to get up several times and then sat back down on the seat. He finally stood up and remained standing. From that day on, he never drank tea again.

In his daughter, Zina’s life story, she writes, “Pa was a man of much faith, and was called out alot to administer to the sick. He held the office of High Counselor in the Church as far back as I can remember and was very faithful in doing his duty. If any of the family were ever sick, the first thing he and Ma thought of, was administration. It instilled in my heart from childhood, how very important it is to seek the Lord in whatever we do.”

Zina also writes, “My childhood days were extremely happy. I loved our home and with Pa and Ma and our big family of brothers and sisters, we always enjoyed life every much. No one could have loved their father and mother more than I. There are days that I spend hours reminiscing and living again, the good times we used to have together. In summertime the water in the big ditch was not enough to supply water for the land of those who had moved into the valley.

So Pa and we children, Effie, Orson, and I, spent many hours drawing water from our well every day, and carrying at least one or two buckets to each tree in our beautiful orchard that Pa had planted, that would some day provide all of the fruit the family and neighbors could use. It didn’t take long until we were reaping the benefits from it. I can almost see them now, as we would gather tubs of beautiful peaches, cut and dry them and lovely barrels of apples and pears that Pa would cover with wheat that preserved them almost until they would ripen again on the trees. Pa always said, ‘The Lord has given us so much to beautify this earth, and it was up to us to use it’.”

In his later years, Isaac was driving a wagon that tipped over. He broke his collar bone and never fully recovered from the accident.

Elsie developed cancer late in life. She was taken to San Francisco for treatment, but a few years later the cancer reappeared. On 31 March 1907, she died in the family home at the age of 61 and was buried in the Thatcher Cemetery. After her death, Isaac’s son, Orson, and his wife, Kathryn, moved in with and cared for him. Isaac lived another 10 years, dying on 2 April 1917, in Thatcher, Arizona at the age of 82. He is buried beside Elsie in the Thatcher cemetery.

He had 56 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren at the time of his death.

Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, Edward Hunter - Joseph Horne Company (1847); Age at Departure: 12