Wade & Webb Family History

Nancy Catherine Robbins1839–1929

Nixburg · Alabama · Texas · Bascom

Nancy Catherine Robbins, known in later life as Kate, was born at Nixburg in Coosa County, Alabama, in 1839, a daughter of the man she remembered as the first white settler of the county. She married Charles Grayson in 1865, and by 1900 the family had moved to Smith County, Texas. There, the only one of her father's twelve children still living, she wrote down the family's history in a letter to a nephew; she died at Tyler in 1929.

On this page
  1. Family Record
  2. Life
  3. Documents (1)
  4. Places
  5. Timeline
  6. Open questions
  7. Notes

Birth

  1. 18 Mar 1839 Nixburg, Coosa, Alabama 1

Marriages

  1. 5 Nov 1865 Charles Oliver Grayson, at Coosa, Alabama 10

Death and burial

  1. 1929 Burial: Bascom, Smith, Texas
  2. 16 Feb 1929 Death: Tyler, Smith, Texas 14

Family

Parents
Solomon Robbins Sr. 1791–1879
Mary Martha Wilson 1801–1878
Spouse, 5 Nov 1865
Charles Oliver Grayson 1835–1922
Children
Mary Jeanett Grayson 1878–1969
Catherine Love Grayson 1880–1983
Solomon Robbins Grayson 1867–1903
Horatio Alexander Grayson 1869–1961
Susan Elizabeth Grayson 1866–1915
Charles Capel Grayson 1872–1901
Josephine Grayson 1875–1966

Line of descent Webb line

  1. Nancy Catherine Robbins
  2. Sister of Eliza Robbins
  3. William Walker Walden, son
  4. Lila Walden, daughter
  5. Hilda Webb, daughter
  6. William Albert Webb Wade, son

2nd great-grandaunt of Webb Wade, from whom this history is traced. Why Webb Wade?

Life

Nancy Catherine Robbins, known in later life as Kate, was born on 18 March 1839 at Nixburg, Coosa County, Alabama, a daughter of Solomon Robbins Sr. and Mary Martha Wilson, according to the FamilySearch tree, which cites no source for the date.1 Her own account of the family, a letter to a nephew printed in George E. Brewer's "History of Coosa County, Alabama" (1942), gives the same date and place for "W. Kate," as she lists herself among her father's children.2 The federal census of 1850 listed Nancy Robbins in the Coosa County household indexed under her mother, Mary Robbins, and that of 1860 listed "C Robbins" in her father's household.3

The family letter

The letter was contributed to Brewer's history by "Mrs. Kate Grayson," and in it she describes herself as living near Tyler, in Smith County, Texas, "the only one of the 12 children" still living.4 Inference Since it reports her sister Sarah Adeline's death on 24 December 1903, she wrote it after that date, when she was at least sixty-four.4 As she tells it, her father, Solomon Robbins, was born in Brunswick County, North Carolina, on 14 January 1791, a son of Benjamin and Sarah (Wells) Robbins, and served as a private through the War of 1812.5 He came to Alabama about 1816, settled first in Montgomery County and then in Autauga County, where his first wife died, and on 27 May 1822 he married her mother, Mary Wilson, a daughter of Capt. Benjamin Wilson of Isle of Wight County, Virginia.6 In 1832 (the printed text reads "1882") he moved the family to Coosa County "among the Creek Indians," and she calls him the first white settler to found a home in the county; he kept the first post office at Nixburg, then called Robbinsville.7 Her parents, she writes, reared eleven children on "the old home bought of the Indians," were members of the Methodist Protestant church, and were buried in the cemetery of that church near their home; her mother died on 28 June 1878 and her father on 19 May 1879.8 The letter is a recollection printed in a county history, a secondary source, but the dates it gives for her parents and for most of her brothers and sisters agree with the tree's to the day, though not those for her brother John Wells Robbins.9

Marriage and Texas

On 5 November 1865 she married Charles Grayson in Coosa County; her letter gives his full name as Charles Oliver Grayson.10 The censuses of 1870 and 1880 recorded her as Catharine and Kate "Grason" in her husband's household, in 1880 at Nixburg.11 The tree names seven children, born between 1866 and 1880: Susan Elizabeth, Solomon Robbins, Horatio Alexander, Charles Capel, Josephine, Mary Jeanett and Catherine Love.12 By 1900 the family had moved to Smith County, Texas, where the censuses of 1900, 1910 and 1920 listed her in her husband's household, under the index names Cattie, Kate and "Hate" Grayson.13 Widowed on 4 March 1922, she died at Tyler, Smith County, on 16 February 1929, as Kate Grayson; her Texas death record names her parents as "Soloman Robins" and Mary Wilson.14 She is buried at Bascom, Smith County, where a Find a Grave memorial is indexed under the name Nannie Katherine Robbins Grayson.15 The Texas death records of her son Horatio Alexander Grayson in 1961 and of Mary Casey in 1969 name their mother as Katy Robbins and "Kate Robinson".16

Documents

  1. 1942 History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch) George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942) · book

Places

  1. 1839–1880Nixburg
  2. 1850–1865Coosa
  3. 1900–1920Smith
  4. 1929Bascom
  5. 1929Tyler

Timeline

  1. 18 Mar 1839BirthNixburg, Coosa, Alabama
  2. 1850ResidenceCoosa county, Coosa, Alabama
  3. 1860ResidenceSouthern Division, Coosa, Alabama
  4. 5 Nov 1865Marriage, Charles Oliver GraysonCoosa, Alabama
  5. 1870ResidenceAlabama
  6. 1880ResidenceNixburg, Coosa, Alabama
  7. 1900ResidenceJustice Precinct 1 (part of voting precinct 18 & precincts 1 & 19), Smith, Texas
  8. 1910ResidenceJustice Precinct 2, , Texas
  9. 1920ResidenceJustice Precinct 1, Smith, Texas
  10. 1929BurialBascom, Smith, Texas
  11. 16 Feb 1929DeathTyler, Smith, Texas

Open questions

None recorded yet.

Notes

  1. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LH37-H6V: birth 18 Mar 1839, Nixburg, Coosa, Alabama, no source attached; also named Nancy Katherine, W. Catherine and W. Kate Robbins back to the text
  2. History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): Kate Grayson's letter to a nephew, pp. 248–254: The next, W. Kate, was born in Nixburg, Coosa County, Ala., March 18th, 1839 back to the text
  3. "United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch, Nancy Robbins in entry for Mary Robbins, 1850. Record: Nancy Robbins in entry for Mary Robbins, 1850 "United States, Census, 1860", FamilySearch, C Robbins in entry for Sol Robbins, 1860. Record: C Robbins in entry for Sol Robbins, 1860 back to the text
  4. History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): Robbins Family (Contributed by Mrs. Kate Grayson): Married Charles Oliver Grayson, resides now near Tyler, in Smith County, Texas, the only one of the 12 children [living] … [Sarah Adeline] Died in Texas, December 24th, 1903 back to the text
  5. History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): My father, Solomon Robbins, was born in Brunswick County, N. C., January 14th, 1791. His parents were Benjamin and Sarah Robbins (nee Wells). My father served as a private soldier through the War of 1812 back to the text
  6. History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): he came to Alabama about the year 1816, settled in Montgomery County … he moved from there to Autauga County … There his wife died, and he afterwards married Mary Wilson, daughter of … Capt. Benjamin Wilson … born in Isle of Wight County, Va. … marired [sic] to his last wife, Mary Wilson, May 27th, 1822 back to the text
  7. History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): In 1882 [sic, for 1832] he moved with his family to Coosa County among the Creek Indians, and was the first white settler to found a home in that County … He kept the first P. O. ever established at Nixburg, although it was then called Robbinsville back to the text
  8. History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): Father and mother reared a large family, 12 children (11, I should have said, as one died in infancy), on the old home bought of the Indians, both died there and were laid to rest in the old cemetery at the Protestant Methodist church … Solomon Robbins, Sr., died May 19th, 1879. Mary Robbins, his wife, died June 28th, 1878. They were both members of the Methodist Protestant church back to the text
  9. History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): dates for Solomon, Mary, Martha Ann, Mary Jane, Eliza, Sarah Adeline, George Washington and W. Kate; John Wells born July 29th, 1824, died July 30th, 1863 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile KT3X-L4D (their page): birth 14 Jan 1791; marriage 27 May 1822; death 19 May 1879 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile L4KK-6HV (their page): birth 2 Jul 1824; death 20 Jul 1863 back to the text
  10. "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992", FamilySearch, Charles Grayson and Nancy C. Robbins, 05 Nov 1865. Record: Charles Grayson and Nancy C. Robbins, 05 Nov 1865 "Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957", FamilySearch, Nancy C. Robbins in entry for Charles Grayson, 5 Nov 1865. Record: Nancy C. Robbins in entry for Charles Grayson, 5 Nov 1865 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LH37-H6V: marriage 5 Nov 1865, Coosa, Alabama History of Coosa County: the Robbins family (Kate Grayson's letter and H. R. Robbins's sketch), George E. Brewer, "History of Coosa County, Alabama," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2 (Montgomery, Alabama, Summer 1942): Married Charles Oliver Grayson back to the text
  11. "United States, Census, 1870", FamilySearch, Catharine Grason in entry for Charles Grason, 1870. Record: Catharine Grason in entry for Charles Grason, 1870 "United States, Census, 1880", FamilySearch, Kate Grason in entry for C. O. Grason, 1880. Record: Kate Grason in entry for C. O. Grason, 1880 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LH37-H6V: residence 1880, Nixburg back to the text
  12. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LH37-H6V: children of Charles Oliver Grayson and Nancy Catherine Robbins, 1866–1880 back to the text
  13. "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch, Cattie Grayson in entry for Charles Grayson, 1900. Record: Cattie Grayson in entry for Charles Grayson, 1900 "United States, Census, 1910", FamilySearch, Kate Grayson in entry for Charley O Grayson, 1910. Record: Kate Grayson in entry for Charley O Grayson, 1910 "United States, Census, 1920", FamilySearch, Hate Grayson in entry for C A Grayson, 1920. Record: Hate Grayson in entry for C A Grayson, 1920 FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LH37-H6V: residence 1900, 1910 and 1920, Smith County, Texas back to the text
  14. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LCFJ-HRP (their page): death 4 Mar 1922 "Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000", FamilySearch, Kate Grayson, 16 Feb 1929. Record: Kate Grayson, 16 Feb 1929, Texas Death Index "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977", FamilySearch, Kate Grayson, 16 Feb 1929. Record: Kate Grayson, 16 Feb 1929 "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977", FamilySearch, Soloman Robins in entry for Kate Grayson, 16 Feb 1929. Record: Soloman Robins in entry for Kate Grayson "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977", FamilySearch, Mary Wilson in entry for Kate Grayson, 16 Feb 1929. Record: Mary Wilson in entry for Kate Grayson FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LH37-H6V: death place Tyler, Smith, Texas back to the text
  15. FamilySearch Family Tree, profile LH37-H6V: burial 1929, Bascom, Smith, Texas "Find a Grave Index", FamilySearch, Nannie Katherine Robbins Grayson. Record: Nannie Katherine Robbins Grayson, Find a Grave Index back to the text
  16. "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977", FamilySearch, Katy Robbins in entry for Horatio Alexander Grayson, 23 November 1961. Record: Katy Robbins in entry for Horatio Alexander Grayson, 23 November 1961 "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977", FamilySearch, Kate Robinson in entry for Mary Casey, 19 May 1969. Record: Kate Robinson in entry for Mary Casey, 19 May 1969 back to the text
Every FamilySearch record attached to Nancy Catherine Robbins (17)
  1. 1850Nancy Robbins, "United States, Census, 1850"
  2. 1860C Robbins, "United States, Census, 1860"
  3. 1865Nancy C. Robbins in entry for Charles Grayson, "Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957"
  4. 1865Nancy C. Robbins in entry for Charles Grayson, "Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957"
  5. 05 Nov 1865Nancy C. Robbins, "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992"
  6. 5 Nov 1865Nancy C. Robbins, "Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957"
  7. 1870Catharine Grason, "United States, Census, 1870"
  8. 1880Kate Grason, "United States, Census, 1880"
  9. 1900Cattie Grayson, "United States, Census, 1900"
  10. 1910Kate Grayson, "United States, Census, 1910"
  11. 1920Hate Grayson, "United States, Census, 1920"
  12. 16 Feb 1929Kate Grayson, "Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000"
  13. 16 Feb 1929Kate Grayson, "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977"
  14. 23 November 1961Katy Robbins, "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977"
  15. 19 May 1969Kate Robinson, "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977"
  16. 1870 Census at Nixburg, Coosa, Alabama
  17. Nannie Katherine Robbins Grayson, "Find a Grave Index"