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OF THE

REV. WILLIAM ROBINSON,

FORMERLY PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

IN

SOUTHINGTON, CONN.

WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF

HIS ANCESTORS IN THIS COUNTRY.

BY HIS SON,

EDWARD ROBINSON,

PROFESSOR IN UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK.

PRINTED AS MANUSCRIPT, FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION.

NEW YORK:

JOHN F. TROW, PRINTER, 377 & 379 BROADWAY,

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PREFACE.

IT is now a quarter of a century, since I began, while residing in Boston, to make some inquiries respecting the ancestors of the Rev. John Robinson of Duxbury, my greatgrandfather. I had communication at the time with the Rev. Dr. T. M. Harris, Pastor in Dorchester, distinguished as an archæologist; but, neither with his aid nor in any other way, was I able to bring the Minister of Duxbury into direct connection with either of the families of the name in Dorchester; from which town it was known that he originated.

About ten years later, the like researches were again taken up; and in September, 1844, I visited Plymouth and Duxbury partly on this errand. The late Nathanael Morton Davis, Esq. of Plymouth, was so kind as to accompany me to Duxbury. We visited the old cemetery and the graves of the Rev. Mr. Wiswall and Mary Robinson; but found no early records either of the church or of the town. We were told, that all the church records, prior to about 1740, had been destroyed by fire. Two years later, Mr. Davis found a volume of the town records, covering the period of the ministry of Mr. Robinson; and sent me various extracts from it, which are used in the following work. At the same time,

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