Last week a momentous discovery was brought to the Robbbinsdale Historical Society. A giant box of Robbins family papers was found in the attic of a townhouse in Plymouth. We can’t tell you how excited we are! There are letters written by our city’s founder, Andrew B. Robbins, going back to the 1860s. The writing paints a vivid picture of Robbins’ experience as a young soldier in the Dakota Conflict and the Civil War. Among the papers we found dozens of courtship letters to and from Andrew B. Robbins daughter, Esther and a short biography she wrote for school on the life of her Uncle, multi-millionaire, lumber baron, T.B. Walker. A treasure of correspondence from Amy Robbins’ time as a volunteer for the Red Cross, gives us a fascinating look at the the role of women in the First World War.
The collection also contains notes and papers for Amy’s book Echos of France. We’ve contacted a few historians, authors and researchers for help in scanning the papers and we’ve made a good start. Our volunteers have been in touch with Robbins family’s descendants and their relatives. The box includes quite a few of Edith Robbins poems, dozens of courtship letters between Esther Robbins and her husband, wills, business correspondence, etc. It really is an amazing find. These papers amount to the foundational family history of Robbinsdale. The collection contains a wide variety of documents that we believe to be invaluable to the understanding of our the people played such an important role in the early days of Robbinsdale. Over the next few months, the historical society will be able to make papers and digital copies available to the public. A series of posts featuring the Robbins Family Letters will be appearing on the website. If you’d like more information or would like to donate your money, time and expertise, please get in touch! Thanks for your support!
Andrew B. Robbins letter to his mother January 6th, 1863
Amy Robbins’ Weekly Update January 9th, 1919
The Diary of Esther Robbins’ Dog, March 28th, 1902