Henry Robbins family story January 2016 - WordPress.com€¦ · Locations: Fort Collins, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska Henry Millard Robbins was born on June 21, 1892 in Fort Collins,

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Henry Robbins family story – January 2016 Research question: Seeking information about Henry Robbins (1892-1961), his

immediate family (parents and siblings). Looking specifically for information about his parents and his early years.

Surnames: Robbins, Holcomb, Bressman Locations: Fort Collins, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska

Henry Millard Robbins was born on June 21, 1892 in Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado.

His parents were William M. “Will” Robbins (1852-1905) and Mary “Mollie”

Holcomb (1872-1925). William M "Will" Robbins was born on June 18, 1852. He married Mary "Mollie"

Holcomb on July 31, 1891 when he was 36 and she was 16, most likely in Larimer County, Colorado. They had 10 children, the first born out of wedlock.

He died on November 4, 1905, in Fort Collins, Colorado, at the age of 53, and was buried at Grandview Cemetery Plot: G D 59 4 in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Mary "Mollie" Holcomb was born in May 1872 in Menominee County, Wisconsin to Theodore and Mary E. (Lyke) Holcomb. Her second husband was

Andrew Bressman and they had two children together, Colin Bressman (1908-1908) and Doris Regina Bressman (1908-1972). Mary died on March 13, 1925,

in Omaha, Nebraska, at the age of 52 and was buried in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Henry’s nine siblings were Benjamin Clyde “Ben” Robbins (1889-1938), Jesse T. Robbins (1894-?), Lora G. Robbins (1895-1972), Arthur Robert Robbins (1896-1984), Margaret “Marge” Robbins (1899-1972), Roy William Robbins

(1899-1972), Elma Robbins (1901-?), Delberta Annabelle Robbins (1904-1968) and Bernice Mildred Robbins (1905-1937).

By all available accounts, William Robbins was an unfit husband and father.

See images and documents included in this report. In September of 1902, Mary Robbins began divorce proceedings claiming William inflicted multiple acts of verbal and physical abuse, and treated his wife and children with such cruelty

that they feared for their lives.

The situation grew dire for this family. In October 1903, the Fort Collins Weekly Courier reported that Mary Robbins deserted her family, leaving her

eight children in care of her husband. Their divorce was granted on December 2, 1903. One can only imagine the circumstances that compelled Mary to flee

her marriage and family.


In September 1904, the state had removed all eight children from Mary’s care as she no longer had the means to care for them. They were placed first in the

state home for dependant and neglected children. Eventually, they each ended up in different locations/homes as follows:

Benjamin Clyde Robbins – Whereabouts unknown in 1910 but married Harriet Potter in 1912 in Fort Collins, Colorado. Harriet was working as a

servant for a Holcomb family in Wyoming. I assume this is Mary’s family and perhaps how Benjamin made her acquaintance.

Henry Millard Robbins – Whereabouts unknown in 1910 but by 1917 was employed as a farm laborer on the Ezra B. Kenniston ranch (Dailey Lake Road, School District 47, Park County, Montana).

Jesse T. Robbins - Whereabouts unknown in 1910 and died in 1914, at the age of 20, in Montana.

Lora G. Robbins – In 1910, living in Garland, Park County, Wyoming with the Abraham Jones family as their "adopted" daughter. Married

Stephen Douglas Michael in Park County, Wyoming in 1913.

Arthur Robert Robbins - Whereabouts unknown in 1910 but living in Weld, Colorado in 1917.

Margaret “Marge” Robbins – In 1910, listed as a "ward" of Melville and Sarah Simpson in Northeast, Bent County, Colorado. In 1920, working

as a stenographer in Denver, Colorado.

Roy William Robbins – In 1910, listed as a "servant" living with Anthony and Nellie Wylam in Precinct 1, Elbert County, Colorado.

Alma Jean Robbins – In 1910, listed as "orphan", living with Georgia Love in Kirk, Yuma County, Colorado.

Delberta Annabelle Robbins - Whereabouts unknown in 1910 but by the late 1920s, she is married and living in Omaha, Nebraska which is where

her mother relocated to and married Andrew Bressman in 1907.

Bernice Mildred Robbins – Whereabouts unknown in 1910 but married in 1921 in Wheatland, Platte, Wyoming, at the age of 16, to Arthur Foulk.

It is unclear the extent to which these siblings kept in touch in their early

years, after their family broke up, but they are referenced in each others’ obituaries so I presume they maintained a relationship of some sort. They all

seem to have stayed in close proximity, living in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Nebraska.

In June 1907, Mary “Mollie” Holcomb Robbins married Andrew Bressman in Omaha, Nebraska. I am unable to locate Mary or Andrew Bressman in the

1910 Federal Census. Perhaps Mary was able to keep some of the children whose whereabouts are unknown in 1910, especially the two youngest children

(Delberta and Bernice). It’s unclear what path led Mary to Omaha, Nebraska between 1905 and 1907.


Mary’s older sister, Nettie Holcomb Wilkins was living in Larimer County, Colorado in 1910. Her older brother, James Nelcon Holcomb, was living in

Wheatland, Platte, Wyoming in 1910. Bernice Mildred Robbins was married in this same location in 1921 so perhaps she ended up living with her uncle’s

family between 1910 and 1921.

Mary and Andrew Bressman had two children. Colin who died at birth in 1908 and Doris Regina (1908-1972). Doris married Joseph Howard Sharon in 1928 and had five children.

Documents/Images

John Henry Robbins and Jane Evans Grey Robbins

From Find a Grave memorial records


Robbins vs. Robbins court case and divorce proceedings. September 20, 1902. Larimer

County, Colorado.



County, Colorado.


Fort Collins, Colorado Weekly Courier. October 7, 1903.


William and Mary Robbins divorce decree. December 2, 1903.


Fort Collins, Colorado Weekly Courier. September 28, 1904.


William Robbins obituary. Fort Collins Weekly Courier (Fort Collins, Larimer County) Wednesday, November 08, 1905 Page: 1 Section: Front page. November 4, 1905.


The Colorado State Home for Dependant and Neglected Children

The Colorado State home for Dependent and Neglected Children was established by Colorado's Tenth General Assembly on April 10, 1895.

On July 19,1902, one hundred fifteen children and staff moved from the north

Denver location to the new location in South Denver, 2309 South Clarkson Street, Denver, Colorado, telephone number South 226. The field's home was renamed the Administration Building and later became known as Campbell

Hall for Margaret Patterson Campbell who was a Board of Control member from 1913 to 1929. The property also contained a horse barn, an implement shed, a

hog house, calve sheds and chicken houses.

Campbell Hall housed the offices, girls' dormitory, staff house, Superintendent's home, kitchen, dining, laundry facilities and store room. Several large shelters with wooden floors, half wood walls, windows, canvas

roofs and wood burning stoves provided dormitory space for the boys. A separate tent was used as an infirmary.

Growing

New buildings were needed immediately. The Denver architectural firm of Varian and Edwards designed all the buildings at the State Home from 1904 to 1933.

The first two years saw a building boom. The first building, begun August 31,

1903 and completed June 1904, was a school building first named Merrill Hall after a long time State Home sixth and seventh grade school teacher and

principal, Miss Louise A. Merrill. Several years later the building's name was changed to Lincoln.

In 1904 the school building cost less than $13,000 to build. The Dining Hall was also completed in 1904, costing little more than $14,000.

The first boys' cottage was finished in 1904 and was named for Telluride

attorney Edward C. Howe. Mr. Howe had a soft spot in his heart for the children at the Home and made a number of donations over the years including a large donation for a summer camp above Tiny Town on north Turkey Creek

Road in Jefferson County. The Howe building cost $12,590. The boys were able to move out of their tent quarters into a more permanent home.

The infirmary building was completed in 1904. It had four wards and cost

$7,800 to build. Then came the boiler house building at a cost of $7,400 with the laundry on the second level. Pipes to transport hot water from the boiler house to the buildings cost an additional $2,300. The Boiler house was a

common red brick, but Merrill Hall, the Dining Hall, Howe and the Infirmary were Mission style with a gray pressed brick.


The staff of the State Home kept the children busy with different activities: school, domestic science, raising poultry, gardening, sewing and milking cows.

(Excerpt from The Colorado State Home for Dependant and Neglected Children)

Mary “Mollie” Holcomb Bressman death notice. Omaha World Herald.

March 19, 1925.

Resources

William M. Robbins - Find A Grave Memorial #51823525 -

http://www.findagrave.com/index.html

Mary “Mollie” Holcomb Robbins Bressman – Find A Grave Memorial #95349583 - http://www.findagrave.com/index.html

Henry Millard Robbins - Find A Grave Memorial# 32756712 - http://www.findagrave.com/index.html

The Colorado State Home for Dependant and Neglected Children - http://www.coloradostatechildrenshome.org/history/booklet.html

Colorado Historical Society - http://www.historycolorado.org/
http://www.findagrave.com/index.htmlhttp://www.findagrave.com/index.htmlhttp://www.findagrave.com/index.htmlhttp://www.coloradostatechildrenshome.org/history/booklet.htmlhttp://www.historycolorado.org/