John Marion Robinson Family Papers, 1866-1890

John M. Robinson was born in Rhea County, Tennessee on May 5, 1843 to John M. and Hannah Robinson. Robinson attended schools and worked the family farm until joining the Confederate Army as part of the 43rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment. After surrendering at Vicksburg, John and his two brothers, Albert and Benjamin, traveled to Virginia City, Montana, arriving in August 1865 and soon after homesteaded at Albrino Park in Gallatin County. The Robinson brothers operated as a partnership in their Montana ranching operations and likely operated a store together as "Robinson and Bros." In February 1873, John married Florence Bickett and the couple had four children; Leonora, Edna, Lester, and Wilbur. During his years in Gallatin County, John was a School Trustee, member of the local executive board of the Montana Agricultural College (later Montana State University), Gallatin County commissioner, and a Montana state legislator in 1884. John's son, Lester, married Winifred Kinney in Gallatin County on June 10, 1903. Winifred Kinney's mother, Harriet A. Lewis Kinney of Tallmadge, Ohio, had been a teacher for the Freedman's Bureau during the early years of Reconstruction in Mississippi.