The Twilight Zone of Black Enterprise
John Robinson (1825 - 1908)
A significant number of pioneer black lawyers were of mixed-race. This dual heritage is oftentimes forgotten in the modern era when distinctions between Black Americans and White Americans are over exaggerated. All Black Americans whose ancestry can be traced back to before the year 1900 in this country are part European. The percentage of European ancestry may range from as low as ten percent to as high as ninety percent, depending upon the individual. Just shows the range of mixed ancestry among those who self-identify as Black American.
On October 28, 1825, a free woman of mixed race named Catherine “Kitty” Lipscomb gave birth to a son in Cumberland County, Virginia. The father was a member of the white Isbell family in Cumberland County. The baby, John, was later given the family surname, Robinson, of John’s step-brother by another man Nathaniel Robinson. John Robinson was born free in a slave state.
We do not know much more about John Robinson until April 10, 1851 when he registered as a free man in Lynchburg.
By 1855, Robinson had returned to Cumberland and purchased a small tract of land. On January 26, 1857, Robinson registered as a free man in Cumberland shortly before buying another tract of land. Now, Robinson owned 23 acres of land in his property portfolio.
By the start of the Civil War in 1861, Robinson’s land holdings were worth $705 as noted in the county tax rolls. He also owned one slave between the ages of 12 and 21. Robinson worked as a wagon driver. His property holdings were valued at $700 in real estate and $2,100 in personal property, according to the 1860 U.S. Census.
The Civil War
The Civil War disrupted Robinson’s life. In September 1863, the county requisitioned his male slave to work on Confederate fortifications. Robinson ignored the demand. In October 1863, the county again requisitioned Robinson’s slave. Robinson sent his son as a laborer instead.
Reading between the lines, I suspect the folks around the courthouse did not care for Robinson’s non-compliance with a Confederate demand for slave labor. In the summer of 1864, a mob assaulted Robinson not once but twice. Robinson escaped being lynched on two occasions. He fled to neighboring Amelia County with his life.
In September 1864, Robinson sold 143 acres of land for $4,000. He agreed to accept $3,000 in Confederate currency as partial payment. When the War was over, Robinson alleged the sale was a forced fraud and he demanded relief. He would bring ten different lawsuits throughout the courts in Amelia, Cumberland and Powhatan counties to protect his property rights.
Robinson also went after two groups of white men for assault and battery. He obtained a judgment against his assailants in court.
A Man Of Enterprise Enters Public Service
The voters of Cumberland chose Robinson to represent the county in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1867-1868. In the election held on October 22, 1867, Robinson received 1,203 votes from black men and no votes from white men. His white opponent received 383 votes from white men and 40 votes from black men. Once seated as a delegate to the Convention on December 3, 1867, Robinson did not speak up very much. He allowed his votes to speak for him. Apparently, the voters were satisfied as they elected Robinson to the State Senate where Robinson served from 1869 to 1873.
Union General John M. Schofield remarked Robinson “commands the entire confidence of the negroes” in his county.
Even as he served in the State Senate, Robinson remained invested in business enterprise as a way of life. Robinson owned $1,200 in real estate and $350 in personal property in 1870. He worked as a mail carrier. He operated a saloon and a general store throughout the 1870s. And he became a lawyer, according to the historian Eric Foner. By 1872, Robinson’s net worth ballooned to $20,000, according to Dun and Company.
Could it be Robinson became overextended in his financial affairs? His leap in net worth between 1870 and 1872 is incredible.
The Twilight Zone of Black Enterprise
Towards the end of the 1870s, the basic laws of assets and liabilities caught up with Robinson. The debts grew larger and larger until Robinson filed for bankruptcy in 1879.
However, Robinson had seen loss before in his life. This was not his first rodeo.
In a remarkable turn of affairs and on June 1877, Robinson purchased the elegant and courtly Effingham Tavern and Hotel at the Cumberland Courthouse. He paid $2,500 for the asset and managed to keep the investment despite his bankruptcy. Query whether his bankruptcy filing was strategic. I can only speculate.
Robinson managed, operated and lived in the Effingham Tavern for the remainder of his life. The place was a grand part of courthouse life.
Robinson passed away in the middle of the night on January 16, 1908. He died peacefully at Effingham Tavern. As befitting a pioneer black lawyer of enterprise, “Robinson was the owner of a large amount of real estate and personal property, ‘which involved him in numerous law suits and legal battles’” at the time of his death. Freedom’s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction by Eric Foner, page 185 (1993).
Conclusion: Born free of a white father and free black mother, John Robinson survived the lynch mob twice in his native Cumberland. Robinson would obtain a judgement against his assailants and remain on task in the acquisition of property. Even bankruptcy could not stop this natural born entrepreneur from property ownership at the end of his days. Another story little ones should learn in school.
John Robinson (1825 - 1908)
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