The Robb's
My father always told me to be very proud of the fact that I was a descendant of the Robb's. As a child that didn't mean too much to me. But now that I am older, and hopefully wiser, I understand what he was referring to. In researching the Robb side of my family it was immediately apparent what an innovative and 'ahead of their times' family they have been.
The first of our Robb ancestors to arrive in North America was Alexander Robb, son of Alexander Robb and Annie Brown, of Ireland. He arrived in Canada in 1823 at the age of thirty-two, and settled in Nova Scotia. Originally he was from an area we, in America, now call Northern Ireland. It was originally part of Scotland, but for political reasons, Great Britain declared it part of Ireland. In America now we refer to these people as 'Scotch-Irish', but the true heritage is from Scotland. Alexander and his wife Annie, had a son named Alexander, born in 1827. It was this Alexander Robb that founded, in 1848 and along with his friend Frederich Bulmer, the Robb Engineering Works which later became the Robb Engineering Co. Ltd. This company was most famous for their boilers which, at the time, were operating on almost every continent of the world. A picture of one of their boilers is the logo for the Cumberland County Museum in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Dennis and I traveled to Amherst in 2003 while searching for our family history, and were surprised to see the large factory building still standing. We were told it had been in operation until the 1990's when labor disputes finally shut it down. Alexander married Emeline Logan and they had five children, four boys and one girl, all of whom were active participants in the operation of Robb Engineering Works. One son, David, was the first person to use an organ in the Presbyterian Church in Amherst, but he was better known for bringing the first bicycle to the area and riding it frequently about town. David went on to become mayor of Amherst twice. After his father became ill, David became general manager and later, President of Robb Engineering works. He developed an early interest in air-pollution, particularly from smoke.
Another son, Walter Russell, married Eliza Caroline Powell, the daughter of William Powell who was an English organist and composer who was operating in Montreal. Eliza was educated in private schools and convents in Montreal. Walter attended Amherst Academy, and then Art School in Rochester New York. He then worked in the business office of Robb Engineering Co. Walter had many interests, including art, painting (both oil and watercolor), etchings, photography, music (he played the violin) and travel. Alexander and Eliza had three children, William, Alexander Logan, and Marguerite. William, known as Willie, died at age two. Alexander Logan is my grandfather. When Walter's health required a change of location, he, his wife and children ,Alexander and Marguerite, traveled extensively through Mexico and then California where they chose to establish their residence. They chose their permanent residences according to which location provided the best educational opportunities. After settling in Fresno, California, Walter owned fruit orchards and later went into the automotive business.
My grandfather, Alexander Logan Robb, continued the family tradition of innovative mechanics. He was a 'lubrication specialist' designing one of the first grease guns in the late 1940's. At age 14, he was the youngest person to drive a motorcycle through the Sierra's. With his interest in automobiles and mechanics, he became involved with the Indianapolis 500, the automobile race held in Indianapolis each year. 'Gramp', as the grandkids called him, was also credited, at least by his own family, for inventing the mechanism used on the top of ball point pens to push the ink tip up and down, as well as the much larger invention of the 'transitvan'. The transitvan is what I know as the 'piggyback container' that loads from a truck onto a flatbed railcar. In addition to his business creations, his friends probably remember him best for his 'marimba' which he put together himself.
Click on the pictures below to enlarge. In the first group, from left to right: first picture-the back of this picture is labeled "Roading Drive, Fresno, California, Alex Robb and a friend, Alex was about 12, 1905". Second picture-labeled on back "Alec, in 'Rambler' touring car winter of 1905-06. Smallest driver in California". Third picture-Walter Russell Robb and daughter Marguerite Russell Robb. Fourth picture labeled on back, "Shaver, June 22nd, Alex at 16yr." Shaver would be referring to town of Shaver at Shaver Lake, California. Note the motorcycle is an 'Indian', most likely one of the very first ones.
This group of pictures appears to be from the Indianapolis 500, the mechanic, the person on the right, is Alexander Logan Robb.
This next set of photos is a crash captured by a photographer. I am not sure where this occurred.
If anyone can identify these please let me know.
Here is a picture of an engine manufactured by the Robb Engineering Works
Much of my information regarding the Robb's came from Barbara McKinlay, who was extremely generous with her help. For more information on the Robb's you may access my GED.com, or check it out at www.Rootsweb.com. For members of www.Ancestry.com you can access the book Logan's of Amherst.
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March 2009-Several Robb descendants have contacted me recently regarding our shared family history. Therefore I have started a Facebook group, titled Alexander Robb descendants, as a way for people to connect. If you are interested in sharing Robb information, you may contact me either through my e-mail address, bonniekgorman@comcast.net, my facebook page Bonnie Isett Gorman, or the facebook group Alexander Robb descendants. I look forward to hearing from you.
I would love to hear from you if you have information or corrections regarding the Robb family.
You may click on the links below for further information and to contact me.