Person:George Robbins (1)

GEORGE [1] ROBBINS was born perhaps about 1640 or a little earlier. He was mentioned incidentally in an entry in the Notebook of the Reverend John Fiske of Chelmsford: Nathaniel Shiply, called before the church on 1 November 1657 for "notorious lying," acknowledged falsehoods about Goodwife Byam, saying that "he spoke there [sic] and their substance to George Robbins." In this context, it seems possible that both were quite young men at that time. The George Robbins farm was located in the southern part of Chelmsford near Great Brook where George owned a mill, near what is now Curve Street in North Carlisle. In 1671, a highway "to mill and meeting house" was laid out near Great brook for the accommodation of John Barrett, Thomas Cory, George Robbins, and Ambrose Swallow. During King Philip's War, the Robbins house was one of the garrison houses in town. Late in 1675, a group of settlers from Chelmsford attacked an Indian village nearPawtucket Falls (now Lowell), wounding several women and killing one child. Ata Court of Assistants held at Boston on 19 November 1675, Jonathan Largin and George Robbins were accused of firing their loaded guns into a crowd of Indiansat the Falls. Owing to a lack of evidence, however, the court found them not guilty. On 25 February 1677/8, George purchased "Medow land" in Billerica from George Farley and his wife, Christian, of Billerica. One meadow was bounded by the Concord line, and the other, called "Brook medow," was nearer Chelmsford. The deed for these pieces of property was not recorded until 17 January 1710/1. In 1686, George Robbins was named in a deed as one of the 50 proprietors of former (Wamesit) Indian lands near Chelmsford. George Robbins died in 1689 at Chelmsford. He of Chelmsford, in his will dated 19 February 1688/9, witnessed by Samuel Meriam, Juda Potter, and Joseph Estabrook, Jr. and proved 1 October 1689, bequeathed as follows: ...I give to my beloved wife [£20] in corn or cattle at country price as it goes between man & man this to be payd unto hir foure yearsafter my death. To my three sons Samuel Eliazer & Benjamin I give [£10] to each of them: also to my son Jonathan I give [£10]: also to Tho: my son I give [��5] these legacies to be payd them in corn or cattle when they come to be of age: also to my daughter Sarah I give my feather-bed with its furniture & also [��10]...and to my daughter Mary I give [£10] half of it in household goods & the other half in corn or cattle: also to my son Phillip I give half my medow which I bought of Georg Farly of Bilerica lying by Concord road & twelve acres ofupland lying by Sam Barret: item to my two sons John & Georg I give all the rest of my lands equally to be divided among themselves as they shall agree: finally I constitute & make my sons John & Georg to be executors of this my last will & testament..... The inventory, dated 23 August 1689 and valued at £191 8s,was taken by John Perham, Eleazer Brown, and Ephraim Hildreth. One of the items valued was George's "intrest in ye medow & upland in the wamaset & patucat feeld." Some of the property remained in the family for several generations. One of the last owners was Arthur Graham [7] Robbins (1862-1947) (George H. [6], Ephraim [5,4], Jonas [3], John [2], George [1]).

!George Robbins was born in England and came to the Colonies with his brother, Robert. It seems that they were in the English army serving in Scotland. Robert settled in Roxbury, MA. and and George in Chelmsford in 1666. He had 800 acres in what is now Carlisle. He had a grist and saw mill on Great Brook. Three houses were built on this site the last in 1800. This house was in the Robbins family up to 1950. In 1675 a couple of settler's barns were burnt and Wamesit Indians were supected. George and some other English settlers secretly organized a party and went to their Wigwams confronting and shooting into them killing one boy and wounding 5 women. George and a settler named Largin were the only two t