Person:Mary Robe (1)

Mary Robe Stewart has by far the most descendants of any of William Robe, Sr.'s children. By marriage they interconnect with most of the old families of Monongalia and Marion Counties in West Virginia.

The story of her death in Sarah Shell Robe's oral history has not been confirmed and I am inclined to doubt that so many odd tragedies could strike a single generation of one family (i.e., William Robe, Sr. being murdered with a nail driven through his temple, William Robe, Jr. struck by lightning and dying "insane," and Mary Robe Stewart hanging herself). Still, there is supporting evidence for the tragic end of William Robe, Jr. and it may be that the story of Mary also contains a grain of truth.

1.   LDS film #1035723, item 3, Descendants of Mary Elizabeth Currey Barker and John Baldwin.

   "The Descendants of Mary Elizabeth Currey Barker and John Baldwin" contains a Robe family history based on the memories of Sarah Shell Robe. Of Mary Robe Stewart, Sarah Robe says: "Mary married William [sic] Stewart, they raised a large family. She was found hung by the neck with a skein of yarn. It was never known whether she hung herself or was hung by some other person. She was not known to be insane and bore a good character, she died about the year 1810."