Robertson Family history obtained from Lawrence Robertson by Susan Zeni (email 4 Sep 2007):

...The materials [from Phyllis Welsh, Robertson Family historian] gave little detail on William Riley (W. R.) Robertson, but there was a nice write up on his son, John Washington Robertson that is attached below. John W. Robertson himself doesn't show up in our cemetery because he married a second time later in life, and he and his second wife are in the Sebastopol Cemetery, but John W's first wife and several of their descendants are at Spring Hill.

From the John Washington Robertson write up, it would appear that William Riley Robertson was born in KY and married his wife, Artilla Powers in Texas. She was also born in KY, so it is possible that they or their families knew each other in KY before moving to TX. WR and Artilla's first child was born in Texas in 1843, but by the time their second child was born in 1847 they were living in Richill, Missouri. They remained in MO for the birth of two more children, then came by wagon train with 4 small children to California beginning in March of 1852. They settled in Knightsen near Stockton awhile - long enough to have their 5th child, Mary, and probably the 6th, Martha - both were supposed to have been born in CA (Mary b 1853 looks like died early, and Martha born 1856 died 1857 - neither one is known to be in Spring Hill, so most likely the family was still in Knightsen).

We know the family was in the Bodega area before Sept 12, 1857, as that is the date that Lavina Robertson married John Spencer Parmeter. WR and Artilla's last child, Sara Ann, was born January 11, 1858 in Bodega, CA. WR died just 8 years later, in 1866, but not before he had established a 180 acre ranch and had helped to found and build the Watson School in Bodega. Artilla lived until 1901 [correction by Susan Zeni: "Artilla Powers died 11 Jan 1891 (not 1901)"], dying in Oakdale, CA, for some unknown reason (I don't see that any of her children had migrated there).

Corrections to above article supplied by Lawrence Robertson, August 8, 2007:

William Riley Robertson was born in Cooper or Howard County, Missouri on 11-17-1819. Artilla Powers was born in Kentucky in 1825 and died in Oakdale, CA on 1-11-1891. They were married in Missouri probably in Van Buren County on 5-5-1842.

Levina was, in all probability, born in Van Buren County, MO as the parents of Artilla and Wm. Riley were neighbors at the time of the 1840 census. But, family tradition has always said that she was born in Texas. In 1847 when CC Robertson, the second child, was born they were living in Bates Co., MO. That part of Bates had been formed from Van Buren Co. John and Nelly Powers, parents of Artilla, James and Elizabeth Robertson parents of Wm. Riley, Wm. And Mary Powers brother of Artilla, John and Sydney Robertson brother of Wm. Riley and Robert and Nancy Wall, Nancy a sister of Wm. Riley were all living as neighbors in Bates Co .when the 1850 Bates Co., MO census was taken.

Wm. Riley and his family came to California in 1852 with John Powers a brother of Artilla. They came with three children. Elizabeth had died on 10-15-1850 in Bates Co. at the age of 1 year and 5 months. John Washington Robertson, the youngest at that time, was less than a year old. The family is listed in the 1852 special California census as living in Calaveras Co. They may have been living between Sutter Creek and Volcano in a town called Porterfield. Sutter Creek and Volcano are now in Amador County. There had been a very prominent attorney for whom the town was named. A Porter listed as a Justice of the Peace was listed very close to Wm. Riley on that census. This leads me to believe that they were living either in Porterfield or Volcano.

Mary Jane Robertson was born as stated on 11-25-1853 either in Calaveras or Contra Costa County. In all likelihood it would have been Knightsen in Contra Costa County. CC Robertson related that they had lived there for some time and that he and his sister, Levina, had gone to a tent school where they were taught by a lady they called Auntie Blair. Mary died on 8-3-1894 in Los Angeles County. She had married a George Francis first and secondly a Mr. Wilson.

Wm. Riley purchased land near Bodega across from what is now, the Watson School in 1855. Martha Robertson was born in 1856 and died in August of 1857. She was in all likelihood born in Sonoma County. The family Bible does not give a burial place

Sarah Anne Robertson took the name Julia Clendening - which was said to be that of her great grandmother, Jenny Clendenan. She was born in 1857 and died in Monrovia, Los Angeles Co., in 1937. At that time she was married to Walter Box and used the name Julia M. Box. She had been previously married to a Mr. Morse and used the name of Julia C. Morse while living in Petaluma, CA.

Regarding the death of Artilla Robertson. She was returning from a visit with a brother in Riverside County and had stopped to visit with Susannah Beal, the mother of CC Robertson's wife Mary Ellen, when she passed away before traveling on to Columbia in Tuolumne Co to visit with her son. According to the records in Stanislaus Co., she was to be buried in Tuolumne Co. where CC Robertson was living at the time. Why she was buried in Oakdale in not known.

Regarding the information below, I have the name of #2 James Parmeter as being James Robertson Parmeter.

[Correction from Susan Zeni:"The last point of Larry's email also says that Lavina (Livina)'s son James' middle name is Robertson. That is definitely NOT THE CASE - I have gathered all Roberston researchers as well as the cemetery sources. We have come to the definitive and unanimous conclusion Lavina's son, James', name is James Lee Parmeter (1863-1871)"]

William Riley Robertson (17 Nov 1819 - Nov 1866) + Artilla Powers (Oct 1825 - 11 Jan 1891 [see correction above])

1.

Lavina Robertson (22 May 1843 - 1883) + John Spencer Parmeter (28 Mar 1832 - 7 Jul 1917)

1.

Harriet Parmeter (19 Jul 1859 - 1941)

2.

Jefferson Davis Parmeter (1861 - 1885)

3.

James Parmeter (1863 - 1871)

4.

William Wade Parmeter (27 Jul 1867 - 1955)

5.

John Christopher Parmeter (14 Apr 1871 - 1953)

6.

Mary Lillian Parmeter (27 Jan 1876 - 28 Nov 1928)

2.

Christopher Columbus Robertson (16 Dec 1847 - 1940) + Mary C Beal (1855 - 1896)

3.

Elizabeth Robertson (1846-1850)

4.

John Washington Robertson* (29 Aug 1851 - 1916) + Mary J Courtright (1852 - 1912) (Mary's Mother, Mary Courtright 1825-1866 also in Spring Hill Cemetery)

Family of John Washington Robertson (second son of William Riley Robertson) by Phyllis Welsh :

III. John Washington Robertson was born at Rich Hill, Bates Co., MO., Aug. 29, 1851, son of William Riley and Artilla Powers Robertson. The family moved from Missouri to California when John was a baby by wagon train; they started early in March of 1852. They settled for a short while in Knightsen, west of Stockton, then moved to Sonoma County and settled in the Bodega, Freestone and Valley Ford area.

John attended the Watson school that his father and other neighbors had built, and is still standing (is now a county park). It was at this school that John met his future wife, Mary Jane Courtright. The Courtrights were also a pioneer family living in this area. They were married June 29, 1870 at Freestone, California. When they were first married they lived on the ranch that William Riley had willed to John. It is located on the Valley Ford highway, consisted of 180 acres, Ebias creek runs along the western edge of the property. John was only about 14 years of age when his father died. John was not much interested in ranching, he liked to hunt, the ranch was rented at times and the family moved to various places in Sonoma County. They lived on a high peak called Cabe's Rock near Guerneville, also on Austin Creek near Cazadero, and at one time he had a hotel in Guerneville. They also lived in Freestone, where their daughter Rose was born, and also at a place between Freestone and Occidental, where their daughter Ivy was born. John was always chasing rainbows, he went to Alaska at the time of the gold rush, but he didn't find gold. He went to Mexico, there he brought land that was later confiscated by the Mexican government.

The ranch at Valley Ford had a large two story house on the east side of the creek, which burned in 1890. The youngest son, Raymond (3 yrs. old) build a `shire' that turned into a big `shire' in the up-stairs where the wedding dress of his sister Pansy, who was to be married the next day, was hanging. The house burned so quickly, little was saved -- the wedding clothes burned. It was in this house that the first child of John and Mary was born, Daisa Artilla Robertson on April 14, 1971. On this same date John's beautiful red haired sister gave birth to a son, John Chistopher Parmeter, in Bodega, California. John and Mary had eight children.

1.

Daisy Artilla Robertson (14 Apr 1871 - 24 Feb 1962) + Thomas Herbert (2 Mar 1860 - 15 Jun 1937)

1.

Daisy Marie Herbert (9 Oct 1902 - abt 2005) + George Galpin

Fom Phyllis Welsh :

A. Daisy Artilla Robertson 4-14-1871, Valley Ford, Ca. She attended Watson school and also Miss Chase's Seminar for Girls in Santa Rosa. At the 1956 centennial of the Watson school she was the oldest living former pupil of the school -- she was 85 years old and the grand-daughter of William Riley Robertson, one of the founders of the school.

2.

Rose Ethel Herbert (18 Apr 1904 - ) + Byron Dezelle McCormick

3.

Thomas Mason Herbert (10 Nov 1905 - 20 Nov 1972) + Mare Elizabeth Jones

2.

Rose Lucretia Robertson (12 Dec 1873 - 24 Oct 1953) + Robert Linebaugh

3.

John Anthony Robertson (1 Jul 1876 - 3 Sep 1968) + Jessie Gambsy (24 Feb 1876 - 3 Mar 1966)

1.

John (Jack) Gambsy Robertson (10 Feb 1905 - 18 Oct 2003) & Alice Lauraine Ross

1.

Phyllis Mae Robertson (2 Apr 1929 - ) & Leslie Warren Welsh

2.

Nancy Jane Robertson* (8 May 1934 - ) + (1) Don Lee Eddlemon & (2) Adolph (AL) F. Hartmann

2.

William Jesse Robertson * (29 May 1911 - 19 Feb 1979) + (1) Edith Grider & (2) Arletta Marie Lund

4.

Pansy Elmira Robertson* (27 Nov 1879 - 20 Jul 1966) + M J (MIG) Pallascio

5.

Pansy Elmira Robertson * (27 Nov 1879 - 20 Jul 1966) + Walter Owens

6.

Ivy Mary Jane Robertson * (May 1882 - 1972) + (1) William Taylor & (2) William Duerson

7.

William Valjean Robertson (15 Apr 1885 - 15 Oct 1963) + Zella Ella Welling

1.

Rozella Robertson (14 Feb 1910 - ) + Leonard Martinelli

2.

Jeanne Ella Robertson* (10 Sep 1911 - ) + John Merian

3.

Jeanne Ella Robertson* (10 Sep 1911 - ) + Mike Stornetta

1.

Lynn Michelle Stornetta* (24 Feb 1947 - ) + (1) Kenneth Graves & (2) Norman Green

4.

Jeanne Ella Robertson* (10 Sep 1911 - ) + Spirito Ballatore

5.

Mary Catherine Robertson (6 Oct 1915 - ) + Jack R Bradley

6.

William Washington (BIll) Robertson (18 Oct 1916 - ) + Hazel Ravanel McNinch

8.

Jess E Joseph Robertson (3 Feb 1889 - 28 Sep 1970) + Christina Marshall

1.

Grace Robertson (31 Mar 1915 - ) + Clarence Kirkland

2.

Jane Mary Robertson (1 Aug 1919 - ) + Homer Young

1.

Eric Young (21 Jul 1942 - )

9.

Raymond Douglas (Pat) Robertson (18 Oct 1896 - 3 Jan 1939)

5.

John Washington Robertson* (29 Aug 1851 - 1916) + Grace Marshall

6.

Mary Robertson (1853 - )

7.

Martha Robertson (1856 - 1857)

8.

Sara Ann (called Julia Clendenning) Robertson (11 Jan 1858 - )