Robinson and Via Family Papers: 1838-2014, undated
The Robinson family is thought to be of Scottish origin and appear in the records of Prince George's County, Maryland by the early 18th century. The line has been definitively traced to James Robinson (?-1849). James' father was probably Benjamin Robinson (?-1810), of Prince George's County, Maryland. (Will Book TT1, pg. 15, Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Maryland State Archives (MSA))
James Robinson and Sarah Wynn were issued a marriage license on February 28, 1802 in Prince George's County, Maryland. (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland) Eleven children lived to maturity (not listed in birth order); Thomas Wells (1803-1869), Ann, Priscilla, James Monroe, Benjamin (1813-1882), John C. (1819-1895), Mary Sophia, Thomas Stanley (1800-1874), Alfred, Sarah Ann, Matilda, and Rebecca Maria.
James worked as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden near Upper Marlborough, Prince George's County. (Oden Papers, Maryland Historical Society) The Robinsons and their children, moved to Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia) by April 18, 1818 where James acted as Oden's land agent (Deed Book 6, pg. 123, Land Records of Wood County, West Virginia). They brought with them three enslaved described in the above reference as, "Kate a woman 45 years of age very black; Colonel a boy aged 8 years yellow complexion: and George a boy aged six years of a dark brown complexion." They settled on part of what was known as the "Burnt Mill" tract in the general area where the Hughes River meets the Little Kanawha River. (Deed Book 9, pg. 110 and Deed Book 14, pg. 40, Land Records of Wood County)
Thomas Wells Robinson may not have accompanied his family to Virginia as he has a presence in Prince George's County prior to 1822 and was employed as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden at least until 1832. He married Elizabeth J. Richards on December 15, 1829 (Robinson Family Bible). They had nine children; Richard Thomas (1831 1906), Rebecca Maria (1832-1895), Mary Wynn (1834-1916), James George (1835-1883), Virlinda Victoria (1837-1838), Elizabeth Ann (1839-1916), Sarah Ann Sophia (1840-1874), Franklin Alexander (1841-1905) and John Alfred (1843); seven lived to maturity. (Robinson Family Bible) Elizabeth died on August 17, 1843 from complications in childbirth. She was buried in the graveyard of Page's Chapel (later known as St. Thomas Episcopal Church), Croom, Prince George's County. In 1843, Thomas purchased the plantation of Dr. Benjamin B. Hodges for $10,000 or approximately $15 an acre. Hodges was a brother-in-law of Benjamin Oden. The deed dated September 7, 1843 describes the parcel as containing, "Six hundred and twenty nine acres of land more or less and constitute that plantation or Estate of the said Benjamin Oden heretofore commonly called "Brown's Quarter Place" being the Land tracts and parcels of land sold by the said Benjamin Oden to the said Benjamin B. Hodges and by deed bearing date the tenth day of December eighteen hundred and thirty five and recorded in Liber AB no. 10 folio 162 also one of the land Records of the County aforesaid". (JBB no. 3 pgs. 312 314, Land Records of Prince George's County) The land was level to rolling bordered on the north by a tributary of Piscataway Creek and generally termed "white oak land". Underlying the whole property was a large strata of gravel and sand. The entire parcel went by the name, Potomac Landing.
Thomas supplemented his land holdings with later purchases. With the exception of twenty acres purchased from Sarah Talbert in 1844, (JBB no. 3 pg. 475, Land Records of Prince George's County) and the purchase of lot #3 consisting of 195 acres, part of the estate of John Townshend in 1856, these purchases were not contiguous to Potomac Landing. By the time of his death in 1869 these non-contiguous parcels had been sold. Thomas sold eighty-six acres of Potomac Landing and Jeffries to Edward Eversfield in October of 1843. (JBB no. 3, pg. 198, Land Records of Prince George's County) On January 13, 1846 Thomas married the widow Martha Ann Walls, daughter of George and Martha Naylor Walls. They had two sons; Benjamin Wells (1848-1849) and Robert Henry (1851-1937).
In addition to his sons, Thomas owned enslaved. The number varied from six in 1849 (JBB 6, folio 186, Land Records of Prince Georges' County) to eleven as noted in the census for 1850, and finally six as noted in the census of 1860. The 1867 Maryland Slave Statistics noted that, "at the time of the adoption of the Constitution of Maryland, in the year 1864, . . ." Thomas owned six enslaved, their names and ages being; Isaac Franklin age 31, Alfred West age 19, Susan West age 17, Margaret Franklin age 14, Fannie Franklin age 12, and Peter Franklin age 9. All were noted as being in good physical condition. (Prince Georges' County Slave Statistics 1867 1869, C 1307 1, MdHR:6198, page 185, MSA)
Thomas's financial problems began in the mid-1800s when Deeds of Trust appear in the county records securing outstanding loans. In 1856 and 1857 Thomas joined with others as bondsman for his son, Richard who was serving as "Collector of the State and County Taxes" for the 4th collection district, making he and the other signatories liable for any uncollected taxes. This, coupled with poor investments, led to his almost being "sold out" in 1859-1860 by J.W. & E. Reynolds of Baltimore to pay his debts. He executed three drafts on Penn & Mitchell, also of Baltimore, to pay off J.W. & E. Reynolds. (Equity Case #597, Prince Georges' County) Thomas was in poor health and his son James managed the farm in 1857 and 1858, and again from 1861 to October of 1862 (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County)
In October of 1862 Thomas' two sons, James and Franklin, traveled to Richmond to join the Confederate States Army. James enrolled in the 5th Battalion, Local Defense Arsenal and Franklin enrolled in the 5th Virginia Infantry, the Stonewall Brigade. (CSA Military Records, National Archives) James visited home frequently but was captured by the Union Army in St. Mary's County, Maryland on May 15, 1864 and spent the remainder of the war in Point Lookout Prison Camp. He was released on May 14, 1865. Franklin was not able to visit home at all during the war but survived to return home in 1865. In 1865, Thomas surveyed a parcel of 172 acres for his daughter Rebecca Maria. Rebecca had married her second cousin, William B. Robertson, on November 18, 1855. He made a gift of fifty acres, and Rebecca agreed to purchase the remainder. The Robertsons named this parcel Holly Grove. In Equity Case #849 (1872) filed after Thomas' death, his widow Martha and Samuel H. Berry, as executrix and executor, sought to recover payment for this land. At that time, William B. Robertson described this 172 acres of Potomac Landing: "There was no fences on the line which separated this land from the old gentleman's land, but he was to put a fence on it which he agreed to do before we agreed to come there. The land was thin, unimproved, with gullies and scrubby pine. If witness had been a judge of land he would not have given five dollars for it. All the improvements were one comfortable quarter the other indifferent with a poor oak shingle roof, worn out which made it not tenantable." Further along in his testimony, William gave an account of a conversation, "In a few days my father in law Thos. W. Robinson came to Washington and told me there his children had returned from the South, his two sons, that his debts were small and he was a happy man." Rebecca and William built a house on the property, a side-hall, double parlor plan that most likely her brother James was builder. They also built accompanying farm structures. (Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Equity Case #849, MSA)
Thomas' son, Franklin, managed the farm after the War. In December 1868 Thomas entered into a sharecropping agreement with Edward Hanson, an African-American. After about a year-long illness, on May 16, 1869, Thomas died, deeply in debt. He was buried beside Elizabeth in the graveyard at St. Thomas' Church. He named as executrix his wife, Martha, and his friend and lawyer, Samuel H. Berry, as executor. His will divided the farm into thirds, one third going to his wife and their son Robert Henry, one third to his son James, and one third to his son Franklin. The land was surveyed according to the will. His personal property was sold but not enough profit was realized to pay off his creditors. The Commissioners of Prince George's County sued the estate on behalf of Thomas' creditors. The outcome was that in 1876 the property was sold at public auction. The Notice of Sale dated September 1, 1876 in the local county newspaper,
Lot #1, purchased by Robert from his fathers' estate, consisted of 177-1/3 acres, including the dwelling and farm buildings. On July 24, 1872, he married Amanda Malvina Baden (1849-1940), daughter of Robert W. G. and Margaret Caroline Early Baden. The Baden and Early families were both prominent south county families. Robert and Amanda had eight children; Caroline Early (1873 1967), Lucy Tennent (1875 1958), Albert Henry (1878 1914), Martha Perry (1880 1961), Robert Gover (1882 1882), Frank Alexander (1883 1970), Margaret Baden (1886 1956) and Grace Malvina (1889 1965).
By 1880 Robert had paid off his debt on the property and was fully engaged in farming. Unlike his father, or perhaps because of his father, Robert did not add to his land holdings, choosing to remain relatively debt free for his lifetime. The only land transactions he participated in were the sales of 79-3/4 acres in 1921 of Amanda's inheritance from her father and her interest in two smaller parcels of her father's land sold in 1894 and 1928 respectively. In 1928 he transferred 3.09 acres to his son Frank.
As late as the Federal census of 1880, Franklin was living with Robert and his household, both men engaged in farming. Sometime after 1880, Franklin took up residence on his part of Potomac Landing. His brother James most likely built the side-hall double parlor house that copied the main house at Potomac Landing. On February 18, 1897, Martha Robinson, died at the age of ninety. She was buried in the graveyyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden, Prince George's County. Robert continued cultivation of tobacco and small grains as his father before him. The first reference to the farm being named Ferndale is found in the "Communion Record" of Robert's daughter, Martha Perry "Pattie", dated 1896. (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The exact origin or reason for this new name is lost but perhaps the name Potomac Landing held such bitter memories of debt and hardship that, as a symbolic break with the past, a new name was found. It also may have simply been a way to distinguish this portion of Potomac Landing from the others. The farm continued to be listed on tax bills as Potomac Landing well into the 20th century, but was known to the general public and businesses as the Ferndale Farm. (Robinson and Via Family Papers)
Robert served as deputy inspector at the State Tobacco Warehouse in Baltimore for eight years under W.B. Bowie. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Brandywine. In July of 1905, Franklin died, a bachelor farmer. He was buried facing south in the graveyard of the Church of the Atonement, Cheltenham, (a chapel in St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish) where he had served as vestryman, treasurer, and cemetery custodian. Franklin died intestate and a lengthy process of dividing his estate began. This resulted in the sale of his part of Potomac Landing (Lot #2) in July 1908 to William E. Boswell. The court declared Robert ineligible for any inheritance due to his being " . . . a brother of the half blood." The Boswell family later sold the property to the Billingsley family of St. Mary's County. (Equity Case 3209, Prince George's County)
In 1910, after living in the farm's original home for approximately sixty seven years, the Robinson family built a new home. It was described in a 1956 insurance policy as, "2 story, frame, metal roof, 16x43, wing 14x28, 9 rooms." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The house design was a simple Victorian with plastered walls, and lit by carbide gas. Electrical lighting was installed in 1951. The house was built with monies from Robert and Amanda, and their son Frank, who served as builder and contractor.
On Tuesday March 9, 1937, "During a celebration in honor of his wifes birthday anniversary, Mr. Robinson collapsed at the table and died immediately without a word or a sigh." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) Robert was buried beside his mother in the cemetery at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden.
At Robert's death, Ferndale Farm was valued at $30.00 an acre, the total acreage, 174 acres, being valued in the whole at $5,220.00. Robert died intestate, again the fate of the land was in question. He left eight heirs, his widow, Amanda, six of his children and his son Albert Henry's only surviving child, R. Henry Robinson. Rather than have the farm sold and his mother's life disrupted, Frank purchased the estate and personal property from the heirs. Before this could take place, a deed had to be granted the heirs for the property since one had never been recorded after the 1876 sale. Equity case 873 was reopened sixty-two years after its supposed resolution. Frank testified, "over a period of about thirty years I would on a number of occasions, talk about the fact that he had purchased and paid for this property and that a deed had never been executed to him and [he] kept saying he was going to have someone straighten this matter out for him." It was discovered that Robert had fully paid for his part of Potomac Landing. On February 14, 1938 the farm was deeded from Amanda along with Robert''s heirs to Frank. (Book 499, page 334, Land Records of Prince George's County) According to the deed and a 1937 fire insurance policy the farm consisted of 177 1/3 acres, "1 two story dwelling, one tenant house, 1 barrack, 1 tobacco barn, 1 corn house & cow stable, 1 Stable, and 1 Granary & Stable." (Robinson and Via Family Papers)
Frank A. Robinson, now the sole owner of Ferndale Farm, was born August 17, 1883. He learned farming and in addition took up the trade of builder and contractor. As a young man, he worked in the general store of his uncle Robert Baden. He was the contractor for the first Bank of Brandywine and many homes in and around the town of Brandywine, including the home of his cousin Robert E. Baden, DDS. He was secretary of the Building Committee for construction of the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, a mission chapel for St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish. His success in the building trade gave him disposable income that he invested in land. His first purchase was in August, 1915 of a 2-9/100 acre of land in Brandywine that was being sold by the Board of County School Commissioners; the purchase price was $300. In March 1916 he purchased 38.09 acres of his Uncle Franklin's farm. This property adjoined Ferndale Farm. Over the next fifty-four years of his life, Frank bought and sold many pieces of real estate. Perhaps his most significant purchases were: 18-1/3 acres purchased from The German American Colonization Land Company of Maryland in October 1915 (Book 115, pg. 140, Land Records of Prince George's County); 147.99 acres purchased from August and Wilhelmina Noltensmeir in December 1917 (Book 129, pg. 263, Land Records of Prince George's County) and 320 acres called the Vineyard purchased from William M. Wilson in March 1928. Frank used these three parcels as collateral for other purchases. Never once did he mortgage Ferndale Farm, insuring that no matter what financial stormy seas might blow, his home was secure. Over the course of his life, especially in the case of the Noltensmeir farm, when cash was needed a parcel of land would be surveyed off and sold. He inherited his grandfather Thomas' love of land but had fortunately developed a shrewd business sense to go along with it.
On November 20, 1929, he married Elizabeth Freeland Bourne, daughter of Joseph Blake and Maria Gantt Bourne of Calvert County, Maryland. They had three children: Mary Elizabeth (1930-2009), Franklin Alexander (1932-2023), and Robert Lee (1935-1997). In addition to his construction business he continued farming, raising tobacco, hay, and small grains. He engaged in sharecropping with tenants on his various properties. He was active in community affairs serving on the Board of The Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Vestry of St. Thomas Parish, and as sheriff of Brandywine. On January 9, 1940 Amanda Baden Robinson died. She was buried next to her husband at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden. In February 1958, Frank and Elizabeth conveyed 1.57 acres of Ferndale Farm to son Franklin where he and his fiancée, Adina M. Via, were building their new home prior to their marriage in July of that same year.
The booming economy and suburbanization of the Washington metropolitan area in the early 1960's led to the high quality gravel lying beneath Ferndale into becoming a valuable commodity. In October 1962, Franklin and his parents granted a three-year lease to William C. Nolte for mining sand and gravel on the Ferndale Farm at .174 per yard. (Book 2747, pg. 11, Land Records of Prince George's County) From now until 1975 when the property was sold, gravel would be mined from under the farm by various companies. In November 1962, Elizabeth and Frank transferred to Franklin the 38.09 acres Frank had purchased from Fitzhugh Billingsley in 1916. (Book 2754, pg. 99, Land Records of Prince George's County) That same year they transferred 6.754 acres, part of the Vineyard, to son Robert and his wife Lois, (Book 2765, pg. 201, Land Records of Prince George's County)
On December 28, 1965, Frank and Elizabeth participated in a land exchange/purchase of the farm of Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown located along the Patuxent River in Benedict, Charles County, Maryland. Franklin had rented this farm the year before and was impressed enough by its location and arability to work out a purchase. Frank and Elizabeth traded 65.9920 acres that would eventually become Franklin's under Frank's will. On February 21, 1966 they deeded the Charles County farm to Franklin and Adina. Adina named this property Serenity Farm. The property consisted of 480.66 acres. (Liber 179, page 708 etc., Land Records of Charles County)
On February 5, 1970, after a short illness, Frank died at Cafritz Memorial Hospital. He was buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church near his parents. In his will, probated March 4, 1970 he left thirty acres of the property purchased from the German American Land Company and A. Noltensmeir to Elizabeth. He willed forty acres of the same parcel to daughter Mary Robinson Conner. The remainder of Ferndale Farm was willed to Franklin and the remaining acreage of the Vineyard was left to Robert Lee. Franklin Alexander Robinson was born August 13, 1932 at the Garfield Hospital in Washington, D.C.. He received his schooling in the public school system of Prince George's County, graduating from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. He was a charter member of Gwynn Park's chapter of The Future Farmers of America. He was extremely active in FFA, achieving the Degree of Maryland Farmer in 1950 and their highest award, the Degree of American Farmer at their convention in Kansas City, Missouri in October 1953. He obtained his private pilots license in 1954. He entered the United States Army in February 1955 and went through basic training at Camp Gordon, Augusta, Georgia. After basic training he was transferred to Camp Hanford, Washington State. There he worked part time on the farm of Dick and Theresa Laurent during his off duty hours and began a lifelong friendship with them. He returned home to farming on an agricultural discharge in October of 1956. On July 27, 1958 he married his high school sweetheart, Adina Mae Via, daughter of Robert Milton and Virginia Woods Via. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962), and Adina Theresa (1963).
Franklin continued expanding and improving the farming operation by modern methods and means. At times, he farmed over one thousand acres, both owned and rented. On February 21, 1966, his parents deeded their purchase of the Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown farm in Benedict to he and Adina, later known as Serenity Farm Franklin and Adina engaged an architect to draft house plans for an anticipated new residence. A small A frame vacation home was built on the property so the family could spend weekends there.
On December 14, 1966, after a long illness, Adina died from complications associated with Hodgkin's Disease. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Waldorf, Charles County. Franklin married Margaret Walker Lennox (nee Tallen, known as Rita) on August 21, 1970 (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland). This marriage ended in divorce in 1977. There were no children from this marriage.
On July 14, 1975 the Robinson family, Franklin, his second wife, Margaret, her daughter Margaret W. Lennox, Franklin, Jr., R. David, A. Theresa and Elizabeth B. Robinson, moved to Serenity Farm. On July 17, 1975 Franklin and Elizabeth sold the remaining acreage of Ferndale Farm to Brandywine Sand and Gravel, thus ending 131 years of ownership by the Robinson family. Elizabeth Bourne Robinson died on July 15, 1976 and was buried beside her husband at St. Paul's Church, Baden. Franklin married Hiltrud (Ceddie) Harris (nee Sedlacek) on July 15, 1978. (Robinson Family Bible) This marriage ended in divorce in 1986. There were no children from this marriage. Franklin married Diedre Gale Merhiage on April 19, 1989; this marriage ended in divorce in 1997. There were no children from this marriage. He married Remelda Henega Buenavista on January 13, 2007.
The Robinson family continue day-to-day operations of Serenity Farm. The land is well suited to the growing of tobacco and small grains, which crops, (with the exception of tobacco) along with a flock of sheep, are cultivated there to the present time. After the crop year 2001 the Robinson family took the tobacco buyout program offered by the state of Maryland and ceased growing tobacco. Franklin is active in farming and community affairs having served on the vestry of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish, the Board of Directors of the Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Board of the Production Credit Association, the Boards of three schools, Holy Trinity Day School, Queen Anne School, and Calverton School, and numerous other organizations. Currently the farm consists of approximately 275 acres. In 1981 a state agricultural land preservation district of 222.755 acres was created. This was the first such district in Charles County and one of the first in the state of Maryland.
The Via family traces its origins to the colony of Virginia, where the probable progenitor of the line, Amer Via, a French Huguenot, settled in Manakin Town, Albemarle County between 1670-1700. It is impossible to trace the Via line definitively due to the loss of Virginia county records during the Civil War.
The Via family line covered in this collection can be definitively traced to William Via of Fredericksville Parish, Louisa (later Albemarle) County, Virginia. The William Via family lived west of the present day town of Whitehall at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an area commonly known as Sugar Hollow. William Via III served in the Virginia Line during the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Craig, daughter of Thomas Craig and Jane Jameson, on March 17, 1784. William died on June 27, 1836, in Albemarle County (Rev. War Pension Appl. 6363, National Archives). His son Thomas married Sally, widow Griffin, on January 1, 1811 (Albemarle County Marriage Records). Their son, Hiram Karl Via (1812-1893), married Harriet Ardenia Naylor by license dated March 7, 1836 (Albemarle County Marriage Records).
Hiram and Harriet's son, Robert St. Clair Via (1844-1925), served as a private in Company I, 7th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate States Army (CSA Military Service Records, National Archives). After the war he married his first cousin, Mary Frances Naylor, daughter of Samuel Chapman Naylor and Eliza Jane Gardner, on April 3, 1866 in Rockingham County (Rockingham County, Virginia, Marriage Records). Sometime between 1870 and 1872, they moved to Linn County, Missouri, and settled about seven miles from the town of Bucklin. Their son, Hiram Chapman Via (1872-1933), was born there. In 1893, the family returned to Virginia, and settled on a farm in Greene County near the town of Stanardsville.
Hiram Chapman Via operated a mill as well as a farm. On March 15, 1899, he married Adina Eleanor Eusebia Runkle, daughter of Milton D. L. Runkle and Roberta A. Beadles (Greene County, Virginia, Marriage Records). They had three children: Bernice Olive (1902-1999), Robert Milton (1906-1983), and Deward Daniel (1909-1977).
Robert moved to Washington, D.C.. In December 1927 he began employment with the Capitol Traction Company as a streetcar conductor (Robinson and Via Family Papers). During the early 1930s, Robert rented a townhouse at 715 A St., SE, where he lived with his sister Bernice V. McMullan and her son, William C. McMullan; his brother and sister in law, and his parents. Next door, at 717, lived the Moses Albright family, including Moses's stepdaughter Ida Virginia Woods (1914-2010), daughter of Jesse Lee Woods (1894-1918) and Donna Mae Barker (1896-1928) of Frederick County, Maryland. Robert and Virginia began a courtship and on September 3, 1932 were married in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland (Frederick County, Maryland, Marriage Records).
After their marriage, Robert and Virginia lived in various locations in the Washington metropolitan area. Their first child, Robert Delano, was born on March 24, 1933, and their second child, Adina Mae, was born on April 12, 1937. Virginia was employed outside the home while her children were in school. Her first job before her marriage had been with Woolworth's in Martinsburg, WV working the candy counter and then before the birth of her son at The Hecht Company on F St. in Washington, D.C.. After her marriage she worked briefly for the United States Postal Service in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Beginning in the 1950s, she worked first at the Hecht Company department store on 7th Street in the District and later for Charles of the Ritz as a receptionist in their beauty salon located in Woodward & Lothrop's F Street store in Washington, D.C.. She also worked as salon manager at the Charles of the Ritz salons in the Woodward & Lothrop stores in Seven Corners, Virginia, and Chevy Chase, Maryland. She retired due to health reasons in 1973.
On September 10, 1941, Robert and Virginia purchased Lot #43 in Woodlane subdivision in Prince George's County. (Book 619, pg. 12, Land Records of Prince George's County) A house was designed for them for this lot by Clyde E. Phillips. They did not construct a home on this property due to the outbreak of World War II. Robert, due to his employment in public transportation, did not serve with the Armed Services in World War II. On October 18, 1946, they purchased approximately thirty acres bordering on Burch's Creek near the towns of Clinton, also know as Surrattsville, and T.B. in Prince George's County from Joseph H. and M. Pauline Blandford. (Book 873, pg. 483, Land Records of Prince George's County) Over the next three years, hiring private contractors, doing work themselves, and with the help of Robert's brother Deward, they built the two story house designed by Phillips in 1941. They moved to the farm from Capitol Heights in 1949. Robert raised hogs, small grains and a crop of tobacco yearly on this farm and also maintained his job with Capitol Transit (formerly Capitol Traction). In 1954, Robert and Virginia purchased a farm of approximately 150 acres in Island Creek, Calvert County, Maryland. The intention was for Robert and his son to enter into a full time farming operation on expanded acreage. Robert D. Via, known as Delano, graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. Delano was a part-time farmer and pursued a career as a country and western singer with Bashful Bob and the Rhythm Rangers, he being Bashful Bob. He was employed in various jobs, and began a tour in the Army in 1953. By the time the Via family moved to Calvert County in 1956, he decided to pursue careers other than farming. He eventually traveled and worked in various parts of the United States. He married first Delores Cooper, second Gloria J. Irick, and finally Candice Marinelli in December 1974, they had two children, Robert Marin (1975) and Kirstin Marin (1976).
On June 1, 1956 Robert resigned from his position at Capitol Transit due to health reasons. He and his family moved to the farm in Island Creek, Calvert County where he began full time farming. He and Virginia sold the thirty-acre farm in Prince George's County on June 21, 1956 to Melvin C. and Geraldine H. Rardia. (Book 2003, pg. 564, Land Records of Prince George's County) Virginia continued her employment with Charles of the Ritz. Adina, now a graduate of Gwynn Park High School, was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland. They both commuted daily from Calvert County to their places of employment.
Robert farmed in Calvert County, raising hogs, cattle, small grains and tobacco. Over the course of the next twenty-seven years, Robert and Virginia sold smaller parcels off the farm. In 1974, Robert and Virginia built a small retirement home designed for them by Calvert Masonry Contractors. Robert died on December 22, 1983. He was buried beside his daughter Adina in Trinity Memorial Gardens. At the time of Robert's death, the farm consisted of 28.694 acres. In 1998, Virginia deeded the remainder of the farm, then less than six acres, to her grandson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. who sold all but a one-acre lot in April 1999.
Virginia continued to live on the farm in Calvert County, maintaining a small herd of cattle. In the fall of 1989 Franklin, Jr. went to live with her. In 1993, the onset of Alzheimer's Disease required her to move to Serenity Farm and take up residence with her granddaughter A. Theresa. Virginia participated in various studies on Alzheimer's Disease conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland beginning in 1992. She was profiled in the September 1997 issue of
Adina Mae Via was born April 12, 1937 at the Homeopathic Hospital in Washington, D.C.. Adina grew up in Washington, D.C. attending public schools. She moved with her family to the Burch's Creek farm, Prince George's County, in 1949. She enrolled in the Prince George's County school system, and graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June of 1955. After graduation, she was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs.
In July of 1956, she moved with her family to the Via farm in Island Creek, Calvert County. On July 27, 1958 she married Franklin A. Robinson at the Chapel of the Incarnation. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962) and Adina Theresa (1963). In the fall of 1958, she and Franklin took up residence in the home they had built on Ferndale Farm. She resigned from her position with the USAF in 1959.
On December 14, 1966, at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC, Adina died from complications due to Hodgkin's Disease. She had been battling this disease for many years prior to her death. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Charles County.
The collection is divided into seven series:
Subseries 1.1: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, and publications, 1861-1973, undated
Subseries 1.2: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, 1945-1960, undated
Subseries 1.3: Farm papers, bills, and receipts, 1960-1965, undated
Subseries 2.1: Family Papers and Publications, 1845-1993, undated
Subseries 2.2: Townshend, Martha Robinson, 1896-1961, undated
Subseries 2.3: Robinson, Frank A., 1899-1970, undated
Subseries 2.4: Robinson, Elizabeth Bourne, 1841-1976, undated
Subseries 2.5: Conner, Mary Robinson, 1938-1985, undated
Subseries 2.6: Robinson, Franklin A., 1932-1997, undated
Subseries 2.6.1: Farming, 1948-1976, undated
Subseries 2.6.2: Financial, 1948-1988, undated
Subseries 2.6.3: 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA), 1945-1954, undated
Subseries 2.6.4: Travel, 1959-1970, undated
Subseries 2.7: Robinson, Jr., Franklin A., 1959-2001, undated
Subseries 5.1: Family papers, 1941-1983, undated
Subseries 5.2: Via, Robert M., 1933-1987, undated
Subseries 5.3: Via, Ida Virginia, 1928-2010, undated
Subseries 5.4: Via, Robert D., 1933-1988, undated
Subseries 5.5: Robinson, Adina Via, 1937-1966, undated
Subseries 6.1: Photographs, 1872-2000, undated
Subseries 6.2: Photographic negatives, 1927--2000, undated
Subseries 6.3: Photographic Slides, 1955-1979, undated
An extensive and comprehensive collection of papers relating to family, farming, and the Southern Maryland tobacco culture, the Robinson and Via Family Papers cover many aspects of family and farm life. The papers are particularly important in regard to the tobacco culture that defined Southern Maryland for generations. The papers concern two distinct family groups, the Robinson and Via families who are connected through the marriage of Franklin A. Robinson and Adina Mae Via. The papers consist of material generated by the Robinson and Via families in their personal and working lives and as farm owners and operators.
The papers are especially strong in 20th century material. They consist of various types of farm records: account books, bills, receipts, tenant farming agreements, ephemera, land rental and purchase agreements, insurance policies, photographs and 8mm and 16mm films of farming practices and procedures, equipment and landscapes, related to the farming of tobacco, small grains, and livestock. The personal records include diaries, letters both personal and business, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, high school yearbooks, baby books, house plans, recipe books, photographs and 8mm films of birthdays, holidays, weddings, baptisms, family occasions, and family travel, oral histories, and funeral ephemera including photographs, and transcription discs. Of particular interest are the "Serenity Farm Tobacco Production Photographs" documenting the crop year 1999-2000 and the films detailing agricultural practices. There is a memorandum book for Black Walnut Thicket, 1885-1901, the Baden farm in Baden, Prince George's County.
This collection includes a comprehensive range of 8mm and 16mm films and photographs documenting farming practices and landscapes as well as family gatherings, birthdays, holidays, and vacations. The researcher is alerted to the fact that in some cases with the memorandum and account books, books printed for a given year were often saved and used for subsequent years, some were dated, some were not.
The collection is divided into seven series arranged by subject and most often chronologically at folder level within each series.
The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center, by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., in November 1993.
Addenda to the collection were added in 2001, 2009, 2011-2016 by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.
The Maryland Center for History and Culture holds items (costume, farming related implements) related to the Robinson and Via families.
The Maryland State Archives (MSA) Special Collections holds the Robinson and Conner Family Papers, MSA SC 6402.
The Division of Work and Industry (Agriculture Collection) holds agricultural implements and artifacts associated with both the Robinson farms and the Via farm; the Division of Home and Community Life holds clothing, textiles (crib quilt), jewelry, cosmetics and Adina M. Robinson's sewing box and dress patterns; (Costume and Textiles Collection). See accession numbers: 1989.0688, 1990.0394, 1991.0010; 1991.0722, 1992.0184, 1992.0283, 1992.0321, 1992.0474, 1992.3106, 1994.0064, 1994.0304, 1997.0327, 1998.0038, 1998.0129, 2001.0196, 2002.0087, 2003.0015, 2005.0009.
Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Olitical and Military History, National Numismatics Collection) holds the Robert M. Via Trolley Token Collection.
The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., volunteer, 1992-1993; supervised by Craig Orr and Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivists. Addenda processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archivist, 2009, 2017, supervised by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons, archivist
Ferndale Farm, earlier known as Potomac Landing, was the Robinson farm located on Dyson Road in Prince George's County. It was known as the Ferndale Farm after circa 1896. This series includes farm account books ranging from 1872 to 1939, a threshing account book 1930-1931, farm papers including land rental agreements, products sold, seed, feed, machinery purchase and repair, and most other farm related expenses and income 1861-1966, most often these are designated by subject or crop. There is also farm related ephemera and publications, an aerial photograph of the John Deere Farm (a Robinson rental property owned by Katherine Deere Butterworth (1866-1953), granddaughter of the founder of the John Deere and Company, farm implement manufacturers), land plats and an aerial photograph pre-1958 of Ferndale Farm. There are motion pictures and photographs of this farm in series 6 and 7 respectively. Publications are filed chronologically.
Farm papers
Farm papers
Farm account book, Robinson, Frank A.
AC0475-0000268.tif (AC scan)
January 1, 1917 / to January 1, 1918. Ragged label pasted on cover with Robinson's name and the dates of the hournal. .The journal details Frank A. Robinson's family farm business. He writes of the daily business expenses of their south Maryland farm. It sheds light on the basic farm business in the Chesapeake and Maryland area.
Farm papers
Aerial photograph, Ferndale Farm
Beginning in 1965 the farm papers include materials relating to the farm that was eventually purchased by the Robinson family and became Serenity Farm. From now until 1975 when Ferndale was sold, the farm papers inlude expenses incurred on both Ferndale and Serenity Farm. The last crop year for Ferndale was 1968 so farm expenses and income incurred after that year will most likely be relevant to Serenity Farm. These files contain a mix of farm, personal, and home expense, seldom, if ever, does it seem that it was strictly broken out into separate filing systems pertinent to farm and family.
This series is divided into six subseries. The Robinson family papers deal with the continuous farming operation of a single family over four generations on the same property. They employed not only immediate family members but also sharecroppers, tenant farmers and hired hands. The farming operation was carried out on acreage varying from over five hundred acres to less than two hundred. Account books from the latter part of the 19th century and extending into the 20th century give an accurate and detailed picture of the day to day workings of a farm. Personal letters, diaries and ephemera complement the technical aspects of farming with its human and familial aspects. Through these documents one gathers a sense of the place of the Robinson family in the community, their day to day concerns and inter family relationships. The diaries of Elizabeth Bourne Robinson, covering the years 1951 to 1960, are particularly vivid for detail of the daily operations of farming and family life at mid-20th century.
This subseries contains personal and business papers of family individuals, including Thomas Wells Robinson (1803-1869) the purchaser of Potomac Landing, correspondence, one broadside, a family scrapbook, and general ephemera. This Subseries includes a family scrapbook, a scrapbook created by Lucy Robinson Arth (1876-1958), daughter of Robert H. and Amanda B. Robinson, and a scrapbook created by Mary Robinson Conner (1930-2009), daughter of Frank A. and Elizabeth B. Robinson. This series includes mercantile ephemera and store broadsides. This series includes a merchant memorandum book Black Walnut Thicket the plantation of the Baden family in Baden, Prince George's County, Maryland. This series also includes a copy of "
Robinson, Thomas Wells
Robinson, Martha Walls
Robinson, Robert Henry, Southern Maryland German-American Bank Checkbook
Westwood Store, Westwood, Maryland, broadside
Robert Henry Robinson (1914-1956) was the son of Albert Henry Robinson and Cornelia Roberts. He attended the National University, now George Washingon University and studied law. He was admitted to the Distrct of Columbia Bar and the Maryland Bar.
Robert Henry Robinson (1914-1956) was the son of Albert Henry Robinson and Cornelia Roberts. He attended the National University, now George Washingon University and studied law. He was admitted to the Distrct of Columbia Bar and the Maryland Bar.
[Stock Certificate for five shares of The Southern Maryland Co-Operative Creamery Association : stock certificate.]
AC0475-0000021.tif (AC Scan)
In Box 2, Folder 8.
Stock sold to Frank A. Robinson. Drawings show dairy cows, a barn and a creamery; artist unidentified.
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Martha Perry Robinson Townshend (1880-1961), known as "Pattie". She was the daughter of Robert H. and Amanda Baden Robinson. She married Harry Naylor Townshend in October 1906. The couple moved to Leigh Castle farm, Marston, Carroll County, Maryland in 1908. After Harry's death in 1955, Pattie sold Leigh Castle and moved to Clinton, Prince George's County, Maryland to live with her daughter Margaret Naylor Ward, wife of Frank E. Ward. It contains personal and business papers, including correspondence, postcards and a postcard album, newspaper wedding accounts, confirmation memorial, Holy Matrimony book, three scrapbooks (circa 1895-circa 1955), a farm account book for Leigh Castle farm (1954-1955), and her funeral ephemera including floral cards and funeral register. This series also contains material originating with her daughter, Margaret (1908-1997).
Townshend, Martha Robinson "Pattie"
News clippings, weddings
Postcard album
Lexington near Howard Street, Baltimore, Md. [colorized postcard].
01047517.tif (AC Scan)
Written note from Eva to Cousin Pattie on front of postcard. Postcard printed by E. O. Kropp company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; photographer unidentified.
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Frank Alexander Robinson (1883-1970). He was the son of Robert H. and Amanda Baden Robinson. He married Elizabeth Freeland Bourne of Calvert County, Maryland in 1929. The subseries consists of personal and business papers, correspondence, a copy of the pedigree for Hal Harding, his race horse, farm diaries, blue prints, land plats, real estate documents and deeds, estate papers for his parents Robert H. Robinson and Amanda B. Robinson, and his funeral register and floral cards. It also contains numerous memoranda and notebooks containing labor rosters and pay as well as accounts with persons and merchants. This series includes a broadside advertising
Personal correspondence received
"Gone with the Wind" [sic: advertisement for Marlboro Theatre : postcard].
"Gone with the Wind" [sic: advertisement for Marlboro Theatre : postcard].
AC0475-0000269-01; AC0476-0000269-02 (AC Scan Nos.)
Bulk-mail (postcard) hanging advertisement for showings of "Gone with the Wind," week of April 14, 1940, with schedule of other movies listed on verso. Hole punched in one end for hanging purposes, marked "(Hang Me Up)." Postcard addressed to "Mr. Frank Robinson / Brandywine, Maryland."
The Marlboro Theatre was operated by Sidney Lust.
Featured in blog by Franklin Robinson, Jr.
Correspondence received from Bourne, Elizabeth Freeland
Diary
Brandy-Wine Brewing Company, correspondence
Estate papers, Robinson, Robert Henry and Robinson, Amanda Baden
Business papers and assorted ephemera
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Elizabeth Bourne Robinson (1892-1976). She was the daughter of Joseph Blake Bourne and Maria Gantt of Calvert County, Maryland and the wife of Frank A. Robinson. This subseries consists of personal and business papers, correspondence, farm diaries for Ferndale Farm (1951-1960), recipe books (1872-1929), and embroidery patterns, and her funeral ephemera and register. There are a number of product cookbooks and Department of Agriculture publications. Correspondence includes letters from her sister Grace Bourne Howes (1889-1976). There is sheet music 1873-1927, undated, including popular song titles such as
Bourne, Maria Gantt, recipe book ephemera
Correspondence from Howes, Grace Bourne
Correspondence, business, and ephemera
Farm journal
AC0475-0000251
January 1, 1951 / to January 31, 1953. Commercially manufactured book labeled "Day Book" on the cover. The journal details the Robinson family farm business. Elizabeth Robinson writes of the daily business of their south Maryland farm. It sheds light on the basic farm business in the Chesapeake and Maryland area.
Farm journal
AC0475-0000258
February 1, 1953 / to December 15, 1955. In standard "Compositions" book. The journal details the Robinson family farm business. Elizabeth Robinson writes of the daily business of their south Maryland farm. It sheds light on the basic farm business in the Chesapeake and Maryland area.
Farm journal
AC0475-0000264.tif (AC scan)
August 1, 1958 / to January 31, 1960. In standard manufactured book entitled "Record" on cover. The journal details the Robinson family farm business. Elizabeth Robinson writes of the daily business of their south Maryland farm. It sheds light on the basic farm business in the Chesapeake and Maryland area.
"Making the Most of Your Serval", Serval Inc.
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Mary Robinson Conner (1930-2009). She was the daughter of Frank A. and Elizabeth Bourne Robinson and the wife of Timothy James Conner (1932-2022) a member of the United States Air Force and then later a computer contractor. This subseries consists of scrapbooks, diaries, her high-school diploma, materials from her correspondence course in nursing, a guidebook (in French) to the luxury liner Ile de France that she took to join her husband in France in August 1951, and original artwork. The subseries includes a conjectural genealogy chart of the Robinson family done by distant cousin Marshall F. Robinson. While accurate in many respects, the chart includes many inaccuracies. In additon to being a homemaker, wife, and mother she was an artist and genealogist.
Conner, Mary Robinson, diaries
Etchings of Ferndale Farm and artwork by Mary Robinson Conner
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Franklin Alexander Robinson (1932-2023). He was the son of Frank A. and Elizabeth Bourne Robinson. He married Adina Mae Via in 1958. The series consists of personal and business papers, correspondence, diaries, his baby book, high-school yearbooks. He was a charter member of the Gwynn Park chapter of the Future Farmers of America. There are vacation papers, souvenir guide to Disneyland (1965) and his military records (restricted). Diaries contain personal as well as farm related entries. There is material from World War II on Victory gardens and a publication on
Correspondence received
Diary
Diary
Correspondence received from Via, Adina M.
[Adina Via to Frank Robinson : manuscript letter, Jan. 15, 1951.]
AC0475-0000158.tif (AC Scan No.)
Correspondence received from Via, Adina M.
[Adina Via holding piglet, Via Farm, Prince George County, Maryland : black-and-white photoprint, 1955.]
AC0475-0000160.tif (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
She is holding a piglet and the photo is taken from above. She enclosed the snapshot in a letter to Franklin Robinson on March 7, 1955. Photographer unidentified.
[Adina Via standing on a farm, wearing a white strapless dress, and looking down at the ground : black-and-white photoprint, 1955.]
AC0475-0000161.tif (AC Scan No.)
Unrestricted research access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Evidently her senior photograph, enclosed in a letter to boyfriend Franklin Robinson 26 March 1955.
[Adina Via to fiance Franklin Robinson, p. 1 : manuscript letter, March 14, 1956.].
AC0475-0000163.tif (AC Scan No.)
Pencil, in brackets: "[April 1.]"
Correspondence received from Via, Adina M.
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Franklin Alexander Robinson, Jr.. He was the son of Franklin A. and Adina Mae Robinson. The series consists of personal and business papers, correspondence, his baby book, school papers, film and video on farm topics (1980s farm crisis and a profile of a woman farmer), vacation papers, employment papers, and a Pentagon presentation photograph. This series also includes Robinson's folder with material used in planning the wedding for his sister, Adina T. Robinson, in 2001. Robinson's professional name (acting, writing, and filmmaking) is Frank Robinson, Jr.
Employment
This subseries contains papers and ephemera associated with Serenity Farm, Benedict, Charles County, Maryland. The farm was initially rented by Franklin A. Robinson, but then purchased by Frank and Elizabeth Robinson in 1965. The farm was gifted to their son and daughter-in-law Franklin and Adina in 1966. Beginning in 1966 farming operations were gradually transferred to Serenity Farm from Ferndale Farm and were there entirely after circa 1968. As of July 14, 1975 it was the family's primary residence and base of farming operations. This series contains farm papers, tobacco floor sheets and weight tickets, a poster for the "American Agriculture Tractor Drive", house plans, and an extensive series of tobacco production photographs. There are motion pictures and photographs of this farm in series 6 and 7 respectively. The Tobacco Production Photographs, 1999-2000 (See Appendix I for detailed description of photographs) follows the tobacco crop year for the last year tobacco was grown on Serenity Farm being taking the Maryland tobacco buyout program. Farming records from 1965 on will reflect farming done at both Ferndale and Serenity Farms. Records contained in Series 1, Ferndale Farm should also be consulted for possible crossover.
Farm papers
Tobacco floor sheets and weight tickets, Hughesville tobacco warehouse, Hughesville, Maryland
This series contains material related to the Via Farm, Calvert County, Maryland. The Via family bought farm property in Calvert County in 1954. They lived there exclusively after July 1956 until 1993. This series contains farm papers, farm ephemera, and a land plat. There are motion pictures and photographs of this farm in series 6 and 7 respectively.
The Via family papers deal with the Robert M. Via family. The Via papers are a particularly appropriate complement to the Robinson papers because they deal with a farming operation of a smaller size, approximately thirty acres to 115 acres. In contrast to the Robinson operation that utilized many forms of outside labor, the Via farm was operated by one man, Robert, with family and occasional hired help. An additional contrast is that, in the Via family both spouses worked off the farm full-time, until Robert began full-time farming in the mid-1950s. The Via family did not have the familial history in the region and operated from a much different social perspective than the Robinson family. The Via family moved more frequently, the preponderance of material is 20th century.
The Via family papers are especially strong in regard to farming and social history in the latter half of the 20th century. The papers of Robert M. Via are strong in material concerning his employment in public transportation in Washington, D.C., from 1928 to 1956. The papers of Adina Via Robinson are particularly complete in documenting the life of a woman coming of age in the mid-1950s. Her papers and correspondence with her future husband, Franklin A. Robinson, cover personal matters, as well as life on the farm, the surrounding community, and her senior high school life. Especially rich is the correspondence exchanged during the period of Franklin's service in the United States Army, 1955-1956, at Camp Gordon, Georgia and Camp Handford, Washington State. There are transcription discs of recordings done by Robert D. Via as country-western singer, "Bashful Bob."
This subseries contains two sets of house plans (circa 1946, 1973) and general ephemera (1947-1983).
"A Four Room Bedroom and Bath Dwelling for Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Via, designed by Clyde E. Phillips", blueprints
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Robert Milton Via (1906-1983) was the son of Hiram Chapman Via and Adina Eleanor Eusebia Runkle of Greene County, Virginia. He married Ida Virginia Woods in 1932. He left farming and his boyhood home in Greene County, Virginia in the late 1920's to pursue employment in Washington, D.C.. He was hired by the Capital Traction Company, later known as Capital Transit, and employed by them for twenty-nine years. He returned to farming full-time by the late 1950's. The series consists of personal and business papers, correspondence, documents relating to his employment with the Capital Transit Company, copies of transit union employee agreements and bus transfer books.
Ephemera
Capital Transit Company
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Ida Virginia Woods Via (1914-2010). She was the daughter of Jesse Lee Woods and Donna Mae Barker of Frederick County, Maryland. She married Robert M. Via in 1932. The series consists of personal and business papers, correspondence, diaries, and estate papers for her grandfather William M. Barker (1870-1948), and her funeral ephemera. There is a transcript of an oral history interview with Virginia conducted by Claudia Kidwell of the NMAH Costume Division in 1992. The original tapes are also housed in this collection.
This series contains material and ephemera of Robert Delano Via (1933-). He was the son of Robert M. and Ida Virginia Via. The series consists of personal and business papers, correspondence, child's sketchbook (undated), child's scrapbook, high school yearbook, and transcription discs recorded during the time he played County-Western music professionally as Bashful Bob and the Rhythm Rangers.
Child's scrapbook
This subseries contains material and ephemera of Adina Mae Via Robinson (1937-1966). She was the daughter of Robert M. and Ida Virginia Via. She married Franklin A. Robinson in 1958. The subseries contains personal and business papers, correspondence, a diary, school papers, high school yearbook, photographs, wedding planning documents and ephemera,1958, newspaper articles, and one phonograph recording of the Gwynn Park High School band in which she plays the drums.
Diary
High School Yearbook, Gwynn Park High School, Brandywine, Maryland
This series is divided into two subseries, arranged chronologically and topically.
This subseries contains photographs of the Robinson, Via, and related families. This subseries contains photographs of holidays; life rituals (baptism, marriage, birthdays, burial); vacations; leisure; Serenity Farm (Charles County, Maryland); Via farms in Prince George's County and Calvert County, Maryland; Ferndale Farm (earlier known as Potomac Landing) in Prince George's County, Maryland; Via family; Robinson family; Franklin A. Robinson's United States Army life; oversize photographs, studio portraits, and tobacco production photographs. The Division of Home and Community Life in their costume collection has a number of photographs pertaining to these papers complementing their acquisitions.
Ferndale Farm
Serenity Farm
Tobacco production photographs
Robinson and allied families
Robert H. Robinson [black-and-white photoprint].
AC0475-0000062 (AC Scan No.)
In Box 18, Folder .
Civil War Selections from the Archives Center
Photoprint of Robert H. Robinson wearing the Confederate (CSA) uniform of his brother James G. Robinson of the 5th Virginia Inf., CSA, Prince George's County, Maryland. This is most likely a wedding photo taken in 1872 upon his marriage to Amanda M. Baden at Black Walnut Thicket, the bride's home.
William Albert Kerr Baden [black-and-white copy photoprint].
AC0475-0000067.tif (AC Scan No.)
In Box 18, Folder ?
Civil War Selections from the Archives Center
Copy photograph of William Albert Kerr Baden of Black Walnut Thicket, Baden, Prince George's County, Maryland. A Confederate veteran, he was wounded in the War and died in the 1870s from wounds received while in service. He is buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden. No collection photo number.
John Holliday Baden [copy photoprint].
AC0475-0000068 (AC Scan No.)
In Box 18, Folder ?
Civil War Selections from the Archives Center
Copy photograph of John Holliday Baden of Black Walnut Thicket, Baden, Prince George's County, Maryland. He served in Co. C 1st Maryland Cavalry, CSA during the Civil War. He died during the war and was buried in Charlottesville, Virginia. His remains were moved to Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore in 1874, plot E-51. No AC photo number.
James George Robinson and Rebecca Waring [photographic copy print].
AC0475-0000125 (AC Scan No.)
In Box 18, Folder ?
Civil War Selections from the Archives Center
Modern copy print of an original tintype of James George Robinson and his first wife Rebecca Waring of Prince George's County, Maryland, most likely photograph taken near the time of their wedding. James G. Robinson was the son of Thomas Wells Robinson and Elizabeth I. Richards. James served in the Confederate Army and was imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland.
Original tintype in private collection.
Franklin A. Robinson (1841-1905) [copy photoprint of tintype].
AC0475-0000126 (AC Scan No.)
In Box 18, Folder ?
Civil War Selections from the Archives Center
Black-and-white photograph of an original tintype, Franklin A. Robinson (1841-1905) of Brandywine, Prince George's County, Maryland. He was the son of Thomas Wells Robinson and Elizabeth I. Richards. Served in the Confederate States Army, 5th Virginia Infantry.
Via and allied families
Via farm, Prince George's County, Maryland
Via farm, Calvert County, Maryland
Holiday celebrations, birthdays, graduations, weddings, funeral
Oversize photographs
[Graduating class from The Calverton School, Huntingtown, Maryland : color photoprint].
AC0475-0000034.tif (AC Scan)
Color photoprint on paper.
In Box 15.
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Posed photograph of high school seniors in formal attire; boys wear white jackets. Photographer unidentified.
Photographs collected by Margaret Naylor Ward (nee Townshend) daughter of Martha Perry "Pattie" Robinson and Harry Naylor Townshend, wife of Frank E. Ward. Photographic subjects are Leigh Castle Farm, the Townshend farm near Marston, Carroll County, Maryland; Ferndale Farm, the Robinson family farm near Brandywine, Prince George's County, Maryland; photographs of family, extended family, and friends. Photographs of Christ Episcopal Church, Clinton, Maryland; the Ward home at 10316 Piscataway Road, Clinton, Maryland, and other varied subjects.
This subseries contains the photographic negatives for many of the images in Subseries 6.1. There are also negatives in this series that do not have companion prints in Subseries 6.1.
Serenity Farm
Robinson family
Via family
Photographic slides predominately taken by Adina M. Via and her brother Robert D. Via. Slides are all color, various processes, Ecktacrome, Kodacrome, and others.
(OF stands for Original Film; the research video (RV) numbers appear in the parenthesis)
This series contains 8mm, 16mm films, and VHS videos of family, farming, and vacations. This subseries also includes footage from local fireman's parades, the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, and Maxwell Hall a historic estate in Charles County, Maryland. This series also includes film and video projects related to farming completed as work for Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.'s degree in film and video production from the American University.
Place: Shadyside Avenue, Capital Heights, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Persons: Charles and Emily Lightboun, Betty Burnell, Robert D. Via, Adina M. Via, Ida Virginia Via; In Washington, D.C. scenes, Daniel Pilkington, Bernice V. McMullan, Adele and Pattie Pilkington
Cinematographer: unknown
Place: Chapel of the Incarnation, Brandywine, Maryland; New England, and Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: Adina Mae Via and Franklin A. Robinson, members and friends of the Robinson and Via families
Cinematographer: For wedding a Mr. Noyes, for honeymoon, Adina and Franklin Robinson.
1. Cutting tobacco and irrigating, 1962
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: Frank A. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Robert L. Robinson, Norris Gross and others
Cinematographer: Adina M. Robinson
2. Grain driers and views of John Deere Farm, 1962
Place: John Deere Farm, T.B., Maryland
Persons: None visible, Franklin A. Robinson running the combine.
Cinematographer: Adina and Franklin Robinson
3. R. David Robinson's baptism, picking corn, disking corn, 1962
Place: Chapel of the Incarnation, Brandywine, Maryland, and Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: The Reverend Mr. Richard Hartman, Virginia and Robert Via (hats worn by the Via family and Adina M. Robinson are in NMAH costume collection) Robert David Robinson (baby), Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Adina M. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
4. Fall, Winter and Christmas, 1962
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Adina M. Robinson, Robert D. Robinson
Cinematographer: Adina and Franklin Robinson
5. Snowman, Easter, sprayer, 1963
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland, Via Farm, Calvert County, Maryland, John Deere Farm, T.B., Maryland
Persons: Robert D. Robinson, Adina M. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Elizabeth B. Robinson (hat in NMAH costume collection), Franklin Robinson (b. 1932) doing the agricultural spraying
Cinematographer: Adina and Franklin Robinson
6. Enchanted Forest, and farm pond, 1963
Place: Enchanted Forest (a children's park in Western Maryland), Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Robert D. Robinson, Ida Virginia Via, Franklin A. Robinson, Sr.
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
7. Mulch planter-corn, mowing grass, 1963
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland, John Deere Farm, T.B., Maryland
Persons: Robert D. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Adina M. Robinson, Elizabeth B. Robinson (mowing grass), Franklin A. Robinson, Sr.
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
1. Summer, farming, children, 1964
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland, John Deere Farm, T.B., Maryland
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Sr. (planting corn), Robert D. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Robert M. Via, A. Theresa Robinson
Cinematographer: Adina M. Robinson
2. Christmas, Theresa first walking, Reel #1, 1964
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: A. Theresa Robinson, Elizabeth B. Robinson, Robert D. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Virginia W. Via, Robert M. Via, Adina V. Robinson, (skirt in NMAH costume collection)
Cinematographer: Adina and Franklin Robinson
3. Christmas Reel #2, 1964
See above.
4. Easter, Mr. Brown's place [Serenity Farm] with our [Robinson] corn, 1965
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland, Via Farm Calvert County, Maryland, Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland
Persons: Robert D. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., A. Theresa Robinson, Ida Virginia Via, Adina M. Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
5. Washington D.C. scenes and Franklin's 6th birthday party, 1965
Place: Washington, D.C., Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: Carla Laurent, Adina M. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., family and friends
Cinematographer: Franklin A. Robinson
6. Franklin's 6th birthday party, 1965
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. birthday party, family and friends
Cinematographer: Franklin A. Robinson
7. Christmas, 1965,
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: A. Theresa Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Robert D. Robinson, Ida Virginia Via, Gloria J. Via
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
8. Christmas and snowstorm, 1965-1966
Place: Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland
Persons: See above.
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
1. Serenity Farm and Mount Rainier, Washington State, 1967
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland, Washington State
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. Robert D. Robinson, A. Theresa Robinson, Washington State: A. Theresa Robinson, Paul and Cece Laurent, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Robert D. Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson
2. Mount Rainier Washington State, August, kids, Dick and Theresa Laurent, new air boat and John Deere Farm, 1967
Place: Washington State, John Deere Farm, T.B., Maryland
Persons: Laurent family, A. Theresa Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Robert D. Robinson, Ken Reilly
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson
3. Air boat in water at Benedict, Rita and Margie, Christmas, Equipment for moving barn at Serenity Farm, 1967-1968
Place: Patuxent River at Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland; Ferndale Farm, Brandywine, Maryland; Serenity Farm
Persons: Ida Virginia Via, Margaret T. Lennox, A. Theresa Robinson, Margaret W. Lennox, Robert D. Robinson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson
4. Moving barn with truck off of hill to new location, May, 1968
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., Robert D. Robinson, R.E. Sparrow and Son, Lynchburg, Virginia
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson
5. Moving stripping room, view of farm and river from hill where barn was moved at Serenity Farm, May, 1968
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson
Fireman's Parade, Franklin and Theresa Robinson
Place: Mechanicsville, Maryland, Waldorf, Maryland and Baden, Maryland
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and A. Theresa Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson
1. Christmas, Serenity Farm, 1978
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland
Persons: Ceddie Harris, Peter Harris, Robert M. Via, Virginia W. Via, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., A. Theresa Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr.
2. Grandma and Granddaddy Via's kite flying, Robinson family and Robert Marin Via, circa 1978
Place: Via Farm, Calvert County, Maryland
Persons: A. Theresa Robinson, Robert Marin Via, Robert D. Robinson, Robert M. Via, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Virginia W. Via
Cinematographer: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr.
3. Christmas 1979, spring and snow 1980, Maxwell Hall
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland, Maxwell Hall, Swanson's Creek, Maryland
Persons: Peter Harris, A. Theresa Robinson, Molly B. Swann Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson, Jr. and A. Theresa Robinson
4. Serenity Farm, bad snow, 1980
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland
Persons: Robert D. Robinson, Peter Harris, Molly B. Swann
Cinematographer: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., A. Theresa Robinson
5. Winter and snow, 1980
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland
Persons: Molly B. Swann, Robert D. Robinson, A. Theresa Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.
6. 1985 lambs being fed, Sunday supper, post-1984
Place: Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland
Persons: Virginia W. Via, A. Theresa Robinson, Deidre G. Merhiage, Franklin A. Robinson, Sr., Margaret N. Ward, Martha L. Swann, Henry Swann
Cinematographer: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and A. Theresa Robinson
Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.'s thesis film American University. A short drama based on the farm crisis of the 1980s. Winner of a Special Jury Award at the Annual Short Film and Video Competition in Dallas, Texas; Silver Prize at the Austrian National Film Festival; Honorable Mention at The Big Muddy Film Festival; finalist for the Dore Schary Award. Screened at the American Film Institute (AFI).
Copyright: 1988
Producer: Antaeus Films
Director: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. (Frank Robinson, Jr.)
Performer(s): Scott Morgan, Tyler Brown, Jennifer Brown, Lynn Swann, David Robinson, Jennifer Thacker
Three original magnetic sound track reels, plus one box original sound recordings used for creating tracks.
A roll of edited film.
B roll of edited film.
Master magnetic mix track
Work print of edited film.
An American University, Location Film and Video project documenting the cutting and spearing process of harvesting tobacco in Southern Maryland. Filmed on location at Serenity Farm, Benedict, Maryland.
followed by 12 minutes of raw and uncut footage.
An American University; Location Film and Video project, short documentary. A day in the life of Theresa Robinson, a farmer on Serenity Farm, Charles County, Maryland. Footage includes scenes of taking down cured tobacco, hacking hands of tobacco, seeding winter rye, doing needlework.
Director: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. (Frank Robinson, Jr.)
Performer(s)/Persons Pictured: A. Theresa Robinson, R. David Robinson, Lynn Swann
Wildtrack cassette for OF475.15
Wildtrack cassette for OF475.15
Descriptive Summary: 210f, 16mm, silent, b&w. An American University, Location Film and Video project, short documentary. Outtakes for OF475.15. A day in the life of Theresa Robinson, a farmer on Serenity Farm, Charles County, Maryland. Footage includes scenes of taking down cured tobacco, hacking hands of tobacco, seeding winter rye, doing needlework.
Copyright: 1986
Director: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. (Frank Robinson, Jr.)
Performer(s)/Persons Pictured: A. Theresa Robinson, R. David Robinson, Lynn Swann
An American University, Location Film and Video project, short documentary. Outtakes for OF475.15. A day in the life of Theresa Robinson, a farmer on Serenity Farm, Charles County, Maryland. Footage includes scenes of taking down cured tobacco, hacking hands of tobacco, seeding winter rye, doing needlework.
Director: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. (Frank Robinson, Jr.)
Performer(s)/Persons Pictured: A. Theresa Robinson, R. David Robinson, Lynn Swann
A training VHS tape used in training aging sensitivity.
Producer: Morgan Productions
Director: Margo Meisel Morgan
Performer(s)/Persons Pictured: Virginia Via, Ashlee N. Robinson and others
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Adina M. Robinson, Robert D. Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Adina M. Robinson, Robert D. Robinson, Richard and Theresa Laurent family
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
Includes views of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, Seattle, Washington State
1. Airplane ride to California (Disneyland, Anaheim, California)
2. Will Rogers' home, Disneyland
3. Aunt Emily's, California and Yosemite, redwoods
4. California and Yosemite, Pacific area and redwoods
5. Oregon, summer vacation, Crater Lake, Dulles Airport
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Adina M. Robinson, Robert D. Robinson, Emily Abbot, Richard and Theresa Laurent family
Cinematographer: Franklin and Adina Robinson
1. Children at Disneyland (Anaheim, California) July 1968
2. Children swimming at motel while at Disneyland also Marge Ehrler, same of Knots Berry Farm in California July 1968
3. Cape Kennedy, Florida March 1969
4. Children in Gulf (of) Mexico on Sanibel Island, Florida March 1969; also at motel, Port Carlos
5. Children, yard and riding pony at home September 1969; airplane ride to Bahamas in February 1970
6. February 1970, Freeport, Bahamas. Children on beach in Freeport, Bahamas
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Robert D. Robinson, A. Theresa Robinson, Marge Ehrler, Randy Eaton
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson
1. Tonto Park and Roosevelt Lake, Arizona, 1970
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Robert D. Robinson, A. Theresa Robinson, Margaret T. Lennox, Margaret W. Lennox
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson, Sr.
2. Disneyland, Anaheim, California, August 1970
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Sr., Robert D. Robinson, A. Theresa Robinson, Margaret T. Lennox, Margaret W. Lennox
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson, Sr.
3. Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, April 1971
Persons: Franklin A. Robinson, Sr. and Margaret W. Robinson
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson, Sr., Margaret W. Robinson
4. Via trip to California; Emily Abbott, Glendale, California, December-January,1979-1980 (reel 1)
Persons: Robert M. Via, Ida Virginia Via, Emily Abbott
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson, Jr.
5. Via trip to California; Emily Abbott, Glendale, California, December-January,1979-1980 (reel 2)
Persons: Robert M. Via, Ida Virginia Via, Emily Abbott
Cinematographer: Franklin Robinson, Jr.
RV475.1-RV475.9, see above descriptions. Also RV475.13 of A Time to Sow
MV475.1-MV475.12, see above descriptions.