Alphabet sampler with floral spot motifs. The four alphabets are done in various styles: block, script, capital and lower case. The leafy side borders are done in the Cumberland County style. Signed Rebecca Robbins.
According to the donor, this Rebecca Robbins was either the aunt or great aunt of Rebecca Robbins Killey (1833-1908) of Bordentown, NJ. Miss Killey, who never married, was the daughter of Samuel Killey (1790-1870) and his wife Elizabeth Robbins (1793-?).
The records show Elizabeth Robbins was born to Edward Robbins (1767-1844) and his wife Amy Black (1771-1846). Edward and Amy were married with the approval of the Quakers in 1790 and had ten children, including Rebecca. There is very little outside of the Upper Springfield Quaker meeting notes to explain Rebecca’s life. According to the Quakers, she married Peter Wilson (1819-1885) and died in 1852.
No other evidence of Rebecca Robbins’ marriage to Peter Wilson can be found at this time. The only other possible glimpse into her life is one Edward Robbins Wilson (1851-1936), son of Peter Wilson, who listed Peter and Rebecca Wilson as his parents on his marriage certificate in 1875 to Cassie B. Anderson.
Rebecca Robbins Wilson would have been an older mother, even by today’s standards, at age 42. It would also mean she married someone 10 years her junior, which was unusual. If she died shortly after giving birth to Edward R. Wilson, it would explain why Peter Wilson married Mary F. Tantum around 1855. Peter and Mary are buried near each other and Edward Wilson.
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