Margaret Robinson was the daughter of William Robinson and Margaret Garrel. She was born at Fotheringay, formerly in Fincastle, Botetourt Co., Virginia and currently in Elliston in Montgomery County, Virginia.

Her father William was born in County Down, (in current Northern) Ireland. He came with 6 brothers and his father James, arriving in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, a Scots-Irish area, in about 1740. He married a Welsh woman, Margaret Garrel and settled at a place called Fotheringay in Fincastle, Virginia, then in Botetourt Co. and now in Montgomery Co., near Elliston. He had a home and tavern there until 1793, when Col. George Hancock purchased the land. Hancock build a fine home there, and is currently on the National Register of Historic Places Inventory. He called it Santilane, and his daughter Julia would become the 1st wife of William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark Expedition). Julia and her father, both died in 1820 and are buried there.

Margaret married first to ALEXANDER ROBERTSON on 18 Aug 1773 in Bedford Co., VA. They raised a family and he died, unexpectedly in 1802.

They had Robertson children:

Elizabeth,

Margaret,

Charles,

Jane, abt 1879

Martha, 9 Jul 1788 (Saml McKee)

George, 18 Nov 1790

Charlotte, 1796 (Robert P Letcher)

In the fall of 1805, she married Job Johnson, of Garrard Co., Kentucky. Job passed in about 1826, since she survived him about 20 years.

In "Forebears of Don Lewis," a chapter titled Robertson Family History, Congressman GEORGE ROBERTSON's (born 18 NoV 1790) bio describes his parents, family and life, firsthand. The wonderful person who located this old book, put it online without their name to credit them. His father ALEXANDER ROBERTSON, left Augusta Co., Virginia where he was born, and arrived on 24 Dec 1779 in Gordon's Station, Kentucky, near Harrodsburg. He purchased 400 acres there and then in 1780 purchased land named Harlan's Spring from Silas Harlan, and build his "fine home" there. His son George was born there and his father died there.

"He (Alexander) died of pneumonia, August 15th, 1802, when he was not quite 54 years old. I was then nearly twelve years old, and have even now a vivid recollection of him. He died unexpectedly and intestate. My mother administered on his personal estate, and remained a widow until the fall of the year 1805, when she was married to JOB JOHNSON, of Garrad, a Methodist, honorable and amiable, but considerably inferior to her in intellect and knowledge. She survived her last husband about twenty years. During her last widowhood, she lived with her fourth daughter, Mrs. MARTHA McKEE, widow of Colonel Samuel McKee. My mother having, in the spring of the year 1846, gone to Frankfort on a visit to her youngest daughter Mrs. CHARLOTTE Letcher, wife of ex-Governor Letcher, there accidentally broke a limb near the hip joint, and was confined to her bed until the 13th of June 1846, when she died of that fracture, in the 92nd year of her age, and was buried in the Frankfort Cemetery. She retained her mental faculties to the last, and was as colloquial and edifying the day of her death as she had ever been. Her mind was strong and logical, and her memory was accurate and vivid; and in the last scene of her long earthly drama she could recite poetry by the hour. Her native capacity was far above mediocrity, and she was the best living chronicler of the early history of Kentucky I had ever seen. She was the mentor and almost the idol of a large posterity. She was a favorite wherever she was known, and by all who knew her she was considered a woman of exemplary piety and extraordinary moral harmony and power. She was a member of the Methodist Church, and left the scenes of earth with placid resignation and cheerful triumph, her mind unobscured. Her whole life and character properly considered, she was a model woman."

"My mother was born April 13th, 1755, on Roanoke, at the 'Hancock Place', or Fotheringay, so named by her father in honor of Mary Queen of Scots, to whose cause he was a devoted adherent. In the tenth year of her age, her father, was drowned in New River, at the crossing of the main western road. The facilities for scholastic education being then very limited, she was at school only six months; but during that short pupilage she learned to read, write and cipher quite well. Children then, and in that country, were trained to moral and industrious principles and habits, and thus, kept from vicious temptations and demoralizing associations, they employed their time usefully, and soon acquired proper education, physical, moral and intellectual. It is to be regretted that it is not so now and here, in this more luxurious and degenerate age."

"Liberated from his apprenticeship, my father devoted himself diligently to his trade of making wheels and building houses in his native county, until about the year 1770, when he engaged to build a framed house on Roanoke for William Madison, father of George Madison, who was elected Governor of Kentucky, and brother of James Madison, father of President Madison. This house I have seen. It is west of the river and in sight of the house of my grandmother Robinson, which was on a mountain elevation on the east of the river, and on the site of the brick house afterwards built by Hancock. While engaged in erecting that edifice my father became acquainted with and courted my mother, and on the 18th of August 1773, they were married in Bedford County, Virginia, whither they and their bridal party had to go to meet the Episcopal minister, who would not go out of his own county to solemnize marriage. They were married at the house of Colonel Howard, the father of Benjamin Howard, once Governor of Missouri. I have a copy of their license dated 17th August 1773. And Mrs. Parker, a sister of Governor Howard, said to me about ten years ago, 'Sir, I saw your father and mother married and a handsomer couple I never saw stand on the floor.' And doubtless she thought so. I have a vivid recollection of each of them. My mother, when in her girlhood, must have been beautiful, and, according to tradition, was generally considered almost peerless in personal comeliness. My father, although only five feet eight inches high, weighed about 165 pounds, and was of perfect form. His head was large, his forehead capacious, his nose of large Grecian mold, his complexion fair, his eyes grey, his hair black and waving, and his countenance benignant and luminous. I was not quite twelve years old when he died. When he was forty years old, he had become so corpulent as to weigh about 240 pounds. But even as I remember him he was remarkably handsome. My mother was of medium size, her eyes were dark,Liberated from his apprenticeship, my father devoted himself diligently to his trade of making wheels and building houses in his native county, until about the year 1770, when he engaged to build a framed house on Roanoke for William Madison, father of George Madison, who was elected Governor of Kentucky, and brother of James Madison, father of President Madison. This house I have seen. It is west of the river and in sight of the house of my grandmother Robinson, which was on a mountain elevation on the east of the river, and on the site of the brick house afterwards built by Hancock. While engaged in erecting that edifice my father became acquainted with and courted my mother, and on the 18th of August 1773, they were married in Bedford County, Virginia, whither they and their bridal party had to go to meet the Episcopal minister, who would not go out of his own county to solemnize marriage. They were married at the house of Colonel Howard, the father of Benjamin Howard, once Governor of Missouri. I have a copy of their license dated 17th August 1773. And Mrs. Parker, a sister of Governor Howard, said to me about ten years ago, 'Sir, I saw your father and mother married and a handsomer couple I never saw stand on the floor.' And doubtless she thought so. I have a vivid recollection of each of them. My mother, when in her girlhood, must have been beautiful, and, according to tradition, was generally considered almost peerless in personal comeliness. My father, although only five feet eight inches high, weighed about 165 pounds, and was of perfect form. His head was large, his forehead capacious, his nose of large Grecian mold, his complexion fair, his eyes grey, his hair black and waving, and his countenance benignant and luminous. I was not quite twelve years old when he died. When he was forty years old, he had become so corpulent as to weigh about 240 pounds. But even as I remember him he was remarkably handsome. My mother was of medium size, her eyes were dark, her countenance mild and attractive, and altogether she was one of the handsomest women of her day and generation. her countenance mild and attractive, and altogether she was one of the handsomest women of her day and generation."