lee robinson

1864-1943

Life Story

Early Life and Family Origins

Lee Robinson was born on July 7, 1864, in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, during the final year of the Civil War. The 1870 census places him at age seven in Township 6, Lauderdale County, in the household of Emanuel Roberson (1838-1910) and Dicy Hearns Roberson (1845-1930). Like many families during Reconstruction, the spelling of the surname shifted between Roberson and Robinson, but the family continuity is clear across decades.

By 1880, Lee was 17 years old and living in Beat 5 of Newton County, Mississippi, with his parents and siblings. At that time, he was working as a laborer and was unable to read or write—reflecting the limited educational opportunities available to many formerly enslaved families in post-war Mississippi.

Marriage and Establishing a Household

Around 1891, Lee married Maggie Thompson. The 1900 census records him as head of household in Beat 5, Newton County. He was farming rented land and supporting a growing family. Their early children included:

Carrie Robinson (b. 1895)
Willie Robinson (b. 1897)
Jimmie Robinson (b. 1899)

Over the next decades, additional children were born, including Rosia, Ruby, Eunice, Anna, Annie M., Estelle, Lonnie, and Howie. The family’s presence is consistently documented in Beat 4 and surrounding areas of Newton County.

Lee spent the majority of his life working as a farmer, sometimes listed as working for wages and later as working “on own account.” By 1930, he owned his farm in Beat 4, demonstrating economic progress after decades of agricultural labor.

Though census records repeatedly indicate that Lee was unable to read or write, he maintained steady employment and provided land, shelter, and stability for his large household.

Later Years and Migration

By 1940, Lee was living in Mobile, Alabama, in the household of his son Willie Robinson on Howell’s Ferry Road (Overlook Nursery area). The census indicates he had completed up to the 8th grade—possibly reflecting informal or late-life schooling, or an enumerator correction.

His residence in 1935 had still been Newton County, Mississippi, suggesting that his move to Alabama occurred late in life, likely to live with family as his health declined.

Death and Medical Record

Lee Robinson passed away on August 18, 1943, at 2:30 A.M., in Newton County, Mississippi, outside the corporate limits of the town of Newton. His death certificate (State File No. 11826) records his age as 79 years and 1 month.

His wife, Maggie Robinson, served as the informant.

Although no official cause of death was listed on the original certificate, a later physician’s statement indicated that Lee had been suffering from Bright’s disease (chronic kidney disease) for some time prior to his death. The certificate was signed by the attending physician and filed with the state registrar on August 23, 1943.

His occupation was recorded as Farmer, reflecting the work that defined the majority of his life.

Burial and Legacy

Lee Robinson was buried on August 22, 1943, at Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Newton County, Mississippi.

Born during the closing months of slavery and raised during Reconstruction, Lee’s life spanned a transformative era in Mississippi history—from emancipation through Jim Crow and into the World War II period. His story reflects the endurance of Black farming families who navigated shifting land systems, literacy barriers, and economic hardship while maintaining strong kinship networks.

Across seven decades of census records, Lee appears consistently as a laborer, then farmer, then landholder, and finally patriarch in his son’s household. His life traces the arc of post-emancipation stability built through land, marriage, and generational continuity.

He remains part of the enduring agricultural and family history of Newton County.

Resting Place

Old Pleasant Grove Cemetery

Photos/Albums