Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson was the fourth son of Colonel Beverley
Robinson. He was born near New York in 1763, fought in the War of
Independence, returned to England after the war and continued in the
army. He became colonel in 1810 and went with Wellington to Spain in
1812. He was promoted to Major General in 1814. He then commanded a
brigade from Wellington's army sent to serve in Canada in the war with
the USA. In 1816 he went to the West Indies and commanded troops
there. For a while he was Governor of Tobago. He was promoted to
General in 1841. He died in Brighton, England, in 1852.
I am looking for any ORIGINAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION concerning this man and a
PORTRAIT if possible. I have searched the web already as thoroughly as
I know how.
Philippa Elmhirst. |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
11 Mar 2005 08:58 PST
Philippa,
Thanks for your question.
I've done some looking around for Sir Frederick, and noticed that the
search is complicated by variouis spellings of his name. Frederic vs
Frederick, and Philipse vs Phillipse.
I constructed a Google search to encompass several different
spellings, and you can see the results here:
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-33,GGLD:en&q=%22%28frederick+OR+frederick%29+%28philipse+OR+phillipse%29+robinson%22
Please review this to see if there are materials here that are new to
you, and let me know what you find.
As for source materials, I've found a few 19th century sources that
make mention of FPR -- two mentions in the London Times, for instance,
and a few in old books that are available online -- but the mentions
are all quite brief.
For instance, one source has an extensive discussion of Beverley
Robinson and his friendship with George Washington (and includes a
picture of Col. Robinson, as well), but only mentions FPR in passing
(and alas, no picture!).
Let me know what you think of all this.
pafalafa-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
13 Mar 2005 04:47 PST
Philippa,
There is a brief mention of Sir Frederick in the footnote on this page:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=genpub;cc=genpub;xc=1;sid=3de4737a638a2a0f6303d6762b12858b;q1=Frederick%20Philipse%20Robinson;rgn=full%20text;idno=ABP1224.0002.001;view=image;seq=00000495
The pictorial field-book of the revolution; or, Illustrations, by pen
and pencil, of the history, biography, scenery, relics, and traditions
of the war for independence., Lossing, Benson John, 1813-1891
Published: 1850-51
and another here:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=genpub;cc=genpub;xc=1;sid=3de4737a638a2a0f6303d6762b12858b;q1=Frederick%20Philipse%20Robinson;rgn=full%20text;idno=AJA2526.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000701
History of the colony and ancient dominion of Virginia
1860
and another:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moajrnl;cc=moajrnl;xc=1;sid=3de4737a638a2a0f6303d6762b12858b;q1=Frederick%20Philipse%20Robinson;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=works;idno=acw8433.1-15.357;view=image;seq=0102
Appletons' journal: a magazine of general literature. / Volume 15, Issue 357
American Historic Houses?Beverly
1867
In the middle column, about mid-way down the page, is this text:
-----
Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, the
fourth son, passed through all the gradations
of rank, commanded a brigade at the battle of
Vittoria, at the siege of St. Sebastian, and at
the passage of the Nive; he was commander-in-chief
of the Canadian forces in the War
of I812, and in I8i5 was appointed Governor
of Upper Canada, at the same time receiving
the honor of knighthood. He was afterward
advanced to the Order of the Grand Cross.
He visited Beverly in his mature manhood,
and is said to have shed tears as he regarded
with profound admiration the beauties of
Nature which encompassed his birthplace.
-----
For all of the above, you can see other pages in the work by using the
"go to page" option in the upper right.
You can enlarge the page image with the "page size" options near the top.
As for the London Times, I found only the briefest of mentions:
Wednesday, Dec 12, 1827; pg. 2
From the LONDON GAZETTE, Tuesday, Dec. 11. Admiralty-Office, Dec. 11
Official Appointments and Notices
59th Regiment of Foot -- Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Philipse
Robinson, KCB, to be Colonel
The Times, Saturday, Feb 14, 1852; pg. 3
From the LONDON GAZETTE, Friday, Feb. 13.
Official Appointments and Notices
Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, GCB, deceased
No pictures of Sir Frederick, alas.
Hope that adds some useful information to your history.
pafalafa-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
13 Mar 2005 05:12 PST
Also, you might want to be aware of the following archives:
http://www.a2a.org.uk/search/documentxsl.asp?com=1&i=1&nbKey=1&stylesheet=xsl\A2A_com.xsl&keyword=philipse&properties=0601
East Sussex Record Office, Lewes
FILE - Inventory of plate, linen and books at 39 Bedford Square,
Brighton the property of the late General Sir Frederick Philipse
Robinson GSB, with deed of arrangement concerning the residuary
personal estate - ref. AMS6198/8/1-2 - date: 1852
|
Clarification of Question by
mehitabel-ga
on
13 Mar 2005 05:47 PST
Thank you, pafalafa-ga. I had seen the first of your 'finds' but not
the others. They have been duly noted. I like the idea of the
inventory of his house in Brighton.
Do I gather that you have exhausted all the possibilities you can think of?
P.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
13 Mar 2005 05:54 PST
You gather correctly...for the moment anyway.
If inspiration strikes, however, I'll be sure to revisit this question.
Best of luck in your searching...
paf
|
Clarification of Question by
mehitabel-ga
on
13 Mar 2005 12:36 PST
OK, over and out!
Mehitabel-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
mehitabel-ga
on
27 Mar 2005 02:22 PST
To Palafa-ga in particular, and anyone else who has taken an interest
in this question: I have FOUND a portrait of Sir Frederick Philipse
Robinson! There is one in the Lieutenant Governor's Office in Toronto
- which I hope to see next time I am in that city. Thanks for all the
suggestions and links - all of which I have followed up.
Mehitabel-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
27 Mar 2005 04:18 PST
That's fantastic. Thanks so much for letting us know.
Have you asked the offcie in Toronto if they could take a digital
photo of the portrait? They could then just email a copy to you.
All the best.
paf
|
Clarification of Question by
mehitabel-ga
on
27 Mar 2005 05:43 PST
I did email the office and was rerouted to the archivist - just before
the Easter break, so now I have to wait patiently till Tuesday for his
reply! Actually I have seen a reproduction in a book but it is only
black and white so I would really like a colour version.
Thanks for your support. It felt great to have someone else looking as
well as me. Should I cancel the question now, or just wait for it to
expire?
mehitabel-ga
|
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
27 Mar 2005 06:22 PST
Canceling the question would be a good idea, unless you want to leave
it open in the chance that someone else will have more information to
add.
Hope we'll see you back here sometime.
paf
|
Clarification of Question by
mehitabel-ga
on
27 Mar 2005 06:45 PST
OK, I will cancel it but I will be back if I need to. It has been a
good experience. Thank you.
Mehatabel-ga
|
