Mary Robinson Houses

204 and 206 Catherine Street

(25 and 27 Catherine St.)

Syracuse, New York

c. 1850

Significance

Mary Robinson represents the stable African American community in Salina (now Syracuse’s north side), formed by people who had come to Syracuse from eastern U.S. or New England, and whose descendents remained in the community into the twentieth century. Perhaps they had been born into slavery; perhaps not. Many of them owned property. They worked primarily in service-related jobs. Mary Robinson was a laundress. Others were domestics, waiters, barbers, or laborers. Some worked in transportation industries, as boatmen on the canal, or as employees of stagecoach lines. In the 1830s, when freedom seekers began to arrive directly from southern states, they found this community already organized.

Biography

Mary W. Robinson was born about 1816 in Schenectady, New York. We do not know whether she was born free or in slavery.  She married Zephania Robinson, and moved to Syracuse about 1833. Zephania was severely injured in a gunpowder explosion in Syracuse in 1841 and died between 1844, and 1850. His last living child, Edwin Z., was born on October 26, 1844, and Zephaniah, the father, was not listed in the 1850 census. (Clark, 87; Oakwood cemetery records; 1850 census)

On October 25, 1849, Mary Robison [Robinson], thirty-four years old, bought from E. W. and Mary E. Leavenworth a lot, perhaps with a house already on it, for $125 at 25 Catherine Street. It was the second house from the corner of Burnet Avenue. The next spring, on May 14, 1850, she purchased another lot from the Leavenworths for $175, probably encompassing the rest of the north end of Block 38, lot 16. (Deeds, Book 100, p. 267; Book 118, p. 485). 

She lived there with her children, eight-year-old Mary and five-year-old Edwin, and supported them by working as a washerwoman and landlady. She rented out at least one room in this house to Horace Lewis, a widower who had come to Onondaga County about 1838, and his son, Charles H. Lewis. (1850 and 1855 censuses, deed index, city directories, 1851)

In a deed dated May17, 1859, she bought the north end of Lot 16, Block 38 from her former boarder, Horace Lewis, for $250. There may be a deed missing from the current deed search, since this seems to be the same property that she purchased earlier from E.W. and Mary Leavenworth. In any case, by 1860, she owned two houses and a vacant lot on this end of the block, valued by the assessments at $500. (Deed Book 135, p. 229; assessments, 1860)

The 1860 census listed her total worth as much higher. As a forty-year-old washerwoman, she had real property worth $2500 and personal property worth $500. Two children lived with her, Mary E. and Zeph, both aged seventeen. Seth listed his occupation as barber apprentice. Zeph is actually the same son listed in earlier censuses as Edwin. An 1868 deed noted that his full name was Zepharia Edwin Robinson.

This household remained stable through most of the 1850s and 1860s. The 1855 census listed Mary Robinson as aged 39, a laundress and landowner, living with her children Mary E., aged twelve, and Zeph E., aged 10, and with Horace Lewis, aged 38 and a boarder, and his son, 13-year-old Charles.  Although Horace Lewis moved out of the household sometime during this period, Mary Robinson continued to live in this house until she died in 1868. Edwin seems also to have lived here, for the 1868 city directory listed Edwin Robison [sic] as a boarder at 25 Catherine. (city directories, 1851, 1853, 1857, 1859-60, 1867, 1868)

According to Oak Hill Cemetery records, Mary Robinson died on March 29, 1868. Someone named Bradford was listed as kin. Could this have been her maiden name? (Clerk, 86)

A deed dated October 20, 1868, after Mary Robinson’s death, gave her property to Zepharia Edwin Robinson, “in consideration of natural love and affection for her beloved son.”  A deed dated August 1, 1871 gave a quit claim deed to Z. Edward Robinson, for what seems to be the same property, plus part of lot 15, worth $300. (Book 172, p. 91; Book 181, p. 488). Another deed from 1872 transferred some of this property between Emeline Robinson and Henry Williams.

In 1882, Charles P. Algire bought the northern part of the property and constructed a house there. He also moved a small saltbox house, probably with a central chimney, to the rear of this lot (on what was part of Lot 15).

In 1880, Mary’s son, Edwin Robinson, resided in one of these house, probably at 204 Catharine, with his wife, Emeline A., both aged 35, and their children, Edward R., 9; Florence, 8; Alzada, 5; Charles, 2; and Catharine, 3/12. Next door, Harold Robinson, aged 65 and a woodworker, lived in 1884. Was this Mary Robinson’s brother-in-law? Edwin and Emeline would later have two more children, Walter and Katherine. (OHA index to 1880 census; discussion with Dick Case).

In 1882, Emeline Robinson was paying taxes on two houses and lots, 66 feet x 66 feet, worth $1800. (assessments)

Edwin Z. Robinson died on November 20, 1907, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery. His kin were listed as Jeperhina and Mary Robinson, perhaps Mary Robinson’s grand-daughter and daughter. (OHA index to Oakwood Cemetery records)

Edwin Z. Robinson’s son, Charles, graduated from Syracuse University as an engineer and returned to Syracuse to live in one of these homes in his retirement. He died here at age 90 in 1968. His sister Alzada lived next door. She outlived Charles by only two months. Most of the contents of these houses were auctioned off. Raymond J. DeSilva, attorney for this family, gave pictures found in these house to the Onondaga Historical Association. (conversation with Dick Case).

The Robinsons were not the only African American family living on this block. Beginning about 1850, Francis Lando and his family lived next door to the Robinsons, at 23 Catharine Street, on the northeast corner of Catharine and Burnet. Francis Lando’s first wife had been Almina Robinson, perhaps Mary Robinson’s sister-in-law. After Almina’s death, he married Maygene Jones, of Onondaga Hill, on April 8, 1858. Samuel J. May officiated. (Standard, April 16, 1858)

Born about 1820 in Canajoharie, Francis Lando was enslaved by a man named Yates before being sold at four years of age to Dr. Joseph White of Otsego County.  He went to Buffalo when he was 18 years old and worked two summers as a sailor on the lake, living in Oswego in the winters. About 1850, when he was thirty years old, he came to Syracuse to work for J.C. Woodruff, owner of the stage line. Prince Jackson also worked for Woodruff. In that year, he built his house at the corner of Catharine and Burnet. He was still living there in 1893, when the Sunday Times reported that he was “the lonely negro [sic] living in Syracuse who was ever a slave; certainly he is the only one here who was held in bondage in New York State.” The reporter noted that

                the old negro [sic] is very proud of his property and particularly so of a

gigantic old elm tree which stands in the yard. Mr. Lando tells me that                 about all the colored folk in Syracuse are Southerners and that there                 are proably not to exceed ten who had their origin in the North.                 (February 19, 1893, OHA files)

In 1860, Francis Lando’s lot was twice the size of either of the Robinson house lots, and he was assessmed $450 for his property.

Site

The two Robinson houses stand in their original locations on Catharine Street. They are simple gable-end-to-the-street, two-story frame buildings with unsoffited eaves and what appears to be vinyl siding. Side and front doorway porches seem to be in their original locations, as do upstairs front windows. First floor façade windows have both been changed to incoporate twentieth century bay windows.

Charles P. Algire’s house still stands, as does the small saltbox to its rear. By 1908, Francis Lando’s house has been removed from its corner. A structure on Block 38, Lot 15, behind the the Robinson houses, appeared on the insurance map for that year. It was still there in 2002. Is this Francis Lando’s original house.

The 1910 insurance maps shows an apartment building called The Ruth on the corner of Catharine and Burnet, where Francis Lando’s house once stood. This apartment building was still there in 2002.

Further research

Further research in city directories, censuses, insurance maps, tax assessments, deeds, and mortgages would help determine more exactly the chronology of when these houses were built and who owned them at various times.  Some research has already been done for these properties in the post-Civil War period that is not included here.

Special thanks to Dick Case and Beth Crawford for their assistance with the Robinson family.  

In 1850, 1855, and 1859, Mary Robinson bought three pieces of property on Catharine Street, near the corner of Burnet Avenue. These included two houses at 25 and 27 Catharine Street and a vacant lot just north of 27 Catherine Street. The houses were on Block 38, lot 16. The vacant lot was on lot 16 and part of lot 15. 

In 1860, Mary Robinson was assessed $500 for these properties, listed as:

                Block 38/part 15, 16               2 x 8 rods        vacant lot                              Catherine

                Block 38/pt. 16 #25                2 x 4 rods        house & lot                           Catherine             

                Block 38/pt. 16 #27                2 x 4 rods        house & lot                           Catherine