Gain Robinson was born on January 24, 1769 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, approximately 40 miles south of Boston. Plymouth is known as “America’s hometown” because the community was founded in 1620 by Mayflower pilgrims. Gain was the thirteenth (out of seventeen children) born to James Gain Robinson and Jerusha Barlett. He was named for his grandfather, Gain Robinson, who came to America in 1726 from Ireland and settled west of Pembroke, Massachusetts.
At an early age, Gain moved with his parents and siblings to Cummington, Massachusetts, first settled in 1762 and named for Colonel John Cummings, the original landholder. It was in Cummington that Gain’s father died on August 26, 1793. Three years later, at age twenty-seven Gain married Chloe Bradish (of Mayflower descent) on December 15, 1796. Chloe was the sister of Calvin and Luther Bradish. Gain and Chloe Robinson became the parents of ten children, two born before they moved to Palmyra.
Gain Moves to Palmyra in 1800
In 1800, Gain moved with his wife and two children to Palmyra. They were accompanied by Gain’s sister, Elizabeth Robinson McIntyre, and her husband, Alexander McIntyre Sr., and their two children—Thomas Henry McIntyre and Alexander McIntyre. At the time of their move, his sister Elizabeth was pregnant with her daughter Ester Robinson.[1] Gain and his brother-in-law Alexander McIntyre were listed in the 1800 US Federal Census as residents of Palmyra.
In Palmyra, Gain purchased 180 acres of the Aldrich homestead which suggests that he brought substantial funds with him to Palmyra. On that acreage, Gain built a log cabin and a distillery. From his distillery, he produced whiskey which did not serve him or his family well through the passing years. His wife, Chloe Robinson, taught school in the winter months their first year in town. In 1802, Gain registered an animal earmark—“Gain Robinson mark a slope the upper side of the left year.”[2] The registered earmark reveals that Gain was not just tilling the land or making whiskey on his acreage. He was raising livestock.
In 1809, Gain was elected clerk of Palmyra, a position he held for four years. His election to office suggests that he was well-liked and capable of serving in a significant town position. The number of people in his household as recorded in the 1810 US Federal Census suggests that the cabin Gain first built was no longer suitable for his family and that he had constructed a larger home. By 1810, Gain had a household of five males under age 10, one male age 10-15, one male age 26-44, one female under age 10, one female age 10-15, and two females ages 26-44.
Gain is a Medical Doctor and a Druggist
Gain built a large frame house on the southwest corner of West Main Street and Burnham Heights. The house was situated on a corner of his 180 acres. Next to his frame house, Gain set up a medical office. The office faced Main Street.[3] In the office, he treated patients and trained his nephew, Alexander McIntyre, to be an allopath, using a system of medical practice that aims to combat disease by use of drugs and/or surgery. He also trained Durfee Chase, brother of Willard Chase, to be a homeopathic doctor, using tiny doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of disease. The fact that Gain was able to treat patients and medical doctors is curious, for there is no evidence that he studied medicine before moving to Palmyra. But recall, this was a time when a placard nailed to the door of any establishment was believed.
On February 26, 1811, Gain Robinson and Seymour Scovell entered into a partnership and informed the public that they would sell drugs and medicines, dry wood, paints, and groceries on respectable terms. They advertised their store (located next to the office and home of Dr. Robinson on Main Street) in the Ontario Repository, perhaps hoping to attract more customers than just Palmyra residents. The Robinson and Scovell drugstore was the first drugstore in Palmyra, a town that had nearly two thousand residents by 1811.[4]
Travelers coming through small towns in western New York looked for the “Show Globe” placed in the windows of drugstores. (Today, it is a trademark for barbershops.) In Palmyra, the show globe was a trademark of apothecaries and alchemists. There is an ongoing debate as to what the colored liquids inside the globe symbolized. Most historians contend that red symbolized blood as it flows outside the body and blue symbolized blood as it flows through the skin. If the globe was filled with red liquid, customers and passersby knew a plague had erupted in town. If the globe was filled with green liquid, customers and passersby knew there was no serious illness in the community.
Druggists, like Gain Robinson, were more than dispensers of pills. They provided medical advice and prescribed a variety of medications. From the account books of Gain, it appears he preferred botanic medicine and natural cures to chemical cures. Gain created his concoctions and infusions from herbs grown on his acreage. Merchandise sold in his store suggests that Gain was as much an entrepreneur as a druggist. He offered his products for varying prices, depending on whether the purchase was made in cash, on credit, or with trade. The price of any item appears to be determined by the customer’s ability to haggle. Eye droppers, La Mott’s Cough Drops, cloves, pills, oil, paint, skull cap, Sulphur, lead, sand paper, salt, indigo, you name it—Gain Robinson had it in stock. Therefore, all day long he could count on customers walking in and out of his store.[5]
Gain was not only a successful entrepreneur, he was successful at selling himself and his medical knowledge and treatments. He was often referred to as “The Father of Medicine in the Region.” He became the president of the Medical Society of the County of Ontario. As such, on March 10, 1811, when Alexander McIntyre received a diploma (medical license) to practice medicine, it was signed by Gain Robinson.[6]
In 1812, Seymour Scovell ended his partnership with Gain Robinson in the drugstore. Reasons for ending the brief partnership are unknown. Seeing an advantage for himself, Alexander McIntyre became a co-owner with Gain Robinson in the drugstore. On December 1, 1812, McIntyre advertised, “Aromatic Snuff for the Catarrh and Headache.”[7]
Gain as a Civic Leader
By 1812, Gain had a large family, a farm, a distillery, a medical practice, and a drugstore. In spite of having a full plate of responsibilities, he was not excused from jury duty. His name remained on the jury list in Palmyra from 1812 to 1813.[8] Apparently, he didn’t mind. Between the years of 1812 and 1816, Gain accepted many civic positions in Palmyra. He was appointed pound-master (pound-keeper), meaning he had responsibility for the feeding and care of stray livestock like domestic pigs, cattle, horses, sheep, and geese. He served as a school commissioner, meaning he had oversight of the teachers and students in Palmyra. He was elected an overseer of highways, meaning he had a say in the supervision, maintenance, and construction of roads.
It appears that his staggering load of civic responsibilities was not altogether altruistic. Gain had a political agenda that extended to the county level. On March 8, 1814, “Gain Robinson of Palmyra” was nominated a candidate for the New York State Senate.[9] On April 19, 1814, Gain was elected to represent Ontario County in the New York Assembly.[10]
On July 26, 1814 and again on August 2, 1814, Gain was elected a censor for the Ontario Medical Society.[11] (A censor is equivalent to being elected to the board of directors).
The Strange Twist
A year after the Smiths arrived in Palmyra, it appeared to townsfolk that Gain Robinson would never lose his financial momentum. He must have believed it himself, for he granted for no money down to his son-in-law Philip Grandin, brother of E. B. Grandin, acreage at the south bank of Mud Creek extending to a grist mill owned by Seymour Scovell.[12] No money down suggests Gain did not expect a financial downturn.
When religious revivals spread through Palmyra in 1818, Gain had little to do with camp meetings or circuit preachers. He and his wife Chloe Robinson took a more conservative approach by aligning themselves with the Western Presbyterian Church. On March 18, 1817, when the Presbyterian Church was incorporated, Gain gave his “seal,” meaning he pledged his financial and personal loyalty. Near the same time, Chloe Robinson joined the Female Bible Society of the Western Presbyterian Church.[13] At the anniversary meeting of the Ontario Medical Society on July 8, 1817 at the courthouse in Canandaigua, Gain was elected president.[14]
The twist in his life started with a public notice in the Palmyra Register on October 10, 1817 titled, “Sheriff’s Sale.” The newspaper account told of a sheriff seizing Gain Robinson’s 180 acres and distillery. The account further disclosed the distillery was sold to Phelps Selby and Company.[15] The reason given for the sheriff’s seizure of property was indebtedness. What is curious in the Palmyra Register account is that Gain was not arrested or sent to debtor’s prison for indebtedness. However, such may have been the case. Gain left Palmyra for a significant period of time. It is assumed he was fulfilling legislative responsibilities. However, he could have been in a debtor’s cell. It was not until May 26, 1819 (about a year and a half later) that the Palmyra Register printed, “In unison with the inhabitants of this village and its vicinity, we present our most hearty congratulations to this [Gain Robinson] worthy and highly eminent Physician, on his return to his home—to the bosom of an affectionate family, and to the society of his numerous friends.”[16]
Gain was back in Palmyra in time to be counted in the 1820 US Federal Census. At the time, his household consisted of two males under age 10, two males ages 10-16, one male age 18-26, one male age 45+, three females under age 10, one female age 10-16, one female age 16-26, one female age 26-45, and one female age 45+. The total number of people in his household was thirteen.
The welcome home of Gain Robinson was all but forgotten six months later. On March 3, 1820, the following advertisement appeared in a local paper:
By order of Nathaniel W. Howell, Esq. first judge of the court of common pleas in and for the county of Ontario, notice is hereby given to all the creditors of Gain Robinson, as well in his individual capacity, as one of the copartners of the late firm of Robinson, [Pomeroy] Tucker & Co., and of the firm of Robinson & Wilson, an insolvent debtor, that they show cause, if any they have, before the said judge, at his office in the village of Canandaigua, in said county, on the twenty-seventh day of May next, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, why an assignment of the said insolvent’s estate should not be made, and his person be exempted from imprisonment, pursuant to the act, entitled. An act to abolish imprisonment for debt in certain cases, passed April 7, 1819. Dated March 3, 1820. Gain Robinson insolvent.[17]
On April 25, 1820, creditors were notified that Gain Robinson was an insolvent debtor, but exempted from imprisonment by order of Nathaniel W. Howell, Esq. first judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Being exempt from imprisonment is most unusual. Perhaps it has something to do with Gain’s continuing medical and political clout.[18] He was allowed to maintain his home, medical practice, and drugstore as if the indebtedness had not occurred. He presided over meetings of the Medical Society of Ontario County as if there was no smudge on his reputation.[19]
Dr. Robinson and the Joseph Smith Sr. Family
Gain Robinson was the doctor of choice (at least one of the doctors) for the Smith family. In 1823, Gain accompanied Dr. Alexander McIntyre to the Smith home to give medical treatment to Alvin Smith. On the day of Alvin’s death (November 19, 1823), Joseph Smith Sr. was charged $3.00 by Gain Robinson. The timing of the charge seems very unkind. Later, Gain assisted in the autopsy of Alvin Smith.
Dr. Robinson treated Sophronia and Samuel Smith when they were “lying at the point of death” so sick that Hyrum (now married) “had left his own house, and quitted business, in order to take care of them during our absence,” wrote Lucy Mack Smith. Dr. Robinson charged Joseph Sr. for medicine given to “Boy [Samuel] Harrison.” Mother Smith added that Sophronia “lay very sick for two months in which time she was dreadfully salivated by Dr. Robinson who attended her.”[20]
When it appeared that the Smiths would lose their farmhouse in Palmyra, Gain Robinson wrote a testimonial of their industry. He circulated the testimonial to others until he had sixty signatures of local residents.[21] This document has not been found. It is assumed that Gain got the signatures as customers entered his drugstore.
Gain receives Medical Recognition
Gain was named president of the Wayne County Medical Association in 1826, becoming the first man to receive that honor.[22] On March 28, 1827, regents of the New York University awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine. It was noted that Gain received the honorary degree because he was over forty-five years old, had a respectable character, and had evidenced substantial medical knowledge.[23]
The Year 1828
In 1828, there were two accounts of Gain Robinson’s rift with elders of the Western Presbyterian Church in Palmyra. One account has a committee of elders suspending Gain from church for alcoholism, which suggests his distillery didn’t bless his life. The other account has the elders warning Gain that he was seen riding his horse for pleasure too fast on Sundays. Wherein, the good doctor asked them to revoke his membership as he enjoyed riding his horse fast too much to stop.[24]
On June 14, 1828, Martin Harris carried with him the 116 pages to Palmyra. He had the manuscript pages in his possession for three weeks or until about July 7, 1828. As the days passed, Martin showed the manuscript to any “prudent” person who called. Would Gain be considered a prudent person? We would choose a different adjective to describe him.
At age fifty-nine, Gain was financially broke—he had lost his farm and distillery. He was suspended from the Western Presbyterian Church, so couldn’t expect financial help from the church. He was three years from death and known as the alcoholic in town. Nevertheless, he was still a respected doctor and ran a very successful drugstore. People confide in doctors. He would know everyone in town because of the drugstore and would hear gossip. We don’t see Gain as a major player in the conspiracy to steal and alter the manuscript because of his addiction. However, we do see Gain as being privy to information about the theft whether the information was received in passing or as part of a conspiracy.
July 7, 1828 marks the end of the three week period that Martin Harris had the 116 pages in his possession. In looking at the account book kept by Gain Robinson during that three week period, it was business as usual. There are no entries suggesting intrigue or knowledge of the stolen pages. On July 9, 1828, Gain recorded Flanders Dyke paid off his debt. This took place two days after the 116 pages went missing. The holographic entry reads: “By cash to balance.”
On July 26, 1828, a political town meeting was held at the Eagle Hotel. Gain Robinson was appointed chairman of the meeting and Abner Cole, secretary.[25]
Gain Robinson Dies
Gain was listed in the 1830 US Federal Census of Palmyra as having a household of one male age 30-40, one male age 70-80, two females age 10-15, and one female age 15-20. A total of five people lived in his household.
On June 21, 1831, Gain died in Palmyra at age sixty-two. At the time of his death, he was still referred to as the “Father of Medicine of this Region.” His obituary appeared in the Western Argus:
In Palmyra, on the 21st [June 1831] inst. Gain Robinson, M.D. aged about 62 years. In the death of this individual, the community has suffered a great and almost irreparable loss. Dr. Robinson was one of the early settlers of this country. For the last thirty years, he has been constantly engaged in the duties of his profession; in which, as a practical man, he has for a long time enjoyed an enviable reputation.[26]
On June 25, 1831, E. B. Grandin wrote, “In bookstore till 10 o’clock a.m.—then attended the funeral of Dr. Gain Robinson, who died on Tuesday last about 7 a.m.—a great number attended his funeral—Mr. [Jesse] Townsend preached the sermon.”[27] Gain was buried in the Palmyra City Cemetery. The inscription on his tombstone reads: “In Memory of Gain Robinson, M.D. who died June 21, 1831 aged 62 years, 4 months and 28 days.” On June 29, 1831, Gain’s obituary stated, “He enjoyed an enviable reputation.”[28]
Thirty-five years later, the widow of Gain Robinson, Chloe Bradish Robinson, died in 1866. At the time of her death, she was living with her daughter in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Her body was brought by train to Palmyra to be buried next to her husband. The funeral of Mrs. Gain Robison was held in the Western Presbyterian Church with Reverend Horace Eaton officiating.[29]
Children of Gain and Chloe Robinson
1. Amanda Robinson (September 11, 1797). She married Philip Grandin, the older brother of printer E. B. Grandin. Philip constructed and owned Thayer and Grandin’s Brick Row, the place where E. B. Grandin printed the Book of Mormon.
2. William Cullen Robinson (September 16, 1799–November 11, 1821).
3. Gain Cassius Robinson (July 8, 1801–1837).
4. Abigail Blackman Robinson (November 13, 1803–January 25, 1873). She married Alexander Ralston Tiffany—the judge who heard the case brought by Lucy Harris against Joseph Smith Jr. in May 1829.
5. Clark Robinson (December 24, 1805–October 21, 1853). He signed the “Testimony of 51 Neighbors” on December 4, 1833, later printed in Mormonism Unvailed.
6. Erasmus Darwin Robinson (1807). He signed the “Testimony of 51 Neighbors” on December 4, 1833, later printed in Mormonism Unvailed.
7. Charles Rollin Robinson (January 3, 1810–February 18, 1893). At age seventeen, he assisted in printing the Book of Mormon. Charles informed Oliver Cowdery of a discussion he overheard, wherein, several individuals planned to prevent the Book of Mormon from being published.
8. Chloe Bradish Robinson (May 1, 1814–March 3, 1882).
9. Helen Elizabeth Robinson (April 27, 1816–May 1, 1895).
10. Margaret Sophie Robinson (June 11, 1819–April 23, 1902).
[1]The Great Physician: A Sermon on occasion of the Death of Alexander McIntyre, M. D., delivered in the Presbyterian Church, Palmyra, N. Y. July 24, 1850 by Horace Eaton, pastor of the Church (NY: John F. Trow, 377 & 379 Broadway, 1860).
[2] Old Palmyra Town Record. Palmyra City Hall, Palmyra, NY.
[3] Troskosky, Palmyra: A Bicentennial, p. 80.
[4] “New Druggist Store,” Ontario Repository, February 26, 1811.
[5] “Communicated,” Rochester Daily Advertiser, November 1, 1827.
[6] “At the anniversary meeting of the Ontario Medical Society…,” Ontario Repository, July 22, 1817.
[7] Newspaper clipping, in Palmyra Community Library.
[8] “Ontario County Jury List to 1855.”
[9] Buffalo Gazette, March 8, 1814.
[10] “Federal Republican Nominations,” Geneva Gazette, April 6, 1814; “Federal Republican Nominations,” Geneva Gazette, April 13, 1814; “Election 1814”, Ontario Repository, April 19, 1814.
[11] “Ontario Medical Society,” Ontario Repository, July 26, 1814.
[12] “Mortgage Sales,” Palmyra Register, February 10, 1819; Ontario County, NY Grantee Deed Index, 1789–1845.
[13] Betsy Lewis, comp. 1817 Female Bible Society Book of the Western Presbyterian Church, November–December 2003.
[14] “A True Extract from the Minutes of the Ontario Medical Society, Richard Wells, secretary. In author’s possession.
[15] “Sheriff’s Sale,” Palmyra Register, October 10, 1817.
[16] “Doctor Gain Robinson,” Palmyra Register, May 26, 1819.
[17] Genealogical bank.
[18] “By the order of Nathaniel W. Howell . . . ,” Ontario Repository, April 25, 1820.
[19] Landmarks of Wayne County, New York, p. 121.
[20] Lucy Mack Smith, 1945, in Joseph Smith Papers.
[21] Bushman, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism, p. 67.
[22] “County Dispensary will be named for Pioneer Doctor,” Journal, September 15, 1938, in Palmyra Community Library.
[23] “Legislature of New York,” Geneva Gazette and General Advertiser, March 28, 1827.
[24] “Bicentennial Celebration 1817–2017: “Gleanings from the First 200 Years,” Western Presbyterian Church, Palmyra, NY; “The Woman’s Society of the Western Presbyterian Church of Palmyra,” (Rochester, NY: The Herald Press, 1907).
[25] “At a meeting of the inhabitants . . .,” Wayne Sentinel, August 8, 1828.
[26] Durfee Scrapbook, 2, 1864–1875—Records 1819–1845, in Palmyra Community Library.
[27] E. B. Grandin Diary, 1831–1841.
[28] “Died,” Geneva Gazette and Mercantile Advertiser, June 29, 1831.
[29] “Obituary,” Durfee Scrapbook, no. 2, 1864–1875.