John R. Robinson, Culture Shock on the Michigan Frontier

In 1858 a group of the early pioneers of the Grand River Valley formed the Old Residents' Association. At about the same time several local groups also began holding annual outings for members, all of whom had become residents of the area before Michigan became a state.

The story is told of an incident -- a familiar Robinson family legend -- that occurred at one of these early Old Settlers' picnics. This particular incident, however, was never recorded in any of the minutes.

During the meal an Indian appeared, demanding to know why he had not been asked to join the Association since he had been a resident of the area since long before 1837. To punctuate his remarks, the young John R. Robinson then proceeded to dance on the tables, spilling food and breaking dishes.

The performance was humiliating to his long-suffering father, Rix Robinson. But John's disgraceful behavior was hardly anything new. And as today’s newspapers would say, alcohol was involved.

Rix, formerly the chief agent for Astor's American Fur Company in Western Michigan, had upon his arrival in the area in 1821 married an Ottawa princess, Pee-miss-a-quot-o-quay (Flying Cloud Woman). The union had been at first a business necessity. Her father, Nam-nom-ma-daw-ba (Old Rock), was the head chief of the Grand River tribe at Battle Point near what is now Grand Haven. Her brother-in-law, Hazy Cloud, was the chief of a small band at Ada, Rix's principle post.¹ Thus the alliance virtually assured his success as a trader. He was one of the family.

On March 5, 1826 John Rix was born while the whole family was encamped around Rix's post at Duck Lake in Muskegon County. The next summer when they all traveled to Mackinac Island as usual to deliver the furs, Rix's immediate family included not only his wife and their own baby, John, but at least two young girls and a boy.

The Ottawas were not particular about keeping track of exact relationships. Cousins, aunts, grandparents - they were all family. Oddly enough this notion was not entirely foreign to Robinson. Certainly the Robinsons back in New York had kept more formal account of relationships, but they still considered that family was family.

In the early 1890's priests, among them the venerable Frederick Baraga, began to visit the Grand River area with some degree of regularity. Through the urging of the Catholic Arbre Croche area Indians, many of the Grand River bands were being baptized. Among them was Hazy Cloud and his whole household. At about this same time Rix's elder brother, Edward, and his large family joined them at the Ada post.