The Real Genealogy

Despite what Pip's Uncle Theophile said about Lord Nelson's son and a Scottish servant, Pip knew perfectly well that his Robert ancestors weren't Scottish. That seems to have been a joke he enjoyed pulling on unwary newspaper reporters. There is a handwritten note among his papers listing seven generations of Roberts, starting with him and going back to the marriage of a Robert Fache (called Robert) to Catherine Cadieu in Montreal in 1696. I assume he wrote the note. I have reproduced it below.

One might wonder just how accurate such a list can be when more than two centuries had elapsed between its earliest entry and its compiling. I assume Pip had some old notes, but these aren't mentioned. The accuracy of the list itself has been confirmed in a surprizing manner.

About 10 years ago, another of Pip's great-grandchildren met an enthusiastic genealogist named David Patrick Robert in Seattle where they both live. Apparently, she mentioned that her maiden name was Robert to Mr. Robert and also mentioned the French-Canadian origin of that name. Mr. Robert researched the family to see if there is a relationship with his ancestors. There is not, but he posted the results of his research on his web site .

While reading Pip's stories I noted that his father, Frank Robert, Sr., moved to North Yakima (modern Yakima), Washington toward the end of his life and died there. The obituary of Pip's mother, Melanie LeDuc Robert, 1925, mentions that four of her sons lived in Washington and Oregon including Joseph E. Robert of North Yakima, Washington. I posted a note in a Robert geneology discussion forum on the Internet inquiring if anyone had more information concerning those sons.

Mr. David Robert responded to my inquiry. He had a death record for Joseph Robert in North Yakima (which is also David Robert's home town), but was unsure how, if at all, Joseph Robert fit into the family. The death record made it clear that this was one of Pip's brothers. In exchanging information, Mr. Robert told me of his web site where he had posted the results of his research. I was quite pleased to discover that Mr. Robert had independently worked out the same geneology as Pip had written down so many years ago. David Robert's geneology starts with the same Fache/Cadieu wedding in Montreal in 1696. He includes many siblings and birth dates not recorded in Pip's list.

I have since confirmed this list using standard Quebec genealogical references.