Caesar Robbins

Caesar Robbins (ca. 1745 – 1822) was a formerly enslaved American farmer and soldier who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. His legacy includes the Robbins House, a historic house museum in Concord, Massachusetts. His granddaughter was activist Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark. He was born a slave, but the names of his parents and slave owner remain unknown. At 16 years old, Robbins enlisted in the French and Indian War, with his owner collecting his wages. In 1776, he served under Captain Israel Heald in Boston and marched to Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York

In 1784, Robbins was 40 and living in Carlisle, Massachusetts, with his family.

Descendants In 1823, Caesar Robbins' son, Peter, purchased a small farmhouse at the edge of the Concord River with 13 surrounding acres, a property that would become known as the Robbins House. Later they also shared the home with Susan and Jack's children. However, it was said that some of the children had died at a young age. Eventually, the farmhouse was sold to Fatima's relative, Peter, in 1852, whose family would be the last to live at the Robbins House. became a critical part of Concord's feminist and anti-slavery movement. She was a founding member, as well as the only known Black member, of the Concord Female Anti-Slavery Society (CFAS), founded in 1837.

The Robbins House The Robbins House still stands as a historic landmark in Concord. Mass Humanities, an organization based in Massachusetts, is working with the town of Concord to uphold Caesar Robbins' history and preserve the Robbins' house. The organization takes donations for the house and volunteers to maintain it and keep an eye on the property. Concord also offers a Guided African American History Tour, where five percent of the proceeds are donated to the Robbins House.