James "Gentleman Jim" Robinson

James Robinson (October 6, 1799 – October 15, 1875), known as Gentleman Jim, was born on the Pittsylvania Plantation of Landon Carter, Jr. to a freewoman by the name of Susan aka "Annah". He first rose to prominence as one of the wealthiest African Americans in the Manassas area, but is also known because his homestead was located between the lines of the Confederate and Union armies during two major battles of the Civil War.

Biography James Robinson aka "Gentleman Jim," was born free and landed. He also received an education from the same private tutor that taught his half sister Judith Carter. The homestead he built in Bull Run couldn't have been more prominent at the outset of the Civil War, during which two major battles were fought in his front yard.

All of the above would have been enough to make him noteworthy; however "Gentleman Jim," was to become the 3rd richest African freedman through much of his own initiative. Using the privileges that came with being a freedman, which were quite limited in 18th century Virginia, James Robinson used the education he received from his teacher James Robinson, whose name it is believed he later took for himself, and combined that with hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit to acquire 1500 acres of land by the time of his death in 1875. Researchers have surmised that in order for Jim to own land from birth, by law, he would have to be free from birth.

Marriage and children Starting a family was fraught with difficulties during these times, especially in the case of black people. As a freedman there were some things that "Gentleman Jim" could not avoid. When he "married" Susan "Sukey" Gaskins (c. 1823'), due to her slave status they could not obtain a marriage license, which prevented them from having their relationship legally recognized. Rick James Steve Harvey Shabaka Tecumseh