Friday, February 15, 2013

More About the Robinson Homestead

The story of Frances Carolyn Robinson and the hidden treasure was new to me, but its novelty (to me) betrayed that I'm not from around here. The tale seems to have gained the status of local legend.

After I published Frances Robinson's story yesterday, I heard from a reader who had grown up in the house where Frances died and whose parents still live there. The "Robinson homestead" is not in Hudson but in Greenport, on the northern end of Joslen Boulevard. The house was built by Frances's father, Warren Robinson, the clipper ship captain. Like his daughter, Captain Robinson had a reputation for being an eccentric and a recluse. He had considerable wealth but loathed and distrusted banks, so he hoarded his money in his house, stashed away in various hiding places. It was Captain Robinson's cache of riches that was discovered after Frances's death.

The Gossips reader's family bought the house in the early 1970s, and no sooner had they settled in their new home than curious neighbors began knocking at the door. They had ventured up the long drive to ask two questions: Had the new owners found any money or gold hidden in the house? Had they seen Captain Robinson's ghost? According to the story, Captain Robinson died in the house, brokenhearted and alone, as his daughter seems also to have, and his ghost haunted the house.

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