Ida Valentine Robinson

1873 – 1935

This section follows the life of Ida Valentine through public records. From her marriage in Wilmington, Delaware, to the birth of her children and her presence in census records, we can piece together a story of family life in a city undergoing dramatic change at the turn of the 20th century.

The Robinson Family

Life in Wilmington

A Genealogical Question

The identity of Ida's parents, Alexander Valentine and Jane Dilworth, presents a classic genealogical puzzle. Family naming patterns provide strong circumstantial evidence, but other records suggest different names. This section lays out the conflicting evidence, which forms the basis for the key research recommendations.

The Case for Alexander & Jane

(Evidence from Naming Patterns)

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    Margery Dilworth Robinson

    Ida named her daughter with the middle name "Dilworth," a clear and intentional act to honor and preserve her mother's maiden name, Jane Dilworth.

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    Aylmer Alexander Robinson

    She named her younger son "Alexander," strongly corroborating the family knowledge that her father's name was Alexander Valentine.

The Case for William & Amy

(Evidence from Census & Cemetery Records)

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    Find a Grave Memorial

    A memorial for Amy Anne (McKaig) Valentine (1825-1903) lists her husband as William Valentine and explicitly mentions a daughter named Ida in their family.

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    1870 & 1880 Census Data

    The same memorial record cites the 1870 and 1880 U.S. Federal Censuses as placing the family of William and Amy Valentine in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Hollingsworth Legacy

Through her mother, Jane Dilworth, Ida's ancestry traces back to Valentine Hollingsworth (1632-1710), a patriarch of one of Delaware's founding Quaker families. Fleeing persecution in Ireland, he arrived in 1682 to join William Penn's "Holy Experiment," becoming a leader in both the civic and religious life of the new colony.

From Persecution to Pennsylvania

Born in Co. Armagh, Ireland, Valentine converted to Quakerism and faced persecution for refusing to pay tithes to the state church. Seeking religious freedom, he sailed on the ship *Antelope* in 1682, arriving in Delaware just two months after William Penn.

Leader in the New World

Penn granted him 986 acres in Brandywine Hundred, which he named "New Wark," the origin of Newark, DE. He served multiple terms in the Provincial Assembly and as a Justice of the Peace, helping to shape the laws of the new colony.

Life Chapters

The Chain of Descent

The genealogical path from Valentine Hollingsworth to Ida Valentine flows through the marriage of his daughter, Catherine Hollingsworth, to George Robinson. Their descendants, over several generations, would intermarry with the Dilworth family, also prominent Quakers in the same region of Delaware and Pennsylvania. This line connects Ida directly to the foundational legacy of Quaker settlement in the Delaware Valley.