Edward Mott. Robinson was the great-grandson of William Robinson, a large landed proprietor and deputy governor of Rhode Island, an American merchant, entrepreneur, president of the Bedford Commercial Bank leading figure in New Bedford in his time.
Background
Edward Mott. Robinson was born in Philadelphia, where his father had married and engaged in mercantile business. He was taken to South Kingstown, Rhode Island, to which his ancestor, Rowland Robinson a Quaker, emigrated from England, late in the seventeenth century. He was the great-grandson of William Robinson, a large landed proprietor and deputy governor of Rhode Island in the middle of the eighteenth century.
Career
After his academic education had been completed, at the age of twenty-one he began business in Wakefield, South Kingstown, with his elder brother. They first engaged in cotton and woolen manufacturing, subsequently carrying on a commission business in sperm oil in Providence, Rhode Island. Some time after 1830 he removed to New Bedford, Massachussets, where he soon entered the firm of Isaac Howland, Junior, & Company, whaling merchants. His young partner was forceful, energetic, and far-sighted, and through his shrewd management helped make the house of Howland one of the wealthiest and most prominent in the golden days of the whaling industry. For nearly thirty years he was a leading figure in New Bedford. His firm owned more than thirty vessels, administered successfully the details of equipment and personnel, and exerted a wide influence on the community and the industry. He served as president of the Bedford Commercial Bank. Entering politics, he was elected to the city government, though failing in an ambition to reach the mayor's chair. A man who had known him wrote in 1918 that "he was not personally popular" (Emery, post, p. iv), but an anonymous writer of 1851 characterized him as "affable and colloquial with the soubriquet of 'Black Hawk, ' to which he answers with good nature. In business matters he is strictly honorable, but he does not claim to be anything more" (Rich Men, post, p. 190). After the death of his wife in 1860 and the outbreak of the Civil War with its adverse consequences to the whale fisheries, he removed to New York, where he joined the firm of William T. Coleman & Company, in which he became a large owner. They were proprietors of a line of California packets, at one time being in control of more than seventy vessels. He also added to his wealth by successful operations in Wall Street.
Personality
Tall and distinguished, he was always well-dressed, though many stories were told of his personal economies. He once refused an imported cigar, remarking that he was satisfied with cheap ones and was fearful of a cultivated taste, which he could not afford.
Quotes from others about the person
A man who had known him wrote in 1918 that "he was not personally popular" (Emery, post, p. iv), but an anonymous writer of 1851 characterized him as "affable and colloquial with the soubriquet of 'Black Hawk, ' to which he answers with good nature. In business matters he is strictly honorable, but he does not claim to be anything more" (Rich Men, post, p. 190).
Connections
On December 29, 1833, he was married in New Bedford to Abby Slocum Howland, the daughter of Gideon Howland and granddaughter of Isaac Howland, his partners in the whaling firm.
After the death of his wife in 1860 and the outbreak of the Civil War with its adverse consequences to the whale fisheries, he removed to New York
At his death in New York he left a fortune somewhat in excess of $5, 000, 000, the bulk of which, after a bequest of $10, 000 to the town of South Kingstown and small legacies to friends, he bequeathed, mostly in trust, to his then unmarried daughter, who, as Hetty Howland (Robinson) Green subsequently became known as "the richest woman in the world. "