<1882) ; " Early Autumn, Adirondacks " (1883) ; "Sunset on the Tunxis" and "Darkening in the Evening Glory " (1885); and "The Lane." Among IIH water-colors are "After the Rain," " New Eng- land Elms," and "New England Homestead." a view at Simsbury, Conn., which last was bought by the French government at the exhibition of 1878.
ROBBINS, Rensselaer David Chanceford,
linguist, b. in Wardsborough, Vt., 23 Dec., 1X11 ;
d. 'in Newton Highlands, Mass., 3 Nov., iss-j.
Hi' was graduated at Middlebury college, Vt., in
1835, and at Andover theological seminary in 1841,
serving there as librarian until 1848, after which
he was professor of languages at Middlebury until
1872, and received from this college the degree of
D. D. in 1882. Dr. Robbins contributed to the
"Bibliotheca Sacra," translated "Egypt ami tin-
Books of Moses " from the German of E. W. Ileng-
stenberg (Andover, 1843 ; 3d ed., with notes by
W. Cooke Taylor, Edinburgh, 1845), and Xeno-
phou's "Memorabilia of Socrates," with notes
{New York, 1853), and edited the 3d and 4th edi-
tions of Prof. Moses Stuart's " Commentaries on
the Epistles to the Romans, Hebrews, and Eccle-
siastes" (Andover. 1854).
ROBERDEAU, Daniel, soldier, b. in the island
of St. Christopher, W. I., in 1727; d. in Winches-
ter. Va., 5 Jan., 1795. He was the son of Isaac
Roberdeau, a French Huguenot, and Mary Cunyng-
ham, a descendant of the Earl of Glencairn, in
Scotland. He came to Philadelphia with his
mother's family in his youth, became a merchant,
and was a manager of the Pennsylvania hospital in
1750-'8 and 1766-'76. He was an early Mason in
Philadelphia, associated in 1752-'4 with Franklin,
Alexander Hamilton, and others. Roberdeau was
elected to the Pennsylvania assembly in 1756 and
served till 1760. when he declined further election.
He was an elder in the Presbyterian church in 1765,
and a friend of George Whitefield, who baptized
his eldest son. When the Revolution approached
he joined the Pennsylvania associators, was elected
colonel of the 3d battalion in 1775, and made presi-
dent of the board of officers that governed the as-
sociators. He presided at a public meeting at the
state-house on 20 May, 1776, which had great in-
fluence in favor of the Declaration of Independ-
ence. While in command of his battalion he fitted
out. in partnership with his friend. Col. John
Bayard, two ships as privateers, one of which
captured a valuable prize, with $22,000 in silver,
which he placed at the disposal of congress. He
was chosen a member of the council of safety, and
on 4 July, 1776, was elected 1st brigadier-general
of the Pennsylvania troops, James Ewing being
made 2d brigadier-general. All the associators
were now called out to the aid of Washington, who
~was in a critical position in New Jersey. In Feb-
ruary, 1777, Gen. Roberdeau was elected a mem-
ber of the Continental congress. He was active in
supporting the Articles of Confederation and af-
fixed his name to that document on the part of
Pennsylvania. He was three times elected to con-
gress, and served till 1770. In April. 1778, there
being a scarcity of lead in the army, Gen. Rober-
di'au received leave of absence from congress in
order to work a lead -mine in Bedford county,
where he was obliged to erect a stockade fort as a
protection against the Indians. Most if not all
of the expense of this fort he paid out of his pri-
vate purse. Samuel Hazard's " Register of Penn-
sylvania" and Peter Force's "American Archives"
contain much information about this fort and lead-
mine ; the former was styled Fort Roberdeau. On
24 and 25 May, 1779. Gen. Roberdeau presided at a
public meeting in Philadelphia that had refcrenci>
to monopolizers and the depreciation of the cur-
rency. In 1783-'4 he spent a year in England.
It is related of Roberdeau that, while travelling
in his carriage across Blackheath, near London, he
was attacked by highwaymen, who surrounded the
carriage. He seized the leader, threw him down in
the bottom of the carriage, and called to the coach-
man to drive on and fire right and left. He drove
into London in this manner with the robber's feet
hanging out of the carriage, and delivered him up
to justice. After the war Gen. Roberdeau removed
from Philadelphia to Alexandria, Va., where he
often entertained Gen. Washington. A short time
before his death he removed to Winchester, Va.
His eldest son, Isaac, soldier, b. in Philadelphia,
Pa., 11 Sept., 1763 ; d. in Georgetown, D. 0.. 15 Jan.,
1829, was educated in this country and in England.
His first public services were at the instance of Gen.
Washington as as-
sistant engineer
in laying out the
city of Washing-
ton in 1791. In
1792 he was en-
gaged as engineer
in building canals
in Pennsylvania.
He resided for
some time in New
Jersey, and, as
major of brigade,
delivered an ora-
tion on the death
of Gen. Washing-
ton, 22 Feb., 1800.
( inly a few copies
of this are known
to exist ; one of
them is in the library of congress.
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On 29 April, 1813, he was appointed major and topo- graphical engineer in the regular army, this corps being then just constituted by the appointment of four majors and four captains. At the close of the war with Great Britain he was ordered to survey the boundary between the United States and Canada, under the treaty of Ghent. The treaty of 1783 had fixed the boundary in the middle of the lakes and rivers, and the treaty of Ghent provided for a sur- vey to determine the location of that line. Col. Roberdeau was the engineer in charge of the survey, which was nearly 900 miles in length, through St. Lawrence river and the great lakes. In 1818 Col. Roberdeau was ordered to organize the bureau of topographical engineers in the war department, and was made its chief, which post he held until his death. He was a friend of President John Quinoy Adams, and of John C. Calhoun, then secre- tary of war, and usually travelled with him on his official visits to military posts. He entertained Lafayette during the latter's visit to this country in 1825. See "Genealogy of the Roberdeau Family," by Roberdeau Buchanan (Washington, 1876).
ROBERT, Christopher Rhinelander, philanthropist, b. in Brookhaven, Long Island, N. Y.. 23 March. 1802; d. in Paris, France, 28 Oct., 1878. His father, Daniel, a physician, practised for several years in the island of Santo Domingo. The son became a merchant's clerk in New York city, and after five years entered business for himself, carrying it on chiefly in New Orleans, La. In 1830 he became head of the firm of Robert and Williams in New York, and he also held the presidency of a large coal and iron company. He retired
