Wilhelmus Bogart Robinson (1859-1937)

From the New York Call, October 8, 1918.

   One of a handful of Socialist party candidates to be featured here, physician Wilhelmus Bogart Robinson was a three time candidate for the New York State Assembly who later mounted six unsuccessful candidacies for the U.S. House of Representatives from New York. The son of Leander Van Ess Robinson and the former Catherine Rutgers Conger, Wilhelmus Bogart Robinson was born on November 26, 1859, in Manhattan. A distinguished figure in his own right, Leander V. Robinson (1830-1869)  was elected as District Attorney for Rockland County, New York in 1868, but died in office the following year. 

   As the son of a leading New York lawyer, Wilhelmus Robinson had the benefit of an excellent education, attending the Mountain Institute at Haverstraw, New York. This was followed by tutelage at a French school in New York City and later was enrolled at the Yonkers Military Institute. After deciding upon a career in medicine Robinson studied at the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital in 1885, and following graduation in 1888 relocated to Massachusetts to begin practice. First settling in Easthampton, Robinson later resided in Shelburne Falls and in the early 1890s removed his practice to Brunswick, Georgia, where he remained until 1894.

  Wilhelmus Robinson married in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1885 to Mary Elizabeth Walker (1861-1955), to who he was wed for over fifty years. The couple's long union produced five children, Wilhelmus Jr. (born 1886), Mary Curley (born 1888), George Walker (born 1889), Leander Van Ess (born 1891), and Katherine Rutgers (1892-1962). 

  In 1896 Robinson settled in Brooklyn, New York where he accepted an appointment on the staff of the 26th ward's Homeopathic Dispensary. This was followed by a four-year stint (1897-1901) on the medical staff of the 28th ward's dispensary, and during the Spanish American War was a second lieutenant in the New York Volunteer Infantry. The particulars of Robinson's service remain largely unknown, and it is uncertain if he was deployed outside the United States.

  A Democrat for a good majority of his early life, Robinson first became active in politics during his residency in Massachusetts, where he was a Democratic committeeman for the town of Charlemont. After settling in New York, Robinson was exposed to poor living and working conditions in the city while visiting patients, which eventually led to his change of political faith. He joined the Socialist Party in 1912, and thereafter became an active party worker, being remarked as an "able speaker" and "a first rate storyteller".

  Robinson made his first run for political office in 1917 when he received the Socialist party nomination for state assemblyman from Kings County's 22nd district. One of three candidates vying for the seat, he polled a respectable third on election day, garnering 4,285 votes to winning candidate James Morris' total of 5,825. Undeterred by defeat, Robinson set his sights on a Congressional seat the following year, and after gaining his party's nomination, was profiled in the New York Call in October 1918. Under the headline "Robinson Aids Party By Work And Experience", Robinson's curious first name was also mentioned, with the Call noting:

"Dr. Robinson insists he is not William, nor yet Wilhelm. He is Wilhelmus, and he wants you to understand his Dutch ancestry. He probably can look back to a longer line of American ancestors than the vast majority of Americans."

 Throughout the latter part of 1918 Robinson stumped around his district, giving addresses on his campaign platform, and on election day placed a distant third, polling 6,751 votes, far behind winning Democrat David J. O'Connell's total of 28,882. The years 1919 and 1920 brought more of the same for Robinson, as he ran another losing candidacy for the state assembly in the former year and a failed congressional bid in the latter. In 1922, 1924, 1926 and 1928 he again sought election to Congress from New York's 9th district, and in each came out on the losing end, polling around 4,000 votes at each election.
  In 1927 Robinson was dealt a third loss in his bid for an assembly seat, and in 1930 ran his last campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, losing out to the man who had bested him on five previous occasions, David J. O'Connell. In an unusual twist, O'Connell died a few weeks following the November election in December 1930, and a special election was held in February 1931 to fill the vacancy.

Robinson as he looked during his political career.

  In 1934 Wilhelmus Robinson retired from practicing medicine and spent the final years of his life in the town of Stony Point in Rockland County. He died at age 77 on January 31, 1937, and was survived by his wife and children. Mary Elizabeth Robinson outlived her husband by nearly two decades and following her death at 93 in February 1955 was interred alongside him at the Herbert Cemetery in Doodletown, New York