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| Sarah Permelia Holyoak |
He lived with his mother in Paragonah until her death in 1874, helping her with the responsibilities of the house, stock, and farm.
On February 10, 1875, Adam married Sarah Permelia Holyoak, and they had two sons: Alburtus (February 7, 1876) and William Heber (June 5, 1877).
Adam was among the Robb brothers called on the San Juan Mission in December, 1878. When they left on the Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition in the fall of 1879, Adam was 26 and his sons were two and three. Adam and Sarah were never to return to Paragonah to live.
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| Hole-in-the-Rock |
On Jul 10, 1881, Sarah gave birth to her third son, Franklin Adam, in Mancos. She and Adam toiled to "till the virgin soil, work water ditches and build a home where they could rear their children." Their only daughter, Sarah Alice, was born February 9, 1884.
Adam homesteaded in Weber Canyon and farmed a plot of ground there. He raised sheep as well, and eventually had a large flock. Adam has been variously described as a "saloon attender. which got him into intermittent trouble," a "sociable character around the saloons (who) was wont to take more than a friendly drink at times, occasionally getting him into a bit of trouble."
At some point, Sarah left Adam, most likely because of his drinking, got a divorce, and moved to Cowley, Big Horn, Wyoming, where she married Solomon Wardell on December 9, 1890. (Editor's Note: Solomon and Sarah were Sealed in the St. George Temple 1890. Mattie and Joseph were both born in Parowan, Utah. They arrived in Cowley with their parents, step-brother William Heber Robb and other family members in October 1905.)
Daughter Alice eventually married Solomon Wardell's son. In a letter dated April 9, 1963, she wrote to Patricia Robb Christiansen about the family. She was living in Torrington, Wyoming, and was 79 years old. (Editor's Note: Alice and Sol were married May 19, 1903 in Snowflake, Navajo, Arizona.)
I visited several summers in Paragonah at the home f Uncle Bill and Aunt Ellen Robb... On one occasion, we called on Grandfather Robb in the old Robb home. His daughter Jane Jones was caring for her father. I found Grandfather old, feeble in mind and body and was told that he drank a lot.
At the times I visited Paragonah, young as I was, I noticed a feeling of resentment existing between the first family and the second. I did not share in it however. If Grandfather wished to leave his property to the second family, that was no concern of mine. All of them were comfortably fixed according to that day; but I was more or less annoyed that my brothers and I were not recognized by my father in his will. Uncle Bill had passed away leaving considerable means which was divided among his brothers and sisters. My father inherited a share and at his death, his sister Ann Edwards and the Mason Lodge, of which he was a member, received all he had.
I knew little of the reasons for my mother seeking a divorce from my father, at which time she was awarded custody of the children and support for them. But she never received a cent. I do know this much, however; my father was away most of the time with cattlemen when there was such a bitter feeling against the Mormons. He partook of that spirit and said, "I do not believe in old Joe Smith."
My brother Bert (Albertus) went to my father to ask him if he would help him through school, but was refused and ordered out of the house....
It was a worry and embarrassement to me that I did not have and know my own father.
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| Adam Franklin Robb's Will |
In 1909 (Alice says it was 1905/06), Adam sent for his son Frank to come to Mancos from Parowan to help with the sheep operation, and he and Frank increased the herd and built up the home place. Frank sang in the choir and was in the Sunday School Superintendency. His son Arlo served as Bishop for 13 years.
Adam visited family and friends in Paragonah from time to time, and relatives remembered that he took a special liking to his nephew Morgan Edwards, son of Ann Robb and William Edwards. When Adam died on July 19, 1919, at the age of 65, he remembered Morgan in his will.
Adam was buried in the Masons' plot in Mancos, and left a bequest to the Masons. As of 1976, "the homestead and sheep operation are still in the hands of Ad Robb's descendants. A grandson, Milton, has the home place and with the help of his son Wayne, operates a thriving sheep business. Another grandson, Arlo, and his son Bryant care for another large sheep operation near Aztec and at Mancos."
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Souces:
Helen Thatcher, great-granddaughter of Adam Robb, in conversations with James T. Worlton III
Renee Stephens, great-granddaughter of Adam Robnb, in conversations with Noel Brusman
Work by Nora Lund
"Come Back to My Valley, Historical Remembrances of Mancos
Colorado", by Fern D. Ellis, 1976 (Cortez Printers)
Alice Robb Wardell, in a letter to Patricia Robb Christensen
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