Upon my Marriage to Susan Potter in 1973, in Plymouth, England, UK, We realised that we did not know any of our Ancestrial History. With National Trust membership to visit a variety of Country houses in the area we found an interest in the Family Trees built in leaded stained glass in many of the houses.

On one visit i took my Mother to one such house, Compton Castle and teased her that it was her family seat. The Family were the Raleigh-Gilbert's and they were given the land after fighting for William the Conqueror with the Norman conquest in 1066 AD. Sir Walter Raleigh is famous for introducing Tobacco and the Potato to Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen of England. The Gilbert family helped finance Plantations in Virginia, USA.

Since then i have looked into our family Genealogy but I have not been able to prove a link to that family even though the names are the same. All i have proved with this side of my Family is that we are Cornish for many generations

My own Surname, Robinson, has led me to the West Midlands and solid links to the Industrial Revolution that changed the whole World in the 19th Century where my ancestors were Iron workers, Carpenters and Coal Miners. I am a Graduate Mechanical Engineer and an Engineering Master Craftsman who has moved into the teaching of Technology.

My wife's links are even more varied than my own. She is descended from a family of Agricultural Workers who mixed with Caribbean Plantation owners by marriage. The Caribbean link becomes even more interesting when it indicates a link with French Plantation Owners and Scottish Plantation Families. The Scottish Link takes us to titled families and acts of heroism