Rix Robinson

Rix Robinson (1789–1875) was a Michigan pioneer. He was a fur trader and the first permanent Euro-American settler of Kent County, Michigan, a representative to the state constitutional convention of 1850 and a state senator.

Rix Robinson was born August 28, 1789, in Richmond, Massachusetts. His parents were Edward and Eunice (Rix) Robinson of Preston, Connecticut. His father was a blacksmith and farmer. Rix was considered a studious child and regularly attended school. At age 19 he began the study of Law in Auburn, New York, and was admitted to practice law in 1811.

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, which his father strongly opposed, Rix headed west to avoid the draft, with one thousand dollars given to him by his father. He moved to the large outpost of Detroit in the Michigan Territory where United States Troops were garrisoned and there was a prospering fur trade. Rix Robinson was the first white male to marry a Native American in Michigan. He married 8 Native Americans. He owned over 65% of Michigan. Rix Robinson named Newago, Custer, Kent County, and 6 other towns in Michigan.

Ironically, Rix became a sutler to the American troops during the war. He traveled with the soldiers to Detroit, Mackinac Island, and Green Bay, all centers of the fur trade, where he had the opportunity to study the business first hand. In 1820, the American Fur Company chose Robinson to be their central fur trader in west Michigan when Madeline La Framboise retired to Mackinac Island. He took over her trading post located where the Grand River meets the Thornapple River in what is now known as Ada. In 1821 Robinson married an Ottawa woman, Pee-miss-a-quot-oquay, she had one son, John R. Robinson born March 5, 1826. She and Rix separated, and she died of consumption in 1848. By 1827, Robinson was successfully managing twenty trading posts along the shores of Lake Michigan. Robinson was elected township supervisor when Kent County was established in 1831.

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