Hannah Robinson's view of Narragansett Bay
Hannah Robinson was the oldest daughter of Rowland and Anstis Robinson, born in 1746. She was considered one of the prettiest women in Rhode Island.
Her father was a wealthy Narragansett planter, and the family lived in a large stone house near Narragansett Bay. The Marquis de Lafayette and Count Rochambeau visited the opulent residence during the Revolutionary War.
Hannah wanted for nothing, and one of her favorite pastimes was to sit on a large rock and look out at Narragansett Bay. When she grew older she was sent to Madame Osborn’s finishing school in Newport. She fell in love with her French and dancing teacher, Pierre Simond, the scion of an old French Huguenot family who Anglicized his name to Peter Simons. Peter returned Hannah’s feelings, but the lovers knew her father wouldn’t consent to a marriage. Peter, who had little money, wasn’t good enough.
When Hannah left Madame Osborne’s, Peter Simons got a job as a tutor for her uncle’s children who lived two miles from the Robinsons. From there he made clandestine visits to Hannah’s house. Sometimes Peter hid in a large cupboard in Hannah’s room, which they called the Friendly Cupboard. Hannah’s mother found out about the visits, but didn’t tell her husband.
Peter would often stand by a large lilac bush under Hannah’s window at night, where they would exchange words of love and letters. One night, as Rowland Robinson was leaving the house, he saw a white paper flutter down from Hannah’s window. He rushed over to the lilac bush and beat it with his buckthorn stick until ‘the wretched French dancing master’ emerged.
From then on her father kept her under close surveillance. Their neighbors, however, helped the lovers by carrying their letters and arranging meetings. Months of clandestine romance harmed Hannah’s happiness and her health, and her mother and uncle agreed to help her elope.
Her father did allow Hannah and her only sister Mary to attend a ball at Smith’s Castle, a large home eight miles down the road in North Kingstown. The sisters rode on horseback to the dance, accompanied by a servant named Prince (who was really an African prince). In a dense wood along the way, they met up with a closed carriage that carried Peter. Hannah got into the carriage as her sister cried and Prince begged her not to go. Off the lovers went to Providence to wed.
Rowland Robinson, furious, cut her off from her allowance and gave her no financial help except — eventually — for a maid. He offered a reward for anyone who would tell him who helped them elope. Unfortunately, Peter had been after Hannah for her money. The couple lived in poverty in Providence, and as it became clear he would get nothing from her family he abandoned her for days, then weeks. Finally he left her altogether. Only Hannah’s dog Marcus, sent to her by her mother, kept her company.
As Hannah Simons wasted away in Providence, her sister Mary died of consumption. Her mother’s health failed. Her father, hearing Hannah was heartbroken and ill in Providence, began to soften. He offered to bring her home if she revealed the names of the people who helped her elope. She refused.
One evening at dinner Rowland Robinson jumped up from the dinner table and announced he’d be gone for a few days. He rode the 35 miles to Providence and knocked on Hannah’s door. He again told her she could come home if she revealed the name of the conspirators. Again she refused.
For the next few weeks, Rowland Robinson rode to Providence every few days, knocked on her door and asked for her health, then returned home.
Finally the people who helped her elope decided they couldn’t allow Hannah to die. They told her it was all right for her to tell her father their names. When Rowland Robinson next rode to her house, she let him in and told him she would reveal all.
Her father was so shocked by her wasted appearance he broke down in sobs, forgetting all about her secret. He rode home immediately and sent a litter and four of his strongest servants in a fast sloop to Providence. Tired and filthy, he mounted a fresh horse and rode back to his daughter’s house in Providence to bring her home for the last time.
Slowly they carried her home. Hannah broke down and cried at the spot where she had last left her sister Mary. When they reached the large rock where she had watched the bay, she asked them to stop. She sat and watched the ocean as she had as a girl, and picked a flower called Everlasting Life. When she arrived home, a sad reunion was held between the sick mother and sick daughter. Unfortunate Hannah died at home on Oct. 30, 1773.
In 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a new watch tower at the site where Hannah Robinson watched the Bay. The rock and the tower are now owned by Preserve Rhode Island and managed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
via the New England Historical Society
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