I discovered that Don Alonzo Robertson was recorded in the censuses of 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850 and later as Don Alonzo Robinson. He used the name Robinson beginning with the first census after his father died, not after he got to Illinois. To me that means that the name Robertson was used for a comparatively short period of time. Don Alonzo apparently knew that he was a Robinson.

Isaac Robinson and Mary/Polly Dow were said to have had eleven children, we know the names of nine. So I tried to figure out why they may have named their children as they did.

Children of Isaac Robinson and Mary/Polly Dow are:
	i.	Don Alonzo Robinson, born February 5, 1787 in Prob. Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		He was most likely named for one of the several Don Alonzos from Spain and Portugal, who were "Heros" of 15th Century literature (one was a pirate, who had a poem written about him) and were also written about in the 18th Century.
	ii.	Zenas Robinson, born February 5, 1789 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		Where did this name come from?
	iii.	Ester Robinson, born Bef. March 1790 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		She may have been named for Esther Dow, sister of Mary/Polly born about 20 months after Mary/Polly.
	iv.	Solomon Robinson, born Abt. 1791 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		Where did this name come from?
	v.	Isaac Robinson, born Abt. 1793 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		Isaac apparently named his fourth son Isaac Jr. However, this probably was the family name from the immigrant, Isaac Robinson, who came to Plymouth Colony about 1631 and founded the lines of many Robinsons.
	vi.	Polly Robinson, born Abt. 1797 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		Polly is probably named after her mother.
	vii.	Millie Robinson, born Abt. 1801 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		Where did this name come from?
	viii.	Wesley Robinson, born Abt. 1801 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		Where did this name come from?
	ix.	Phoebe Robinson, born Abt. 1805 in Coventry, Tolland Co., CT.
		I think she is named after her maternal grandmother Phoebe (Taylor) Dow.

Therefore, I went to WorldConnect (on RootsWeb.com or Ancestry.com) and looked first for a Zenas Robinson, and I found three. One was from North Carolina, one was too late in western New York, and one was born 1740 on Cape Cod (Falmouth, Barnstable Co., MA). The one born on Cape Cod would have been about 19 years old when Isaac was born. This Zenas Robinson was the son of a John Robinson, who was having a flirtation with a Kezia Hatch whom he was courting about 1739. She had his baby, Zenas, who was said to have been raised by John Robinson's parents, Timothy Robinson & Mehitable Weeks. After the birth of Zenas, Kezia Hatch married someone else, a Mr. Price. When Zenas Robinson was born (1740), Timothy Robinson & Mehitable Weeks would soon be in their 70s, and not likely to enjoy raising an infant. In 1763, John Robinson married Anna Hoxie and Zenas probably went to live with them. John and Anna had 4 children of their own, one was named Solomon Robinson.

Given Zenas's history, I think that it is very likely that when he was about 18 in 1758, was also romancing a young lady, maybe on the banks of the Connecticut River, which could have easily produced a child in 1759. He could have named him Isaac after his 2nd great grandfather, Isaac Robinson. I also think that Isaac was probably initially raised by Anna (Hoxie) Robinson, who was probably Zenas's step mother. She was a widow at that time, but raising 4 children, who were probably half siblings of Zenas. Solomon Robinson would have been a half uncle of Isaac's and about 15 years older. Zenas Robinson would marry Mary Childs in 1763 when Isaac was about 4, but I think that she was too young (15) when Isaac was born and unlikely to have been his natural mother. After their marriage, Isaac may have lived with them, there is only one known child of that marriage, Elizabeth Robinson, born 1774.

I believe that Zenas Robinson, the son of Isaac & Mary/Polly Dow, was most likely named after Isaac Robinson's probable father, Zenas Robinson.

I believe that Solomon Robinson, the son of Isaac & Mary/Polly Dow, was most likely named after Isaac Robinson's half uncle, Solomon Robinson, who was also Zenas Robinson's half brother. Solomon Robinson would have probably been the oldest male son in his mother's household where Isaac probably lived for a significant portion of his childhood.

I think that these are the Robinson ancestors of our Isaac Robinson:

1 Rev. John Christopher Robinson 1576 - 1624/25
. +Bridget White 1579 - 1643
..... 2 Isaac Robinson 1610 - 1704
....... +Margaret Hanford 1619 - 1649
........... 3 John Robinson 1640 - Unknown
............. +Elizabeth Weeks 1648 - Unknown
................. 4 Timothy Robinson 1671 - Unknown
................... +Mehitable Weeks 1671 - Unknown
....................... 5 John Robinson 1716 - 1750
......................... +Kezia Hatch 1719/20 - 1742
............................. 6 Zenas Robinson 1740 - 1805
............................... + <unknown>
.................................... 7 Isaac Robinson 1759 - 1809
............................. *2nd Wife of Zenas Robinson:
............................... + Mary Childs 1744 - 1812
.................................... 7 Elizabeth Robinson 1774 - 1837
...................................... +Weston Jenkins 1768 - 1834
....................... *2nd Wife of John Robinson:
......................... + Anna Hoxie 1720 -
.............................. 6 Seth Robinson 1742 -
.............................. 6 Solomon Robinson 1744 -
.............................. 6 Bartlett Robinson 1746 -
.............................. 6 John Robinson 1747/48 -

There is no PROOF that this is correct, and I don't think that we will ever find hard evidence that this is what actually occurred.

For more information please see these links: [Probable Pedigree of Isaac Robertson/Robinson with links to WorldConnect pages] [Probable Ancestors of Isaac Robertson/Robinson on WorldConnect]