Steven B. Robinson
Early Life
Stephen Bull Robinson was born on January 17, 1889, in Denver, Colorado, the son of Frederick Robinson and Lillian May Bull. He spent part of his youth in Racine, Wisconsin, where he was educated and later graduated from Racine College in 1908.
By the time of the First World War, he had established a connection to Rye, New York, residing at Milton Point. He was employed as a manufacturer with the American Refrigeration Company, reflecting a career tied to industrial and mechanical production during a period of rapid technological growth.
World War I Service
Robinson entered military service on November 28, 1917, when he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery through the Officers’ Reserve Corps of the United States Army, drawing on prior National Guard experience.
He trained at Leon Springs, Texas, and later at Camp Jackson, South Carolina, before additional assignments in New York and at Camp Merritt, New Jersey, a major embarkation point for troops deploying overseas.
Robinson was assigned to Field Artillery units associated with the American Expeditionary Forces, and served overseas in France from May 22, 1918, to April 17, 1919. Contemporary accounts associate his service with artillery units supporting frontline operations during the final phases of the war.
Field Artillery units were critical to American operations in World War I, providing indirect fire support, coordinating barrages, and assisting infantry advances during major offensives such as the Meuse-Argonne.
He sustained no wounds or injuries in action and was honorably discharged on May 5, 1919.
Life After Service
Following his military service, Robinson pursued business and professional interests before eventually settling in Camden, South Carolina. He remained connected to the veteran community as a member of the American Legion.
Stephen B. Robinson died on September 12, 1941, at his residence in Camden, South Carolina, at the age of 52 after a prolonged illness.
At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Annie Williams Robinson; his son, Stephen Bull Robinson Jr.; his daughters, Mrs. John Roy and Miss Rosemary Robinson of Saratoga, New York; and his sister, Mrs. William W. Peake of Rye, New York.