JULIAN, Calif. (KGTV) — In the charming East County town of Julian, known for its pies, tourism and rich Black history, a significant piece of its past remains a mystery.
This mystery revolves around one of Julian's first Black residents, Margaret Robinson.
The quest to uncover the truth about Robinson begins at the Julian Pioneer Cemetery. David Lewis, vice president of the Julian Pioneer Museum, has dedicated years to studying the cemetery's history and has played a crucial role in reconstructing records lost in a fire in 1957.
"I was told that Blacks weren't allowed to be buried in the cemetery, although I had seen their names in the records," Lewis told ABC 10News.
However, Lewis discovered that to be untrue when he found Albert Robinson, Margaret's husband, buried in the cemetery.
"The one thing that baffled me when I was looking at the records was... Why is Albert here and Margaret not here?" Lewis said.
- PREVIOUS COVERAGE: The African American pioneers of Julian
The couple moved to Julian after the Civil War and built Hotel Robinson. It's believed the hotel was built in 1897, according to family records of a local contractor. But Lewis believes it was actually in 1902 based on his own extensive research.
After Albert's death in 1915, Margaret sold the hotel five years later, becoming a ghost to the town of Julian.
After 20 years of trying to track down Margaret's fate, Lewis eventually enlisted the help of professional genealogist Lisa Medina.
"Most of the time, I get, 'Here's a family tree,' or 'Here's some records,'" Medina explained.
But in David's case — all he had to provide was a book of research. It wasn't much on Margaret, but it did give Medina helpful clues about the past.
Through her investigation, Medina discovered that Margaret had relocated to East San Diego, where she lived from 1924 to 1925. However, by 1930, Margaret had vanished from all records.
Medina pulled death records for every Margaret Robinson who died between 1924 and 1935. Seven potential matches popped up.
"We went through and researched all of them, and there was only one that we couldn't locate or identify. It was like this woman out of San Bernardino," Medina and Lewis had no idea why Margaret would be there, but they knew they needed to keep looking.
Medina went to San Bernardino to request the death certificate, and almost everything matched.
That was the final clue.
She learned that Margaret had been admitted to Patton State Hospital. She had been treated at San Diego County Hospital in 1926 and passed away in 1927 at the age of 79 due to arteriosclerosis, a disease affecting the brain.
After decades of researching on his own — and working with a professional genealogist for a year — Lewis feels the Robinsons can finally have closure.
“On Christmas Eve… I walked to Albert’s grave in the evening… I told Albert I found her, and we're going to see if we can bring her back,” Lewis told ABC 10News.
He hopes to keep that promise — reuniting a family and a piece of Julian’s history.
