Who was President Biden's French ancestor with surname Robinette ?

Question

Last night at the state dinner in Paris, President Joseph Robinette Biden said he had descended from a 'Robinette' who was French and fought with Lafayette in the American Revolution and then remained in the USA, but, Biden said, the connection had not been proven and maybe genealogists could help. (June 8, 2024).

Comments

Maybe the story is actually about Joseph's mother's family l, as they were frim France. So many stories get a little mixed up.

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“Robinette” comes from the root name of Rob/Robert while  the suffixes “in” and “ette” are Old French diminutives, which indicates a son/ grandson of a Frenchman named Rob(ert), or a dearly regarded Frenchman named Rob/Robert.

Answer 1

He's got a relatively complete family tree on Wikitree and the Robinette that served in the American Revolution, George Robinette (ca. 1750-ca. 1851) - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Robinette-69 - was in the Maryland militia and from a family that pre-dated the American Revolution in America.

Maybe one of those old family stories that we all have.

Comments

Right! And these Robinettes originated in England, as shown in the family line on Wikitree. The Robinette family website states:

On September 29, 1653, Allen Robinett and Margaret Symm exchanged wedding vows in London, England’s 12th century Church of St. Mary, Aldermanbury. After 28 years of marriage, Robinett purchased land in the New World from William Penn and, in 1682, moved his wife and two of their children to the British North American colony that later became the state of Pennsylvania.