Born in Limerigg, then in Stirlingshire, Robertson started working in a coal mine at the age of eight, but after the Mines Regulation Act 1872 prohibited children working underground, he returned to school.
His brother later became superintendent of mines for Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, while Chisholm Robertson turned to trade unionism.
[1] Robertson co-authored an influential labour programme with Keir Hardie in the first issue of The Miner, used in his Mid Lanarkshire by-election campaign, but he fell out with Hardie two years later, accusing him of neglecting mining issues at the expense of supporting seamen.
[4] In the mid-1890s, Robert Smillie successfully challenged him for the secretaryship of the local Miners' Association,[5] prompting Robertson to emigrate to Australia.
[6] Robertson returned from Australia and started a business in Glasgow, using his spare time to write in support of Christian fundamentalism[1] and arguing that trade unions should avoid all potentially political issues.