He was born into slavery, but through the negotiation by his grandmother, Caroline Branham, he was freed at age 21 after an eleven-year apprenticeship.

In the 1820s, Caroline agreed to participate in lengthy interviews with historian Jared Sparks under the condition that Robinson was freed.

[1] Robinson was ordained to the ministry by Bishop Matthew Simpson, who was Abraham Lincoln's spiritual adviser.

[4] He was a pastor of Roberts Chapel, a Methodist Episcopal Church established by African Americans, on South Washington Street in the city of Alexandria.

[4] He helped to create opportunities for black freedmen by opening a night school and a debate club.

[8] In 1864, he and two of his sons organized the earliest Emancipation Day observances in the city for African Americans.

[4] In 1883, he was declared the "oldest living Past Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia, Universal Lodge".

[13][14] In 1911, a ten-foot high monument was erected for him at the Bethel Cemetery on South Payne Street in Alexandria, Virginia, by his two sons, Rev.

[10] The Robert H. Robinson Library of the Alexandria Black History Museum is named in his honor.