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Robert "Robin" Scypert was born September 5, 1755, in Orange County, North Carolina, the son of Francis Scypeart and Charity Townsend. This section of Orange County later became Chatham County.
Robert served in the Revolutionary War. He enlisted in the North Carolina Continental Line on May 15, 1776, in Chatham County. He became a Sergeant while serving in Capt. James Emmett's Company, in the 3rd Regiment commanded by Col. Jethro Summers and Gen. Nash. On September 11, 1777, Robert fought in the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania. He was at the Battle at Germantown, north of Philadephia, on the morning of October 4, 1777, when an early morning fog caused the soldiers to become confused and fire upon their own ranks. The troops were forced to retreat. It is possible that he was with General George Washington when the troops retreated to Valley Forge on the banks of the Schuykill River, west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On June 28, 1778, he fought in the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey. Robert was also engaged in several minor skirmishes. He was discharged in November 1778, at New Windsor, New York.
On September 20, 1787, Robert received a Land Grant of 600 acres in Green County, North Carolina, for his service in the war. This area became Green County, Tennessee, after 1790.
When Robert's father died about 1788, Robert received a portion of his land in Orange County. In 1789, Robert sold his 150 acre portion of his father's 640 acres, which was surveyed in 1754, to his brother Francis II for 50 pounds. Records state that Robert was a resident of Green County at that time.
Robert married Isabella (last name unknown), probably about 1791, in Chatham County, North Carolina. Census indicates Isabella was born about 1760-1770.
In 1818, Robert moved his family to Wayne County, Tennessee. Several Cypert and related families made the move to Wayne County together. Robert settled on Indian Creek in Wayne County, where he built the first grist mill in the county. He later moved up the creek a few miles and built a second mill on the Johnson Fork of Indian Creek.
In a war pension application filed in Wayne County, Tennessee, on December 26, 1820, Robert mentions his wife, Isabella, 57; daughter, Abagail, 24; and a minor son, Robert, 18, who was disabled and had to be cared for. On September 26, 1827, in another deposition regarding his pension, Robert mentions a grandson, about 16, "whose care they are responsible for because of misfortune of the boy's parents".
The 1840 Wayne County census shows Robert, age 80-90 years, a female age 70-80 years (Isabella), a male age 20-30 years (this is probably the grandson mentioned in the pension application) and a female age 15-20 years. We do not know the identity of the young female.
Isabella died after 1840. She probably died shortly before August 1848, in Wayne County. Robert made his will on August 12, 1848. No mention is made of Isabella in the will.
Robert appears on the 1850 Wayne County census, living with his son-in-law and daughter, James and Mary Anderson. He is listed as 95 years old and a pensioner.
Robert died January 28, 1851, in Wayne County, at the home of his daughter, Mary Anderson. His will was probated in the April 1851 term of the Wayne County Probate Court.
Children of Robert Scypert and Isabella
1. Mary Scypert, b. 1792, NC
2. Abigail Scypert, b. abt 1795 -- mentioned in her father's pension papers in 1820 (age 24), but not his will in 1848, so she was apparently dead by that time. The grandson mentioned in the 1827 pension deposition was probably Abigail's son. If so, we assume both she and her husband died about 1827.
3. Robert Scypert, b. abt 1802 -- mentioned in his father's pension papers in 1820 (age 18) as disabled and requiring care, but was not mentioned in his will in 1848, so he was apparently dead by that time.