A drawing by architect William McKnight Bowman shows the street-facing side of the Palladian-style house he designed for Julia and Ben Robertson., and it clicked for me because I have an original drawing of one of the houses on Devine Road . While archiving my own sketches, notes and project drawings. I came across this fragment of a 6-by-11-inch illustration board with a beautiful drawing we think might be for a house Devine.
I’d love to know if J. B. Robertson owned two houses or if we’re dealing with maybe three generations of Robertsons. If they’re interested, I would be happy to give them the drawing.James Harvey Robertson moved to Texas from Tennessee and became a lawyer, district attorney, judge and member of the legislature.There are a number of fortunate sons in the Robertson extended family, including some of prominence across several fields.
J.B. “Ben” Robertson served a single term in the Texas Legislature, 1917-1919, representing Austin. He went on to serve as district attorney for Travis and Williamson counties but resigned in disgrace.Their life together was not entirely charmed. Their first two children, Frances and James, died in infancy of congenital defects in 1915 and 1917, respectively. A third child, Stark Young Robertson, was born in 1918 and survived.