Mavi Boncuk |Gracia Maria Robin was the daughter of a wealthy French merchant, Jean Baptiste Robin, in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, in what is now Turkey. Her name has erroneously been recorded in places as Dura Bin, a mis-transcription of 'du Robin'. She married Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a former British Consul at Smyrna, who organized the largest attempt at British colonization in the New World by founding New Smyrnea, Florida, named in honor of Gracia's birthplace. New Smyrna, Florida Colony, founded in 1768, encompassed some 101,400 acres (410 km2).[1]
It was reported that besides the Greeks living in Greece, and in Asia Minor, there were many Greeks settled in Menorca, and that the English felt the Turkish rulers of Greece would not object if the English enticed Greeks to leave their homeland for a new country and in hopes of a better life.
References
[1] Panagopoulos, E. P. "The Background of the Greek Settlers in the New Smyrna Colony." The Florida Historical Quarterly 35, no. 2 (1956): 95-115.
Biography
Gracia Maria Robin was born in Smyrna, Turkey in 1736. She is the daughter of Jean Baptiste Robin and Katerina Jary.Her birth name has been recorded in places as 'Dura Bin', which has since been clarified as being an incorrect transcription from audio, of 'du Robin'. The family were French Levantines.
Gracia married Dr Andrew Turnbull (1718 - 1792), a Scottish physician on 22 Aug 1753 in Smyrna, (Izmir) Turkey and they had 12 children, 9 of them born in Turkey.They migrated to the colony of British East Florida in 1768 where her husband established the colony of New Smyrna with 1300 Greek settlers. Three of their children were born here and the colony was occupied until 1777. Gracia is regarded in the United States as having been Greek. She did have some Greek ancestry and almost certainly spoke English, French, Greek and Italian. Tge Levantine Community in Turkey was very cosmopolitan. No details have been found for her Greek ancestors and her parents were regarded as French.
Gracia and her husband and family moved to St Augustine on the north east coast of Florida and then to Charleston, South Carolina where they remained for the rest of their lives.
Gracia died in 1798 and is buried in St Philip's churchyard in Charleston.
See also: Dr. Andrew Turnbull and the New Smyrna colony of Florida by Corse, Carita Doggett, b. 1892 Publication date 1919