I was received under the care of Richland Presbytery April 25, 1868. Was ordained to the whole work of the ministry October 18, 1872. Much of my early ministerial life was given to pastoral work. In the providence of God, I was called into the evangelistic work in about 1884. The success of my revival work was such that I was called and held meetings in twenty-one states. It seemed that this was where the Lord wanted me. I will say, too, that I never grew too large to serve my own church, never held but one meeting, as I now remember it, that was not under the auspices of my own church. For more than twenty-five years I thus served and my books bear record of thirty thousand converts, and among them more than one hundred went into the ministry.
When the union question came up I felt I was still just the right size for the same old harness to fit, and had not grown too large to be a Cumberland Presbyterian.
I was in the Dallas Assembly and spoke and worked for harmony until I became amazed at my brethren in their unfair methods to carry their points. My voice was among the first to be heard against Dr. Black's supplemental report, and among the last, when I asked if S. M. Templeton's resolution meant submission or recommendation, and the answer came from many, "Only recommendation, let the people vote." I was also in the band of "men, women and children" who met in St. Louis. I was in the assembly in California, was also in the Decatur Assembly, and was one of the one hundred and six loyal Cumberland Presbyterians. I was at Dickson, at the next Assembly, at Corsicana, and Bentonville. I served for four years as secretary of the Board of Missions. God has been good to me, and my church honored me far more than I deserved.
I was the last one to ask the question if the Decatur Assembly
was a Cumberland Presbyterian Assembly before the gavel fell in
the hands of Dr. Landrith.
[Source:
Our
Senior Soldiers: The Biographies and Autobiographies of Eighty
Cumberland Presbyterian Preachers.Compiled by The
Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Publication. The Assistance of
Revs. J. L. Price and W. P. Kloster is Greatfully Acknowledged.
Nashville, Tenn.: The Cumberland Presbyterian Board of Publication,
1915, pages 177-178]
The above is a portrait of Rev. W. M. Robison, who passed peacefully away, March 28. He was well known throughout the denomination; for he was a minister in the Church fifty-seven years, being active most of the time and taking a prominent part in the activities of the Church much of the time. Because of his ability to deal with questions, he was recognized and became prominent in the councils of the Church. He was one of the 106 who remained loyal at the Decatur Assembly.
Brother Robison devoted many of the best years of his life to evangelistic work, and he was generally considered one of the best revivalists ever in the denomination. His ministry was blessed with thousands of converts to Christianity; and, "he being dead, yet speaketh," in the lives of thousands who call him blessed.
He was a great lover of nature. He often said this was a wonderfully beautiful world to him. He was endowed with a cheerful nature, and he displayed a happy disposition. His jovial nature remained with him through his declining years, and his son writes that he "went down into the valley without fear and at peace with the world."
He was a contributor to the Church paper, and his articles
were readable. Many looked forward to the appearance of his contributions,
which they read with much interest. Many of his contributions
of late years were reminiscences, which showed that the scenes
of childhood were vividly pictured in his mind. After the appearance
of his last contribution, which appeared recently, he received
many letters, which speak in unmistakable terms of the high esteem
in which he is held by those who knew him best.
[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, April
16, 1925, page 1]