Who was Sylvester Caleb Robinson?

In 1909 my great grandfather David GEORGE (1828-1912), living near Franklin Grove/Ashton, Illinois, had a book reprinted, "The economy of human life" and dedicated it to Sylvester Caleb ROBINSON. Is this name familiar to anyone? The book was given to various people in the Lee Co. area, so it could turn up in a home library. The book claims to be ancient eastern literature, but it was written by Robert Dodsley of England.

I posted this request in 1999 at a county web site but didn't hear anything. One thing I do know is that Grandfather was on his way to California to find gold around 1849-50, when he stopped in Illinois. I also know that there was a Sylvester Robinson who died in California seeking gold who had some ties to Winnebago County (Illinois) because that's where I saw the note about his death (in the county history, I think). I also know that Grandfather worked in Winnebago Co. as a carpenter when he first came to Illinois. He saved his money then bought acreage in Lee County. No one in my family knew why he'd settled in Illinois until a 90 year old niece living in Iowa told my mother in the 1970s the story about him and a friend traveling to California to look for gold.

Grandfather owned two copies of this book, one published in 1845 and one 1848. The oldest one came with him from Pennsylvania. The book was so popular it wasn't out of print for 100 years and was published in many languages. Then when he was very old, he had it reprinted as a gift for friends. It's entirely possible that the book's dedication is just part of the reprint plates and has nothing to do with my great grandfather, who paid to have the little book reprinted and then distributed it.

Or maybe he added the dedication--he was a farmer who loved to read and had only a common school education. He had no way of knowing the book was published first in 1750 by an Englishman (and neither did most scholars), and was not written by an "ancient Brahmin" and then translated from Chinese:

"This reprint of a Sacred Book that is undefiled by companionship of neither a Jacob, a Solomon, nor a David,--is dedicated to Sylvester Caleb Robinson (possessor of its original), the purity of whose life so strikingly illustrates the efficacy of its inculcations."