Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

Here is one more image to go along with our last couple of posts about John and Lizzie Roberts and their home at 108 N. Sherman in Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa.

This picture appears to have been taken the same day as the picture of John and Lizzie in front of their house, as the paper and mat it was in (not shown here) are the same. John is wearing the same clothes- not unusual though, since many men only had 1 or 2 good suits. He looks the same age, too, as in the previous photo. Unfortunately, though, no good clues here about when it was taken specifically, although it appears to be fall or early winter since most of the leaves are off the trees and shrubs.

The picture did help us know where it, and the other picture with Lizzie, were taken. Because there is another house or two across the street, we had a clue they were living in town, not still out on a farm. The roadway with its high curb also suggest town-life, since curbs are usually not poured for rural roadways.

Again, if you have a copy of this or the other picture in this series, please let us know. Hopefully your copy will have some identification!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos- thank you, family, for sharing!

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Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

Determining the year this picture was taken may be more challenging than determining the address.

The house was built in 1900 per tax records in the assessor’s office and various realty websites that use the tax records. A “County News” article in the Newton State Democrat on 9 March 1899 stated John “has moved from Monroe to Prairie City,” and his obituary verified that year for the change of address. We will need to find a deed for the house to determine exactly when it was purchased and later sold by John Roberts.

So was this photo taken before the image with the whole family on N. Sherman St., or after? (“Treasure Chest Thursday: The John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts Family in 1904“) It is hard to tell if the trees are more mature than the photo identified as 1904. It appears that the tree behind the house is quite tall, but that tree is not seen in the 1904 image- had it not grown that tall by that date, or possibly had already been cut down? The known-date image has a large bush by the front porch, but it is not in the picture above- again, are we moving forward in time with foliage growing in this picture, or had it been cut down? In this case,  looking at foliage is not really definitive in this photo comparison.

The paint scheme on the house is different too. Was the house plain when built, and the Roberts family added the contrasting trim colors? Or did they take a Victorian-style house with multiple colors and ‘update’ it to take it out of the Victorian era?

Not much help from landscape or house clues in the pictures…

Sometimes looking carefully at the people in the photo and how they have changed can tell us which is the older picture.

Here is a picture of John and Lizzie in 1904, cropped from the large family group picture in front of the same house:

We do have a picture of John in 1909 for comparison:

There is information from Edith (Roberts) McMurray Luck that after “Grandma Roberts” (Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts) died on 2 Feb 1917, their son W. E. Roberts moved in with John Roberts and took care of him. In 1910, W. E. and his wife and children were living on a farm in Mound Prairie Township; by the 1920 US Federal Census, W.E. and his wife Mary Margaret (Main) Roberts were living in Prairie City, on Jefferson St. (no house number recorded). There were no children in the household and W.E. had “none” listed as his occupation, so he likely had retired by age 61. John Roberts was living with them and listed in the census as W.E.’s father, and a widower. Apparently, they were not living in the house at 108 N. Sherman, so it may have been sold soon after Lizzie died, when W.E. and his wife began to care for John.

The obituary of John Roberts also verified that W. E. did care for his father as he aged, as it stated that John had lived with his son for five years at the time of his death.  John died on 22 Jan 1922.

So we know that John and Lizzie Roberts lived in the house at 108 N. Sherman from at least 1904, when the family group picture was taken, but no earlier than 1900 when the house was built. Since Lizzie died in 1917, the image has to have been taken before her death. My guess is that it was taken about 1915, but that is just a guess- nothing to really verify that hunch.

Hopefully some other descendant has a similar image that has a date on it!

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Move of John and Lizzie Roberts from Monroe, IA to Prairie City, IA: “County News,” Newton State Democrat, 9 Mar 1899, page 5.
2. “Treasure Chest Thursday: The John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts Family in 1904” at http://heritageramblings.net/2014/02/13/treasure-chest-t…s-family-in-1904/
3. Obituary of John Roberts: Prairie City News, 1 Feb 1922, Vol. 48, No. 5, Page 1.

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Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Edited 2/21/21: The house has been completely updated and is now for sale. The link listed in notes below has been updated by the company from the pictures of the house in a dilapidated condition in 2019. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/108-N-Sherman-St_Prairie-City_IA_50228_M70834-34658

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

Among our newly found family photo treasures is this image of John and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Ann (Murrell) Roberts. It was one of many photos of  houses we found, and it was a bit challenging to determine where and when many of the images were taken. Relying on other photos in our archive helped, as did a bit of sleuthing.

You already know by the post title that this home was in Prairie City, but how did we determine that? The mat on the photo (not shown above) did not include a photographer’s name, unfortunately. One clue we did have was that it was the same house as the 1904 whole family portrait, which had an older, more Victorian-style paint scheme:

Having two possible dates for the family picture, it is logical to search both the 1900 and 1910 censuses to see where John and Lizzie were living. The 1910 US Federal Census placed John and Lizzie in Prairie City, possibly on Sherman St- the street is very hard to read on both the Ancestry.com and FamilySearch copies of the census, and the Ancestry.com indexing of the home being on “Hiams St.” and in Des Moines, Jasper [County is implied by genealogical convention of place names], Iowa are incorrect. There is currently no Hiams St. in Prairie City (although there could have been previously). The house was in Des Moines Township (not the city of Des Moines), Prairie City, Jasper County, Iowa, per the handwritten entries at the top of the census. (Check your original source and don’t depend on indexes or websites to transfer the right information to your tree!) The 1900 US Federal Census did not list street names nor addresses, but John and Lizzie were living in Prairie City then too. So the evidence highly suggested that this was a home in Prairie City.

Another family treasure is an old flyer that was prepared by the “Roberts Brothers- Groceries, Bottled Gas Ranges, Plumbing, Heating Pumps & Windmills.” The Roberts family had a hardware store in Prairie City until retiring and closing it in the last few years. The flyer featured three Roberts family photos that we also had pictures of and have posted about them, including the above family with the big house. The caption on the Roberts Brothers store flyer states, “This picture was taken of Mr. and Mrs. John Roberts, their children and grandchildren at their home in Prairie City in 1900 (now the Vande Kieft home).” Since the Roberts Brothers and their family had lived in Prairie City for so long, they were a reliable source of information about the family.

We have searched online to learn more about the address of the home, including looking up the Vande Kieft family, without good results. A next step was checking with the Prairie City library, asking if they had city directories. Their helpful librarian was able to identify the home as still standing at 108 N. Sherman St.! She also told us that the home was being refurbished a while back, but the work had apparently stopped, and she knew who owned the home. A search for that address told us that the home was “historic” and built by Hoyt Sherman. (See note #3.) The house was built in 1900, so we know the family photos taken with it could be no earlier than that date. The house has about 1,650 sq. ft, including one bathroom.

Sadly the home had fallen into disrepair, as mentioned, and in Feb, 2018, the City Council included the address as one of the abandoned homes the city was planning to review.

The kind librarian also put me in touch with a Roberts descendant! It was great to chat with someone who had lived in Prairie City and knew the people I have been researching for many years.

Please contact us if you have information to add.

Next- How we estimated the year of the picture with John and Lizzie Roberts and their home.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. “Treasure Chest Thursday: The John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts Family in 1900,” http://heritageramblings.net/2014/02/13/treasure-chest-thursday-the-john-roberts-and-elizabeth-ann-murrell-roberts-family-in-1900/
2. An ad for the home when it was for sale some years ago– https://www.shoppok.com/desmoines/a,25,30656,1900-Historic-Home-built-by-Hoyt-Sherman–108-N–Sherman-St–.htm
3. Hoyt Sherman was the brother of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman and John Sherman, the author of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Hoyt moved to the western frontier, Fort Des Moines, in 1848. He was active in politics, and a principal in an insurance company, banks, etc. His beautiful home in Des Moines still stands and has been renovated, and a theater has been added and the home houses an art gallery. See http://hoytsherman.org/about/ and https://data.desmoinesregister.com/famous-iowans/hoyt-sherman for more information. He may have invested in the building of homes in Prairie City, which is only about 30 miles from DesMoines, but that remains to be verified.
4. You can take a ‘tour’ of the neighborhood via Google and https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/108-N-Sherman-St_Prairie-City_IA_50228_M70834-34658

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Original content copyright 2013-2021 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Roberts Family

As mentioned yesterday, new-to-us portraits of John and Elizabeth (Murrell) Roberts have recently surfaced in a cleaning binge. The family adage, “See what you find when you just clean up” has come true once again.

We have posted quite a lot of information on this family already, so please see the links below, or use the sidebar links or post tags to learn more about this family.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos. Thank you to the clean-up crew!
2. We estimated the date of these images by looking at birthdates, how old John and Elizabeth look, and other pictures that are known. It seems that Elizabeth and John were in their 40s or early 50s in these photos, so 1885 seemed a good estimate of the year. Also, William L. Le Fevre was a photographer in Jasper County, Iowa in 1865-6, and was listed as an “artist” in an 1885 census. He lived in Jasper County until at least 1905, so the time frame works. (If you know otherwise, please let us know!)
3. “A Visit with John and Lizzie (Murrell) Roberts- well, almost”
   http://heritageramblings.net/2019/07/02/a-visit-with-john-and-lizzie-murrell-roberts-well-almost/
4.  “Sentimental Sunday: John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts” http://heritageramblings.net/2019/06/30/sentimental-sunday-john-roberts-and-elizabeth-ann-murrell-roberts/
5. “Sentimental Sunday: Elizabeth Ann Murrell and John S. Roberts” http://heritageramblings.net/2017/02/12/sentimental-sunday-elizabeth-ann-murrell-and-john-s-roberts/
6. “Friday’s Faces from the Past: Elizabeth Ann Murrell and John Roberts” http://heritageramblings.net/2017/02/10/fridays-faces-from-the-past-elizabeth-ann-murrell-and-john-s-roberts/
7. “John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts- Indiana, Virginia, Illinois, and Iowa” http://heritageramblings.net/2014/02/08/john-roberts-and-elizabeth-ann-murrell-roberts-indiana-virginia-illinois-and-iowa/

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Roberts Family

Cleaning out basements and closets can be wonderful, especially when new family treasures are found! Here is one of our most recent wonderful finds.

We have posted quite a lot of the history of John and his family- see the posts linked below, and the family is mentioned in other posts too- just click on the name in the tags  for each post, or use the sidebar links to see each family story and photo. Also, check back tomorrow for a “new” portrait of his wife, Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Family treasure chest of photos. Thanks, clean-up crew!
2. We estimated the date of these images by looking at birthdates, how old John and Elizabeth look, and other pictures that are known. It seems that Elizabeth and John were in their 40s or early 50s in these photos, so 1885 seemed a good estimate of the year. Also, William L. Le Fevre was a photographer in Jasper County, Iowa in 1865-6, and was listed as an “artist” in an 1885 census. He lived in Jasper County until at least 1905, so the time frame works. (If you know otherwise, please let us know!)
3. “A Visit with John and Lizzie (Murrell) Roberts- well, almost”
   http://heritageramblings.net/2019/07/02/a-visit-with-john-and-lizzie-murrell-roberts-well-almost/
4.  “Sentimental Sunday: John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts” http://heritageramblings.net/2019/06/30/sentimental-sunday-john-roberts-and-elizabeth-ann-murrell-roberts/
5. “Sentimental Sunday: Elizabeth Ann Murrell and John S. Roberts” http://heritageramblings.net/2017/02/12/sentimental-sunday-elizabeth-ann-murrell-and-john-s-roberts/
6. “Friday’s Faces from the Past: Elizabeth Ann Murrell and John Roberts” http://heritageramblings.net/2017/02/10/fridays-faces-from-the-past-elizabeth-ann-murrell-and-john-s-roberts/
7. “John Roberts and Elizabeth Ann Murrell Roberts- Indiana, Virginia, Illinois, and Iowa” http://heritageramblings.net/2014/02/08/john-roberts-and-elizabeth-ann-murrell-roberts-indiana-virginia-illinois-and-iowa/

Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.

Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.