The year of 1922 was a sad year for both George Anthony Roberts and Lucy L. (Cadwallader) Frank. On the 17th of January, John lost his wife of almost 37 years, Ella Viola (Daniel) Roberts; they had four children together (one did not survive infancy). Just ten days later, his father, John Roberts, passed away. Lucy’s husband of 29 years, John A. Frank, passed away on the 16th of March; they had two children together. The families had been living in the Prairie City, Iowa, area, so likely knew each other.
At the age of 63, George married Lucy, who was 50 at the time.
George A. Roberts, Sr. and his 2nd wife Lucy L. (Cadwallader) Frank Roberts on their wedding day, 25 Oct 1925. (cropped) (Click to enlarge.)
They enjoyed their time together, with numerous trips to Florida for fishing.George A. Roberts, Sr. and his 2nd wife Lucy L. (Cadwallader) Frank Roberts in Florida, after 1925. (Click to enlarge.)
George passed away in 1939, and Lucy survived him by 31 years.
Notes, Sources, and References:
We apologize for the poor quality of these photos. They were taken from a video that included family pictures, but they were not scanned at the time. In fact, scanners may not have been readily available when this was done, but at least we can see how sweet the couple looked on their wedding day. (Wedding happiness is not just for the young!)
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Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
If memory serves, the above picture was taken in Florida, where George loved to go fishing. As one who had been a farmer and stockman through cold Illinois and Iowa winters since he was a boy, it is no wonder he loved Florida. George had suffered with severe sciatica and rheumatism as an adult- in fact, at one point it was so bad that he had to re-learn how to walk. So the warm Florida sun must have felt great for an old farmer’s bones, and spirit.
George travelled frequently to Florida with his second wife, Lucy L. (Cadwalader) [Frank] Roberts. They married three years after his first wife, Ella V. (Daniel) Roberts, died in 1922. (He lost both his wife and his father, John Roberts, that year.) His grandson, Edward A. McMurray, Jr., spoke of how much “Daddy George” enjoyed those trips, and how many fish they caught.
George Anthony Roberts, Sr., with his second wife, Lucy L. (Cadwalader) [Frank] Roberts, after a fishing trip in Florida. Date unknown, but probably late 1920s or 1930s.
Notes, Sources, and References:
“If memory serves…”- please, write it down- NOW! Memories get conflated with other things and just float away…
Photos from family treasure chest- thank you, family, for sharing!
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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
George A. Roberts, Sr., at home on the family farm. Note picture of him with his two brothers on wall to the right, and his daughter Edith’s picture on the piano. Probably taken in the early 1920s. (Click to enlarge.)
George Anthony Roberts, Sr. (186 -1939) was a strong-willed, self-confident man. “A man’s home is his castle” is definitely reflected in this picture of him at home on the farm.
It is charming to see the picture of George, probably in his early 60s, in front of the picture of him as a younger man with his brothers on the back wall of the parlor. William Edward Roberts is on the left in the portrait and Jason Lee Roberts in the center, with George, the youngest son, on the right; it was probably taken somewhere between 1880-1900. This photo bridges time in many other ways, too, as the photo of George’s youngest daughter sits on the piano. That picture of Edith Roberts was probably taken when she was in college, sometime between about 1918-1921.
Although very obviously from the outside a typical farmhouse of the late twentieth century, the Roberts home and furnishings also bridged time. There were lovely American Arts and Crafts, also known as Craftsman-style, features on the inside. The tall baseboards and wide trim around the windows were very linear in the newer style, unlike the frou-frou, curvy Victorian designs of earlier years. If the image is enlarged to see the stairway in more detail, the squared balusters, the simple, angular hand rail, the wooden ‘strap’ detail on the stairway newell posts, and the angular little bench to the side of the stairs that had a cupboard below all reflect Craftsman style. There is no seat cushion on the bench, just a pillow to the side. (Our ancestors were obviously tougher people than we are today!) The cabinet door face is what many would now call ‘Shaker style,’ but it was very typical for the Craftsman era, in which handwork and fine craftsmanship were emphasized over the factory-manufacture of thousands of the same mediocre items.
While George’s rocker was Craftsman-style (note the leather seat, squared tapering of the legs, and the detail of small supports where the leg meets the chair arms), other elements of the decor were still Victorian. Most people did not have enough money to change out all their furnishings to a new style, and may have wanted to keep some furniture that had sentimental value from parents or times past. The piano and bench had ornate capitals at the top of their legs and on the supports of the upright portion of the piano. The table behind George had a decorative spindle front, and the table at the left had the sweet curved legs consistent with Victorian style. The linens in the room are also older in style. The Craftsman look still used linens to protect a tabletop, but they were much simpler, not as lacy as those on the table or piano top, and in the Craftsman style, the linen would have left part of the beautiful wood of the table visible for admirers to enjoy quarter-sawn oak or other beautiful woods. The curtains in this room are lace too, but Craftsman-style window coverings would often be a shade or simple gauze, cotton, or linen curtains, perhaps with small appliqué or stenciling. The ferns in the room kept the Victorian look as well- people of that era just loved ferns. (Ferns grew well inside the darker homes of the past, too.)
It looks like they moved things around for this second picture, likely taken at the same time.
George A. Roberts, Sr., at home on the family farm. Probably taken in the early 1920s. (Click to enlarge.)
Even the folder/mat of the first picture has Craftsman elements in the simple but elegant embossed detail framing the picture.
These are great pictures of George A. Roberts, Sr., plus they give us a glimpse into the daily homelife of George, his wife Ella Viola (Daniel) Roberts, and their children, George Anthony Roberts, Jr., Ethel Gay Roberts, and Edith Roberts. Can you imagine a cold winter day with the winds blowing across the Iowa prairie, a harvest safely stored in bins or sold to provide for the family for the next crop, and next year? Can you see the family here, young Georgie teasing his sisters while George Sr was in his rocker trying to read and Ella was mending the clothes of hard working farmers by gas light or finally, electric lights? Their home bridged eras, and the family’s preservation of these wonderful images and stories has bridged time for us, too.
Notes, Sources, and References:
Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck talked often of her father, and is the source of much information about the family. Her stories about life on the farm have been quoted in many articles, and there are still more to share.
Image from our shared family treasure chest of photos.
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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
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:
Family treasure chest of photos- thank you, family, for sharing!
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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
John and Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts in front of their home in Prairie City, Jasper Co., Iowa, probably taken around 1915. Cropped from larger photo with house.
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…
John and Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts in front of their home in Prairie City, Jasper Co., Iowa, possibly taken around 1915.
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:
John S. Roberts and his wife Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts at the family homeplace, 1904. Cropped from a larger family picture.
We do have a picture of John in 1909 for comparison:
Four generations of the Roberts family: John Roberts, age 76, on right; his son William Edward “W.E.” Roberts, 50, on left, W.E.’s daughter Maude (Roberts) Jensma, age 24, and her 8 month old son, Andrew Edward Jensma. 22 Aug 1909.
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.
John Roberts, c1901(?) This image was used in his obituary.
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:
Move of John and Lizzie Roberts from Monroe, IA to Prairie City, IA: “County News,” Newton State Democrat, 9 Mar 1899, page 5.
Obituary of John Roberts: Prairie City News, 1 Feb 1922, Vol. 48, No. 5, Page 1.
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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly, i.e, reference this blog.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
George A. Roberts, Sr. and his 2nd wife Lucy L. (Cadwallader) Frank Roberts in Florida, after 1925. (Click to enlarge.)
