Heritage Ramblings

Roberts Family (Click for Family Tree)

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.

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: 

1. 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.
2. Image from our shared family treasure chest of photos.

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