There is always a story behind a photo, and it would be so wonderful to know them all!
This snapshot of a time, a place, and three people is so intriguing. Is this a man and two sons, with one grown even taller than he was? Is this a man and his younger brother and a son of one of them? Or a three generation picture? All are in nice clothes, with the older two having ties, so were they dressed for a picture or some other occasion? And where were they, with milk cans on a grate alongside- a dairy perhaps? Did one of them work there? A closer look at the bricks suggests the right side of the building was added on… so many unanswered questions. We are hoping that some of our readers can help us to identify some of the people in this post, as well as some of the previous posts from unidentified photos that were found in the Roberts Family Photo Album.
The Roberts family was living in Indiana, then Illinois before their migration to Iowa around 1868 in a covered wagon. Edith ROBERTS (later McMURRAY, then LUCK) (1899-1982), told in a letter about how her father, George Anthony ROBERTS, Sr. (1861-1939), at age 5 ran behind the wagons on the long trek west. George’s parents, John ROBERTS (1832-1922) and Elizabeth Ann MURRELL family met the Robert Woodson DANIEL (1843-1922)-Margaret Ann HEMPHILL (1839-1915) family in Roseville, Warren County, Illinois, and their children married.
A letter to a Bedford County, Pennsylvania newspaper may have been picked up by other papers read by our ancestors in Illinois, or word of mouth stories of the richness of the prairies may have inspired our ancestors to make such a life-changing move.
“Here I am after a long, but rather pleasant ride. [The author had taken the train west to Iowa City and then a coach to Des Moines.] I had formed many big notions of Iowa: but, I tell you that every one of them came short of the reality… I presume that many of the emigrants whose wagons dot the road over the Prairies and whose family fires at night light up the woods along the roadside, don’t know that such a thing as a money crisis has come upon us… Capitalists in the East now have their eyes on the fertile, rolling, black lands of Iowa… In my travels so far, I have never been out of sight of timber and often passed large bodies of it. I have frequently crossed fresh running streams. Coal mines frequently occurred and game abounded… the prairie hens… fluttered up from about the coach wheels as they rolled along.”
While this was written about ten years before our families made the trek west, it could take a number of years to accumulate the money to buy and outfit a wagon, plus plan a trip of 200 miles after selling any farm, livestock, or other property owned and purchasing new at the destination. While today the trip would take 68 hours on foot per Google maps, it probably took 2-3 weeks by wagon with family, rivers to cross, broken wagon wheels, oxen to feed, poor weather, etc. Sometimes babies were born on the way too! So not a trip to undertake lightly.
It is no wonder people loved to show off their family and possessions in pictures and share with friends who were across the county or back home where they came from. The hand-held camera was such a wonderful invention!
And here is that sweet little one, about to take off walking into her future:
Perhaps this is the same little girl in her rocking chair?
These children appear to be from a different family:
Here is a gentleman who may have made that trek from Roseville. He probably never saw himself as a baby in a photo since photography was not really available until the 1840s, and then used mostly for portraits in a studio.
We have other pictures that include this man, so it would be great to learn who he is! (Please leave us a comment if you have a picture of him and/or know who he is.)
And here is one more cute baby in a little wicker chair with a bottle:
And of course, our contractually obligated picture of a little one with a dog:
This photo album is such a treasure trove… and there are still MORE pictures of our wonderful family. Stay tuned for pictures of the teens and adults.
And please let us know if you have seen these pictures or know any of the family in them. The “Leave a comment” link is at the very bottom, under the date in the grayed footer of the post. Thanks for reading, and maybe even commenting!
Notes, Sources, and References:
Roberts Family Photo Album put together in the 1910s-1920s era, probably Jasper County, Iowa.
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Original content copyright 2013-2022 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 the copyright or use of “Heritage Ramblings” blog material.
A Visit with John and Lizzie (Murrell) Roberts- well, almost
Many of us are fortunate to know our parents and grandparents, and some of us have actually visited with a great-grandparent. The chance of meeting a great-great grandparent is pretty slim, although today, thanks to the foresight of Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck (1899-1982) and the persistence of a beloved little red-haired girl- Edith was once one of those too- we can, in a sense visit that many generations back.
That little red-haired girl was not me, but I am a beneficiary of the stories Edith wrote about her years growing up on the farm and the people she loved. She gives us so much detail about her family that it is almost like we are there for a visit too.
In the above picture, the fourth child from the left sitting on the ground with long ringlets and a big bow in her hair is Edith Roberts. She was four, and the young woman standing above her in the light dress is her sister Ethel Gay Roberts; her brother George A. Roberts is just to the left of Ethel and their mother, Ella V. (Daniel) Roberts, is in between. Edith’s father George A. Roberts, Sr. is to the right of his daughter Ethel. You can, most likely, pick out John Roberts and his wife Elizabeth Ann “Lizzie” (Murrell) Roberts further to the right in the picture, as they are the oldest in the family and both dressed in dark clothing. (John is the fourth from the right standing, Lizzie the fifth.) Family get-togethers like these on the farm were how Edith learned so much about her family history, and how she had an opportunity to really get to know her grandparents, uncles, aunt, and cousins.
That little red-haired, persistent girl named Edith grew up telling her own descendants about their ancestors, and she finally wrote much of it down, due to the persistence of that other little red-haired girl. (Thank you both!)
Edith’s words are what will be shared here, with minimal additional comments from yours truly- mostly just enough for clarity and to help keep us straight with factual family history. [Editor’s notes will be in italics.]
Edith wrote:
“My grandpa and grandma Roberts were something else. They … had moved into town from the farm. They first lived in Monroe, but later moved to Prairie City. John and Elizabeth Roberts. I have always liked that name. I like to pronounce and write it and see it in print. ROBERTS, Welsh name it is. Two brothers came over here from Wales. One became a Tory and went to Canada during the Revolutionary War, and our ancestor came west. He was a Whig, and I suppose this is why we have been Republicans all these years. It makes conservativeness, maybe? Never thought of that before.
[The story of two immigrant brothers, one a Tory (British loyalist), and one a Whig (American patriot) is a common one, but that great political divide is also one that was sometimes true even for brothers born here. Thus far, almost all of what Edith stated about her family history has been found to be true with copious research, so this story bears looking into. A Roberts family history, however, states that the original Roberts immigrant came to America from Wales. (That may still count as being a Tory? Knowing when they came over would help us to determine if this story is true or not.) Also, research is very challenging with such a common name, but maybe with all that is available these days, we will find an answer soon.]
“Grandpa [John Roberts, 1832-1922] was indeed one of the finest looking men you can imagine. Very, very tall. Over six feet, thin, and stately. As I remember him he never walked with a cane or in any way showed his age, except his white hair. It was sort of bristly like, cut short, and always immaculate. He smelled so good. He used a nice smelling cologne I suppose. In those days that was really something. I cannot remember my dad ever using anything like that, or my brother either. He was always well turned out. Clean, neat and sprightly.
[Despite his age- 72- John Roberts is the tallest of the family in the 1904 picture! And he does look “well turned out.”]
“But what a disposition. So different from grandpa Daniels [Edith’s maternal grandfather]. He [John Roberts] would argue at the drop of a hat on any issue no matter what it was. He harped on religion a lot. There were two churches in Prairie City, one Methodist and the other Christian. Grandpa Roberts was a member of the Methodist church, and if you were not, you were no good. The Daniels belonged to the Christian Church; that is where they attended. Really I don’t think they ever had anything to do with each other. Lived in this little town of maybe 500 people and probably never saw each other except at the post office. By the way, the post office was common ground for every one in town. No mail delivery then. You had a post office box and had to pick up your own mail. A gossip center perhaps.
“I have often thought that maybe it was because of grandpa Robert’s disposition, caused my dad to leave at such an early age. He farmed for himself before he was twenty, and mother was only sixteen or eighteen when they were married. Dad had trouble with his brother Jason, who was grandpa’s pet, and grandpa was always blaming dad for uncle Jason’s doings. Anyway this is dad’s side of the story. Once I understand they had a “knock-down and drag out” and after that did not do so much “trouble-making” for dad.
[Ironically and sadly, George A. Roberts, Sr. was a strong-willed, quick-tempered man like his father. George disowned his daughter Ethel when she married a man he did not approve of, and he averted his eyes and did not speak if he saw her or his grandchildren on the street in their small town. Ethel made a good choice, however, as the man George had in mind for his oldest daughter turned out to be a ne’er do well. George did have quite a soft spot for his youngest daughter Edith, however, despite her sneaking notes between her sister and her eventual husband, Bert Robison.]
“Dad had three brothers and one sister. Uncle Ed [William Edward Roberts, 1858-1935] who was a dear. So gentle and kind with beautiful mirthful brown eyes. Aunt Mollie [Mary Jane (Roberts) [French] Blount] 1863-1947] lived in Des Moines and was considered ‘city folks’. Will tell you that story another time. Then dad, and then uncle Jason [Jason Lee Roberts 1859-1940]. There were lots of cousins. Uncle Ed had three children, uncle Jason had seven, aunt Mollie six, and we had three. A lot different than our small close-knit family on mamma’s side of the house. We were just another grandchild to them. Their house was more interesting than grandma Daniels. I suppose they had more worldly goods. As I look back on it now. Once we had to go there for Christmas and how we kids did complain. Always it was Christmas at grandpa Daniels, or it just was not Christmas. Grandpa Roberts had bought four silver tea sets (we still have one). Each set was in a clothesbasket and what to do about the giving of them. We had Christmas the next day at grandpa Daniel’s but it was not the same as if we could have had it on Christmas Day.
” Now dear little Grandma Roberts [Elizabeth Ann “Lizzie” (Murrell) Roberts, 1835-1917], as a fretting, busy always at something sort of person. She was so small she could stand under grandpa’s outstretched arm. She loved flowers, and this is what I remember most about that place. There were flowers everywhere. I never see one of those tiny, tiny pansies that I don’t think of grandma Roberts. She was so quiet and kind, and never crossed grandpa, but took his tirades in stride.
“She came originally from West Virginia. She remembered the slaves and how bad it was for them. Only in whispers did I hear mamma and her talking about this. I was not supposed to be listening.
“Going back to the flowers, she had a terrarium… I can see it yet. It was in a large jar and was most interesting. Her dining room was filled with flowers. Always there was a huge fern. You had to be careful not to touch the ends of the fronds or they would die. They would too. The houses were larger then, but I can remember this dining room was most cluttered.
“I can remember the Reo runabout grandpa bought. [Edith was in her 70s when she wrote these stories, and still very sharp.] To have an automobile then was something. They would drive out to visit us during the week, but never on Sundays. Always they were in church on that day. No one did anything on Sunday but go to church and make calls in the afternoon. They would come chug-chugging in the farmyard… [that area] was quite level at that time. Grandpa so tall, and grandma so little, with her veil flying back of her in the wind. They wore tan dusters. [A long coat was necessary to keep off the road dust as few roads were paved back then.] They would come in for dinner. Mother would have chicken and noodles, because they like that, and all the goodies that went along with a good country meal. Mamma was considered an excellent cook. There was a good relationship between mamma and grandma. [They were in-laws.]
“After dinner dad would go out and get in the automobile and drive it around in the [open area near the farmhouse], in a circle. Of course I was right behind him having a ball. No one else in the family had a car at that time. About four o’clock they would leave and the next week they would visit one of the other children. Strange, all three brothers lived in this area. Each just two miles from each other.
[Each son received part of John and Lizzie Roberts’ land from his will, before he passed away, or they bought it from him. Some of that land is still owned by descendants.]
She [grandma] always had handwork. Her little hands were never idle. I wish I had some of her handwork… Her workbasket was a most tempting place to get into. Not that I did. I really had a sort of stand-off attitude towards both of them.
“I don’t seem to remember much about the passing of either of them. Seems to me grandma went first [she did] and uncle Ed moved in with them and they took care of grandpa because they eventually lived in this house for years. It is still there and I can show it to you some time.
“Well my pets, this is just off the top of my head; there’s much more that could be written… I hope this will be meaningful to all of you, and that you will be [as] proud to have them as your… [ancestors], as I am to have them as grandparents.”
I hope that you enjoyed our little visit with Edith’s grandparents, and they are now more than names, dates, and a few pictures. What a treasure she has left us!
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images. 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. Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
Those Places Thursday: Roberts, Daniel, and Murrell Family Migration to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1868
The trip from Warren County, Illinois, to Jasper County, Iowa, was approximately 175 miles for the Roberts, Daniel, and Murrell families via covered wagon. Although Google maps states it would take 54 hours to walk that far today (and less than 3 hours to drive it in a car), traveling with a heavy covered wagon that holds 1,250-2,500 pounds plus having cattle, swine, elderly folks and children, etc. would have made the trip longer.
A covered wagon, pulled by up to eight horses or a dozen oxen, could travel 10-20 miles per day, depending on the terrain. Since the midwest is mostly rolling hills in that area of northern Illinois and eastern Iowa and there are no mountains to cross, we can hope that it only took the families about 9 days to make the trip, if they could make 20 miles per day. If they could only make 10 miles per day, however, it would take 18 days to get to Jasper County.
But that was just the travel time.
Many wagon trains did not travel on the Sabbath, and accidents with required repairs could slow down the trip as well. The families would have needed to cross the Mississippi River too, which could have delayed them in waiting for a ferry, especially if the weather was bad or the river was flooded, too icy, etc. Since the population of Iowa increased by about 70% between 1860 and 1880, there might have been quite a lot of other families making the trek west, further delaying their access to a ferry. (They could probably not have taken the wagons across without a ferry, even though they would have used tar to waterproof the wooden sides and bottom of the wagon- the Mississippi was/is just too large and powerful a river. If it was iced up, however, they could have traveled across in the wagons, hoping the ice was thick enough to hold the weight.)
Illness, lame horses or oxen, a need to procure food, tools, or even a new wagon wheel, could slow down the travelers. If a lot of things went wrong, their trip could have taken three weeks to a month- a long time to be living out of a 18′ long, 11′ high, 4′ wide covered wagon!
Most of those traveling would have walked the whole way, if they physically could. Children and the elderly would have ridden in the wagon for safety and because they would not be able to keep up at times. The wooden and metal wheels used on the wagons over the jarring roads was so uncomfortable and bone-shaking, however, that most of the adults would have preferred the long walk instead of riding.
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The three families made it to Jasper County, Iowa, sometime in 1868, despite all the potential for problems.
The land and community in Jasper County, Iowa, must have suited the Murrell, Daniel, and Roberts families, as they stayed, bought land, and put down roots. Margaret Ann Hemphill and Robert Woodson Daniel were blessed with another child, Lily G. Daniel, in 1872, who survived childhood, and who eventually married George W. Walker (1872-1961).
The satisfaction felt by the new Iowa immigrants about their new life may have influenced Ann Elisy Murrell (daughter of Wiley and Mary) and her husband, Aaron Brown (1846-1894), to move west. Ann and Aaron stayed in Warren County, Illinois, until sometime between the birth of their son William Brown in 1875 and son George Brown in 1878; they then headed to Jasper County, Iowa. It must have been a wonderful reunion!
Most of the persons mentioned in this series of articles lived out the rest of their lives in Jasper County, and are buried there, in the rich black soils of the prairie.
Jasper County, Iowa, is definitely full of “homeplaces” for the Roberts, Daniel, and Murrell families.
Family stories of Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck, and obituaries.
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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 2013-2017 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
Wednesday’s Child: The Daniel Children and Family Migration
The second oldest son of Charles M. Daniel and Elizabeth (Thomas) Daniel, our ancestor Robert Woodson Daniel, 24, also travelled in a covered wagon to Iowa with his wife, Margaret Ann Hemphill, then 28. They had with them their first child, who was the mother of Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck: Ella V. Daniel. It must have been a challenging trip, as Ella was a toddler of just 2 years.
Margaret bore 4 children after Ella, but three died in infancy. We know that John W. Daniel was born in 1868, and Charles H. Daniel in 1869- perhaps she was pregnant with one or the other during the trip, or maybe John died as an infant on the way to Iowa. One or both of the children could have gotten an illness from the water, spoiled food, or an infectious disease- we just don’t know the particulars of the trip or anything about the deaths of their children, unfortunately.
Another child was also born to Margaret and Robert, although we do not know the name of that child, nor when she/he died. Burial records for these three children have not yet been found.
It would have been tragic to lose a child while on the road to a better life, but even more heartbreaking if they had needed to bury a child along the road that they might never again travel.
Notes, Sources, and References:
Family records.
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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 2013-2017 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
Sentimental Sunday: Elizabeth Ann Murrell and John Roberts
[20 Sep 2019 Editor’s Note: caption and post corrected from original identification as John S. Roberts, who was the father of the John Roberts married to Elizabeth Ann Murrell.]
Once the Wiley Anderson Murrell-Mary Magdalene Honts family settled in Roseville/Warren County, Illinois, their daughter and our ancestor Elizabeth Ann Murrell met a young farmhand named John Roberts. He had moved from the family farm of his parents, John S. Roberts (1805-1875) and Jane Saylor/Salyers (1806-1880), in Indiana, looking for work in the productive grain fields of Illinois. The convergence was fate, as John and Elizabeth married on 8 March 1857 in Roseville, where they set up housekeeping. Elizabeth’s brother John Henry Murrell was living with them in 1860 and working as a farm laborer. Elizabeth had already borne two sons, William Edward Roberts, born in 1858, and Jason Lee Roberts, born in 1859, so it would have been a busy farm household. Their son George Anthony Roberts (the father of Edith Roberts McMurray Luck) was then born in 1861, and finally a daughter, May Jane Roberts, joined the family in 1863, and was also born in Illinois.
We know that the Roberts family had a friendship with a Daniel family in Warren County. Charles M. Daniel (1819-1875) and his wife Elizabeth Thomas (1817-1885) had both been born in Virginia. Elizabeth and then their son, Robert Woodson “R. W.” Daniel (1843-1922), were born specifically in Rockbridge County, Virginia, just north of Botetourt. This family may have known the Murrell or Honts families even as far back as the early 1800s in Virginia, as suggested by some research that still needs more work. The Daniel family, however, decided to migrate to Missouri about 1845 (R.W. was just 2 years old), and then on to Illinois around 1864-1865. Their second migration is understandable, too, by considering the Civil War, as we did for the Murrell family. Being a border state, Missouri was a very dangerous place to live during that conflict. A farmstead could be raided by the Rebs in the morning, and then have Union troops descend that evening, also looking for food, supplies, and “spoils of war.” And then there were the border gangs that took no heed of any allegiance and were themselves committed to violence… It was challenging for a family to survive in Missouri, no matter the side they championed or who was beating on their door.
“R. W.” Daniel enlisted in the Missouri State Military Cavalry in 1862, and served until 1865. (More on R.W. in the future.) Some sources state that he was in Warren County, Illinois in 1865, but he did marry Margaret Ann Hemphill (1839-1915) on 18 January 1866 in Pike County, Missouri. (He likely knew her from when he lived there, and may have gone to Warren Co. to recuperate from the war after his discharge.) The couple moved about 150 miles north to Young America, Warren County, Illinois, where their first child, Ella Viola Daniel, was born on 29 October 1866.
The John and Elizabeth Roberts family went to visit and congratulate the Daniel family on the birth of their child. John and Elizabeth took their sons and daughter with them for the visit, per their granddaughter, Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck. It was the first time that little George A. Roberts, about to turn five years old, saw his future wife for the very first time.
And that is why this is a “Sentimental Sunday” post!
To be continued…
Notes, Sources, and References:
Vital records such as birth, marriage, and census that can be found on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, etc.
Family stories written and told by Edith (Roberts) [McMurray] Luck.
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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 2013-2017 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.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.