Roberts Family
This is an image found in the ‘new’ treasure chest of photos recently found. The man standing in the center appears to be John Roberts (1832-1922), but who are the other people?
There is no identification on the reverse of the photo.
One clue we have is that the photo was taken at Clark photography studio in Osceola or Stromsburg, Nebraska. Charles E. Clark was 34 years old when he was listed in the 1885 Nebraska State Census, and he was a boarder in Osceola, Nebraska. His occupation was listed as “photographer,” and he lived in Osceola through at least 1920, still working in that business. His wife was also a photographer, but we only know her as “Mrs. C. E. Clark” in the records we found about her concerning Clark studio. Research shows she was Hattie (Byers) Clark (1864-1946). She and her husband opened their second studio in Stromsburg, and she was an equal partner in the business as well as a photographer. So the timeline of 1885-1920 for the Clark photography studio meshes well with the lifetimes of the Roberts children, and the migration of Charles Roberts.
But why would John Roberts have been in Osceola or Stromsburg, Nebraska? And when? And how is he related to the others in the photo?
Since John Roberts, the only person in the picture we can identify with high confidence, lived in Jasper County, Iowa from age 36 until his death, we can assume that he was visiting but not living in Nebraska when portrait of the four was created. For a formal portrait such as this, the folks with him were very likely family. Since their ages seem to be within about 15-20 years of each other, these persons may be siblings. There is a shared resemblance among the men, which lends some support to that hypothesis.
But which siblings could be in the picture? We have ten to choose from:
William Roberts (1827-1891), lived in Indiana
Charles Roberts (1828-1906), lived in Indiana and Nebraska
Sally Anna Roberts (1830-1905), married to William R. Rayburn, lived in Indiana and Illinois
Maranda Roberts (1834-1917), married James H. C. Demaree, lived in Indiana and Illinois
Jeremiah “Jerry” H. Roberts (1837-1918), physician, lived in Indiana
Edward Roberts (1839-1922), lived in Indiana
Henry S Roberts (1842-1925), lived in Indiana
David Roberts (1847-1892), lived in Indiana
Ella Jane Roberts (1849-1930), married James H. Kennedy, lived in Indiana
Quintilla A. Roberts (1852-1887), married Daniel Kaye Mitchell, lived in Indiana
Of John’s ten siblings, only Charles Roberts lived in Nebraska. Charles and his wife Amarilla (Reynolds) Roberts, had lived in Jefferson County, Indiana, during their married life. In 1879, they lost their daughter Susan in November at the age of 24; seven months later, their son John died at the age of 22, in June. Amarilla then died 14 Oct 1880, per Find A Grave and her headstone. An earlier document, the 4 June 1880 US Federal Census, however, lists Charles as being widowed. Charles was recorded in that census as a farmer, and his only remaining child, daughter Elsina, plus her husband Benjamin F. Brown and their son Charles lived with him in 1880. The four likely migrated to Nebraska by 1885, as Elsina’s first daughter was born there. By the 1900 US Federal Census, they were documented in Shelby Village, Polk County, Nebraska. Charles died in May 1906, and was buried in Osceola, Polk Co., Nebraska.
So John Roberts could have been visiting his brother Charles Roberts in Osceola when this photo was taken. If this is true, the date range would be 1885, the earliest we know the photographer was in Osceola, to 1906, when Charles died.
So who are the other two men and one woman?
We have only a few pictures to help with identification.
Here is William Roberts:
Do you think that the man on the right in the group photo could be William Roberts?
We believe the following image is Doctor Jeremiah Roberts when he was younger; we have no adult pictures of him.
We also have a photo of Edward Roberts:
The above is an identified picture of Ella Jane (Roberts) Kennedy, but we have no pictures of her three sisters. The woman in the group portrait could also have been a wife of one of the men (possibly Elizabeth Ann (Murrell) Roberts, John’s wife), but more likely would have been a sibling in such a portrait.
If the man on the right is, in fact, William Roberts, we can narrow the time frame to 1885-1891, as William died in September of that year.
The portrait could instead have been taken at a reunion of the four siblings- Charles in Nebraska and three who could travel there. This could even have been as late as May, 1906, when Charles died. The portrait could also be of the siblings who were able to attend the funeral of Charles, feeling it might be the last time they would get together.
The portrait may have been taken after May, 1906, but since every sibling except Charles lived in either Iowa or Indiana, it is doubtful that they would have traveled to Nebraska once Charles had passed away.
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Our photo analysis tells us where the photo was taken- either Osceola or Stromsbugh, Polk County, Nebraska.
The when is still up in the air, but 1885-1906 would probably be the date range.
Who is in the picture is still a mystery, although we believe John Roberts is the man in the center.
We will only be able to solve this mystery if we can find other pictures or information that mentions this family portrait of a visit to Nebraska. Please use our contact form if you have more information about this picture!
Notes, Sources, and References:
- Martha H Kennedy, “Nebraska’s Women Photographers,” Nebraska History 72 (1991): 62-77. Accessed at http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/NH1991WomenPhotographers.pdf on 25 Oct. 2019.
- Amarilla (Reynolds) Roberts Find A Grave Memorial# 60404801. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60404801/amarilla-roberts
- Photos, other than the lead photo, were kindly provided by cousin Jon Roberts via his communication with Phyllis Codling McLaughlin of the Jefferson County, Indiana Genealogical Society/Jefferson County Historical Society. They are from an album on loan to her from the Lumber Mill Antique Mall, 721 W 1st St., Madison, Indiana. Mall owner is Dean Miller. Album appears to be family and friends of Jeremiah Roberts. Posted with permission.
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