Biography - Richard Roberts
RICHARD S. D. ROBERTS was born in Henry County, Ky., September 15, 1822,
and died September 17, 1892, when two days past three-score and ten. He was
a prominent farmer of Bond County, and resided on section 3, Mulberry Grove
Township. His father was an early settler of this county, having come hither
in 1822 and settled on Government land, but did not make this place his
permanent home. After residing here for about two years, he removed to
Vanburensberg, Montgomery County, where he remained for many years.
The father of our subject was born in Bardstown, Ky., in 1780, and was there
reared to manhood. In his native State he married Sarah Simmons, who was
born in Henry County, Ky., and died after her removal to Montgomery County,
Ill. All of her thirteen children grew to maturity and all married with one
exception.
Grandfather Simmons was one of the soldiers in the war for independence and
when the last record of him was received he was still living, at the unusual
age of one hundred and fifteen years. Whether the climate of their home
tends to longevity, or whether that fabled spring whose waters give
everlasting youth was shown this remarkable man and his wife, cannot be
discovered, but true it is that the grandmother of our subject, the wife of
the patriarch, lived seven years over a century. This certainly is a most
interesting fact, and one of which the family of Mr. Roberts is justly
proud.
The grandfather of our subject, Benjamin Roberts, was a native of Virginia
and came to Kentucky at an early day, even before the great Daniel Boone
performed such valorous deeds in that State. The ancestry of the family was
English-Welsh, and that combination has always made a race which has borne
well its part in the battle of life. The surviving members of the family to
which our subject belonged are a sister who bears gracefully her eighty
years, and a brother who lives in Colorado and admits his seventy-six years
as another might acknowledge his fiftieth.
Our subject was the eleventh child in a family of thirteen children, and was
two years old when he came to Illinois. His first school experience was not
very pleasant, as the two-mile walk through the woods was a long one for a
child, and the place not very inviting when he reached it. The house was
made of logs, the puncheon seats were hard, and the master made up in
authority what he lacked in knowledge, and altogether the road to learning
in those days was a hard one to travel. What education the children received
was really earned. In the days of which this is written, when large families
were the rule, as soon as boys grew to be of use their school days were
over. This was the case with our subject, and his help was required on the
farm because the whole work had to be done by manual labor, as this was
before the days of machinery. July 27, 1842, Mr. Roberts was joined in
matrimony with Miss Mary R. White, who was born and reared in Loudoun
County, Va. This worthy lady bravely bore her part in the pioneer life of
the day, and won the regard of all with whom she came in contact.
After his marriage, our subject located where the family now resides. He
built a log house and there lived until the breaking out of the Mexican War.
Then with patriotic fervor he enlisted in Company E, Third Illinois
Infantry, and served for twelve months. Entering as Corporal he was promoted
to be Fourth Sergeant, and received his discharge at New Orleans in 1846.
After the close of the war, he returned home, and by industry became the
owner of a farm of two hundred and fifty-two acres of land, all of which he
cultivated. It was wood and prairie, but he made a beautiful home out of
what was once a wilderness.
The beginning of Mr. Roberts' life was as that of many others of the
self-made men of the county. His means were small, but he possessed energy,
sagacity, and an abundance of industry, and has made himself the owner of
one of the finest farms in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts became the
parents of the following children: Mary E. is the wife of Hardin Elmore,
whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; James H. is a merchant at
Newport, Ill.; Julia Stark is the wife of Frederick Durr, of Bond County;
Elizabeth, formerly the wife of Frederick Kimball, is now deceased, and of
the three children that she left, one is married; George W. died at the age
of eighteen years; Richard S. and Stephen Douglas live in Bond County.
Our subject was a general farmer and stock raiser. He was a Democrat in his
political faith, and was always ready to give his opinions upon the general
topics of the day. The branch of the church known as the United Baptist was
the religious denomination with which our subject affiliated and in which he
held the office of Deacon. He was prominent in his church for many years and
contributed to its support liberally, while he also aided in the Sunday
school work.
One of the important families in Bond County bore the name of Gilham, and
were the first settlers here. At this time there are none of the old name to
give a sketch, and as this family is connected by marriage with the family
of the subject, it does not seem out of place to insert it here. Charles
Gilliam built the first mill in the county, where is now Mulberry Grove,
about five hundred yards northwest of Mr. Roberts' house. He was a prominent
man, well regarded and respected by all, and was a member of the
Presbyterian Church. A sister of our subject married Newton Gilliam, and one
of his brothers married Sarah Gilham. All of these are now deceased.
The full name of our subject is Richard Stephens Dorsey, and he was the
namesake of a good old man, the family physician in the old home in Henry
County, Ky. Our subject ever honored his name by his life. Throughout this
beautiful and prosperous county, none were more highly regarded in the
neighborhood than he.
Extracted 29 Nov 2016 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 124-126.
