Family Member History Page

John Roberts came to America from Wales in 1683, at the age of 35, on a ship captained by Hugh Roberts (no relation). Hugh's sister,Gainor Roberts,age 30, was also on board ship as were John's brother Richard and sister Anne. John married Gainor after arriving in America in the first wedding ceremony at Merion Friends Meeting House. John and Gainor both came to America with deeds to property around Merion, Pennsylvania. It was there that John established his farm which he called Pencoyd. He was a malster by trade. John and Gainor had 4 children: Robert, born 12-15-1685/died 3-26-1763, Richard, born 1687/died 1690, Elizabeth ,died very young in 1690, and another Elizabeth, born 1692/died 1746. The entire family is buried in the Merion Friends Burial Grounds in Narberth, Pennsylvania.

Robert Roberts, eldest son of John Roberts, grew up on the Pencoyd farm with his sister Elizabeth,born 1692. His younger brother, Richard, died at the age of 2 when Robert was just 4. Another sister, also named Elizabeth, died in infancy in 1690. Robert's wife, Sidney Rees, was born in 1690. They married at the Merion Friends Meeting House on 5-4-1709. They had 6 children: John, born 5-4-1710/12-8-1776, Alban,born 2/1727, Rees,born 1715/1755, Phineas, born 1722/1801, Elizabeth,born 1727/1727,and Sidney,born 1729/1793.When Robert died in 1763, the farm was "willed" to his oldest son, John. With the exception of their daughter Sidney, who married a man named John Paul, all these folks are buried in the Merion Friends Burial Grounds.

John Roberts grew up on the Pencoyd farm with his siblings. John married Rebecca Jones(1710-1779) at the Merion Friends Meeting House on 5-4-1733. They had 12 children: Jonathan,born 1734/1799,Gainor,born 1735/1761,Alban,born 1738/1772,Elizabeth,born 1740/1771, Mary, born1742/1771, Tacey, born 1744/1791,Benjamin,born 1746/?, John, born 1747/1803, Robert, born 1749/1793,Algernon, born 1751/1815, Franklin, born 1752/1774 and Edward, born 1755/1825. John and his wife Rebecca as well as their children Gainor,Alban,Mary,Tacy John,Algernon,Franklin and Edward are all buried in the Merion Burial Grounds. John, the father, served in the American Revolution as did two of his sons, John and Algernon . Algernon attained the rank of Lt. Colonel and took as his wife, Tacey Warner, whose father was a Colonel in the American Revolution. John Roberts broke with tradition in his "Will" and left the Pencoyd farm to Algernon even though Algernon was not the oldest living son. John had 4 sons older than Algernon living at the time of his death.

Edward Roberts was the last of 12 children born to John and Rebecca Roberts. He was born on 1-1-1755. Edward grew up on his father's farm but when his father died when Edward was 21 his father "Willed" the farm to Edward's older brother Algernon. Edward received as his inheritance 50 pounds. From Quaker Minutes we learn that Edward was removed from Quaker Meeting on 4-27-1781 for "neglecting to attend religious meetings." In 1784 Edward married Elizabeth Bell (1751-1799) at Christ Church in Philadelphia on 4-8-1784. They had a son John on 1-17-1787. They had a son, Jonathan, in 1788 but he died on 9-5-1790, age 17 months. They had a daughter, Mary, who died and was buried on 8-4-1790,age 11 months and a son, Thomas, who was stillborn and buried on 8-6-1791. In addition there was another stillborn death buried 8-13-1792. All of these children who died,along with their mother, who died in 1799, are all buried in the Quaker Burial Grounds at 4th and Arch Sts. in Philadelphia. Quaker Meeting Minutes note their burials and show each with a notation "not a member". Edward married a second time, to Margaret Taggart, on 6-2-1803. They had a daughter, Rebecca Roberts, on 12-12-1804. They had a son, Edward, on 12-27-1807 but he died on 6-1-1812. They also had another daughter, Margaret, on 2-24-1810 and she died 7-22-1811. Edward died 4-13-1825 and was buried as Merion Friends Burial Grounds. In his Administrative Will, dated 4-18-1825, the Administrators named are John Roberts, an accountant from Philadelphia and Edward's only living son, and Jonathan Heacock, a farmer from Blockley, and the husband of Rebecca Roberts, Edward's only living daughter.

John was the only child of Edward and Elizabeth to survive past 18 months. From the Roberts Family Bible we know that Edward, the father and John, the son, were both alive at the time of Elizabeth's death in 1799. Both are mentioned in the "Will" of Edward's brother, John (1747-1803), who died in 1803. Since children followed their parents lead very closely in those times I checked Christ Church records and found indeed that John Roberts married

Hannah Nicholson on 6-11-1809 in the same church that his parents had been wed in 1784. From Quaker Burial Records I found that John Roberts was buried at the 4th and Arch St. Burial Gounds on 8-22-1827. This is the same location where his mother and siblings had been buried long ago. In his Administrative Will John Roberts named as his Administrator his wife Hannah Roberts. Also named in his "Will" where the names of their children: Edward, Elizabeth,Sarah,Ann,George,Hannah,Rebecca,and Caroline. It's not surprising the the first two children were named Edward and Elizabeth after John's mother and father.Also interesting to note is the middle name given to the only other son George. He was given the middle name "Harrison" but no one living today knows where it came from but the name continues to be used in the family today. I suspect that Harrison was the maiden name of Hannah Nicholson's mother although I have not been able to prove that.

George Harrison Roberts was born 10-20-1818 to John and Hannah Roberts.The family faced difficult times when the father,John, died at age 40 and Hannah was left with their 8 children. John's Adm. Will, dated 8-22-1827, shows that Hannah applied for financial assistance from Orphan's Court until 1831 which is the time that their first child, Edward, would turn 21. George Harrison Roberts wed Sarah Warner Stoddart on 6-20-1843 in a ceremony in Philadelphia, performed by Rev. Thomas Stockton. Sarah's father, John Stoddart,who attended the ceremony, is mentioned in the writeup in the "Pa.

Inquirer and National Gazette".George and Sarah lived at different residences in Philadelphia until George died 11-12-1876. Sarah, his wife, would live until 1-9-1890. They had 7 children:Mary,born 1845/1845, Francis Hoyle, born 1846,Helen,born 1848,Clara,born 1850/1850,Emily,born 1851,Rebecca,born 1855-1855, and John Stoddart Roberts,born 1858/1923. George and his wife Sarah and the three children who died young are all buried at Laural Hill Cementery in Philadelphia. The family is identified by name in the 1850,1860, and 1870 Pa. Federal Census.

John Stoddart Roberts was the last of 7 children of George Harrison Roberts and Sarah Warner Stoddart. John shows up in the 1860 and 1870 Pa. Federal Census living with his parents. In 1880 he marries Annie Holden, born May, 1861, and they had 4 children. Their first born,Howard Stoddart Roberts, born 7-1881, in Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter the family moved to 603 S. 4th St. in Camden,N.J. where George Harrison Roberts is born on 8-5-1883. John Stoddart Roberts Jr. is born 8-1888, and finally Sarah Stoddart Roberts is born 2-1893. We know the last three children were born in NJ because the 1900 NJ Federal Census lists the children and where they were born. The Census shows John Sr. occupation as "Tobacconist". A review of the Camden Street Directory for 1888-1891 shows Annie's mother, also called Annie Holden, born 5-1835, living with them. She is listed in the Directory as the widow of George Holden,who had to have died before 1888. When John's wife,Annie, died on 8-18-1913 she was buried with John's parents at Laural Hill Cementery in Phila.When John died on 7-21-1923 he was buried in Harleigh Cementery in Collingswood, NJ. However, on 5-29-1931, the children had their mother dug up and buried with their father in Harleigh Cementery. To make this story even more interesting the gravestone has an inscription to Annie and John on one side and the other side has an inscription to Annie's mother who had died on1917. It is interesting to note that John named one of his sons after his father, including the "Harrison" middle name. Also interesting that all three of the other children got the middle name of his mother's family-Stoddart.So we know where the Stoddart comes from but where does Harrison come from? The 1920 NJ Federal Census shows that John had remarried a woman named Anna Clark,age 63, and he had a step son named William,33,a carpenter. John's occupation was listed as tax collector.

George Harrison Roberts was born 8-5-1883 in Camden, NJ. As a youngster he worked at his father's tobacco shop but later he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. On 1-19-1911 he married Mary Ella Deacon (1-5-1886/5-3-1962) from Delanco,N J. They moved in with George's mother and father at 603 S 4th St. to begin married life. However, George's mother, Annie, died in 1913 and shortly thereafter George and Mary moved to Delanco to her parents home on Buttonwood Street. It was there ,on 2-28-1914, that their only child, George Harrison Roberts Jr., was born.The family lived in Delanco until the late '20's when George Sr.'s job took them to Trenton, N J. Upon returning from Trenton to Delanco in the early '30s George and Mary purchased one side of a two family home(Mary's parents were on the other side). at 317 W. Vine Street in Delanco,N J. Mary's mother passed away first and then her father passed away in 1938 so Mary eventually sold the the other half of the house to George Jr. and his wife.However, they soon moved to Pennsylvania in the early '40s after George Jr. began working for the Budd Company on Hunting Park Ave. in Philadelphia. George Sr. passed away in 1950 so George Jr and his family moved in with his mother at 317 W. Vine St. In 1958 the family moved to 1104 Hickory St. in Delanco but Mary broke her hip shortly thereafter,went into the Masonic Home in Burlington, NJ and resided there until her death on 5-30-1962. Mary and George Sr. are buried together in Lakeview cementery in Cinnaminson,NJ.