Roberts Roots & Branches

After the fire scare a couple of weeks ago I have been very busy with "life" stuff.  I haven't done too much research or other family history work. Sometimes you just have to jump back into life and interact with the living!  I have been busy with my children and grandchildren. Last week was my in-laws family reunion down at Yuba Lake.  I was watching my grandchildren play with their second cousins--laughing, pretending and playing.  It seemed like only yesterday my children were playing with their own cousins doing the exact same thing.  I then realized that the 2nd cousin relationship is not really that distant!  As I looked at these sweet children, I was saddened that our family never has had this type of closeness so that second cousins knew each other and grew up with each other. Just as the sadness filled me I realized that the opportunity I have had to research the Roberts family has given me intimate details into their/your personal lives....

. . .it's a family history trip! Yep, a trip to to find, search, re-search, and locate Hugh and Margaret's descendants in Iowa and Ohio.  Hugh & Maraget's daughter, Sarah Ann Roberts (11)  and her husband Joseph Jones (19) settled in Des Moines, Iowa while Hugh & Margaret's son Hugh Thomas (12), and his wife Esther Clough (203), first moved to Iowa and then Ohio. So, pack up the laptop, IPad, camera, GPS, notepads and extra $$ for gas.  It will be fun, exciting and a special experience to meet relatives! Bet you're all jealous!!!!  While your spending your vacations with your family, I'm spending my vacation looking for dead people and traipsing through cemeteries!  At least there will be no fighting in the backseat of my car--now you're jealous! As always, can't wait to share everything I find! (Because of privacy and security issues I'll not blog about it until I get home!)

picture from here Here are my research questions: 1. Who was Maggie on the immigration record of Hugh (1) & Margaret (2)? 2. Who was Hugh’s mother? 3. Who was Hugh’s father? 4. Where is Samuel Caulton’s (5) family in Derbyshire? 5. What is Hannah P. (357) Samuel’s first wife’s maiden name? 6. Which Welsh parish was Margaret’s family in? 7. Which Welsh parish was Hugh’s family in? 8. Why did Isaac (10) Roberts return to County Durham? 9. Where is the emigration record of Isaac’s (10) return to England? 10. Where is Hugh (1) buried in Pennsylvania? 11. What is Hugh’s (1) correct death date? 12. Where are the missing descendants of Joseph Jones (19) & Sarah Roberts (11)? 13. Who did Magie E. Jones(240), daughter of Joseph Jones & Sarah Roberts marry? 14. What happened to the children of Robert Roberts:  Margaret Roberts (460), daughter  and son Hugh (463)? 15. What happened to LD. Smith (37), first husband of Letitia Roberts (35)? 16. Where exactl...

After moving to Wyoming I knew I needed to “gather the descendants.”  All I wanted to do was push on through the generations and move backward beyond Hugh and Margaret. But I kept getting the message to “gather the descendants.” As it turned out this was one of the fun aspects of moving to Wyoming. Kathleen, granddaughter of Hugh “Chappie” Roberts and great granddaughter to Hugh & Margaret, was great fun to visit and have lunch with. She also loved family history and shared everything she had: stories, pictures, family fables and tall tales, histories and keepsakes. She grew up in Rock Springs and then lived in Green River, so she knew the family. She knew the skeletons and knew the stories. I had fun visiting her and learning about the family. She and I were kindred spirits both crazy and loving genealogy! She has since passed away and when I return to Sweetwater County, I miss seeing her. A few other descendants I have met have been A.C., M.S., E.M., E .R. & L.R., M.C...