Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY, IOWA, 1891
BIOGRAPHIES
Page 904
JAMES ROBERTS

James ROBERTS, a resident of section 4, Jackson Township, came to Harrison County during the month of February, 1865, and first located on the farm he now occupies, which at the time of his coming consisted of six hundred and seventy acres of wild land. He built him a house 18X35 feet, one story and a half high with an addition 18x32 feet, and also built a barn and cattle sheds all being painted, even to his tool house, which was 14x30 feet. He built granaries and corn cribs, the latter having a capacity of four thousand bushels. He procured fine water by the digging of wells, over one of which he erected a nicely adjusted wind-mill. He has two tenant houses on his farm. The land under cultivation amounts to a half-section, while the balance is in meadow and pasture land, and about one hundred acres of timber. His whole landed estate is surrounded by a good fence, the driveways through which are provided with substantial wooden gates. For three years during our subject's residence in the county he was visited by an army of callers whose room was better than their company. In brief it may be said that the grasshoppers destroyed his crops during these years, teaching him the Scriptural saying "that even a grasshopper shall be a burden unto them." Yet he survived all of these discouragements and financial back-sets and to-day has one of the finest places in Harrison County, and the passer-by enjoys looking out upon his broad acres with their tastefully painted buildings and his generally well kept premises; yet, little realizing the struggle through which our subject and his family have gone in order to bring this all about.

Mr. ROBERTS' birthplace was England and the date of his birth was September 21, 1810, making him eighty-one years old at this time, eleven years beyond the allotted time of man. His parents were John and Martha ROBERTS, who were also natives of England. Their children were as follows, John, William, James, Thomas, Mary, Betsy, Sarah, Martha and Rebecca.

Our subject and his sister Rebecca are the ones surviving.

Our subject remained in England until he was forty-three years of age and then bid farewell to his native land and sailed for America. For New York he went to Syracuse and there worked at the carpenter's trade. After following this for two years in the Empire State he went to Michigan and located at White Pigeon. He worked at his trade there for three years and then came to Iowa County, Iowa, and purchased six hundred acres of land, which he subsequently sold to a German Colony and removed to Monona County, where he purchased eleven hundred acres of land near Onawa. He bought a sawmill in that county, also, but through litigation he left Monona County, in the fall of 1858, without a dollar. He went to Colorado and settled at Denver, where he built two store buildings on Blake Street and two dwelling houses on Curtis Street. He remained there eight years and then disposed of his property and returned to Harrison County.

Our subject was married in December, 1853, to Charlotte HAGERMAN, a daughter of William HAGERMAN, a native of New York. Mrs. ROBERTS' parents had nine children.

Our subject and his wife have three children: Mary A., Martha and Jemima. After being companions on the road of life for thirty-eight years the angel of death called the good wife and mother from the scenes of this life, during the month of February, 1891.

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