<br><h2>CHAPTER 1</h2><p><b>John Roberts, Sr.</b></p><p>[c. 1764–1848]</p><p>FARMER IN UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA</p><br><p>John Roberts, Sr., (JR) was born in Virginia, according to hisson James, probably in Halifax County, the county mentioned in hisRevolutionary War pension application. Halifax County was createdfrom Lunnenberg County and was further partitioned to create Pittsylvaniaand Henry counties, a region called "Southside Virginia," onthe North Carolina border.</p><p>JR entered the world about 1764 on the Virginia frontier. TheFrench and Indian War (1756–1763) had ended and the Stamp Act,a British measure to pay for the war, was passed in 1765, only to berepealed in 1766. In 1763 a Royal Proclamation established that landswest of a line at the crest of the Appalachian Mountains would be anIndian Reserve. No colonist doubted that this order was temporary.</p><p>JR resided in at least 4 states in this order: Virginia, South Carolina,Georgia, and Mississippi. His military service at the time of theBattle of Guilford Courthouse (March 1781) was brief (he was about17 years of age). He apparently did not experience combat, but servedin the North Carolina or Virginia militia as a collector of provisions,such as corn. The country through which he traveled was CaswellCounty, North Carolina and Halifax County, Virginia.</p><p>JR arrived in South Carolina about 1790. The United States ofAmerica had been formally recognized since the Treaty of Paris in1783. George Washington was inaugurated as the first President in1789. A son of JR, James Roberts (direct ancestor), would name hiseldest son after the first President.</p><p>Migration from old Halifax County, Virginia, to the PendletonDistrict of South Carolina was common. The Pendleton District wasformerly Cherokee territory in upper South Carolina. It was calledthe "Golden Corner," comprised of 3 counties: Anderson, Oconee,and Pickens.</p><p>JR acquired land, perhaps initially by inheritance, in what is nowAnderson County and resided there for at least 30 years. His land wasalong Mountain Creek, a branch of the Savannah River. At times hehad more than 500 acres and was "engaged in agriculture," accordingto the 1820 census.</p><p>Around 1790, the year JR arrived in South Carolina, he marriedMargaret (called Peggy), and they had 6 children, all born in SouthCarolina. His eldest son, Sterling, became a prominent Baptist ministerand secessionist in Georgia. His third son, James, my direct ancestor,was also a farmer, as well as an elected public official in Georgia.</p><p>John and Margaret Roberts were Baptists in South Carolina, andprobably previously in Virginia, though JR apparently did not attendMountain Creek Baptist Church regularly and was even cited for nonattendance.In the back country of Virginia a movement away fromthe Established Church (Anglican) occurred in the mid-eighteenthcentury. Jefferson's Statute of Religious Liberty was passed in 1786 inVirginia, which disestablished the Anglican Church, a law supportedby Baptists. The Roberts lived on the frontier in Virginia where membershipin the Baptist Church was common.</p><p>Eventually, the couple moved to Georgia, and then to Mississippi,where they resided for a decade with the family of their wealthy sonGriffin at Cedarwyke Plantation.</p><p>JR left no written documents, except the Revolutionary War pensionapplication, which was submitted in 1839 when he was about 75of age. The application was rejected because his military service wastoo brief. John and Margaret Roberts both died in 1848 after 58 yearsof marriage. A Roberts genealogist in Texas, Raymond BradfordRoberts, wrote a brief essay on his related Roberts line (1764–1950),calling JR, "the Keystone American Ancestor."</p><br><p><b>LIFE CHRONOLOGY OF JOHN ROBERTS, SR.</b></p><p>c1764 Born in VA (1880 census: son James states that both ofhis parents were born in VA)</p><p>1767 Pittsylvania County formed from Halifax County,VA (James, Cornelius, and William Roberts living onSnow Creek in new Pittsylvania County)</p><p>1781 Served 3 months in NC militia (age 17) around thetime of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (Cornwalliswon the field but at great cost.)</p><p>1790 Moved to Pendleton District, SC (age 26) (TwoJohn Roberts appear in the 1790 census in PendletonDistrict; our John Roberts is living with 2 women—hiswife and daughter.) Married Margaret (Peggy);she was born c1765 and died in 1848. Their 6 childrenwere born in SC:</p><p><b>Elizabeth</b>—married Johnson Hall in 1808 in PendletonDistrict, SC. The Hall family came from Halifax County,VA, about 17855.</p><p><b>Sterling</b> (1790–1866)—married Matilda Durnam; 7children, of whom 6 were born in Pendleton District.He mmarried Sarah Carroll; 2 children born in HallCounty, GA.</p><p>He was a pastor at Flat Creek Baptist Church, 1837–1866,in GA. Son Sterling Mercer RRRRoberts (b.1820)was also a minister in GA. (Called "Sterling" in SC and"Starling" in GA.)</p><p><b>John, Jr.</b> (1793–1836)—married Elizabeth; died inGwinnett County, GA.</p><p><b>James</b> (1797–1883)—Direct Ancestor. Married Mary"Polly" Phillips</p><p><b>Griffin</b> (1801–1852)—Settled in Monroe County,MS (former Chickasaw territory); plantation owner."Cedarwycke": 815 acres and 34 slaves in 1850. He wasthe wealthiest of the antebellum Roberts family. Hisparents came to live at his plantation (c1838–1848).</p><p><b>Cooper Bennett</b> (1802–1860)—married PermeliaPhillips, 1828, in Walton County, GA. Named afterpastor of Shockley Ferry Church in Pendleton District,SC (by the Savannah River.) Note: James and Coopermarried Phillips sisters.</p><p>1793 A John Roberts received deed of real estate, personalproperty, and slaves of William Roberts, though it isnot clear if he is our JR (September 25, 1793, AndersonCounty; Pendleton District, SC)</p><p>1801 Sold 220 acres on Sadler's Creek to Jacob Capehart</p><p>1802 Bought a 172-acre grant from Hugh Simpson</p><p>1806 Sold the same 172 acres to David Andrews</p><p>1820 Census of Pendleton District shows three heads ofhousehold: JR and two of his sons, John Roberts, Jr.,and Starling Roberts.</p><p>1822 Sold 59 acres on Mountain Creek to David Tate for$17.82; this was part of a 592-acre tract he owned;surveyed in 1817.</p><p>1812–27 Member of Mountain Creek Baptist Church, nearAnderson, SC. First record of the church was 1798, butformally recognized in 1812. Its sister church was ShockleyFerry Church, near the Savannah River. Located 7 milessouthwest of Anderson on Brown's Ferry Road</p><p>1826 Margaret Roberts, wife of JR, and Fanny (sister perhaps),applied for letters of dismission from the church.</p><p>1830 Residing in Elbert County, GA</p><p>1834 Residing in Gwinnett County, GA; joins SweetwaterBaptist Church.</p><p>1836 JR is "restored and dismissed" from Mountain CreekBaptist Church after he sent a letter from his newhome in GA ("praying restoration and dismission").</p><p>1839 Residing in Monroe County, MS, on Cedarwyke plantationof son Griffin. They lived in the same home fora decade or more.</p><p>1839 Applied for Revolutionary War pension on April 10,1839(Claim 8871)</p><p>Application rejected by Stephen Cooke in Columbus,MS, on May 29, 1839, as his militia service had been< 6 months.</p><p>1848 Died in Monroe, MS, on October 14, and buried thereJR was about 84 years of age. His wife, Margaret, diedthe same year, at 83 years of age</p><br><p><b>ANCESTORS OF JOHN ROBERTS, SR.</b></p><p>The father of John Roberts, Sr., is uncertain. DNA analysis of Robertsdescendants has been helpful, along with family records, to painta picture of the ancestry. It appears that our Roberts line came fromKent, England, and settled in Virginia (probably New Kent County),eventually in old Halifax County (which was further partitioned furtherinto Pittsylvania and Henry counties).</p><p>Our Roberts line appears to have crossed the Blue Ridge Mountainsabout 1770 and settled along the border counties of Virginia(Grayson County) and North Carolina (Surry County), with familymembers on both sides. There appears to have been a Loyalist sentimentin some Roberts family members early in the RevolutionaryWar (1775–1781). Many Roberts from this vicinity migrated into Kentuckyand Tennessee. John Roberts, Sr., arrived in the newly openedCherokee land in upper South Carolina around 1790.</p><p><b>1. DNA analysis.</b> My autosomal DNA was compared to theirworld DNA database, which has 7 continental groups basedon genetic similarity. My DNA showed 2 groups: "Europe(Western European)" with 89 and "Europe" with 11. Atest of my Y chromosome reveals that I belong to haplogroupR1b1a2 (shorthand: R-M269),of northern European origin. Atest of mitochondrial DNA, which includes maternal ancestry,shows haplogroup V, which also shows a northern Europeanorigin (present day "Germany, England, Ireland, UnitedKingdom, Scotland" from FamilyTreeDNA).</p><p><b>2. James Roberts of Snow Creek</b> (old Halifax County, Virginia). Aclose DNA connection exits with this Roberts line. Theparents of this James Roberts were from Kent, England, andJames appears to have been the father of Cornelius (c1746–1788)and perhaps William (born 1735–40). In 1760 JamesRoberts owned 400 acres on Snow Creek, and both sons arerecorded as living on Snow Creek in 1767.</p><p>Many Roberts in old Halifax County came from Kent.Some Roberts appear to have migrated directly south intoNorth or South Carolina, staying east of the Blue RidgeMountains. Others crossed the Blue Ridge, moving from eastto west within the Virginia—from old Halifax County in theeast into what is now Grayson County in the west, never farfrom the North Carolina border (Caswell and Surry counties).The westward migration of James, Cornelius, and Williamappears to have occurred about 1770, before the RevolutionaryWar (1775–1781).</p><p>Cornelius Roberts married Mary Benton (about 1766)who was a daughter of the Dan River Bentons (the familyof Thomas Hart Benton, the painter). William Roberts marriedElizabeth Wallen, daughter of Elijah Wallen, a famouslong hunter (<i>see Elisha Wallen the Longhunter,</i> by CarolynD. Wallen, The Overmountain Press, Johnson City, Tennessee).William Roberts, also a long hunter, accompanied ElijahWallen on a long hunt across the Blue Ridge into Cherokeeterritory in 1761.</p><p>The Roberts were also connected with the Rogers familywho also migrated from Pittsylvania County (old HalifaxCounty) across the Blue Ridge in 1770. Doswell Rogers, a friendof Elijah Wallen, had a daughter Catherine, who married WilliamRoberts, Jr. (born 1765), with many children (<i>Descendentsof Dauswell Rogers,</i> 1776, Gateway). Doswell Rogers stated in adeposition in 1812 concerning a long hunt in1761: "The Wallens,Bentons, William Roberts and others named these streams asthey went through the hunting lands."</p><p>After crossing the Blue Ridge in about 1770, James Robertsand his two sons settled in the <i>Elk Creek District</i> of what is nowGrayson County, Virginia, along the border with North Carolina.Elk Creek is a branch of the New River. Many Robertssettled in the Elk Creek area, including Roberts from SurryCounty, North Carolina, the adjacent county. Many Robertsconnected to this line continued to migrate westward, intoKentucky and Tennessee.</p><p><b>3. Tory Loyalists.</b> James Roberts of Snow Creek, in old HalifaxCounty, Virginia, originally from Kent, England, was probablythe Tory Colonel who was active west of the Blue Ridgeearly in the Revolutionary War. Most white colonists in Virginiaand North Carolina thought of themselves as English.Cornelius and William Roberts also appear to have had Torysympathies early in the Revolutionary War (1775–1781).</p><p>In Lord Dunmore's War of 1774, which was waged by theBritish against the Shawnee Nation, several Roberts wereenlisted in southwestern Virginia. Captain David Looney'sCompany of 34 men from Fincastle County (southwesternVirginia) was ordered to stay behind and guard the frontier,instead of marching toward Ohio to participate in the Battleof Point Pleasant. Lieutenant Daniel Boone and his son Israelwere among Looney's Company who stayed behind with 2 Robertsmen (Cornelius and William), 4 Wallen men, and others.</p><p>Many men of Looney's Company were identified as Tories inthe early part of the Revolutionary War. They opposed Americanattacks on the Cherokee in 1776, siding with the Britishand Cherokee. Many of the men, such as Elijah Wallen, hadCherokee connections. Later in the Revolutionary War and after1781, many Roberts in southwest Virginia do appear on Americanmilitia rosters, perhaps as their loyalist sentiment faded.</p><p>Early in the war, a Tory Colonel James Roberts and his son,Tory Captain James Roberts, were active west of the Blue RidgeMountains along the border counties of Virginia and NorthCarolina. Recollections of them can be found in pension applicationssuch as the following one about the father and son:</p><p><i>Roberts was on his route to Ninety-Six with about 20 men though he(son) did not come with him. Col. Roberts was passing through (now)Ashe County (NC) and passed by Benj. Cuthbirth's and robbed his5 valuable horses. I think this was 1781. Some time after this Capt.James Roberts, son of Col. Roberts passed through Ashe on the sametrail that had been traveled by Col Roberts. The Captain had but 4men besides himself, one Tory and 3 British soldiers.</i></p><br><p>Between raids, they found safety in the vicinity of Corneliusand William Roberts in the <i>Elk Creek District</i> in the westernpart of Grayson County, Virginia. A June 15, 1776 letterfrom William Preston to Edmund Pendleton observed "Robertswith Tories on Elk Creek."</p><p>Colonel Roberts had land confiscated in both Virginia andNorth Carolina because of his Tory partisanship. ("On 5 July1776 the land of James Roberts of Montgomery County, VA,was confiscated and sold because he had taken up arms withthe British." From <i>New River Notes</i>). William and CorneliusRoberts were also accused of activities against the Americangovernment and had land confiscated in Virginia. In a CourtSession in Montgomery County, Virginia, in 1780, however,their property was returned because of lack of evidence.</p><p><b>4. John and Elizabeth Roberts of Surry County, North Carolina.</b>A very close DNA relation (Y chromosome DNA analysis—1genetic distance for 67 markers) exists between me(CSR) and descendants of John Roberts (c1730–1808) and hiswife Elizabeth (c1734–after 1817)of Surry County, North Carolina,representing the lines of 2 of the 14 children born between1756 and 1782. Surry County was formed from Rowan Countyin 1771 in western North Carolina, along the southwestern Virginiaborder, adjacent to Grayson County, Virginia.</p><p>Additional information on the family of John and ElizabethRoberts can be found in a book by Earl Roberts called <i>RobertsForebears of Roberts Cove, Grayson Co., Va., and Surry Co., N.C.</i>(1986), and in a book by Merritt Roberts called <i>Roberts-AllenFamilies and Related Families Davis, Highfill, Rogers</i> (1985).</p><p>The Surry County Roberts (John and Elizabeth Roberts with14 children), to whom our line is very closely related, appear tobe connected in some way to the many Roberts (James, Cornelius,and William) in the <i>Elk Creek District</i> of Grayson County,Virginia, the adjacent county. Colonel James Roberts, the Tory,owned land in Surry County which was confiscated in 1799 byact of the legislature in New Bern, North Carolina.</p><p>A son of John and Elizabeth Roberts, William Roberts,Sr. (1770–1838), the eighth child, settled in Roberts Cove, <i>ElkCreek District</i>, Grayson County, Virginia, where these Robertsalready lived. Furthermore, William Roberts, Sr., had anolder brother, John, born in 1766, whose relation to our JohnRoberts, Sr., is unknown.</p><p><b>5. James Roberts, Jr (1728–1786).</b> A formidable figure in localpolitics in early Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties was JamesRoberts, Jr., whose father James Roberts (1795–1769) alsocame from Kent, England. In 1752, Halifax County separatedfrom Lunnenburg County, and Peytonsburg was laid out asits county seat. "James Roberts, Jr., began his career as a townfounder in Halifax County." Roberts gained title to the landoccupied by Peytonsburg and laid out the town in 1761 withan act of the Virginia Assembly.