Feb 2018 Story

MIGRATIONS OF OUR ROBERTS LINE FROM 1742 UNTIL APPROXIMATELY 1950s

Written By Angela Stout February 2018

We have been told that our fore-parents arrived in Charleston, SC from England in 1742.  Dark red line.

We are told that some remained in the Charleston area while others migrated to Florida, Georgia and on into Alabama, and up into North Carolina.  Our specific line migrated through York, South Carolina and into what is today Buncombe County, North Carolina.  Bold blue lines.

From Buncombe County, NC we have DNA proof that we further migrated into three directions.  One, William Bailey Roberts family went into Kentucky and was primarily in what is now Wayne County.  Another line, Israel Roberts, went down into Cherokee County, NC and on over into southeast Tennessee.  Our line, Joseph Roberts, left Buncombe County, picked up his wife in Greeneville, TN in 1814 and arrived on Mine Lick Creek sometime between 1814 and 1818.  Small blue lines.

Joseph’s family primarily hung around Mine Lick Creek for 1-2 generations.  But, beginning in the late 1800s they began moving.  The green lines document the most significant migrations.  The Mormon converts went to Utah.  Others went to Ada, Oklahoma primarily for cheap land.  Some went north for jobs in the automotive industry.  Some went to Florida to pick strawberries.  Others went where they went for all kinds of reasons.  We have major concentrations of Joseph descendants in Ada, Oklahoma; central Florida; Peru, Indiana; northeast Ohio; Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Midland, Michigan; southeast Missouri; and Utah.  We could have major reunions in those areas and have a good turn-out.

Since the major migrations from late 1800s into the 1950s, we have continued to move.  I think I could easily document that we are in every state of the union.  We currently have documented over 9000 Joseph Roberts descendants (that includes spouses).  Joseph the Israelite has nothing on our Joseph.