Francis Marion RobertsBorn: 31 Dec 1835 on Mine Lick Creek, White or Jackson County (Now Putnam County) Tennessee Died: 16 Jan 1912, Putnam County, Tennessee Company I, 5th Tennessee Cavalry, USA 24 Nov 1862-14 Aug 1865 Francis Marion was the son of Joseph Roberts and Rachel Carter. He married Sarah Elizabeth Richardson daughter of William Heizer Richardson and Sarah Goslin. They had ten children between 1854 and 1874. He also had three children with Sarah "Sally" McCullough between 1871 and 1877. Marion and Sally did not marry. He also had three children with Amanda C. Martin between 1873 and 1881. Marion and Amanda did not marry. NAME SAKE OF ROBERTS SWITCH: When the railroad came through in the 1890s a "switch" and side-rail was put in as it passed through land owned by Francis Marion. This allowed the local residents to bring their products there to be loaded on the railroad cars. These were mostly cross ties and acid wood. Over time, since Francis Marion owned the land around the "switch", it became known as Roberts Switch. In court record of 1905 it was referenced with the name of Roberts Switch, thus it had acquired that name by at least 1905 or earlier. Court testimony also notes meeting someone down by Roberts' steam mill. So, evidently Francis Marion had his steam mill in operation by 1905 as well. He also operated a saw-mill and general store there through the years. The saw-mill was in operation by 1898. As for his Civil War service, nothing remarkable is noted in either his service papers or his invalid pension documents. Like much of the 5th Tennessee Cavalry, he pretty much came and went as he pleased. Several instances of unapproved absencies from the unit were recorded. In each case, he seemed to be forgiven and was usually labeled as "returned from capture". However, for some reason, no POW documentation is available. He is buried in the Joseph Roberts Family Cemetery on Mine Lick Creek on land that has been in the family since Joseph moved here from North Carolina in about 1815.
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