I assume this is a wedding photo - or one taken early in the marriage anyway.
1849-after 1932
(West) Virginia - Illinois - Nebraska - Kansas? - California
Most of the pictures of Harriet that we have are of her as an old lady, and she just looks like an old lady. I don’t remember Dad ever saying anything about her - she might have seemed like just an old lady to him - so there are no family memories of her now available.
She was born in Marshall County, Virginia, in what is now the panhandle of West Virginia, on April 8, 1849. Her father was Francis Helm or Helms (she seems to have used them interchangeably), her mother Nancy Unknown. At the time of the 1850 census, they had three children, Harriet the youngest.
1850 Virginia Marshall 33rd? District - p. 252
Francis Helms 26 m farmer Oo? (It could be Va, but looks mor like an O
Nancy 27 f Oo (ditto)
George B 6 m Va
Anne M 4f Va
Harriet L 1 f Va (the L looks like an S)
By 1860 they had moved, with a nice symmetry, to Marshall County, Illinois - although her youngest sister was born in Iowa, so there must have been a jog there first. Sister Mary was born in about 1857, so the move must have been before then.
1860 Illinois Marshall Roberts Town Wenona PO - p. 280-281
John Boys m 36 farmer Penn
Francis Helen (that is what it looks like) m 35 laborer Va
(next p.) Nancy Helms 38 f Ohio
Geo (looks like Isea) 16 m Va
Maria 14 f “
Harriet 11 f “
Reuben 9 m “
Mary 3 f Iowa
In 1867, she married James M Roberts. This might have been quite a social coup - the Robertses were first-comers in Marshall County (Roberts Township is named for them), and were fairly prosperous. But James had served in the Civil War (Co B, 77 Ill Inf Vol), and in his pension application he claimed a bad back, resulting from a fall during the “memorable” charge at Vicksburg, and chronic diarrhea. He claimed he was unable to work. In 1870, he listed his occupation as farmer; in 1880 as laborer - which would seem to me to be a drop in social status - so who knows how much of a coup it was. And anyway, James was an orphan, only a nephew and cousin to the big Robertses.
They were married at Roberts Point.
Marshall Co. County Clerk's Office (someone looked this up for me)
Marriage of. . . Roberts, James M to Helm, Harriet M.
on 29 Sep 1867 by A.R. Morgan of Illinois Central Conference
(Reverend Riley Morgan)
I assume this is a wedding photo - or one taken early in the marriage anyway.
They set up housekeeping in Lacon (still in Roberts Township):
1870 Illinois Marshall Roberts Lacon PO - 13 Aug 1870 - p. 429
13-15 Roberts, James 30 m w farmer 450 Ill
Dicie 23 f w keeping house Va
They had 4 children:
Estella May (our great grandmother) b. 10 April 1874
Bernard b. 10 February 1876
Edna b. ~Apr 1879
Ruby b. 16 Sept 1882
They were in a different location (but still in Marshall County) in 1880:
1880 - Marshall Co Ill - Belle Plain Twp.
Roberts, James 40 b Ill Ky Ky laborer
Lodice 30 b. Va Oh Oh keeping house
Stella 6 b. Il Il Va
Bernard 4 b. Il
Edna 1 b. Il
Helm, Mary wf 23 boarder Iowa Oh Oh
Foster, James 24 farmer Il Oh Oh
Mary Helm was Harriet’s youngest sister. Their mother had died, and their father remarried in 1869, although I don’t know if that had anything to do with her being in the household.
Baby Edna died in 1881:
1881 September 8, 1881 (from the Henry Republican)
Vital Statisics - Died
July 30, Edna Roberts, 2 years, 3 months old, at La Rose. Reported by Dr. L. J. Sherwood
from the totally wonderful Piper's Pages site http://www.piperspages.com/Marshall/VitalDeaths.html
Ruby was born in 1882, and some time after that the family moved to Nebraska. And some time after that, James and Harriet got divorced. It may have been the other way around - they may have gotten divorced and then moved separately to Nebraska, but. In his pension papers, James says they got divorced in about 1885 (actually he says about 12 years ago on a paper dated 1897) at Ord, Nebraska. Harriet says the date was 1887. Then she remarried in 1889 - in Geneva, Nebraska - so it makes sense for them to have been in Nebraska all that time. Although sense does not necessarily count.
At any rate, Harriet remarried. On November 10, 1889, she married John M Roberts in Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska.
-Robe.jpg)
Harriet's second husband, John M Roberts
That seems a little strange, doesn’t it? She not only married a second Roberts, but one with the same initials! However, it seems (and I stress seems) that they were not (closely at least) related. John seems to have been born in Indiana.
In 1891, her daughter Stella married James A Bothwell - Stella was at that time a resident of Tobias, which was just over the county line from Fillmore County, in Saline County. And in 1900, Stella was in Thayer County, which is immediately south of Fillmore - and her father was living with her. Son Bernard, who had married in 1897, was also living in Thayer at that time, but his 9-month-old child had been born in Kansas, so he had apparently just moved.
In 1900, Harriet, John, and young Ruby were living in Gage County, Nebraska, which is two counties east of Thayer.
1900 Nebraska, Gage, Lincoln Twp - SD4, ED46, Sheet 9b - taken 21 June - line 72
Roberts, John M head wm Oct 1851 48 m11 Ind Ind Ind carpenter
Harriet L wife wf Apr 1850 50 m11 Va Oh Oh
Ruby E step daughter wf Sep 1882 17s Il Il Va
In 1907, James and Stella Bothwell moved further west, to Oregon and eventually (by 1910) to California - and Harriet eventually ended up there as well, although I am not sure where she was between 1900 and 1920. For the 1910 census, son Bernard was in Sabetha, Kansas, which is just over the state line from Nebraska - and a little further east than either Thayer or Gage. I have an envelope (Aunt Dorothy had put some pictures in it) addressed to Harriet in Los Angeles, with a return address of The National Bank of Sabetha (unfortunately I can’t read the postmark date) - so apparently she lived there - or close enough to bank there - at one time.
James died in 1906. He was at that time living in the Soldiers and Sailors Home in Quincy, Illinois.
I don’t know where Harriet was in 1910. Stella was in Los Angeles, Bernard was in Kansas. John was possibly in Nebraska, possibly in Kansas - but in each case, he was not with Harriet.
1910 Nebraska, Perkins, Liberty Pct - SD5, ED170, Sheet 4b - taken 21 April - line 58
Logan Ave 90-90 Roberts, John M mw55 m21 Ind Ind Ind carpenter
Bridgewater, Frank hired man mw71
also
1910 Kansas Cowley 2nd wd. Winfield ED 70 (3060) - l 97 1420 261-270
Reed Mrs Dana head fw 73 wd MI NJ NJ
Roberts, John nephew mw 57s Ind Ind Mi house carpenter
(Perkins County, Nebraska is all the way over to where the panhandle starts - it’s the first county below the panhandle. Cowley County, Kansas is right on the border with Oklahoma, so???)
John died in 1919 (October 15) in Topeka, Kansas. (Bernard lived in Topeka for the 1920 and 1930 censuses at least.) Harriet was in Los Angeles for the 1920 and 1930 censuses.
1920 California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, pct 431 - SD8, ED181, Sheet 17b -14th-15th Jan
following names entered by government clerk
901 somethingwood Blvd 37-257
Roberts, Harriet L head r fw70 w WV Oh Oh
Fowler, Ruby daughter fw37d Il Il WV
Estella granddaughter fw15s Neb Mi Il
1930 California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Glendale dist 987 - SD15, ED19-987,
Sheet 10b - taken April 10 - line 81
Roberts, Harriet L head r 12.50 fw81es WV Oh Va
(Ruby, by the way, was living with her married daughter Estelle - AND Ruby’s husband was also with them, although he and Ruby had been divorced in 1920.)
I don’t know when Harriet died. The last record I have for her is a second application for pension (as a Civil War widow) dated 6 April 1932.
Application #1
Declaration for remarried widow’s pension . . .
State of California County of Los Angeles
On this 7th day of June, 1924, personally appeared before me, a Notary Public with and for the County and State aforesaid Harriet L. Helm who, being duly sworn by me according to law, declared that she is 75 years of age, and that she was born April 8th, 1849 at Marshall County, Virginia.
That she was formerly the widow of James M. Roberts, who enlisted August 9th, 1862 at Magnolia, Illinois under the name of James M. Roberts as a private in Illinois Infantry and was honorably discharged July 10th 1865, having served therein during the Civil War.
That he also served none
That otherwise than as herein stated said soldier (or sailor) was not employed in the United States service.
That she was married to said soldier (or sailor) September 20th, 1867, under the name of Harriet L. Helm, at Marshall County, Illinois by Rev. Riley Morgan; that she had not been previously married; that he had not been previously married ....
That said soldier (or sailor) died February 14th, 1906 at Quincey, Illinois and that she was (yes) divorced from him.
That she was not formerly pensioned as the widow of said soldier . . .
That her pension or right to pension terminated because of her marriage to John M. Roberts
that he died October 15th, 1919 at Topeka, Kansas . . .
That he did not serve in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps . . .
That she did . . . marry again after the death of the soldier (or sailor) except to ... named above. John M Roberts November 10th, 1889, at Geneva Nebraska.
That she makes this declaration for the purpose of being placed on the pension roll of the United States, as a remarried widow, under the Second Section of the Act of Congress approved September 8, 1916 Act of May 1, 1920
Ella Stickel Harriet L Roberts
3910 Walton Ave Los Angeles Cal 3910 Walton Ave
Ama E Ayers Los Angeles, Calif
3910 Walton Ave Los Angeles Calif
(Witnesses)
Subscribed and sworn . . . 7th June 1924
Application #2
Declaration of Widows’s Pension (Civil War)
State of California, County of Los Angeles, ss:
On this 6 day of April, 1932 before me, the undersigned . . .
That she is 82 years of age, that she was born the eighth day of April 1849 at Marshall County, Virginia.
That she is the widow of James M Roberts
enlisted ninth day of August 1862 under the name of James M Roberts in company b 77th Illinois Infantry
discharged on the 10th day of July 1865, having served 90 days or more . . .
died 14 February 1906 at Quincy, Illinois
That she was married . . . September 1867 under the name of Hariet L Helms at Marshall County, Illinois by Rev Riley Morgan . . .
She was divorced 1887. Married again 1904 crossed out 1909.
....... earlier claims “forgotten”
Estella M Bothwell Harriet L Roberts
5115 Meridian St Los Angeles Cal 118 ½ N Adams St
MJ Blora ???? Glendale California
1023 N Olive Burbank
(witnesses)
And that's all I have. Except for these photos-
A fairly formidable woman, no?
To James Roberts Page
To Children of Harriet and James
To next ancestor, Stella Roberts Bothwell
(Back) to father Francis Helms Page
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Questions, comments, additions, corrections? Contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
Page last updated 27 March 2006