This gentleman occupies a prominent position in connection with the pioneer element of Jo Daviess County, to which he came when Elizabeth village, his present residence, was unmarked except by a few rude dwellings. A native of Cumberland County, Ky., he was born on the 27th of May, 1814, and is the son of William and Elizabeth (Cox) Roberts, the former a native of South Carolina, as was also the latter.

The father of our subject was reared to man’s estate in his native county, whence he emigrated to Cumberland County, Ky., where he was one of the earliest pioneers. He purchased several hundred acres of land along with Cumberland River in 1809, or 1810, long before a steamboat was thought of. He carried on farming and stock-raising, when he was obliged to float his produce down the river on flat-boats to New Orleans. He was for a period of thirty years a pilot on the Cumberland River, running boats from his headquarters to the Crescent City. He succeeded in accumulating a handsome little fortune. Toward the latter part of his life he was seized with that dread disease consumption. Instead of making a will, he called his favorite son, William, to his bedside and solemnly charged him to assume the management of the farm and the business of the estate, to care for his mother and the smaller children.

A few weeks after the death of the father, this son fell in with a lot of evil companions, began horse-racing and all sorts of dissipation. The result was that in a comparatively short time there was not a movable article on the farm which could be converted into money that was spared. After a time he disappeared, and was not heard from for seven years. In the meanwhile the mother died, and there being difficulty in selling the place, an elder brother moved upon it, and he also died. Thus the mismanagement went on from year to year until after the war, and then Absalom, our subject, went home to see what he could do in order to save the property. The court-house had been burned with all their records, consequently he could bring no evidence to prove ownership, and thus the property, like many other estates, went to the dogs. William Roberts departed this life in 1828.

After the death of his mother, Absalom Roberts struck out for himself, starting on foot for Illinois, with his earthly possessions tied up in a handkerchief. After a journey of some 400 miles, he halted in Morgan County, arriving there about three weeks and two days from the time he started on his journey. In the meantime, in Montgomery County, he was locked up by the town authorities, on suspicion of being a runaway boy, but was finally released, probably as much for the reason that they were tired of feeding him, as anything else.

Our hero sojourned one year in Morgan County, Ill., employing himself at whatever he could find to do, and from there went to Madison County, where he was engaged for the following eight years as a farm laborer. In 1832 he enlisted in the Illinois State Militia, which was being sent out with the view of operating against the celebrated Indian Chieftain, Black Hawk. Young Roberts participated in several regular engagements and various skirmishes. He had been assigned to the 1st Regiment, under the command of Col. John Thomas. From Rock Island they followed up the enemy to Wisconsin, where the war was terminated by the decisive battle of Bad Axe, in which the Indians were defeated. In the meantime Mr. Roberts had been transferred to the command of Gen. Henry, and was in the midst of the heavy slaughter which occurred on both sides with proportionate loss. Apple River Fort, near Elizabeth, in Woodbine Township, this county, was attacked by Black Hawk and a band of seventy warriors. This point had been during the entire war valiantly defended by twenty-five of the old settlers with their flint-lock muskets. Numbers of women and children were in the fort, having flocked there for protection against the Indians. The fort could easily have been captured, had Black Hawk known the true state of affairs. He believed the whole regiment to be within it, and consequently retired. The only survivors of that thrilling time are supposed to be Mrs. Hitt, of Woodbine Township, and Mrs. Morris, of Elizabeth Township.

After the struggle ended, Mr. Roberts returned to Madison County, Ill., where he remained a short time, and was married in November, 1835, to Mrs. Margaret Sewell, nee Armstrong. They spent the first few months of their wedded life in Morgan County, and in 1836 our subject came to this county and settled on land lying along Small Pox Creek, where he remained two years. Thence he removed to Derinda Township, where he took up a Government claim of 160 acres, upon which not a furrow had been turned, and at a time when the country was thinly settled. The experience of the next three years was similar to that of hundreds of others who endured all the privations and hardships of life in a new country, with the disadvantages of a distant market, very few conveniences, and none of the luxuries of life. Mr. Roberts, however, set in due time began to find himself on solid ground. Upon the farm which he thus built up from the wilderness he lived a period of forty years. He accumulated a competency, and in 1881 wisely retired from active labor, taking up his residence in the village where he is now spending his declining years amid the quiet and comforts of a pleasant home, and surrounded by friends.

Of the first marriage of our subject there were born four sons, namely: Thomas, John, George W., and James M. The three eldest laid down their lives as a sacrifice to the Union cause, and their remains fill soldiers’ graves in the South; James M. died in infancy. The mother of these died at the homestead in Derinda Township, in 1847. Mr. Roberts contracted a second marriage in 1851, with Mrs. Mary A. Shodburn, and of this union there were born five children, only two of whom are living, namely: Celinda, the wife of William H. Curtis, of Kansas, and Alfred, who is engaged in farming in Iowa. The deceased children were named, respectively: Elizabeth, Charles, and Marilda. Mrs. Mary A. Roberts died in 1872.

The third marriage of our subject was celebrated in January, 1883, with Mrs. Rosanna Newkirk, widow of the late David Newkirk, of this county, and daughter of John and Catherine E. (Berry) Smith. The latter were natives of St. Louis, Mo., where they were married, and whence they emigrated to Grant County, Wis., in 1834, being among its earliest settlers. There the father died. Mrs. Roberts was born in 1833. Her parents moved the following year to Wisconsin, where she was reared to womanhood, and was first married to David Newkirk, by whom she became the mother of eight children, two deceased. The eldest of these, a daughter, Rosetta M., is the wife of Samuel Wilcox, of Elizabeth; Jennie married John Cook, and they live in this county; Monroe E. is a resident of California; James C. makes his home with his mother; Julia L. died when twenty-seven years old; William D., a promising young man, was drowned in Apple River, near Hanover, Ill., while trying to ford the river in a buggy with a young lady, Miss Nellie Tuttle, who met the same fate. Mr. and Mrs. Newkirk came to this county in 1873. He was born Jan. 18, 1829, and died Feb. 28, 1880. He was a member in good standing of the Congregational Church.

Mr. Roberts has watched the growth and development of Northern Illinois with unabated interest since taking up his residence here, and during his younger years was quite prominent in local affairs, serving as Constable and Deputy Sheriff four years each, and occupying other positions of trust and responsibility. For the past fifty-one years he has been connected with the Free Will Baptist Church, twenty of which he has served as Deacon. He cast his first Presidential vote in 1840 for “Old Tippecanoe.” Upon the organization of the Republican party, he cordially endorsed its principles, and has since been one of its warmest supporters. It is hardly necessary to say that he voted for Benjamin Harrison in 1888, with much of the enthusiasm with which he supported his grandsire, nearly fifty years ago.

A self-made man, Mr. Roberts, as we have seen, started out in life dependent upon his own resources, with a limited education, and little to encourage him in his battle with the world. His career is an admirable illustration of the results of perseverance, energy, integrity and sobriety. He has been fairly successful financially, and enjoys a large measure of the content which brings happiness. He is considered excellent authority on matters pertaining to the Black Hawk War, and has contributed some valuable article to the press, giving his experiences during that time.

The maternal ancestors of the present Mrs. Roberts owned at an early day a large portion of the present site of St. Louis, Mo., which then comprised an extensive farm, worked by slaves. Her grandfather on her mother’s side operated a powder-mill on this farm. His wife was a lady of considerable culture, being able to converse fluently in three different languages. The paternal grandfather was also highly educated, and at the time of his death was Cashier of the St. Louis Bank. Two brothers of Mrs. Roberts, John and James, participated in the late Civil War, the former serving as a Lieutenant, and each spending three years in the defense of their country.

Contributed by Carol Parrish - Portrait and Biographical Album of Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois (1889)