Samuel Bart Roberts (1843 - 1898)

Born 6 Feb 1843 in Brighton, South Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Frances Elizabeth (Baker) Roberts — married 20 Apr 1876 in Sunbury, South Australia

Died 21 Mar 1898 at age 55 in Areegra, Victoria

Problems/Questions Profile manager: M Roberts [send private message]

Biography

Samuel Roberts was born in the Colony of South Australia (1836-1900)

Samuel Bart Roberts was born in the seaside township of Brighton, in the British Colony of South Australia, on 6 Feb 1843. He was the eldest son of William Roberts and Caroline Linch. He was christened along with his younger sister Fanny and brother Bill, at the Trinity Church, in the colonial capital of Adelaide, on 3 Jul 1845 ^[1]. His mother and siblings appear to have made their home at Brighton, while their father initially worked as a publican in various hotels around Adelaide, later also managing the newly established Brighton Inn in the early 1850s. The family then briefly moved inland to Marion-on-Sturt, where their father had purchased land. When Sam was around 17 years old, in about 1860, the family moved again, to a more remote property, along the rugged banks of the Onkaparinga River, near Morphett Vale. In his youth, Sam's small stature allowed him to ride as a jockey on his father's racehorses. His mother drowned in the river near their home, in 1869, although Sam may not have been still living there by that time.^[2]

As young men Sam Roberts and his friend Ted Baker (his future brother-in-law), and their numerous brothers, often traveled north shearing together. They also appear to have worked together around the colony building railway and telegraph lines. After a time, both Sam and Ted Baker decided to try their hand at farming, taking up selections a few miles east of Yorketown, on the southern Yorke Peninsula. Sam took up the lease on an original 226 acre block, Section 19 in the Hundred of Dalrymple, between Oaklands and Wool Bay, for £226, on 20 Jan 1873. A few days later on 27 Jan 1873 another future brother-in-law, Jack Baker, also took up an adjacent 297 acre block at Section 15. On 29 Dec 1874, Sam also acquired Section 94, which was located on the coast north of Wool Bay, a short distance from his original selection. ^[3][4]

Sam married Ted and Jack's sister, Fanny Baker, on 20 Apr 1876, at the Sunbury Wesleyan Chapel, which was located a few miles west of Yorketown. They were married by the Rev. Thomas M. Rowe. They were both described as residents of Oaklands. After marrying, they settled and raised their family on Sam's property at Oaklands. They had six children; Bart (b.1877), Alf (b.1879), Art (b.1880), Em (b.1882), Harry (b.1884), and Tom (b.1885), who were all born at Oaklands. ^[5][6][7]

On 10 Jun 1882, Sam and Fanny also took into their care a young girl named Martha Chapman. Martha and her brother were deemed to be "neglected children" by colonial authorities and were removed from their father's care. Their father was a railway worker from Oaklands, whose wife had died some years before. Martha was separated from her brother and formally placed as a foster child with the Roberts family. She was reportedly 6 years old at the time, but birth records suggest she was probably about 8 years of age. Martha was enrolled at the Oaklands School in September 1882. The Roberts family were living on Section 23, the block adjacent to Section 19, at that time.

The Roberts family's original home at Oaklands was still standing and in good repair in the year 2000, with the original wash house, servants quarters, and cool room. The neighbouring Baker's house was a ruin, after having been used as a shearing shed. The houses were built close together in a circular arrangement around an open area, and apparently had shared sheds, water tanks, and toilet. The buildings were constructed from sandstone and limestone blocks, and the surrounding area has many miles of stone fences, a testimony to the rugged, rocky countryside the farmers were contending with there. ^[8]

On 8 Oct 1878, Sam assumed the lease on Section 25N, in the nearby Hundred of Moorowie. He relinquished the lease on this property on 15 May 1882 for reasons of "personal hardship". Sam's two youngest brothers, Bob and Bart, were both living at Moorowie in August 1883, when Bob was married. They may have been assisting Sam on his property there, as Sam's family were still living around Oaklands. ^[9][10][11]

On 30 May 1879, Samuel Bart Roberts was officially granted the title to Section 19 in the Hundred of Dalrymple. He was described as a labourer from Morphett Vale at that time, which seems surprising since it appears his family had been living locally around Oaklands for some years. He sold this property to Archibald Anderson, a farmer from Stansbury, on 9 Jan 1885. ^[12]

Sam purchased Sections 134-140 on 13 Jun 1882, which were a collection of small contiguous allotments on the outskirts of the Wool Bay township (which was then called Pickering). He then purchased the nearby Section 129 on 27 Feb 1883, which was located between his existing property and the newly acquired town lots. Mary Wardle’s account says the Roberts family lived 1½ miles from the Baker family's home on Section 15, which seems to conflict with her earlier claim that their two houses were in close proximity, however local school records do suggest that the Roberts household may have moved their place of residence around among their various Oaklands properties over the years.

Oaklands School records indicate that the Roberts family were living on Section 23, in 1886 and in 1890, when sons Bart and Alf were admitted to the school. When Arthur and Emily were enrolled in 1889, the school record indicates they were living on Section 182, in Dalrymple, a remote allotment centred around a salt lagoon, however it seems likely this is a mistake, and they were probably living on Section 128, on the opposite side of the Baker block, close to their town lots in Wool Bay. Those two children had been taking private tuition in Wool Bay before going to school. When son Bart re-enrolled in 1890, Sam was again residing on Section 23. Their son Bart was attending the Oaklands School continuously from 1886 to 1889, yet there is a land title for a couple of town lots (#6 and #91) in Wool Bay (Pickering), which were apparently purchased by a Francis Bart Roberts, labourer, of Wool Bay, in 1887. Bart would have been only ten years old at that time. This seems very odd. Maybe the land was indeed purchased in his name for some reason, or perhaps it should have been Samuel Bart Roberts (although Sam Roberts was a farmer from Oaklands, not a labourer from Wool Bay). Or maybe it could have been Sam's younger brother, Bart Roberts. The latter seems the most plausible, but it’s a strange anomaly.

Sam's brother, Bill Roberts, also appears to have enrolled his own son Sam at Oaklands School, in 1884, but he still gave his own place of residence as Morphett Vale. So it appears that young Sam might possibly have been staying with his Uncle and Aunt at Oaklands for a time after his mother had died in childbirth earlier that year.

The rough ground on the Yorke Peninsula made for difficult farming, and eventually Sam decided to join with a number of his siblings and their families who had decided to to leave South Australia and make the trek across to the Wimmera District of north-west Victoria, which was opening up to farming at that time and was subject to very favourable reports in the South Australian press. The hardy farmers from the Yorke Peninsula, who had grown accustomed to working difficult ground, were highly regarded in Victoria, and were able to prosper where fertile land could be had through hard work. In 1888, Sam travelled alone across to Yellangip, a farming district a few miles north of the Victorian regional center of Warracknabeal, where he bought 227 acres of uncleared mallee from the Kidman family. This turned out to be very difficult ground to clear. Sam's brother Tom came across to Victoria to help him out during this time, but the acreage was a bit too small to be viable. Tom himself seems to have taken up residence on another property nearby at Willenabrina, while Sam returned to South Australia. ^[13]

Around this time, on 20 May 1888, the decision was made to remove Martha Chapman from the care of the Roberts family on the grounds that their home had become "unsuitable". The reasons are not clear. On 15 Sept 1888, Martha was admitted to the Industrial School, a Reformatory School in Adelaide, and on 4 Oct 1888, she was released into the care of a family in Port Pirie, with the expectation that she could return around Christmas time, but she never returned, eventually settling around Port Pirie. Martha maintained very good and close relations with the Roberts family in later years, and fondly remembered her time with them. It seems likely the disruption in the Roberts household as they prepared to make their move to Victoria may have been a factor in her removal.

Curiously, Sam purchased Section 128, near Wool Bay, on 31 Aug 1888, transferring the title to Fanny on 4 Jan 1889, and the school records indicate the family was living on that new block during 1889, before moving back to Section 23 the following year. So there may have been some more significant disruption in their living conditions around that time than might be presumed from them simply preparing for their move. Noting that Sam's brother, Tom, had sold his own farm at Minlacowie on 21 Aug 1888, just a few days before Sam bought the new block at Wool Bay, it may be that the brothers were rearranging their property holdings to generate cash in order to finance their move. Tom's wife and family had already made their way to Victoria by this time.

On 7 Nov 1888, Sam sold Section 134, in Wool Bay, to Archibald Anderson

The Oaklands School records indicate that the Roberts children departed in 1890, destined for Victoria. Emily left school on 29 Jul 1890, while Art, Alf, and Bart, left a few weeks later, on 15 Aug 1890.

On 29 Aug 1890, Fanny sold Section 128 to Archibald Anderson, and the following day, on 30 Aug 1890, Sam sold the adjacent Section 129 to the same man.

Sam returned to Victoria with his son Bart and their horses in 1890. They put in their own crop at Yellangip, and stripped the land they were farming on shares with Tom at Willenabrina. They also began construction, that year, on a two-room house, with split pines and gable roof, for themselves at Yellangip.

In 1891 the family completed their move from the Yorke Peninsula. Samuel and his sons Bart and Alf traveled overland around the Gulf of St Vincent, bringing their wagon, horses, stripper, and a herd of cattle. They met son Arthur in Adelaide. He had traveled across the Gulf by boat with his mother and the younger children, who stayed with family at Brighton Beach for a few weeks, before resuming their journey. Sam and his three older sons continued overland from Adelaide, via Bordertown and Serviceton. They forded the Wimmera River at Antwerp, ending their arduous journey upon arrival at Jim Sprigg's farm at Brentwood. Fanny followed later with the smaller children, travelling by train along the new inter-colonial railway line to Dimboola. Henry Sprigg met them at the Dimboola station and conveyed them by horse and buggy to his home at Pepper's Plain, where he kept them for a week while the chimney was being finished on their new house at Yellangip. ^[14]

It appears that Sam loaned money to his brother Tom in 1891, to help him purchase the property they had been working on shares at Willenabrina. During the depression in 1893, Sam and Tom formally subdivided this allotment, with Sam acquiring the western half, and Tom retaining the eastern half which included his family's home. Tom's wife Kate regained the title of the western half of the allotment when Sam sold his leases at Yellangip and Willenabrina in 1896 to help finance the purchase of a new larger farm for his family.

In March 1896, Sam's son Bart purchased an established farm, from Jack Heenan, at Bangerang, in the nearby parish of Areegra. This farm was later acquired by George McLean, who kept it for may years, but by the early 2000s it was owned by Keith Liersh. The larger house at Areegra suited the family better; the boys had been sleeping in a stripper at Yellangip. They had a good year in 1896-97, so around the New Year in 1898 they leased some of their Areegra property to George Matters (the husband of Jane Sprigg) and bought two 640-acre blocks at Ballapur along the south side of the vermin-proof netting fence. Unfortunately Sam fell ill just before they were due to move into their almost-new six room home at Ballapur. ^[15]

Sam died at Areegra on 21 Mar 1898, at 55 years of age, after being in great pain for about three weeks. He was buried in section #570 at the Warracknabeal Cemetery. ^[16]

After Sam's death, Fanny decided she wished to stay on at Areegra. Sons Bart and Alf each took up one of the new Ballapur blocks, and all the brothers continued working together until around 1903, when the remaining debts were cleared. Fanny sold the farm to George McLean, in 1918, for £12/10s per acre. Fanny then retired into the town of Warracknabeal, where she lived with her son Harry. Her sister-in-law Nell Teichelmann, and Nell's daughter Retta, moved in with them to help out in the early 1920s. Fanny died in 1934, at the age of 87, and was buried with Sam in the Warracknabeal Cemetery. ^[17]

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism Records - Trinity Church, South Australia (Ancestry.com), 1845.
2. ↑ Wardle (2000), Part II, p.10
3. ↑ S.A. Government Gazette, 1873, p.209.
4. ↑ S.A. Government Gazette, 1874, p.1135.
5. ↑ Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950 (Ancestry.com)
6. ↑ 'Family Notices: ROBERTS-BAKER', The Adelaide Register (Trove.com), 18 May 1876, p.8
7. ↑ Wardle (2000), Part II, p.18
8. ↑ Wardle (2000), Part II, p.16
9. ↑ S.A. Government Gazette, 1878, vol. 2 p.1099.
10. ↑ S.A. Government Gazette, 1882, p.688.
11. ↑ S.A. Government Gazette, 1882, p.1604.
12. ↑ South Australian Land Grant Register Book, Vol. CCCIX, p.32.
13. ↑ Wardle (1977)
14. ↑ Wardle (1977)
15. ↑ Wardle (1977)
16. ↑ Wardle (1977)
17. ↑ Wardle (1977)

• General History: Thomas, Jan, South Australians 1836-1885, South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society, 1990.

• Family History: Wardle, Mary V., The Roberts-Baker Family 1809-1977, Warracknabeal Herald Print, 1977.

• Family History: Wardle, Mary V., A Walk Through the 20th Century, Xspot, Ballarat, 2000.

• Family History: Roberts, Perce, & Roberts, Marcus, The Roberts Family, Snap Print & Design, Geelong, 2000.

• Baptism: Australia, Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981
  Original data: Australia, Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013; FHL Film Number: 951872
  Ancestry Record 9776 #137884 (accessed 31 March 2024)
  Samuel Bart Roberts baptism, son of William Roberts & Caroline, in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

• Baptism: Baptism Records - Trinity Church, South Australia (Ancestry.com), Samuel Bart Roberts, 1845.

• Marriage: Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950
  Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950; Lehi, UT; Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950; Page number: 322; Volume Number: 107
  Ancestry Record 1780 #95227712 (accessed 31 March 2024)
  Samuel Bart Roberts marriage to Frances Elizabeth Baker on 20 Apr 1876 in Wesleyan Chapel, Sunbury, South Australia.

• Marriage: 'Family Notices: ROBERTS-BAKER', The Adelaide Register (Trove.com), Adelaide, 18 May 1876, p.8

• Property: South Australian Land Grant Register Book, Vol. CCCIX, p.32.

• SA Government Gazette: South Australian Government Gazette.

• Death Registration: Victoria, Australia, Death Index, 1840-1991
  The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia, Death Records; Reference Number: 5228
  Ancestry Record 61650 #53292 (accessed 31 March 2024)
  Saml Bart Roberts death 1898 in Victoria, Australia.

• Death: Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985
  Federation Index Victoria 1889-1901; Registration Number: 5228
  Ancestry Record 1779 #1369768 (accessed 31 March 2024)
  Saml Bart Roberts death about 1898 (age 55), child of Roberts Wm & Carol Lynch, in Warracknabeal, Victoria.

• Probate: Victoria, Australia, Wills and Probate Records, 1841-2009
  Public Record Office Victoria; North Melbourne, Victoria; Victorian Wills, Probate and Administration Records 1841-1925; Series: VPRS 7591
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61315 #549821 (accessed 31 March 2024)
  Samuel B Roberts probate on 23 Jul 1898. Died 21 Mar 1898 in Areegra. Occupation: Farmer.