Date:
[unknown]
[unknown]
Location:
Belle Isle, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Surnames/tags:
Roberts Black
This page has been accessed 674 times.
The Photograph
John Thornton and Ann (Jemmie) Roberts and most of their family immigrated to the United States from Scotland in the late 19th century settling in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. In June 1902, their one child, Lena (Roberts) Hood, who remained in Scotland, visited her parents in Detroit. The family had a photograph taken during her visit.[1][2]
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| Roberts Family Photograph, Belle Isle, 1902
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Phemie (Roberts) MacDougall later recalled, "We went on the streetcar that day to have the picture taken at Belle Isle Park. It was a chore with all the children."[2] Belle Isle Park was a popular city park on an island in the Detroit River.
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| Grand Canal, Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan, 1898-1905
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The Detroit Journal published the picture of the Roberts Family with the caption: "John and Annie Roberts and their 56 descendants."[3] Copies of the photograph were distributed to family members.
John and Annie Roberts were seated near the center of the bottom row of adults.
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| John & Annie Roberts
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Lena, their daughter visiting from Scotland, was seated next to them, in the center of the row.
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| Lena (Roberts) Hood
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Five of their six children who were living in 1902 appear in the photograph - some with their spouses.
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- John Ferrier Roberts was not in the picture.
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| John & Annie and Children
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The Photograph Label
A page identifying the people accompanied the photograph.[4]
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| Label for Roberts Family Photograph
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Roberts Family Vignettes
| picture | people | vignette
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| George & Lena (Black) Meyer and August & Mary (Roberts) Meyer
| Lena Black married George Alvin Meyer. Lena's cousin, Mary Helen Roberts, married George's twin brother, Augustus Alfred Meyer. They look quite similar in the photograph.
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| Maggie Black
| Maggie Black is standing in front of William Webber in the photograph. They married later that summer - 28 Aug 1902 - just across the river in Canada. Seven years later Maggie got a divorce due to "desertion"[5] and later married John S. Lewin.[6]
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| Belle Roberts & Arthur Capper
| Arthur S Capper married Belle Roberts (in the row above him) in 1903 - the year after the picture was taken.
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| John Cornelius Roberts
| At the start of World War I, before the United States was involved, John Cornelius Roberts went across the river to Canada and signed up for the Canadian military. He claimed he had been born in Scotland in order to sign up. In actuality his older sister was born in Scotland, but John was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. He died 7 months later in Belgium.[7]
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| Willie Millor
| William Millor, who is the child on his great-grandmother Annie's lap, became a Jesuit priest and served as the President of the University of Detroit from 1944 to 1949.[8]
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50+ Years After the Photo
Sometime in the late 1950s, Lena (Roberts) Hood's daughter Charlotte A. (Hood) Milne wrote from her home in Scotland to the Detroit News trying to locate family relatives that were in that photograph. She mentioned the picture was taken during her mother's visit and said she corresponded with cousins until 1914, but lost touch. She asked "anyone knowing of the family to write her at 6 Tulloch Crescent, Dundee, Angus, Scotland."[3]
Phemie (Roberts) MacDougall saw the article and reconnected with her cousin. A follow-up article interviewed Phemie and her sister, Violet (Roberts) High, both widowed and living together. A photograph was taken of the two women pointing to themselves in the family photograph.[2]
Descendants
Descendants of John Thornton & Annie (Jemmie) Roberts in June 1902 with ages
- John Thornton Roberts 82 m. Ann (Jemmie) Roberts 76
- [1] Margaret (Roberts) Black 53 m. Charles Black 54
- James Robert Black 34 m. Carrie Louise (Elkins) Black 32
- Eva Roberta Black 2
- John Black 30 m. Orpha Georgina (Claydon) Black 30
- Lena Belle Black 7
- Charles Woodward Black 5
- Lena (Black) Meyer 28 m. George Alvin Meyer 37
- Orpha G Meyer 7
- John Alvin Meyer 5
- Grace E Meyer 3
- Mildred M Meyer 5-months
- Thomas William Black 26 m. Maud Mary (Hutt) Black 29
- Robert C Black 3 [not in photo]
- Charles Edward Black 24 [not in photo - in Spokane, Washington]
- Esther Catherine (Black) Schneppe 23 m. Paul Schneppe 22 [not in photo]
- Margaret Helen "Gretchen" Schneppe 2
- Otto Schneppe [labeled in photo, can’t find sources for Otto]
- Ernest "Arthur" Schneppe 4-months
- Margaret “Maggie” Black 21, soon to marry William H Webber 19
- Lyla Black 18
- Walter Hendry Black 13
- Orpha Virginia Black 9
- [2] James Crabb Roberts 52 m. Margaret (Boyle) Roberts 50
- Annie Jamie (Roberts) McKechnie 31 m. John Finlayson McKechnie 32 [both not in photo - in Massachusetts]
- John Douglas McKechnie 7-months [not in photo - in Massachusetts]
- John Cornelius Roberts 29
- James Roberts 26 [not in photo]
- William Roberts 24
- Mary Helen (Roberts) Meyer 22 m. Augustus Alfred "Gus" Meyer 37
- Laura B. Meyer 1 year, 0 month
- Laura Belle Roberts 19
- Charles Richard Roberts 14
- [3] John Ferrier Roberts 50 [not in photo] m. Charlotte (McDonald) Roberts 50 [might be in photo]
- [4] Andrew Roberts 47 (widowed twice) m. Agnes (Concannon) Roberts 38 [might be in photo]
- children of Andrew and Mary Ann (Thow) Roberts (deceased)
- Maggie (Roberts) Millor 28 m. Robert J Millor 32 [might be in photo]
- William “Willie” Millor 3
- Viola Millor 20 months
- baby Millor [labeled in photo, can’t find details]
- Andrew Roberts 26 [not in photo]
- children of Andrew and Isabella (Ironside) Roberts (deceased)
- Alexander Emery Roberts 25 m. Williamina (McRobbie) Roberts 25 [both not in photo]
- John Emery Roberts 7 months [not in photo]
- Isabelle "Bella" Roberts 22 (m. 1903) Arthur Sidney Capper 24
- [5] Alexander Nichol Roberts 43 (widowed) m. Clara (Wagnitz) Roberts 32
- children of Alexander and Maria (Gould) Roberts (deceased)
- Euphemie Ann "Phemie" (Roberts) MacDougall 22 m. Daniel "Jack" MacDougall 35
- Phemie MacDougall 4
- Margaret MacDougall 2, died 10 Nov 1902
- Lillian Grace MacDougall 1 year, died 18 Nov 1902
- Violet Roberts 21
- Mabel Blanche Roberts 18 [not in photo]
- Alexander Nichol Roberts Jr. 17 [not in photo]
- children of Alexander and Clara
- Martha Roberts 9 [not in photo]
- Norman Frederick Roberts 6 [not in photo]
- Marion B Roberts 3 [not in photo]
- [6] Lena (Roberts) Hood 42 m. James Andrew Hood 44 [not in photo - in Scotland]
- George Hood 22 [not in photo - in Scotland]
- Charlotte A. Hood 19 [not in photo - in Scotland]
- Lena Hood 15 [not in photo - in Scotland]
- Mary Ellenor Hood 13 [not in photo - in Scotland]
- James Minto Hood 11 [not in photo - in Scotland]
- John Thornton Hood 9 [not in photo - in Scotland]
- Gertrude Victoria Hood 4 [not in photo - in Scotland]
Research Notes
Dating the Photograph
The photo must have been taken AFTER the birth of Mildred Meyer (1 Jan 1902) and BEFORE the death of Margaret MacDougall (10 Nov 1902), as both appear in the photo. Charlotte A. Milne said that the picture was taken when her mother, Lena (Roberts) Hood, was visiting her parents - Jun 1902.[3]
Author & Date for the Photograph Label
It is unclear who authored the label. The notes "Grandpa" and "Grandma" above Charles and Margaret Black and "Grandma Black's brother" indicate it was written by one of their grandchildren. Yet the note saying "Grandpa James Robert's sister" indicates it was written by a grandchild of James Roberts - possibly Charles Meyer who had the picture and labeled page.
It was started no earlier than Sep 1909 since it uses Violet's married name and completed between 1944 when William Millor became president of the University of Detroit and the 1980s when the page was obtained.
Identifying People in the Photograph
The following are some notes on individuals that are not obvious from the picture label.
| picture | label | identifying the picture
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| Jack Roberts | This could be John Cornelius Roberts age 29 or his uncle John Roberts age 50.
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| ? | This could be Robert J Millor age 32. He resembles a photograph posted on Ancestry.com by a descendant.[9] Another possibility is Paul Schneppe age 22.
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| Charlotte Black | There is no known Charlotte Black in the family, but there is a Charlotte (McDonald) Roberts age 50.
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| ?Grandma Black's sister & brother-in-law? | This is not Grandma (Margaret) Black's sister as her only living sister, Lena, is labeled in the picture. It is likely to be her brother Alexander Nichol Roberts age 43 and his wife Clara (Wagnitz) Roberts age 32. The picture resembles images on Ancestry.com.[10][11]
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| ?
A Millor Girl | It is unclear for sure who the woman is, but since she is seated next to Maggie Millor and holding "a Millor girl," she may be Maggie's step-mother Agnes (Concannon) Roberts age 38.
It is unclear who the baby is labeled "A Millor Girl." No sources have been found yet confirming another Millor child.
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| Otto Schneppe | No sources have been found yet for Otto Schneppe.
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This picture identifies the family based on the labeled page and the notes above. Corrections are welcome.
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| Roberts Family Photo - Labeled
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Sources
- ↑ Roberts Family Photograph. Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. June 1902.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Old Picture Brings Family Ties to Life," The Detroit News, Detroit Michigan, date unknown.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Town Talk," The Detroit News, Detroit Michigan, date unknown.
- ↑ Page Identifying People in Roberts Family Photograph, authors unknown, date unknown.
- ↑
Divorce:
"Michigan, U.S., Divorce Records, 1897-1952"
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Michigan. Divorce records
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 9092 #446681 (accessed 18 July 2022)
Margaret B Webber divorce.
- ↑
Marriage:
"Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952"
Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 101; Film Description: 1909 Wayne-1910 Emmet
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 9093 #3314933 (accessed 18 July 2022)
Margaret Black Webber (29) marriage to John S Lewin on 14 Oct 1909 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- ↑ Canadian Military Personnel File, Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; CEF Personnel Files; Reference: RG 150; Volume: Box 8338 - 34. (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=610341 ).
- ↑ World Biographical Encyclopedia, William James Millor," https://prabook.com/web/william_james.millor/1099230, accessed 18 Jul 2022.
- ↑ Image: Ancestry.com family tree image. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/9336377/person/-798395848/media/8b94e8cd-7177-4d2b-aca7-c9ebd8ffd2dc (accessed 11 Feb 2024) shared by Linda Durden Chance 21 Jun 2009, .
Robert Millor - "My Great Grandfather."
- ↑
Image: Ancestry.com family tree image.
https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/179966513/person/352406785329/media/4b600e9e-f5bf-4702-913d-0a010abf89fc (accessed 11 Feb 2024) shared by Traice Smallwood 1 Sep 2013.
Alexander Nichol Roberts.
- ↑ Image: Ancestry.com family tree image.
https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/179966513/person/352536758958/media/05d24460-7370-472b-af88-8ff45290444a (accessed 11 Feb 2024) shared by tsmallwood2004 2 Jan 2007.
Clara Catherine Wagnitz Roberts.
