Green Street Looking East

Catholic Church

Squires Family Photos

Philip and Sarah Jane (Ridge) Squires & Family

--Ancestry 2024.

William H. Johnson Accidental Death

--Roberts Herald.  19 June 1929.  Page 1.

 

--Paxton Record.  27 June 1929.  Page 3.

--Lyman Township Cemetery.

James Nagle Accidental Death

--Paxton Record.  15 September 1887.

Mr. Nagle is buried at Saint Patrick's Cemetery in rural Chatsworth, Illinois.  The following obit was copied from Find A Grave.

From the Chatsworth Plaindealer
JAMES NAGLE
SEPTEMBER 16, 1887
James Nagle, son of Mr. John Nagle, of Roberts, died at his home three miles from Roberts last Sunday night, Sept. 11, at ten o’clock. Last Friday, while hauling oats near his home, his team became frightened and, just when he had succeeded in getting them under control,
the wagon tongue broke, and, by the parses again starting, he was pulled from his seat and the wagon passed over his leg, completely crushing it from the knee to the ankle. Saturday the leg, from just above the knee, was amputated, but he was too feeble to withstand the shock, and died Sunday night.

Deceased was born near Suspension Bridge, in Niagara City, New York state, in February, 1857, and with his parents came to Illinois when but a small boy. When residing with his parents in Chatsworth, fourteen years ago, he, with his sister, who is now Mrs. O. E. Braddock, attended our public schools. Four years ago last February he was united in marriage to Addie Patterson, of Streator, who was a widow with one child. There were born to them two children, the oldest, a girl aged two years, and the youngest, a boy about 7 months of age.

His funeral occurred from St. Patrick’s church in this city to St. Patrick ’s cemetery, Rev. Hagen officiating, and and the remains were followed to the grave by a large number of sorrowing relatives and friends. His death at this time is particularly sad, as his aged father is dangerously ill at the home of his son-in-law, Mr. O. E. Braddock, southwest of town, and the news of his son’s sudden death was such a shock to him that it is feared he may be too weak and feeble to rally. The bereaved wife and other relatives have the sympathy of many friends in their great affliction.

Congregational Church History Part 2

THE HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND THE COMMUNITY OF ROBERTS, ILLINOIS

Written in 1953. Unknown author.

Part 2.

The town of Roberts organized and elected its first officers in 1872. Mr. A. M. Haling tried to get the site of the village to locate on his land, two miles northeast of the present village, naming the village "Besset." But the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Rail Road, a branch then of the Illinois Central Rail Road, erected their depot on the site of the Roberts farm in 1871. The railroad was to have side tracks for loading livestock, hay and whatever you wanted to haul away by rail. There were to be three side tracks in this immediate area. The first side track was built where the present village of Thawville is; the second side track was built at a place which is now known as Beset Grove; and the third side track was built about a mile southeast of the present village of Roberts near what is today Mr. Ernest Wright's farm. These side tracks were to be named A set, B set, and C set. A few buildings were erected at the place called B set. But when the railroad did go through, the town moved southeast of B set two miles. The village was called "Bungton" by many and Mr. A. M. Haling and friends called it "Plugtown," but the name was finally authorized as "Roberts." Besides a depot being erected on the Roberts farm another reason the village moved to its present site was that Dr. M. Cassingham was living on the Roberts farm. He was a valuable asset to this farm community and he doctored in Roberts and the surrounding area for nearly 30 years.

The town hall was erected in 1875 by the Roberts Dramatic Club. The hall was used for church, school, elections, political meetings, social gatherings, wrestling matches, and once and a while a "fistie bout took place within its walls."

In 1894 the whole south side of the main street burned down. Since the fire fighting equipment was very limited there was no way to stop the blaze after the frame building once caught fire. The only fire fighting equipment they had was the old bucket brigade. They had a hard time in keeping the stores on the north side of the street from burning. The fire was so hot on the south side of the street that several of the buildings on the north side caught fire but they were put out before much damage could be done. After the stores and business district of the town was formed again the rest of the village started to grow.

--to be continued.

Congregational Church History

THE HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND THE COMMUNITY OF ROBERTS, ILLINOIS

Written in 1953. Unknown author.

Part 1.

In the consideration of the history of the Congregational Church of Roberts, Illinois I think that it would be best to discuss the history or the Roberts community.

Roberts is a small village of slightly over 400 population located in Central Illinois, one-hundred miles south of Chicago on the the Illinois Central Rail Road and on highways # 54 and #115. It is in the center of Ford County and it looks to Paxton, Illinois as its county seat.

Ford County was the last county organized and settled in Illinois because until the 1870's and 1880's it was mostly swamp land. The county was organized in 1859. Lyman Township, in which Roberts is right in the center, was organized in 1867. By the 1860's the county and the people living therein realized that the swamps might be drained and that valuable farm land might be obtained. The project of draining the land began in the 1870's.

The large majority of immigrants that came to this developing land were German and many of them came directly from the homeland. During the 1870's and 1880's there was a large immigration to this country and many of them stopped here in the newly acquired farm land instead of moving on west. Other nationality groups that were noticeable were the English, Scotch, and Irish.

The large number of German immigrants were evident in the types of churches there were established in this newly settled community. There were within the early community a Zion German Evangelical Church, a Zion German Methodist Episcopal Church, a German Lutheran Church (now American Synod), and in the neighboring towns of Thawville, five miles away, and Buckley, eight miles away, a German Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod.) The other churches in the Roberts community are a Roman Catholic, Methodist and Congregational. In almost every community surrounding Roberts for 25 miles is a German Lutheran church, besides many of them having German Evangelical and German Methodist churches. The Zion German Methodist Episcopal church in Roberts disbanded and the sold their building to the people of the Roman Catholic faith in 1886. Most of the German Methodist people had moved out of the immediate community. The Zion German Evangelical Church, located southeast of the village five miles, disbanded in 1937 with most of the remaining members going to the Congregational Church of Roberts and to the Zion Methodist Church of Melvin.

--to be continued.