Do you know the parents of Eli Roberts?
Eli Roberts was the first Roberts to settle on the property that is currently referred to as the “old Roberts’ place” in Emanuel County, living on the same property from around 1820 until his death. Land surveys verified that Eli lived there. He was born about 1798. Within nine years, Eli owned almost 3,000 acres of land. bound by the Ogeechee River, Deep Creek and Little Long Creek.
About 1819, he married Delania Kent, daughter of Thomas Kent and Milly Daniel. Eli and Delania had nine children. Eli added to his family in 1836 through the adoption of orphans, Abetha and Sarah Hendley, who were daughters of William Hendley. William lived in Pulaski County, GA. It is not clear how the Hendley family is related to Eli.
Another person Eli cared for was a woman named Tabitha. It is not certain what the relationship was between Tabitha and Eli, but it is possible she was his mother. She lived with Eli until she was 70.
Eli is buried on his own property. The original Union Grove Methodist Church, built in 1880, was a small one-room wooden frame building with glass windows, built in the middle of a vacant field on land adjoining Daniel W. Roberts’ property, Eli’s son. A cemetery was built near the church. In less than 40 years, the congregation had grown and the need for a larger church was established. It was decided to move the church to a new location about a mile away. July 1918 a new building and cemetery were built. People started calling the cemetery where Eli is buried as Old Union Grove Cemetery. Unfortunately, this cemetery has not been maintained over the years, and Eli’s grave can no longer be identified.
Children of Eli Roberts and Delania Kent:
Sarah Sallie H. Roberts, b. bet. 1820 – 1838; d. February 28, 1919
Thomas Roberts, b. 1829
Elizabeth Roberts, b. 1834
John S. Roberts, b. 1842; d. 1865.
Adeline (Annie) Roberts, b. 1844; d. 1918
Daniel W. Roberts, b. June 15, 1848; d. September 21, 1909.
William Schley Roberts, b. August 15, 1850; d. September 15, 1889
Daniel W. “Webster” Roberts married Cassanne Hall between 1860 and 1870 in Emanuel County, the daughter of James J. Hall and Jane Spence. She was born 1851 in Emanuel County, and died 1925. Daniel died in 1909. He is also buried in the Old Union Grove Cemetery.
Children of Daniel Roberts and Cassanne Hall:
John Roberts, b. 1871
Mitchell Roberts, b. 1873; d. April 17, 1940.
Eli Whitney Roberts, b. March 15, 1872; d. April 17, 1940
James Roberts, b. 1876; d. December 30, 1924.
Benjamin Franklin Roberts, b. April 17, 1878; d. February 16, 1946
Lena/Arlene Roberts, b. May 14, 1880; d. April 08, 1967
Newitt D. Roberts, b. abt. 1884
Katherine Roberts, b. abt. 1884
There were several Roberts who have been documented as living in Georgia during the late 1700s to the early 1800s. The names most often located are John, James, and Isham Roberts. A positive connection of these early Roberts to Eli Roberts and his family has not been made.
If you have any information, please contact Jason Roberts at jasonrobertsossm@yahoo.com or Cathy Roberts Pierce at wvcathy@live.com.
