Photo courtesy of Polly Carmichael
This picture was one of several in one of the old family leather hinged albums which sat in the parlor in the Roberts’ Family Homestead built early 1800’s on Saco Street , in Westbrook, Maine. Had it not been for the marking on the back of the photograph, combined with information I found in William Roberts diaries dating from 1867-1913 and clues painted on some old handpainted portraits of children dating mid 1800’s, along with an old letter dated 1925…. I might never have known that I had relatives go to Australia in the 1830’s roughly.
This photograph could be a former Westbrook native, since the back is marked A. Wooley Studio, 42 MacQuarrie Street, Hobart, Australia, I am almost certain it could be William Roberts who was born in 1807 to William and Betsy Hatch Roberts, both buried in Saccarappa Cemetery in Westbrook, Maine. I had seen a mention of him in the 1820 census. After that, it was as if he disappeared. He ‘disappeared’ until I contacted my relative who still lives in the family homestead. She gave me a few items that I found extremely interesting. She also allowed me to copy all the family pictures in the albums.One item was a letter dated 1925 sent from Australia to cousin William Roberts, author of the diaries. This William would have been a nephew to the William in Australia. The letter was penned by a thirteen year old grandchild of a woman who was dictating the letter. The old woman who was dictating the letter was a Harriet and I could not read her last name ,as it looked like Gergison or Ferguson. A depiction of this Harriet is above in 1846 when she was only 6 months old. {Odd how her brother Charles is shown wearing a dress at age 3}
So the mystery unravels and I become obsessed with finding out who the letter is from especially since it never was read by the recipient as he had been dead for two years when it arrived. I believe the recipient’s daughter felt the letter was important enough so that it remained in the family papers until I was fortunate enough to have it given to me, along with two handpainted miniature paintings of children named Charles and Harriet Roberts. On the backs of these portraits were penned the birthdates and the dates the portraits were painted. I had seen those family names before but the dates did not match with the people I knew.
The diaries indicated that William had received letters on occasion from a cousin Harriet in Australia and along with his diary entry, he posted her address. Now I was not too familiar with what resources were available in Australia regarding genealogy, however I did find that there exists a resource called the Sands Index. This is a reverse directory in which you can look up an address to see who lived at a certain location in a certain year. The world wide web is a fascinating place as there are so many who will help you. I was very fortunate to find a librarian who answered one of my queries. I would also like to say that I have on many occasions taken photos for folks from around the world of cemetery pics and even looked things up for them. It is not uncommon that others will help you in your quest for information. The librarian told me the name was Gergison, not Ferguson and that the woman was listed as a dressmaker. This was a great find. After receiving this info, I immediately went to www.rootsweb.com and clicked on the message boards. I searched for the surname Gergison and found only one worldwide and it was in Australia. After sending a few queries, I told the person I may have something they would be interested in(Portraits and Letter) Finally after two months, I received a reply from a woman who said that her sister in law was the genealogist and she would forward her my name. A friendship began as the woman who was the genealogist had copies of many old birth records, in fact one matched the exact date on the back of the miniature portrait of the little boy named Charles Sefton Roberts born 1843. I have never been so excited to find this sort of information and to think a little detective work and the use of today’s technology, we were able to solve the mystery. The diaries also mentioned a visit in 1869 by a Charles S. Roberts to the family home on Saco Street. William was told by his father, Charles, to give Charles S. Roberts a bank draft for 250 dollars, which I believe was his inheritance money. His diary entry was rather short and I sensed he was annoyed. Charles S. Roberts, the recipient of the 250 dollars, was the son of William in Australia ,whom I found later through my Australian friend had died in 1860. This Charles S. Roberts did not stay in Westbrook very long as the following day, he and a Saco Street neighbor, Sylvanus S. Hatch (from the Hatch/Libby House) headed West. I think ‘West’ was in and around the Ohio area as Sylvanus married a woman from Ohio. Sylvanus died in 1914 and is buried in the Hatch lot at Saccarappa Cemetery. William , of the diaries was most interested in the world around him and wanted to head West also. He left his duties on the farm and headed West exactly one week after Sylvanus and his cousin Charles left for the West. I often wonder what happened to Charles S. Roberts as I never found him anywhere in the US Census after the diary entry. (I saw some Charles. S. Roberts’ however none matching the age or nationality) William stayed in Waterloo Iowa for six months and headed there a year later and spent another year out West. He came back home to the family farm on Saco Street and was the caretaker of the farm. He was also a veteran of the Civil War(25th Me. Co E) and he is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Westbrook, Maine. He had one Daughter, Eleanor Roberts Waterhouse.
Reprint permission with author’s permission @ fiddlinsuz@roadrunner.com