Children of Robert Roebuck² who was born about 1680/1690 and died in Northumberland County in 1751, and his wife, Elizabeth, were:

1. John³ (our ancestor), born about 1726 in Northumberland County, Va., died in Edgefield County, S.C. before March 3, 1801.

2. Raleigh, born about 1720/30, married Hannah Harcum—their children, all born in St. Stephens Parish, Northumberland, were William (June 10, 1755), Raleigh (January 30, 1757), and George (August 5, 1759)

3. A daughter who married William Harvey. They were the parents of Thomas, Judith, and Elizabeth.

4. William, died 1762 in Northumberland County. Two sons were mentioned in his will, William, who married Nancy Kelly, no known issue; and Robert, who married Elizabeth Flower, and had a daughter, Lucy

John Roebuck³, evidently not satisfied with his inheritance, was living in Edgefield County, S. C. where he was on the 1800 Federal census. He and his wife were both over 45 and they owned 3 slaves. He died in 1801. He had probably left Virginia by 1763 since he was not mentioned in the will of his brother William. He lived in Fairfield County, S.C. for a time, moving to Edgefield County about 1775. After his death in 1801, his widow Mary Hany and a son, James, applied for letters of administration on the estate. In 1813, Solomon Lucas brought a suit of Equity against the heirs of John Roebuck³ , charging waste—he was trying to recover expenses he claimed he was put to. The outcome of the case is unknown, but it is through the case that we learn the names and relationships of the heirs of John Roebuck³:

1. Robert⁴, a Lieutenant in the Revolution, who died early in 1798. His children were Benjamin, Winnifred (married William Cannon), Elizabeth, (married James Day), Clara (married John Hardy), and Mary or Polly (married Daniel Hardy.)

2. Ann⁴, who married a Green. At the 1790 census of Edgefield County, she was living next to her father with 3 males over 16 and 2 daughters. She was a widow and died before 1813. Her children were John Green, Silas Green, William Green, Codia, who married Isaac Hopkins, and Frances, who married Saunders Day.

3. John⁴, who probably died in Pulaski County, Georgia, in 1820, and whose estate was administered by his brother Rolly.

4. Ezekiel⁴, a Revolutionary soldier. In Edgefield County in 1790, he had 3 sons under 16 and 2 daughters, their names not known. He was still in Edgefield County for the 1820 census.

5. James⁴, probably living in Fairfield County, S.C. in 1800.

6. Rolly⁴, Revolutionary soldier, died in Pulaski County, Georgia, in 1820. (Our Ancestor)

7. Phoebe⁴, who married George Randal in 1777, names of children not known. She was born in Virginia about 1753

Raleigh (Rawley, Rolly) Roebuck⁴wasa Revolutionary Soldier from South Carolina. (Paid to Mr. Rawley Roebuck, 44 pounds, 2 shillings and 10 pence farthing Sterling for Duty done in the militia as per account audited. Stub Entries to Indents, Claims Against S.C. Growing out of the Revolution, by Salley, p. 209.)

In 1785 he was given a land grant of 735 acres in Abbeville County, S.C. In 1789 he bought 351 acres from Absalom Tilley in Edgefield County, where he was listed on the 1790 census with his wife, five children and one slave. (He had purchased a Negro girl from Richard Kirkland of Effingham County, GA. in March of 1790, and the census was taken in June.)

Raleigh Roebuck was in Georgia at least by 1799. In 1805 he drew two blanks in a land lottery and in 1810 he drew 300 acres in Washington County where he was a resident. In 1811 and again in 1815, large parcels of his land were sold in a Sheriff's sale, but in 1816, he received 126 acres as a grant.

Records of Pulaski County, Georgia contain the following: "Ordered that Letters of Administration on the estate of John Roebuck deceased (Raleigh's brother), January 29, 1820, be granted to Rolley Roebuck and William Mayo and that they be bound in the sum of $3,000 and that James Roebuck and Thomas McGriff be security." (Note the name Thomas McGriff—it will be found later in family history.)

The will of Raleigh Roebuck was probated in November, 1820:

I, Raleigh Roebuck, being of sound mind and memory, though weak in body and considering the uncertainty of life, do make and declare my last will and testament as follows: In the first place, I commend my soul to God who gave it and my body to the dust from whence it was taken. Secondly, I give and bequeath to my loving wife, Lydia Roebuck, twenty head of cattle, two feather beds and furniture, three head of horses, one note of hand due last January on Jonathan Rigby for twenty dollars, two twenty-five dollar notes and one ten dollar note on Henry Holly, one large trunk and all other my household and kitchen furniture for her use and enjoyment during her natural life, not subject to her disposition only in terms of this my last will and testament.

Thirdly, I give and bequeath to my son William Roebuck all the property above enumerated after the death of his mother, also a debt of fifty dollars on Jacob Odom of Washington County, also two draws in the present contemplated land lottery. Fourthly, I give and bequeath to my children (viz) Zilpha Boatright, Polly Mayo, James Roebuck, Phoebe Womble, Rachel Rigby, Lydia Griffin, Hany Roebuck—one dollar each, also one dollar to my son Julius Roebuck. Fifthly, I do hereby constitute and appoint my son James Roebuck sole executor of this my last will and testament with full power to dispose of at his discretion any of the above articles of property or debts to defray the expense of sending to school my son William Roebuck and of paying the legacies named in the fourth item of this will and of any incident charges that may accrue. Sixthly, I do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament. In testimony whereof, I, the said Raleigh Roebuck have hereto set my hand and affixed my seal this twentieth day of April, Eighteen hundred & twenty.

Witnesses: James Robuck Raleigh Roebuck
R.W.W. Wynne his mark

These were children of Raleigh Roebuck and his wife, Lydia:

1. James⁵ (our ancestor), married Martha _______, died 1830

2. Zilpha⁵, married George Boatright, had children (A) Rolley, married a McLendon, father of Mack Early Boatright; (B) Zilpha Ann, married John H. Pate in 1848; (C) James; Others

3. Polly⁵, married William Mayo about 1805. Their children were (A) Crawford Mayo; (B) James Jefferson Mayo; (C) William W. Mayo; (D) Thomas P. Mayo; (E) Matilda Mayo, married Thomas Stevens; (F) Maridly Mayo, married John Anderson 1827; (G) Mary Ann Mayo, married Robert Thompson 1837; (H) a daughter who married William C. Jelks

4. Phoebe⁵, married Daniel Womble

5. Rachel⁵, married Jonathan Rigby. She was born 1794 in Georgia.

6. Lydia⁵, born 1799 in Georgia, married Jonas Griffin. Children were: (A) Benjamin, born 1828; (B) Robert, born 1830: (C) Nancy, born 1833; (D) Rachel, born 1846

7. Hany⁵ named in will. No record.

8. William⁵, born in Georgia in 1803, died in Pulaski County in 1857, married Clarissa Isabel Snell Reeves in 1826. Their children were (A) John Jackson, 1827-1844; (B) James Raleigh, 1829-1832; (C) Willis R., l831-1864; (D) William Henry, 1833-1863; (E) Winiford Eliza, 1836-1838; (F) James Jefferson, 1839-1840; (G) Mary Frances born 1844; (H) Martha Jane, born 1848, married Augustus N. Powell; (I) Margaret Phoebe, 1849-1871, first wife of Augustus N. Powell; (J) Clarissa Masidly, 1853-1857; (K) Jackson Snell, born 1855

9. Julius⁵ (probably Grandchild of Raleigh), born 1805, married Grace Snelling; children James, John, William, and Mary

James Robuck⁵, son of Raleigh⁴, was born about 1779, died 1830. His wife Martha was born 1795 in N.C. and died in Florida before 1860. He was listed as a taxpayer in 1818 with 352 and one-half acres of land in Pulaski and Washington Counties and living in Pulaski County with 4 slaves. The estate records of Pulaski County list his 6 minor children (at time of his death):

1. Benjamin⁶

2. Lew Allen⁶ (our ancestor) born 1818

3. Samuel⁶, born 1824, married Martha Jane Henderson in 1843. They were living in Hamilton County, Florida, in 1850 with one son James H.

4. William⁶, born 1825, married Anna Varn, son John born 1848

5. Pleasant C. ⁶, born 1828, married Susan Mobley in 1852. He died February 26, 1865, while a prisoner of war, and Samuel G. Roebuck was appointed guardian of his two children (A) Oscar, born November, 1853, and (B) Patience, born 1855, married a Rogers. This was the `Aunt Patience' who took Willie Rob and Ernest Pleasant when they were orphaned in 1888

6. James⁶, born 1829, married Mary McCloud in 1853. Their children were Rolley, James, and Mary

Lew Allen Roebuck⁶ son of James and Martha Robuck, was born in 1818 in Pulaski County, Georgia. He married there on September 12, 1837, Smitha Smith, and they had 3 sons: Andrew, born 1838; William Thomas, born 1839; and James, born 1840. His wife Smitha died, and with 3 children under the age of 6, he married Mary Ann Michael (Mikiel-Mikell), nearly 10 years his senior and with two sons of her own. Here is an interesting story.

The father of the two boys of Mary Ann Michael was Thomas McGriff, born in 1774, and so 35 years older than she. He was a wealthy planter who had amassed his large fortune, nearly 100 slaves, and 3200 acres of farm land after moving to Pulaski County in 1808. Mr. J. E. Hill of Leesburg, Florida, who published a book on the McGriff family, said in a letter to me,

The name of Mary Ann Michael does not appear (in the book), but two of her children and many descendants do appear... I have despaired of ever understanding why a highly successful man like Thomas McGriff should rear a large family without ever getting married. His oldest child was born about 1812, and he lived continuously in Pulaski County from 1808 until his death in 1843. No marriage was ever recorded for him. His will, to which I made no reference in my publication, gives no clue to the mother of his 3 oldest children. But he divided his great fortune into three parts, one part to his 3 oldest, one part to `my son Thomas J. McGriff, alias Thomas J. Benson and my daughter, Alafair McGriff, alias Alafair Benson,' and one part to Mary Ann's sons.

I give and bequeath to Mary Michael during her natural life and after her death to her two sons, James and Patrick T. McGriff, alias James and Patrick T. Michael, if living, a negro girl named Luray and her increase. I give and bequeath to my sons James McGriff and Patrick McGriff, alias James and Patrick T. Michael, sons of Mary Michael, and any other child or children the said Mary may have or be with at the time of my death, about 700 acres, 13 negroes, 3 good horses...to be managed by executors until sons are grown. Mary Michael shall receive a decent support from this property during her lifetime or the time she shall remain unmarried provided there is no impropriety in her course of conduct.

Three months after Thomas McGriff died, Miss Michael married Lew Allen Roebuck...At one time before he moved to Florida he was guardian of the persons of the two McGriff boys. They moved to Florida also, but left plantation and slaves behind....Probate and deed records indicate they were strong-headed young men and had several guardians before they were grown, who seemed happy to be relieved. They were engaging in large financial transactions before either was of legal age.

The 1850 census lists the couple with the 3 Roebuck boys and Pleasant⁷, aged 4, and $600 in personal property. By 1860, they are in Jackson County with $5000 in land and $3000 in personal property (slaves), 2 of the Roebuck boys, Pleasant⁷, 14, and Mary Frances, 9. On April 19, 1862, Lew Allen Roebuck⁶ wrote his will, which was probated June 9, 1862:

I will and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Mary Ann Roebuck, such of my household and kitchen furniture as shall be set apart for her by my executor...also my horse and buggy, four cows and calves, to be selected by herself, fifteen head of choice pork hogs and two sows and pigs; two hundred bushels of corn, four stacks fodder, one barrel of sugar and one barrel of syrup.

I will and bequeath unto my two sons, James M M Roebuck and William T. Roebuck, one hundred dollars each.

I will and bequeath unto my beloved wife and children, Andrew J. Roebuck, William T. Roebuck, James M.M. Roebuck, Pleasant A. Roebuck and Mary Frances Roebuck, all the balance of my effects after all my just debts are said, to be equally divided between them.

What the War Between the States did to this family, we can only surmise. William Thomas served with the Confederate Army, as did Pleasant⁷. Pleasant⁷ enlisted in Macon, Georgia, in 1864; the family must have returned to Georgia after the father's death. He was Sergeant, Company I, 5th Regiment Georgia Reserves, captured at Savannah December 21, 1864, hospitalized with a gunshot wound left foot. He was released June 16, 1865 after signing an Oath of Allegiance to the U.S. Description: complexion, light; hair, dark; eyes, dark; height, 5 feet, 6 inches.

Pleasant Allen Roebuck⁷ was not in Pulaski County,Georgia, in 1870. His whereabouts are unknown—the census for that year lists Mary Frances Dykes and her 3-month-old baby, Mary Ann Michael Roebuck, and a 13-year-old "house servant." Mary Frances Roebuck had married David Dykes in 1868—he had died and the baby died, too. She married in 1881 John E. Lilly and they had children, John Pleasant Lilly and Calla Lilly. After 1890 she married a Mr. Ruskin. She died January 1. 1894. In a deed book of 1874 is the entry, "I, Pleasant A. Robuck, Material and Lumberman owning a saw mill and grist mill and furnishing lumber to proprietors for building purposes, claim a lien on house and premises..." He also did building work.

The 1880 census of Pulaski County, Georgia, lists P.A. Robuck⁷, 32, single, farmer; Mary A. Robuck, 71, widowed; M.F. Dykes, 26, (sister) and surprisingly, half-brother J.A. McGriff, 47, all in the same household.

Soon after the census was taken, Pleasant Allen Roebuck⁷ married Clifford Elizabeth Veal and they had two sons: Ernest Pleasant⁸, born September 14, 1884, and William Robert⁸ , born February 14, 1888. Pleasant Allen⁷ died a few months after the second son was born and Clifford died on April 7, 1889, intestate. (Willie Rob Roebuck told his children that he thought his parents' deaths were from pneumonia.)

(Above) Pleasant Allen Roebuck and Clifford Veal Roebuck, ca. 1885

(Above Right) Willie Rob and Ernest Roebuck, ca. 1890

(Right) Willie Rob Roebuck, ca. 1890

Mary Frances (Robuck Dykes) Lilly, Pleasant's sister, petitioned for guardianship of the two boys, stating that she was the nearest relative, and on June 1. 1889, she was so appointed by Judge McGriff, who also appointed the Clerk of the Superior Court, John W. Lancaster, as administrator of the estate of Mrs. Clifford B. Robuck. According to court minutes, the administrator petitioned the court and was allowed to sell `all the lands in order to pay the debts of the estate and distribute the moneys to the heirs' in March, 1890. $12,000 was received for the Washington Plantation, which was sold at auction on the courthouse steps (p. 198, The Roebucks Of Virginia).

Mary Frances married yet a third time—at her death in 1894, she was Mary F. Ruskin. We can assume that the boys were then put in the care of Patience Rogers. Daddy spoke of being raised by his great-aunt and by Judge Pat McGriff. This half-uncle McGriff was Ordinary of Pulaski County from 1873 until his death in 1913. An article about him in Georgia History, 1935, states "During 40 years as Ordinary, he was absent from his court only three times—twice in account of death in his family and once during his last illness. He wasa charitable man and often made reductions in his fees or donated them entirely to widows and orphans or others of limited means."

On the 1900 census, included in the household of Judge Patrick McGriff, were William R. Robuck⁸, age 12, and Ernest Pleasant Robuck, 17. Daddy told of leaving home at 14, which must have been about the time Ernest went out on his own. His memories of the Judge were not of the most kindly person and he seemed to think he and his brother did not receive their entire inheritance.

The brothers lost contact with each other, but were somehow put in communication in 1926, when Uncle Ernest wrote Daddy telling about his family (he spelled his name Robuck). He had married Pearla Danforth and they had the following children:

1. Earnest Pleasant Jr., born 25 Dec. 1908 in Greenville, Miss. m. Charlotte Burget Haynes 14 May 1947, one daughter, Marion Haynes Robuck (b. 8 Feb. 1940, m. James G. McCully, MD on 28 Dec, 1962)

2. Kathryn Danforth (called Dymple) born 27 Sept. 1912 in Jacksonville, Fla. m. Milton Joseph Foley 5 May, 1935, 2 children: Kathryn Joan born 7 March 1936 (m. Scott Clark Schurz 5 Aug. 1967); Michael Timothy, b. 12 April 1938 (m. Elizabeth Carol Fyfe 31 July 1963)

3. Horace Danforth, b. 25 May 1915, m. Margaret Frances Patterson 25 Aug. 1945, 3 children: Horace Danforth Jr. b. 22 Nov. 1947 (m. Iris Hammock 17 Nov. 1979); Wendy Kay, b. 22 April, 1950; Robin Ann, b. 8 July 1952 (m. Collin York 29 Feb. 1975)

4. Robert Franklin, b. 17 July 1917, m. Gladys Ann Jones 1 Dec 1945, 2 children: Linda Ann b. 12 April 1947 (m. Henry James Fasthoff III, 19 July 1969; Robert Todd, b. 9 March 1949 (m. Cathi Jean Atkinson 28 Aug. 1971)

(Above) Ernest Pleasant Robuck and wife Pearla Danforth Robuck, in Jacksonville, Florida, 1927

They were living in Jacksonville, Florida, where Uncle Ernest was a partner and general manager of a Ford dealership. The brothers never saw each other although they corresponded and Daddy went to his funeral when Uncle Ernest died in 1929 of encyphelitis after a tonsillectomy. Then we lost touch with the family.

(After the publication of The Roebucks Of Virginia in 1979, I was put in touch with Robert Robuck by the author when he ordered copies of the books. We exchanged pictures and information about our families.)

(Above) Ernest Pleasant Roebuck wrote on the back of this photograph: "This is the first new model `A' Ford delivered on retail order in the Jacksonville Branch territory which includes Florida, south Georgia, and a few counties in Alabama. This was one of ten roadsters delivered to the Jacksonville Police Department. Left: A. J. Roberts, Chief of Police, myself, and W. A. McRae, manager of our Ford Dept."

Daddy told us of working as a telegrapher for a railroad and in other jobs. On his marriage license, he showed residence as Collierville, Shelby County, Tennessee, and occupation as Salesman.

William Robert Roebuck⁸ married Wylma Maude Childress on April 6, 1911, the ceremony being performed by her stepfather, Hugh Brady, in Beebe, Arkansas. Their children are:

1. Wylma Eloise, b. 1 June 1912 in Pine Bluff, Ark. She married (1) Victor Dickson 20 Dec. 1931, one daughter; (2) Paul Hackman 29 July 1938, 2 children; (3) J. C. Pearson in 1966

2. Merriam Thelma, b. 20 Dec. 1914 in Beebe, Ark. m. Frank LaRue Wiggins 23 Jan. 1937, 4 children.

3. Robert Kermyt, b. 23 June 1918, m. Dorothy Hogue 19 July 1942, 3 children.

4. Joy Frances, b. 18 April 1923, m. (1) John Garner April 1943, 1 daughter; (2) Paul Harris Sept. 1955

5. Patricia Dymple, b. 10 Oct. 1928 in Little Rock, m. (1) Robert O. Rogers 25 Dec. 1947, 6 children; (2) Dee Boyette 21 Sept. 1973

(Above left) Willie Rob Roebuck ca. 1919
(Above right) Merriam in 1915

(Left) Maude and her children, Merriam, Kermyt, and Eloise in 1919

(Right) Eloise, Merriam, Maude, and Kermyt 60 years later in 1979

(Above left) The Family of William Robert Roebuck April 1, 1928
(In front) Joy, Kermyt, and Merriam
(In back) Willie Rob Roebuck and Maude Childress Roebuck, Eloise, and Jerusha Louisa Goodale Childress Brady.

(Above center) Willie Rob Roebuck with Kermyt and Joy

(Above right) Willie Rob Roebuck with Eloise and Maude Childress Roebuck

(Above) The Children of William Robert Roebuck 1949
(Standing) Eloise, Merriam, Kermyt, Joy, and Pat
(On chair) Willie Rob Roebuck and Maude Childress Roebuck.

(Above left) The Roebuck Family 1939 (left to right) Eloise, Kermyt, Joy, Pat, Willie Rob, Maude

(Above center) The Roebuck Family ca. 1940 (left to right) Frank Wiggins, Merriam, Kermyt, Joy, Paul Hackman, Eloise, Maude, Pat, and Willie Rob

(Above right) The Roebuck Family 1942 (left to right) Kermyt, Joy, Pat, Willie Rob holding grandson Joe Wiggins, Eloise, Maude holding grandson Jim Hackman, and Merriam

(Above) The Descendants of William Robert Roebuck 1949
(Standing) Eloise and son Jim, Kermyt, Joy, and Frank Wiggins
(On chair) Pat and Robert Rogers. (On sofa) Kermyt's wife Dorothy holding daughter Kathy, Maude Childress Roebuck, Willie Rob Roebuck, Merriam holding daughter Penny
(Kneeling) Kermyt's son Mark, Merriam's son Joe. (In front) Merriam's son Charles, Kermyt's son Scott, Joy's daughter Dianne, and Eloise's daughter Janice.

The Mystery of Clifford Veal Roebuck

On the back of the only picture he had of his mother, Daddy (Willie Rob Roebuck) had written `Clifford Elizabeth Hardy,' and for years I looked for her Hardy family. Later, I discovered that on Uncle Ernest's death certificate was listed: Mother, Clifford Veal. With the help of Sylvia Garner, who published The Roebucks of Virginia I discovered in Madison County, Georgia, on the 1850 census, Alexander Veal and his wife,Sarah J. with 5 children, one of whom was `Eliza C.H., age 3.' Assuming that this is our long sought Clifford Veal (Elizabeth Clifford Hardy Veal), I found on the 1860 census the same family,with Eliza C. now 13 years old. That is the last trace I have found of her. She is not in that county in 1870, nor in any other county that I can think of.

The other children listed are Asa L.W., John O., James D., Matthew S., Martha A.A., Emily C., Alexander F., Sarah S. (the last 5 appearing only in 1860). Notice the double initials.

Living next to Alexander Veal in 1840 and 1850 is James and Mary Veal, showing (in 1850) children James M. and Sarah H., probably parents and siblings of Alexander Veal.

On a deed of December, 1887, is one 1ot of 6 acres of land in Hawkinsville, Georgia, belonging to "Mary J. McGriff and Cliff V. Roebuck continuously since the making of said deed in Nov. 4, 1882." This deed was to clear the title to the land and S.B. Way and E.F. Way were selling it to Wm. E. Powell. Witnesses were P. T. McGriff and P.A. Robuck. At the same time P.T. McGriff, Jr.of Suwanee County, Florida sold all interest in any part of this lot for $200 cash to Wm. E. Powell (Deed Book T., p. 403, Pulaski County, Georgia.)

From the time Pleasant Roebuck was discharged from the Confederate Army and the prison hospital in June, l865, to 1880, there is no sign of him. If we knew where he was during that time we possibly could find out more about Clifford. No account of their Marriage has been found, although I have tried many of Georgia's counties. How sad that Clifford appeared so briefly in our family history.

We know only that she married Pleasant sometime after 1880 (since he was living with his Mother and sister then), bore him two sons (Ernest Pleasant in 1884 and William Robert in 1888), lost her husband in 1888 after obviously severe financial reverses when they lost most of their property, then died herself in April, 1889. Could she have been a relative of the McGriff's? It was unusual at that time for a married woman to be the owner of property separate from her husband. I hope someone will some day find the answer to this riddle.

Merriam Wiggins

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