Marvelously Modern Mabel and her Much Married Sister Dorothy Mae

Mabel Ora Risheill, my husband's great grandmother, was born in 1888 in Granite Township, Phillips County, Kansas.  A quick look at the map shows that Granite is smack dab in the middle of nowhere. (Sorry Kansas) In the year 2000 the population of the township was 21, I can only imagine what it was when the Risheill's were living there. 
Mabel was the forth child, of seven, born to David Oliver Risheill and his wife Elizabeth Miriam Trevor. David, son of a farmer/preacher married Elizabeth, daughter of a farmer/preacher in Kansas by the year 1883. David was born in Henry County, Illinois and his wife Elizabeth in England.  Both families had been on the move for some time and they crossed paths in Kansas. Elizabeth's stayed put as did some of David's brothers, but David and his father moved on finally stopping in Colorado.  

When I think of the men and women of that era I think of them as being very traditional and very set in their gender roles.  Men worked, women stayed home, raised children and basically took life as it came to them, staying with their husband, good or bad, until one of the two of them died. When you throw in a couple of Methodist Ministers into the mix, I would expect even stricter standards of behavior. However, Mabel and her sister have made me revise my belief about women in the early 20th century. Here is what I know about Mabel and her sister Dorothy Mae.

kansas to colorado

The Risheill Family

David and his father, the Reverend Joseph Oliver Risheill, appear to have given up on farming by the middle of the 1890's.  They are not in the 1895 census of Kansas. Joseph is recorded as officiating at his daughter Jessie's wedding in Hilltop, Douglas County, Colorado in 1896. Hilltop is to the southeast of Denver. Beginning in 1897 David Risheill's name began appearing in the Denver Directory. He seemed to have had a different job every year, he was a butcher, a fireman, a clerk, a driver, a watchman and a janitor. I am not sure if his work history said something about him or the state of the economy at that time.  In any case, by 1910 he was dead at the age of 48.

first marriages
Dorothy Mae, Mabel's younger sister, took the plunge for the first time at the age of 15, she married Duncan Cameron in  1908.  Mabel waited until the ripe old age of 22 for her first marriage. On December 25, 1910 she married Forrest Oliver Babcock.  During their marriage they lived in rural Teller County which due west of Colorado Springs. 

Mabel and Forrest

Forrest was originally from Wisconsin but his family migrated to Colorado.  He and his father worked for the same company, he a painter and his father a carpenter for the US Zinc Company.
His marriage to Mabel was actually his second one.  In 1906 Forrest married Marie L. Strange of Denver. The marriage ended tragically only a year later with the death of Marie, she died of blood poisoning.  Her mother committed suicide on hearing the news.
In the 1910 US census, Mabel was living with her parents in Denver, she worked as a clerk in a theater. Forrest, listed as a widower, was in Teller County, living with his parents. How and when they met is a mystery but they married in December of 1910.  The marriage lasted a short four years, or a long four years depending on the circumstances, anyhow Mrs. Forrest Babcock sued for divorce in 1914. Mabel's sister Dorothy was one step ahead she was already  on her second marriage. She married John C. Rogner in 1913. Neither Mabel nor Dorothy had children from their first marriage. 

second marriage: noel lane roberts
On 7 June 1915, Mabel married Noel Lane Roberts, in Buena Vista, Chaffee County, Colorado. Buena Vista was incorporated in 1879 and rapidly became a railroad town servicing the mining industry, it is about 75 miles west of Teller County. Noel was born on 5 March 1882 in Bluffdale, Hood County, Texas.  He was, oddly enough, the son of a farmer/preacher. In the 1910 census he was living in his parents home, in Texas.  A document from the State Department shows that he was in Ecuador working as a miner in 1913. Presumably he was working in Buena Vista by 1915 when he met Mabel. 
Noel and Mabel settled in the little town of Creede, Mineral County, Colorado, about 135 miles by road to the southwest of Buena Vista. Many of Noel's family were already in Colorado working in the ranching and mining industry. 

Mabel and Noel

Noel and Mabel bought a ranch "upriver" in Creede.  On June 10, 1916 their ranch, Antelope Park, opened for business. At that time Creede was on the rail line and tourist would come for the fishing and hunting. The ranch was open to tourist through the summer months, when winter came, they closed the ranch and often went to Louisiana where Noel found work. 
Fly fishing was a big part of the attraction at the ranch resort and Noel and others like him bought thousand of fish fry from the nearby fish hatchery to stock their creeks. The only picture of Noel and Mabel is one of them fishing.
The local paper, The Creede Candle, is a great source for local gossip.  The comings and goings of the town people was reported weekly.  In the January 19, 1919 issue it was reported that Mrs. Dorothy Rogner and daughter were visiting Mrs. N. L. Roberts. A November 1921 issue stated that Mr. Noel Roberts had left for Shreveport to work in the oil fields for the winter. 

childen
In the 1920 census, Noel and Mabel, living in Creede, had a 13 year old son, Floyd.  Now it doesn't take much math skills to see that Floyd, born in 1907 cannot be the child of Noel and Mabel, who married in 1915. I believe that he was adopted.  Mabel's Aunt Kate Coe ran an orphanage in Kansas City, MO and several of Mabel's nieces and nephews were adopted from there by her siblings. In later census' Floyd stated that he was born in Missouri. At the time of the 1920 census Mabel was pregnant and gave birth to Mary Lynn in December of that year.  Mary Lynn was her only biological child.

Dorothy also had only one child, Billy Jane, born in 1915.  I believe her father might have been John Rogner, but she was adopted by her mother's third husband, Peter D'Amica and went by the D'Amica name.

another divorce
A tidbit in the Creede Candle in 1922 tells of a visit to Mrs. Noel Roberts by her mother, sister Violet and her sister Dorothy D'Amica.  Dorothy divorced husband number two some time before 1919 and her marriage to Peter D'Amica.  Peter was a druggist in a drug store in Denver. 
In 1922 Noel was mining for himself, staking his own claim which he named "the Mabel". This left the real Mabel running the ranch by herself. She also sold fresh butter and dairy products which she produced herself. They seemed to have to work very hard to make a living.  At times Noel worked delivering salt and he also worked for different mining companies. I don't think life was easy for them.

Dorothy and her daughter

For whatever reason, the marriage of Mabel and Noel ended in 1923.  Mabel sued Noel for divorce and asked for half the property. Noel counter sued. Apparently most of the town showed up for the divorce case, looking for "spicy details" but was disappointed when Mabel failed to show. Maybe the neighbors were acquainted with some of the reasons for the divorce as the newspaper reported there was "considerable sparring" between them or maybe they were just easily entertained. In any case Mabel and Floyd left Creede that August, whether or not Floyd saw Noel after that is unknown the man was barely mentioned.  
Dorothy had by then dumped husband number three, divorcing Peter D'Amica in 1922.

hope hotel
In 1924 newly divorced Mabel opened a hotel, called the Hope Hotel, it was located at 1233 Welton St. in downtown Denver. If the numbering of addresses was similar to today's then it would have been near the Emily Griffith High School. Mabel was listed in the Denver Directory for several years as the proprietor of the hotel. In fact one of the first things I remember hearing about Mabel was that she ran a hotel. I don't think it was anything swanky and given it's proximity to the railroad and the economy of the day, I suspect it was more of a boarding house for workingmen.

more marriages
In 1927 Dorothy married for the forth time, Albert Theodore Altvater, grocery store owner, was next in line at the alter. Mabel made marriage number three in 1928.  This time her groom was 56 year old William M. Young.  He worked for one of the railroads that operated in Denver. He was originally from Louisiana and had been in Denver for sometime, at least 1910 when he was recorded in the census.  He was married to a Martha who presumably died after the 1930 census was taken.  They did not appear to have any children. 

Mabel and her children

William and Mabel appear in the Denver directory from 1929 until 1934.  William died in 1935 and thereafter Mabel is listed as his widow. Mabel was about 47 at that time. She never remarried. She continued to live in Denver and was listed at various addresses in the city of Denver.  In 1945 she worked at the Altvater Grocery Store on Kalamath St. Dorothy had by then separated from her husband Albert Altvater and lived with her mother. Eventually Dorothy remarried for a fifth and last time to a Donald Corman, they lived in Pueblo, Colorado.  
Mary Lynn Roberts, daughter of Noel and Mabel married twice herself and eventually settled in Pueblo.  Her mother and Grandmother left Denver and moved to Pueblo some time after 1965. 
Noel remarried in 1927 to a very young lady from Louisiana I wonder if he met her when he was working there in the winter. 

wrapping it up
I have to admit that Mabel and her sister surprised me. Not only did they dump their men when things didn't work out, but at least Mabel was able to go into business for herself and support her two children.  Mabel died in her eighty third year, her headstone says "beloved Mother". 

Alfred B. Roberds of Buncombe and Gilmer

1835 Map showing Gilmer county

Alfred B. Roberds was born about 1808 in Buncombe County, North Carolina.  He was the son of Robert and Nancy Robards.  He, like his brothers, moved from North Carolina to Gilmer County, Georgia some time after the 1850 federal census. In 1835 the United States Government forcibly  removed the Cherokee Nation from Georgia and other southern states, thus freeing up the land for new white settlers.  This resettlement is known as the "Trail of Tears", a not so bright spot in American History.
Today the travel time from Ashville, NC to Elijay, GA is a little over 3 hours, a distance of about 160 miles.  In 1850, traveling in a Conestoga wagon and with all your livestock and family it took about 30 days.  There were no roads so they followed Indian and animal trails, crossed mountains and rivers with no bridges.  It was an arduous journey, but many families from Buncombe made the move, often in large groups.
Alfred, whose middle name was either Burton or Burgess,  married Nancy Deweese in Buncombe and they had at least 10 children. According to a book called "Annuals of Upper Georgia", Alfred B. was a pioneering Baptist and a slave owner, I guess it made sense at the time. Alfred died in 1858 in Ellijay, Georgia and Nancy sometime after 1860. Their children, like many others in the extended Roberds family, left Georgia for Texas and beyond. Because most of them left before the beginning of the Civil War they did not participate as did their male cousins who remained in Georgia.

The children of Alfred B. Roberds are as follows:

Garrett Alexander Roberds was born in Buncombe County about 1830. He married Elizabeth Kezzia Greer in Ellijay, Gilmer, Georgia.  They left Georgia after the 1870 census and were in Colorado by the 1880 census and in Phoeniz, AZ in 1900.  He died in 1907 and Kezzia died in 1912.  They had at least 11 children including Oscar Burton Roberts who was  deputy sheriff in Phoenix.

Elizabeth L. Roberds was born in Buncombe County about 1831 and married before the 1850 census John W. Pearcy.  They lived with her father in 1850 and moved to Gilmer Georgia when the family migrated.  In 1870 they lived "on Paloty Creek in Erath County, Texas".  She died in Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1916.

Gideon Overall Roberds was born about 1933 in Buncombe. In 1859 he married Jane Ester Weaver, step daughter of his uncle Pierce Roberds.  They were among the first to leave for Texas.  I cannot find them in the 1860 census and in 1870 they are Bosque, Texas. Their youngest child Martha was born in Texas in 1861. Gideon and family left Texas by the 1880 census and were in Las Animas Colorado. He died there in 1902.

Creed Fulton Roberds was born in Sept. 1834 in Buncombe, NC.  He married in Elijay, Georgia, Harriet E. Weaver, his uncle Pierce's step daughter and sister to his brother Gideon's wife Jane. They were in Texas in the early 1860's living on Paloty Creek in Erath in 1870. By 1880 he and his family were in Colorado, living in Delta County.  He died there sometime after 1900.

Nancy Carolina Roberds was born in Buncombe County.  She married William Peeples Milton in 1858 in Elijay.  He was a 1st Lt. in the Confederate Army.  After the war he was involved in politics in Elijay.  He was murdered in his home in 1870. After his death Nancy traveled to Erath Texas to join up with her brothers and sister.  She never remarried and died in Phoenix in 1924.

Louisa E. Roberds was born in Buncombe and married Jacob Wilton Piercy in Elijay Georgia in 1858.  They moved to Erath County Texas with her brothers in 1860.  She died there in 1920.

Laura Roberds was born in 1843 in Buncombe, she married Hiram Lafayette Ray in 1860 in Gilmer.  She died in 1864 in Erath, Texas.  She left behind two children, one an infant.  Their father Hiram died in 1877. The now orphaned children left Texas for Colorado to live with their uncle.

Alfred Burton Roberds my husbands ancestor will be on a separate page

Robert Henry Roberds was born in 1846 in Buncombe, NC.  He too moved with his brothers to Texas and Colorado.  Robert never married and died in Phoenix in 1924 the day after his sister Nancy.

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Pierce Roberds of Buncombe, NC and Gilmer, GA

Pierce Roberds was born in Buncombe County in about 1805.  His parents were Robert and Nancy Roberts of Buncombe County.  Pierce was married twice and most of his children were from his first marriage to Mary Caroline McKinney.  His second wife was a widow named Margaret Weaver, and she brought her own children into the marriage.  In 1850 the combined family lived in Buncombe, eventually many of the Weaver girls married Roberts boys and this closely knit unit moved to Gilmer, County Georgia with the other Roberts families. Most of the sons would participate in the Civil War, and some would die. The others migrated West to Texas and Colorado as did other Roberts families.  Pierce and Margaret would  remain in Georgia.  He died in 1877, she died before him in 1866.  Here are their combined children.

Charles McKinney Roberds was born Nov. 11, 1827 to Pierce and Mary. In 1850 he married Rebecca Jane Barnard.  The had 8 children, one born postumously. Charles was killed in action during the Civil War on 28 Sept 1864.

Levisa M. Roberds was born 19 Dec 1829. She married Samuel Franklin Williams in 1848 and they had at least 6 children.  She died Dec. 5, 1864.  Her widowed husband, Samuel, married Rebecca Barnard Roberds, the widow of Charles McKinney Roberds, Levisa's brother.

John M. Roberds was born in Buncombe around 1833.  He married Mary "Kate" Weaver, his step-sister before 1856.  They had 2 children.  John died, probably in 1865, trying to cross the Mississippi River, on their way to Texas.

Nancy Caroline Roberds

Nancy Caroline Roberds was born 16 Oct. 1835, she married Western R. Welch in Elijay, Georgia in 1858. Western served in the Confederate Army from Georgia.  They stayed in Elijay and did not migrate with the other family members. She died in 1911.

Pierce Adolphus Roberds was born about 1837.  He enlisted with the 11th Georgia and was captured at he Battle of Gettysburg.  He died in the POW camp at Point Lookout Maryland in Sept. of 1664. He never married.

Elbert Roberds was born about 1840 he also enlisted in the 11th Georgia.  This group was known as the Gilmer Boys.  He was discharged by the Surgeon for some type of disablity in 1862.  He is last found in the 1870 census living with his father and sister Nancy.

James Hardy Roberds was born about 1842 in Buncombe to Pierce and Mary.  He was also a Gilmer Boy, he  enlisted in 1861 and was last in service in 1864.  He married in Texas Mary Catherine "Kate" Berry. They lived in Granbury, Texas and later in Port Arthur.  He died sometime after 1920.

William Roberds was born about 1845.  In many family trees his middle name is Weaver, if this is the case that his mother is probably Margaret Weaver as apposed to Mary Caroline. William did not serve in the Civil War.  He married Fatima Banks from Elijay, Georgia.  They stayed in Gilmer County until after 1880 when they left for Colorado.  In 1900 they were in Shawnee, Oklahoma but by 1910 they were back in Colorado.  Fatima's sister Martha Jennie Banks married Junius Roberds, William's nephew.  Junius' father was John M. Roberds.  Fatima died in 1902, William was still alive in 1920.

Laura L. Roberds Dupree

Laura L. Roberds was born in Oct. 1847 in Buncombe County, she was the last of the Roberds children, her mother was Margaret Weaver.  Laura married James Dupree in 1875.  She lived in Gilmer County for the rest of her life.  She died in August 1911.

Augustus Clayton Roberds Buncombe, Gilmer and Texas

Augustus Clayton Roberds was born 6 October 1803 in Buncombe County, NC.  He married Mary Anderson in 1823, he was 20 and she 15.  He moved the family to Gilmer, Georgia by the 1850 census. He worked as a housepainter.  In 1868 a large group of Gilmer residents including many Roberds/Roberts families left Georgia and headed for Texas.  It is said that they left in May of 67 and arrived in September.  There was a significant loss of life, probably from Cholera and other diseases.  Neither Augustus nor his wife Mary survived the journey.  It is believed that they died somewhere around the Mississippi River in Louisana. This family kept the old spelling of the name: Roberds. Here are their children:

Elizabeth Caroline Roberds born 25 July 1824 in Buncombe, NC.  She married John Sitton in 1842 in Cherokee, Georgia.  They and their 8 children were part of the group headed for Texas.  She and four of her children died on they way.  Her husband John  made it to Nacogdoches, Texas.
Nancy Levisa Roberds born 27 Feb 1828 in Buncombe County.  She married John Kirby in Gilmer, Georgia.  Her husband is last found in the 1880 Gilmer census.  Her son James Hamilton Kirby moved to McClennan County, Texas and Nancy joined them there.  That would have been near the town of Waco. Nancy died in Texas in 1891.
Laura Delany Roberds was born 21 July 1832 in Buncombe, NC.  She married William Cox in Gilmer, Georgia in 1856.  William served in Company H in the 1st Georgia Infantry.  His rank was 1st Lt. I don't know what the cause of death was, but it was possibly war related, he died in 1865.  Laura died in Elijay, Gilmer, Georgia in 1886.  None of her children left Georgia.
Basil Manley Roberds born 19 May 1834.  supposedly killed in action during the Civil War.
Robert John Roberds born 1838 no info after 1850 census
Mary Ann Roberds born 24 July 1843 married John W. Greer in Gilmer, Georgia. They were in Elijay, Georgia until the 1870 census.  In 1880 they had made their way to Las Animas, Colorado, where some of their cousins had settled after moving on from Texas.  John died in 1902 and Mary Ann died in 1920 in Los Angles California.
Augustus Clayton Roberds, Jr. was born 23 July 1848.  He and his wife and family left Gilmer and settled in Fairfield in Freestone County, Texas. He and his wife Sarah Antonette Vaughn had at least 11 children, most who lived in the Fairfield area.

Lillie Aravilla Roberds

Lillie Aravilla Roberds was born in 1850, in 1869 she married Dr. James R. Johnson.  They left Gilmer and settled in Stilwell, Oklahoma.  She died in 1909.

Robert Gains Roberts and Mary "Polly" Deweese

Robert Gains Roberts was the son of Robert and Nancy Roberts.  According to the family bible of the Buckner family, Robert was born on Jan 14, 1795 and his wife Mary Deweese on Oct. 29, 1796. Mary was the daughter of the Rev. Garrett Deweese and Susanna Palmer. 
As with his father, not much is known about the life of Robert, and we get the names of his children from the settlement of his estate.  Robert died just about the same time as his father, on June 3rd 1840. His children went to court to try to settle his estate.  
His children were:

Gaines Roberts was born around 1816, he married Eliza Unknown.  In the 1850 census he and his family were in Cherokee, Georgia and in 1860 they were in Jerusalem, Pickens, Georgia.  This is last census I can find him in.  He is sometimes confused with another Gaines Roberts who lived and died in Buncombe, County.  That Gaines married Eliza Guthrie. 

Susanna Roberts born May 1817  married James A. Buckner and lived her life in Buncombe County.  She died in 1878.

Malinda Roberts born around 1820 married Robert Levi Ingle. He was born in March of 1820.  He served in the 60th NC infantry, Light Artillery and was captured after the Battle of Nashville in Dec. 1864. After the war, he and his family moved to Marion County, Arkansas.  The last census I can find them in is 1880.

RZ Roberts

Matilda Roberts born about 1821 married T.J. Morrison.  Cannot find them.

Levicia Robert was born around 1826 she married James W. Patterson.  They also moved to Marion County, Arkansas. Last found in the 1880 census.

Ninevah Roberts born around 1823 he married Malinda Harwood.  They lived in Buncombe County, NC. He served in the 2nd  North Carolina Mounted Infantry. Last found in Bull Creek, Madison County  NC.

Hannah Roberts  born about 1828 cannot find anything on her.

Thursey Roberts was born in 1832 she married Robert Pickens and spent her life in Buncombe, County.  She died in 1926. 

Robert Zimri was born 1836 he married Margaret Waters.  He served in the 11 Georgia Infantry. He died in 1902 in Elijay, Gilmer, Georgia.  

Robert Zimri Roberts

Garrett Monroe Roberts was born Aug. 1837, he was only 3 when his father died.  Garrett  married twice. His first wife was Nancy Caroline McCurry and second was Norah Unknown.   He enlisted and served with the North Carolina 5th Cavalry Battalion.  He eventually moved to Gilmer, Georgia.  Last found 1910 census in Tails Creek, Gilmer, Georgia.

Mary Deweese Roberts died in 1845.  her younger children lived with their older siblings. In her daughter Thursey's death Certificate her name was given as Elivira. 

Robert Roberds of Buncombe, North Carolina

When I first joined ancestry.com I started my tree with the Roberts family.  They are my husband's ancestors and of course my son's but I have walked around for almost 25 years with Roberts as my name so I feel some attachment for these people.  The Roberts' were a fun family to research, they moved in large family  units, married their neighbors and were fairly easy to trace. The furthermost back in the family that I can go and provide genealogical proof is Robert Roberds.  I have seen his father given as William, but no proof or documentaion was offered, so I am leaving him out.  It was also interesting to follow the changing spelling of the name from Robards, Roberds to Roberts.

Buncombe, North Carolina

map of Buncombe County

The Roberds family lived for sometime in Buncombe County in North Carolina. I have never been there but I have heard that the country is beautiful. The county was formed in 1791 and named for a Revolutionary War Hero.  The county is in the western part of the state, the part that looks like a tail.  The terrain is mountainous and I'm not sure how good it is for farming.  According to Wikipedia the majority of the first settlers in Buncombe were Baptists.   The Roberts land was in the North part of the state above Weaverville.

Robert Roberds

Robert Roberds or Robards and sometimes Roberts is as far back as I can trace the family and this narrative begins with his end, or at least his will.  The will gives us the all important names of his wife and children, it also very graphically show that this was a family of slave owners. Given the date and location, this shouldn't come as a shock, but it does all the same. His will was written in Bumcombe County on 10 April 1840.The following family is named in his wife:
Wife:  Nancy to recieve all household and kitchen furniture, all his stock and three "negros viz Julia, Jaz, Larkin for her lifetime and when she dies they are to be sold and profits given to his children. Nancy also is to receive $100.00.
Son: Shelton to receive one "negro girl named Almina and her increase" forever
Son: Robert to receive one "negro boy named Persey forever" and one tract of land containing fifty acres joining Charles McKinney James A Buckner and said  son Robert, also another tract of land joining Wm Anderson and the Deweese   tract I give to my said son Robert
Son: John to receive ten dollars
Daughter: Louisa Ann Tatum to receive "one negro girl named Mariah for her with her increase forever, but I will that same girl be and remain with wife during her natural life except she see proper to give her up to Louisa Tatum, and my wifes act in keeping or giving up said girl is my will entirely
Son: William to receive ten dollars
Son: Augustus C. to receive "one note of hand I hold on himself for the amount of sixty dollars"
Son: Pierce to receive "one negro boy named Harry to have and possess forever"
Son: Alfred B to receive "one negro boy named Sam and one rifle to have and possess forever"
Grandsons: Robert Bertes Roberts and Andrew Martin Roberts to receive one tract of land where my son William now lives and one negro girl named Lally for them to possess forever but the land and the negro to remain under the control of the executors  of the will
Grandaughter: Elizabeth C. to receive "one negro girl named Mary to have and possess the same forever  to be under the control of the executors
Executors: sons Pierce and Alfred B.
Presented in Oct. 1840

Robert's wife Nancy is said to be either Nancy Cody or Nancy Seavy but I cannot find any proof for either name.  She is said to have died in 1848. I cannot find any information about either son Shelton or William. Robert, Jr. is said to have died in June of 1840.  The other sons moved in the 1850's to Ellijay in Gilmer County, Georgia. I will try to do a profile of each of the children and their children.
If you know anything about this family please let me know.

Sources:
Will of Robert Roberds
Wikipedia

Internet Surprise

Every once in a while, when you least expect it, an internet surprise occurs.  I had one today and I am so excited.  I was doing an internet search for one of my husband's family members and up pops the most marvelous photograph.  I am so psyched! It's one thing to see names and dates, but to finally see faces, what a joy. So here is the photo.

Mabel Ora Rishell and Family

This is David Oliver Risheill and his wife Elizabeth Mirriam Trevor.  Mabel in second to left.  She was born in 1888.

Boy, I love the internet!