Who Were Anna Dora Roberts' Parents? (originally posted to GRothenberger.com, 11 July 2010)

It turns out there's a little disagreement about the mother of my great-grandmother, Anna Dora Roberts Bays. I've always thought she was Sarah Tackett, the daughter of Abner Tackett and Elizabeth Caudill. I've recently found out, though, that one of my cousins believes her mother was Rosa B. Williams. This morning I decided to see what I could find out. Sure enough, in the 1910 US census, I found Hiram Roberts, his daughter Anna D., and his wife Rosa B. I figured I had to be wrong on this one, and started changing my computer records (don't ever do that until you've given things at least a day to settle out). The 1890 and 1880 censuses are incomplete, so I couldn't go back and check them. So I started trying to find out more about Rosa B. Williams. I didn't find much, other than an 1880 marriage between Hiram Roberts and Rosa B. Williams in Morgan county, Kentucky. That was more evidence that I had made a mistake somewhere, although as far as I knew, Hiram was born in Rowan county. So I started checking Rowan county records.

I found a marriage record for Hiram Roberts and Sarah Tackett in Rowan county (22 May 1884) witnessed by his father (Hiram) and her father (Abner). This was my original source for Sarah Tackett. I also found Hiram and Sarah buried next to each other in Caudill cemetery in Rowan county. This is the same cemetery where Anna and her husband (my great-grandfather Joseph Walter Bays) are buried. So that leads me to believe that Anna's mother was Sarah Tackett, who died in 1888 (one year after Anna's birth). However, Hiram died in 1905, so he doesn't show up in the 1910 census. There is a Rose B. Roberts in that census, who is a widow. Her father is living with her, and his name is listed as William "Eaegan." She also lives fairly close to my great-grandparents.

So were there two Hirams? One in Morgan county and one in Rowan county, both born about the same time. Or was there one, who was married to both Rosa and Sarah at the same time? I haven't been to Morgan county yet, so I can't verify that 1880 date for Rosa's marriage to Hiram. I don't know yet, but here's what I suspect happened.

Hiram married Sarah in 1884. They had at least one child, Anna, born in 1887. Sarah died in 1888. In 1890 (not 1880), Hiram remarried, to Rosa (Williams or "Eaegan," I'm not sure which). This explains the widow Rose in the 1910 census (who had no children living at home). It also explains why Anna and Joseph are buried in a Caudill cemetery, since the Caudill's would be Anna's relatives, and Joseph's by marriage. There's still a couple of questions, though, and I think I'm going to have to make a trip to Rowan county (and probably Morgan county) to try and clear them up.