The Roberts Cemetery in Robertsville

In a corner of Robertsville State Park, at the end of a dirt path, in a clearcut beneath electrical wires, the Roberts family forever rests. This face of the larger monument honors Edward J. (1817-1899) and Ann (1826-1852); another side honors their sons who died at ages 2 and 24. Their son James E. Roberts, remembered on another side, was born in 1852 (the year his mother died) and died in 1886. His wife Mary F. Roberts, born in 1848, was the last Roberts buried here, in 1920.  A few of the graves still have the old-fashioned headstones like the one at right; some have no stones, but their names on engraved at the foot of their graves. The monument with the sphere looks modern but is not new; the side with the two boys' names is weather-worn and close to illegible. A locked Victorian-type iron fence surrounds the little family cemetery, which except for memories is a very lonely place.

Robertsville, MO