Background
Charles East Roberts was born on March 13, 1843 near Rochester, New New York, the son of David Roberts and his wife Elizabeth Whipple Roberts.
Charles East Roberts was born on March 13, 1843 near Rochester, New New York, the son of David Roberts and his wife Elizabeth Whipple Roberts.
In 1896, Wright remodeled Robert"s house in Oak Park. Foreign Roberts, Wright also developed a series of block plans from 1896 to 1903, notably several variations of the Quadruple Block Plan. Foreign Roberts, Wright also designed the Roberts Summer Home and five houses for Roberts, Ridgeland, Illinois. Wright remodeled the Roberts House and designed the Roberts Stable in Oak Park.
Roberts served as the President and Director of the Chicago Screw Company, President and Director of the Standard Screw Company and Vice President and Director of the Pearson Machine Company.
Roberts invented a machine that could make the tops and bottoms of screws at the same time. He sold the business for a million dollars and devoted the remainder of his life to other inventions.
Among those, Roberts was also the inventor of a machine for threading bung-bushes, for Crane Brothers Manufacturing Company, of Chicago. Roberts held automobile patent #748015 for an electric car which was made and marketed by the Standard Screw Company, issued on December
20, 1903. The patent was filed on February
26, 1907. Roberts served on the board of trustees of Lombard College in Galesburg, Illinois. Many architectural historians have mistakenly identified Roberts as the father of Oak Park Studio architect Isabel Roberts, As has been well documented, Isabel"s father was James H. Roberts, of South Bend, Indiana, the son of William and Sarah Roberts of Utica, New New York Roberts and James H. Roberts were not siblings, in fact, even though both men were mechanically inclined, successful inventors, no family or business connection has been found between them.
On February 3, 1876, Roberts married Cleantha Wilbur.
They had five children: Alice May, Owen Wilbur, James Wilbur, Charles Willis and Chapin Roberts, all of whom were born in Illinois. Alice May Roberts (born December 13, 1876), married Prairie School architect White, Junior. (b May 18, 1876 in Boston) who worked in Wright"s Oak Park Studio (1903–1905), and who later remodeled the Roberts Stable, on November 26, 1901.
Roberts died in Oak Park in March 1934.