bishop deacon frontiersman preacher methodist
Robert Richford Roberts was born in August 2, 1778, in Frederick County, Maryland. His father, Robert Morgan Roberts, of Welsh descent, was a farmer of small means and a Revolutionary soldier; his mother, Mary, daughter of Thomas and Esther Richford, was probably of Irish ancestry. Robert was one of thirteen children
He was taught the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic and instructed in the catechism of the Church of England, of which his father was a stanch adherent. In 1785, when the family moved to Ligonier Valley, Westmoreland County, Pa. , undeveloped country, Robert's schooling was now practically ended; his time was occupied in helping clear the land for cultivation.
Although without education, he had a good mind, was sincerely religious, and possessed the qualities of character that command confidence.
In the spring of 1796, with several companions, he made an exploratory expedition into the Shenango district, now Mercer County, Pa. , and the following year with two of his brothers took up land there. For some five years he was a frontiersman, living in a log cabin, clearing land, planting crops, fishing, hunting, and selling furs. The Shenango settlement grew and a Methodist society was formed there, Roberts becomiing class leader.
On Apr. 28, 1804, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Asbury, and on Mar. 20, 1806, elder. The first years of his ministry were spent on long and hard circuits in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. He received little salary, was very poor, and, unlike most of the itinerant preachers, was encumbered by a wife.
In the hope of adding to his means of support he built a mill on land he owned in Erie County.
This took him from his calling.
His Conference reproved him in 1808 for neglecting his appointments.
That same year he started for the General Conference to be held in Baltimore with only a dollar in his pocket, and biscuits, cheese, and oats in his saddle-bags. During the session he preached to the Methodists of Baltimore with such acceptance that on their request Bishop Asbury stationed him there.
Later he was appointed to Fell's Point (1810), Alexandria (1811), Georgetown (1812), and Philadelphia (1813 - 14).
In 1815 he became presiding elder of the Schuylkill district. Owing to the death of Bishop Asbury and the illness of Bishop McKendree, it was necessary to elect a presiding officer at the Philadelphia Conference of 1816, and Roberts was chosen. He filled the chair with such dignity and displayed such well-balanced judgment that he became the nominee of the Northern Conferences for bishop. At the General Conference of 1816 he was elected. For more than a quarter of a century he performed the arduous duties of his office, involving thousands of miles of travel to all sections of the country.
His first episcopal residence was his old cabin in Shenango; in 1819 he moved to Lawrence County, Ind. , where he had as a home another rough cabin, built in part by himself.
Here he died.
In Ligonier Valley Roberts was converted and joined a Methodist society against his father's Episcopalian prejudices.
From the time of his conversion he was regarded by his Methodist associates as suited for the ministry.
The Shenango settlement grew and a Methodist society was formed there, Roberts becoming class leader.
Of more than average height and of heavy frame, Roberts was physically fitted for strenuous activity, and his frontier training stood him in good stead.
He was always silent, except when compelled to speak; he was in the rear and shade, except when thrust out into observation . "
(Elliott, pp. 256-57).
He was a simple, direct, and effective speaker, and a dignified, imperturbable, and judicious administrator.
Quotes from others about the person
"It was his peculiar temperament, " says a contemporary, "to pursue with steady and untiring perseverance whatever he undertook, without even the appearance of zeal, or any movement that would create the least noise, or attract the gaze of public attention to his course. He was always silent, except when compelled to speak; he was in the rear and shade, except when thrust out into observation . " (Elliott, pp. 256-57).
In January 1799 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Hannah Oldham of York County, Pennsylvania
