This site is the flagship for my direct ancestral lines of Bradford, Malson & Merrifield,
all in tribute to the memory of my Dad, FREDERICK WINFRED ROBERTS,
and my Gramma, MARTHA ADELINE BRADFORD SIMMS ROBERTS.

 

4 Generations of Bradford, Malson & Merrifield
1905
 Click on photo to view larger image.


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 by LeAnn McRoberts.



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Meaning of Names


             
Beginning the quest...

When my Dad, Frederick Winfred Roberts, passed away, I thought I was all that was left of his family lines.  I was his only child, his half-brother, William Simms, had no children nor did his half-sister, Barbara, who died at the age of 19. 

 Dad's half-sister, Barbara, age 2
BarbaraSimms
Click to view larger image.


As far as I knew, my Gramma, Martha Adeline Bradford Simms Roberts, and her brother, John Thomas Bradford, whom I had known as a child, were the only children of William Henry Bradford and Susannah Sude Malson, and Grand-uncle John had been a lifelong bachelor. 

My only legacy was a few letters and photographs Gramma had sent to me in 1970 and 1971.  They included a portrait taken in 1918 of my great-great grandmother, Elizabeth H. Merrifield Malson, and the 4 generation photograph above.

In Search of the Past...

Fred Roberts, age 4
fred4
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Dad never knew his father and had been raised alternately by Gramma and her Bradford and Malson families.

James Roberts had abandoned Dad and Gramma by the time Dad was a year and half old, never to be heard from again.  Gramma received a divorce decree on grounds of desertion in 1927.  Many years later, Gramma revealed to my Mom that Roberts was not my grandfather's real surname.

Gramma in 1966
Gramma 1969
Click to view larger image.

James' parents had migrated from Canada to either Pennsylvania or West Virginia and were killed in a fire when he was just a baby.  A family named Roberts took him in and he grew up assuming the Roberts surname, never knowing his true birth name or the year he was born. Nor did he reveal to Gramma the given names of the Roberts family.

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Martha Adeline "Addie" Bradford, age 17

Click to view larger image.

The Revelation...

To trace a name as common as James Roberts would be all but impossible.   Nevertheless, I decided to send for Dad's birth certificate.  No sooner had I told my Mom than she sent me a packet of information Gramma had given her many years ago. 

It wasn't much but it led to a surprising revelation - Gramma had eight siblings not just one!  No names were mentioned, however, my Mom recalled the names of two of the brothers, Lewis and Clark, and thought she remembered a sister named Elsie.  These tidbits of information fueled my curiosity and started me on my ancestral journey in October of 2003.
 

      The Journey Continues...

Combing Rootsweb.com, I found several databases on my Merrifield line that included my Malson line as well but there was only a smattering of misinformation on my Bradfords.  

One such database had Gramma dying at age 19, possibly confusing her with her daughter, Barbara Simms, who died at 19. Another database stated someone claimed to have a copy of my original 1905 four generation photograph, but no source was cited.  There was nothing at all on my Dad or his half-brother, Bill Simms. 

Dad's half-brother, Bill Simms
Bill Simms
Click to view larger image.

My exasperation at this misinformation became the driving force to set the record straight, and thus the birth of these websites as a means to document and record Dad and Gramma's family lines to accurately preserve their memory.


My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to

My Mom, Lee Luella Edythe Miller Roberts
 
My 1st cousin, Nancy Lee Bradford Ragan, Granddaughter of William Henry Bradford
 
Harriet Jane Malson, widow of my 1st cousin,
John Rodgers Malson, Grandson of Elizabeth H. Merrifield & John Alex Malson
 
My 3rd cousin, Ludella Pittman Ebinger,
2nd Great-granddaughter of George Malson
 
Jan Gesas Hornick,
5th Great-granddaughter of Richard Merrifield
 
Linda of Ukiah who, though no relation,
helped me locate Harriet Malson