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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Monroe County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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James P. Roberts is a member of that well-known legal firm of Roberts & Manning, they being also abstractors and dealers in real estate. They command a large practice, and in the management of their cases show great ability and sagacity. Mr. Roberts, the senior member of the firm, is a native of Hamilton County, Tenn., born in 1851, and is a son of John and Louisa (Vaughn) Roberts, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Tennessee. They were married in the latter State and in 1866 came to Phillips County, the father’s death occurring here in 1869 and the mother’s in 1870. They were prosperous tillers of the soil and Mr. Roberts was collecting officer of Hamilton County for a number of years, and during the war served as Government agent for the Confederate States. His father, James Roberts, was of English descent, born in Virginia. The maternal grandfather was Jesse Vaughn. James P. Roberts is the first of four sons and four daughters, and was reared to a farm life, receiving the advantages of the common schools, which he improved to the utmost, also making the most of his advantages while an attendant at the Savannah (Tenn.) Academy. He farmed in Phillips County, Ark., until 1875, then began the practice of law, and the same progress which marked his advancement at school has attended him in his professional career. He is a close student, well versed in law, and possesses in more than an ordinary degree the natural attributes essential to a successful career at the bar and in public. His worth and ability received a just recognition, and in 1880 he was elected to represent Phillips County in the State legislature, and was re-elected in 1884. He has been a member of several important committees, especially those pertaining to courts, and has always taken a deep interest in the political affairs of his county and State. Although his first presidential vote was cast for Grant, in 1872, he is now a Democrat in his political views. He is a member of the K. of H., the K. & L. of H., the K. of P. at Clarendon and the American Legion of Honor. His wife, whose maiden name was Lulu Boardman and whom he married in September, 1872, was born in the State of Kentucky, and is a daughter of Edward T. and Elizabeth Boardman, natives, respectively, of New York and Kentucky. They were married in Henderson, Ky., and after living some years in Indiana, came, in 1869, to Phillips County, Ark., where Mr. Boardman died, in 1886. His wife is living, a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are the parents of four children, one son and three daughters.

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This family biography is one of 86 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Monroe County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Monroe County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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