Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 09.djvu/133

 itu BERTS

ROBERTS

•f)^.(^S^-A^

came with his parents to the United States, land- ing ill New York city in June of the same year. His father, mother and two of their children died of cholera soon after landing, leaving him the eldest uf six orphan children. He spent the next two years in business, meantime keeping up his studies and taking some over- sight of the younger members of the fam- ily. At the expira- tion of that time he entered Dr. D. H. Pierson's preparatory school at Elizabeth, N.J., and in 1852, en- tered the sophomore class in the College of New Jersey (now Princeton univer- sity). He was grad- uated with honors in 1855. and from the Prince- ton Theological seminary in 1858. He suc- ceeded in paying a large part of his college ex- penses by tutoring in Greek, mathematics and the modern languages in Delaware college and other places. He was married, Oct. 19, 1858, to Mary Louise, daughter of Ezra Bourne and Mar- garet Douan Fuller of Trenton. N.J. He studied law under Judge Patton in Penrxsylvania for some time. He was pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Wilmington, Del., 1858-62; the First Presbyterian church, Columbus, Ohio, 1862-64; the Second Presbyterian church, 1864-66, and the Westminster clmrch, Elizabeth, N.J., 1866-81. He was made trustee of the College of New Jersey at Princeton in 1866, and was twenty years chair- man of the committee on the curriculum. He was corresponding secretary of the Board of Home Missions, 1881-86, president, 1881; senior secretary, 1892-98, and president of Lake Forest university, Illinois, 1886-92. He declined the presidency of Rutgers college in 1882, and the chair of didactic theology in the Western Theological seminary, Allegheny, Pa., in 1886. In 1898 he was elected president of Centre college, Kentucky, and was largely instrumental in bringing about a consoli- dation of Centre college and the Centre university under the name of Central University of Ken- tucky, being the first president under the new organization. He was moderator of the synod of Columbus, 1864, and of the synod of New Jersey, 1875, a delegate to the general Presby- terian council in Edinburgh, 1877, to the general council in Belfast, 1884, and to the council in Glasgow, 1896, and was moderator of the Presby- terian general assembly, 1889. He received the degree of D.D. from Union college, 1871, and that

of LL. D. from the College of New Jersey (Prince- ton university) 1886. He is the author of: .4 Translation of the Shorter Catechism into Welsh (1864); Letters on Eminent Welsh Clergymen (1868); Letters on Travels in Egypt and Pales- tine {published in England and the United States); Neiv Testament Conversions (1896); and various special sermons, addresses and magazine contri- butions in English, Welsh and German.

ROBERTS, William Henry, librarian and clergyman, was born at Holyhead, Wales, Jan. 31, 1844; son of the Rev. William (q.v.)and Katharine (Parry) Roberts. He came to the United States with his parents in 1855, and was graduated from the College of the City of New York, A.B., 1863, A.M., 1866. He was statistical clerk of the U.S. treasury department, 1863-66, and assistant libra- rian of congress, 1866-71. He was married, June 11, 1867, to Sarah Esther, daughter of William and Caroline A. McLean of Washington, D.C. He was graduated at the Princeton Theolog- ical seminary in 1873; ordained by the presby- tery of Elizabeth, N.J., Dec. 7, 1873, and pas- tor at Cranford, N.J., 1873-77. He was librarian of Princeton Thelogical seminary, 1877-86; pro- fessor of practical theology at Lane Theological seminary, Cincinnati. Ohio, 1886-93, where he was also stated supply of the Second Presbyterian church, 1889-90, and was pastor at Trenton, N.J., 1894-98, in which latter year he removed to Phila- delphia, Pa. He served as clerk of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church from 1884; as American secretary of the Alliance of Reformed Churches from 1888; was treasurer of the Cen- tenary fund, 1888, of the Anniversary Reunion fund, 1895-96, and of the Twentieth Century fund, 1900-02; moderator of the synod of Ohio, 1891, and president of the Pan-Presbyterian council, Glasgow, Scotland, 1896. He received the honorary degree of D.D. from the Western University of Pennsylvania in 1884, and that of L.L.D. from Miami university in 1887. He edited the Catalogue of the Library of Princeton Theological Seminary (1881); The Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (17 vols., 1884-1900), and Ad- dresses at the 250th Anniversary of the West- minster Assembly (1898), and is the author of: History of the Presbyterian Church (1888); The Presbyterian System (1895); Laics Relating to Religious Corporations (1896); Manual for Rul- ing Elders (1897).

ROBERTS, William Milnor, civil engineer, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 12, 1810; son of Thomas Pascliall and Maria Louise (Baker) Roberts; grandson of Abraham and Rachel (Mil- nor) Roberts and of Hilary Baker, who, in the performance of his duty as mayor of Philadelphia among the sick and dead during the terrible epi-