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Ann (Bate) Roberts of Liverpool, England and Ontario, Canada

Ann Bate was baptized on September 24, 1826 at the church of St. James in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. Her parents were William and Catherine (Cottier) Bate. Her younger sister, Rebecca (Bate) Buck, was my great-great-grandmother. Ann appears with her family in the 1841 England census. She was 14 years old. See William and Catherine (Cottier) Bate for more information.

William and Catherine had moved to what is now Ontario by the time the 1851 census was taken there. Ann was not with her family at that point. It appears that Ann stayed behind in England. There is an Ann "Bates" living with a Houlgrave family and working as a general servant in Liverpool in the 1851 census (District 1x, page 24). Her age was given as 23, which is about two years too young, but it may still be the same Ann.

The LDS website at http://www.familysearch.org has a marriage record for Ann:

Groom's Name: David Roberts
Bride's Name: Ann Bate
Marriage Date: 29 Mar 1852
Marriage Place: St. Peter, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Groom's Father's Name: William Roberts
Bride's Father's Name: William Bate
Groom's Marital Status: Single
Bride's Marital Status: Single
Source Film Number: 1656510
Reference Number: it 5, p 236, no 472

By the time of the 1861 census Ann and David had moved to what is now Ontario and were living not far from her parents in Ernestown Township, Lennox & Addington County (District 2, page 22):

I have not been able to find birth records for children born to them in England, and in what is now Ontario births were not being recorded until the late 1860s.

In the 1871 census, the family was living in Maryborough, Wellington County (District 35, Sub-district A, Subdivision 2, pages 26 and 27).  Ann's sister Mary Ackerman and her family were living in Maryborough at the time of the 1861 census.

There was an error in the above census record, as Henrietta had a twin named Henry, and Ann Jane was actually only about 1. The proper spelling for Lewallan may have been Llewellyn.

The LDS website has a birth record for the youngest child:

Name: Ann Jane Roberts
Event: Birth
Event Date: 16 May 1870
Event Place: Wellington, Ontario
Gender: Female
Father: David Roberts
Mother: Ann Bate
Registration Number: rn 366
Film Number: 1844885
Digital Folder Number: 4018487
Image Number:212

For the 1881 census, they were still in Maryborough (page 6):

William had married by this time, and the LDS site has the record:

Name: William Roberts
Event: Marriage
Event Date: 14 May 1878
Event Place: Stirton, Wellington, Ontario, Canada
Age: 23
Estimated Birth Year: 1855
Father: David Roberts
Mother: Ann Roberts
Spouse: Ann Elgert
Spouse's Age: 18
Spouse's Estimated Birth Year: 1860
Spouse's Father: John Elgert
Spouse's Mother: Margaret Elgert
Registration Number: 011609
Film Number: 1863654
Digital Folder Number: 004529124
Image Number: 00095

There is also a marriage record for the younger David on the LDS site:

Name: J David Roberts
Event: Marriage
Event Date: 11 Nov 1877
Event Place: St Jacobs, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Age: 21
Estimated Birth Year: 1856
Father: David Roberts
Mother: Hannah Roberts
Spouse: Lydia Reichert
Spouse's Age: 24
Spouse's Estimated Birth Year: 1853
Spouse's Father: Philip Reichert
Spouse's Mother: Margaretha Reichert
Registration Number: 011048
Film Number: 1863650
Digital Folder Number: 004529120
Image Number: 01140

David's mother's name was given incorrectly as Hannah here. Ancestry.ca also has the record and it shows that his place of birth was Drayton, which fits with the Maryborough, Wellington location.

In 1891 they were in Drayton Village, Wellington County (District 125, Sub-district A, page 21):

Elizabeth was no longer with the family in 1891. I haven't found a marriage record for her, but it appears that she married Reuben Raglan Hambly. They were living near the Roberts family in the 1891 census.

In 1901 they were still in Drayton Village, Wellington County (District 124, Sub-district A, page 6):

In all of these Canadian census records, the ages of the parents seem to be off by a number of years.

Henrietta had married by 1901, and her marriage record also appears on the LDS site:

Name: George Henry Bramball
Event: Marriage
Event Date: 25 Nov 1896
Event Place: Drayton, Wellington, Ontario, Canada
Age: 38
Estimated Birth Year: 1858
Father: William Bramball
Mother: Hannah Travis
Spouse: Henrietta Roberts
Spouse's Age: 24
Spouse's Estimated Birth Year: 1872
Spouse's Father: David Roberts
Spouse's Mother: Ann Bates
Registration Number: 013137
Film Number: 1870916
Digital Folder Number: 4529264
Image Number: 00400

The LDS site has death records for Ann and David Roberts:

Name: An Ariss Bates Roberts
Event: Death
Event Date: 21 Dec 1906
Event Place: Drayton, Wellington, Ontario, Canada
Gender: Female
Age: 77
Estimated Birth Year: 1829
Reference Number: 030602
Film Number: 1854403
Digital Folder Number: 4174877
Image Number: 748

Name: David Roberts
Event: Death
Event Date: 23 Mar 1909
Event Place: Drayton, Wellington, Ontario
Gender: Male
Age: 79
Father: William Roberts
Mother: Mary Williams
Reference Number: yr 1909 cn 30739
Film Number: 1854621
Digital Folder Number: 4175809
Image Number: 1550

Ancestry.ca also has their death records, and the cause of death is included there. Ann died of cerebral apoplexy, and David died of la grippe and pneumonia. There are also death records there for a number of their children. Daniel Roberts died on May 5, 1870 at the age of 11 years and 4 months. His place of birth was given as Ernestown, Addington County, Ontario. Names of parents were not given but the informant was David Roberts of Stirton, Wellington County. Daniel's cause of death was inflammation in the lungs. John Roberts died on July 19, 1870 at the age of 13 years 7 months. His place of birth was given as Carnarvonshire, North Wales. It's possible that the family was living in Wales for a time before they came to what is now Ontario. Again names of parents were not given but informant was David Roberts of Stirton. Cause of death for John was St. Vitus' Dance. Mary Catherine Roberts died on June 10, 1884 at the age of 16. Her place of birth was also Ernestown. Informant was David Roberts of Drayton, listed as father. Mary died of congestion of the lungs. There is a death record for a Henry Roberts in Drayton on May 8, 1893. His age was 21. No parents' names were given, and the informant was the doctor who treated him. In spite of the fact that the age is not quite right, it is likely that this is the Henry who belonged to this family. Cause of death was pleurisy.

Llewellyn Roberts died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Drayton on January 20, 1938. His date of birth was given as February 14, 1865. Name of informant was Elizabeth Hambly, described as his sister. Ann Jane Roberts died in 1941, according to her cemetery record (see below). The 1941 Ontario death records have not been released yet. It appears that neither Llewellyn nor Ann Jane ever married.

Here are some of the family burial records from Victoria Cemetery in Drayton, Wellington County:

C-10-9 (Symbol: Deer) / GOF / (Symbol: Chain, three links, Oddfellows) / FLT / REUBEN RAGLAN HAMBLY / 1858 - 1924 / His wife / ELIZABETH ROBERTS / 1866 - 1956 / Until the day break, and the shadows flee away.

C-9-7 GEORGE / BRAMHALL / 1856 - 1938 / His wife / HENRIETTA / ROBERTS / 1878 - 1930 /BRAMHALL //

C-9-8 R / DAVID ROBERTS Sr. / Born July 29, 1830, Died Mar 23, 1909 / ANN ARISS BATE / His wife /Born Aug. 15, 1829, Died Dec. 21, 1906. / Also their children / JOHN, DANIEL, MARY C. &HENRY //

LEW. ROBERTS / 1864 - 1938 / ANN J. ROBERTS / 1878 - 1941 / ROBERTS. //

D-2-2 R / LYDIA RICHARD / Wife of DAVID ROBERTS / Died Dec. 27, 1918 / In her 64th year / DAVID ROBERTS / Died July 19, 1928 / In his 72nd year //

It seems that Ann (Bate) Roberts had the middle name Ariss, though it did not appear on her baptism record. It's possible that the family was connected to an Arris family in some way, unless perhaps Ann was named for a family friend with that name.

My mother's cousin John Buck has provided me with much information on the Buck and Bate families. Recently he gave me some letters that Dean Babcock had written to Charles Young some time ago. Both are deceased now. After Charles died his widow gave the letters to John. Dean was my grandmother's cousin and a Buck and Bate descendant. Charles was more distantly related through the Buck family. In a letter from Dean to Charles dated March 8, 1976, Dean said, "Dave Roberts came one time and visited Bath & Odessa. His mother was a Buck. He was a farmer at Listowel." Members of our Buck family lived in the Bath and Odessa areas. Bath and Odessa are located in the former Ernestown Township. Listowel is about twenty miles from Drayton. Dean was wrong about Dave's mother being a Buck. In fact, she was a Bate. But he did know there was a relationship. This Dave Roberts must have been David and Ann's son, who died in 1928 as above.