(Back 8 generations to Scotland)
Robeard, Robertson, & McRoberts family mottos:
“Virtutis gloria merces” (“Glory is the reward of valor”)
“Virtute et valore” (“By virtue and valor”)
“Dum spiro spero” (“While I breathe and hope”)
“Ewch ymlaen” (“Go forward”)
Scottish MacRobart dress tartan
(Click on first name for Vitals/spousal surname for associated tree)
William McRoberts (c.1740-1808)
Hannah Baird (1739-1812)
I
Susanna McRoberts (1775-1854)
George Allison (1775-1839)
I
Pamelia Allison (1807-1883)
Thomas Nelson (1802-1875)
I
Permelia “Millie” Nelson (1839-1914)
Charles Pearce (1834-1914)
I
Wesley Herron Pearce (1876-1955)
Bessie Reed Hill (1887-1974)
I
Ralph Hill Pearce (1917-2002)
Ruth Elizabeth Gray (1917-2005)
I
Larry Edsel Pearce (1948- )
Susan Kay Miller (1949- )
^
Annie Rebecca Pearce Matthew Carter Pearce
(1971- ) (1973- )
DOCUMENTATION:
Betsy Hare Kemp, Vero Beach, FL., research on Allison ancestry
Sir John Bernard Burke. The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. London: Habeison & Sons, 1884
Cathy Farrell, GenForum from Thomas Cushing’s History of Allegheny Co., PA. A. Warner Co., 1889. p. 586.
Robert B. Van Atta, “Pioneer families played part in shaping of North Hills.” Tribune-Review. 8 May 2005.
Public Member Family Trees & other documents. Ancestry.com
Last revised: 12/30/16
It is interesting to see how family branches out all different ways. I was curious if you have ever researched the McRoberts side of your family tree? I currently live in Texas and my family has been here since the mid 1900’s, but I know that we originated from Scotland/Ireland Area then the Mid-West. If there is any information you have on the McRoberts clan I would appreciate you sharing. My grandfather was Gerald Henry McRoberts and my Great Grandfather was Henry McRoberts.
Thanks in advance,
Chase
Hi Chase,
All I know now about our McRoberts family is what you see in my introduction. See the Table of Contents. If your McRoberts came through Pittsburgh then we’re probably related. As this family is rather far removed from my modern paternal Pearce branches, I haven’t spent too much time researching them. The ironic thing is that the McRoberts farm in Fox Chapel was very near to my oldest maternal Campbell and Crawford farms. Today, this part of Pittsburgh is very wealthy. Our families were just poor pioneers. Please let me know what info you have on your earliest family.
Larry
I’m just starting to look into my family’s history and the information you’ve collected here looks to be a great help. My father Gerald McRoberts came here from Ireland but I’ve never gone back earlier than him. I just wanted to say thanks for giving me a starting point.
Shawn,
Thanks for writing. You don’t say where your family or you are located now. Allegheny County, PA? Please let me know when and where you have “found” your Irish ancestors!
Larry
I’m a descendant of Nancy McRobert, born in Scotland. She came to Ireland to marry Hugh Moore. They had several children: Margaret, Robert, James, Hugh, and Mary Moore. She came to Stanstead, QC, with her children. Margaret came with Daniel Flinn, her spouse. They also settled in Stanstead.
Joshua,
As my McRoberts were so far back, I have yet to investigate the family Vitals, but please check back. Meanwhile, where is this Stanstead and what does QC mean? I am not familiar with these apparent locations. Did any of your ancestors come to America, and Pennsylvania in particular? Thanks for your interest,
Larry
My Grt Grt Gran was Fanny McRoberts. She married John Belshaw in 1832. She came from Lissara in County Down, Northern Ireland. Her mother was also Fanny (Frances), born in 1785. Her husband was James McRobert, but I don’t know what her maiden name was.
I have quite a list of McRoberts but I haven’t connected them yet. It’s quite possible that some of them went to the USA as many folk did.
If anyone thinks they might have a conection I’d love to hear from you.
Hello Susan,
As you know if you read my introduction on our McRoberts family, we don’t have very much information at this moment. Your comments give us points of comparison in future research. It’s good to have those names. Thanks, and I hope one of our readers can help. Regards,
Larry
Hello Larry,
I have a GGgrandfather James McRoberts on my maternal grandmother’s mother’s side. My Grandmother’s mother’s name, interestingly enough, is Fannie Eva McRoberts Rathwell. Fannie is a very popular name it appears! I am not sure we are related, but I found your post very similar to my family history.
Hi Aimee,
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. If you could forward vital information on your ancestors such as dates and places of birth, residence, and death, that would really help. My McRoberts lived so long ago that making connections in Allegheny County, PA, is difficult. Please stay in touch,
Larry
My name is Adrian McRoberts,
My grandfather Samuel McRoberts was soldier in a Irish regiment during the first world war. He survived the bloodbath and emigrated to New Zealand where he met and married Martha Cockrane. They had three sons James, Hans and Alistair.I know nothing about Samuel and where he came from other than, I believe, Ireland.
Thanks, Adrian, for this info on Samuel. Our McRoberts were surely Scots-Irish from Ulster and came to America quite early. Unfortunately, there isn’t much on them in the Pittsburgh, PA, records. Please send anything else you can find. Regards,
Larry
Hello Adrian (Response): Your grandfather was my grandfather’s older brother and his name was Hans. From what I know, my Uncle Sammy told a lie about his age to get into the army during the First World War (he was too young), and I think he was in a Scottish regiment as he came from Clydebank Dunbartonshire.
His father was James, a manager in the Singer Sewing Machine Company and his mother was Jane Halliday. Your great grandparents are buried in Old Kilpatrick Churh yard near Bowling on the Clyde.
Are you the son of my Uncle Hans? I wish you and your family all the very best from your homeland.
Kind Regards,
James Hans McRoberts
Thanks, James, for your direct inquiry to our reader, Adrian. I’m forwarding your message to Adrian, hoping you’ll hear back.
Larry
Hi,
I am so pleased to have made contact with my family in America.
I would like to find out more about the McRoberts family, where they are today? How many brothers and sisters Samuel had? Did Samuel stay in contact with anyone in Scotland after he left for NZ?
I would also like to know more about you and where you live?
My wife and I will be travelling to England and Scotland in September, we will visit the church yard in Clyde on our way through.
Look forward to hearing from you again.
Yours
Adrian McRoberts.
Adrian,
We are in the mountains just east of Pittsburgh, but we known almost nothing about the McRoberts in Western Pennsylvania of 200 years ago. Hope you have a wonderful holiday, and please let us know what you find in “the Olde Country.” Perhaps some readers can fill in the blanks for all of us. Regards,
Larry
Hi Larry,
My wife and I travelled to the UK and up to Old Kilpatrick to meet my McRoberts relatives.
What a memorable experience that was, the family we met in Scotland are lovely people and made us very welcome. We intend to make a second trip to the old country in the not to distant future to spend more time with them.
Thanks for your help in finding my Scottish relatives.
Yours Adrian.
Hi Adrian,
How exciting to hear of your travels. I must admit that I don’t have much on our McRoberts let alone Old Kilpatrick, so anything you can add is appreciated. Thanks for sharing.
Larry
Hi Larry,
My apologies for the late reply.
On our trip to Scotland my wife and I visited the town of Old Kilpatrick, we met up with my father’s first cousin who like my dad is in his 80s. He has a wife and 3 adult offspring: James, Billy, and Flora. James took us to the old church yard in Old Kilpatrick. There are a number of McRoberts buried there. The family told us it was not uncommon for families to pack up and move to Ireland and visa-versa looking for work. Houses often came with jobs so was a good incentive to leave. We had a good time chatting and sharing photographs of our grandparents.
I hope this is of interest to you.
Cheers,
Adrian
Dear Adrian,
What a wonderful experience. Please send us any other information on our McRoberts, especially the ones from Allegheny County, PA. Regards,
Larry
My McRoberts line is Samuel McRoberts born in Ulster, Ireland. Ive read that his father was kicked out of Scotland and fled to Ireland. Samuel was born in 1725 and settled in Virginia. He had Alexander McRoberts who was a member of George Washingtonn’s staff.
Hello Stephanie,
Thank you for sharing this most interesting material. In reading some of the McRoberts inquiries I’ve received over the years, no one can seem to link to my Western Pennsylvania line: William McRoberts (c.1740-1808) who married Hannah Baird (1739-1812) and produced Susanna McRoberts (1775-1854) who married George Allison (1775-1839). Please stay in touch. Our research continues.
Larry
My husbands father is related to this family as well.
Jenna,
I can’t see if you’ve written before on my reply page. Who is/was your husband’s father and where/how are they connected? I don’t have many later McRoberts ties. Thanks for your interest.
Larry
I had a great great grandmother Ann McRobert born in may 1816 in Scotland if that links up with anyone. maybe the north east / Aberdeen area.
Thank you for writing, Martin. I hope someone will respond. Regards,
Larry
I would love to learn the history of my family …
Shannen,
We’ll have to know more about your ancestors to help. Tell us what you know so far.
Larry
Hello,
I come from a line of Mcroberts who settled in western Pennsylvania in the early/mid 1800s. I believe James Mcroberts (my great great great grandfather) was the first to come to Pennsylvania. His father was Bryce Mcroberts and his father was Michael Mcroberts. I believe they moved from Kilmarnock area of Scotland, but there seems to be a connection to Ulster, Ireland. I believe James married Margaret Barton who was the daughter of Robert Barton and Catherine Craik. and had atleast one son in Harmar, P.A. named Charles Mcroberts. The Bartons/Craiks came from Dumfrieshire, Scotland in the early 1800s and settled in western Pennsylvania. Not sure if any of this ties in with anyone else’s Mcroberts line, but my line stops in Kilmarnock, Scotland and would love to know more about the Mcroberts and where they originated from in Scotland. Or any info about the family.
Thanks
Chase Tingle
Hello Chase. My apologies for the delay in answering. I see that your James was the applicant for membership in the National Sons Serving in the American Revolution from which I applied the information on my William (c.1740), who moved from Glasgow to Dauphin Co., PA. His wife Hanna Baird had moved to nearby Mifflin Co, then with their daughter Susanna moved to Allegheny Co. north of Pittsburgh. She married George Allison, for whom the town of Allison Park is named. At this time I have nothing on your Bryce or Michael, but I thank you for the leads and will investigate. I’ll keep in touch and hope you will do the same. Regards, Larry