Household #61: Roberts, Isaac "Ike"
Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index
In the 1900 Barney census, Ike Roberts headed a 2-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.
Household Snapshot
Ike Roberts headed a 2-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 spouse or marital partner.
Ike Roberts's listed occupation was Farmer.
All listed household members were reported as born in Georgia.
1900 Census Household
| Name | Relation | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ike Roberts | Head | 24 | Georgia | Farmer |
| Ardonia Roberts | Wife | 22 | Georgia | — |
Children and Later Trails
No child-tracking items are open for this page because the 1900 table lists no children in the household.
Family Narrative
The 1900 Barney census shows Ike Roberts and his wife Ardonia as a newly married couple farming in Brooks County. The census places Ike's birth in March 1876 and Ardonia's in July 1877. It also reports that both were Georgia-born and that neither could read or write at the time of the census.
The strongest earlier record in hand for Ike is the 1880 census entry for Isaac Roberts, age 4, in the Quitman district household of Prince and Lucy Roberts. That household provides a plausible parent set for HH#61 and is the only Roberts family connection presently supported by direct evidence. Isaac appears there with older siblings Harriet, Louisa, Zillianna, Thomas, Harrietta, and Prince, plus younger brother Mitchell.
The later census chain in hand supports continuity for the same household after 1900. In 1920, Ike Roberts appears in Barney as a 50-year-old rented-farm operator. In 1930, Isaac Roberts appears in Brooks County militia district 1571, age 55, still renting. In 1940, Ike Roberts appears again in Barney, age 66, this time on an owned farm valued at $150. Taken together, those records support a long residence in the Barney area and a modest shift from tenancy to ownership by the end of the documented timeline.
The 1910 census entry previously attached to this household should be removed from the proved chain. That record is for Isaac C. Roberts, age 23, with a wife named Dura. Its age, household structure, and spouse do not fit the 1900, 1920, 1930, and 1940 records for Ike Roberts and Ardonia. At present, no correct 1910 census match is in hand for HH#61.
Ardonia's identity is strengthened by a consistent set of name variants across the later records. She appears as Ardonia in 1900, as Idonia in 1930, as Ardonis in 1940, and as Ardona in the Brooks County death index. A likely earlier match is the 1880 Jefferson County, Florida, household of Lindsay and Nancy Drew, which includes a two-year-old daughter named Ordonia Drew. That evidence fits the later age pattern and the uncommon name, but it remains a probable identification rather than a proved one.
The Thomas County marriage record for J.C. Roberts and Ardonia Drew on 25 December 1899 is promising and should remain with the file, because the bride's name matches well and the date fits the 1900 census report of a new marriage. Even so, the present evidence does not prove that J.C. Roberts and Ike Roberts were the same man. Until a direct linking record is found, that marriage should be treated as candidate evidence rather than settled identity proof.
The Roberts cluster analysis for HH#61 should stay narrow. John Roberts of HH#29 and Octavia Roberts of HH#129 are white households and should not be used in the Black Roberts family network for Ike Roberts. The only documented anchor is the Prince Roberts household in 1880. Robert Roberts of HH#184 and Frank Roberts of HH#189 may belong to the same broader Black Roberts network, but no direct relationship to Ike has been proved from the records now in hand.
The death indexes extend the household beyond the census record. Ike Roberts appears in the Brooks County death index with certificate 18945 and a death date of 10 Aug 1942. Ardona Roberts appears in the same index with certificate 9262 and a death date of 1 Apr 1943. Those index entries support the end dates for the couple's documented timeline, but the full death certificates are still needed for stronger family detail.
Open Research Questions
- Parentage audit: Keep head-of-household and spouse parentage as unresolved unless a cited direct record names the parents or the entry explains the census chain supporting the identification.
- A correct 1910 census match for Ike and Ardonia Roberts has not yet been located.
- The Thomas County marriage record should not be treated as proved for HH#61 until a record directly links J.C. Roberts to Ike Roberts.
- The 1880 Ordonia Drew identification in Jefferson County, Florida, is plausible but not yet proved.
- Full death certificates for Ike Roberts and Ardona Roberts are still needed.
- No burial record or cemetery identification has been confirmed from direct evidence in hand.
Research Status
Substantial evidence in hand. The 1880 Prince Roberts household, the 1900 household entry, the 1920, 1930, and 1940 census records, and the two Brooks County death-index entries support a solid working reconstruction for Ike Roberts and Ardonia Roberts. The main unresolved points are the missing 1910 household, proof that the 1899 J.C. Roberts marriage belongs to Ike, and fuller documentation for Ardonia's earlier Drew family identification.
Sources
- 1880 U.S. census, Quitman district, Brooks County, Georgia, page 325D, dwelling 763, Prince Roberts household, including Isaac Roberts, age 4.
- 1900 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, sheet 3, dwelling 61, family 61, Ike Roberts household.
- 1920 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, ED 46, page 5B, Ike Roberts household.
- 1930 U.S. census, militia district 1571, Brooks County, Georgia, dwelling 90, family 92, Isaac Roberts household.
- 1940 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, Ike Roberts household, showing owned farm valued at $150.
- Brooks County, Georgia, death index entry for Ike Roberts, certificate 18945, 10 Aug 1942.
- Brooks County, Georgia, death index entry for Ardona Roberts, certificate 9262, 1 Apr 1943.
- 1880 U.S. census, Precinct 3, Jefferson County, Florida, page 36A, Lindsay Drew household, including Ordonia Drew, age 2.
- Thomas County, Georgia, marriage record for J.C. Roberts and Ardonia Drew, dated 25 Dec 1899.
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