Martha Leona (Mattie) Roberts

Below is a photograph of my maternal great, great aunt Martha Leona (Mattie) Roberts. She was the next to the youngest sister of my great grandfather John Taylor Roberts. This is one of the many family photographs that I scanned from my grandmother Leona’s desk at my mom’s house when I was visiting this past March. This aunt is my grandmother Leona’s namesake.



Below is what my grandmother wrote on the back (click the photos to enlarge them):


Transcription of the above: Leona Roberts Strickland – (Mrs. C. C. [C. S.] Strickland) Aunt Lonie – The aunt I was named for. My fathers sister (“Lonie” – pronounced with a long “o”— is also my grandmother’s and my mother’s nickname.)

Mattie Roberts was born during the Civil War on January 17, 1864, in Berrien County, Georgia [1, 2]. Her parents were William and Margaret (DeVane) Roberts. She married Colquitt Strickland (1857-1924) in Berrien County on January 31, 1883 [3]. Below is a copy of their marriage license on page 299 of the Berrien County marriage book available on Georgia’s Virtual Vault.



Mattie and Colquitt had three children: Charles, William, and Luelle [4]. Around the time that the 1900 census was taken, Mattie died on August 10, 1900, at the age of 36 [5]. At the time of Mattie’s death, her children were 16, 12, and 6 years old [6]. I noticed on the 1900 census that Mattie’s sister Beulah (Margaret) Roberts was living with them (See census record below starting at line 27. Click to enlarge). I figured she must have been there to take care of her sister Mattie and help with the household and the children. I also figured that Colquitt married again after Mattie died. I was right. He married Beulah [7].



While I was scrolling though the Strickland burials on the Sunset Hill Cemetery interactive map, I noticed “INF. DTR STRICKLAND.” According to the description, the marker says “Infant Daughter of C. and M. L. Strickland.” There is also a link to the photograph of the marker. There are no birth and death dates. This indicates that Mattie and Colquitt had at least four children instead of three. On the 1900 census, Mattie is recorded has having had three children and all three were living (See census record above). Did this child die when Mattie died? I don’t have a copy of their death records.

Martha Leona (Mattie) Roberts Strickland is buried in Sunset Hill Cemetery in Valdosta, Georgia, in Section 313, Block 13, Lot 004, Space 19.

Catherine
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[1] findagrave memorial for Martha Leona Roberts Strickland.
[2] Ancestry.com 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Valdosta, Lowndes, Georgia, Roll 209, Page 45A, Enumeration District 70.
[3] Ancestry.com Georgia Marriages, 1851-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
[4] See footnote 2 above
[5] See footnote 1 above
[6] See footnote 2 above
[7] Lowndes County marriage book, page 532. Marriage license for C. Strickland and Beulah Roberts. Date of marriage 22 April 1902. Georgia’s Virtual Vault.