Ephraim Roberts papers, circa 1775-1968

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Roberts, Ephraim Peter, 1825-1893
Title
Ephraim Roberts papers
Dates
circa 1775-1968 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.75 cubic feet, (4 document cases, 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number
Mss 1148
Summary
Papers of a missionary from Vermont and Maine who served in Panape, Micronesia, in the mid-19th century and later settled in The Dalles, Oregon. Includes journals of Roberts and his wife Myra Farrington Roberts, correspondence, family letters, biographical materials and genealogies.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Ephraim Peter Roberts was born at Danbury, Vermont, October 23, 1825. After completing studies at Williams College in 1854, he entered Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine, and was ordained by the Congregational Church at Bangor on July 28, 1857. On Septermber 8, 1857, he married Myra Holman Farrington of Holden, Maine, born there September 22, 1835. Both having been certified as missionaries by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, they sailed from Boston on October 30, 1857, en route to Micronesia via Cape Horn and Honolulu. Fellow passengers on the Eliza and Ella were the David Dwight Baldwins, also newlyweds, on their way to the American Board mission at Lahaina, Maui.

After a six month voyage to Honolulu, the Roberts stayed there three months until the missionary packet Morning Star was made ready for its second voyage to Micronesia. The ship sailed June 30, 1858, with Ephraim and Myra Roberts, Mrs. Luther Halsey Gulick and three of her children, and Mrs. Gulick's brother-in-law, Theodore W. Gulick. They arrived at Ponape, Caroline Islands, on August 18th.

The Roberts spent the next three years at Shalong, Ponape, replacing Dr. and Mrs. Luther H. Gulick who, with the A. A. Sturges', had established the Ponape mission in 1852. During these years the first two of the Roberts' nine children were born. By mid-summer of 1861 their fellow missionaries to Micronesia decided that the Roberts' should leave Ponape for a number reasons. Two-year-old Charlotte Roberts had somewhat fragile health, and fear for her life was heightened by the death of the Sturges' little girl at Ronkiti, Ponape. Also, whaling vessels were calling less frequently at the islands, life there was increasingly isolated, and mission work was not proceeding as had been hoped. When Mrs. Sturges's health seriously failed, making necessary her return to Honolulu, the Roberts were urged to go too.

They again sailed on the Morning Star, in July of 1861, wound up their American Board affairs in Honolulu, and embarked for San Francisco in September. From there they sailed to Portland, Oregon, and settled for a time at White Salmon, Washington Territory. In 1868 they took up a homestead near The Dalles, Oregon, engaged in sheep raising and fruit growing, and devoted much time to the Congregational Church in that area. Ephraim Roberts died February 6, 1893, and Myra Roberts died February 18, 1912.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of correspondence, journals, and genealogical notes on the Roberts and Farrington families. The journals (1857-1961) of Ephraim and Myra Roberts relate to the voyage to Micronesia on the packet Morning Star and to their stay in Ponape. Included are early Farrington family letters, letters received by Ephraim Roberts while at Williams College and Bangor Theological Seminary, letters to the Roberts from their families in Maine and Vermont, and letters from fellow missionaries in the Pacific. Correspondents include: Hiram Bingham, Jr., Elias Bond, Titus Coan, Samuel C. Damon, Edward P. and Sarah Doane, Charlotte C. Dole, Daniel Farrington (Myra's brother in California), Jonathan S. Green, Louisa L. Gulick, Luther Halsey, David B. and Sarah Lyman, George and Nancy A. Pierson, Benjamin G. Snow, A. A. Sturges, Booker T. Washington, and Charles H. Wetmore.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

The collection is also available on microfilm at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Ephraim Peter Roberts papers, Mss 1148, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  • Series A: Correspondence, 1775-1968
  • Series B: Journals and notebooks, 1856-1898
  • Series C: General files, 1832-1968

Acquisition Information

Library Accessions 10244, 10337, 10342, 10343, 10357.

Future Additions

Additional materials were added to the collection in 1969.

Separated Materials

The "Farrington memorial pamphlets," published in 1880 and 1899, were separated to the book collections of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library and cataloged individually.

Bibliography

Spight, Ruth Stephenson, The story of Ephraim Peter Roberts, 1825-1893, and Myra Farrington Roberts, 1835-1912 [Oakland, Calif., 1970]

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series A:  Correspondence, 1775-1968Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Transcripts and copies of selected letters
1856-1859
Letters to Ephraim P. Roberts while at Williams College and Bangor Theological Seminary
Copies on reel 1 of microfilm
Box/Folder
1/2
1846-1849
1/3
1850-1851
1/4
1852
1/5
1853
1/6
1854
1/7
1855
Letters to Ephraim P. Roberts at Bangor, including letters from the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions
Copies on reel 1 of microfilm
Box/Folder
1/8
1856
1/9
1857 January-June
1/10
1857 July-December
Letters to Ephraim P. Roberts at Ponape, Hawaii, and in the Pacific Northwest
Copies on reel 4 of microfilm
Includes letters from Hiram Bingham, Jr., Elias Bond, Titus Coan, Samuel C. Damon, Edward P. and Sarah Doane, Jonathan S. Green, Luther Gulick, Theodore W. Gulick, George B. C. Ingraham, Edward Johnson, David B. Lyman, George Pierson, Lowell Smith, Benjamin G. Snow, A. A. Sturges, and Charles H. Wetmore
Box/Folder
1/11
1858
1/12
1859 January-June
1/13
1859 July-December
1/14
1860
1/15
1861; 1865; undated
Box/Folder
2/1
Family letters written to Ephraim and Myra Roberts while they were in Micronesia
Copies on reels 2 and 5 of microfilm
1857-1861
2/2
Letters to Myra F. Roberts from her brother Daniel Farrington in California
Copies on reel 2 of microfilm
1856
2/3
Letters to Myra F. Roberts from American Board wives
Includes letters from Sarah W. Doane, Charlotte C. Dole, Louisa L. Gulick, Sarah G. Lyman, Lucia G. Lyons, and Nancy A. Pierson
Copies on reels 3 and 4 of microfilm
1857-1861
2/4
Ephraim Roberts letters to Myra Farrington
Copies on reel 4 of microfilm
1856-1857
2/5
Myra Farrington letters to Ephraim P. Roberts
Copies on reel 4 of microfilm
1856-1857
2/6-8
Journal and letters of Ephraim and Myra Roberts, mostly written at Shalong, Ponape, Caroline Islands
Copies on reel 3 of microfilm
1858-1861
2/9
Letters of Ephraim and Myra Roberts
1857 September-December
2/10
Robert family letters and copies
1897-1968
2/11
Ephraim Roberts letters to friends and family (except Myra Roberts)
Copies on reel 4 of microfilm
circa 1856
Farrington family letters
Farrington family
Box/Folder
2/12
Family letters, mostly to and from Myra Farrington Roberts
Copies on reel 2 of microfilm
1841-1866
2/13
Early Farrington family letters
Copies on reel 2 of microfilm
circa 1775-1816
2/14
Later Farrington family letters and other papers
Copies on reel 5 of microfilm
1865-1881
Box/Folder
2/15
General letters and papers, including Ephraim Roberts's will
Includes letter (typed letter, signed) from Booker T. Washington, 1906
Copies on reel 3 of microfilm
circa 1870-1936
4/1
Envelopes from letters received
circa 1832-1860

Series B:  Diaries and notebooks, 1856-1898Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/16
Daily memoranda book of Ephraim P. Roberts
1856
3/1
Ephraim P. Roberts journal
Journal, Boston to Honolulu, 1857 October-1858 March, and Honolulu to Micronesia on the Morning Star, 1858 June-August. Included is a list of "vessels at Ponatik, 1858-1859."
Typescript transcription included. Copies on reels 2 and 3 of microfilm
1857-1859
3/2
Ephraim Roberts pocket notebook pages, receipts, and floor plan of house in The Dalles
Copies on reel 2 of microfilm
circa 1898; undated
3/3
Commonplace book of Ephraim and Myra Roberts
Includes copies of letters sent
circa 1857

Series C:  General files, 1832-1968Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
3/4
Myra Farrington Roberts school compositions
Copies on reel 5 of microfilm
circa 1847-1855
3/5
Ephemera and printed matter
Includes calling cards, newspaper clippings, obituaries, medical information, materials related to the American Board of Foreign Missions
Copies on reel 2 of microfilm
1854-1947
Oversize Folder
Printed matter, list of names, and Ephraim Roberts's diploma from Williams College
1854; undated
3/6
Myra Farrington Roberts reminiscences (typescript and manuscript)
Copies on reel 3 of microfilm
undated
3/7
Roberts and Farrington families biographical materials, notes, clippings
Copies on reel 5 of microfilm
  • Eulogy of John Farrington by J.R. Munsell, 1843 October 22
  • Genealogical notes, circa 1846-1857
  • Farrington genealogy (notebook), 1859
  • Speech, with family history, for Farrington reunion, 1878 August 27
  • Postcard for Farrington reunion, 1882
  • "The story of Ephraim Peter Roberts and Myra Farrington Roberts," compiled by Mrs. Kenneth Roberts Stephenson, 1968
  • Information on the ship Morning Star, undated
  • Clippings, 1912-1926
  • Recipe book, undated
1843-1968
3/8
Genealogical and biographical materials
1873-1936
3/9
Roberts and Farrington family genealogies and biographical materials
Copies on reel 5 of microfilm
1897-1963
Oversize folder
Farrington family tree
undated
3/10
Pocket Bible (New Testament) and Daily scripture promise belonging to Ephraim Roberts
1832-1845; undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Missionaries--Hawaii--History
  • Missionaries--Micronesia--Pohnpei Island--History
  • Women--Diaries

Personal Names

  • Doane, Edward P.--Correspondence (creator)
  • Roberts, Ephraim Peter, 1825-1893--Archives (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Hawaii--History
  • Maine--History
  • Dalles (Or.)--History
  • Pohnpei Island (Micronesia)--History

Form or Genre Terms

  • Diaries
  • Genealogies
  • Letters (correspondence)

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915--Correspondence (creator)
    • Damon, Samuel Chenery, 1815-1885--Correspondence (creator)
    • Dole, Charlotte Close Knapp, 1813-1874--Correspondence (creator)
    • Green, Jonathan S. (Jonathan Smith), 1796-1878--Correspondence (creator)
    • Gulick, L. L. (Louisa Lewis), 1830-1894--Correspondence (creator)
    • Halsey, Luther, 1794-1880--Correspondence (creator)
    • Lyman, Sarah Joiner, 1805-1885--Correspondence (creator)
    • Snow, B. G. (Benjamin G.)--Correspondence (creator)
    • Sturges, A. A.--Correspondence (creator)
    • Wetmore, C. H. (Charles Hinckley), 1820-1898--Correspondence (creator)
    • Bingham, Hiram, 1789-1869--Correspondence (creator)
    • Bond, Elias--Correspondence (creator)
    • Coan, Titus, 1801-1882--Correspondence (creator)
    • Doane, Sarah Wilbur--Correspondence (creator)
    • Farrington, Daniel, fl. 1856--Correspondence (creator)
    • Lyman, David B.--Correspondence (creator)
    • Pierson, Nancy A.--Correspondence (creator)
    • Roberts, Myra Farrington, 1835-1912--Archives (creator)
    Corporate Names
    • American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (creator)
    Family Names
    • Farrington family (creator)
    • Roberts family