Individual Details
John Iverson ROBERTS
(27 Feb 1816 - 1 Apr 1879)
John Iverson Roberts was born on February 27, 1816, in Gwinnett County, Georgia. He was the third of 11 children born to Step and Ellen Roberts. During the 1820's or early 1830's, the Roberts family moved from Georgia to Benton County, Alabama, where they settled and made their new home. Benton County was one of the dozen or so new counties created along the eastern boundary of Alabama following the last of the Creek and Cherokee cessions. It was in Benton County that he grew to young manhood and where he met his future wife, Crissa Barnett, the daughter of Uriah and Kazia Istily Barnett. Family records indicate that John I. and Crissa were wed on July 25, 1838. Seven children were born to them during the time they lived in Alabama, two of whom died in infancy. In 1853, John I., Crissa and their five surviving children moved from Alabama to Attala County, Mississippi, where they were to make their permanent home and raise six more children.
It was in Attala County that John I. was living at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War. With the outbreak of hostilities between the North and the South, John I., like most of his neighbors, enlisted in the service of the Confederacy. Official Confederate military service records on file with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History indicate that he was officially enrolled in the forces of the Confederacy on March 25, 1862, presumably at Kosciusko, Mississippi. He was formally mustered into the Confederate service at Grenada, Mississippi on April 20, 1862. His service records indicate that his enlistment was for a term of three years. Because of his age and position in the town, he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in Captain William V. Davis' Company, Mississippi Volunteers. This company of volunteers subsequently became Company "D" of the 30th Infantry Regiment, Mississippi Volunteers and soon adopted the name "Dixie Heroes". Apparently John I.'s term of service in the CSA army was of short duration and was marred by failing health virtually from the date of his enlistment. Declining health, in fact, forced him to resign his commission after only six months of service. He was hospitalized throughout the summer and into the early fall. On September 20, 1862, he formally tendered the resignation of his commission, giving as his reason the fact that declining health made it impossible for him to any longer render useful service to the Confederate cause.
Following his release from the service, John I. returned home to his wife and family in Attala County, Mississippi, where they were to give birth to yet another child. He remained a respected member of the community until his death, as evidenced by the fact that he was elected on several occasions as one of the magistrates of the county. John Iverson Roberts died on April 1, 1879, at the age of 62. According to the family, he died of a broken neck. He was sitting on a barrel of flour while riding in a wagon, and when the wagon hit a rough spot in the road, he fell off the barrel, breaking his neck. His wife, Crissa Barnett Roberts, died on January 17, 1899, at the age of 80. Both are buried at Rocky Point Cemetery in Attala County, Mississippi.
SOURCE: This sketch of John Iverson Roberts is reduced from material prepared by Howard O. Leach.
It was in Attala County that John I. was living at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War. With the outbreak of hostilities between the North and the South, John I., like most of his neighbors, enlisted in the service of the Confederacy. Official Confederate military service records on file with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History indicate that he was officially enrolled in the forces of the Confederacy on March 25, 1862, presumably at Kosciusko, Mississippi. He was formally mustered into the Confederate service at Grenada, Mississippi on April 20, 1862. His service records indicate that his enlistment was for a term of three years. Because of his age and position in the town, he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in Captain William V. Davis' Company, Mississippi Volunteers. This company of volunteers subsequently became Company "D" of the 30th Infantry Regiment, Mississippi Volunteers and soon adopted the name "Dixie Heroes". Apparently John I.'s term of service in the CSA army was of short duration and was marred by failing health virtually from the date of his enlistment. Declining health, in fact, forced him to resign his commission after only six months of service. He was hospitalized throughout the summer and into the early fall. On September 20, 1862, he formally tendered the resignation of his commission, giving as his reason the fact that declining health made it impossible for him to any longer render useful service to the Confederate cause.
Following his release from the service, John I. returned home to his wife and family in Attala County, Mississippi, where they were to give birth to yet another child. He remained a respected member of the community until his death, as evidenced by the fact that he was elected on several occasions as one of the magistrates of the county. John Iverson Roberts died on April 1, 1879, at the age of 62. According to the family, he died of a broken neck. He was sitting on a barrel of flour while riding in a wagon, and when the wagon hit a rough spot in the road, he fell off the barrel, breaking his neck. His wife, Crissa Barnett Roberts, died on January 17, 1899, at the age of 80. Both are buried at Rocky Point Cemetery in Attala County, Mississippi.
SOURCE: This sketch of John Iverson Roberts is reduced from material prepared by Howard O. Leach.
Events
| Birth | 27 Feb 1816 | Gwinnett County, GA | |||
| Marriage | 25 Jul 1838 | Calhoun County, AL - Crissa BARNETT | |||
| Death | 1 Apr 1879 | Attala County, MS | |||
| Burial | Rocky Point Cemetery, Attala County, MS |
Families
| Spouse | Crissa BARNETT (1819 - 1899) |
| Child | William Calvin ROBERTS (1843 - 1897) |
| Child | Benjamin Franklin ROBERTS (1849 - 1928) |