The History of the Yakima Valley, Washington, Comprising Yakima, Kittitas and
Benton Counties, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1919, Volume II, page 404

WILLIAM L. ROBERTS.

For fifteen years William L. Roberts has been a resident of Washington and
during this period has contributed in substantial measure to the agricultural
development of the district in which he has lived. He was born in Clay county,
Kansas, January 17, 1875, a son of Richard and Sarah A. (Gregg) Roberts. The
father was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while the mother's birth occurred
in Philadelphia. In 1869 they became residents of Clay county, Kansas, then a
frontier district, in which the father took up government land, which he
developed and improved, continuing to devote the place to general agricultural
pursuits until his retirement. His death occurred in Idana, Kansas. His wife has
also passed away.

William L. Roberts pursued a public school education, supplemented by a year's
study in college at Sterling, Kansas. At the age of thirteen years he began
working for wages. In 1896, when he had attained his majority, he went to Canon
City, Colorado, and was there employed on cattle and fruit ranches. In
February, 1903, he arrived in Seattle, Washington, and on the 5th of August of
the same year removed to Sunnyside. Washington, where for three years he devoted
his attention to the cultivation of land which he rented. On the 24th of
December, 1906, he purchased twenty acres near Grandview, all of which was
covered with sagebrush. He was also employed by a Mr. Harrison in the
development of ranch property and at the same time he used every available
opportunity to bring his own tract under cultivation. In 1909 he removed to
Mabton and developed an eighty-acre ranch for W. W. Sawyer. In September, 1909,
he took up his abode upon his own ranch near Grandview and now has eleven acres
planted to orchard, raising apples and pears. He annually gathers fine fruit and
its sale brings to him a substantial income. He is also engaged quite
extensively in the raising of hay, beets and cane for the manufacture of
sorghum molasses. He owns a sorghum mill and in 1918 the output was eight
hundred and sixty-four gallons. This is the only sorghum mill in the valley. He
makes a very fine grade of molasses and finds this a profitable undertaking. He
likewise produces a large amount of hay and in fact his farm is proving a
profitable one owing to his close application, his well defined energy and his
unfaltering perseverance.

On the 25th of December, 1901, Mr. Roberts was married to Miss Mary E. Glasgow,
a native of Missouri and a daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Glasgow, who removed
to Iowa during her girlhood clays. She died on the 10th of September, 1918. Her
father is now deceased but her mother survives and makes her home in California.
To Mr. and Mrs. Roberts were born three children: Edwin, Helen and Cecile,
members of the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Roberts is much interested in the cause of education and has served on the
school board in his district. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, to
which is wife also belonged. In politics he does not maintain a partisan
attitude but votes independently. He is interested, however, in all that
pertains to the welfare and progress of his community and his cooperation can be
depended upon to further plans for the general good.

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Submitted to the Washington Bios Project in December 2007 by Jeffrey L. Elmer.
Submitter has no additional information about the subject of this article.