Gary Boyd Roberts
Encyclopedia
Gary Boyd Roberts is an American
genealogist known for his scholarship in Americans of royal descent, the ancestors of American presidents, and notable kin. Roberts is the retired Senior Research Scholar of the New England Historic Genealogical Society
(NEHGS).
and an M.A. from the University of Chicago
. He was also a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley
. He married Margaret Melstrom on September 6, 1969 at Cherry Hill, New Jersey
. The couple divorced in 1975 with no issue.
Roberts is the son of Jack Carl and Mary Elizabeth (Boyd) Roberts. He is the great-great-grandson of a soldier from the Confederate States of America
, Calvin Henderson Roberts of Johnston County, North Carolina
.
and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. Roberts's genealogical interests include immigrant origins and royal descents; royal and noble genealogy; the ancestry of notable figures, especially U. S. presidents; colonial New England, mid-Atlantic states, and the South.
As sole author:
With William Addams Reitwiesner:
As editor:
Other:
In manuscript form:
Roberts's work appears in his column "Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources" for the NEHGS website. Kinships between G. W. Bush and J. F. Kerry plus other materials appear on his website Notable Kin. In recent years, he has collaborated with genealogist Christopher Challender Child, of the Newbury Street Press.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
genealogist known for his scholarship in Americans of royal descent, the ancestors of American presidents, and notable kin. Roberts is the retired Senior Research Scholar of the New England Historic Genealogical Society
New England Historic Genealogical Society
The New England Historic Genealogical Society is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. A charitable, nonprofit educational institution, NEHGS is located at 99-101 Newbury Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, in an eight-story archive and research center....
(NEHGS).
Background
A native of Houston, Texas, Roberts received a B.A. from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and an M.A. from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. He was also a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He married Margaret Melstrom on September 6, 1969 at Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...
. The couple divorced in 1975 with no issue.
Roberts is the son of Jack Carl and Mary Elizabeth (Boyd) Roberts. He is the great-great-grandson of a soldier from the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, Calvin Henderson Roberts of Johnston County, North Carolina
Johnston County, North Carolina
-Major highways:* Interstate 40* Interstate 95* U.S. Highway 70* U.S. Highway 301* U.S. Highway 701-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 121,965 people, 46,595 households, and 33,688 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile . There were...
.
Career
Roberts joined the NEHGS staff in 1974 and held a number of positions including Director of Publications and Senior Research Scholar. Roberts is a former member of the Society of GenealogistsSociety of Genealogists
The Society of Genealogists is a UK-based educational charity, founded in 1911 to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy". The Society's Library is the largest specialist genealogical library outside North America. Membership is open to any adult who agrees to...
and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. Roberts's genealogical interests include immigrant origins and royal descents; royal and noble genealogy; the ancestry of notable figures, especially U. S. presidents; colonial New England, mid-Atlantic states, and the South.
Publications
Roberts's publications include:As sole author:
- Ancestors of American Presidents (1989, 1995, 2009);
- The Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States (1993, 2nd and 3rd printings, with addenda, 2001–2002);
- The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States (2004, available from NEHGS and Genealogical Publishing Company),
- Notable Kin, Volume One and Notable Kin, Volume Two (1998, 1999, available from both NEHGS and publisher Carl Boyer 3rd);
- The Best Genealogical Sources in Print: Essays by Gary Boyd Roberts, vol. 1 (2004, available from NEHGS);
With William Addams Reitwiesner:
- American Ancestors and Cousins of The Princess of Wales (1984, out of print since 1997).
As editor:
- Genealogies of Connecticut Families From NEHGR (3 vols., 1983),
- English Origins of New England Families From NEHGR (2 series, 6 vols., 1984–85),
- Genealogies of Mayflower Families From NEHGR (3 vols., 1985),
- Mayflower Source Records From NEHGR (1986),
- Genealogies of Rhode Island Families From NEHGR (2 vols., 1989),
- Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis (3 vols., 1996).
Other:
- Introduction to New England Marriages Prior to 1700 by Clarence Almon Torrey, (1985, several times reprinted with the introduction revised).
- The Ancestry of Catherine Middleton, (Foreword, 2011).
In manuscript form:
- “The Mowbray Connection: An Analysis of the Genealogical Evolution of British, American and Continental Nobilities, Gentries, and Upper Classes Since the End of the Middle Ages,” 23 vols., at NEHGS, New York Public Library, and the Society of Genealogists, London; 20+ manuscript pamphlets on notable descendants of various of his own ancestors (Howlands, Lathrops, Dwights, Stanleys, etc.), plus John Alden and Richard Warren. Parts of "The Mowbray Connection" are being prepared for NewEnglandAncestors.org.
Roberts's work appears in his column "Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources" for the NEHGS website. Kinships between G. W. Bush and J. F. Kerry plus other materials appear on his website Notable Kin. In recent years, he has collaborated with genealogist Christopher Challender Child, of the Newbury Street Press.
See also
- Distant cousins of Barack Obama
- Bush family connections to other prominent families
- U.S. Presidential genealogical relationships
External links
- NEHGS
- Notable Kin
- Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources Archives
- "The Man who knew Bush", 2004 movie in which Roberts appeared as an authority on the Bush family genealogy.