No doubt we have all heard that the worst thing that can
happen to parents is having to bury a child. I am forever grateful that I have
not had that experience, but unfortunately, I have witnessed such heartache among
friends and family. I have written about several children who died far too soon
by fire, by drowning, and even by murder. There is at least one more tragic
story to tell: the story of the children of Edith Jollett Roberts. (
It must have been a lovely day in the little community of
Meltons in Louisa County, Virginia that 30th day of April in 1943.
Edith, like so many young mothers in those days, allowed the children to play
in the yard while she likely was doing laundry, dusting, cooking, or performing
other domestic chores that occupied a housewife’s day.
Lewis was just two months shy of his third birthday;
Jeanne was not yet two. Their yard was sizable, plenty of room for toddlers to
explore. Sadly, 40 yards away lay a temptation that proved tragic for toddlers
too young to know better.
 |
| Richmond Times Dispatch 1 May 1943 GenealogyBank |
If this whole tale were not horrible enough for Edith and
Teddy Roberts, Lewis and Jeanne were not the only children they buried. Four
years earlier they lost Theodore Jr when he was just five months old, his little
life cut short by a brain tumor.
I swear, I don’t know how people keep going after that.
Amy Johnson Crow continues to challenge genealogy
bloggers and non-bloggers alike to think about our ancestors and share a story
or photo about them. The challenge is “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.”
Wendy
© 2019, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.
