This is a personal narrative sent to me by my cousin, Bud Roberts, the third child born to Richard (Dick) James Roberts and his wife, Grace Ball Harvey Roberts. It tells the story, covering twelve years, of a young boy's life (his father and my great uncle) in California and then onto Vermont. While not all of it concerns El Dorado County, that is where he was born and there are several references in the narrative about folks in El Dorado County. I think you will enjoy it. Because of its length (11+ single-spaced typed pages), I will be sending it in 6-8 parts. (*) indicate corrections made by me, from my own research, which will appear at the end each part. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (The following is from my Dad's written description of his early life in California and later in Vermont. Only minor changes have been made in grammar and chronology for clarity. I don't know why he included Edward in his middle name. I have inserted some remarks in parenthesis with personal comments int he narrative. His son, Bud Roberts) My Dad's Story Mervyn Edwin (Edward) Roberts (The following is from my Dad's written description of his early life in California and later in Vermont. Only minor changes have been made in grammar and chronology for clarity. I don't know why he included Edward in his middle name. I have inserted some italicized personal comments in the narrative. His son, Bud Roberts) I was born to Richard James Roberts and Grace Ball Harvey Roberts on November 27th 1902 (Thanksgiving Day) about 11:30 a.m. (I came first before dinner) in (our) home on the main road of Clarksville, El Dorado Coutny, California. The story was that my father had to pack the other children to Grandmother, Mrs. Samuel Kyburz (*) (not truly my grandmother, but the aunt who had raised my mother after her mother had died when my mother was real young in Shingles, about five miles away). He (my father) arrived home after delivering the partly cooked turkey and children. (As a child) I remember chewing on something very hard that felt good. He used to say that all of us kids had teethed on his pistol. I often heard him say how my mother was a better rifle shot than him and also quite a woman on horseback. She often used to outshoot him with the pistol knocking cans off fence posts at full gallop. He said she could shoot a turkey's head off at 100 yards with a rifle better than he could. They always hunted together for birds and rabbits, always getting all they wanted. I heard my father say how when my mother died and they held the services in the house, that we all kissed her before they closed the lid. Whether this is a memory from his remarks, I always felt that I could remember it. I do feel I remembered her as she seemed very tall to me. From what I heard later she was as tall as my father, who was 5 foot 9 inches. My mother must have been suffering with tuberculosis and, on December 12, 1904, my brother Rafael Richard was born. Our mother died in October 1905 at the age of 36. After my mother's death, I believe I stayed with my father, but Rafael was taken to one known to us as Grandma Tong. What her relationship was I do not know. I heard from my cousin John Roberts (Rome, N.Y.) in 1920 that he had received a letter from my father about going to Alaska and he decided to go along. He went to California and located the home of my father and he entered and no one (was there to) bid him to enter. He found me in a wooden box and the wood box all covered with shit (his word) and flies so that he could hardly make me out to be a child. He said he felt so sorry for me that he took me and washed me with his stomach rebelling because of the mess. This was in 1905(*) and in the Spring of 1905(*) he and my father and another cousin named Basile went to Alaska and I was sent to my father's brother, Hugh Roberts, in San Francisco. Hugh was a stonemason and was working making monuments. I have a faint recollection of the stone (yard) place and I played around in it. The street that I lvied on ran down toward a railroad track where there was a packing place. I remember how they would tie me in front of the house and I would walk the length of my rope and beg people to untie me. I remember men from the packing plant giving me this meat which I now recognize to have been frankfurters. The other side of the railroad tracks there was a fire house and I got to know the firemen. Looking to the left down the tracks of the railroad I could see the Bay shoreline. There was a switch (on the rail line) that they carried stones to the shop where my uncle worked. I never knew whether he owned it or not, but his house stood in front of this shop. (I heard later from him and Aunt Jennie telling what a "knot untier" I was). (*) First paragraph, Mrs. Samuel Kyburz, I believe this to be Lottie Kyburz, wife of Samuel Elliot Kyburz. They were Grace Ball's aunt and uncle. (*) Last paragraph, 1905 must be in the early Spring of 1906, as Mervyn only lived with Uncle Hugh for a short time before the earthquake in April 1906. end of part 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`