A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans, Volume 5
By Will Thomas Hale, Dixon Lanier Merritt
The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago and New York; 1913

Pages 1273-1274, William F. Roberts (b. 1869)

Wm. F. Roberts, M. D. Perhaps the old adage, “There is always room at the top,” applies with more force to the medical profession than to any other calling, though it is measurably true of all occupations, and the more obstacles encountered in the climb the more room will be found when the top is reached. The man who is satisfied with mediocrity rarely ever rises above that state, while the man of true merit, inherent strength of character and laudable ambition pushes on toward a higher ideal. Years may elapse before his real worth and sterling qualifications become generally known, but when once seen are sure to be appreciated.

The Roberts family, which is of English origin, is one of the old families of Tennessee. The great-grandparents of Doctor Roberts were natives of North Carolina and were among those who came from that state and settled in Tennessee at an early date. Their son, William D. Roberts, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was one of the prominent and influential citizens in his day, a large land and slave owner, and was for some years prior to the Civil war engaged in the tobacco and cotton business. When the trouble between the North and South came on, he remained loyal to the Union, and this attitude drew forth the hatred and enmity of his neighbors who sympathized with the Confederacy. Consequently he lost the greater part of his property and was reduced to rather straightened circumstances financially, but he never sacrificed his principles and remained true to the government established by our forefathers. He married Martha Brown, a native of South Carolina, and they became the parents of eight children. Alonzo L. Roberts, the doctor’s father, was a prosperous and successful farmer of Henry county, Tennessee, and was a man of strong intellectual ability. He married Miss Emma Wimberly, daughter of Lewis and Matheny (Western) Wimberly, and a member of a well known Tennessee family. To this union were born two children.

Dr. W. F. Roberts, the elder son, was born in Henry county, July 11, 1869. He matriculated in the University of Tennessee, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1894, and then took a postgraduate course in Chicago Polyclinic in 1901. The same year he located at Troy, Obion county, where he has since practiced his profession and has won the reputation of being one of the leading physicians in that section of the state. Commencement day at his Alma Mater was really a commencement with him. for he has never ceased to be a student—both of books and men—and he has kept fully abreast of the new discoveries pertaining to his chosen field of effort. Being a firm believer in the effectiveness of organization and association with his brother practitioners, he is a member of the American and the Tennessee State Medical Associations, the Tri-State and the West Tennessee Medical Associations, and of the Obion County Medical Society. Through the interchange of ideas among the members of these organizations, he has gained many useful and practical hints concerning the treatment of diseases, and he has ever been willing to impart information gained through his own large and constantly growing practice. This course has marked him as a skillful and progressive physician—one who alike commands the respect and confidence of the members of the profession and the general public. Doctor Roberts is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Christian church, in which he holds the office of elder. In both lodge and church work he takes a lively interest and is deservedly popular because of his genial disposition, his open-handed charity and his general good fellowship. He believes in good government and the election of honest and capable men to office, but has never taken an active part in political affairs, preferring to devote his time and talents to the work of his profession and in behalf of his patients. On November 25, 1897, Doctor Roberts married Miss Sallie J. Redditt, a native of Louisiana and daughter of LaFayette and Sallie J. (Dunagan) Redditt, both natives of Tennessee, farming people. The former served in the Confederate army.

Death-Certificate, Obion County, Tennessee
Reg. No. 108; Reg. Dist. No. 873; stamped #22993
Death Certificate #22993
Full-Name: William Franklin Roberts
Date-of-Death: Sept 26, 1941
Place of Death: Union City, Civil District 13
Place of Residence: Troy
Date-of-Birth: July 11, 1869
Place-of-Birth: Tenn
Husband-of: Sarah Reddick
Business: Medical Doctor
Father: Alonzo Roberts (b. Tenn)
Mother: Mary Wimberly (b. Tenn)
Cause-of-death: Pneumonia, Lobar
Informant: H. S. Roberts of Troy, Tenn
Burial: East View Cemetery, Union City