James A. Roberts

{{Short description|American politician (1847–1922)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = James Arthur Roberts | image = James Arthur Roberts (1847–1922).png | office = Comptroller of New York | governor = Levi P. Morton Frank S. Black | term_start = 1894 | term_end = 1898 | predecessor = Frank Campbell | successor = William J. Morgan | birth_date = {{birth date|1847|3|8}} | birth_place = Waterboro, Maine | death_date = {{Death date and age|1922|11|19|1847|3|8}} | death_place = New York City | party = Republican | alma_mater = Bowdoin College | spouse = Minerva (Pineo) Roberts (1871-1883, her death) Martha Dresser Roberts (1884-1922, his death) | resting_place = Forest Lawn Cemetery | relatives = | signature = Signature of James Arthur Roberts (1847–1922).png | office2 = New York State Assembly | term_start2 = 1879 | term_end2 = 1880 }} '''James Arthur Roberts''' (March 8, 1847 – November 19, 1922) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a member of the New York State Assembly and was also the New York State Comptroller.

==Early life== Roberts was born in Waterboro, Maine on March 8, 1847.<ref name="Bench" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Delta Kappa Epsilon Politicians in Maine |url=https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/ME/delta-kappa-epsilon.html |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Political Graveyard}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> He was the son of Jeremiah Roberts and Alma Roberts.<ref name=Bench>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbenchba02mcad/page/327/mode/1up |title=History of the Bench and Bar of New York |volume=II |editor1-first=David |editor1-last=McAdam |editor2-first=Henry Jr. |editor2-last=Bischoff |editor3-first=Richard H. |editor3-last=Clarke |editor4-first=Jackson O. |editor4-last=Dykman |editor5-first=Joshua M. |editor5-last=Van Cott |editor6-first=George G. |editor6-last=Reynolds |publisher=New York History Company |page=327 |date=1897 |access-date=2023-03-15 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He attended common schools and the Edward Little Institute in Auburn, Maine.<ref name="Bench" />

In 1864 when he was seventeen years old, Roberts enlisted as a private in the 7th Maine Battery.<ref name="Bench" /><ref name=":1" /> He fought at the Siege of Petersburg, and later participated in the campaign ending with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House.<ref name="Bench" /><ref name=":1" />

Roberts attended Bowdoin College, graduating with an A. B. in 1870.<ref name="Bench" /> While there, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon.<ref name=":0" /> He then taught in the Buffalo, New York public schools while studying law with Edgar B. Perkins and George S. Wardwell.<ref name="Bench" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Derby |first=George |url=http://archive.org/details/cu31924020334771 |title=The National Cyclopædia of American Biography |last2=White |first2=James Terry |date=1893 |publisher=J. T. White Company |others= |location=New York |page=35 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He was admitted to the bar in 1875.<ref name="Bench" />

== Career == From 1875 until 1894, Roberts practiced law in Buffalo.<ref name=":3" /> In 1899, he was head of the firm Roberts, Becker, Messer & Orcutt.<ref name=":2" />

He was a founder of Depew, a suburb of Buffalo, and was also the secretary of the Depew Improvement Company.<ref name="Bench" /><ref name=":1" /> He was the vice president of the Bellevue and Lancaster Railway Company and the Bellevue Loan, Trust & Safe Deposit Company.<ref name="Bench" /><ref name=":1" /> He was a director and secretary of the Buffalo General Electric Company and director of the Hydraulic Bank of Buffalo.<ref name=":2" /> He was also secretary of the Bellevue Land Company.<ref name=":1" />

Roberts became an assemblyman for Erie County in 1878.<ref name=":1" /> He was elected the New York State Assembly in 1879 (Erie Co., 3rd D.) and 1880 (Erie Co., 4th D.).<ref name=":0" /> He did not run for a third term.<ref name="Bench" /> Robert was the Buffalo Parks Commissioner from 1891 to1893.<ref name="Bench" />

In 1894, Roberts left Buffalo to serve as New York State Comptroller, serving two terms from 1894 to 1898.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=1922-11-20 |title=Former Comptroller Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-news-former-comptroller-dies/193769709/ |access-date=2026-03-20 |work=The Buffalo News |pages=18 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He was eected to the position 1893 and 1895, on the Republican ticket.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/11/06/106072572.pdf| title=State Officers Elected |newspaper=The New York Times |page=9 |date=November 6, 1895 |access-date=2023-03-15}}</ref><ref name="Bench" /> He was an alternate delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention.<ref name=":0" />

==Personal life== On June 1, 1871, he married Minnie Pineo of Calais, Maine.<ref name=":2" /> They had two children: son Joseph Roberts and daughter Amelia, who married Frank St. John Sidway.<ref name=":3" /> Minnie died in 1883.<ref name=":2" /> Roberts married Martha Dresser in 1884.<ref name=":2" /> She was the daughter of Judge Dresser of Auburn, Maine.<ref name=":2" />

Roberts belonged to the Acacia Club, the Buffalo Club, the Knight of Pythias, and the Freemasons.<ref name=":2" /> He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Society of Colonial Wars, and the Sons of the American Revolution.<ref name=":0" />

Roberts lived in New York City from 1902 until his death there on November 19, 1922.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

==References, == {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{Gutenberg author | id=Roberts,+James+A.}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=James Arthur Roberts |sopt=t}} * {{Find a Grave|19127021}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-ny-hs}} {{succession box | before = David F. Day | title = New York State Assembly Erie County, 3rd District | years = 1879 | after = James Ash}} {{succession box | before = Harvey J. Hurd | title = New York State Assembly Erie County, 4th District | years = 1880 | after = George Bingham}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title = New York State Comptroller | before = Frank Campbell | after = William J. Morgan | years = 1894–1898}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, James Arthur}} Category:1847 births Category:1922 deaths Category:New York state comptrollers Category:People from Waterboro, Maine Category:Politicians from Buffalo, New York Category:Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Category:Bowdoin College alumni Category:University at Buffalo Law School alumni Category:19th-century American business executives in rail transportation Category:Lawyers from Buffalo, New York Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:19th-century members of the New York State Legislature