Peripatetic Jozedic has been an elusive fellow.  There have been scant and sometimes confusing clues; coupled with the multiple spellings of his given name (Josediz, Jozediz, Joezadoc, Jozadak), not to mention two wives named Mary Ann, we've had a devil of a time following his trail.

Jozedic was married first to Mary Ann Shipley on September 29, 1844, in Hancock County, Illinois. Marriage Documents

Mary Ann Shipley was born December 17, 1826, in Tennessee (birth date calculated from tombstone inscription).

The family lived and grew in Hancock County until 1854, at which time Jozedic sold the land he had inherited from his father (described in detail in John Roberts' will).  Jozedic's brother, James Esmon, bought the land for $840 dollars.

Sometime after the birth of John Preston, May 7, 1854, Jozedic, Mary Ann and family headed off to Missouri, where two more babies were born: Thomas (in Cass County in 1856) and Naomi (in Cass County in 1858).

By 1860, they were living in Lykins County, Kansas Territory.  And why Kansas?  Clues may lie in the families living in proximity to Jozedic.  There were several Shipley families whose heads-of-household were born in Tennessee.

It appears they had returned to Illinois prior to the birth of James Sylvester, approximately 1862. When this son was enumerated in 1880 in the home of Jesse Gibson Roberts, Jozedic's brother, his birthplace was reported to be Illinois.  We hope to verify this son when and if we find the 1870 census record.

Mary Ann died on January 8, 1864.  She was buried at the Roberts Family Cemetery.  Tombstone

On October 6, 1864, bereft of wife and helpmate - there were all those young children, Jozedic married Mary Ann Cox in Hancock County.  Marriage License

Born in 1832, Mary Ann's first marriage was to a man whose surname was Horn.

How long the family group remained in Hancock County is unclear.  At some point Jozedic and Mary Ann returned to Kansas, where he died on December 6, 1874, probably in or near Miami County.  He was buried there at Fontana Cemetery, located near Fontana, Kansas. There is no documentation to be found on the specific date of Mary Ann's death; she, too, was buried at Fontana Cemetery.

Carol Reedy presents the following theory based on extensive research:

"The notice in the newspaper about Jozedic's death said, "J. Roberts, of Fontana, died at his residence at that place last Sabbath morning, the 6th inst.  A great deal of sickness yet prevails in that locality, and fears are apprehended of fatal results in several other cases, as we learn from Rev. J. Garrison." - Miami Republican, December 12, 1874.  My husband and I searched the newspapers for weeks on either side of this notice trying to find what this "sickness" was, but we found nothing." View the news clipping.

From a separate search, Dianne Brown found reports of severe outbreaks of diphtheria in 1872, smallpox and black measles in 1873, typhoid fever in 1874, followed by scarlet fever in 1875. These epidemics were prevalent in northwestern Missouri but they spread through other places, sometimes because people left an area to avoid disease, but they had already been exposed. Perhaps it was one of these scourges that took the lives of Jozedic and Mary Ann.

Returning to Carol's narrative, "In Jozedic's probate records are doctor bills.  There were many visits to Jozedic beginning November 21, 1874.  Then, starting about December 17, there are many visits to Mary. They let up for about six weeks and then another flurry of visits, ending February 22, 1875."

"An item of interest in the probate records is this receipt: "Received of W.S. Ruble, Administrator of the Estate of Jozedic Roberts, deceased, the sum of twenty one and 86/100 dollars in full of my claim against said Estate for Tomb Stones made and delivered.   Sellers & Haldeman"

"With all the doctor visits and plural tombstones, I think Mary also succumbed to whatever the illness was.  Nowhere in the probate records is there any mention of Mary other than the doctor bills, nor of any of the children."

This tracks with evidence that some of the older children may not have returned to Kansas with Jozedic and Mary.  Or perhaps they did go to Kansas, but sooner or later found their ways back to Illinois.  Did they remain in or return to Illinois because there was friction with Jozedic's second wife? Was it simply a case of young ones striking out on their own propelled by the energy and enthusiasm of youth, or was Jozedic not able to support them?  It's very odd that not one of the children was mentioned in Jozedic's probate records.

The children of Jozedic and Mary Ann Shipley were:

i.	Jesse W. Roberts, born about 1845 in Illinois. From the Muster and Descriptive Rolls compiled by the Illinois Adjutant General's Office: Name   ROBERTS, JESSE W Rank   PVT   Company A  Unit  118 IL US INF Personal Characteristics Residence   FOUNTAIN GREEN, HANCOCK CO, IL Age 18   Height 5' 6"   Hair LIGHT   Eyes BLUE   Complexion LIGHT Marital Status   SINGLE   Occupation   FARMER   Nativity   FOUNTAIN GREEN, HANCOCK CO, IL Service Record Joined When   AUG 15, 1862   Joined Where   FOUNTAIN GREEN, IL Joined By Whom   T J CAMPBELL   Period   3 YRS Muster In   NOV 7, 1862   Muster In Where   CAMP BUTLER, IL Muster In By Whom   N/A   Muster Out   N/A Muster Out Where   N/A   Muster Out By Whom   N/A Remarks   DIED JAN 19, 1863 ON STEAMER DIVERNON [Di Vernon] OF DISEASE
ii.	Amanda E. Roberts, born about 1848 in Illinois.  She died between February 8, 1933, and September 12, 1942.
iii.	Olive Jane Roberts, born in 1849, probably in Hancock County, Illinois. She died in 1933, burial at Lone Elm Cemetery, Anderson County, Kansas.
iv.	Mary Louisa Roberts, born February 6, 1852, in Illinois.  She died between February 8, 1933, and September 12, 1942.
v.	John Preston Roberts, born May 7, 1854, near Fountain Green in Hancock County.  He died September 24, 1932, at his home in Sciota, McDonough County, Illinois.  Interment at Spring Creek Cemetery.
vi.	Thomas McKelvey Roberts, born May 22, 1856, in Cass County, Missouri.  He died July 3, 1945, in Fredonia, Kansas.
vii.	Naomi Roberts, born February 5, 1858 in Missouri, died September 12, 1942, at Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois.
viii.	Jozedic L. (Joseph) Roberts, born about 1861 in Kansas.  He died after September 12, 1942, probably in Oklahoma.
ix.	James Sylvester Roberts, born about 1862 in Illinois.  He died before September 12, 1942.
x.	Unnamed infant.  Buried in the Roberts Family Cemetery is an infant son of "Joseph" Roberts, thought to be Jozedic.  If this is accurate, the infant could have been the son of either Mary Ann Shipley Roberts or Mary Ann Cox Horn Roberts.

See also: Majorville Souvenir Booklet

Jozedic and Mary Ann Cox Horn were the parents of at least two sons:

i. Gilmore E. Roberts, born March 28, 1868, in Somerset, Miami County, Kansas.  He died February 8, 1933, in Sciota, McDonough County. He was buried in Glade City Cemetery at Blandinsville, McDonough County.   ii. Frank Roberts.  He died after February 8, 1933.

Gillie Roberts