June 6, 2001
Monument to honor preacher
By TERRI JO HUNTER,
Times-Mail Staff Writer

LAWRENCEPORT - Robert R. Roberts, known as the "Log Cabin Bishop" of the Methodist Episcopal Church, will have a monument erected in his memory.

"I admire the man," said Larry Goettel, a Lawrenceport resident who has organized the placement of the monument. "My property adjoins his. I did a lot of reading about Mr. Roberts and was amazed. He was a powerful speaker and devoted man of the cloth."

Tuesday morning Goettel asked the Lawrence County Commissioners for permission to place the monument east of the Methodist Church in Lawrenceport. The commissioners approved the request.
Indiana Monument and Cut Stone Inc. is crafting the stone, which will be finished during the second week of August, Goettel said.

Roberts was a traveling preacher, or circuit rider, who spent more than 5,000 miles each year in the saddle. His obligations took him east to New York, west to St. Louis, north to the Great Lakes area and south to areas on the Gulf of Mexico.
He earned $193 a year.

His wife, Elizabeth, stayed home and farmed, which supported the family, Goettel said.
"Tired from a day's ride, he would lodge along the trail under the trees and stars," Goettel said. "His saddlebags contained his Bible, his book of concerns and a hymnal. In the other side would be oats for his horse. The saddlebags were placed across a tree limb for safekeeping."

The horse would be fed, and Roberts would spend his evenings in devotions and prayer.

"This limestone carving is a fitting tribute to him," Goettel said. "It's a tree with his saddlebags draped over a branch. A plaque will be placed at the base with a listing of important events of his life."
Roberts' home and the place of his death in 1843 still stands in Lawrenceport, north of the crossroads. It is in bad state of repair and not available for restoration as a historical tribute.


Reprinted with permission of the Bedford Times-Mail, Bedford,IN