Thomas Vaughan

“ He grew into a likeable, civilized, orderly and responsible man—perhaps more of a democrat and American than he realized or could admit in the face of later events. As a Company clerk, however, Roberts' ultimate supporting authority was the formidable power of the Company exercised through the personalities of the chief officers in the Department of the Columbia. The success of work he directed depended on controls or an accepted rule of law which the Company provided for its employees. ”

“ Mr. Roberts was a man of firm mind, well educated, and possessed a very retentive memory. He had met most of the early explorers to the coast and was thoroughly conversant with the early history of this country; a man of strict honesty and sterling integrity, his death is a great loss to the community in which he lived..."
George B. Roberts' Cowlitz Farm journal of 1847-51 and his 1878-83 letters to the historian Frances Fuller Victor present various aspects of his unique experience in the Pacific Northwest, separated in time of writing by thirty years. ”

“ At harvest time in 1840, forty cradlers were employed to cut crops, and a large number of Indians helped in the fields. [10] During the 1840s, about 1,500 acres were cultivated, and in 1844, for example, the Cowlitz Farm produced 7,000 bushels of wheat, 3,200 of oats, 1,000 of peas and some barley and potatoes. [11] Though the PSA Company's larger flocks of sheep and herds of cattle were located at its Nisqually establishment, when Roberts replaced Charles Forrest at Cowlitz in late 1846, the farm inventory included 1,000 head of cattle, 200 horses, 2,000 sheep and 400 hogs. ”

“ Unlike his friend Edward Huggins, an ex-PSA Company employee who was able to claim part of the Nisqually Farm after the company was reimbursed for its holdings by the U. S. government, Roberts did not carry out his intention to hold the Cowlitz land as a pre-emption claim. [2]
Since Roberts' personality as well as his position ultimately must have played some part in the attitude of the American community toward him, it seems pertinent to include some personal detail, though not much is available directly. The general outline of his life sent to Mrs. Victor in 1878 [3] is sketchy ”

“ The good judgment which was manifested in such selections is apparent from the fact that, now that the territory is becoming closely settled, those stations are considered the most desirable sites for towns, while the main highways of commerce are those which were established by the Company. [30]
The less legal-minded American minority which moved onto the British claims was supported by the opinion of a large part of the American community, [31] and by the actions of the U. S. Army in setting aside its own military reservations. ”

“ He states he was born in Aldborough on the east coast of England in 1816, and admitted to the famous Greenwich Hospital naval school when he was eleven. Though he never mentions his parents, it would seem his father or an uncle must have been a navy rating. ”

“ This has cost me, in consequence of the burning of the principal granary ... about four hundred dollars a year, besides entailing on me a series of law-suits, of which yet I do not see the end." V. 2, P.S.A. Co. ”