The Real Gordon-Van Tine "Roberts" House (owned by Edward C. Roberts)

918 E. Locust St., Davenport, Iowa • The only actual "Roberts" house

(Before 1919, this house's street number was 824)

According to a 1982 survey done by the Iowa Office of Historic Preservation, and according to Davenport Iowa tax records for this address,  this is the original house that Edward C. Roberts, then president of the mail-order homes company,  Gordon-Van Tine, (as well as the U.N. Roberts Lumber Company), built for himself.  According to those two sources, the house was built in 1909, and this is also supported by Davenport City Directory records, which I show a little further down in this blog post ( I know that other sources have given a build date of 1915, but I believe that to be an error ).  

The Gordon-Van Tine company later marketed three variations of this model: the one-porch model, the two-porch model, and the no-porch model (read my earlier blog post, here, to understand the confusing list of model numbers and names assigned to the variations of this model; read about the different floor plans, in this June 28, 2015 blog post of mine).

The marketing campaign appears to have begun with the often-shared 1916 Gordon-Van Tine Ready-Cut Homes catalog (their first catalog of pre-cut homes), the cover of which sports a beautiful color rendition of a similar house.  The house on the cover of the catalog has only one enclosed porch on the left side, just on the first floor. I think it looks much more graceful with just the one porch. The original Edward C. Roberts, 2-story porch version, looks cumbersome to me. You can see a lovely white, one-porch model in State College, Pennsylvania, in my July 2, 2015  blog post.

From my 1916 catalog.

I shared this catalog cover in an earlier blog post, about a testimonial house of this model, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (and you can run across it in blog posts by other bloggers, as well, as it is well known). 

From my 1916 catalog.

As you can see, Mr. Roberts' home was first marketed as model No. 560.  I wonder whose actual house this photo is of, since it has only one porch? Perhaps they added the second porch later?

Numerous people have mentioned this catalog ad for Mr. Roberts' house, but I'd like to add some information about Mr. Roberts, himself.

Where Did Edward C. Roberts Live?

In 1896, before the building of "The Edward C. Roberts House" on E. Locust Street, Edward C. lived with his widowed mother, Julia, at 308 E. 14th Street, Davenport, Iowa.  He married three years later, and the 1900 census shows that he had been married to (first) wife Ellen, for one year.  I could not find information on what happened to Ellen, but, by 1910, he was remarried, to (much younger) Maxie Roberts (sometimes listed as Marie).

What I've not seen mentioned before, is that Edward C. Roberts only used "The Edward C. Roberts Home" (Gordon-Van Tine Model No. 560 in the 1916 catalog) for his own residence for seven years, from 1910 through 1917.  

Let's track his residences from 1910 through 1940:

1910 - 1917: U.S. Census and Davenport City Directory

824 E. Locust Street,  Davenport, Iowa: Both the U. S. census and the Davenport city directories show Edward C. Roberts living with his second wife, Maxie Roberts, and a servant at 824 E. Locust Street (this census data was collected by the census reporter on April 18 and 19, 1910-- E. C. Roberts is also shown at an address in California for this same census year... see below) . This census data names Maxie as "Maria", and lists Edward C. as "C.C.", but gives his correct age, birthplace, and place of birth of his father (Wales). It surely refers to him.  We see later in this blog post that this house number is changed to number 918, beginning in 1919.

The 1910 census report for Davenport, Iowa. (Source: Ancestry.com)

The 1910 city directory, shown below, supports that there was no house with a 918 street address, at that time.  It also shows E. C. Roberts to be living at house number 824... this is the "Roberts" house, the one shown at the top of this blog post, which later became the model for the home featured in the 1916 Gordon-Van Tine catalog.

The 1910 Davenport city directory shows no house at number 918 E. Locust, but places Edward C. Roberts at number 824... which, in 1919,  is re-organized as house number 918 E. Locust. (Source: Ancestry.com)

The 1909 Davenport city directory shows that number 824 is vacant... it must have been under construction at that time:

The 1909 Davenport City Directory (source: Ancestry.com)

The 1917 Davenport City Directory shows Edward C. Roberts still living at 824 E. Locust, and this is the last year that he is shown here:

We also see here that E. C. Roberts' mother, Julia A. Roberts, is listed at 726 E. Locust.
This later becomes the residence of Edward C. Roberts, as well.

1918-1919

Beginning with the 1918 Davenport City Directory, Edward C. Roberts is shown living at his mother's residence, at 726 E. Locust, and a new resident is shown for the infamous Gordon-Van Tine catalog's "Roberts" house at number 824: G. D. Kelly.

However, the 1919 Davenport City Directory shows the re-structuring of house numbers at that section of East Locust street.  We can see that now, the house where G. D. Kelly lives, is listed as number 918, but 824 is shown in parentheses next to it:

Not all homes on E. Locust were subject to a re-structuring of their house numbers in 1919. The house at number 726 refers still to the home owned by Julia A. Roberts (E. C. Roberts' mother) in earlier years. 

This is perhaps why Dale Wolicki, of the informative website GordonVanTine.com, lists number 824 E. Locust as the current-day location of the home Edward C. Roberts had built for himself, and marketed in the catalog.  Currently, there is no home at 824 E. Locust... and the Davenport city directory records for 1919 show that re-numbering of the houses had taken place on this section of E. Locust, so the correct address for the Edward C. Roberts house, is now 918 E. Locust Street.

1910 Additional Residence For Edward C. Roberts

The 1910 U. S. census also lists Edward C. Roberts as a lodger at a sort of boarding house in San Francisco.  It lists him as married -- in his second marriage ("m2") -- but Maxie is not listed among the boarders, who all seem to be men. The same information is given about his age, birthplace, place of birth of father. This one also says that he works in lumber.

April 22, 1910 census, showing our Edward C. Roberts as a lodger in San Francisco.

Both of the 1910 census lists shown in this blog post,  give the same information about E. C. Roberts: Edward C. Roberts; born in Iowa; father born in Wales; mother  born in New York; same age; works in lumber (well... the Davenport one says something like, "finishing goods").  I don't know how this census data was collected in 1910: was a form mailed to you, for you to fill in and mail back (as it was in the 2000 census)? or was the data collected by a person who knocked on your door, and wrote down the answers you gave as he questioned you?  Clearly, Edward C. must have been away on a business venture in San Francisco when this information was gathered, and Maxie/Marie must have simply listed him as the head of the household, despite his not technically being there at the moment.

UPDATE 2020:

The May edition of the The Timberman, a lumber journal, mentions, on page 32D, that E. C. Roberts has just returned from a month "on the coast".... that coincides with an April census-taker's account of his lodging in San Francisco at that time.

source

The 1920 Census

The 1920 census lists Roberts, Maxie, and their three children, as residents of Edward's mother's large home, a few doors down on E. Locust Street, at number 726. There was room enough for them to include three servants, as well, and his mother, Julia Roraback Rogers, who is listed as head of household, at age 84. She would die 5 years later. (It is interesting to note, as well, that Julia Roraback Rogers was the guiding force in running U.N. Roberts Lumber, for 30 years, until Edward C. took over. This is according to the data given in the 1982 survey mentioned above, and it also mentions that the U.N. Roberts Planing Mill was "the longest-run, most successful planing mill in the city" during that time.)

Quote from the 1982 Survey done by the Iowa Office of Historic Preservation

As you can see, there is no house listed at 824 E. Locust (their 1910 listed address), and, at 918 E. Locust (the current address of "The Edward C. Roberts House"), is listed 30-year-old Glenn Kelly, the "G. D. Kelly" shown above in the city directories for 1918 and 1919. Glenn Kelly was an attorney, and he and his wife, Edna, are shown as owners of the home in 1920. 

The 1920 census, showing residents at 918 E. Locust (the Kellys), and 726 E. Locust (the extended Roberts family). The house number for 726 E. Locust did not change when re-numbering occurred on this street after 1918.

726 E. Locust Street, Davenport, Iowa. This was to be the residence of Edward C. Roberts from 1918 - 1930. It was shown as the residence of his mother, Julia C. Roberts, in Davenport city directories cited above, at least as early as 1909. Edward C. Roberts became "head of household" after his mother died in 1925.

1920 Travels

Apparently, as well, during 1920, Edward C. Roberts had a long journey to numerous Asian countries.  I found his 1920 passport application (on Ancestry.com), which lists his expected destinations as: China, Chili (sic), Samoa, Fiji, Japan, and New Zealand! I don't know if he actually did all of this traveling, or if he even did it in 1920, but that is when he applied for the passport. His reason for travel is listed as "pleasure". What about Maxie, and the three children, I wonder?

1920 passport application

We are treated to a photo of young Mr. Roberts, as well!

Edward C. Roberts at about age 48

I also found his passport application from 1908, and find it interesting that, since photos were not commonplace or easy to attain, they required a description of the applicant:

Our dark-blonde, full-chinned, oval-faced, Edward C. Roberts' passport application from 1908.

1930 Census

The 1930 census shows the Roberts family (Edward, Maxie, and their four children and servants), living still at the large, spacious home he must have inherited from his mother, who had, by then, passed away.  Edward is listed as "head" of the household of 726 E. Locust Street.

1930 U.S. census for Davenport, Iowas • The Roberts family at 726 E. Locust
(click to enlarge)

1940 Census

But... what happened between 1930 and 1940?  By 1940, the Roberts family had really downsized.  The census shows them living in a small home of the value of only $3,000 (their 726 E. Locust home was valued at $25, 000) in 1940 (and lists this as their same residence in 1935), at 333 W. Oregon,  in Yreka City, California (in Siskiyu County).  Roberts' yearly salary is listed as only about $5,000+, and he is shown to be working as a Real Estate Salesman (well.... those could have been mail-order homes that he was selling, eh?)... yet... they still have a live-in cook!

1940 U.S. census for Yreka City, California • The Roberts family at 333 W. Oregon, house valued at $3,000.
(click to enlarge)

Death in 1944

Edward C. Roberts  died in California, on April 12, 1944, at age 68.  According to respected researcher Rebecca L. Hunter, of KitHouse.org, the Gordon-Van Tine company was sold in 1946, and closed by its new owner:

Source: Rebecca L. Hunter's website,  KitHouse.org 
(NOTE: There is a typo here, and Horace Gordon Roberts is mistakenly referred to with the last name Robinson .)

NOTE: I substantially edited this blog post on December 17, 2016, to show city directory listings that support the re-structuring of house numbers on East Locust, beginning in 1919, and the sale of the Gordon-Van Tine company in 1946.

Gordon Van Tine #535 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts

28 Waverly Street, Pittsfield, MA •  Home of Helen Hall-Mayberry and Dr. Frank Mayberry in 1915
(*Note that the build date may be off by a year or two, as I'm not certain that the model was yet offered in 1915.)

This beautiful 1915* home is a Gordon-Van Tine #535 (referred to by some in the catalog-homes community as The Roberts -- though it was never actually marketed with that name).

Gordon-Van Tine (GVT) is another kit-home company from the 19-teens, twenties, and thirties.  Like Sears, Wardway, and Aladdin, they sold pre-cut kits, complete with stamped lumber to allow your construction crew to follow the directions and put your house together. You can read more about the interesting history of this company, and see several examples of GVT homes, on Dale Wolicki's website: GordonVanTine.com.

The Mayberry home testimonial letter, as it appeared in the 1929 Gordon-Van Tine catalog. It appeared in the 1926 catalog as well, and others, too, I believe.

Like Sears, GVT included what we call, "testimonials", from satisfied customers.  They usually didn't give the whole address, and often not a full name, and sometimes not even the town -- just the state. But, in this issue of the catalog, Mrs. Hall-Mayberry's full address was included, making it easy as pie to find, using Google Maps. I'm quite sure that I am not the first interested researcher to look up this address, but I did, and here it is. It's a beautifully kept-up home, in a lovely area of New England, not far from the town where I was born.

Lovely side view. This home, and all of the others on this street, look so well taken care of. What a treat.

I find it intriguing that it is Helen whose name appears on the testimonial letter, and not her husband, Frank. I like, too, that she includes what must be her maiden name, Hall, hyphenated on to her married name.  She and Frank, a doctor, were both born in the 1860s, in Maine, and married in 1886. Before building their home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, they lived in Medford, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston), and in Boston, itself. But, by the time of the 1920 census, they were already listed at 28 Waverly Street, Pittsfield, so they must have had their home built some time just before that. Tax records for the town of Pittsfield, put the year of build as 1915.  I believe that GVT first introduced its plan-cut (pre-cut, ready-cut) models in 1916, so this would have been a case of the Mayberrys buying the plans (blueprints) and a package of all of the lumber and building supplies, but not pre-cut and stamped/labeled for ease of construction.

There they are, Dr. and Mrs. Frank E. and Helen H. Mayberry, at 28 Waverly Street.

As with so many New England towns, the first inhabitants of the area we now call Pittsfield, were Native Americans, of the Mahican nation (an Algonquian people).  In 1738, three white men of European descent, from Boston, Albany (NY), and Northampton (in the Western part of Massachusetts, near to Pittsfield) partnered together with the intent to sell plots of land in the area, to interested settlers. However, things were very unsettled with the Native Americans, and those white folks fled, leaving the area uninhabited by white men for a few decades. By 1761, however, the town of Pittsfield was incorporated, and over the years, it expanded from an area of agriculture, to include mills for lumber, grist, and paper... and, eventually, wool. It became a major center for wool production, after the introduction of Merino Sheep from Spain, in 1807. (I learned about all of this in an interesting article on Wikipedia, here.)

The left side view, showing an additional sun porch on the first level.

It's amazing to think that the development of Pittsfield was only a few decades before the Mayberrys married in 1886, and eventually chose it as their town in which to settle down.  By the 1930 and 1940 census, interestingly, however, the Mayberrys no longer lived in their beautiful GVT #535.

From my 1929 catalog, I believe.

I can't say that I'm an expert on this model, but it's one that most all of us in the kit-home researching community have noticed, and appreciated. Once you see it, you're intrigued by its size and lovely proportions.  It's one of the general favorites, I'd say. You can find it listed and referred to, with only some changes to the design, as No. 535, No. 535B, No. 560, and The Glencoe (some researchers refer to it as The Roberts, which only adds to confusion, because it is never listed in a catalog under that name, as far as I have found -- please correct me if I am mistaken). I believe that The Glencoe does not include the two floors of sun porch and sleeping porch, on the side.

Here it is, listed in one of my 1920s catalogs, as the No. 535 and No. 535B. You can see the two floors of porches on the left.

I do know that, in the catalogs of the 1920s, it is offered as the No. 535, and later has a No. 535B version, which seems to add more built-in closets, and several other room-size changes. One very obvious change, the moment you walk in the front door, is the change from an open-feel, turned staircase (in the earlier, 535, floor plan), to a straight staircase in the 535B. Here are some of the changes the catalog explains:

First Floor of the two models, 535 (top left), and 535B (bottom right).
(Click to enlarge)

More from the 1927 catalog.

Ooh, love that quirky wallpaper!
This would have to be the 535-B floor plan, because the earlier No. 535 floor-plan's staircase was much more open, and had turns in it, as seen in the image below.

Below, you see the staircase of the earlier floor plan, the No. 535.  This staircase is turned, has a graceful curved entry, and has a landing. It leads to an open landing on the second floor, and gives, overall, a much more open feeling to the entry and staircase area.

This is from the Zillow listing of a suspected Gordon-Van Tine No. 535 home that I found in Webster Groves, Missouri.
You can read about it in my blog post, here, where you can also find a link to the Zillow listing.

All about the upstairs change, which you can see in the images of the two 2nd-level floor plans, below.

From my 1927 GVT catalog.
(Click to enlarge.) 

There were two 1916 Gordon-Van Tine catalogs, one with "ready-cut" homes, and one with "Standard" homes, which were not ready-cut.  The No. 560 version of this model, is featured on the cover of the "Ready-cut" issue (many people have seen and discussed this rather well-known cover).

Cover of my 1916 "ready-cut" catalog for GVT. You'll notice that the No. 560 pictured here, does not have an upper sleeping porch on the left side of the house. (click to enlarge)

The president of the company, in fact, Mr. Roberts, lived in a No. 560, as is explained right in the first pages of the 1916 ready-cut catalog.  Some interior photos are included, as well... perhaps of his home? (To read more about Mr. Edward C. Roberts, and whether or not he ever actually really lived in this home, read my blog post here.)

Living room and dining room images for the No. 560, as it is referred to in this 1916 catalog.

And, here you see the model without any porches on the left, now known as The Glencoe (I don't remember off-hand when the name changed from a number to a word. This is from the 1929 catalog.)

The 1929 catalog shows a floor plan for The Glencoe that is not quite exactly the same as the #535B. I don't know when, if ever, it was actually called The Roberts in a catalog (EDIT: No, it was never called that in any catalog. That's just a short-hand nickname given to the set of models with this look, by some researchers. If you see a house referred to with that name, it's one of these models.)

First floor layouts.  Top right: the 1929 Glencoe floor plan. You can see that it uses the center hall and stairway layout of the No. 535, rather than the 535B-- Ice room, instead of first floor powder room! (Click to enlarge.)

2nd Floor layout. Top right: 1929 Glencoe.  Because of that two-section, turned staircase, the floor plan had to follow the No. 535, and not the B floor plan, in that center area. Still, you'll note several changes to closet placement (more like the B plan), and no more Maid's Room -- but a nice closet in the bathroom. (Click to enlarge.) 

The No. 536
I have taken a closer look at the floor plan for the single-story side sunporch model, the No. 536 (originally the No. 560), and it has yet another variation in the floor plan:

Source: 1921 GVT catalog on Archive.org

Lovely Interiors
At 30 Mountainview Avenue, Orangeburg, NY, sits what we believe to be a Gordon-Van Tine No. 536 (that means it's the one with a first-floor porch on the side).  In 2013, it was listed for sale.  Here are some of the photos of the interior and exterior, as shown on the Zillow listing for this home, to give you a nice idea of what a well-kept version of this model can look like, even today (click on any image to enlarge):

It's rare to see a photo that focuses right on the doorway of this unique model.

As always, if you have interesting information about this model, or if there is something I need to be corrected about, feel free to leave me a comment below.  To read more about when this model went by each of these different names, go here, to another blogpost of mine.)

The heading of the front cover of the 1916 catalog.