Roberts, Victor

Victor Roberts, born in France on September 25, 1854, was the oldest of four children born to Robert Roberts and Julia Seinturier. He immigrated to Chicago in 1873 to work for Armour and Company before moving to Wisconsin for a two year stint in the sawmilling and lumbering industry. To clear up name confusion, he added an s to his family name, shifting it from Robert to Roberts. In 1876, he traveled west to California and worked for a sheep man, eventually trailing a flock to Huron in 1877 to utilize the new railroad shipping point. After a brief period driving a stage from Parkfield to Soledad, he decided to settle down and establish a permanent residency in the region.

In 1882, he located a 160 acre preemption and later homesteaded another 160 acres, marking the birth of the massive 4,000 acre Jacolitos Ranch along Jacolitos Creek. His ranching operations proved highly successful, allowing him to raise hogs, horses, and over 300 head of cattle under the VR connected brand. His historic property featured the physical remains of a mud and stick cabin once used as a hideout by the bandit Vasques and Old Mariana. On August 30, 1885, he married local pioneer daughter Addie Frame, with whom he shared a comfortable home and raised six children named Zilpha, Hugo, Ernest, Velma, Vera, and Robert. Their ranch became widely celebrated for its warm hospitality, cementing the family legacy within the agricultural history of Fresno County.