[3][1] Roberts emigrated to the United States as a child when his father moved to the colonies in 1684 to bring his ministry to the people there.
[4][1] Roberts' father was a successful minister and property speculator upon arrival in Pennsylvania.
Edward Roberts would inherit a 200-acre property, "Chestnut Hill" from his father, land that would later become part of Fairmount Park.
[3][5] Roberts was said to use a seal that included "a rose, under a crown, between two human hearts" for his correspondence.
His son, Hugh Roberts (1706–1786) was a Philadelphia merchant known as one of Benjamin Franklin's closest friends.