Born in East Madison, Maine, Roberts attended the public schools in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

He was graduated from Highland Military Academy, Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1877, and from the law school of Boston University.

He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1916, losing with 16,765 votes to Alvan T. Fuller, another Republican running as an Independent, with 17,079.

[5] Roberts was named a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution December 1913 and reappointed to another term two years later.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress