Concluding Remarks and Erastus T. Roberts

It is amazing that the Roberts brothers had the stamina to conduct the dangerous service of shooting wells, as well as the almost daily fights in the courts to protect the torpedo patent and, as is little known, proceed with other inventions that would benefit mankind. For instance, E.A.L. Roberts at the time of his unexpected death was working on some very novel locomotion theories. According to Bates (1899) …."a new method of vessel propulsion and an improved form of locomotive which on its trial trip developed phenomenal speed. There is no doubt that had he lived these would have been brought to perfection…."

Erastus T. Roberts, son of E.A.L.’s brother, William B. Roberts, inherited much of the paraphernalia and papers of the Roberts Torpedo Petroleum Co. He was a contact for Dr. Paul Giddens, the famous oil historian, in assembling papers for research and the accounting of the history of the torpedo (never fully completed).

E.T. Roberts, in a covering memorandum of Oct. 21, 1942, to Giddens, wrote, "There has been no serious attempt to give an authentic history of this important branch of the oil producing business, and it is regrettable that it was not done while the principal actors were still alive. Various short accounts have appeared in books, magazines, and newspapers, where usually more stress is laid on the spectacular incidents of explosions, death and narrow escapes. Some articles had a decided bias against the Torpedo Co. as a monopoly which was fought bitterly from the time Robert's torpedo was proved to be a success until the patent expired."