C. A. Roberts

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Clarence Abram Roberts, known as C. A. Roberts (November 5, 1903 – December 21, 1973), was a Florida politician and businessman from Lake Butler. A Democrat, he represented Union County in the Florida House of Representatives in two periods: 1950–1952 and 1956–1965.

Roberts was the son of Charles Abram Roberts and Lucretia M. Nettle and spent most of his life in Lake Butler. In the 1920s he worked as a prison manager and livestock inspector. He played a big role in local government, first helping found Union County in 1921 and serving as the first County Commissioner for District 1. He was on the Lake Butler City Council from 1934 to 1938, then returned to the County Commission and chaired it from 1940 to 1948.

In business, Roberts was a successful pecan farmer, cattle rancher, timberland owner, and naval stores operator. He became president of Imperial Ranch and Tung Corporation in 1952. Governor Fuller Warren appointed him to the Florida Forestry Board in 1952, and he later served as its president.

Roberts married Gertrude Ann Wynn in 1928. They had three children: Elizabeth Ann, Barbara Jean, and William VanAvery. Gertrude died in 1961, and Roberts later married Marjorie Mizelle Lascola (died 2010); they had a son named Avery. He died in Gainesville, Florida in 1973 at age 70 and is buried in Dekle Cemetery in Lake Butler beside Gertrude.