John Hugh Roberts (approx. 1896)

In 1978 I came into a collection of writings on very old yellowed brittle parchment paper. These writings were written by John Hugh Roberts, a man who professed to be the "Last Recorder of the Druids." Mr Roberts believed that he was born in Cornwall in 1828 to a Captain Roberts and his wife, both of Welsh heritage. It was not until near his mothers' death in the 1880's that he learned that he was in fact a foundling, saved as an infant off of a shipwreck near Cornwall in 1828. He was told that he had been on board from the 2nd or 3rd day of birth and that the journey had been approximately. four weeks. His birth parents drowned and Captain Roberts saved him from the raging sea to raise him as his own. His first six years were in Cornwall.

He was educated and partially raised by three woman, one from Brettany, one from Cornwall and one, who he thought was his grandmother, from North Wales. The three woman all had similar names with the sea or water in them and he referred to them as the 'Three Mermaids.' He was taught ancient languages, Cymric, Gaelic, Runes, Oogamy, Egyptian Heiroglyphics, Cuneiform writing, modern and ancient Hebrew and other arcane languages. He writes, that he is one of the quote "Hereditary Druids (Lords of Teman). We inherit a certain right or privilege under the covenant, provided we conform to certain ordinances. Among these rights, are the privileges of reading these wonderful records of nearly 73 hundred years!" unquote.

In the year 1834 he went to Wales and in 1838 he was led to a cave in Wales by the two remaining 'Mermaids', and here he was shown many stone slates, quote "there were some written in Greek letters, and others in Cuneiform hieroglyphics, and others with pictures, and emblems and scrolls. When he was 12 years old he participated in the Gaelcerth or Bonfire of Halloween in Wales. He describes another old festival called the Chief Festival of the Druids with a song sung in Cornish at the Festival in the 1820's. He also describes the cave that Nennius discovered.

This man eventually arrived in Canada and after living in Toronto for some time moved to Vancouver in 1882 and after this time spent nine years devoted "all my time to the study and Translation, of these ancient Secret Inspiration, and Revelation"
He died there in 1917. His writings and diaries passing on to his son and eventually to Charles Steele his grandson who passed away in 1977 ( at ninety four years old) when they were passed on to his friend Mary Bertrand who gave them to her son Dale Bertrand.