John Roberts was a Welsh Anglican priest, missionary, and writer who lived from 1853 to 1949. Born near Dyserth in north Wales, he was educated at St David's College, Lampeter, before pursuing a missionary career. After serving in the Bahamas, he moved to the United States to focus on work among Native American tribes. He spent much of his life in Wyoming, where he served the Shoshone and Arapahoe peoples, acting as both a spiritual leader and a government-appointed school principal.