Maria Louisa Bustill
Encyclopedia
Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson (November 8, 1853 – January 20, 1904) was a Quaker
schoolteacher; the wife of the Reverend William Drew Robeson
of Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey
and the mother of Paul Robeson
and his siblings.
to Charles Hicks Bustill
(1816-1890) and Emily Robinson (c. 1815-before 1860). She was of mixed Igbo
African, Lenni-Lenape Native American, and Anglo-American descent, born into a prominent black Quaker
family. Her siblings include: Samuel Bustill (1841-?); George Bustill (1847-?); Desaline Bustill (1848-?); and Mary Bustill (1854-?). After her mother Emily died some time before July 3, 1860, Charles remarried a woman whose first name was Catherine (1808-?). In 1870 Charles and his sons were working as expressmen in Philadelphia.
. There she met and married William Drew Robeson I
(1845-1918) in 1878. They had several children, and Louisa continued to teach school for many years while her husband served as minister of a black church in Princeton. They both emphasized education and advancement to their children.
In 1880 William and Maria Robeson were living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Reflecting her mixed race, Maria was classified in the census as a mulatto
. Their first daughter Gertrude Lascet Robeson (1880) died as an infant, but nearly all the other children were highly successful as adults. William Drew Robeson II (1881-?) b. November 1881, became a physician
in Washington, DC; Marian M. Robeson (1894-1977) b. December 1, 1894, married a Forsyte and moved to Philadelphia; Benjamin Robeson (1894-1966) b. September 1894, became a minister at the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
in Harlem; J.B. Reeve Robeson (1886-?) aka Reed Robeson, b. March 1886, moved to Detroit and may have worked at a hotel, but died in poverty; and Paul LeRoy Robeson, better known as Paul Robeson
(1898-1976), became an athlete, orator, singer and actor. Another child died at birth, but the name is not known.
.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
schoolteacher; the wife of the Reverend William Drew Robeson
William Drew Robeson I
William Drew Robeson I was the father of Paul Robeson and the minister of Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey from 1880 to 1901. Associated with the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, this facility was built for its black members.Robeson escaped from slavery in North Carolina at the...
of Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
and the mother of Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
and his siblings.
Birth
She was born in 1853 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
to Charles Hicks Bustill
Charles Hicks Bustill
Charles Hicks Bustill was a plasterer, abolitionist and conductor in the Underground Railroad before the American Civil War.-Early life and education:...
(1816-1890) and Emily Robinson (c. 1815-before 1860). She was of mixed Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...
African, Lenni-Lenape Native American, and Anglo-American descent, born into a prominent black Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
family. Her siblings include: Samuel Bustill (1841-?); George Bustill (1847-?); Desaline Bustill (1848-?); and Mary Bustill (1854-?). After her mother Emily died some time before July 3, 1860, Charles remarried a woman whose first name was Catherine (1808-?). In 1870 Charles and his sons were working as expressmen in Philadelphia.
Lincoln University and marriage
The Bustill family was part of the black bourgeoisie of Philadelphia; in the 1870s, Louisa attended Lincoln UniversityLincoln University (Pennsylvania)
Lincoln University is the United States' first degree-granting historically black university. It is located near the town of Oxford in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university also hosts a Center for Graduate Studies in the City of Philadelphia. Lincoln University provides...
. There she met and married William Drew Robeson I
William Drew Robeson I
William Drew Robeson I was the father of Paul Robeson and the minister of Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey from 1880 to 1901. Associated with the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, this facility was built for its black members.Robeson escaped from slavery in North Carolina at the...
(1845-1918) in 1878. They had several children, and Louisa continued to teach school for many years while her husband served as minister of a black church in Princeton. They both emphasized education and advancement to their children.
In 1880 William and Maria Robeson were living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Reflecting her mixed race, Maria was classified in the census as a mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
. Their first daughter Gertrude Lascet Robeson (1880) died as an infant, but nearly all the other children were highly successful as adults. William Drew Robeson II (1881-?) b. November 1881, became a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in Washington, DC; Marian M. Robeson (1894-1977) b. December 1, 1894, married a Forsyte and moved to Philadelphia; Benjamin Robeson (1894-1966) b. September 1894, became a minister at the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or AME Zion Church, is a historically African-American Christian denomination. It was officially formed in 1821, but operated for a number of years before then....
in Harlem; J.B. Reeve Robeson (1886-?) aka Reed Robeson, b. March 1886, moved to Detroit and may have worked at a hotel, but died in poverty; and Paul LeRoy Robeson, better known as Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
(1898-1976), became an athlete, orator, singer and actor. Another child died at birth, but the name is not known.
Death and burial
By 1904 Louisa was nearly blind from cataracts; she was burned in a kitchen accident when an ember from the stove ignited her clothes. She died several days later with burns over 80% of her body. She was buried in Princeton CemeteryPrinceton Cemetery
Princeton Cemetery is located in Borough of Princeton, New Jersey. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. John F. Hageman in his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey refers to the cemetery as: "The Westminster Abbey of the United States."...
.