William Drew Robeson I
Encyclopedia
William Drew Robeson I (July 27, 1844 – May 17, 1918) 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 age of 15 and went to the free state of Pennsylvania. After the American Civil War
, when he had worked for the Union Army
, he earned an undergraduate degree and one in theology at Lincoln University
. Married and with a family, he became a widower in 1904 and soon moved to New Jersey, where he served as a pastor at African Methodist Episcopal Zion churches.
near Cross Road Township and Raleigh, Martin County, North Carolina
. Cross Road Township is near Raleigh, North Carolina
. He was a descendant of the Igbo people
.
In 1860, when he was 15 years old, Robeson escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad
to Philadelphia
. He left North Carolina and crossed the Maryland border into Pennsylvania
.
, Robeson served in the Union Army
as a laborer from Pennsylvania, entering in 1861 to join the effort to end slavery in the South.
Afterward, Robeson studied at Lincoln University
, where he earned an A.B. in 1873 and Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1876.
and they married in 1878. Louisa, as she was called, was of mixed race: African, Anglo-American, and Lenni Lenape. She had grown up as a Quaker in a middle-class black family in Philadelphia. By 1880, she and William were living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey
. They had the following children:
Another child died at birth, but the name is not known.
, which caused a controversy and the ouster.
Other accounts suggest that Reverend Robeson had gotten at cross purposes with his congregation over his work. He was said to have aligned himself "on the wrong side of a church fight," having apparently refused to bow to pressure from the "white residents of Princeton" that he cease his tendency to "speak out against social injustice." Upon his dismissal, Reverend William Drew Robeson bypassed any need "to recriminate and rebuke." "As I review the past," he said, "and think upon many scenes, my heart is filled with love." In closing his last address to his Princeton congregation, he implored them, "Do not be discouraged, do not think your past work is in vain."
From 1907 to 1910, Robeson lived with his family in Westfield, New Jersey
where he was pastor of the Downer Street Saint Luke African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
. The church was built in 1908 while Robeson led the congregation. The children attended the Washington School at Elm and Orchard streets. As a 12-year-old, Paul was already skilled enough to play in baseball games for the high school team. The Robesons lived on the south side of Spring Street, where it intersects with Rahway Avenue. The street is now called Watterson Street, and the house was taken down.
and took over the congregation at the Saint Thomas African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
.
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 the minister of Witherspoon Church in Princeton
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...
, 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
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
at the age of 15 and went to the free state of Pennsylvania. After the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, when he had worked for the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, he earned an undergraduate degree and one in theology at Lincoln University
Lincoln University
Lincoln University or University of Lincoln or variations may refer to:in England*University of Lincolnin New Zealand*Lincoln University, New Zealandin the United States*Lincoln University...
. Married and with a family, he became a widower in 1904 and soon moved to New Jersey, where he served as a pastor at African Methodist Episcopal Zion churches.
Birth and escape from slavery
He was born into slavery as William Drew Robeson in 1844 to Benjamin Robeson (1820-c1889) and Sabra (1825-c. 1885). They were enslaved on the Robeson plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
near Cross Road Township and Raleigh, Martin County, North Carolina
Martin County, North Carolina
-Politics:Martin County has tended to vote in line with the rest of the country in presidential elections. In 2008, Barack Obama won the county with 52.2% of the vote. This was very similar to his national figure of 52.91%.-Demographics:...
. Cross Road Township is near Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. He was a descendant of the Igbo people
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...
.
In 1860, when he was 15 years old, Robeson escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, 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,...
. He left North Carolina and crossed the Maryland border into Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Life in freedom
During the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Robeson served in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
as a laborer from Pennsylvania, entering in 1861 to join the effort to end slavery in the South.
Afterward, Robeson studied at Lincoln University
Lincoln 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...
, where he earned an A.B. in 1873 and Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1876.
Marriage
While at Lincoln University he met Maria Louisa BustillMaria Louisa Bustill
Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson 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.-Birth:...
and they married in 1878. Louisa, as she was called, was of mixed race: African, Anglo-American, and Lenni Lenape. She had grown up as a Quaker in a middle-class black family in Philadelphia. By 1880, she and William were living on Witherspoon Street 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...
. They had the following children:
- Gertrude Lascet Robeson (1880), who died as an infant
- William Drew Robeson Jr. (November 8, 1881-?), who became a physicianPhysicianA 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, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... - Benjamin Congleton Robeson (September 19, 1892 -1966) was a military chaplain with the 369th Infantry Regiment, formerly the 15th New York National Guard Regiment. The unit was also known as The Black Rattlers. The 369th Infantry Regiment was known for being the first Negro Regiment established during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He married Frances Elizabeth Cline, and later served as Pastor of Mother AME Zion Church in HarlemHarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands... - J.B. Reeve Robeson (1886-?) aka Reed Robeson, was born in March 1886. He moved to Detroit and may have worked at a hotel, but he died in poverty..
- Marian Margaret Robeson (December 1, 1894-February 1977), she married Dr. William Forsythe and moved to Philadelphia
- Paul LeRoy RobesonPaul RobesonPaul 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), who was an orator, singer and actor.
Another child died at birth, but the name is not known.
Death of Maria Louisa
In 1904 Louisa died in Princeton from burns after her clothes caught fire from a coal-burning stove.Princeton to Westfield
Robeson served as minister of the Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey from 1880 until 1901. It was built for the black members of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. He was ousted from the Princeton Pastorate after over twenty-years of service with no clear reasons given. His grandson Paul Robeson, Jr. wrote that his father had pushed hard to have his eldest son Bill admitted to Princeton University, but was refused because of his African descent. He reportedly appealed to President Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, which caused a controversy and the ouster.
Other accounts suggest that Reverend Robeson had gotten at cross purposes with his congregation over his work. He was said to have aligned himself "on the wrong side of a church fight," having apparently refused to bow to pressure from the "white residents of Princeton" that he cease his tendency to "speak out against social injustice." Upon his dismissal, Reverend William Drew Robeson bypassed any need "to recriminate and rebuke." "As I review the past," he said, "and think upon many scenes, my heart is filled with love." In closing his last address to his Princeton congregation, he implored them, "Do not be discouraged, do not think your past work is in vain."
From 1907 to 1910, Robeson lived with his family in Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 30,316. The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the Elizabethtown Tract....
where he was pastor of the Downer Street Saint Luke 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....
. The church was built in 1908 while Robeson led the congregation. The children attended the Washington School at Elm and Orchard streets. As a 12-year-old, Paul was already skilled enough to play in baseball games for the high school team. The Robesons lived on the south side of Spring Street, where it intersects with Rahway Avenue. The street is now called Watterson Street, and the house was taken down.
Westfield to Somerville
In 1910 Robeson moved to Somerville, New JerseySomerville, New Jersey
Somerville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 12,098. It is the county seat of Somerset County....
and took over the congregation at the Saint Thomas 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....
.
Timeline
- 1876 Degree in theology from 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...
in PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... - 1878 Marriage to Maria Louisa Bustill
- 1880 Called to Witherspoon Church in Princeton
- 1901 End tenure at Witherspoon Church in Princeton
- 1904 Death of Maria Louisa Bustill, his wife
- 1907 Called to Westfield, New Jersey to Saint Luke AME Zion Church
- 1910 Called to Somerville, New Jersey to Saint Thomas AME Zion Church
- 1918 Death and burial