Maria Louisa Bustill
Maria Louisa Bustill | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | November 8, 1853 |
| Died | January 20, 1904 (aged 50) |
| Spouse | William Drew Robeson I |
| Children | Gertrude Lascet Robeson (1880), William Drew Robeson II (1881-?), Marian M. Robeson (1894-1977), Benjamin Robeson (1894-1966), J. B. Reeve Robeson (1886-?), Paul Robeson (1898-1976) |
| Parent(s) | Charles Hicks Bustill Emily Robinson |
Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson (November 8, 1853 – January 20, 1904) was a Quaker schoolteacher; the mother of Paul Robeson; and the wife of the Reverend William Drew Robeson of Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey.
Birth
She was born in 1853 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Charles Hicks Bustill (1816-1890) and Emily Robinson (c1815-before 1860).[1] She was of mixed Igbo African, Lenni-Lenape Native American, and American Quaker descent.[2][3][4][5][1] Her siblings include: Samuel Bustill (1841-?); George Bustill (1847-?); Desaline Bustill (1848-?); and Mary Bustill (1854-?). Emily died some time before July 3, 1860 and Charles remarried someone named Catherine (1808-?).[6] In 1870 Charles and all his male children were working as expressmen in Philadelphia.[7]
Lincoln University and marriage
In the 1870s she attended Lincoln University. There she met and married William Drew Robeson I (1845-1918), around 1873, and they had the following children: Gertrude Lascet Robeson (1880) who died as an infant; William Drew Robeson II (1881-?) b. November 1881, who was a physician in Washington, District of Columbia; Marian M. Robeson (1894-1977) b. December 1, 1894, who married a Forsythe and moved to Philadelphia; Benjamin Robeson (1894-1966) b. September 1894, who was a reverend at the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Harlem; J.B. Reeve Robeson (1886-?) aka Reed Robeson, b. March 1886 who moved to Detroit and may have worked at a hotel before he died in poverty; and Paul LeRoy Robeson better known as Paul Robeson (1898-1976) who was an orator, singer and actor. Another child died at birth, but the name is not known. [4] In 1880 William and Maria were living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Maria is described as a mulatto.[8]
Death and burial
In 1904 she was nearly blind and she was burned in a kitchen accident when an ember from the stove ignited her clothes on fire. She died several days later with burns over 80% of her body.[5] She was buried in Princeton Cemetery.[4]
Census Listings
In 1860 the boys are living elsewhere. Charles, Maria and Gertrude are in Philadelphia.
(Name, age, sex, race)
Charles H Bustill, 43, M, B
Louisa Bustill, 6, F, B
Gertrude Bustill, 5, F, B
Sarah H Fisher, 37, F, B
Caroline B Fisher, 13, F, B
Edwin A Fisher, 8, M, B
Charles is a plasterer. All other occupations are blank. Everyone's birthplace is Pennsylvania.
(Philadelphia Ward 13, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1163; Page: 682; Image: 265.)
In 1870 Maria is with her family in Philadelphia.
Household 1092, family 1212
Name, Age, race, occupation, birthplace
Charles Bustill, 56, B (Black), Expressman, Penn
Catharine Bustill, 62, B, keeping house, Penn
Samuel Bustill, 29, B, Expressman, Penn
George Bustill, 23, Expressman, Penn
Desaline Bustill, 22, (Male) B, Expressman, Penn
Mary Bustill, 16, B, ----, N. Carolina
McJohn Farley, 35, Female, dress maker, Saint Criox
Henrietta Farley, 11, B, ----, St. Croix
(Philadelphia Ward 8 District 22, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1393; Page: 81; Image: 163)
(Note - Census enumerators were not always accurate. I have no idea why he put "N Carolina" for Maria's birthplace. TP)
In 1880 she and William are in Princeton.
(Name, Relation, Marital Status, Gender, Race, Age, Birthplace, Occupation, Father’s Birthplace, Mother’s Birthplace)
Wm. D. Robeson, Self, M, Male, B, 35, NC, Clergyman, NC, NC
Maria L. Robeson, Wife, M, Female, Mu, 26, Pa, Keeping House, Pa, Pa
(District 1, Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey, page 113D)
References
- ^ a b "Robeson Family Genealogy". Princeton Public Library. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
- ^ "My Father". W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center, Inc. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
- ^ "Performing Black-Jewish symbiosis: the "Hassidic Chant" of Paul Robeson". American Jewish History. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
... a further boost through his marriage in 1878 to Maria Louisa Bustill, a light-skinned woman from a prominent family of Philadelphia's black bourgeoisie. ...
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c Robeson II, Paul. The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: An Artist’s Journey, 1898–1939 (PDF).
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "Paul Robeson". Bay Area Robeson. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
Louisa, in ill health and nearly blind, was set alight when a coal from the stove fell on her long dress and she failed to notice. Mortally burned, she died several days later.
- ^ 1860 US Census
- ^ 1870 US Census
- ^ 1880 US Census