William Drew Robeson I

William Drew Robeson I
Born	July 27, 1844(1844-07-27)
Died	May 17, 1918(1918-05-17) (aged 73)
Nationality	American
Spouse	Maria Louisa Bustill
Children	Paul Robeson
Parents	Benjamin Robeson (1820-c1889) Sabra (1825-c1885)

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.^[1][2][3][4]

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.

Contents 1 Birth and escape from slavery 2 Life in freedom 3 Marriage 4 Death of Maria Louisa 5 Princeton to Westfield 6 Westfield to Somerville 7 Death and burial 8 Timeline 9 References 10 External links

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 plantation near Cross Road Township and Raleigh, Martin County, North Carolina.^[5][6] Cross Road Township is near Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a descendant of the Igbo people.^[1]

In 1860, when he was 15 years old, Robeson escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad to Philadelphia.^[6] He left North Carolina and crossed the Maryland border into Pennsylvania.

Life in freedom

During the American Civil War, 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.^[1][2]

Marriage

While at Lincoln University he met Maria Louisa Bustill and they married in 1878.^[1] 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:

• Gertrude Lascet Robeson (1880), who died as an infant
• William Drew Robeson Jr. (November 8, 1881^[7]-?), who became a physician in Washington, D.C.
• Benjamin Congleton Robeson (September 19, 1892 ^[8]-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 I. He married Frances Elizabeth Cline, and later served as Pastor of Mother AME Zion Church in Harlem^[8]
• 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),^[9] she married Dr. William Forsythe and moved to Philadelphia
• Paul LeRoy Robeson (1898–1976), who was an orator, singer and actor.

Another child died at birth, but the name is not known.^[1][10][11]

Death of Maria Louisa

In 1904 Louisa died in Princeton from burns after her clothes caught fire from a coal-burning stove.^[1][12]

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.^[1] 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 Wilson, which caused a controversy and the ouster.^[1]

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."^[13]

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.^[1][12]

Westfield to Somerville

In 1910 Robeson moved to Somerville, New Jersey and took over the congregation at the Saint Thomas African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.^[1]

Death and burial

He died on May 17, 1918 and is buried in Princeton Cemetery with his wife.

Timeline

• 1876 Degree in theology from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania
• 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

References

External links

• Robeson Family Biography
• Robeson Genealogy
• Findagrave: William Robeson

Persondata
Name	Robeson, William Drew
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1844-07-27
Place of birth
Date of death	1918-05-17
Place of death