Maria Louisa Bustill (1853-1904) was the mother of Paul Robeson and the wife of Reverend Robeson of Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey (b. 1853, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA - d. 1904, Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA)
Marriage:
She married Reverend William Drew Robeson (1845-1918) and the had the following children: William Drew Robeson, a physician who practised in Washington, DC; Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (1898-1976) who was an actor; Reverend Benjamin Reeve Robeson; and Marian Robeson.
Princeton, New Jersey:
William and Maria appear on the 1880 census living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Maria is described as a mulatto.
Amanda V. Costello writes: "[Maria was] a teacher from a family with an impressive legacy of productivity. In 1878, her father Cyrus helped to found The Free Africa Society, the first black self-help organization in America. Her family consisted of abolitionists, journalists, doctors and activists. And while their achievements would become a part of Paul Robeson's heritage, he would almost always identify with the more modest lives of his father's side of the family...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. Paul, as an adult, would say he had virtually no memory of his mother."
Marriage:
She married Reverend William Drew Robeson (1845-1918) and the had the following children: William Drew Robeson, a physician who practised in Washington, DC; Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (1898-1976) who was an actor; Reverend Benjamin Reeve Robeson; and Marian Robeson.
Princeton, New Jersey:
William and Maria appear on the 1880 census living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Maria is described as a mulatto.
Amanda V. Costello writes: "[Maria was] a teacher from a family with an impressive legacy of productivity. In 1878, her father Cyrus helped to found The Free Africa Society, the first black self-help organization in America. Her family consisted of abolitionists, journalists, doctors and activists. And while their achievements would become a part of Paul Robeson's heritage, he would almost always identify with the more modest lives of his father's side of the family...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. Paul, as an adult, would say he had virtually no memory of his mother."
Maria Louisa Bustill (1853-1904) was the mother of Paul Robeson and the wife of Reverend Robeson of Witherspoon Church in Princeton, New Jersey (b. 1853, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, USA - d. 1904, Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA)
Marriage:
She married Reverend William Drew Robeson (1845-1918) and the had the following children: William Drew Robeson, a physician who practised in Washington, DC; Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (1898-1976) who was an actor; Reverend Benjamin Reeve Robeson; and Marian Robeson.
Princeton, New Jersey:
William and Maria appear on the 1880 census living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Maria is described as a mulatto.
Amanda V. Costello writes: "[Maria was] a teacher from a family with an impressive legacy of productivity. In 1878, her father Cyrus helped to found The Free Africa Society, the first black self-help organization in America. Her family consisted of abolitionists, journalists, doctors and activists. And while their achievements would become a part of Paul Robeson's heritage, he would almost always identify with the more modest lives of his father's side of the family...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. Paul, as an adult, would say he had virtually no memory of his mother."
Marriage:
She married Reverend William Drew Robeson (1845-1918) and the had the following children: William Drew Robeson, a physician who practised in Washington, DC; Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (1898-1976) who was an actor; Reverend Benjamin Reeve Robeson; and Marian Robeson.
Princeton, New Jersey:
William and Maria appear on the 1880 census living on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Maria is described as a mulatto.
Amanda V. Costello writes: "[Maria was] a teacher from a family with an impressive legacy of productivity. In 1878, her father Cyrus helped to found The Free Africa Society, the first black self-help organization in America. Her family consisted of abolitionists, journalists, doctors and activists. And while their achievements would become a part of Paul Robeson's heritage, he would almost always identify with the more modest lives of his father's side of the family...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. Paul, as an adult, would say he had virtually no memory of his mother."
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