Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson (November 8, 1853 – January 20, 1904) was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

schoolteacher; the wife of the Reverend

William Drew Robeson William Drew Robeson I (July 27, 1844 – May 17, 1918) was the minister of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey from 1880 to 1901 and the father of Paul Robeson. The Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church had been b ...

of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

and the mother of

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

and his siblings.

Early life and education

Maria Louisa Bustill (sometimes called Louisa as a child) was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, of

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

Lenni-Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

Native American, and Anglo-American descent. Her parents were Charles Hicks Bustill and Emily Robinson, prominent black

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

. In the 1870s, Louisa attended Lincoln University, a

historically black university Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Oxford, Pennsylvania Oxford is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Oxford is the closest town to Lincoln University. The population was 5,733 at the 2020 census. History The borough was once called Oxford Crossing and Oxford Village during the ...

. She was already a teacher when she met William Drew Robeson. Both she and her sister Gertrude married men who were Lincoln graduates, but her family thought Louisa had "married down" by choosing Robeson.

Marriage and family

Bustill's ancestors had been free since the mid-1700s, when her great-grandfather

Cyrus Bustill Cyrus Bustill (February 2, 1732 1806) was an African-American brewer and baker, abolitionist and community leader. A notable business owner in the African-American community in Philadelphia, he also became a founding member of the Free African ...

was freed after several years of service to a new owner in

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...

. He moved into Philadelphia where he built a business as a baker. Cyrus Bustill became one of the founders in Philadelphia of the

Free African Society The Free African Society, founded in 1787, was a benevolent organization that held religious services and provided mutual aid for "free Africans and their descendants" in Philadelphia. The Society was founded by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. It ...

in 1787. Other family had genealogical records going back to the early days of the Pennsylvania colony.Sheila Tully Boyle, Andrew Bunie, ''Paul Robeson: The Years of Promise And Achievement''
University of Massachusetts Press, 2005, p. 10 Louisa Bustill met

William Drew Robeson I William Drew Robeson I (July 27, 1844 – May 17, 1918) was the minister of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey from 1880 to 1901 and the father of Paul Robeson. The Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church had been ...

(1845-1918) when he was a student at Lincoln University. She was already teaching at the Robert Vaux School for black children. Robeson had escaped slavery in North Carolina and come north with his brother Ezekiel at age 15, and worked for the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Louisa married Robeson in 1878, after he completed his undergraduate degree and one in theology. They had seven children together; two died in infancy and five lived to adulthood. Louisa taught school and worked as a tutor while her husband was the Presbyterian minister of the Witherspoon Church in

. The city had a relatively large black community, about 18% by the turn of the 20th century. It included both families who had long been free, like Louisa's, and others who had been born in slavery. The town had many Southern ties, and

residential segregation Residential segregation in the United States is the physical separation of two or more groups into different neighborhoods—a form of segregation that "sorts population groups into various neighborhood contexts and shapes the living environment a ...

was enforced. Both the Robesons emphasized education and advancement for their children. Their first daughter, Gertrude Lascet Robeson (1880-1880), died as an infant. It was an

upwardly mobile Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between Social stratification, social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location ...

family; all but one of their sons were highly successful as adults, with two having professional careers: Dr. William Drew Robeson, Jr.,

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

(1881-1925) was a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

; Marian M. Robeson (1894-1977) married Dr. William Forsythe,

and they moved to

; Benjamin C. Robeson (1893-1963), was a minister at the

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

Harlem, New York City Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

; John Bunyan Reeve Robeson (1886-1973) aka Reed Robeson, moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, where he worked as a laborer and may have worked at a hotel, then again moved to

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

where he died in poverty. The youngest surviving child, Paul LeRoy Robeson, better known as

(1898-1976), became an internationally known athlete, orator, singer and actor. He also became an activist for

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. Another child died at birth, but the name is not known.

Death and burial

By 1904 Louisa was nearly blind from

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

. She was severely 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 Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. 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 State ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bustill, Maria Louisa Robeson-Bustill family Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni African-American Quakers American people of Igbo descent American people of English descent 1853 births 1904 deaths Deaths from fire in the United States Burials at Princeton Cemetery African-American schoolteachers Schoolteachers from New Jersey Educators from Philadelphia 19th-century American women educators American people of Lenni Lenape descent Accidental deaths in New Jersey Lenape people 19th-century American educators 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 19th-century Native Americans 19th-century Native American women American Quakers