Nicholas Franklin Roberts (October 13, 1849June 25, 1934) was a leading Baptist minister and educator in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a faculty member and for a short time acting president at

Shaw University Shaw University is a private Baptist historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in ...

. He was also a city alderman in Raleigh and served on the county board of education.

Early life and education

Nicholas Franklin Roberts was born in Seaboard, Northhampton County, North Carolina on October 13, 1849. As a child, he worked on a farm. He showed aptitude for mathematics at a young age and entered Shaw University (then Shaw Collegiate Institute) on October 10, 1871. He graduated in May 1878 and was then hired as a professor of Mathematics at Shaw.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p205-207 Roberts was active in Republican politics, even as a student, serving as secretary of a Republican county meeting in July 1872. Along with Shaw University president, Henry Martin Tupper, and fellow student,

Edward Hart Lipscombe Edward Hart Lipscombe (born September 29, 1858) was an educator and religious leader in North Carolina in the late 19th century. He was a professor at Shaw University and a co-founder of the journal, the ''African Expositor''. Later, he became a ...

, Roberts was an editor of the quarterly journal, ''African Expositor'', founded in 1878 and was later the business manager of the ''Baptist Sentinel''.Pipkin, James Jefferson. The Story of a Rising Race: The Negro in Revelation, in History and in Citizenship. With introduction by John B. Gordon. ND Thompson, 1902. p392-393

Baptist church service

In March 1872, he converted to the Baptist religion and on May 20, 1877 he was ordained a minister. On July 2, 1882, he was made pastor of Blount Street Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. From 1873 to 1883, he was president of the State Sunday School convention, a position he served in many times.Pegues, Albert Witherspoon. Our Baptist Ministers and Schools. Willey & Company, 1892. He was also elected president of the State Baptist Convention numerous times, first in October 1885. He was made general missionary among the poor in North Carolina by the American Baptist Home Mission Society in 1881. He resigned as pastor of the Blount Street Baptist Church in August 1891 to focus on his other activities.

Public service

Roberts was heavily involved in political, educational, and religious organizations and served as an officer of many bodies. He was vice president of the state Colored Education Convention in 1877. In 1886, he was an alderman in Raleigh and a member of the street committee. He was elected to the county school board in 1897. He also led the Institute for Colored Teachers in the early 1900s. In late 1897 and early 1898, Roberts hosted South African tribal nobility, including the grandson of Chief Kama (also called King Kama) of Kaffraria and the nephew of Chief William Shaw Kama
Alfred Impey
as Alfred attended Shaw University. However, Impey died of consumption in North Carolina in April 1898. Shaw served as acting head of Shaw University for five months after Tupper died on November 12, 1893, serving from that date until March 14, 1894. He later held the positions of vice-president, dean of faculty, and dean of the theology department.Dr. Roberts, Negro Educator of Shaw University, Dies, Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina), Tuesday, June 26, 1934, Page: 8

Personal life and death

He married Mary S. Chavis of Union, North Carolina in 1904.Postscripts, The Morning Post (Raleigh, North Carolina), June 8, 1904, page 8, accessed September 9, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6567169/postscripts_the_morning_post_raleigh/ He died on June 25, 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Nicholas Franklin 1849 births 1934 deaths People from Seaboard, North Carolina African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States 19th-century American mathematicians 19th-century Presbyterian ministers Politicians from Raleigh, North Carolina Shaw University alumni African-American journalists American male journalists African-American mathematicians Baptists from North Carolina Raleigh City Council members School board members in North Carolina Presidents of Shaw University