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Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson

    Black and white photo portrait of young Maria Bustill. She married William Drew Robeson in 1878, gave birth to Paul Robeson in 1898, and died from burns received in a kitchen fire in 1904.

    Paul Robeson’s mother, Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson (1853–1904), a descendant of free Blacks. Maria married William Robeson in 1878. They had seven children, the youngest of whom was Paul Leroy Robeson, born in 1898. Maria was a former teacher of black children. Nearly blind from cataracts, she died from burns received in a kitchen fire in 1904.

    ca. 1880–1890
    Copyright
    Public Domain
    Attribution/Credit

    Anonymous, via “Maria Louisa Bustill,” Wikipedia