This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 4.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1600 items) |
Abstract | The Robeson family of Tar Heel, Robeson County (formerly Bladen County), N.C., included James Salter Robeson and his aunt, Emily Salter Robeson Love. Robeson was an engineer with the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in Wilmington, N.C., and with the merchant marine during and after World War II. In 1972, he retired to Florence, S.C., where he died in 1989. Robeson family papers relate to James Salter Robeson, Emily Salter Robeson Love, and other family members. James Salter Robeson materials include correspondence with friends and family; information about his merchant marine engineering career, including items from his travels during and after World War II; and financial, medical, educational, and other records. Travel materials include picture post cards, maps, flyers for events and shows, advertisements, and other items. Some materials touch on Robeson's problems with alcoholism. Robeson family materials are chiefly genealogical, some relating to the family's land in Robeson County, N.C. (formerly Bladen County, N.C.). Some materials relate to financial and other activities of Emily Salter Robeson Love. Photographs include images taken by or featuring James Salter Robeson and his friends and family and images Robeson purchased during his merchant marine travels, among them some of post-war Japan. There are also several late-19th-century images relating to Emily Love. |
Creator | Robeson family. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
Language | English. |
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
The Robeson family first came to North America from Scotland in about 1676. Thomas Robeson was the first Robeson in North Carolina. He was granted land on the Cape Fear River by King George II in 1735. The land was located in Tar Heel, N.C., part of Robeson County since its separation from Bladen County in 1787. Robeson County was named for Colonel Thomas Robeson, Jr., and his brother Captain Peter Robeson in honor of their service in the Revolutionary War. Walnut Grove, the original homestead, and the 1855 homestead were still in family hands in 2003.
James Salter Robeson was born on 14 July 1910 to James Robeson, Jr., and Minnie A. Willis Robeson. He was raised primarily by his father's sister, Emily Salter Robeson Love (1849-ca. 1929), and his mother's sister, Annie S. Willis, after the deaths of his parents. Known as Jim, Salter (or "Salty") Robeson attended the Oak Ridge Military Academy, ca. 1926-1928. Robeson and his wife, Jemima Charles Robeson (known as Jackie or Charlie), had five children during the 1930s and 1940s: Emily Love Robeson (1934- ), Sallie Salter Robeson (1936- ), James Robeson III (1938- ), Charles Jefferson Robeson (1942-1986), and Martha Eliza Robeson (1946- ). The couple separated in the 1960s.
James Salter Robeson worked for the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in Wilmington, N.C., during the 1940s. In 1945, he was with the merchant marine in voyages to France, Italy, the Philippines, and Japan. He spent the bulk of his career as a marine engineer, sailing to numerous foreign ports. He also spent several years as an engineer with the Department of the Army in Virginia. This traveling complemented Robeson's life-long interest in performing and listening to music. However, Robeson's career and domestic life were often disrupted by his struggles with alcoholism.
In 1972, Robeson retired and moved to Florence, S.C. He died in 1989 at age 78 and is buried at the Beth Car Church's cemetery in Tar Heel, N.C.
Back to TopRobeson family papers relate to James Salter Robeson, Emily Salter Robeson Love, and other family members. James Salter Robeson materials include correspondence with friends and family; information about his merchant marine engineering career, including items from his travels during and after World War II; and financial, medical, educational, and other records. Travel materials include picture post cards, maps, flyers for events and shows, advertisements, and other items. Some materials touch on Robeson's problems with alcoholism. Robeson family materials are chiefly genealogical, some relating to the family's land in Robeson County, N.C. (formerly Bladen County, N.C.). Some materials relate to financial and other activities of Emily Salter Robeson Love. Photographs include images taken by or featuring James Salter Robeson and his friends and family and images Robeson purchased during his merchant marine travels, among them some of post-war Japan. There are also several late-19th-century images relating to Emily Love.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Materials relating to James Salter Robeson, including letters to him from friends and family; information about his merchant marine engineering career; and financial, medical, educational, and other records. Medical materials are chiefly reports of minor health examinations and treatments during and after his military career. Travel materials include picture post cards, maps, flyers for events and shows, advertisements, and other items from trips during World War II and later. Music materials include a few song lyrics and items relating to Lawrence Welk. Some items touch on Robeson's problems with alcoholism.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Chiefly Robeson family history materials. The oldest financial and legal documents detail ownership of the family's land in Robeson County, N.C. (formerly Bladen County, N.C.). Correspondence and financial materials from the late 19th and early 20th century relate to Emily Salter Robeson Love and include some materials about the St. Paul's Cotton Mills Co., in which she held stock. Also included is an extensive study of Robeson family genealogy, with research notes, clippings, family charts, and narratives from the late 19th century.
Folder 100 |
Correspondence, 1871-1922 |
Folder 101 |
Correspondence, 1923-1928 and undated |
Folder 102 |
Education, ca. 1882-1928 |
Folder 103 |
Ephemera: Photograph enclosures, 1940s-1960s |
Folder 104 |
Financial and legal: Indentures, 1756-1888 |
Folder 105 |
Financial and legal: Real estate, 1915-1935 |
Folder 106 |
Financial and legal: St. Paul's Cotton Mills Co., 1913-1939 and undated |
Folder 107 |
Financial and legal: Account book, 1871-1899 |
Folder 108 |
Financial and legal: Receipts, 1888-1927 and undated |
Folder 109 |
Financial and legal: Taxes, 1927-1931 |
Folder 110 |
Financial and legal: Will, 1907-1932 |
Folder 111 |
Genealogy: Letters and miscellaneous, 1947, 1972-2002 |
Folder 112 |
Genealogy: Lists and narratives, 1889-1909, 1983-1993 |
Folder 113 |
Genealogy: Lists and narratives, 1995-1998 |
Folder 114 |
Genealogy: Clippings, ca. 1900s |
Folder 115 |
Genealogy: Clippings, ca. 1934-1957 |
Folder 116 |
Genealogy: Clippings, ca. 1970s-2002 and undated |
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Images taken by or featuring James Salter Robeson and his friends and family. Robeson also took or purchased images during his merchant marine travels, including many images of Japan, ca. 1945-1947. There are also several late-19th-century images relating to Emily Love.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5130/1-5
OPF-5130/1OPF-5130/2OPF-5130/3OPF-5130/4OPF-5130/5 |
Oversize papers |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-5130/1-2
XOPF-5130/1XOPF-5130/2 |
Extra oversize papers |
Oversize papers (OPF-5130/1-5, XOPF-5130/1-2)
Photographs (PF-5130/1-23)
Museum items (MU-5130/1-5)
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