Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm83061507
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of the Joseph J. Roberts Family were given to the Library of Congress by William R. Davis in 1983, 1991, 1993, and 2001. Items were purchased in 1918, 1978, and 2019.
The papers of the Joseph J. Roberts Family were processed and described David Mathisen and Brian McGuire in 1983. Additions to the collection and revisions to the finding aid were made by Patrick Kerwin in 1996 and 2003 and by Laura J. Kells in 2020. An online version of the finding aid was created by Glenn R. Gardner in 2010.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of members of the Joseph J. Roberts family is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of the Joseph J. Roberts family are open to research. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting.
Microfilm on one reel and 5 microfiches were received as part of the papers of the Joseph J. Roberts Family and are listed and described in this finding aid. This microfilm is not available for interlibrary loan.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container, microfilm reel, or microfiche number, Joseph J. Roberts Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Joseph J. Roberts was born a free African American in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 15, 1809. In 1829 he emigrated to the colony of Liberia with his family. His wife, Sarah, whom he had married in 1828, died during their first year in Liberia. In 1836 he married Jane Rose Waring. Roberts ran an import-export business in Monrovia that traded goods with the United States. He served as high sheriff, vice governor, and governor and, following Liberian independence, was elected Liberia's first president. He served as president 1848 to 1856, and then again 1872 to 1876. He died on February 24, 1876.
The papers of the Joseph Jenkins Roberts family span the years 1839-2001 and consist of certificates, correspondence, documents relating to the government of Liberia (chiefly land grants and ship registrations), wills, and miscellaneous genealogical material. Present also are one reel of microfilm and five microfiches of correspondence, land grants, ship registrations, wills, and miscellaneous items.
The focus of the collection is on land sales, mainly 1841-1883, to individuals by the Liberian government and the acquisition of property by members of the Davis and Roberts families in Monrovia, Liberia. Joseph J. Roberts, the first president of Liberia, signed many of the land grants.
The 2020 Addition consists of a letter written in 1847 by Joseph J. Roberts, then governor of Liberia, to Benjamin Coates, a merchant and member of the American Colonization Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic followed by an addition.
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm83061507
Microfiche shelf no. 20,502.1
Microfiche shelf no. 20,502.1
Microfilm shelf no. 20,502
Microfiche shelf no. 20,502.1
Microfiche shelf no. 20,502.1