Inventory of the George Arthur Roberts Family Papers, 1884-[1970s] and undated (bulk 1907-[1950s])
[top]Descriptive Summary
TitleGeorge Arthur Roberts Family
Papers,
1884-[1970s] and undated (bulk
1907-[1950s])
Creator
Roberts, George Arthur, b.
1882
Extent
4.6 Linear
Feet
2240 Items
Repository
2240 Items
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library, Duke University
Language
English.
[top]
Administrative Information
Access RestrictionsCollection is open for research, with the
exception of original negatives, where contact sheets have
been made for patron access.
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have
not been transferred to Duke University. For more
information, consult the copyright section of the
Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript,
and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], George Arthur Roberts
Family Papers, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The George Arthur Roberts Family Papers were
received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library as a gift in 1998.
Processing Information
Processed by Elizabeth Arnold
Completed February 20, 2004
Encoded by Elizabeth Arnold
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
[top]
Biographical Note
| 1882 | George Arthur Roberts born in Marathon, Iowa |
| 1906 | George Roberts received BSA from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa |
| 1907 | George Roberts became a Methodist Episcopal missionary, based at the United Methodist Church of Marathon, Iowa; sent to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Africa, and began work at Old Umtali (now Mutare) |
| 1912 | Roberts married fellow missionary Bertha Fowles |
| 1915 | Twin sons, Tudor and Thomas Roberts, born |
| 1918 | Moved to Mutambara mission, Umtali |
| ca. 1920 | Daughter, Mary Elma, born |
| 1948 | Moved to Nyadiri mission, Umtali |
| 1950 | Retired from missionary work to a farm near the Mutambara mission |
| 1957 | Bertha Fowles Roberts died; George Roberts remarried a retired local missionary, Lulu Tubbs |
| 1964 | George Roberts wrote Let Me Tell You a Story... |
| Late 1960s | George and Lulu Tubbs Roberts returned to America and lived at the Penney Farms Retirement Community in Clay County, Florida |
| 1973, July 29 | George Roberts died in Marathon, Iowa |
At Old Umtali, George Arthur Roberts took charge of agricultural training for the recently-established mission. There he taught various subjects at mission schools and conducted projects and experiments, including instituting animal husbandry and introducing a variety of food crops, as well as serving as blacksmith and resident tooth-puller.
The birth of twin boys to Roberts and his first wife, Bertha Fowles Roberts, bore significance due to the apparent local tribal custom calling for twins to be killed at birth, as they were viewed as portents of evil that would cause the deaths of their parents. The Robertses provided an example in opposition to this custom, resulting in increased acceptance of twins in the region. Bertha Fowles Roberts (1883-1957), a native of Oregon, had responsibility for mission bookkeeping and other office duties, as well as teaching and organizing women's conferences.
[top]Collection Overview
The George Arthur Roberts Family Papers span the
years from 1884 until the late 1970s (primarily the first
half of the twentieth century), and consist largely of
visual documents, including photographs, photograph albums,
slides, and negatives; a collection of postcards and a
small amount of printed material are also included. While
the majority of the images are unidentified, they provide a
rich and extensive pictorial record of the activities of
pioneer Methodist missionaries, the early missions they
established, and the personal experience and growth of one
missionary family in this setting. George Arthur Roberts'
memoir
Let Me Tell You a
Story..., copies of which are included in the
collection, describes life as lived by these early
missionaries and contrasts them with conditions in 1964,
the time of its writing. In addition to documenting aspects
of missionary history, the Roberts papers also depict the
landscapes and peoples of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and
surrounding areas, particularly the Umtali region (now
Mutare), at a time when they remained relatively untouched
by western influence. The Papers are organized into the
following series based on format: the Photographic Prints Series,
Postcards Series,
Printed Material Series,
Negatives Series,
Slides Series, and the
Photograph Albums Series.
The Photographic Prints
Series and the Slides
Series comprise the bulk of the collection. Both
series have been organized into the following subseries:
People, Mission Activities, and
African Scenes/Landscapes. The
People Subseries contains
numerous portraits of African men, women, and children;
missionaries; and primarily the Roberts family themselves,
including photos likely taken on various trips both within
Africa and to other locations including the United States,
Europe, and Asia. Of particular note in the
People Subseries are a group of
prints of the visit of the British Queen Mother and
Elizabeth II to Melsetter Junction in 1948. The
Mission Activities Subseries
contains images of such school- and church-related events
as conferences and gatherings, construction of mission
buildings, agriculture, and animal husbandry. Some of the
original prints used to illustrate Roberts'
Let Me Tell You A
Story... can also be found. There is little
overlap, in terms of identical images, between the prints
and slides series.
The Negatives Series
contains 27 rolls of 35mm film, likely dating from the
1950s, from which contact sheets have been made. While the
contact sheets are open for research, the master negative
rolls themselves are closed to patron use. The series also
includes some cut 35mm negative frames and a few
medium-format negatives which are open for research. The
subject matter of the negatives is similar to that of the
Photographic Prints Series and
the Slides Series. The majority
of the images in this series do not appear to duplicate
images found in previous series.
The Photograph Album
Series consists of three bound photograph albums,
containing a rich variety of images. The collection also
includes an extensive Postcards
Series, 1918-1965 and undated, from locations
largely within Africa but also in Europe, Asia, and North
America. The Printed Materials
Series contains two copies of
Let Me Tell You A
Story..., George Arthur Roberts' memoir, and other
mission-related material.
[top]
Subject Headings
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
- Roberts, George Arthur, b. 1882.
- Roberts family.
- Roberts, George Arthur, b. 1882. Let me tell you a story.
- Missionaries--Africa.
- Missions--Africa.
- Missions--Zimbabwe--History.
- Methodist Church--Missions--Africa.
- Indigenous peoples--Zimbabwe.
- South Africa--Pictorial works.
- Zimbabwe--Pictorial works.
- Umtali Region (Zimbabwe)--Pictorial works.
- Mutare (Zimbabwe)--Pictorial works.
- Umtali Region (Zimbabwe)--History.
- Mutare (Zimbabwe)--History.
- Portraits, African.
- Zimbabwe.
- Photographs.
- Negative prints.
- Slides.
- Contact sheets.
- Photograph albums.
- Postcards.
- Postcards--Africa.
Detailed Description of Collection
Photographic Prints Series, 1884-[1970s] and undated
(1.4 lin. ft.; 1610
items)
Because the majority of prints were no longer
in their original order, this series was organized into the
following subseries based on content: People, Mission
Activities, and African
Scenes/Landscapes. While most of the slides and
prints are uncaptioned, a number have identifying
information hand-written on them, including some very
detailed accounts. The captions appear to have been written
primarily by Bertha Roberts and Lulu Tubbs Roberts.
People Subseries
This subseries is the largest, and includes
portraits of African men, women, and children;
missionaries; and primarily the Roberts family themselves.
The Roberts family portraits cover not only their time in
Rhodesia, but also include later locations and generations.
Tudor and Mary Elma Roberts both married and had children;
Tudor and his wife, Emelie Roberts, stayed in Africa as
missionaries, while Mary Roberts married Richard Clark and
settled initially in Hawaii. The earliest photographs are
albumen prints of Bertha Fowles as an infant and of her
parents.
People also
includes photos likely taken by the Robertses on various
trips to the United States, including a visit to Mary Elma
in Hawaii, Asia, Europe, Australia, and other locations.
Also of note are a group of prints of the visit of the
British Queen Mother and Elizabeth II to Melsetter Junction
in 1948, where they were introduced to George Roberts.
Box 1
Africans
Missionaries
Roberts Family (1-3 of 5
folders)
Box 2
Roberts Family (4-5 of 5
folders)
Roberts Family--Travel
Visit of Queen Mother in
1948
Mission Activities Subseries
This subseries contains images of school-
and church-related events, conferences and gatherings,
construction of mission buildings, agriculture, and animal
husbandry, among other practices. Included in this
subseries are some groupings of pictures as they were
originally arranged, pertaining to Bible Schools, various
mission locations including Nyadiri, Old Umtali, and
Sunnyside, and a folder containing some of the original
prints used to illustrate Roberts'
Let Me Tell You A
Story..., the contents of which overlap with other
established subseries.
Box 2
Bible Schools
Nyadiri Mission
Old Umtali
Congo trip
School and church related (1 of 2
folders)
Box 3
School and church related (2 of 2
folders)
Agriculture and
construction
Book Pictures:
Let Me Tell You A
Story
African Scenes/Landscapes Subseries
Includes various images of African village
scenes, wildlife, and tourist areas (1 folder).
Oversize Folder 1
Oversize prints
Includes a Roberts family portrait,
landscape shots, and a large print (in 2 pieces) of African
women attending a mission conference.
Postcards Series, 1918-1965 and undated
(.3 lin. ft.; 145
items)
The majority of the postcards depict African
locations, including Umtali, Salisbury, and other areas in
Rhodesia; Cape Town, East London, and Gordon's Bay in South
Africa; Gordon's Bay; and Victoria Falls. A few also
feature Africans, wildlife, and mission scenes. Other
postcards are from locations outside Africa, presumably
reflecting the Roberts family's travels. Locales include
Hong Kong, Europe (England, France, Portugal, and Italy),
the Middle East, the United States, Canada, Trinidad, and
St. Lucia. Significantly, a small number of postcards in
the series were written and mailed, primarily to/from Lulu
Tubbs Roberts and Bertha Fowles Roberts. They pertain
mostly to travel and family news, and provide examples of
first-person written observation otherwise scarce in the
collection (outside of G. A. Roberts' published book).
Box 3
Africa (2 folders)
Outside Africa (1
folder)
Printed Material Series, 1954-[1960s] and undated
(10 items)
The series comprises two inscribed copies of
Let Me Tell You A
Story... by G. A. Roberts, two pamphlets by Lulu
Tubbs Roberts regarding the Sunnyside retreat and bible
study at the Rhodesian missions, and miscellaneous
clippings.
Box 3
"Let Me Tell You A
Story..."
"From a Retreat to
Sunnyside Secondary School"
"Through Christ We
Conquer"
Miscellaneous clippings
Negatives Series, [1950s]
(0.7 lin. ft.; 200 items)
This series contains 27 intact rolls of 35mm
film, some 35mm film cut into individual frames, as well as
a small number of medium-format negatives. Image content
includes mission-sponsored gatherings, construction, and
agriculture; portraits of African families and other
groups, of the Roberts family, and of other missionaries;
and various scenes of African life and landscapes. Contact
sheets are available for the 35mm rolls of master negatives
(closed to patron use), but not for the cut frames or the
medium-format negatives (open for research). Arranged by
format.
Box 3
Contact sheets
Prints made from original 27 rolls of
black-and-white 35mm film (in Box 4, closed to patron use);
subject matter includes mission-sponsored conferences and
activities, agriculture, events (including weddings),
portraits of Africans, portraits of missionaries (including
members of the Roberts family), and African
scenes/landscapes.
Medium-format negatives
Consists of 19 negatives depicting
agricultural scenes and livestock, including images of
African men carrying a pig tied to a pole.
Cut 35mm negative frames
Box 4
35mm film rolls
Note: these master negatives are
CLOSED to patrons. Images can be
viewed on contact sheets found in Box 3.
Includes the 27 rolls from which contact
sheets were made.
Slides Series, [1950s?]
(1 lin. ft.; 270
items)
This series contains images largely of the
same content as the Photographic Prints
Series described above, and has been arranged into
the same subseries. Portraits, travel photos, documentation
of mission-related activities, and various African scenes
are included.
Box 5
People Subseries
Africans
Missionaries
Other
Roberts Family
Roberts Family--Travel
Contains images from family visits to
locations including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Mauritius,
and Hawaii, as well as within Africa (Congo, Victoria
Falls).
Mission Activities Subseries
Women's Annual
Meetings
Bible Schools
Sunnyside
Nyakatsapa
School and church
related
Agriculture and
construction
African Scenes/Landscapes Subseries
(part of 1 small slide box)
African Scenes/Landscapes Subseries
(1 small slide box)
Photograph Albums Series, 1907-[1930s]
(3 volumes)
The albums contain images from all of the
categories included in the above series: portraits, mission
activities, and African scenes.
Box 6
Old Umtali
Scenes from Africa
Mutambara
