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Well-doing

6/27/2016

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Written and presented by Lucetta Roberts on Tuesday, June 2, 1891 for an Oratorical Contest at the Christian Church, Arcadia, IN.  She received thirteen congratulatory flower bouquets for her performance.

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There is scarcely a position in life where we cannot be of use to our fellowmen, if we will
only exert ourselves.  There are none so miserable, so fallen in wretchedness, but what are
deserving of help.  Their course of action may have been such that we find much to condemn;
But, they are human beings, they are (our brethren) possessed of an immortal soul, and it is
nothing less than our duty to help them and bestow on them what succor we can.

In times of regret and sudden danger, such as conflagrations, shipwrecks, and lamentable accidents, we admire and applaud those heroes who risk even their own lives to save others.  At such times heroism often appears where least expected.  The innate nobility of man will show itself in such crises. How much we admire those men and women, whose object in life seems to be to do good.  
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They move through life as the music of a band moves in the air, giving pleasures far and near, to all
that will listen.  Nothing is more odious than that selfishness which wraps a man up in himself and his
own concerns and prevents his being moved by either the joys or sorrows of others.  For kindness
will go farther and yield more happiness in this world, than all the haughtiness and asperity we can
possibly assume.  

Once, a lady on coming in contact with a poor old man who was breaking stone by
the roadside, was very much touched with sympathy for him; seeing that he was in very poor
circumstances, she took a shilling from her purse and gave it to him, which must have indeed
lightened the poor man’s heart.  How often can we, like the lady, lighten the hearts of those
around us if we are only willing to do a small act of kindness.  How much easier too, is it to act
kindly and naturally to our fellowmen, then to effect a rude and boisterous demeanor which is
sure not to make only others despise us, but on reflection, to cause us to despise ourselves.
It is the kind words that help; and the individual who has these at hand is sure to be a helper to
others along the highway of life, along which so many are travelers.

A kind word to the unfortunate may fall like drops of rain upon the drooping flowers.  A tear dropped
in the silence of a sick chamber often rings in heaven with a sound which cannot be produced by any
earthly orchestra.  A man with a pleasant disposition finds friends, where people of a contrary
nature see only enemies.  We must be kind to our friends in order to keep them, and to our
enemies in order to win them.  Good nature is one of the sweetest gifts of
Providence.  Like the pure sunshine, it gladdens, enlivens, and cheers, in the midst
of anger and revenge.  It is good nature that elevates, purifies, and exalts; but the
reverse that degrades, debases, and destroys.  Who will not strive to possess this
glorious trait of character?

We are indeed social beings.  Old Northern tales say that in olden times, long, long ago,
when night and day were young and foolish, they chased each other around the world in a state
of angry disdain; each thinking that he alone was doing good, and that therefore the other,
so totally unlike himself, in all respects, must be doing harm, and must be got rid of altogether,
if possible.  

Unlike this fabled contest we are dependent upon each other.  In all the joys and conflicts of
life we long for the presence and sympathy of friends.  We feel as if we must tell somebody the
crushing grief or exultant joy with which our hearts are filled.  Good deeds will shine forth as the
stars of heaven.  One who is really anxious to be of service to his fellowman, and to make his life
glorious with good deeds, need not wait for great occasions in which to distinguish himself.
We can all be benevolent.  The benevolent man is the truly happy man.  God loves and blesses those
whose disposition and conduct resemble His own.  

In every earthly dwelling there is someone to suffer pain; in every human family there is
someone over whom the pale shadow of death has passed.  To all, such sympathy may be
extended.  A good deed is never lost.

He who shows courtesy, reaps friendship; he who plants kindness, gathers love.  And, as the
mind becomes more generous, more active in doing good, all the sources of felicity will
multiply around it.  It will have peace and dignity within, and the smiles of infinite pleasure
will beam upon it with inexpressible glory.

The lowly and humble may frequently do more in their limited sphere than the gifted.
But all can accomplish much if we will only do the little acts of kindness for which
opportunity is given.  We should be charitable to the extent of our ability.  Charity
is placed at the head of all Christian virtues.  It is the foundation of all Christian graces.
Without it, religion is like a body without a soul; our friendship a mere shadow.  Let us
therefore be kind to the unfortunate, dry the mourner’s tears, so that memory
will have a store of sweet thoughts to live upon when the reality shall no longer
stand before us.  The everlasting hills shall crumble to dust; but a good act
will never be forgotten.  The moon and stars shall grow dim and the sun shall roll
from the heavens; but the spirit of the truly charitable man or woman, will grow
brighter, while God himself shall live.

Life is made up of little things.  Were it made up of large things, I fear that
there are some who would not have the ability to make even a single show as to
being a helper to others.

Some lives that make the world so sweet, are hidden like a humble flower;
And we often times pass them by, nor dream ‘tis their fragrance fills the air and
cheers and comforts us hour by hour.

Let us not be weary in well-doing.  We should try to do all the good we can, to
all the people we can.  We live in a world which is full of misery and ignorance,
and the plain duty of all is to try and make that part, which we can influence,
somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was before we entered it.

It is worth a lifetime of exertion to rescue just one from such a fate.  For duty,
like truth, is ever present and only needs the iron lid of the mind’s eye to be
lifted in order to behold it.
 
Therefore, where e’er a duty waits for thee, with sober judgment view it.
Do not idly wish it done; begin at once and do it.  For he who does the best
his circumstance allows, does well, acts nobly; Angels could do no more.

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aN eastern iowa connection

6/30/2014

7 Comments

 
John Elson

My name is John Elson and I grew up on a farm in Eastern Iowa.  I was born in Vinton Iowa, the son of Van and Mary Johnston Elson.  I never knew my maternal grandparents. Grandma Johnston died before I was born and Grandpa died shortly after.  My mom always said we were part Cherokee, but we identified as white folks in a white community.  Mom’s ethnicity of choice was Irish, and she learned songs from her father that were passed down from his parents and grandparents who came from Belfast. Mom also said that grandma had moved from Indiana and had fond memories of living there.  For many years that was the extent of my knowledge.

I was curious to find out more about the Cherokee story, but my cousin Larry (who lives in California) was even more curious and he researched the family origins in Indiana.  We knew our grandmother's birth name was Cleo Desdemona Roberts and she was born in Sheridan, IN in 1880.  Her parents and siblings moved to Iowa in 1898 and settled on a farm in Jefferson County in the SE part of the state. After making a phone call to the Sheridan newspaper and learning about the mixed-race settlement in Hamilton County, Larry was able to find out a great deal more in the 1990's, especially with the advent of Internet searching. He e-mailed me a list of sources and I started reading about the Roberts Settlement. It was a revelation to sit down with Steve Vincent's book, "Southern Seed, Northern Soil" and read in the opening pages about my great, great, great grandfather Willis Roberts, who was torn between remaining in North Carolina, where the rights of people of color were being restricted in the aftermath of the Nat Turner rebellion, or moving to Indiana to face new challenges and opportunities. I went back and found additional writings about the Roberts Settlement, the article in Ebony from November 1951 and the thesis written by Edgar Conkling, who interviewed Carl Roberts, the successful surgeon and family genealogist.

When you add the scores of newspaper and magazine articles, there is enough reading to keep busy for months, or years if you expand the quest to include related material on African American history. “The Invisible Line” by Daniel J. Sharfstein, documents the stories of 3 different families and their journey from black to white, and I recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic of passing. We follow their family stories over time, stories with drama, suspense and poignancy. I can only imagine what my great grandfather and family experienced, and much of their story has been hidden and lost. While passing can be a sensitive issue for a few in our family, I think attitudes have changed over time and I know that many of the cousins I know from Iowa embrace and celebrate our ancestry.

As fate would have it, Steve Vincent and his wife moved to Iowa City and our paths crossed at coffee hour after church.  I am grateful for his never ending enthusiasm for all things related to the Roberts Settlement history and for Steve’s willingness to share his knowledge.  

I have learned about relatives who were successful in law, in the clergy, as well as other professions. Judge Milton Arrah Roberts was my great-great uncle, who moved to Iowa before his brother, my great grandfather, Charles Sylvester Roberts did. Their father Elias reportedly donated the land where the chapel and cemetery are.  My great-great grandfather Abram Brown, a civil war veteran who served in the 28th Colored Infantry, settled in Kokomo, Indiana and ran a boarding house for black residents and visitors.  The Noblesville library and the Howard County library in Kokomo have been wonderful sources of information.  The new webpage is great and the short film is very inspirational. Thanks to all who work to keep the Roberts legacy alive.

John has made several visits to our Roberts Homecoming. He is a descendant of Charles Sylvester Roberts, son of Elias Roberts and grandson of Willis Roberts.
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John's grandmother Cleo "Dessie" Desdemona (Roberts) Johnston and her husband Reuben Johnston.
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John with his immediate family: wife Theresa and son Niall.
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Kenneth E. Stonestreet, Jr. and his Roberts Roots 

3/8/2014

2 Comments

 
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Lezli Davis, as told by Bryan Glover.

Kenneth E. (Kenny) Stonestreet, Jr., met the late Natalie (Glover) Richardson of Noblesville, Indiana, in the late 1960s while they were attending Compton Community College in Los Angeles, California.  It was the start of a more than 50-year friendship.  

In the course of many conversations over the years, Natalie often talked to Kenny about her Hoosier hometown. On one occasion she told him about a historic white clapboard chapel in the rural countryside of Atlanta, Indiana, near her hometown.  She explained that the descendants of “free” African-American farmers, who had migrated from North Carolina, gathered every year for a reunion at Roberts Settlement, the site of this chapel.  

Kenny, a Detroit native, told Natalie that as a very young boy he had made several annual summer weekend trips to the Indiana countryside with his father and grandmother. Kenny vaguely recalled that their Indiana destination was a small rural church surrounded by lots of cornfields.  Kenny did remember that everyone gathered at the chapel for a very big picnic!  He could not recall the exact location of the chapel, but the setting seemed very similar to the one Natalie had often described.  Kenny told Natalie that their conversations about the little white chapel always felt like “déjà vu moments!”  

Over the years, Kenny became acquainted with many of Natalie’s relatives from Indiana, including her nephew, Bryan Glover, who moved to Los Angeles in 1979.  When Kenny learned that Bryan was also from Noblesville, Kenny told Bryan about the occasions he visited a little church located in the Indiana countryside.  He sensed that his family had an Indiana connection, but he didn’t know enough to explain the connection.

The mystery remained unsolved for many years, and Bryan moved back to Noblesville in 2007.  In 2013, Bryan and a host of others were working on a short documentary film about the Roberts Settlement history and its legacy.  While reviewing genealogical information pertinent to the Settlement, he discovered the name of Ella Hammonds and her spouse with the surname “Stonestreet.”  Following a hunch that the church Kenny had remembered visiting with his father many years ago may have been Roberts Chapel church, Bryan decided to collect more information from Kenny regarding his family tree. Bryan phoned Kenny and his wife, Brenda, who still live in Southern California.  

Kenny provided the name of his grandfather, and Census records in turn revealed the names of his great-grandparents, William and Ella (Hammonds) Stonestreet.  Earlier records reflected that Ella Hammond’s parents were Thomas Hammonds and Sarah Roberts.  Sarah was the daughter of Abner Roberts, son of Anthony Roberts, a resident of Beech Settlement (the Beech Settlement is in Rush County, Indiana)!  Anthony Roberts was the brother of Elijah Roberts (Bryan’s third great-grandfather), one of the founders of Roberts Settlement.  

The two settlements, Beech and Roberts, share many commonalities. Anthony Roberts (Kenny’s fourth great-grandfather) migrated from North Carolina in 1830 and farmed at Beech Settlement.  The Settlement has a rich history and was an early farming community of “free” African-American migrants from the South.  Descendants gather at Beech in August for an annual reunion in celebration of their ancestors’ legacy much like they do at Roberts Settlement.  Like Roberts Chapel, “the Old Beech Church” is the remaining landmark for the Beech Settlement.  

It is very possible that Kenny and the Stonestreet family attended the Roberts Settlement Homecoming; however, in all likelihood Kenny’s visit as a young boy to a “place” that stood in the Indiana cornfields was probably the historic Beech Settlement.  

Bryan’s genealogical research revealed that he and Kenny are fifth cousins, once removed.  Not only can Bryan and his family claim Kenny as a friend of more than 50 years, he can now claim Kenny as part of his Roberts kindred!

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