The Roberts Family Papers document the activities of a family who achieved many milestones for African-Americans in California. Frederick Roberts was the first African American to graduate from Los Angeles High School and the first African American state assemblyman. In addition, he worked for the first African-American mortuary to be established in Los Angeles. His wife, Pearl, attended both the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Boston Conservatory of Music. She became the first African-American woman pipe organist in Northern California and founded a very successful choral group which was acclaimed for its performance of spirituals. Frederick and Pearl's daughter, Gloria, also pursued a career in music and performed in both the United States and Europe as a concert pianist.

Frederick Madison Roberts was born in Chillicothe, Ohio in 1880 to Andrew J. and Ellen Wales Roberts. From his mother, he acquired the distinction of being the great-grandson of Sally Hemings, a woman reputed to be the mistress of Thomas Jefferson. In 1886, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Andrew Roberts helped to start a tracking and storage company. He later opened a mortuary business, Roberts Undertaking, and trained his sons, Frederick and William, to help him.

3 linear feet (7 boxes + 1 oversized box)

Permission to publish from the Roberts Family Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.