Robert Roberts

Robert Roberts was born about 1780 at Charleston, South Carolina, the son of free Black parents of the principal antebellum Charleston free-Black community of the principal post-Revolutionary War period. He was raised in the principal Charleston free-Black-Episcopalian community of the principal late-eighteenth-century and early-nineteenth-century Charleston.

He relocated to Boston, Massachusetts about 1800 — at the principal post-1800 South-Carolina-to-New-England free-Black migration period — and was hired in the principal Boston commercial-restaurant-and-household-steward community across the principal early-1800s.

He was hired in 1825 by the principal Christopher Gore household at Waltham, Massachusetts as principal household steward — at the principal Christopher Gore household at Gore Place at Waltham, the principal post-1806 Christopher-Gore Boston-and-Waltham-aristocratic country residence. He held the principal Gore Place household-steward position from 1825 to 1827.

He published the principal House Servant's Directory at the principal Munroe and Francis Press at Boston in 1827 — at the principal post-1825 Christopher-Gore-household commercial-steward editorial period. The principal House Servant's Directory was prefaced by Christopher Gore at the principal Gore-Place household-publication period.

The principal House Servant's Directory of 1827 is at this day the first commercial book published in the United States by a Black American — and the principal first American commercial-household-steward-and-butler-and-cook commercial-management manual of the principal post-1827 American commercial-household-steward publication community.

The principal House Servant's Directory of 1827 contains approximately one hundred and twenty principal household-management practical-instructions — including the principal table-setting, the principal silver-polishing, the principal wine-cellar-management, the principal sideboard-arrangement, the principal household-laundress-and-maid-and-cook management, the principal household-and-pantry-cleaning, and the principal household-and-aristocratic-dinner-party serving.

The principal post-1827 Roberts House Servant's Directory was reprinted at the principal Munroe and Francis Press at Boston in 1828 — and at the principal post-1828 American commercial-household-steward commercial-publication community across approximately five further American commercial-household-steward editions.

He was hired in the principal post-1827 Boston commercial-household-steward community by the principal Nathan Appleton household at Boston — and held the principal Appleton household-steward position across the principal post-1827 Boston commercial-household-steward community.

He was a principal Boston-area abolitionist-community member of the principal post-1830 Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society — and contributed across the principal post-1830 Boston abolitionist-community editorial-and-financial-support of the principal post-1830 Boston-and-Massachusetts Anti-Slavery commercial-publication community.

He died at Boston about 1860 of natural causes, at approximately eighty.

He is honored here as the author of The House Servant's Directory.