Tag: Roby

My Ancestor Participated in the Boston Tea Party

A version of this blog post appeared in the Main Line Genealogy Club’s online newsletter, The Dispatch 3.5 January 2024

December 16, 2023 was the 250th anniversary of the famed Boston Tea Party. There were countless events leading up to and on the anniversary, mostly in Boston, but also around the world. These events were just a prelude of things to come as we celebrate the semiquincentennial of birth of the United States of America. I am proud to say that my fourth great-grandfather, Joseph Roby, had a small part to play in the founding of this country, including as a participant in the Boston Tea Party.

I grew up knowing that my paternal roots in this country went way back to New England, including to the Mayflower. I also knew that the Robys were emigrants from England to the Boston area in the mid-1600s. While I never heard any specific stories, the family story came down through the generations that my fourth great-grandfather, Joseph Roby (1753-1836), participated in the Boston Tea Party and fought in the Revolutionary War.

It was not until I was in a colonial American history class in college that I revisited my revolutionary ancestor. Dr. Dan Rolph, who was the reference librarian for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) for many years, was my professor. He introduced me to manuscripts at HSP, including a letter written by my fifth great-grandfather, Joseph Roby (yes, another one), which was in their archives. He also showed me sources on the tea party and colonial America. Later, I went to the National Archives branch in Philadelphia, used microfilm for the first time, and found Joseph Roby’s service record from the Revolutionary War.

Over the years as I have become a better genealogist, I have delved deeper into Joseph Roby. One of my main research goals is to prove (or disprove) that he participated in the tea party. I contacted the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum early this year because I saw that they had a brand-new descendants program, in partnership with the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS). I have not completed my application yet, but I do plan on it if I can confirm my ancestor’s involvement. The museum and NEHGS have concluded that Joseph Roby was a participant, but the genealogist in me needs to continue the reasonably exhaustive research.

There are only two documents which list Joseph Roby as a participant in the Boston Tea Party: an 1819 letter printed in the Niles Weekly Register and the book Tea Leaves: Being a Collection of Letters and Documents Relating to the Shipment of Tea to the American Colonies in 1773 By the East India Company by Francis S. Drake. The 1819 letter was written by Lewis R. M. Morse, a son of Anthony Morse. Lewis claims that his father and Joseph Roby “were the most active in destroying the tea.” He wrote the letter on June 22, 1819 from Hanover, New Hampshire, and states that Joseph Roby was currently living in that town. My ancestor’s whereabouts have been hard to trace, but he probably resided in Hanover, NH at that time. He ended up near Rochester, New York by the 1830s.

Tea Leaves was published in 1884. The first part of the book lists Boston Tea Party participants and what, if anything, is known about them. This is the entry for Joseph Roby on page CLIV (p. 154): “Resided in Prince Street, Boston, in 1807, but was living in Hanover, N.H., in 1817.” There are no citations for this information nor in any other entry. However, as documented in his Revolutionary War pension file, a few people testified that Joseph Roby lived in Hanover, NH around 1817–1819. The Prince Street address can also be confirmed by newspaper advertisements and other records.

I was shocked in June 2023 to receive an email from my contact at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. She said their group located many burial locations for Boston Tea Party participants, and they were placing markers on their graves throughout the rest of 2023 leading up to the anniversary. My ancestor’s grave is in Brockport, New York, over four hundred miles away from Boston. I could not pass up the opportunity to represent my family at this event.

On July 10, 2023, representatives from the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, Revolution 250, the towns of Brockport and Sweden, New York, and the local DAR and SAR chapters honored my fourth great-grandfather. It was a small, but nice ceremony and one which I won’t soon forget. I also felt drawn to attend because my grandfather, who was the first person to tell me about my family history, was instrumental in organizing a similar ceremony fifty years prior in 1973 on the 200th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

Dec 16, 1973 (200th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party) – My grandfather, Rochester Ross Roby, took this photo at an event to honor our ancestor, very similar to the one I attended almost 50 years later.

I intend to keep researching Joseph Roby. I have been working on an article which I hope one of the major genealogical journals will publish. The focus is how I sorted out my Joseph Roby from all the other same named individuals in the Boston area. I was able to spend three extra days in Brockport and Rochester during my trip in July researching in local archives. Some of the information I uncovered should help with that future article. One of my resolutions for 2024 is to write more often on this blog, so if you want to read more about Joseph and my research, please sign up to receive updates.

R. Ross Roby – WWII Conscientious Objector #52Ancestors : Week 1

My paternal grandfather, Rochester Ross Roby (1914–2002), was always a man of strong principles. He was raised Episcopalian in Rochester, Monroe County, New York, in an upper middle-class family. After graduating from an elite private school and Yale University, Ross (he hated the name Rochester), set out to make something of his life. He spoke out against the war in Europe and declared himself a pacifist and conscientious objector before the U.S. entered WWII.[1] Little did my grandfather know that his experiences as a conscientious objector during the war would lead him into his life’s work.

R. Ross Roby – Yale University Graduation Photo, 1937

During the war, the United States gave conscientious objectors who were drafted an alternative option for service instead of putting them under the military’s direction. Nearly 12,000 men and women chose Civilian Public Service (CPS). Under this program, these conscientious objectors, including my grandfather, were assigned to a camp and a work project of national importance. Sometime in 1943, my grandfather was sent to Philadelphia and the Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry. The Civilian Public Service would become known for its groundbreaking work in the field of mental health. Ross was assigned to be an orderly in a men’s ward of the psychiatric hospital.[2]

While working as an orderly in what must have been unspeakable conditions for both himself and the patients, Ross decided to pursue a medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Since he worked long days at the hospital, he had to take evening courses. Consequently, he had to endure a long commute on public transportation from one end of Philadelphia to the other (Philadelphia State Hospital was at the far northeastern corner of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania is in West Philadelphia). There was something about seeing the horrors at the state hospital that made Ross want to help people with mental illnesses, beyond what he could do as an orderly.

It was in one of Ross’s night courses when fate intervened. Since he worked all day and traveled over an hour to get to class, he was exhausted by the time class started. Sometimes he fell asleep in class. A fellow student, Juliet Carter Dulany, offered to share her notes to help him pass the class. Less than a year later, on 22 June 1946, they were married. My grandparents, Ross and Juliet, were married for over 55 years and had four children, including my father.

Civilian Public Service workers were required to stay in the program as long as two years after WWII ended in 1945. My grandfather was one of the workers at Philadelphia State Hospital who went on strike to protest the length of their required service. Eventually, the CPS workers won, and in 1947 their service to the country ended.[3]

My grandfather finished medical school and settled down with his new family in Philadelphia. Because of his experiences as a conscientious objector at Philadelphia State Hospital, Ross wanted to make a meaningful contribution to the field of mental health. He would go on to a distinguished career as a child psychiatrist.

Ross joined the Society of Friends (Quakers) soon after the war. He remained very active with his local meeting in Germantown. He was involved with many organizations to support the pacifist and peace movement. His passion for the movement remained high until his death in 2002.

Even though my grandfather was not a typical veteran, he very much served his country during WWII. While it is always important to remember and honor our military veterans, do not forget the men and women behind the scenes. Conscientious objectors do not believe in war, but they still love their country. Ross started his service during the war years and continued to serve throughout the rest of his life. That’s how I remember him.

It was my grandfather who spurred my interest in history and genealogy. Ross spent decades researching his and my grandmother’s family histories. He became a member of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (GSP) in 1968. I joined the Board of Directors of that same organization in March 2019. I sometimes think about my grandfather as I’m driving in to the GSP office. A few blocks before I get there, I pass the spot along Roosevelt Blvd. where the Philadelphia State Hospital used to stand.

[1] “Pacifist Asks Peace Moves,” Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), 03 Nov 1941, p. 14, col. 3; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/136192437/ : accessed 31 December 2020), Newspapers.com Publishers Extra.

[2] Mennonite Central Committee, “CPS Worker 008626 – Roby, Rochester Ross,” Civilian Public Service (http://civilianpublicservice.org/workers/8626 : accessed 31 December 2020), entry for Rochester Ross Roby.

[3] Mennonite Central Committee, Civilian Public Service (http://civilianpublicservice.org/ : accessed 31 December 2020).