The Joseph family was the maternal family of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a renowned bibliophile and collector of books on the Black experience worldwide. Schomburg's mother, Mary Joseph, was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, in 1837. She migrated to Puerto Rico before his birth and worked as a midwife or laundress. Schomburg and his sister Dolores Diaz spent most of their childhood in St. Croix. Their maternal grandfather and great-grandfather, Nicholas and Nathaniel Joseph, lived in St. Croix in the town of Christianted where they owned a house and lot. The collection includes a certificate of baptism for Mary Joseph, Arthuro Alfonso Schomburg's mother; deeds of a house and lot purchased by Nicholas Joseph in 1835 and bequeathed to his son Nathaniel in 1860; and a contract for repairs to be performed to the family home.
The Joseph family was the maternal family of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a renowned bibliophile and collector of books on the Black experience worldwide. Schomburg's mother, Mary Joseph, was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, in 1837. She migrated to Puerto Rico before his birth and worked as a midwife or laundress. Schomburg and his sister Dolores Diaz spent most of their childhood in St. Croix. Their maternal grandfather and great-grandfather, Nicholas and Nathaniel Joseph, lived in St. Croix in the town of Christianted where they owned a house and lot.
The collection includes a certificate of baptism for Mary Joseph, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg's mother; deeds of a house and lot purchased by Nicholas Joseph in 1835 and bequeathed to his son Nathaniel in 1860; and a contract for repairs to be performed to the family home.
Gift, Schomburg, Arturo Alfonso, 1936
This finding aid was updated by Allison Hughes. (2022 September 22)