Excerpt from "Wild Key West", chapter 25, Conch Sketches:
Lillian “Lillie” May Roberts
Lillian Mae Roberts was born October 7, 1882 in Key West and always went by Lillie. Her parents were Thomas Henry “Tom Pilot” Roberts and Charlotte Jane Russell. She was raised on Grinnell street and married Joseph Estward Sawyer on September 25, 1902. She never knew her paternal grandparents as they passed before she was born. Her maternal grandparents Thomas James Russell and Mary Ann Saunders lived close by on Margaret street, migrating to Key West where Thomas was a sponge fisherman sometime in the late 1870s.
Lillie's paternal grandfather, Joseph Pilot Roberts was a well-known chandlery merchant and was known as Key West's first weatherman for his habit of flying weather flags from atop his large two story store at 701 Caroline street to warn fisherman in the Gulf of impending storms. Most people called him Joe Pilot. Lillie's paternal grandmother was Mary Constance Adams, granddaughter of Jacob Adams who along with Wyannie Malone founded Hope Town, Abaco.
Lillie came from a long line of Bahamians on both sides of her family originating in Green Turtle Cay.
Lillie Mae and Essie eventually made their home at 728 Passover Lane. The home was built in 1847 and was situated directly across from the Key West Cemetery. They had a nice porch for rocking chairs where the family would sit and watch the funeral processions go by, and catch up on the happenings in Key West. The home was a story and a half, the kitchen equipped with a pitcher mouthed hand pump providing water from the cistern in the back yard. Lillie washed her clothes in the side yard where she boiled the water in a #2 tub with kindling wood for a fire. Her grandson, Kenneth Don Williams said there was a wire fence on the property line at the sidewalk and a pomegranate fruit tree shading a fish pond containing gold fish which was always a delight for the grandchildren. The yard was full of trees, beautiful flowers and vegetation.
She used to make boiled fish and grits and bought her Cuban bread from Miguel Bazo's bakery on Solares Hill. She was especially close to her sister Marguerite who operated a small grocery store at 629 Margaret street, a block from her parents' family homestead on the corner of Grinnell and Angela streets.
She had eight brothers. One, Thomas Frank Roberts, was commonly called Bow Wow. In fact, Tom's family was commonly called the Bow Wows; the reason was simply that Tom loved dogs and knew how to talk to them. It doesn't take much to get a nickname in Key West and once you got one it was there to either delight or haunt you forever. Another, Eddie was called "Buttonwood" because he worked in the family wood yard on Caroline street that provided the town with buttonwood for the coffee roasters and residents, and for production of charcoal. Another brother Grover Cleveland Roberts was Clevey, also sometimes called Sneezy, who operated a general store on Caroline street as his grandfather before him.
Lillie's grandson said she was quiet in nature and guided her children in the field of education. She graduated from Harris High School in 1901 and her diploma hangs in the Monroe county school board administration building to this day. Lillie and Essie had five children together. Her oldest daughter was Mavereen, a well -known school teacher at Harris Elementary School where she taught for over 30 years. Mavereen was married to Clomer Richard Meador from Little Rock, Arkansas. There probably isn't a conch in Key West who doesn't remember Mrs. Meador. Her second born was Elva Naomi who married Key West barber John Augustus Collins in 1926. Her third child was Earl Emile who retired from City Electric with over 30 years of service. The fourth child was Ottilee who married fireman Jack Rose Williams in 1932. The youngest daughter was Mary Cleora who married John Everett Pinder in 1940.
Lillie's grandson said that she had a profound effect on his mother Ottilee in ways the family used to tease them about, such as not giving a direct answer to a question and saying, "That is a Nassau answer you just gave", evasive to a certain degree, but direct to their way of reasoning.
Lillie's great granddaughter, Nancy Ann Meador, daughter of Mavereen's son Kenneth Carl Meador and Barbara Crusoe said she remembered her pulling guavas from her tree using a tin can attached to a long pole. When asked about the temperament of Lillie she stated, "She was strict but she gave me cookies." She also said, "My Dad stayed with her every summer while my grandmother Mavereen went to school." Lillie was always available to help her children when in need. You could depend on her.
Lillie's children would give her money for birthdays and holidays and unknown to them she would wrap it up in a piece of brown paper with the date and the name of the person who gave it to her. They found these small brown parcels when she died. One thing was clear when talking to Lillie's family, they loved and admired their grandmother dearly.
Lillie Mae and Essie were happily married for 52 years. She passed away in Miami on October 10, 1960. Essie passed before her in 1954 and they are buried side by side in the Key West Cemetery.
-------------------------
Lillian “Lillie” May Roberts
Lillian Mae Roberts was born October 7, 1882 in Key West and always went by Lillie. Her parents were Thomas Henry “Tom Pilot” Roberts and Charlotte Jane Russell. She was raised on Grinnell street and married Joseph Estward Sawyer on September 25, 1902. She never knew her paternal grandparents as they passed before she was born. Her maternal grandparents Thomas James Russell and Mary Ann Saunders lived close by on Margaret street, migrating to Key West where Thomas was a sponge fisherman sometime in the late 1870s.
Lillie's paternal grandfather, Joseph Pilot Roberts was a well-known chandlery merchant and was known as Key West's first weatherman for his habit of flying weather flags from atop his large two story store at 701 Caroline street to warn fisherman in the Gulf of impending storms. Most people called him Joe Pilot. Lillie's paternal grandmother was Mary Constance Adams, granddaughter of Jacob Adams who along with Wyannie Malone founded Hope Town, Abaco.
Lillie came from a long line of Bahamians on both sides of her family originating in Green Turtle Cay.
Lillie Mae and Essie eventually made their home at 728 Passover Lane. The home was built in 1847 and was situated directly across from the Key West Cemetery. They had a nice porch for rocking chairs where the family would sit and watch the funeral processions go by, and catch up on the happenings in Key West. The home was a story and a half, the kitchen equipped with a pitcher mouthed hand pump providing water from the cistern in the back yard. Lillie washed her clothes in the side yard where she boiled the water in a #2 tub with kindling wood for a fire. Her grandson, Kenneth Don Williams said there was a wire fence on the property line at the sidewalk and a pomegranate fruit tree shading a fish pond containing gold fish which was always a delight for the grandchildren. The yard was full of trees, beautiful flowers and vegetation.
She used to make boiled fish and grits and bought her Cuban bread from Miguel Bazo's bakery on Solares Hill. She was especially close to her sister Marguerite who operated a small grocery store at 629 Margaret street, a block from her parents' family homestead on the corner of Grinnell and Angela streets.
She had eight brothers. One, Thomas Frank Roberts, was commonly called Bow Wow. In fact, Tom's family was commonly called the Bow Wows; the reason was simply that Tom loved dogs and knew how to talk to them. It doesn't take much to get a nickname in Key West and once you got one it was there to either delight or haunt you forever. Another, Eddie was called "Buttonwood" because he worked in the family wood yard on Caroline street that provided the town with buttonwood for the coffee roasters and residents, and for production of charcoal. Another brother Grover Cleveland Roberts was Clevey, also sometimes called Sneezy, who operated a general store on Caroline street as his grandfather before him.
Lillie's grandson said she was quiet in nature and guided her children in the field of education. She graduated from Harris High School in 1901 and her diploma hangs in the Monroe county school board administration building to this day. Lillie and Essie had five children together. Her oldest daughter was Mavereen, a well -known school teacher at Harris Elementary School where she taught for over 30 years. Mavereen was married to Clomer Richard Meador from Little Rock, Arkansas. There probably isn't a conch in Key West who doesn't remember Mrs. Meador. Her second born was Elva Naomi who married Key West barber John Augustus Collins in 1926. Her third child was Earl Emile who retired from City Electric with over 30 years of service. The fourth child was Ottilee who married fireman Jack Rose Williams in 1932. The youngest daughter was Mary Cleora who married John Everett Pinder in 1940.
Lillie's grandson said that she had a profound effect on his mother Ottilee in ways the family used to tease them about, such as not giving a direct answer to a question and saying, "That is a Nassau answer you just gave", evasive to a certain degree, but direct to their way of reasoning.
Lillie's great granddaughter, Nancy Ann Meador, daughter of Mavereen's son Kenneth Carl Meador and Barbara Crusoe said she remembered her pulling guavas from her tree using a tin can attached to a long pole. When asked about the temperament of Lillie she stated, "She was strict but she gave me cookies." She also said, "My Dad stayed with her every summer while my grandmother Mavereen went to school." Lillie was always available to help her children when in need. You could depend on her.
Lillie's children would give her money for birthdays and holidays and unknown to them she would wrap it up in a piece of brown paper with the date and the name of the person who gave it to her. They found these small brown parcels when she died. One thing was clear when talking to Lillie's family, they loved and admired their grandmother dearly.
Lillie Mae and Essie were happily married for 52 years. She passed away in Miami on October 10, 1960. Essie passed before her in 1954 and they are buried side by side in the Key West Cemetery.
-------------------------
Excerpt from "Wild Key West", chapter 25, Conch Sketches:
Lillian “Lillie” May Roberts
Lillian Mae Roberts was born October 7, 1882 in Key West and always went by Lillie. Her parents were Thomas Henry “Tom Pilot” Roberts and Charlotte Jane Russell. She was raised on Grinnell street and married Joseph Estward Sawyer on September 25, 1902. She never knew her paternal grandparents as they passed before she was born. Her maternal grandparents Thomas James Russell and Mary Ann Saunders lived close by on Margaret street, migrating to Key West where Thomas was a sponge fisherman sometime in the late 1870s.
Lillie's paternal grandfather, Joseph Pilot Roberts was a well-known chandlery merchant and was known as Key West's first weatherman for his habit of flying weather flags from atop his large two story store at 701 Caroline street to warn fisherman in the Gulf of impending storms. Most people called him Joe Pilot. Lillie's paternal grandmother was Mary Constance Adams, granddaughter of Jacob Adams who along with Wyannie Malone founded Hope Town, Abaco.
Lillie came from a long line of Bahamians on both sides of her family originating in Green Turtle Cay.
Lillie Mae and Essie eventually made their home at 728 Passover Lane. The home was built in 1847 and was situated directly across from the Key West Cemetery. They had a nice porch for rocking chairs where the family would sit and watch the funeral processions go by, and catch up on the happenings in Key West. The home was a story and a half, the kitchen equipped with a pitcher mouthed hand pump providing water from the cistern in the back yard. Lillie washed her clothes in the side yard where she boiled the water in a #2 tub with kindling wood for a fire. Her grandson, Kenneth Don Williams said there was a wire fence on the property line at the sidewalk and a pomegranate fruit tree shading a fish pond containing gold fish which was always a delight for the grandchildren. The yard was full of trees, beautiful flowers and vegetation.
She used to make boiled fish and grits and bought her Cuban bread from Miguel Bazo's bakery on Solares Hill. She was especially close to her sister Marguerite who operated a small grocery store at 629 Margaret street, a block from her parents' family homestead on the corner of Grinnell and Angela streets.
She had eight brothers. One, Thomas Frank Roberts, was commonly called Bow Wow. In fact, Tom's family was commonly called the Bow Wows; the reason was simply that Tom loved dogs and knew how to talk to them. It doesn't take much to get a nickname in Key West and once you got one it was there to either delight or haunt you forever. Another, Eddie was called "Buttonwood" because he worked in the family wood yard on Caroline street that provided the town with buttonwood for the coffee roasters and residents, and for production of charcoal. Another brother Grover Cleveland Roberts was Clevey, also sometimes called Sneezy, who operated a general store on Caroline street as his grandfather before him.
Lillie's grandson said she was quiet in nature and guided her children in the field of education. She graduated from Harris High School in 1901 and her diploma hangs in the Monroe county school board administration building to this day. Lillie and Essie had five children together. Her oldest daughter was Mavereen, a well -known school teacher at Harris Elementary School where she taught for over 30 years. Mavereen was married to Clomer Richard Meador from Little Rock, Arkansas. There probably isn't a conch in Key West who doesn't remember Mrs. Meador. Her second born was Elva Naomi who married Key West barber John Augustus Collins in 1926. Her third child was Earl Emile who retired from City Electric with over 30 years of service. The fourth child was Ottilee who married fireman Jack Rose Williams in 1932. The youngest daughter was Mary Cleora who married John Everett Pinder in 1940.
Lillie's grandson said that she had a profound effect on his mother Ottilee in ways the family used to tease them about, such as not giving a direct answer to a question and saying, "That is a Nassau answer you just gave", evasive to a certain degree, but direct to their way of reasoning.
Lillie's great granddaughter, Nancy Ann Meador, daughter of Mavereen's son Kenneth Carl Meador and Barbara Crusoe said she remembered her pulling guavas from her tree using a tin can attached to a long pole. When asked about the temperament of Lillie she stated, "She was strict but she gave me cookies." She also said, "My Dad stayed with her every summer while my grandmother Mavereen went to school." Lillie was always available to help her children when in need. You could depend on her.
Lillie's children would give her money for birthdays and holidays and unknown to them she would wrap it up in a piece of brown paper with the date and the name of the person who gave it to her. They found these small brown parcels when she died. One thing was clear when talking to Lillie's family, they loved and admired their grandmother dearly.
Lillie Mae and Essie were happily married for 52 years. She passed away in Miami on October 10, 1960. Essie passed before her in 1954 and they are buried side by side in the Key West Cemetery.
-------------------------
Lillian “Lillie” May Roberts
Lillian Mae Roberts was born October 7, 1882 in Key West and always went by Lillie. Her parents were Thomas Henry “Tom Pilot” Roberts and Charlotte Jane Russell. She was raised on Grinnell street and married Joseph Estward Sawyer on September 25, 1902. She never knew her paternal grandparents as they passed before she was born. Her maternal grandparents Thomas James Russell and Mary Ann Saunders lived close by on Margaret street, migrating to Key West where Thomas was a sponge fisherman sometime in the late 1870s.
Lillie's paternal grandfather, Joseph Pilot Roberts was a well-known chandlery merchant and was known as Key West's first weatherman for his habit of flying weather flags from atop his large two story store at 701 Caroline street to warn fisherman in the Gulf of impending storms. Most people called him Joe Pilot. Lillie's paternal grandmother was Mary Constance Adams, granddaughter of Jacob Adams who along with Wyannie Malone founded Hope Town, Abaco.
Lillie came from a long line of Bahamians on both sides of her family originating in Green Turtle Cay.
Lillie Mae and Essie eventually made their home at 728 Passover Lane. The home was built in 1847 and was situated directly across from the Key West Cemetery. They had a nice porch for rocking chairs where the family would sit and watch the funeral processions go by, and catch up on the happenings in Key West. The home was a story and a half, the kitchen equipped with a pitcher mouthed hand pump providing water from the cistern in the back yard. Lillie washed her clothes in the side yard where she boiled the water in a #2 tub with kindling wood for a fire. Her grandson, Kenneth Don Williams said there was a wire fence on the property line at the sidewalk and a pomegranate fruit tree shading a fish pond containing gold fish which was always a delight for the grandchildren. The yard was full of trees, beautiful flowers and vegetation.
She used to make boiled fish and grits and bought her Cuban bread from Miguel Bazo's bakery on Solares Hill. She was especially close to her sister Marguerite who operated a small grocery store at 629 Margaret street, a block from her parents' family homestead on the corner of Grinnell and Angela streets.
She had eight brothers. One, Thomas Frank Roberts, was commonly called Bow Wow. In fact, Tom's family was commonly called the Bow Wows; the reason was simply that Tom loved dogs and knew how to talk to them. It doesn't take much to get a nickname in Key West and once you got one it was there to either delight or haunt you forever. Another, Eddie was called "Buttonwood" because he worked in the family wood yard on Caroline street that provided the town with buttonwood for the coffee roasters and residents, and for production of charcoal. Another brother Grover Cleveland Roberts was Clevey, also sometimes called Sneezy, who operated a general store on Caroline street as his grandfather before him.
Lillie's grandson said she was quiet in nature and guided her children in the field of education. She graduated from Harris High School in 1901 and her diploma hangs in the Monroe county school board administration building to this day. Lillie and Essie had five children together. Her oldest daughter was Mavereen, a well -known school teacher at Harris Elementary School where she taught for over 30 years. Mavereen was married to Clomer Richard Meador from Little Rock, Arkansas. There probably isn't a conch in Key West who doesn't remember Mrs. Meador. Her second born was Elva Naomi who married Key West barber John Augustus Collins in 1926. Her third child was Earl Emile who retired from City Electric with over 30 years of service. The fourth child was Ottilee who married fireman Jack Rose Williams in 1932. The youngest daughter was Mary Cleora who married John Everett Pinder in 1940.
Lillie's grandson said that she had a profound effect on his mother Ottilee in ways the family used to tease them about, such as not giving a direct answer to a question and saying, "That is a Nassau answer you just gave", evasive to a certain degree, but direct to their way of reasoning.
Lillie's great granddaughter, Nancy Ann Meador, daughter of Mavereen's son Kenneth Carl Meador and Barbara Crusoe said she remembered her pulling guavas from her tree using a tin can attached to a long pole. When asked about the temperament of Lillie she stated, "She was strict but she gave me cookies." She also said, "My Dad stayed with her every summer while my grandmother Mavereen went to school." Lillie was always available to help her children when in need. You could depend on her.
Lillie's children would give her money for birthdays and holidays and unknown to them she would wrap it up in a piece of brown paper with the date and the name of the person who gave it to her. They found these small brown parcels when she died. One thing was clear when talking to Lillie's family, they loved and admired their grandmother dearly.
Lillie Mae and Essie were happily married for 52 years. She passed away in Miami on October 10, 1960. Essie passed before her in 1954 and they are buried side by side in the Key West Cemetery.
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