ROBINSON FAMILY.
Robinson Family papers, 1952-1964

Emory University

Pitts Theology Library

1531 Dickey Drive, Suite 560

Atlanta, GA 30322

404-727-4166

Permanent link: http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/vqkqz

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Robinson Family.
Title: Robinson Family papers, 1952-1964
Call Number:Manuscript Collection No. 476
Extent: .4 cubic feet (1 box)
Abstract:Contains correspondence and scrapbooks of Morrell and Lois Robinson during related to their missionary work in Cuba during the 1950s and 1960s.
Language:Materials entirely in English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

Unrestricted access.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Source

Gift from Steed Robinson, September 2021

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], Robinson Family papers, MSS 476, Archives and Manuscript Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.

Processing

Processed by Maya Espinoza, October 2021.

Collection Description

Biographical Note

Morrell Steed Robinson was born to Samuel Craven Robinson and Belle Steed Robinson on May 12, 1927, in Birmingham, Alabama. He decided on a vocation of ministry while growing up in the Methodist Church in Florida. Morrell graduated from Emory University in 1947 and from Candler School of Theology in 1950 after majoring in New Testament Studies.

Lois Augusta Robinson (née Lerch) was born June 2, 1931 to Donald and Elsie Lerch. Lois met Morrell while he was an associate pastor at First Methodist Church, Clearwater, Florida. They were married on August 26, 1952. Lois completed her nursing degree from Emory University. The couple applied to work as missionaries through the Methodist Board of Missions and were assigned to Mayarí, Cuba. Lois, Morrell, and fourteen month old Morrell Jr. (Steed) moved in February 1956. Their second and third children (Esther and George) were born in Cuba in 1956 and 1959, respectively. They served in Mayarí, Cuba until May of 1960. Morrell served as a pastor and Lois as the director of the Churchwell Clinic. They were present during armed conflict in the mountains around Mayarí at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution.

After their work in Cuba, Morrell and Lois returned to the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church until his retirement in 1991. In that time, Morrell served as pastor at Tampa Heights United Methodist Church in Tampa, Allapattah United Methodist Church in Miami (1967 -1971), and later became Urban Minister to Miami (1973 to 1979). Morrell and Lois were outspoken in favor of civil rights and the rights of LGBTQIA+ people. Morrell received recognition for his participation in the cause of peace and justice from the Coalition for Arms Limitation and Survival in 1979, and he received the Plumbline Award from the Florida Methodist Federation for Social Action in 2002.

Morrell passed away July 18, 2020.

Scope and Content Note

This record follows the correspondence of Rev. Morrell and Lois Robinson to Lois’s parents over the years of 1956-1960, during their duration as missionaries in Mayarí, Cuba. The weekly letters cover both personal news and local events. Also included is a scrapbook album of the family in Cuba and Florida from 1952-1964 with newspaper clippings, invitations for special events, and church service programs.

Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Corporate Names

Topical Terms

Geographic Names

Form/Genre Terms

Occupation

Container List

Box Folder Content
1 1 Correspondence, 1956
1 2 Correspondence, 1957
1 3 Correspondence, 1958
1 4 Correspondence, 1959
1 5 Correspondence, 1960
1 6 Scrapbook, 1952-1964
v1.11.0-dev