THE FAMILY ROOTS
The everlasting foundation of the roberts • borders • mauney • howell • briggs & Related Families
"We've come this far by faith"
The ancestors of the Roberts, Borders, Mauney, Howell, Briggs, and related families were not all kin by blood — but were united in bondage across plantations in Cleveland County, North Carolina. From these shared beginnings, a powerful family legacy was born.
We Are the Descendants of the Enslaved and the Enslavers.
Our history is rooted in truth, resilience, and unity.
Our Matriarch
Phoebe Magness Roberts
Circa 18th century
The Mother of the Seven Sisters
The matriarch of our family was an enslaved woman named Phebe Magness Roberts, owned by William Magness. Between the late 1790s and early 1800s, she gave birth to seven daughters and one son — children who would become the foundation of a remarkable lineage.
Her daughters became known as “The Seven Sisters.”
Guinea, Africa
martha Roberts Howell
birth 1819
kitty bird roberts
birth 1804
betsy caroline forney
birth 1806
fannie briggs
birth 1803
sylvia Roberts
eldest of the seven
delilah Dillingham beam
birth 1799
pricilla Mauney
birth 1814
married big george
married simpson roberts & solomon howell
big bob roberts
birth 1815
emmanual roberts
issac roberts
birth 1794
big george roberts
married kitty bird roberts
simpson roberts
married martha roberts howell
little bob roberts
aaron roberts
Big George and Simpson married two of Phebe’s daughters — Kitty Bird and Martha. Martha later married Solomon Howell.
From these unions grew a tightly bonded community — bound not only by marriage and survival, but by deep kinship.
The Seven sisters
The enslaved patriarchs of the plantation
married mARY ANN ROBERTS
- Wesley Mauney — son of Priscilla Mauney
- Eli Borders Roberts — son of Martha Roberts
- John Wesley Roberts — grandson of Big George and Kitty Bird Roberts
- Ida Roberts (wife of J.W. Roberts) — granddaughter of Emanuel Roberts
Descendants of the Seven Sisters and the Patriarchs chose unity over division.
In 1906, Wesley Mauney (b. 1846), John Wesley Roberts (b. 1862), and Eli Borders Roberts (b. 1840) organized a reunion to formally unite all descendants as one extended family.
The first reunion was held at the home of Wesley and Naomi Mauney.
For many years thereafter, reunions were hosted at the homestead of Mason and China Roberts in Cleveland County — son and daughter-in-law of Eli and Sarah Roberts.
The formation of one family
The first family reunion - 1906
Legacy & Contribution
This family did more than survive - they built.
john & ida westly roberts
weslEy & naomi mauney
eli & sarah borders roberts
Wesley & Naomi built schools and churches, and dedicated their lives to uplifting their people.
Eli & Sarah became prominent landowners and donated land for Borders School and Holly Oak Park in Shelby.
John Wesley Roberts became an elder in the AME Zion Church and founded Roberts Tabernacle AME Church in Shelby, NC.