ROBERTS, BORDERS, MAUNEY, HOWELL, BRIGGS
AND RELATED FAMILIES

We've Come This Far By Faith.

~ Since 1906 ~

reunion_logo_plain
Passing the plaque

The plaque has been passed and the tradition continues.

During the weekend of August 2-4, 2024, the Roberts, Borders, Mauney, Howell, Briggs & Related Families continued their unbroken string of family reunions since 1906 by gathering together at their usual reunion venues in Charlotte and Kings Mountain, North Carolina for a weekend of good fun, good food, and fervent family worship.

On Sunday the 4th, the traditional President's Plaque was passed from outgoing president Rev. Vincent Howell to the new president Myron McNeil (former 1st vice president), ushering in a new session of family togetherness. Myron will serve as president for the next two years.

Welcome To the Family!


If you are a seasoned RBMHB & RF Family Reunion attendee, welcome back. If you are new to the family and just discovering that your roots lie somewhere in our rich traditions, the Reunion Committee bids you welcome and invite you to become an active part of our well over 100 year journey.

Continue scrolling to see from whence we came and to where we are going, and to find out how you can become a part of our rich tradition. For more information, contact the Reunion Committee at info@1906family.com.

From the President's Desk

Greetings Family!

Rev. Vincent Howell
My name is Myron McNeil. I am the incoming President of the RBMHB & RF Reunion Committee. Many thanks to our outgoing President Rev. Dr. Vincent Howell.

The President of the Reunion Committee serves for two years and I look forward to continuing our tradition of uninterrupted family reunions since 1906.

I am descended from Berry Webber, one of our family patriarchs and Mariah Weir. North Carolina is my home. I attended Delaware State University and Shaw University. I am a high school administrator. I have been a member of the Reunion Committee for 6 years. I am excited, honored and humbled to be the President of the RBMHB & RF Reunion Committee.

It was a joy to see many of you during our 119th Reunion. Our reunion truly is a gift, an opportunity to remember and celebrate our past and to enjoy building and nurturing friendships and making new memories together.

Thank you to Derek Webber for an inspirational message at our Sunday Service and thank you to Chip Howell for directing the Reunion Choir. It was a wonderful time and I am already looking forward to next year.

Family, ticket sales alone do not cover the cost of the reunion. So, thank you so much to those of you who gave over and above the cost of the ticket. Your generosity reflects your love of family. We are truly blessed.

As you know our Reunion is always the first weekend in August. Put it on your calendar now and make a commitment for next year. Our 120th Reunion will be August 1-3, 2025.

With your help and support we will hold fast to our tradition and come together once again.

Myron McNeil, Reunion Committee President

2024 RBMHB & RF Family Reunion Picnic Group Photo

While enjoying the 119th Reunion Saturday Picnic feast and taking part in the numerous games and activities, the attendants posed for this amazing photo. From the toddlers in strollers to the seniors in their best Saturday attire, everyone enjoyed the days affairs, as evidenced by the smiles on their faces. Click here to view a carousel of other photos taken during the weekend.

Next Up: the 120th Reunion

The Reunion Committee will again resume its reunion planning activities for our landmark 120th reunion beginning in September of this year. We are looking forward to next year, and we hope you are too!

In the mean time, this Family Reunion website will be undergoing extensive revisions. Please check back from time to time to see what has been added in the way of information to help you plan for the 120th reunion.

See You Again In August 2025!

A Brief Family History

As retold each year in the Family Reunion program (photo from the 100th Reunion Souvenir Journal).
1953 Reunion
The ancestors of the Roberts, Borders, Mauney, Howell, Briggs and Related Families were not all kin, but were fellow slaves from various plantations in Cleveland County, North Carolina. We are the descendants of these former slaves and former slave owners. Our history records include the slave owner family names of Roberts, Borders, Fulenwider, Magness, Weir, Mauney, Beam, and Briggs.

The matriarch of our family was a slave woman named Phebe Magness Roberts (owned by William Magness, slave owner) who had seven daughters (known as the "Seven Sisters") and one son, born between the late 1790's and the early 1800's. The "Seven Sisters" were named Sylvia Roberts, Delilah Dillingham Beam (b.1799), Fannie Briggs (b.1803), Kitty Bird Roberts (b.1804), Betsy Forney (b.1806), Priscilla Mauney (b.1814), and Martha Roberts Howell (b.1819).

The patriarchs of our family were the male slaves named Emanuel Roberts, Big George Roberts, Isaac Roberts (b.1794), Big Bob Roberts (b.1815), Aaron Roberts, Simpson Roberts, and Little Bob Roberts. Big George and Simpson married two of Phebe's daughters, Kitty Bird and Martha. Martha's second husband was Solomon Howell.

The descendants of these seven sisters and seven male slaves toiled together as family and developed a kinship for one another so much so that Wesley Mauney (b.1846), John Wesley Roberts (b.1862), and Eli Borders Roberts (b.1840), all descendants of related slaves, organized a family reunion to include as one family all descendants of the "Seven Sisters" and "Great Slave Fathers". Wesley Mauney was the son of Priscilla Mauney, Eli was the son of Martha Roberts, and J.W. Roberts was the grandson of Big George and Kitty Bird Roberts. The wife of J.W. Roberts (Ida Roberts) was the granddaughter of Emanuel Roberts.

The first reunion was held at the home of Wesley and Naomi Mauney in 1906. For many years, the reunion was held at the homestead of Mason and China Roberts - son of Eli and Sarah Roberts - in Cleveland county (pictured above). The accomplishments of this great family are numerous. Wesley Mauney is credited for building numerous schools and churches, and dedicating his life to improving the quality of life for his people. John Wesley Roberts was an elder in the CME Zion Church and founded Roberts Tabernacle CME church in Shelby, NC. Eli Roberts was a great land owner who donated land for the Borders School and Holly Oak Park in Shelby.

Members of our family have become preachers, teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, legislators, engineers, pilots, artists, writers, and in general, outstanding American citizens.

The Family Roots

"The Amazing Beginnings of a Wonderful Family"

Phebe Magness Roberts - Matriarch of Our family


Seven Sisters
Enslaved Daughters of Phebe:

Sylvia Roberts, Delilah Dillingham Beam, Fannie Briggs, Kitty Bird Roberts, Betsy Forney, Priscilla Mauney, and Martha Roberts Howell

Male Patriarchs
Male Slaves on the Plantation:

Emanuel Roberts, Big George Roberts, Isaac Roberts, Big Bob Roberts, Aaron Roberts, Simpson Roberts, and Little Bob Roberts

The seven enslaved daughters of Phebe, and the male slaves on the plantation formed strong family units that comprised the roots of our amazing family. In the year 1906, three descendants of those early unions - Wesley Mauney, John Wesley Roberts, and Eli Borders Roberts, and their wives organized the first family reunion. Descendants of those early founders have gathered to strengthen those bonds each year continuously since then.

Founders of the Family Reunion

The three couples who got together and decided to start this amazing family tradition.

Roberts

John Wesley Roberts & wife Ida

Borders

Eli Borders Roberts & wife Sarah

Mauney

Wesley Mauney & wife Naomi

Family colors

The colors shown here were adopted as the official colors of the various family branches. Family members often wear their family colors proudly when attending reunion events. Many often wear purple, the color of our matriarch, which is always appropriate at any event.


     

Growing Participation from Year to Year

72nd Reunion Re-enactment

This photo was taken in 1977 at the 72nd reunion of the families. It captures a re-enactment of a gathering of the original seven sisters and male slaves on the Roberts plantation. The scene was staged to give younger members of the family a glimpse of what life may have been like on the plantation when the family's roots were just beginning to be nourished.

112th Reunion Fellowship Gathering

A near capacity crowd gathered in 2017 at the 112th reunion of the families. The enormous crowd of the faithful gathered on Sunday morning to worship, enjoy a wonderful meal together, and listen to an inspiring keynote address. Reunion gatherings have grown in size from enough to fill the front lawn of Wesley and Ida Roberts' home to enough to fill two ballrooms of the host hotel in Charlotte.

Youth 1 Youth 2



"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessings."

(From the 2020 reunion newsletter by Reunion Past President Graham Watt.)
". . . We are blessed to come from a strong people. Our ancestors withstood the trauma of kidnapping and transport from the homeland; the brutality of slavery and attendant family separations; Jim Crow; the ongoing struggle for civil rights; and the challenges of surviving and thriving in today's world. Yet, here we are! In the words of Maya Angelou, "…Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave; I rise, I rise, I rise." We are fortunate to have family members who continue to seek more detailed answers about our ancestors and their experiences. I am pleased to tell you that their research efforts have yielded more information about our history, and we look forward to sharing their findings with you at the 115th Roberts, Borders, Mauney, Howell, Briggs, and Related Families Reunion in August 2020.

Reunion Day Activities

Planning for the 120th Family Reunion will begin soon!

The Roberts, Borders, Mauney, Howell, Briggs & Related Families Reunion Committee would like to thank all of you who attended the 119th reunion and made it the special event that it was. We will begin planning for the landmark 120th reunion events after a followup meeting to assess the challanges and build on the successes of the 119th reunion.
(All times shown are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and are tentative.)

Friday, August 1st, 2025

HISTORIC BUS TOUR
- 8:30AM - 5:50PM - Leaving from Sheraton Hotel
FAMILY REUNION MUSEUM
- Noon - 6:00PM - Sheraton Hotel small ballroom

Historic Bus Tour
An informative and enjoyable tour of historic family sites. Leaving from the Sheraton Hotel with a stop in Kings Mountain to pick up other guests, the tour includes a stop for lunch at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Kings Mountain.
Family Museum

Family photographs, memorabilia, and other historic items on display at the Sheraton Hotel. Find out how you can add yours to the collection by contacting museum curator Mrs. Ina Biggers.

Saturday, August 2th, 2025

REUNION PICNIC
- 10:00AM - 4:00PM - Mt. Olive Presbyterian Church
FAMILY TALENT NIGHT
- 7:30PM - 10:00PM - Sheraton Hotel small ballroom
Family Picnic
Food, fun, and games for all to enjoy. The Mt. Olive Presbyterian Church is only a few miles from the host hotel and their Family Life Center has ample room to enjoy it all. There will will be plenty of food, fun and family games to enjoy.
Family Talent Night
Entertaining and enlightening family talent on display by enthusiastic family members. Some planned, some ad hoc, but all in the spirit of fun!

Sunday, August 3th, 2025

WORSHIP SERVICE
- 11:OOAM - Sheraton Hotel ballroom
FELLOWSHIP DINNER
- 1:OOPM - Sheraton Hotel ballroom
Family Worship
The families gather in a Sheraton Charlotte Airport Hotel ballroom for the annual service and keynote address by one of our very own cousins (TBD)
DINNER - Enjoy a sumptous dinner prepared by the host hotel staff as a fitting end to the weekend.
ZOOM SESSIONS - The Morning Worship and the after-dinner program will be broadcast on Zoom for the benefit of those who can not attend in person. A link to join the sessions is included in the latest edition of the Family Reunion Newsletter. If you did not receive a newsletter, send an email to Reunion President Rev. Vincent Howell, and request a link.

SUNDAY'S KEYNOTE SPEAKER (TBD)
podium

RBMHB & RF Reunion Registration

"Looking Forward to Seeing You again in August 2025"


Check back later for registration information.


Please Donate to a Reunion Fund!

Please consider donating to either the General Fund or the Scholarship Fund this year to allow us to continue our efforts to advance the family's values and providing much needed scholarship help for recipients still pursuing their education.

General or Scholarship Fund

If you would like to donate to the Family Reunion General Fund - to help cover operating costs - or the Family Reunion Scholarship Fund - which provides monetary assistance to our deserving scholarship recipients - you can do so by clicking the button below to download a copy of the donation form and send it to the address indicated on the form. You can also send donations using the "Zelle" mobile app on your phone to "info@1906family.com".


Scholarship Application

Each year the RBMHB offers financial assistance in the form of scholarships to members of the RBMHB Family Reunion who are continuing their education in an accredited institution of higher learning. To apply for a scholarship, Use the button below to open a Scholarship Application Form, complete it and mail it to: Brenda Ford, 5122 Casino Dr., Charlotte, NC 28216.


Buy A Set Of Note Cards to Show Your Family Pride

(Note Card packages are undergoing a revision. Please check back later to order yours.)

RBMHB Founders

Founders card
An assortment of vintage family photos and this Family Reunion logo in a pack of 10 cards.

Family Art

Family Art card
A stunning piece of artwork named "Family" by one of our own talented artists (10 cards).

Contact Us

Written communications can be sent to the Reunion Committee at the address shown in the footer of each page on this site. For questions or concerns about this site, please contact Arnold Sanders by email at arnold.sanders@carolina.rr.com

2024 - 2026 Reunion Committee

Executive Committee

President:
Myron McNeil
1st Vice President:
Sabryya Roberts
2nd Vice President:
(To be nominated and elected in 2025.)
Recording Secretary:
Sandra Harris
Treasurer:
Brenda Ford
Historian:
Jean Humphrey

At-Large Committee Members

Patricia Bates
Ina Biggers
Rev. Vincent Howell
Winnie Keaton
Cossette Padgett
Clayton S. Reid
Turkessa Reid
Cenaa Roberts
Chad Roberts
Edgar Roberts
Ericka Roberts
Howard B. Roberts, Jr.
Jalen Roberts
Zahra Roberts
Gwendolyn Robinson
Tiffany Robinson
Arnold Sanders
Dr. Graham Watt
Josie B. Wilson

Making It Happen Year After Year

Reunion Committee Planning and Operations

Reunion Committee

If you are curious about how the reunion planning and execution gets done year after year, and want to become a part of the Family Reunion Planning Committee, this section will help. The reunion committee is always eager to welcome fresh perspectives and young talents to its already energetic, experienced, and resourceful group of organizers. We expect to face many new challenges in the coming years, and hope that your contributions will make the outcome of our efforts to face those challenges even more successful and rewarding.

Meeting Venues

When the Reunion Committee was first established, meetings were held on the second or third Saturday of each month, except the months of September and December. Later, the committee determined that it was desirable to include a September meeting in order to more efficiently assess the successes and challanges of the last reunion. A schedule of actual dates and locations is created during the September meeting. Since 2019, all meetings have been conducted on Zoom Video Conferencing to eliminate travel, thereby allow committee members from all over the country to attend.

Committee Officers and Their Duties

President - serves a 2-year term and is succeeded by the First Vice President at the end of the term. The duties of the office include:
  • Organizing and presiding over all regular monthly committee meetings.
  • Securing venues for the family reunion activities.
  • Delegating responsibilities to other committee members.
  • Presiding over reunion operations.
  • Coordinating sub-committee operations.
  • Ensuring all committee members are in good standing.
  • Regularly communicating with other officers.
  • Mentoring the First Vice President.
First Vice President - serves a 2-year term and is succeeded by the Second Vice President at the end of the term.
  • Performing all duties of the President in his or her absence.
  • Succeeds the President at the end of his or her term, or if that office is vacated for any reason.
Second Vice President - serves a 2-year term. At the end of the term, a new Second Vice President is elected by the membership at the reunion meeting.
  • Performing all duties of the First Vice President in his or her absence.
  • Succeeds the First Vice President at the end of his or her term, or if that office is vacated for any reason.
Secretary - No defined term. Elected by the committee members when the office is vacated for any reason.
  • Record the meeting minutes and log attendance at each committee meeting.
  • Communicate notice of upcoming meetings to each committee member in a timely manner.
Treasurer - No defined term. Elected by the committee members when the office is vacated for any reason.
  • Maintain the family reunion bank account by depositing money collected and issuing payments as necessary.
  • Report expense payments, collections, and fund allocations at each regular committee meeting.
At Large Members - No defined term. Voluntary positions open to all family members who desire to serve.
  • Serve on standing and ad-hoc committees as directed by the President.
  • Represent the family members as advocates during committee meetings.

Reunion Weekend at a Glance

Friday

  • Credentials and Late Registration - Credentials are given to pre-registered family members and late registrations are collected ($5.00 late fee for each person registered) at the host hotel.
  • Opening of the Family Museum - Family photographs, memorabilia, heritage documentation, and other artifacts commemorating the families' rich and continuing history are on display. The museum is open to the family as well as the public throughout the weekend. Family members are encouraged to contribute their own photos and artifacts for display.

Saturday

  • Credentials and Late Registration - Credentials are given to pre-registered family members and late registrations are collected ($5.00 late fee for each person registered) at the picnic site.
  • Family Picnic - This is the traditional gathering of food and fun where cousins rub shoulders and partake of a catered picnic lunch as they renew old acquaintances, introduce new and old family members to each other, and generally have a good time.
  • Family Talent Show - Family members showcase their talents and gather afterwards to hob-knob and get to know each other better.

Sunday

  • Family Worship - Our family motto – "We've Come This Far by Faith" – is exemplified and strengthened at this morning worship, which features a keynote address by an esteemed family clergy member or other personality.
  • Fellowship Dinner/Meeting - Immediately following the worship, a catered dinner is enjoyed by the family, accompanied by special presentations that include family member memorials, special presentations and remarks by family members, and a recounting of the family history.
Our goal each year is to fill each day with enough interesting family oriented activities to keep reunion participants engaged while giving ample opportunities for building strong family bonds.

Reunion Logistics

In order to ensure that all the reunion activities happen smoothly, the following logistical items must be handled by the reunion committee during the months leading up to the actual reunion weekend. The planning and execution begins in October and culminates with a final host hotel walk-through in July one week before the event.

Pre-Reunion Weekend Tasks

  • Complete host hotel arrangements (acquire signed contract).
  • Acquire Worship Leader and Keynote Speaker for Sunday Fellowship
  • Process registration forms – print and mail paper forms.
  • Verify membership list, recruitment, etc.
  • Complete reunion program design and printing.
  • Secure picnic venue and hire caterer.
  • Establish menus for picnic and fellowship dinner.
  • Process newsletters (creation and distribution).
  • Update web site, online registration, etc.
  • Complete weekend Itinerary.
  • Process scholarship applications and disburse funds.

Friday Operations

  • Setup Family Museum.
  • Pass out credentials and process late registrations.
  • Conduct Historic Family Tour.
  • Ensure hotel signage is in place and accurate.

Saturday Operations

  • Setup picnic venue on-site.
  • Monitor and lead activities (adult and youth).
  • Host the Talent Show.

Sunday Operations

  • Host Worship Service and Fellowship Dinner.
  • Conduct Business Meeting.
  • Announce recognitions and adjourn.

See You Again Next August!