07/25/2026
CHARITY LOUISE ROBERTS MAJOR (1890–1968)
Born on February 27, 1890, in Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, Bahamas, Charity Louise Roberts was the thirteenth of fourteen children born to Isaac Roberts and Anita Ann Berry. After her father's death in 1892, her mother brought Charity and her siblings to Key West in search of new opportunities. When Anita died in 1905, Charity's older brother, Samuel James Roberts—one of the eight founders of Christ Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove—welcomed his fifteen-year-old sister into his home, a turning point that would shape the rest of her life.
On April 28, 1906, at just sixteen years old, Charity married Joseph Michael Major in Coconut Grove. Together they built a home, a family, and a life rooted in faith, hard work, and community. They became the parents of fourteen children, enduring both the joy of a large family and the heartbreak of losing three children in infancy. Census records trace their growing household through the decades, while Charity balanced the demands of raising her children with working as a laundress from her home to help support the family.
The legacy of Charity and Joseph Major is reflected in the accomplishments of their children. Three of their sons served in the United States Army during the Second World War. Three of their daughters earned college degrees, becoming a registered nurse, a pharmacist, and a licensed mortician—remarkable achievements for African American women of their generation. Their successes speak to the values of faith, education, perseverance, and service that Charity quietly instilled in her family.
A lifelong member of Christ Episcopal Church, Charity remained devoted to the congregation that had nurtured her since childhood. Her faith anchored both her family and her daily life, providing strength through hardship and celebration alike.
Widowed in 1946, Charity spent her remaining years surrounded by children, grandchildren, and an ever-growing circle of descendants. She died on April 15, 1968, at the age of seventy-eight.
Today, Charity rests in Charlotte Jane Memorial Park alongside her brother, Samuel James Roberts; her husband, Joseph Michael Major; her children Joseph Lloyd Major, Iva Louise Major Hopkins, and William Henry Major; and her granddaughter, Ruby Lloyd Major Webb, whose story has been shared here previously. Also buried within these historic Coconut Grove cemeteries are her three infant children—Samuel, Thomas Wellington, and Leona—a poignant reminder of both the joys and sorrows that shaped her life.
Charity Louise Roberts Major was, in every sense, a matriarch. Through her descendants and the many contributions her family made to Coconut Grove, her influence continues to be felt more than a century after she first arrived as a young Bahamian immigrant.
Her story is also the story of countless Bahamian women whose names rarely appear in history books. They were the women who washed clothes, raised children, strengthened churches, and held families together through sacrifice and unwavering faith. While history often celebrates builders, politicians, and civic leaders, it was women like Charity Louise Roberts Major who built the foundations upon which enduring communities were created.
Every name deserves remembrance.
