A Joint Project of the Sam Rayburn House Historic Site and the Fannin County Historical Commission
Celebrating America 250 with Spotlights of Fannin County Citizens Who Participated In or Witnessed Historical Events
Fannin County, Texas -- Lelia Roberts was born in Mooreseville, Alabama, on October 3, 1861, to Jane O. Cox and R.C. Roberts. She had eight siblings. Her family came to Bonham in 1870, then moved to Palo Pinto County in 1877, and returned to Bonham in 1887. She graduated from a higher education institution, possibly the Sam Houston Normal Institute (now Sam Houston State University).
Lelia became a Methodist missionary and worked in Mexico for 43 years, from 1887 to 1930. At some point she returned to the U.S. and needed a passport to travel back into Mexico in 1918.
Lelia wrote in a letter to the newspaper, the Bonham Daily Favorite, on April 12, 1918, that “just one month has elapsed since Uncle Sam, at the earnest request of the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, granted me a passport to Mexico, the first American woman, I am told, who has been thus favored.”
The passport laws of the U.S. were undergoing changes during WWI. During her missionary work, Lelia established the Colegio Roberts school in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The school taught music, business, English, religion, and more. Her sister, Martha, was the English teacher and secretary for the school. The two women sent letters to Bonham newspapers about their lives in Mexico and other international travels. They completed missionary work in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), a time of political upheaval and death.
Lelia returned to Bonham upon her retirement and remained active with the First Methodist Church until she broke her hip around the year 1940. She died on June 16, 1950. Lelia is buried at Willow Wild Cemetery in plot H 243. Her sister Martha is also buried here.
This information was obtained from the Fannin Co., Texas GenWeb (txfannin.org) and other online sources. The Sam Rayburn House SHS presented this information at their 2025 Cemetery Walking Tour.
For a copy of the 2025 Cemetery Walking Tour guide or for other information, contact the Sam Rayburn House at (903) 583-5558 or email Margo.McCutcheon@thc.texas.gov.
