Smith family.

The Cobb family from the late 1800s through the mid 1950s was one of the most prominent African-American families in Waco, Texas. Various members of the family served the community as a pastor, nurse, manager, and teachers and administrators. Outside of Waco, the two most famous members of the family were Robert Lloyd Smith, Texas educator and protégé of Booker T. Washington, and Jules Bledsoe, the internationally famous African-American opera star.

Stephen Cobb, the owner of the oldest documents in the collection, was a free black residing in Waco shortly after Emancipation. He helped found the first African-American church in Waco, New Hope Baptist Church, said to be one of the first free black churches in the state of Texas. During his eight years serving as the first pastor of the new church, Stephen Cobb oversaw a large membership increase and the founding of a regular Sunday School program. He also served as temporary pastor for four months in 1885 when the pastor went on a missionary trip to Africa. After a long and active career as community leader, Stephen Cobb died around the turn of the 19th century.

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