Exploring the evidence that the works of Shakespeare were written by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford

Margaret Robson: How I Became an Oxfordian

In high school or college, I heard there were doubts. My husband Norm’s grandmother was a Dever, which she said was derived from de Vere. So when I read Charlton Ogburn Jr.’s The Mysterious William Shakespeare in 1986, I said, “Norm, you might be related to Shakespeare.” After that the family always called Oxford “Uncle Eddie,” as in “Mom, is that another book about Uncle Eddie?”

Margaret Robson is a retired English teacher and longtime Oxfordian

My sister, Dr. Gresdna Doty, was chair of the Department of Theatre at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She knew Ruth Loyd Miller and Judge Minos D. Miller well, because Ruth had been a strong force on the Board of Trustees of LSU. My sister drove Norm and me to Jennings, Louisiana, to meet the Millers. The Millers had established the Minos Publishing Company for the sole purpose of reprinting multiple copies of all the out-of-print books, papers and treatises written about de Vere/Oxford since 1920. The Millers generously loaded our station wagon and gave us a great library.

They encouraged us to attend an upcoming annual conference of the Shakespeare Oxford Society in New Orleans. Who should be at the registration table but a former theater colleague of Norm’s, that flamboyant producer-director Johnny Price! When Johnny saw Norm’s name, he let out a whoop, and they had a great time. John became a good friend, was president of the SOS at one time and stayed with us often as he drove between his homes in Cleveland and Key West.

Margaret Robson
Margaret Robson (right) introduces Bonner Cutting to North Palm Beach authorship group

We attended several more conferences in Stratford, Ontario, Ashland, Oregon, Cleveland, and here in Palm Beach. We’ve been privileged to know Tom Regnier, Diana Price, Peter and Sally Sammartino, Verily Anderson, Pidge Sexton, Charles Beauclerk, Betty Sears, Carole Sue Lipman, and more. I wish I could know some of the current people who are contributing so much.

I have organized a small authorship study group in North Palm Beach. We meet several times a year at a local library and have had some interesting meetings with guest speakers Tom Regnier and Bonner Miller Cutting. We hope to increase our membership in the coming year.

— Margaret D. Robson

“How I Became an Oxfordian” is edited by Bob Meyers. You may submit your essay on this topic (500 words or less in an editable format such as MS Word), along with a digital photo of yourself, to: communications@shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org. Also include a sentence about yourself (e.g., “John J. Smith is a businessman in San Francisco.”)

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