Phebe Robinson Jacobsen; Archivist Helped Alex Haley With ‘Roots’

Phebe Robinson Jacobsen, 78, archivist who helped with genealogical research leading to Alex Haley’s epic “Roots.” Jacobsen was on duty the spring morning in 1967 that Haley walked into the Maryland Hall of Records in Annapolis, Md., lugging a suitcase full of yellowed photographs and documents. The man she later recalled as “the best storyteller I ever heard” told her of his long search for his roots--of his ancestor Kunta Kinte who was kidnapped by slave traders in Gambia and shipped to Annapolis City Dock in 1767. That very day, Jacobsen dug up a handwritten port ledger with details of ships that sailed into Annapolis 200 years earlier, including the sole arrival from Gambia, the Lord Ligonier, with its cargo of 98 “Negroes.” The meticulous work by the state archivist was pivotal in Haley’s research for his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1976 book, and led to a strong friendship between the two. For 25 years, Haley and Jacobsen discussed research and their lives. Colleagues said she eagerly assisted anybody who needed help in researching the three centuries of Maryland records. On Wednesday in Annapolis, of complications from diabetes.