Lane Street Project: the sunny side.

Gravedigging news aside, today was lovely. 

The daffodils at Rountree never disappoint.

I sacrificed blood and boot trying get through the briers and wisteria to reach the base of the pole in Rountree Cemetery. I failed, but that’s okay.

I made a detour to Elm City Colored/Heritage Cemetery just to snap of photo of this marvel. Clarence B. Best at his best, I’m not sure why “avenging angel of death” was the motif the family settled on, it makes for a compelling visual.

And then I pulled up to the house, and my sister’s car was in the driveway. All the way from New Jersey.

And  this evening I spoke at the library. I always relish these opportunities to share my research with folks who recognize and cherish the names and places I mention. My family, two of my father’s classmates, my Wilson County Genealogical Society folks, the Lane Street Project Senior Force, Black Wide-Awake readers and followers, library staff, and so many others. Thank you.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10.

Lane Street Project: I didn’t think I was shockable anymore, but here we are.

Driving into Wilson with a grin on my face, and POW! — “A Wilson man has been charged after admitting to digging up a grave at Vick Cemetery….”

You can read the sorry details here.

I immediately called Castonoble Hooks and diverted to the cemetery. The alleged perpetrator unearthed a corner of a burial vault in a grave at the edge of the ditch, but it has been recovered, and the earth tamped back down. While we were there, Public Works pulled up to shovel dirt over the remnants of the marble markers dislodged back in December. I was too shaken to even question why, but will find out.

Saint John burns its mortgage.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 24 February 1945.

Another account of the burning of Saint John A.M.E. Zion‘s mortgage, this one revealing a number of notable facts, such as Orren R. Best, Charles H. Darden, Daniel Vick, Washington Suggs, and Lawrence Moore as charter members of the church. (One note, however: Saint John was not the oldest Black church in Wilson, though it was the “mother” of all the county’s A.M.E. Zion churches.)

Congratulations and gratitude, Castonoble Hooks!

Lane Street Project’s Castonoble Hooks is getting his flowers this month, and we are here for it! This past Sunday he received Mount Moriah Community Church’s Community Impact Award, one of three such honors bestowed upon him by area churches this month. We add our thanks to Cass Hooks for his dedication to the preservation and uplift of our history.

Photo courtesy of Jocelyn Drawhorn.

W.C.G.S.’ 2026 Black History Month program.

Tuesday evening, my father’s classmate L. Paul Sherrod Jr. will present and discuss family papers passed down from his great-grandparents Jack Sherrod (who served in the United States Colored Troops) and Cassie Exum Sherrod at a program sponsored by Wilson County Genealogical Society. I’ve had a sneak peek at some of the documents and am amazed by the family’s legacy!

Where did they go?: Washington obituaries.
  • Georgia Jiles

In the 1880 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: Wesley Tayborne, 30; wife Madora, 23; and Martha, 6 months.

The Taborns joined the exodus to Arkansas circa 1891, settling in Saint Francis County,

In the 1900 census of Telico township, Saint Francis County, Arkansas: Wesley Taborn, 47; wife Dora, 43; children Henrietta, 20, Arnie, 18, Lula, 16, Claudia, 13, Georanna, 10, Hattie, 7, and Walter, 1; and boarder Robert Lucas, 46. All were born in North Carolina except Hattie and Walter, who were born in Arkansas.

In the 1920 census of Wynne township, Cross County, Arkansas: Arlie Taborne, 45; sister Gergia, 24; daughter Hattie, 22; daughter Grattice, 2; son Herman, 2; and uncle Robert Lucas, 63. The two children were born in Arkansas; everyone else in North Carolina.

1939 Seattle, Washington city directory.

The Northwest Enterprise (Seattle, Wash.), 6 January 1940.

In the 1940 census of Seattle, King County, Washington: at 1534 – 23rd Avenue, widow Hattie B. Lewis, 43; son Herman L. Lewis, 22; sister Georgia Jiles, 45; nephew Grattis T. Scott, 22; niece Alberta Morrow, 23; and nephew Millard Morrow, 23. All but the Morrows reported they had been in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1935.

Georgia Jiles died 10 February 1956 in Seattle, King County, Washington. Per her death certificate, she was born 20 October 1896 in Wilson, N.C., to Westley Taborn and Dora Jones; was a widow; lived at 1615 – 20th Avenue; and was buried in Washelli Cemetery.

  • Mancie Gaston

In the 1900 census of Town of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Pender Street, barber and plasterer George W. Gaston, 44, wife Cilla, 44, a cook; and children Rosco, 18, bricklayer; John, 16, common laborer; Georgia, 15, cook; Addar, 12, nurse; Nina, 11, nurse; Mancy, 6; Lacy, 6; Augustas, 6; Boston, 1; and Dewey, 6 months.

In the 1910 census of Town of Elm City, Wilson County: on Wilson Street, barber George Gaston, 55, wife Priscilla, 53; and children Roscoe, 28, barber; John, 26, barber; Georgie, 25; Ada, 23, teacher; Nina, 21; Mancie, 17; Augustus, 16; Flossy, 16; Boisy, 14; Dewey, 9; and Lee J. Gaston, 7.

In 1917, Mancie Gaston registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 10 June 1892 in Elm City; lived in Elm City; worked as a barber for G.A. Gaston; and was single.

World War I service card for Mancie Gaston.

1922 Wilson, N.C., city directory.

Dewey Gaston, 23, son of George and Priscilla Gaston, married Mary B. Howard, 24, daughter of Mary E. Darden, on 8 March 1923 in Tarboro, Edgecombe County. Witnesses were Mancie Gaston and Fannie F. Ricks of Elm City.

Around 1930, Gaston headed west, living briefly in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving on to Reno, Nevada.

1931 Albuquerque, New Mexico, city directory.

In the 27 October 1932 edition of the Reno Evening Gazette, Mancie Gaston was listed as a registered voter in Washoe County, Nevada. He spent an eventful few years in the state before relocating to Seattle, Washington.

Reno Evening Gazette, 25 January 1933.

Nevada State Journal (Reno, Nev.), 4 February 1936.

In the 1940 census of Seattle, King County, Washington: at 121 Maynard Avenue [a single-room occupancy dwelling], Mancie Gaston, 47, W.P.A. laborer.

In 1942, Mancie Gaston registered for the World War II draft in Seattle. Per his registration card, he was born 10 June 1892 in Elm City, North Carolina; lived at 413 1/2 Maynard Avenue, Seattle; and worked for I.D. Dudley [white barber Isaac D. Dudley], 609 Jackson, Seattle.

At the time he registered for the draft, Gaston lived in Seattle’s Chinatown. This 12 May 1941 photo, courtesy of the Seattle Times Archives, depicts a funeral procession in the block of Maynard, between Jackson and King, that he lived in.

In the 9 June 1943 issue of The Northwest Enterprise, Mancie Gaston is listed as a paid member during a N.A.A.C.P. membership drive.

Mancie Gaston died 7 August 1946 in Seattle, King County, Washington. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 June 1892 in Elm City, N.C., to George Gaston and Priscilla Mercer; lived at 613 1/2 Jackson Street; was a widower; worked as a barber; was a veteran; and was returned to Elm City for burial.