Moyton Odd Fellows buy a lot.

Six years before buying a lot at the corner of Broad Avenue and South Yelverton Street in Stantonsburg, Moyton Lodge #5101 bought a lot from the county school board on what is now N.C. Highway 58.

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COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

TO

TRUSTEES OF MOYTON LODGE NO. 5101 OF THE G.U.O. OF O.F. WILSON

Deed

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, WILSON COUNTY }

THIS DEED made this the 12th day of January, 1903, by John F. Bruton, Chairman, R.T. Barnes and Jesse A. Moore, composing “The County Board of Education of Wilson County” and James W. Hayes, Clerk of said Board, the parties of the first part, to Henry Burney, Lewis Williams, Daniel Harris, Sampson Edwards, Walter L. Atkinson, Ruffin Hatch, and George W. Applewhite, Trustees of Moyton Lodge No. 5101 of the G.U.O. of O.F., the parties of the second part,

WITNESSETH: That the parties of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of Four Hundred Dollars in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, has bargained, sold, and conveyed and do by these presents bargain, sell and convey unto the parties of the second part and their successors in office, that certain lot or parcel of land lying and being situate in Stantonsburg Township, Wilson County, North Carolina, and described as follows: —

One-half acre of land, on the west side of the road leading from Moyeton to Wilson, N.C. — the same being a square and marked by a lightwood postal each corner, and being formerly a portion of the David B. Hill tract and the Stancil and David Hill, School Committeemen of White Public School District No. 42 of Stantonsburg Township said deed being recorded in Book 29 on page 564 in the Register of Deeds Office of Wilson County, to which deed reference is hereby made for a more definite description.

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the above described lot of land to them, the parties of the second part, trustees of aforesaid, and their successors in office in fee-simple forever.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the said John F. Bruton, Chairman, R.T. Barnes, and Jesse A. Moore, composing “The County Board of Education of Wilson County” and James W. Hayes, Clerk of said Board, have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written.

Jno. F. Bruton, Chairman, R.T. Barnes, Jesse A. Moore, James W. Hayes, Clerk

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  • Henry Burney — in the 1910 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Henry Burney, 60; wife Hannah, 40; daughter Lillie Applewhite, 23, farm laborer; and grandsons John, 8, farm laborer, and Marlvin Applewhite, 7.
  • Lewis Williams
  • Daniel Harris — in the 1900 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Daniel Harris, 49; wife Arkansas F., 38; and children Laurena, 18, Daniel, 14, Paul, 11, and Joseph, 1.
  • Sampson Edwards — Sampson Edwards died 9 January 1933 in Stantonsburg, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 12 March 1852 in Greene County, N.C., to Porter and Delsie Edwards; was married to Celia Edwards; worked as a tenant farmer; and was buried in Wilson County. John Edwards of Stantonsburg was informant.
  • Walter L. Atkinson
  • Ruffin Hatch — in the 1900 census of Bullhead district, Greene County, N.C., Ruffin Hach, 50; wife Persesea, 43; and children Liddia A., 21, Matha, 18, James, 17, Richard, 11, Delia, 17, Presilia, 7, Febia, 10, George, 6, Benjman, 1, and Ruffin, 1.
  • George W. Applewhite — in the 1910 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: George Applewhite, 45; wife Jane, 45; and children Dora A., 14, George P., 13, Virginia, 10, Nettie, 9, Cherrie C., 6, Sallie and Sarah, 4, and Maeron, 1.

Deed Book 65, page 288, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

A card of thanks from Piccola Reid’s family.

Wilson Daily Times, 16 December 1938.

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In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 300 Vick Street, carpenter Barnie Rudd, 37; wife Anna, 27; children Earl F., 6, and Pecolla, 3; and sister-in-law Irine Taybron, 23, teacher.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 300 Vick Street, building carpenter Barney Reid, 43; wife Anna, 39; children Earl, 4, Piccola, 13, and Fitzhugh, 9; and in-laws Harriot, 69, and John Tayborn, 80.

Pecola Mae Reid died 10 December 1938 in Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born in June 1916 in Wilson to Berney Reid and Anna Tabron; she lived at 300 North Vick Street; and she worked as county school teacher. She was buried in Wilson [likely, Vick Cemetery.]

Dock Royall’s honorable discharge.

Dock Royall relocated to Wilson from Sampson County, N.C., after his service in World War I. 

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On 10 August 1928, Dockery Royall, 28, of Wilson, married Ossie Mae Jenkins, 25, in Wilson. Walter M. Foster applied for the license, and Baptist minister B.F. Jordan performed the ceremony.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 321 Hackney, Doc Royall, 34, body plant laborer, and wife Ossie May, 26, cook.

Dock Royall died 31 March 1938 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 14 September 1898 in Sampson County, N.C., to Samuel and Rachel Royall; was married to Ossie Mae Royall; worked as a mechanic at Hackney Body Company; and was buried in Wilson [probably Vick, but possibly Rest Haven, Cemetery.]

Enlistment (1919), Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.

Nina Hardy Faison, as imagined.

I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated.

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Nina Frances Faison Kornegay Hardy (1882-1969), cook and nursemaid.

 

Update on Park-Mercer Wetland.

Two years in, the Park-Mercer Wetland Project has reshaped a scarred floodplain to clean waterflow moving downstream from downtown Wilson. North Carolina State University’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering designed the project, which pumps water out of a tributary of Hominy Swamp and allows gravity to move it through a channel with five deep ponds.

Pond at the corner of Banks and Mercer Streets. As I approached, a muffled plink revealed a frog diving underwater.

When this project began, large signboards onsite educated the community about the wetland’s function and purpose. I hope permanent replacements are in the works.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, September 2026.

310 North Reid Street, revisited.

310 North Reid Street has seen decline since I photographed it in 2019. 

On a recent visit to the block, I paid closer attention to the squat pillars flanking the front walk. The stone masonry features prominently raised beaded mortar pointing.

And then I noticed this concrete bench with tiny tile insets.

Was this Nestus Freeman‘s work?

To remember C.E. Artis.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that Columbus E. Artis‘ grave in Rest Haven Cemetery was unmarked. 

For a time, C.E. Artis and Camillus L. Darden ran competing funeral homes in Wilson, with Artis arguably the more prestigious. Here’s what Samuel C. Lathan said about him: 

“I remember C.E. Artis – I think it was a ‘48 hearse. They went to Detroit and bought that thing. And it had a record player in it. And then it had a hydraulic cable in it where, when you open up the side, that hydraulic would raise up and come out, and the casket would come out by itself. And the pallbearers would stand right there and take it right out. Oh, man, it was all kind of – them people would wear hickory-stripe pants, black wool and silk jacket with the vest. Aw, man.”

Darden Memorial was the “old standby.” Artis Funeral Home was fly and flashy. Beautiful cars. Snazzy attendants. His, as his ads touted, was “the home of personal service.” 

Wilson Daily Times, 10 January 1950.

Artis’ first wife, Ada D. Artis, died in early 1951. He quickly remarried. His life began to slide downhill. In 1953, he was charged with violating a city ordinance by failing to buy a license for his business, which seems to have ceased operations the previous year. As early as 1956, he began taking lodgers into his fine East Green Street home, men and women who regularly appeared in the newspaper for petty crime. In 1961, Artis himself spent a few days in jail on a larceny charge. By 1973, it appears there was nothing left but the house, which passed to his widow Ruby Barber Artis at his death. 

Columbus E. Artis is now forgotten by all but the oldest Wilsonians. In his day though, he was an influential businessman and engaged civic leader. He was also my grandmother’s paternal uncle. His was a life worth remembering, and he now has a headstone.

My thanks to Heather Goff of Wilson Cemetery Commission for confirming the location of Artis’ grave and to my cousins Louis Hall Jr. and Louis Hall III of Eastern Carolina Vault Company for quickly turning around my order. Rest in Peace, Columbus Estell Artis.

Bricks.

A moment to appreciate the bricks cladding Jackson Chapel First Missionary Baptist Church’s handsome Romanesque sanctuary, erected in 1913. By that time, brickmaking in eastern North Carolina had largely transitioned from hand molding to wire-cut extrusion machines that used tight wires to slice clay pushed through a die. This process yielded bricks with a more uniform shape than earlier products, but still with rustic, textured surfaces. Bricks ranging in tone from a bright orangey-red to oxblood were used to construct the storefronts, warehouses, and churches still found in Wilson’s historic districts.

We don’t know who the contractor who built Jackson Chapel was, but it’s reasonable to assume it was one of the many highly skilled black brickmasons in the community, such as John Mack Barnes, who built nearby Saint John A.M.E. Zion. Several of Jackson Chapel’s bricks show penciled calculations that could be graffiti, but are more likely quick calculations scratched out by bricklayers working out course heights, spacing, and material quantities. If so, these figures offer a rare glimpse of the craftsmen behind the work. 

By the way, contrast the smooth, uniformly bland face of the brick used for the church’s 2001 addition. 

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, August 2026.

Possible Oakdale removals to Rest Haven, no. 1.

I was talking with someone recently about Oakdale Cemetery, Wilson’s first black public cemetery. The city moved its graves to Rest Haven Cemetery in 1941, but no records survive that identify who was disinterred/reinterred or where they were placed. 

Walk the rows though, and Rest Haven yields up some of its secrets. Row E, Section 1, holds this cluster of seven gravestones that bear dates before Rest Haven was established in 1933. Though some may have been moved from Rountree or Odd Fellows, it’s likely that most were originally Oakdale burials.

  • Tommie Johnson, died 1902.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: mail carrier Thomas Johnson, 53; wife Alice, 40, laundry woman; sons Rufus, 18, “employee A.T. Co.,” Thomas Jr., 1, and William, 30, cook; and daughter Daisy, 22, cook; plus lodger Katie Black, 19, cook. 

  • Dewey L. Barnes, died 1912.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: fireman Mack Barnes, 31; wife Emma, 25, washwoman; and children Etheldred, 9, Mathew, 4, and Dewey, 1; plus lodger Charles McGuire, 20. 

  • Milby Hadley, died 1905.

Photographs by Lisa Y. Henderson, September 2026.