Rest in peace, Lydia Bledsoe Hunter.

Lydia Bledsoe Hunter posted her first comment on Black Wide-Awake in December 2017. Descended from Armstrongs and Bullocks who migrated from Wilson County to Arkansas in the late 1800s, she has been one of my most active readers, liking, commenting, and sharing photos of her Exoduster family.

I was surprised and saddened this weekend to open a text message revealing the news of her passing. My deepest condolences go to her family as they mourn their tremendous loss. Mrs. Hunter always reminded me of the reach of Black Wide-Awake and its capacity to restore connections sundered more than 130 years. May she rest in peace.

Dr. Moore’s funeral.

Salisbury Post, 22 October 1927.

——

As principal of Wilson Academy, Dr. Edward E. Moore influenced a generation of boys to attend Lincoln University, including Samuel H. Vick, his brother William H. Vick and cousin Frank O. Blount; Daniel C. Suggs; and Braswell R. Winstead. A professor of Greek and Latin, Dr. Moore had been a professor and administrator at Livingstone College. His widow, Serena Suggs Moore, was D.C. Suggs’ sister.

Private Jasper L. Smith, stationed at Camp Shanks.

In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Charlie Smith, 28; wife Carry, 22; and children Ruth, 4, Millie, 3, and Jasper, 11 months.

In the 1930 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: Charlie Smith, 43; wife Carrie, 31; and children Ruth, 14, Midred, 13, Jasper, 11, Jessie G., 9, Virginia, 8, May E., 6, Willie J., 3, and William H., 2.

In 1940, Jasper Lee Smith registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 22 April 1918 in Wilson County; lived at Route 1, Wilson; his contact was mother Carrie Smith; and he worked for J.A. Watson.

Image courtesy of Veterans of World War II Wilson County, spiral-bound volume, Wilson County Public Library.

D.C. Suggs in Asheville.

The Comet (Johnson City, Tenn.), 17 November 1887.

Of what “college” in Asheville was Daniel C. Suggs president? In January 1888, he began teaching at the newly opened Beaumont Street School. Asheville’s first public city school for African-American children. Why would he leave the presidency of a college to teach fourth and fifth graders?

…

Asheville Citizen-Times, 16 May 1888.

The most likely candidates were the Allen School, a Methodist-affiliated school that opened about 1885, and Beaumont Academy, a Buncombe County school that opened in February 1886 and closed at the end of 1887. Neither was a “college” by any stretch of the imagination,

Signal Boost: The Importance of Telling African American Stories through Genealogy and DNA

What if the missing pieces of your family’s story are already waiting in an undiscovered document or your DNA?
In this upcoming episode of the African American Untold Stories Podcast, our Center for Family History (CFH) team sits down with acclaimed authors Melvin Collier, Michael Willis, Kathy Marshall, and Orice Jenkins. They will discuss how genealogy and DNA testing transform family research into powerful published narratives—from books and stage plays to documentaries and digital media.
If you value reclaiming family legacies and bringing hidden history to light, this will be a essential space to join in on the conversation. Tune in online Saturday, August 15, for the CFH podcast episode “The Importance of Telling African American Stories Through Genealogy and DNA.”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

– How to use DNA testing to uncover African American ancestry
– Ways to turn genealogical research into compelling stories
– Tools for writing or digitally publishing your family history
– Why reclaiming Black stories is essential for future generations

Your family’s legacy deserves to be told – not just discovered and not shared.  Join the conversation and start writing your family’s story today.

This is an ONLINE podcast episode, as part of CFH’s African American Untold Stories Podcast.

🔗 [Link to Untold African American Stories CFH Podcast Playlist]

T/5 Gradis Hines, in England.

In the 1940 census of Woodington township, Lenoir County, N.C.: farmer Joe Hines, 39, farmer; wife Leona, 31; and children Gradis, 18, Bernice, 17, Joseph, 14, Edward, 13, Leora, 4, Jasper, 3, and an infant, 4 months. The family had lived in Wilson in 1935.

In 1945, Gradis Hines registered again for the draft. He reported that he was born 15 September 1920 in Wilson; lived at 812 East Green Street, Wilson; his contact was his father Joe Hines at the same address; and he was “just discharged from Army.”

Image courtesy of Veterans of World War II Wilson County, spiral-bound volume, Wilson County Public Library.