Walter Hines Barber Shop, 208 East Nash Street, circa early 1940s.
In the era of segregation, the barbering trade was dominated by African-American practitioners, who operated black- or white-only shops. The Hines brothers, Walter and William, owned prominent white-only establishments in Wilson’s downtown business district.
Here, left to right, the barbers are:
- David Henry Coley (1895-1974) was born near Pikeville, Wayne County, to William Henry Coley and Luanna Vick Coley. He married (1) Eva Janet Speight in 1922 and (2) Ethel Mae Moye in 1944, both in Wilson. (Moye was a daughter of O.L.W. and Della Smith.)
- Joe Knolly Zachary (1900-1984) was born in Perquimans County, North Carolina, to Nathan and Penelope Zachary. He married Mildred Barnes, daughter of Sam and Ida Barnes, in Wilson in 1933. Rev. Charles T. Jones, whose brother Levi H. Jones was also a barber at Hines, performed the service, and Roderick Taylor (below) was a witness.
- Edgar Hiram Diggs (1890-1970) was born near Eureka, Wayne County, to Sula Diggs. He married Mary Estella Grant in Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, in 1923.
- Roderick Taylor (1883-1947) was born in Wilson to Henry Michael Taylor and Rachel Barnes (or Battle) Taylor. He married Mary John Pender in Wilson in 1906.
- Sidney Sherwood Boatwright (1900-1977) was born in Mullins, Marion County, South Carolina, to Collins and Dinah Blaine Boatwright. He married Johnnie Lee Kornegay in 1928 in Goldsboro, Wayne County.
Original photograph in the collection of Lisa Y. Henderson.