In a will executed on 11 February 1947, John H. Clark left all his property to his only child, Flora Clark Bethel. Levi H. Jones and A.S. Gaston served as attesting witnesses. Clark died 2 November 1949.
North Carolina Wills and Estates, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.
Wilson Advance, 10 June 1881.
“The old African Methodist church” is likely the earliest location of Saint John A.M.E. Zion church.
——
In the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County: domestic servant Clay Farmer, 60; brickyard worker Gray W. Farmer, 13; and domestic servant Jonas Gay, 14.
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Jonas Gay, 20, laborer, living alone. Also, laborer Ephraim McMannin, 60, wife Abigail, 48, and children Atha Simms, 13, and Sherrard Simms, 3. [Abigail McMannin was Jonas Gay’s mother.]
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: servant Wright Bynum, 37; wife Amanda, 30; with four lodgers, teamster Jonas Gay, 36, tobacco grader Joseph McMannin, 27, and servants Joseph Crawford, 22, and Shepard Sharp, 20. [The relationship of Joseph McMannin to Ephraim McMannin is unknown.]
Jonas Gay died of consumption [tuberculosis] 17 February 1910. His supposed age was 52, which is within the range of the ages given for him in census entries. Informant Lee Simms‘ relationship to the Simms’ children living with Abigail Gay McMannin in 1880 is unknown.
A running list of African-Americans born (or reared) in Wilson County before 1900 who attended normal school, university or graduate school.
Barnes Bird, Agnes M. (1862-??), Saint Augustine’s.
Battle, Ada G. (1876-1951) — Livingstone; Scotia Seminary ’95.
Battle Wright, Chandler (1891-1952) — Scotia Seminary.
Battle, Charles Tecumseh (1888-??) — Brick Agr., Ind. & Normal ’10.
Battle Williston, Doane (1886-??) — Scotia Seminary.
Battle Faver, Geneva T. (1877-1967) — Livingstone.
Battle, James A. (1885-1923) — Leonard Medical ’09.
Blount, Frank Oscar (1860-??) — Lincoln B.A. ’84.
Bowser, Russell Linwood (1891-191) — Howard Dental ’17.
Bryant, William H. (1886-1947) — Saint Augustine’s; North Carolina A.&.T. B.S. ’11; Leonard Medical; Meharry Medical ’15.
Bynum, Charles H. (1872-1938) — Lincoln B.A. ’90, Leonard Medical ’98.
Clark, Augustus S. (1874-1959) — Lincoln B.A. ’94; Lincoln M.A. ’97.
Clark, Flora R.M. (1898-1985) — Saint Augustine’s.
Clark, John Henry (1864-1949) — Lincoln; Howard Normal ’82.
Clark, Thomas G. (1876-??) — Lincoln B.A.; Howard Divinity ’05.
Clark, William H. (1873-??) — Lincoln B.A. ’93, M.A. ’96.
Cotton, James A. (1866-1922) — Livingstone B.A.; Leonard Medical; Harvey Medical ’97.
Darden Tennessee, Artelia (1889-1962) — Livingstone.
Darden, Arthur N. (1889-1948) — North Carolina A. & T., B. Agr. ’08.
Darden, Charles S. (1879-1954) — Howard Law ’05.
Darden, James B. (1882-1951) —
New York Medical Journal, 29 July 1916.
Darden, John W. (1876-1949) — Livingstone B.A.; Leonard Medical.
Darden James Morgan, Lizzie (1886-1970) — Livingstone ’03; Tuskegee.
Darden, Walter Theodore (1896-1986) — Livingstone ’21; Howard Medical ’25.
Edwards, J.H. (??-??) — Howard Normal, circa ’90.
Forbes, J.H. (??-??) — Shaw, circa ’77.
Freeman, Daniel E. (1895-??) — Tuskegee.
Freeman, Julius F., Jr. (1887-1960) — Tuskegee ’11.
Freeman, Oliver Nestus (1881-1955) — Tuskegee.
Fullwider, Samuel (??-??) — Shaw, circa ’77.
Harris, Benjamin Amos (1894-1955) — Tuskegee.
Hines, William (1883-1981) — Biddle Normal ’08.
Kersey, Ardella (1854-??) — Shaw, circa ’77.
Lassiter, Henry C. (??-??)– Howard Normal; Lincoln ’95.
Powell, Wiley (1886-??) — North Carolina A.&T., B. Agr. ’08.
Skinner, John H. (1867-??) — Saint Augustine; State Normal, Fayetteville B.A. ’81; Tuskegee B.A. ’22.
Suggs, Daniel C. (1865-1930) — Lincoln; Saint Augustine’s B.A.’84; Saint Augustine’s M.A.; Morris Brown Ph.D.
Suggs, James T. (1876-1934) — Livingstone ’93; Lincoln B.A. ’97; Howard Medical ’03.
Suggs Moore, Serena (1863-1930) — Saint Augustine’s; Scotia Seminary; Saint Mary’s Academy.
Taylor, Russell B. (1881-1954) — Livingstone.
Vick, J. Oscar (1872-??) — Biddle.
Wilson Mirror, 19 October 1892.
Vick, Samuel H. (1863-1947) — Lincoln B.A. ’84.
Vick, William Henry (1870-??) — Lincoln B.A. ’94; Leonard Pharmaceutical ’97.
Ward, Joseph Henry (1870-1954) — Physio-Medical College of Indiana M.D.; Indiana University School of Medicine M.D.
Washington Vick, Annie M. (1872-1952) — Scotia Seminary.
Washington, Samuel (1867-1959) — Howard Normal, circa ’85.
Wells, Marie (1898-1997) — Saint Augustine’s.
Williamson Reid, Mahala (1864-ca. 1894) — Hampton, circa 1882.
Williamson, Turner G. — Lincoln ’95.
After her husband Gray Farmer’s death in July 1893, Argent Farmer went to court to get what she felt was hers. She filed suit against Daniel Vick, asserting that he had claimed title to a parcel land that had rightfully belonged to Gray and from which she was entitled to dower.
Vick’s lawyer promptly responded, asserting, among other things, that:
Wilson Advance, 13 October 1892.
Farmer gave up on her claim, and the Clerk of Superior Court entered a nonsuit.
North Carolina Wills and Estates, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.
Adapted from Gillespie-Selden Historic District Design Guidelines 2013:
The Gillespie-Selden Historic District is located in southwest Cordele, Georgia, and is roughly bounded by US 280/GA 30 (16th Avenue) to the south, 13th Avenue and the CSX Railroad to the north, 11th Street to the east, and 15th Street to the west. The Gillespie-Selden neighborhood centers around the Gillespie-Selden Institute campus on West 15th Avenue.
The Gillespie Normal School was founded in 1902 by Dr. Augustus S. Clark and his wife, Anna Clark, to provide educational facilities for African-American boys and girls. The school was named in recognition of the Gillespie family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose financial gift made the school possible. The Clarks met the Gillespies during a Presbyterian Conference in South Carolina. With the financial gift, the Clarks were able to build a school and support a boarding program. Students from the eastern section of the United States, such as New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, attended the school. Some of the students worked as laborers in the rail yards to attend the institute.
Gillespie-Selden Institute originally consisted of two wood-framed buildings, a faculty of three teachers, and an enrollment of 28 students. In 1923, a hospital was financially secured with a gift of $1,000. At that time the nearest hospital for African-Americans was located 160 miles away. The first nurse was Mrs. Eula Burke Johnson, a graduate of the Gillespie Normal School. The hospital was located on the second floor of one of the early wood-framed buildings and consisted of two beds and one operating room. Local doctors, white and African-American, were on the staff. The Charles Helm Hospital, named for the benefactor, also functioned as a nursing training school. The nurses trained in patient care at the hospital and attended classes at the Gillespie-Selden Institute. In 1937, a 25-bed hospital was constructed near the Gillespie-Selden Institute and named Gillespie Hospital for William Gillespie, who donated the funds needed to build it. The hospital, in cooperation with the state nursing service and under the direction of Nurse Johnson, held weekly clinics for midwives who cared for over 50% of all maternity cases in this area of the state. In 1949, a separate nursing college, Selden Cottage, was constructed to house the nursing program.
…
The Gillespie-Selden Institute, located at the corner of 15th Avenue and 12th Street, includes a complex of buildings consisting of the President’s Home, Founder’s Home, girls’ dormitory, Gillespie Memorial Hospital, Administration Building and Selden Cottage. The President’s home, built circa 1925 is located next to the girls’ dormitory and is a two-story brick building with Craftsman style detailing. The Founder’s Home, also known as Dr. Clark’s House, is a Colonial Revival style house built circa 1941 and located on 15th Avenue near St. Paul Presbyterian Church. The girls’ dormitory is a three-story brick building with Colonial Revival style features built in 1929. This building was one of the first brick buildings constructed on the campus. The Gillespie Memorial Hospital is a one-story brick building with a center gable built in 1937 with Colonial Revival style features. The Administration Building, built in 1937, is a two-story brick building featuring a center tower with Colonial Revival style detailing. Selden Cottage, which served as a nursing school, is a two-story brick building constructed in 1949.
——
In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County, farmer Henry Clark, 39, wife, Florah, 38, and children John, 16, Mary J., 14, Ella, 12, Henrietta, 9, Henry, 8, Augustin, 5, Thomas, 3, and Margaret, 10 months.
On 12 September 1918, 44 year-old Augustus Simeon Clark registered for the World War I draft. His occupation? “Teaching and preaching.”
In the 1920 census of Cordele, Crisp County, Georgia: at 611 – 15th Avenue West, Rev. Augustus S. Clark, 46, wife Annie, 40, and adopted daughter Louise, 14. Annie and Louise were Alabama natives.
In the 1930 census of Cordele, Crisp County, Georgia: A.S. Clark, 55, superintendent of Gillespie School; wife A.W., 52, teacher; daughter K. Louise, 24, teacher; and ten boarders, including a campus laborer, students, a nurse and two teachers.
One of the testimonials of “Negro college presidents” who joined and contributed to National Urban League’s labor programming, Pittsburgh Courier, 7 July 1934.
In the 1940 census of Cordele, Crisp County, Georgia: at Gillespie Normal School, Augustus S. Clark, 65, president, and wife Anna Clark, 60, dean.
Augustus S. Clark died 28 July 1959 in Cordele, Georgia.
For more on preservation efforts in Cordele’s Gillespie-Selden Historic District, see Gillespie-Selden Design Charrette.
Lincoln University College and Theological Seminary Biographical Catalog 1918 lists nine Wilson-born African-American men among the school’s former students. Nearly half — John H., William H., Augustus S., and Thomas G. Clark — were brothers, sons of Henry and Flora Lathan Clark. (The John H. Clark entry is puzzling as he was only about seven years old in 1871.) Daniel C. and James T. Suggs were also brothers, sons of George W. and Esther Suggs, as were Samuel H. and William H. Vick, sons of Daniel and Fannie Blount Vick.
Ord. 15. Any free negro caught at the house of a slave after night without the permission of the owner or manager of the slave shall be whipped not to exceed fifteen lashes; and any slave caught at the house of a free negro without a pass from his owner or manager shall be whipped not to exceed fifteen lashes.
——
Wilson’s earliest town ordinances have been transcribed in Minutes of City Council, Volume 1, 1850-1885, a bound volume shelved at Wilson County Public Library, Wilson.
African-Americans dominated certain trades in early twentieth-century Wilson, including barbering and operating eating houses. Here, in their entireties, are the entries for these vocations in the 1908 Wilson city directory. “Colored” people were designated with asterisks.
Sanborn Fire Map of Wilson, N.C., 1908.
(Click to enlarge.) In eating houses in red: (1) Annie Best, 121 South Goldsboro; (2) Moses Brandon, 127 South Goldsboro. Four other eating houses were three blocks southeast in the 400 block of Nash Street, which straddled the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. Barbershops in blue: (1) S.W. Barnes, 123 South Goldsboro; (2) Richard Renfrow, 126 South Goldsboro, (3) A.N. Neal, 109 East Nash; (4) Henry C. Holden, Branch Bank, 125 East Nash; (5) Tate & Hines, New Briggs Hotel, 209 East Nash Street; (6) Levi Jones, 105 North Goldsboro; (7) William Hines, 119 South Tarboro.
All census and vital records found at http://www.ancestry.com.
“While at Wilson, he built two churches and remodeled another.”
Caldwell, A.B., History of the American Negro and His Institutions, North Carolina Edition (1921).
Jimmie Jack Sims.
“Jimmie Jack was one of three sons of Mary Sims. Born and raised in Black Creek he moved north quite young where he became a chef. Later he returned here and worked in the W.C. and W.H. Privette homes and store until his death. He was a dependable messenger who pushed the mail in a two-wheel cart from the railroad station to the post office daily.
“Lewis and Boots Sims, brothers of Jimmie Jack, were railroad section workers at a time when all work was manual. The ring of metal mallets on the steel spikes was a familiar sound. The rhythm of wielding the mallets required dexterity and perfect timing. The townspeople appreciated their labor under the watchful eye of the section foreman Mr. H.W. Ezzell, known to everyone as Captain Ezzell.”
In the 1910 census of Black Creek, Wilson County: on East Railroad Street, farm laborer James Sanders, 28, wife Mary, 36, and Lewis, 10, Jack, 9, Jesse, 5, George W., 4, and Jimmie S. Sanders, 2.
On 24 August 1913, Jim Saunders, 30, son of Allen and Classy Saunders, married Mary Simms, 34, daughter of Jack and Creasy Simms, at Mary Simms’ residence in Black Creek. [Note: per the marriage licenses of Mary’s siblings Reddick Simms and Frank Simms, her mother was in fact named Treasy.]
In the 1920 census of Black Creek, Wilson County: farmer James L. Sanders, 37, wife Mary, and Louis, 22, Jack, 19, Jesse, 16, George, 12, and James L. Sanders Jr., 10, all farm laborers.
In the 1930 census of Black Creek, Wilson County: farmer James Saunders, 45, wife Mary, 54, an odd job laborer, and stepsons steam sawmill laborer Lewis, 34, farm laborer Jesse, 22, steam railroad laborer George, 20, and farm laborer James, 19.
Mary Sanders died 8 October 1954 at Mercy Hospital in Wilson. She was a married resident of Black Creek and had been born 1 January 1873. Her father’s name was Jack Simms. She was buried in Black Creek cemetery.
Lewis Simms died 17 February 1967 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salisbury, North Carolina, of cardiac arrest. He was born 1 May 1895 in Wilson County to Mary Simms. He was single and a veteran of World War I. He was buried in Black Creek cemetery.
——
Rachel Smith with Chester and Lillie Lancaster.
Chester Lancaster was born in 1918, and his sister Lillie in 1919. This photo, then, was taken in early 1920.
——
Tina Pleasants, housekeeping employee at Lee Woodard School.
— From Black Creek: The First One Hundred Years, published by the Black Creek Historical Society in 1984.