North Carolina, Wilson County  }

I, Calvin Blount of the Town of Wilson, County and State aforesaid, being of sound mind and recognizing the uncertainty of my earthly existence, do hereby make, publish and declare this my last will and testament.

First: My executrix hereinafter named shall at my death give my body a decent burial suitable to the wishes of my friends and pay for said funeral out of my estate.

Second: To my beloved niece by marriage Lillie Edwards — she being the wife of my beloved nephew Willie Edwards — I do hereby give and bequeath to her for the term of her natural life all of my personal property and one half the North Side of my lot of land on which I now reside adjoining the lands of G.W. Sugg and fronting on South Railroad Street in the town of Wilson, County and State aforesaid, and after her death Same to be equally divided between her children begotten upon her by her present husband Willie Edwards.

Third: To my beloved grand-children, who are the children of my beloved son, Willie Blount, whose residence is now Xenia, Ohio, I do hereby give and bequeath to them to share and share alike the Southern half of the lot on which I now reside as described above in section Two.

Fourth: To my beloved sons Wright Blount and Tillman Blount, whom I have not heard from in many years — I do hereby give and bequeath to them to share and share alike my other lot of land on the edge of the Town of Wilson, State and County aforesaid, adjoining the lands of G.W. Sugg, Cater Sugg, and the Colored Cemetery, containing about one acre.

Fifth: I do hereby constitute and appoint my beloved niece “by marriage” Lillie Edwards hereinbefore mentioned as my lawful and sole executrix to all intents and purposes to execute this my last will and testament, to take charge of my estate and administer thereon at my death without any bond whatsoever, hereby revoking all other wills and testaments, by me heretofore made.

In witness whereof, I, the said Calvin Blount, do hereunto set my hand and seal, this the 3rd day of July A.D. 1909.   Calvin (X) Blount

Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said Calvin Blount to be his last will and testament in the presence of us, who at his request and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, do subscribe our names as witnesses thereto.  W.R. Woods, R.W. McFarland, L.H.Peacock

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On 9 August  1866, in Wilson County, Calvin Blount and Mary Atkinson registered their five-year cohabitation with the Clerk of Court, thereby legitimizing a marriage entered into during slavery. Mary Blount died within a few years after.

In the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Calvin Blount, 35; John Bantler, 23, born in South Carolina; and Calvin’s sons Dick, 12, Tillman, 10, Frank, 6, Wright, 7, and William, 4.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Calvin Blount, 44, wife Emily, 48, and sons Wright, 17, William, 14, and Franklin, 16. [Next door: Washington Suggs and family.]

On 9 July 1904, Calvin Blount, 67, of Wilson married Effie Hinnant, 28, of Lucama. Missionary Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony at Emma Barnes’ home in the presence of Moses Dupree, Washington Suggs, and Ben Wooten.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 203 Rail Road Street, widower Calvin Blount, 72, and grandson [should be “nephew”] William Edwards, 47, railroad laborer, daughter-in-law Lillie, 35, and son [should be “great-nephew”] Kenly, 12. [Washington Suggs and family were two households away.]

Calvin Blunt died 25 April 1917 in Wilson township. Per his death certificate, he was about 85 years old; was a widower; lived on Suggs Street extended; and was born in North Carolina. William Edwards was informant.

Calvin Blount’s will entered probate in May 1917.

As to Calvin’s prodigal children: perhaps, in the 1900 census of Saint Louis, Missouri, at 116 1/2 Leonard, North Carolina-born day laborer Wright Blount, 33, wife Lula, “about 30,” and children Norma[n], 10, Alta, 8, Eldridge, 4, and Josephine, 2. In the 1910 census of Saint Louis, Missouri, at 2915 Lawton, North Carolina-born Wright C. Blount, 46, wife Laden, 38, and children Ettie, 20, Eldrage, 13, Josephine, 11, and Nick, 8, plus a boarder.

North Carolina Wills and Estates, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.