Month: June 2017

415 East Green Street.

The twenty-third in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

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As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “1922; 2 stories; Ada Winstead house; Colonial Revival house with hip-roofed, cubic form and two-tier porch; heavy brick porch posts; Winstead was a seamstress with business downtown and prominent white clientele.”

Per Robert C. Bainbridge and Kate Ohno in Wilson, North Carolina: Historic Buildings Survey (1980): “Ada Winstead was a seamstress and her house was built between 1922 and 1925. The house boasts a rare hipped roof balcony with a latticed balustrade on the top of the wide front porch. The trabeated door and long narrow panes in the upper window sashes also enhance this house.”

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In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: minister Charles Smith, 26; wife Virginia, 22; children Arminta, 7, John T., 3, and Charles H., 1; and brother-in-law Braswell Winstead, 20, teaching school.

On 29 June 1899, Braswell R. Winstead, 38, of Wilson County, son of Riley Robins and Malicia Winstead, married Ada E. Davis, 24, of Edgecombe County, daughter of Washington and Virginia Davis of Edgecombe. Samuel H. Vick applied for the licence, and A.M.E. minister W.B. Williams performed the ceremony in Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County, in the presence, among others of John Barnes and John S. Gaston of Wilson.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: assistant postmaster Braswell Winstead, 39, wife Ada, 25, and children Arnold, 13, George, 12, Rolland, 11, and Christine, 8.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Brazell Winstead, 48, street laborer; wife Ada, 32, dressmaker; and Martha, 31, and John Corbin, 34. Winstead reported having been twice married.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Braswell Winstead, 60, wife Ada E., and daughter Ethel L., 13, at 300 Pender Street.

By 1925, Ada Winstead’s dressmaking business, Ada’s Modeste Parlor, was booming at 108 West Nash Street, the heart of downtown. She employed at least five dressmakers to cater to her white clientele, including her sister-in-law Ella Davis, Louise Wilson, Lovella Cotton, Eliza Best, and Lessie Locust. The city directory for that year shows the spacious house at 415 East Green occupied by carpenter James W. Davis (Ada’s father); Ada Winstead and her husband Braswell R. Winstead, a barber at Sanitary Shaving Parlor; Otho Davis, a grocer at 303 Hackney Street; his wife Ella Davis; Louise Wilson; and sisters Lovella and Novella Cotton.

Braswell R. Winstead died 22 August 1926 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born about 1866 in Wilson County to Riley Robins and Malissa Winstead; worked as a barber; resided at 415 East Green Street; and was married to Ada E. Winstead. He was buried in the Masonic cemetery.

On 3 August 1929, Ada A. Winstead, 48, and Nazareth A. Pierce, 53, were married in Wilson by A.M.E. Z. minister J.E. Kennedy. Witnesses were John M. Barnes, Mary Roberson and George Roberson.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 905 Vance Street, insurance agent Nazareth Pierce, 54; wide Ada, seamstress; son Fletcher, 17, and daughter Elmira, 25.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 415 East Green, widow Virginia Davis, 65; son Otho, 36, a grocery merchant; daughter-in-law Ella, 36; grandson Otho Jr., 15; and two roomers, Robert Hines, 45, Christian church janitor, and David Hinderson, 25, a butler. Virginia owned the house, valued at $3000, and reported that she had been born in Virginia to parents born in England.

Ada Winstead Pierce’s brother, Otho C. Davis, died 21 September 1934. Per his death certificate, he resided at 415 East Green; was married to Ella H. Davis; worked as a storekeeper;  and was born about 1885 in Danville, Virginia to James W. Davis and Virginia Richardson.

Ada Winstead Pierce’s mother, Virginia Davis, died 11 June 1935. Per her death certificate, she resided at 415 East Green; was the widow of James W. Price; and was born about 1865 in Virginia to Randle Jefferson and Francis Terrell.

Wilson Daily Times, 13 June 1935.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 415 East Green Street, insurance collector N. Andrew Pierce, 61; wife Ada W., 58, a seamstress; nephew Otha R. Davis, 28, a beer parlor owner; his wife Lillie, 23, a nurse; their son Otha R., Jr., 6 months; and mother Ella Davis, 52; plus lodgers Elnora Armstrong, 90; Thomas Williams, 35, and Johnie Sarvis, 33.

In 1940, Willie Johnnie Sarvis Jr. registered for the World War II draft. Per his registration card, he resided at 415 East Green Street; his telephone number was Wilson 2193; he was born 7 December 1905 in Norfolk, Virginia; he worked for Ed Bishop, Carolina Laundry, Tarboro Street, Wilson; and his contact was Ada Winstead, 415 East Green, friend.

Nazareth Pierce died 16 February 1941 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born about 1877 in Franklin County, North Carolina, to Adam W. Pierce; lived at 415 East Green Street; was married to Ada A. Pierce; and worked as an insurance agent. He was buried in Rountree cemetery. Joseph L. Pierce was informant.

Ada E.W. Pierce executed a will on 2 June 1949 in Wilson. She left all her property, including the houses at 413 and 415 East Green, to her great-nephews Otha Richardson Davis Jr. and James Rudolph Davis in a trust to be administered by Branch Banking & Trust Company of Wilson.

Ada Winstead Pierce died 10 November 1949 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 8 February 1881 in Virginia to James Washington Davis and Virginia Richardson; was widowed; was a dressmaker and seamstress; and resided at 415 East Green. She was buried in the Masonic cemetery. B.O. Barnes was the certifying physician, and C.E. Artis handled funeral arrangements.

Wilson Daily Times, 12 November 1949.

Otha R. Davis passed in 2009, age 91. Otha Davis Jr. passed in 2011, age 72. 415 East Green Street remains in the family.

 

The obituary of Mark Benjamin Sharpe.

“Mr. Mark Benjamin Sharpe, 98, of Wilson, N.C. died at Sunrise Assisted Living Center on April 8, 2009 in Charlotte.

“Former N.C. Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. honored Mark, a successful farmer, civil rights activist, and patriarch, with the ‘Order of the Long Leaf Pine,’ the state’s highest civilian award, for his unselfish accomplishments.

“Memorials may be made to the Mark B. Sharpe Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 608, Matthews, N.C., 28105.”

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In the 1920 census of Lower Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: on the public road from Tarboro to Stantonsburg, farm laborer Allen Sharpe, 43; wife Mary A., 38; children Carrie, 17, John, 14, Nettie, 12, Beatrice, 10, Peter, 9, Mark, 8, Bertha, 5, Ethel Branch, 3, and niece Dora, 19,

In the 1930 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Allen Sharpe, 56; wife Mary A., 47; children Carrie, 25, Nettie, 22, Peter, 19, Mark, 17, Bertha, 15, Blanche, 13,  Senie, 11, and Odell Sharp, 8; plus grandchildren Roosivilt, 7, and Minnie Howard, 4.

In 1940, Mark Benjamen Sharpe registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he resided R.F.D. 1, Macclesfield, Wilson County; was born 26 February 1912 in Wilson; was married to Clara Farmer Sharpe; and worked for U.H. Cozart, Wilson.

On June 25, 1951, Mark Benjamin Sharpe, 38, of Macclesfield, Wilson County, son of Allen and Mary Barron Sharpe, married Mary Fleming, 28, of Elm City. Primitive Baptist elder Luther Hyman performed the ceremony in his home in the presence of Dora Hyman, Doris Lee Hyman and Lester Gray Smith.

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In the late 1940s, Mark Sharpe led a group of African-American parents in Gardners township whose persistent and creative demands that Wilson County meet its obligation to educate their children resulted in the building of Speight High School, near the town of Saratoga.  For a full account of their triumphant struggle, see Charles W. McKinney’s Greater Freedom: The Evolution of the Civil Rights Struggle in Wilson, North Carolina.

Obituary printed in www.qcitymetro.com, 20 April 2009.

Snaps, no. 16: Pauline Artis Henderson.

Pauline Artis Henderson

Polly Artis Henderson, probably 1920s.

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In the 1900 census of Ingrams, Johnston County: widower farmer Archie Artis, 78; daughters Bathanie, 32, and Alice E., 22; and granddaughters Victoria, 13, Effie, 10, and Pollie, 1.

On 3 December 1914, Solomon Ward applied for a marriage license for Jesse Henderson of Wilson, 21, son of Jesse Jacobs and Sarah Jacobs, and Pauline Artis of Wilson, 18, daughter of Alice Artis.  On the same day, Fred M. Davis, Baptist minister, performed the ceremony at his residence before Mary Barnes, Annie Hines, and Willie Cromartie, all of Wilson.  [Jesse and Sarah Henderson Jacobs were, in fact, Jesse’s foster parents.]

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 217 Pender Street, Jesse Henderson, 25, truck driver for woodyard; wife Pauline, 20; daughter Bessie, 2; and mother-in-law Alice Artis, 37, cook.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 318 Pender Street, Jack Henderson, truck driver, 38; wife Pauline, 31, and children Bessie, 12, Alic, 10, Joice, 8, Mildred, 6, and Archy, 4, listed in the household of mother-in-law Alic Artis, 49, private cook, paying $18/month rent.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 309 Pender Street, Alice Artis, 56; daughter Pauline Henderson, 39, household servant; granddaughters Bessie L., 23, hotel elevator girl; Alice, 20, household servant; Joyce, 18, household servant; Mildred, 16; and Doris, 10; and grandson Robert, 4.

Pauline Artis Henderson died in 1950.

Photograph courtesy of J.A. Edmunds.

Pandemic.

The 1918 influenza flu pandemic (January 1918–December 1920) was an unusually deadly outbreak. “Spanish flu” infected 500 million people across the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and killed 50 to 100 million of them—3 to 5 percent of the world’s population—making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

Wilson County did not escape the scourge. October 1918 opened with a smattering of flu deaths that quickly swelled to shocking numbers. The beginning of November seemed to spell an end to fatalities, but they surged again mid-month. A survey of death certificates yields insight into the impact of this pandemic on Wilson County’s African-American community.

October

5 — Carrie Horne, 20, Saratoga township.

5 — Sudie Smith, 30, Black Creek township.

6 — infant of Roda and Ed Barnes, 12 days, Saratoga township.

11 — David Mack, 40, Saratoga township.

11 — Florence Pleasant, 39, Black Creek township.

11 — Edward Sims, 8, Wilson town.

11 — Lula Winstead, 23, Wilson.

12 — Leslie Brooks, 37, Black Creek township.

13 — Stella Brooks, 28, Black Creek township.

13 — Cora Lee Howard, 18, Taylors township.

13 — Benjamin Jones, 54, Wilson town.

13 — Georgeanna King, 1, Wilson township.

13 — Arch Morrison, 37, Wilson town.

13 — Abon Neal, 30, Wilson town.

13 — William Henry Williams, 21 Toisnot township.

15 — Dutch Bennett, 65, Wilson town.

15 — Beatrice Edwards, 23, Wilson town.

15 — Bertha Lee Mack, 2, Saratoga township.  [Bertha Lee was the daughter of David Mack, who died on the 11th.]

16 — Fred Barnes, 18, Black Creek township.

16 — Alex McCray, 22, Wilson township.

16 — Laurence Wells, 28, Wilson township.

17 — Zula Leach, 16, Wilson town.

17 — Peter Mack, 4, Saratoga township. [Peter was the son of David Mack, who died on the 11th.]

17 — Ola Lee Rowe, 5, Cross Roads township.

18 — Ed Jones, 13, Saratoga township.

18 — Joseph Sanders, 28, Wilson town.

18 — Elma Stokes, 35, Wilson town.

18 — Theresa Carolina Williams, 4, Wilson town.

19 — Mannie Battle, 38, Wilson town.

19 — Rosevelt Dawes, 8, Toisnot township.

19 — Rosevell Campbell, 13, Gardners township.

20 — Handy Dawes, 1, Toisnot township.

21 — Paul Mercer, 30, Gardners township.

21 — Jim Offie Jr., 1, Wilson town.

21 — Fredrick Douglass Rountree, 1, Wilson township.

22 — Henry Artis, 51, Stantonsburg township.

22 — Martha Batts, 18, Toisnot township.

22 — Daisy Farmer, 37, Toisnot township.

22 — Mary Susan Farmer, 35, Stantonsburg township.

22 — Samuel Jenkins, 35, Wilson town.

22 — Nathanael Rountree, 6, Cross Roads.

22 — Gertie Skipper, 23, Wilson town.

22 — Ulus Ward, 1, Elm City.

23 — Irene Bynum, 26, Wilson town.

23 — Thomas Dawes, 4, Toisnot township.

23 — Sam Ellis, 20, Stantonsburg township.

23 — Jackson Ellis, 17, Stantonsburg township.

24 — Turner Anderson, 48, Toisnot township.

24 — Austin Dawes, 49, Toisnot township. [Austin Dawes was the father of Roosevelt, Thomas and Handy Dawes.]

24 — Earnest Far, 23, Toisnot township.

24 — Will Johnson, 29, Wilson town.

24 — Minnie Knight, 49, Gardners township.

24 — Appie Ann Parker, 1, Wilson township.

25 — Minnie Ellis, 13, Saratoga township.

25 — Louise Edmunson, 6 months, Black Creek township.

25 — Mary Farmer, 32, Wilson town.

25 — Jobie Joyner, 15, Wilson town.

25 — Lizzie Ruffin, 30, Wilson town.

25 — Mary Elizabeth Williams, 19, Wilson township.

26 — Avester Evans, 6, Wilson town.

26 — George Williams, 2, Toisnot township.

27 — Olive Barnes, 20, Wilson town.

28 — Olivia Barnes, 19, Cross Roads township.

28 — Frances R. Batts, 20, Wilson town.

28 — James Batts, 33, Wilson township.

28 — Dora Brazil, 19, Stantonsburg township.

28 — Orran Ellis, 8, Stantonsburg township. [Sam, Jackson and Orran Ellis were sons of Daniel and Celia Lewis Ellis.]

29 — Mary Hines, 18, Wilson town.

29 — John Berthia, 33, Wilson town.

29 — Julia Jones, 29, Wilson town.

29 — Rosa Williamson, 16, Springhill township.

30 — Elvis Alston, 4, Wilson town.

30 — Luburta Bynum, 3, Wilson township.

30 — Martha Bynum, 26, Cross Roads township.

30 — Curley Rozin, 35, Wilson town.

November

1 — Mark Floyd, 28, Wilson town.

1 — Emanul Lundsford, 21, Wilson town.

2 — Floyd Lee Braswell, 16, Toisnot township.

2 — Lula Bullock, 28, Stantonsburg township.

3 — Manboy Anderson, 12, Toisnot township. [Manboy was the son of Turner Anderson, who died October 24.]

3 — Bennie Roberson, 2, Wilson town.

3 — Carrie Williams, 47, Toisnot township.

4 — William Creech, 33, Cross Roads township.

5 — Andrew Barnes, 8, Wilson township.

5 — Hattie Novilla Bynum, 5, Wilson town.

5 — Pearl Pearce, 21, Springhill township.

6 — Josh Winstead, 38, Wilson town.

7 — Isaac Wright, 19, Toisnot township.

16 — Herbert Campbell, 20, Gardners township.

16 — Easter Mitchell, 40, Cross Roads township.

17 — Sarah Haggens, 37, Wilson town.

25 — Savanah Rice, 29, Springhill township.

25 — Alex Williamston, 1, Springhill township.

27 — Willie Chamblis, 36, Wilson.

28 — Lula Bullock, 12, Stantonsburg township.

December

1 — William Barnes, 18, Taylors township.

11 — Floyd Carter, 20, Taylors township.

20 — Mims Edwards, 26, Wilson township.

28 — Lizzie Jenkins, 29, Wilson township.

29 — Ellen Nora Carter, 20, Saratoga township.

29 — Earnest Carter, 3 months, Saratoga township. [He was the son of Ellen Nora Carter.]

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For an in-depth understanding of this pandemic, check out:

great influenza

North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.

Insolvent tax list.

A taxpayer is insolvent when his or her total liabilities exceed his or her total assets. Not surprisingly, less than twenty years into freedom, African-American farmers struggled disproportionately to meet their tax obligations.

wa 9 5 1884

Wilson Advance, 5 September 1884.

Wilson township: Frank Allen, James Armstrong, Windsor Brian, Johnson Blew, Patterson Brewer, Jerome Barden, Jack Battle, Joseph Best, Frank Edwards, Reddick Edwards, Luke Fleming, Thomas Gay, Willey Gay, James Horn, Simon Jordan, Richard Johnson, Burton Locus, James H. Lawrence, Wright Lamm, William Melton, Dock Owens, Mack Proctor, Albert Renfrew, Abram Smith, Harry Spicer, Vines Thompson, Robert Vick, Shade Woodard, James Williams, Henry Waters, Gray Washington, and George Washington.

Toisnot township: Austin Barnes, Amos Bynum, Dallis Bowser, Burd Bunting, Joseph Battle, Alfred Batts, Richard Bryant, George Bynum, Hyman Bunn, Tom Butler, John Brown, Jack Bullock, William Collins, John Cox, Amos Dew, Grey Dodson, Alfred Drake, Daniel Davis, John Ellis, Titus Farmer, Esseck Farmer, Esseck Farmer Jr., William Hill Jr., Charley Hardy, W.T. Jones, Haywood Joyner, Ben Jones, Henry Rice, Warren Staton, Isaac Taylor, Charles Taymor, Hardy Winstead, William Wells, Haywood Winstead, Isaac Winstead.

Gardners township: Red Barnes, Ben Barnes, Blount Bennett, Prim Boddie, John Brown, Jack Boyett, Grey Braswell, Joseph Davis, Aaron Edwards, Holloway Ethridge, Handy Gulley, William Hussy, Alex Harrison, Frank Johnson, Peter Williams, Ruffin Walker.

Saratoga township: James E. Barnes, Grey Davis, William Edwards, Sand Mitchell, Calvin Tate.

Stantonsburg township: Henry Applewhite, Saml. Jones, John Perry.

Black Creek township: Robt. Anderson, Telfair Baker, Jackson Barnes, Raiford Daniel Jr., James Edmonson, John Hubbard, David Heath, George Mercer, Ben Rountree, W.R. Williams Jr.

Cross Roads township: William Dew, W.R. Riggs.

Spring Hill township: Henderson Deans, Cain Hocutt.

Old Fields township: Kinchen Flowers, Isham Gay, David Jones, James Locus Sr.

Taylors township: Esau Freeman, Macajah Lucas, Isham Latham, Deat Locus, Alex Parker, Joseph Royal, Joseph Taylor, Nathan Jones.

 

Sunday School at Calvary.

calvary Sunday SChool

This photograph, taken circa 1915, depicts Samuel H. Vick at left with Sunday School participants at Calvary Presbyterian Church. Four of his children — George W. (1903-1985), Irma (1905-1921), Robert E. (1908-2001), and Doris V. (1911-2010) — are among those gathered.

Photo courtesy of Freeman Roundhouse Museum, Wilson, and digitized here.