Wilson Daily Times, 6 December 1949.
Per her death certificate, Mamie Ellis died 4 December 1949 at her home at 117 Ashe Street. She was born 31 January 1893 in Wilson to John Ellis and Mary Daniels; was a widower; and had worked as a laundress. She was buried in Rest Haven cemetery, and Lula Foster, 925 Washington Street, Wilson, was informant.
The fifty-eighth 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.
As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1913. Gable-front house with spindle frieze along porch.” The house’s original number was 615.
Robert C. Bainbridge and Kate Ohno’s Wilson, North Carolina: Historic Buildings Survey, originally published by the City of Wilson in 1980 and updated and republished in 2010 under the auspices of the Wilson County Genealogical Society, provides additional details about the house, pictured below: “House. Like 606 East Green Street this turn of the century house is also set with its gable end to the street. A lacy sawn work barge board enhances the gable and the turned spindlework of the porch enlivens this pleasant house.”
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 615 Green Street, laborer Ernest Coeffield, 31, and wife Sallie, 27; plus roomers Rachell, 13, Richard, 10, Mosley, 6, George, 5, and Hellen Bullock, 4, and their widower father Richard Bullock, 38, laborer; and roomer Jack Thompson, 21, laborer.
Irene Deberry, cook, is listed at 614 East Green in the Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories of 1922, 1925 and 1928.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 614 Green Street, renting at $22/month, cook Irene Deberry, 60, and maid Mattie Moore, 50.
There is no listing for a household at 614 East Green Street in the 1940 census of Wilson.
In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Ellis Fannie (c) waiter Pet & Mike Cafe h 614 E Green
Photo courtesy of Google Maps.
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In the 1900 census of Cross Creek township, Cumberland County: on Grove Street, grocer Frank Williston, 65; wife Henrietta, 60; children Henrietta, 23, James, 20, and Oliver, 18; grandchildren Hattie, 13, and Edwin Perry, 15; and boarders Mary, 28, and James Pearce, 44.
The 15 November 1902 issue of the Wilmington Messenger announced that F.O. Williston had been granted a license by the state board of pharmacy.
Dr. Frank Oliver Williston married Doane Battle, daughter of Charles and Leah Hargrove Battle, in Wilson on 17 December 1905.
In the 1910 census of Salisbury, Rowan County: at 926 Horah Street, Frank O. Williston, 28, drugstore pharmacist; wife Doane B., 23, teacher; and daughter Leah H.E., 3.
On 22 March 1913, the Salisbury Evening Post published a report that a “Salisbury negro, Dr. F.O. Williston, is seeking the appointment as minister of the United States to Liberia ….” “Provided a colored man is to be named,” Williston had the endorsement of Navy Secretary Josephus Daniel, formerly of Wilson, and other leading state North Carolina Democrats, as well as the National Colored Democratic League. The article noted that Williston was recently returned from the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson in Washington, D.C., where he had been received in the West Wing by the president himself. Both Williston and David Bryant, another African-American who accompanied him, had been as children servants of Wilson’s father when the family lived in Wilmington, North Carolina. Williston, 32, was a native of Cumberland County; a graduate of “the A.&M. college” in Greensboro and Shaw University in Raleigh; was a chemistry professor at Livingstone; and operated a pharmacy in Salisbury.
Four days later, Williston’s hometown newspaper, the Fayetteville Weekly Observer, ran a piece on Williston’s bid for the Consul General position, noting that “Dr. Williston is born and bred in Fayetteville, and is well known and esteemed here. He is of a prominent family of colored people, being the youngest son of the late Frank P. Williston and the brother of J.T. Williston, druggist and F.D. Williston, grocer and farmer.” Pointedly, the article further noted that the “statement that Dr. Williston was a servant of President Wilson’s father, the Presbyterian minister, when he lived in Wilmington, is incorrect.”
Greensboro Daily News, 29 April 1916.
The following year, Williston offered to raise a regiment of African-American troops to aid the war effort.
Salisbury Evening Post, 22 March 1917.
Frank Oliver Williston registered for the World War I draft in Salisbury in 1918. Per his registration card, he was born 22 May 1881; resided at 409 South Caldwell Street, Salisbury; worked as a janitor in the U.S. Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.; and his nearest relative was Mrs. Doane B. Williston. He was described as having dark gray eyes and dark brown hair, of medium height and stout.
In the 1920 census of Salisbury, Rowan County: at 419 South Caldwell, Frank O. Williston, 38, wife Doane, 33, and daughters Henrietta, 13, Inez, 8, and Dorothy, 6.
In the 1930 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1110 Fairmont Street, owned and valued at $11,000, drugstore pharmacist Frank O. Williston, 49; wife Doane, 41; daughters Inez, 18, and Fan, 16; and roomer Weldon Phillips,, 38, a contractor for a private company.
1110 Fairmont Street N.E., Washington, D.C.
Baltimore Afro-American, 3 October 1936.
In the 1940 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1222 Jackson Street, owned and valued at $4000, Frank O. Williston, 58; wife Doane B., 54, file clerk at F.H.A. [this appears to be an erroneous entry meant for her husband]; and daughter Dorthy F., 26.
1222 Jackson Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.
In 1942, Frank Oliver Williston registered for the World War II draft in Washington, D.C. Per his registration card, he was born 22 May 1881 in Fayetteville, North Carolina; resided at 1222 Jackson; worked for the U.S. government in the Federal Housing Administration; and his contact was Mrs. Doane Williston.
Excerpts from African Americans and the New Deal, http://www.fdrlibraryvirtualtour.org/graphics/05-20/5-20-NewDeal_confront_pdf.pdf.
During academic year 1882-’83, 73 of Lincoln University’s 214 students were from North Carolina. Five of that 73, all in the collegiate division, were from Wilson County: juniors Frank O. Blount, Cato D. Suggs [Daniel Cato Suggs], and Samuel H. Vick; sophomore Braswell R. Winstead; and freshman Francis M. Hines (whose home was Toisnot.)
N.B.: Though Francis M. Hines’ home was listed as Toisnot, now Elm City, and firmly within Wilson County, it seems certain that he was in fact from the Temperance Hall area of Edgecombe County, a few miles east and just across the county line. Hines graduated from Lincoln in 1886 and, upon his return to Edgecombe County, plunged into local politics. He quickly rose to leadership of the Knights of Labor and, on the strength of the African-American voting power in a county in which they were the majority population, was elected Register of Deeds. Tragically, Hines died of kidney disease at the age of 28. Local newspapers’ laconic reports of his death did not fail to include aspersions.
Tarborough Southerner, 21 February 1889.
He is buried in the cemetery of Pyatt Memorial A.M.E. Church in the Temperance Hall community.
Dockery “Dock” Eatmon (1896-1952).
In the 1900 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farmer Reuben Eatman, 34; wife Elizer, 35; and children Jinne, 16, Elizabeth, 13, Grill S., 12, Siddie A., 10, Henry G., 8, Casanda, 6, Dock, 5, and Ada, 3.
In the 1910 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farmer Reuben Eatman, 45; wife Eliza, 45; and children Henry, 17, Casandra, 15, Dockery, 13, and Ida, 11.
On 5 July 1914, Dock Eatmon, 19, of Nash County, son of Reuben and Eliza Eatmon, married Mettia Belle Smith, 20, of Nash County, daughter of Tom and Alsie Smith, in Old Fields township, Wilson County.
In 1918, Dock Eatman registered for the World War I draft in Farrells township, Nash County. Per his registration card, he was 21 years old; was born in January 1896 in Wilson, North Carolina; was a farmer; and supported a wife and child.
In the 1920 census of Farrells township, Nash County, North Carolina: farmer Dock Eatmon, 24; wife Mattie, 26; and children Ruthy, 3, and William R., 1 month.
In the 1930 census of Newport News, Warwick County, Virginia: at 715-22nd Street, rented at $12/month, shipyard laborer Dock Eatmon, 35; wife Nettie, 37; and children Lillian, 8, Reuben, 6, and Lindsey, 5.
In the 1940 census of Newport News, Warwick County, Virginia: Doc Eatman, 47, laborer at N.N.S.D.Co.; wife Mattie, 47; and children Lillian, 18, Ruben, 15, and Lincie, 12.
In 1942, Doc Eatmon registered for the World War II draft in Newport News, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 7 June 1893 in Wilson County; lived at 4213 Roanoke Avenue, Newport News; his contact was W.C. Smith; and he worked at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.
Dock Eatmon died 17 November 1952 in Warwick County, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1895 in Nash County, North Carolina, to Reuben and Liza Eatmon; resided at 4310 Roanoke Avenue, Newport News, Virginia; was separated; worked as a gardening laborer; and was buried in Pleasant Shade cemetery, Newport News. Informant was Mattie Eatmon.
Dock Eatmon.
Photographs courtesy of Ancestry.com user faithbridges19.
The fifty-seventh 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.
As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1913; 1 story; Lewis Pitt house; hip-roofed, double-pile cottage with bracketed porch posts; Pitt was a laborer.” [In fact, Lewis Pitt lived at 633/704 East Green, across the street.]
Robert C. Bainbridge and Kate Ohno’s Wilson, North Carolina: Historic Buildings Survey, originally published by the City of Wilson in 1980 and updated and republished in 2010 under the auspices of the Wilson County Genealogical Society, provides additional details about the house: “Typical of turn of the century architecture in Wilson, this cottage boasts handsome banded chimneys and a porch with interestingly scrolled sawnwork brackets and turned columns.”
703 East Green Street was formerly numbered 632.
The corner of Green and Elba Streets as shown in the 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson. 701 East Green, not then built, has since been demolished. 303 Elba, 700 East Green, 702 East Green and 703 East Green remain, though only one is currently inhabited.
In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Vick Caroline, h 623 Green; Vick Elva, h 623 Green. [Was this Samuel and Annie Vick’s daughter Elba, who was about 15 in 1912? If so, why was living with Carolina Vick across the street from her parents? Was Carolina’s deceased husband Robert Vick a relative of Sam Vick?]
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widowed laundress Caroline Vick, 60, and grandson Madison Perry, 17.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Vick Caroline, midwife h 623 Green; Vick Elba, music tchr h 623 Green; Cooper Becky h 623 Green.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 623 Green, widowed midwife Caroline Vick, 90; Nancy Dawson, 45, widowed cook; Becky Cooper, 85, widow; daughter Alice Heath, 35, widowed factory laborer; and son-in-law Isom Perry, 45, farm laborer.
Allace Heath died 16 April 1921 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 43 years old; was born in Franklin [County], North Carolina, to Norflick Dunson and Carolina Williamson; was a widow; was a laborer; and resided at 703 East Green. Carolina Vick was informant.
Isham Perry died 10 July 1921 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 55 years old; was born in Halifax County to Isham Perry and Mollie Alston; was a tenant farmer; was a widower; and resided at 703 East Green. Nancy Dawson was informant.
Carolina Vick died 16 July 1925 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 78 years old; widowed; a midwife; and born in Newton County, Georgia, to Marner and Cheney Williamston. Nancy Dawson, 703 East Green was informant.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 703 East Green, rented for $21/month, Nancy Dawson, 60, widowed laundress, with two roomers, Oscar Ratliff, 36, and wife Nellie, 27; also renting for $21/month, Charlie Davis, 61, butler, wife Mattie, 50, laundress, and son Willie, 24, farm laborer.
Nancy Dawson died 17 January 1938 at Mercy Hospital. Per her death certificate, she was born 12 October 1869 in Edgecombe County to Millie Adkisson; resided at 703 Greene; and was widowed. John Bynum was informant.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 703 Green Street, renting for $8/month, service station attendant Paul Dunison, 27, and wife Dossie M., 27; also, renting for $8/month, Mary Farmer, 57, laundress, and daughter Vivian, 32, a household servant.
In the 1941 Wilson city directory: Williams Malcolm D (c; Rosa, 1) librarian Sam Vick Sch h 703 E Green; Williams Rosa (c) tchr Chas H Darden High Smh h 703 E Green
In 1942, Malcolm Demothenese Williams registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 26 September 1909 in Warsaw, N.C.; he resided at 703 East Green; his phone number was 2330; his contact was wife Rosa Lee Williams; and he was employed by superintendent S.J. Chappel, Wilson City Board of Education, at Vick School, North Reid Street, Wilson.
Photograph by Lisa Y. Henderson, December 2017.
In the 1900 census of Philadelphia, Darlington County, South Carolina: farmer Ceasar Zimmerman, 28; wife Irene, 23; and children Leila, 7, Admire, 3, Lillie A., 1, and George, 2 months.
In the 1910 census of Lamar, Darlington County, South Carolina: farmer Cesare Zimmerman, 38; wife Rena, 33; and children Leila, 17, Admire, 12, Lily, 11, Shepherd, 9, Eulis, 7, Charlie, 6, Caesar, 4, Grant, 2, and N. Efether, 11 months.
On 1 July 1920, Sheppard Zimmerman, 22, of Wilson, son of Caesar and Irene Zimmerman, married Florence Howard, 18, of Taylor township, daughter of Deal and Nancy Howard. Admire Zimmerman applied for the license, and a justice of the peace performed the ceremony at Wilson County Court House in the presence of David Woodard, B.E. Howard and Admire Zimmerman.
On 10 July 1920, Admire Zimmerman, 23, of Elm City, son of Caesar and Irene Zimmerman, married Viola Wilson [Williams], 24, of Wilson, daughter of Richard and Martha Jane Williams, in Elm City. Witnesses were David Woodard, J.A. Anderson, and Sid Laws.
On 28 July 1927, Admire Zimmerman, 27, married Alma Dock, 18, in Wilson. Jim Dock, Lillie Dock and G.W. Kinlaw witnessed.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: pubic service laborer Admire Zimmerman, 47; wife Kattie, 37; and children Junior, 14, Mary, 12, and Shirley, 3. The family had lived in Richmond, Virginia, in 1935. Next door: Baptist preacher Ceasar Zimmerman, 68, and wife Irene, 65.
On 5 April 1956, Admire Zimmerman, 63, son of Cecil and Irene Zimmerman, married Ava Gardner, 66, daughter of Stephen and Hattie Roberson Owens, in Wilson.
Admire Zimmerman died 23 February 1962 at 616 Manchester Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 May 1896 in Darlington, S.C., to Ceasar Zimmerman and Irene Jarrell; was a widower; and was a laborer. Informant was Caesar Zimmerman, 900 Woodard Avenue, Washington, D.C.
Jack Washington died 23 November 1962 at his 1109 Woodard Street Extension residence. Per his death certificate, he was born 16 August 1884 in Tampa, Florida, to George Washington and Cecil (last name unknown); was married to Daisy Washington; and was a laborer.
Cutt Davis died 9 August 1952 in Wilson. Per his death certificate: he was born 28 September 1888 in South Carolina to Berry Davis; worked as a shoemaker; resided at 803 East Nash Street; and was buried at Rest Haven. Informant was Thomas F. Davis of Washington, D.C.
Ned Barnes died 14 November 1960 at 1608 Washington Street Extension, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 18 February 1896 in Wilson County to Jessie R. and Sary Barnes; resided at Route 4, Wilson; was a plasterer; and was a widower. Frank Barnes, 308 Ward Boulevard, was informant.
The Independent (Elizabeth City, N.C.), 28 January 1921.
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In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Carolina Street, laborer Haddie Swinson, 29; wife Ianthia, 31; and children May Bird, 6, Glasco, 5, and James B., 3.
Haddie Davis Swinson, a merchant, was shot in the head on 21 January 1921.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 709 Lipscomb, truck gardener Jesse C. Lassiter, 41, a widower; and children Jesse C. Jr., 15, James D., 13, Ernest D., 12, Annie B., 10, Mildred P., 8, Ruby J., 7, Lesie D., 6, Harvey G., 5, and Wade, 2.
Solomon Sherrod Jr., 21, of Edgecombe County, son of Solomon and Josephine Sherrod, married Mildred Lassiter, 18, of Edgecombe County, daughter of Jesse and Lessie Lassiter, on 18 February 1939 in Tarboro. Witnesses included Solomon’s brother Leonard Sherrod.
In 1942, Solomon Shearard Jr. registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 3 June 1918 in Fremont, N.C.; resided at 802 East Viola, Wilson; his contact person was Mrs. Mildred Pearl Shearard; and worked for Export Tobacco Company, Mercer Street, Wilson.
Mildred Shearard died 3 February 1943 at North Carolina Sanatorium, Quewhiffle, Hoke County. Per her death certificate, she was born 17 April 1922 in Wilson County to Jessie Lassiter and Lessie Dew; was married to Solmon Shearard; resided at 802 East Viola, Wilson; and was buried in Rountree cemetery.
Photograph courtesy of A. Sherrod.
The fifty-sixth 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.
As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1908; 1 story; triple-A cottage heavily modernized; aluminum sided.”
Prior to the early 1920s, 104 Ash Street was numbered 111. The 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map shows the house in its original L-shape.
In 1918, Charlie Parker registered for the World War I draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 17 January 1898; resided at 111 Ash Street; was a laborer at the Naval Yard in Norfolk, Virginia; and his nearest relative was Charlie Parker, 111 Ash Street.
In the 1922 Wilson, N.C., city directory: Hedgepeth Jennie, cook h 104 Ashe; Parker Charles, carp h 104 Ashe; Parker Maggie, cook h 104 Ash.
Charlie Parker died 22 July 1923 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 53 years old; was married to Maggie Parker; was a carpenter; and was born in Easenburg(?), North Carolina, to Ruffin Parker and an unknown mother. Maggie Parker, 104 Ashe Street, was informant.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 104 Ashe Street, rented at $12/month, widow Maggie Parker, 40, cook, and daughters Maggie, 23, laundry ironer, and Jennie, 20, plus mother Jennie Hedgpeth, 60, widow. All were born in Virginia except Jennie Parker.
In the 1941 Wilson, N.C, city directory: Parker Magdelena (c) prsr Service Laundry & Dry Clnrs h 104 Ashe; Stokes Turner (c; Maggie) carpenter h 104 Ashe.
Jennie Hedgepeth died 27 April 1942 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 65 years old; a widow; born in Virginia; resided at 104 Ashe Street; and was buried in Rountree cemetery. Jennie Parker was informant.
In 1942, Charlie Parker registered for the World War II draft in South Norfolk, Virginia. Per his registration card, he resided at 1220 Transylvania Avenue, South Norfolk, Virginia; his phone number was Berkley 696M; he was born 17 January 1898 in Wilson, North Carolina; his contact was Maggie Parker, 104 Ashe Street, Wilson; he wore glasses; and he owned a real estate business.
On 29 May 1950, Turner Stokes died at his home at 104 Ash Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1868 in Nash County to Simon Stokes and Mariah (last name unknown); worked as a carpenter laborer; was married; and was buried in Rountree cemetery. Informant was Jennie Kerbo, 104 Ash Street.
Maggie Parker Stokes died 4 March 1963 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 7 March 1884 in Roanoke, Virginia, to Calvin Hedgpeth and Jennie Adams; and her residence was 104 Ashe Street. Jennie Kerbo was informant.
Jennie Parker Kerbo resided at 104 Ash Street until her death in 2006.
The modern footprint of 104 Ash. The narrow porch shown on the 1913 Sanborn map was likely converted to an interior hallway when a room was added on the southeast side of the house. Courtesy Google Maps.
Photograph taken by Lisa Y. Henderson, December 2017.