Month: October 2018

Thousandaires.

For the first time in 1940, the federal census recorded income. As reported in column 32, “Amount of money wages or salary received (including commissions),” these 27 men and women had the highest incomes among African-Americans in the city:

  • Joseph Cowan, $2355, medical doctor
  • Jasper McClain, $2200, bricklayer
  • Edward M. Barnes, $1720, principal — high school
  • Alex A. Morisey, $1600, newspaper reporter
  • Rufus Hilliard, $1300, power plant fireman — City of Wilson
  • Benjamin Mincey, $1280, plumber — City of Wilson
  • Luther Hamonds, $1274, fireman — light plant
  • Richard Foster, $1200, minister — Saint John Methodist
  • Aaron Pittman, $1200, brickmason
  • James Speight, $1200, janitor — post office
  • M.D. Williams, $1200, teacher — public school
  • Jeff Russell, $1190, bricklayer
  • James Sellers, $1170, brickmason
  • Cecil Spellman, $1140, farm demonstration — County of Wilson
  • Jesse Holden, $1100, brickmason
  • Flora Bethel, $1088, school teacher — Darden High School
  • Ruth Coppedge, $1078, school teacher — county school
  • Florence Whitley, $1078, school teacher — city graded school
  • Chester McNeal, $1066, porter — railroad station
  • Ike Collins, $1040, cook — cafe
  • Branch Hines, $1040, W.P.A. laborer
  • Roderick Taylor, $1040, barber
  • Fred Wingate, $1029, fireman — oil mill
  • Ned Brown, $1000, odd jobs laborer
  • Alberta Daniels, $1000, school teacher — private school
  • Tom Little, $1000, cement finisher — building contractor
  • Willie Reid, $1000, barber — own shop

Notes:

  • Only four women earned a thousand or more dollars a year, all of them teachers. (At what “private school” did Alberta Daniels teach?)
  • Dr. Joseph F. Cowan reported the highest salary of any African-American in town. However, other doctors and dentists in East Wilson, including Boisey O. Barnes, George K. Butterfield Sr., and William A. Mitchner, reported no wages or salary at all, perhaps because their income derived not from self-paid salaries, but from practice or business profits or investments.)
  • The (presumably) wealthiest businessmen and real estate developers in East Wilson, such as Samuel H. Vick, William Hines, Walter Hines, Camillus L. Darden and O. Nestus Freeman, also reported no income to the census enumerator.
  • Brickmasonry was far and away the most remunerative skilled construction trade.
  • Factory firemen, who stoked the enormous boilers that powered plants, were also relatively well-paid.

Mother and daughter.

The family of Ruth Hooker Coppedge and her mother Elna Farmer Hooker paid tribute to them in Calvary Presbyterian Church‘s centennial anniversary booklet.

On 26 December 1900, Frank Hooker, 26, of Wilson County, married Elner T. Farmer, 24, of Wilson County, daughter of Gray and Argent Farmer, in Wilson. W.H. Kittrell applied for the license, and Rev. C[larence]. Dillard, Presbyterian, performed the ceremony in the presence of S.H. Vick and J.T. Harper of Wilson and Daisy Dillard of Goldsboro.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Manchester Street, Frank Hooker, 57 [sic], wood sawyer; wife Ella, 33; and children Emma R., 8, Grey, 6, Clarence D., 4, and Argent, [age illegible.]

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 656 Viola Street, Frank Hooker, 47, woodyard sawyer; wife Elinor, 37, sewing woman; and children Ruth, 17, Gray, 14, Henry, 12, Inez, 9, Irmadeen, 7, Sylvester, 4, and Theodore, 2.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 717 Green Street, Ellen Hooker, 47, widowed teacher; children Ruth, 25, Cilvesta, 14, and Theodo, 11; and grandchildren Montez, 8, and Clementine, 6.

On 5 June 1937, Ruth E. Hooker, 29, of Wilson, daughter of Frank and Ella Hooker, married General W. Coppedge, 45, of Wilson, son of James and Sallie Coppedge. Presbyterian minister O.E. Sanders performed the ceremony at 708 East Green Street in the presence of Annie L. Sanders, Lenora Carroll and Eleanor J. Hooker.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 708 Green Street, Eleanor Hooker, 59, widowed teacher; daughter Inez, 27, cook; and roomer Willie Boykin, 35, bricklayer, of Lawrenceville, Virginia.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 200 South Vick, George Coppedge, 55, bricklayer; wife Ruth, 40, schoolteacher at county school; [his] son George Jr., 23; daughter-in-law Elouise, 20; and grandchildren Julia, 4, Deloris, 2, and Carrol, 1.

Ruth Hooker Coppedge died 26 May 1945 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 41 years old; resided at 200 South Vick Street, Wilson; was married to George Coppedge; was born in Wilson to Frank Richard Hooker of Greene County and Eleanor Farmer of Wilson County; and was a school teacher.

200 North East Street.

The eighty-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, this house is: “circa 1930; 1 story; four-room square cottage with inset porch and bungalow type details.”

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 200 East, renting at $12/month, Henriata Woodard, 40, and daughter Mattie, 24, both laundresses.

Henretta Woodard died 4 June 1935 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 47 years old; the widow of John Woodard; resided at 200 North East Street; and was born in Wilson County to Washington Cox of Faison, N.C., and Julia Ann Cane of Wayne County, N.C. Informant was Eddie H. Cox, 625 East Green Street.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 200 East Street, renting at $6/month, William Fields, 40, laborer at Wilson Veneering, and wife Liza, 40, tobacco factory stemmer; and, also renting for $6/month, tobacco factory stemmer Mattie Woodard, 35, and her children Margaret, 18, and Eugene Ward, 17, retail grocery delivery boy.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Woodard Mattie (c) tob wkr h 200 N East

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Fields Wm H (c) lab Wilson Veneer h 200 N East

Photograph by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2018.

 

Sale of the Morrison-Forbes lots.

Plat Book 3, Page 3, Register of Deeds Office, Wilson County Courthouse.

In 1924, Atlantic Coast Realty Company prepared to market thirteen lots carved from the Rountree subdivision. Only one building is drawn — a brick grocery at the corner of Nash and South Vick. The 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map shows the houses already on the lots excluded from the plat map.

The area covered by lots 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 of the left-hand block is today roughly the site of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church at 106 South Reid Street.

Shot over the heart. (But will live.)

Screen Shot 2018-10-27 at 4.00.43 PM.png

Wilson Daily Times, 24 October 1911.

Screen Shot 2018-10-27 at 4.39.55 PM.png

Wilson Daily Times, 27 October 1911.

——

Ruth Maultsby was the sister of Mattie L. Maultsby, who was a daughter of Daniel L. and Smithia C. Maultsby and wife of Dr. William A. Mitchner. It appears that the Maultsbys were from Pitt County, North Carolina, and D.L. Maultsby briefly served as pastor at a Methodist church in Wilson, most likely Saint John A.M.E. Zion.

Studio shots, no. 98: Jerry M. Richardson.

Jerry McKinley Richardson.png

Jerry McKinley Richardson (1891-1971).

——

Jerry M. Richardson was born in Warren County, North Carolina, and, with his family, migrated south through Nash County to settle in Johnston County. Along the way, Richardson lived for a time in Wilson County’s Springhill township.

In the 1930 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: on Middlesex-Kenly Road, farmer Jerry M. Richardson, 33; wife Katie B., 37; stepdaughter Eugene, 22; and in-laws Henry Dawson, 50, and Lucy Dawson, 60.

Photograph courtesy of Ancestry.com user PeggyRudd39.

 

405 and 415 Maury Street.

Maury Street is outside the East Wilson Historic District. It is one of a cluster of narrow streets squeezed between the railroad and what was once an industrial area crowded with a stemmery, cotton oil and fertilizer mills.

405 Maury Street.

This house does not appear in the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance maps of Wilson and was likely built in the late 1920s to house tobacco factory and mill laborers.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 405 Murray [Maury], renting for $12/month, tobacco factory laborers Hasty Cooper, 36, widow, and Lena Simmons, 25.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 405 Maury, renting for $10/month, Percy Lucas, 30, laborer on WPA project, and wife Eva, 23, tobacco factory laborer.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, 405 Maury was vacant.

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Franklin, John (c) lab h 405 Maury

415 Maury Street. 

This house does not appear in the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance maps of Wilson and was likely built in the late 1920s to house tobacco factory and mill laborers.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 415 Murray [Maury], renting for $16/month, cook Annie Cambell, 34; her children Paul, 18, fish market salesman, and Christine, 16, tobacco factory laborer; and grandson Paul, 0. All the adults were born in South Carolina.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 415 Maury, renting for $12/month, laundress Lena Barnes, 49, and children Harvey, 28, well digger; Paulean, 17, housekeeper; and “new workers” Evylene, 14, and James, 19.

In 1940, Harvey Barnes registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 9 April 1913 in Wilson County; resided at 1505 West Nash, Wilson; his contact was mother Lena Barnes, 415 Maurry; and he worked for Mr. B.T. Smith, 1505 West Nash.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Barnes Lena (c) maid h 415 Maury

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Wiggins Blanche (c) tob wkr h 415 Maury and Wood Rosa Mrs (c) 415 Maury

Photographs taken by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2018. (Note that 405 Maury, condition notwithstanding, is advertised for sale or rent.)

Where we worked: 1922 — F.

City directories offer fine-grained looks at a city’s residents at short intervals. The 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., directory reveals the types of work available to African-Americans during the booming tobacco era. This post is the sixth in an alphabetical series listing all “colored” directory entries for whom an occupation was listed. The address is the resident’s home, unless a business address is noted.

  • Fagin, Mittie, laundress, 602 South Spring
  • Faison, Colonel, blacksmith, 406 East Bank[s]
  • Faison, Rufus, tobacco worker, 303 Mercer
  • Faison, Thomas, tobacco worker, 504 Bank
  • Faison, William, tobacco worker, 504 Bank
  • Faithful, Mamie, teacher, 303 Stantonsburg Avenue
  • Farmer, Alfred, laborer, 605 Spruce
  • Farmer, Annie, laundress, 309 Hackney
  • Farmer, Annie, laundress, 215 East Spruce
  • Farmer, Blanche, laundress, 404 Young’s Alley
  • Farmer, Charles W., butler, 611 Spruce
  • Farmer, Eli, laborer, 144 Narroway
  • Farmer, Ella, tobacco worker, 412 South Spring
  • Farmer, Essie, tobacco worker, 409 South Goldsboro
  • Farmer, Eula, domestic, 205 North Reid
  • Farmer, George, porter, 507 West Hines
  • Farmer, George, driver, 613 Spruce
  • Farmer, Jefferson, porter, 404 Young’s Alley
  • Farmer, Jesse, tobacco worker, 611 West Hines
  • Farmer, John W., driver, 706 East Green
  • Farmer, Julius, laborer, 810 West Nash
  • Farmer, Lawrence, porter, 503 Viola
  • Farmer, Lelia, laundress, 138 Narroway
  • Farmer, Maggie, cook, 611 Spruce
  • Farmer, Mamie, laundress, 613 Spruce
  • Farmer, Mary, laundress, 500 Grace
  • Farmer, Orlando, laborer, 804 East Nash
  • Farmer, Richard, laborer, 412 East Jones
  • Farmer, Viola, tobacco worker, 138 Narroway
  • Farmer, Waverly, janitor, 616 East Green
  • Farmer, William, porter, 205 North Reid
  • Farrior, Henry W., Rev., 203 Pender
  • Faucette, John, tobacco worker, 208 Manchester
  • Faulkland, J.R., barber — James H. Barnes, 718 Viola
  • Faulkland, Walter, barber — The Mayflower, 721 East Green
  • Fentress, John, laborer, 407 Spring Street Alley
  • Ferguson, Mary, domestic, 404 Whitley
  • Ferrell, Ernest, cook, 704 Suggs
  • Fields, Henrietta, domestic, 714 East Green
  • Finch, Rosa, domestic, 122 Pender
  • Finch, Solomon, tobacco worker, 122 Pender
  • First Baptist Church, Pender corner Nash
  • Fisher, Harrison, tobacco worker, 304 Spring Street Alley
  • Fitts, Courtney, teacher, 1005 Washington Avenue
  • Fitts, Howard M., teacher, 1005 Washington Avenue
  • Floyd, Amos, butler, 420 East Green
  • Floyd, Carolina, maid, 315 South Goldsboro
  • Floyd, June, section hand, 711 South Goldsboro
  • Floyd, Mattie, laundress, 420 East Green
  • Ford, Curtis, carpenter, 604 East Green
  • Ford, Freda, cook, 607 East Green
  • Ford, Sula, domestic, 400 East Hines
  • Ford, William, helper, 700 South Spring
  • Foster, Henrietta, trained nurse, 203 Pender
  • Foster, Hugh, carpenter, 411 East Green
  • Foster, Maggie, domestic, 411 East Green
  • Fox, Dervis, carpenter, 1203 Carolina
  • Fox, Lula, laundress, 1203 Carolina
  • Franklin, James, laborer, 523 South Lodge
  • Frankin, John, laborer, 506 Grace
  • Franklin, Mary, domestic, 413 South Railroad
  • Franklin, William, laborer, 413 South Railroad
  • Frazier, Mitchell, laborer, 317 South Goldsboro
  • Frazier, Evan, tobacco worker, 904 Mercer
  • Free Will Baptist Church, East Vance corner Elba
  • Free Will Baptist Church, Lane near Woodard Avenue
  • Freeman, Hattie, domestic, 1115 Atlanta [Atlantic]
  • Freeman, James A., porter, rear 110 West Nash
  • Freeman, Julius, bricklayer, 1115 Atlanta
  • Freeman, O. Nestus, bricklayer, East Nash extended
  • Freeman, Rosa, cook, rear 110 West Nash
  • Furney, William, tobacco worker, 306 East South

Notes:

 

310 Finch Street.

The eighty-fifth 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, this house is: “ca. 1925; 1 story; Frederick Dickerson house; triple-A cottage with modified bungalow type porch posts; aluminum sided.”

The house was formerly numbered 308 Finch Street.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Dickerson Fredk (c; Almeter) lab h 308 Finch

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 308 Finch Street, Fred Dickerson, 38, W.P.A. project laborer; wife Almeter, 39, tobacco factory laborer; and daughters Clyde, 18, Dora, 16, and Inez, 13. The Dickersons owned their home, valued at $700.

Almeter Edmundson Dickerson died 2 August 1975 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 20 February 1902 to Mack Edmundson and Ferbie(?) Edmundson; was married to Fred Dickerson; and resided at 308 Finch Street.

Fred Dickerson died 20 August 1979 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 4 February 1892 to Charlie Dickerson and Minerva Green; was widowed; and resided at 308 Finch Street.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2018.