Month: December 2019

A rare opportunity to rent.

In 1881, Rufus Wright Edmundson ran an ad in the Wilson Advance for the lease of a house on a seven-acre lot on the east corner of Vance and Pender Streets. Wilson’s segregated residential patterns had not yet set, and Edmundson was able to extol the virtues of the parcel to white potential renters. East Wilson’s rapid development is hinted at in the notice — “all nearly new as premises were in original forest seven years ago.” Soon, Vance Street would become the southern edge of white settlement in East Wilson, and Edmundson’s property would be developed for the town’s newly emerging African-American middle class.

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Wilson Advance, 16 December 1881.

The Ellis family’s community of enslaved people.

William and Unity Dixon Ellis and their descendants claimed ownership of many dozens of enslaved African Americans. Undoubtedly, these men and women constituted generations of many families, and I have listed them below (in family groups where known) with their identified owners in parentheses. I have had little success in tracing them forward into freedom, but have inserted that information that I am reasonably sure is accurate.

First, an Ellis family genealogy. William Ellis left a wife, Unity, and eight children at his death in 1812 — William, Gray, Coffield, Dixon, John, Jonathan, Willie and Spicey Ellis. Several were minors — which made for a lengthy estate administration — and Gray and Spicey died within months of their father. Without wills. Spicey died possessed of an unnamed “negro woman and three children,” and her administrator petitioned for their sale, with distribution of the proceeds between her mother and siblings. Widow Unity Dixon died 1817. Dixon Ellis died in 1818, leaving a wife Jemima (who pretty quickly married Hardy F. Barnes) and five children Willie, Unity, Gray, Hickman and Cynthia Ann Ellis. His estate included 17 to 18 unnamed enslaved people. William Ellis (Jr.) died in 1831 and Willie in 1836. Willie left a wife, Queen Esther Sharpe Ellis, and daughter Martha Ann, who later married Jonathan Dew. Esther Ellis then married her husband’s cousin Hickman Ellis, Martha Ann’s guardian. In 1854, Jonathan Dew sued to recover his wife’s assets from Hickman. Coffield Ellis, the last remaining child, died in 1854. Jonathan Ellis died about 1857, and his wife Elizabeth Ward Ellis about 1858. Their heirs were their granddaughters Susan Bynum Bynum, Louisa Bynum Best, Elizabeth Bynum, Sarah Bynum and Virginia Bynum, whose mother Spicy Ellis had married Reuben Bynum. Dixon Ellis’ son Hickman Ellis Sr. died about 1860, leaving children Spicey, Unity and Hickman Ellis Jr.

The Ellis estate files are difficult to decipher, with multiple petitions to divide unnamed groups of slaves, but often no reports filed after the divisions. Conflicts between guardians (often close family members) and minor heirs were common, with intervenors claiming that guardians had held and hired out enslaved people for years without benefit to their underage owners. Inventories of enslaved people occasionally list small children with their mothers, but more often do not. No married couples are identified as such.

Nonetheless, here is what I’ve gleaned. Each person’s name is followed by parentheses containing the names of Ellis family members to whom they are linked in wills or estate records. [Where possible, I have distinguished individuals bearing the same first names. Where not possible, I have listed them as if they are different people, though they not be in fact. It is likely that this multi-generational community of enslaved people passed down names within family lines, but the record is too thin to make absolute identifications.]

Aaron (Hickman Ellis > Spicey Ellis)
Alley (Jonathan Ellis)
Amanda (Elizabeth Ellis)
Annah (Coffield Ellis)
Anthony (William Ellis > Willie Ellis)
Amos (Elizabeth Ellis)

Amos was probably the son of Isham/Isom and Patience Ellis, see below.

Amos Ellis and Mary Edmundson registered their 18-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 2 July 1866.

In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: next door to Isom and Patience Ellis, farm laborer Amos P. Ellis, 47; wife Mary 40; and children Adeline, 23, Authur, 19, Learh, 17, Mary, 15, Jane, 11, and Lewis, 10; plus Authur, 65, and Betsey Barnes, 60.

Arthur (William Ellis > Unity Dixon Ellis > John Ellis)
Beckey (Elizabeth Ellis)
Beedy (William Ellis > Spicey Ellis)
Belfour (William Ellis > Coffield Ellis)
Ben (Elizabeth Ellis)
Blount (Jonathan Ellis > William and Louisa Bynum Best)

In the 1870 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: Della Applewhite, 34, domestic servant; Haywood, 19, Sarah, 14, Alice, 2, Anna, 2, and Clara Applewhite, 7; Hyman Bynum, 21; Blount Best, 21; Abraham Bynum, 17; Moses Bynum, 20; and William Pittman, 21 (the last five all farm laborers.)

Blount Best married Sarah Applewhite on 29 July 1872 in Wilson County.

In the 1880 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: Blunt J. Bess, 32, laborer; wife Sarah, 23; children William L., 9, Nellie J., 6, Joseph H., 4, and Ivory, 8 months; plus sister-in-law Annie Barnes, 11.

On 26 March 1914, Blount Best, 69, of Saratoga, married Hagar Bynum, 56, of Gardners, at Liberty Webb‘s in Saratoga township. Primitive Baptist minister Elder Robert Edwards performed the ceremony in the presence of Isaac Bynum, S.H. Best and John Farmer, and Jesse Artis applied for the license.

Blount Best died 28 March 1928 in Saratoga township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 88 years old; was born in Greene County to Friday Best and Marie Best; was married to Haggar Best; and was a farmer for Mrs. Mattie Williams and preacher. Informant was Joe Henry Best. [Was Blount’s mother the Maria below?]

Bob (William Ellis > Gray Ellis) and Bob (Jonathan Ellis)

See Robert, below.

Bright (Coffield Ellis)

See Robbin, below.

Bryant (Coffield Ellis)
Byhuel (William Ellis > Spicey Ellis)
Calvin (Coffield Ellis)

Calvin Ellis died 18 October 1933 in Saratoga township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 80 years old; a widower formerly married to Mary Ellis; a farmer; and was born in Wilson County to Jacob Ellis and Charlotte Ellis. Informant was General Ellis.

Caroline (Coffield Ellis > Louisa E. Barnes)
Chaney (William Ellis > Spicey Ellis) and Chaney (Coffield Ellis)
Chaney and son Isaac (Hickman Ellis)
Old Chaney (Hickman Ellis > Spicey Ellis)
Charlotte (Coffield Ellis)

See Calvin, above.

Cherry (Coffield Ellis)
Clara (Willie Ellis > probably Martha Ellis Dew)
Ellen (Coffield Ellis) and Ellen (Elizabeth Ellis)
Eliza [and two unnamed children] (Hickman Ellis)
Elvy (Hickman Ellis)
Ephraim (Jonathan Ellis)

Possibly, in the 1870 census of California township, Pitt County: Ephraim Ellis, 37, farmhand.

Possibly, in the 1880 census of Farmville township, Pitt County: Ephram Ellis, 35, farmhand, and wife Rildy, 30.

On 13 August 1885, Ephraim Ellis, 47, married Amanda Crudass, 26, in Wilson County at the courthouse.

On 20 February 1897, Ephraim Ellis, 52, married Mary Edmundson, 25, in Wilson County.

Faroby (Coffield Ellis)
Frances (Coffield Ellis)
Gideon (William Ellis > Dixon Ellis)
Gilford (William Ellis > Jonathan Ellis) and Guilford (Elizabeth Ellis > William and Louise E. Best)

Guilford was probably the son of Isham/Isom and Patience Ellis, see below.

Guilford Bynum and Pleasant Bynum registered their cohabitation in Wilson County on 7 April 1866.

In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Guilford Ellis, 40, farm laborer; wife Pleasance, 29; and children Ned, 16, Cherry, 14, Jesse, 12, Arabella, 11, and Sarah, 4. [Note: per his death certificate (and a marriage license), Ned Ellis was born about 1855 to Gilford Ellis and Becky Riffin (Ruffin).]

In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Guilford Ellis, 55, common laborer; wife Penny, 55; and children Sarah E., 16, Mary E., 10, and Lafayette, 8.

The obituary of Rosa Lee Moye Ward, 101.

Rose Lee Moye Ward (1918-2019).

“Mrs. Rosa Lee Ward, 101, of Wilson, NC, passed away on December 10, 2019 at Wilson Medical Center in Wilson, NC.

“The funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 1:00 pm at L N Forbes OFW Baptist Tabernacle, 1800 Lane Street, Ext., Wilson, NC. A public visitation will be held Friday, December 13, 2019 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Stevens Funeral Home, 1820 Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy., Wilson, NC. Burial will follow in Saint Delight Cemetery, Walstonburg, NC.

“Mrs. Ward was preceded in death by: her husband, Willie Ward; one son, Willie E. Ward; her parents, Johnnie Moye and Sarah Moye; three brothers, Lloyd Moye, John Junior Moye and Glaster Moye; and three sisters, Betty L. Gay, Sarah E. Williams and Hattie M. Morgan.

“Many loving and cherished memories will linger in the hearts of: her daughter, Veatrice A. Mills (Norman J.) of Wilson; three grandchildren, Clifton E. Cheeks (Barbara) of Randallstown, MD, Roland J. Cheeks (Carla) of Atlanta, GA and Kevin D. Cheeks of Washington, DC; four great grandchildren, LaShaunda P. Griffith (Ronnie) of Baltimore, MD, Clifton E. Cheeks, Jr. (Rajanna) and Maurice J. Cheeks (Cheryl), all of Atlanta, GA and Kevonda R. Proctor of Waldorf, MD; six great grandchildren, Cayden Cheeks, Royce Cheeks, Alijah Cheeks, Jackson Griffith, Jordan Cheeks and Za’Kari Barton; her daughter-in-law, Tanya Fletcher-Ward of Wilson, NC; her former daughter-in-law, Doris Ward of Temple Hill, MD; one sister, Thelma Barnes of Virginia Beach, VA; one brother, Hubert M. Moye (Mary Alice) of Hyattsville, MD; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.

“Arrangements are entrusted to Stevens Funeral Home, 1820 Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway, Wilson, NC.”

——

Willie Ward, 21, of Greene County, son of Mayo and Eliza Ward, married Rosa Lee Moye, 17, of Greene County, daughter of Johnnie and Sarah Moye, in Greene County on 7 March 1936.

Nursery school at Negro recreation center.

Wilson Daily Times, 10 December 1940.

Negro recreation center
four Negro college graduates

Smallest prints on file.

I have been unable to find more to elucidate this strange kidnapping story. The Daily Times‘ initial report, which focused more on a novelty angle than on the tragedy, misidentified the baby as “11 months old Mildred Pace,” and suggested that her birth mother had taken her from a black doctor in Washington, D.C., to whom she had sold the child for fifty dollars.

Wilson Daily Times, 14 November 1940.

Two weeks later, while still strangely stuck on peripheral details like the light skin color of the baby and her mother, the Times had more details. The child Lorraine was 20 months’ old, and Delores Pace was accused of stealing her from her birth parents, Ida and Massie Vaughn. (Massie Vaughn was a W.P.A. worker, not a doctor.) As best I can decipher, the allegations were these:

Delores Pace befriended the Vaughns under the alias Annie Mae Johnson. On October 28, she took the youngest two of their six children to the movies, where three year-old Cephus was found alone that night. Pace’s friends told police she had taken Lorraine to Wilson. United States marshals were called in to track down Pace and the toddler, and a D.C. policeman followed, took the child into custody and stashed her in the Raleigh City Jail under the care of a janitor.

Pace did not testify at her arraignment. The Vaughns identified their daughter and produced her birth certificate (and the newspaper made much of the contrasting skin tones of all involved.) Pace was ordered to stand trial. After the hearing, Pace told someone (the reporter?) that the child had been born in New York and that her father, Marvin Knight, had promised to marry Pace if Pace showed him the child, and Knight confirmed his paternity. That’s it.

Wilson Daily Times, 29 November 1940.

The 1940 census of Washington, D.C., shows that Lorraine was the youngest of the Vaughns’ six children.

I have not found any record of Delores Pace anywhere.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lodge Street, retail grocer James Henry Knight, 53; wife Ada Elsie, 52; and children Marvin, 22, retail grocery clerk; Evelyn, 19, Nancy Doris, 10, and Joseph Frank, 8. On 6 June 1944, Marvin Robert Knight, 26, of Wilson, son of James and Ada Knight, married Jewell Dean Stokes, of Middlesex, daughter of T.O. and Anna Stokes, in Wake County.

A bill to incorporate the Negro Business League.

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Page 777, Journal of the Senate of the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina: Session 1911.

Studio shots, no. 131: Robert Lucas.

Robert Lucas (1888-1973).

Bob Locus, 22, of Taylors township, son of Duncan and Barbary Locus, married Etta Howard, 18, of Taylors, daughter of Deal and Nancy Howard, on 29 January 1909. [Duncan Locus, 65, of Taylors, married Barbara Eatman, 40, daughter of Jim Taylor and Cary Eatman, on 11 February 1896 in Wilson township.]

In the 1910 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: on Sharp Road, farm laborer Bob Lucas, 21; wife Etta, 19, and daughter Nannie M., 3 months.

In 1917, Robert Lucas registered for the World War I draft. Per his registration card, he was born 20 May 1888 in Nash County; lived in Wilson County; farmed for William Mercer in Wilson County; and had a wife and four children. He signed his name ‘Bob Lucas.’

In the 1920 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: farmer Bob Lucas, 30; wife Etta, 30; and children Nannie, 10, Ella, 8, Addie, 6, Herman, 4, and Lillie, 1.

In the 1930 census of Jackson township, Nash County: farm laborer Robert Lucas, 42; wife Etta, 41; children Ella, 18, Addie, 16, Herman, 14, Lillie, 12, James, 10, and Willie, 8; and grandchildren Doretha, 3, and Chaner, 3 months.

On 23 November 1934, Herman Lucas, 21, of Wilson County, son of Bob and Etta Lucas, and Mamie Lee Brockington, 19, of Wilson County, daughter of John and Mary Brockington, in Nashville, North Carolina. Witnesses were D. Elbert Williams, Addie Williams and Silas Wright, all of Wilson.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 502 Warren Street, Bob Lucas, 50, W.P. A. laborer; wife Etta, 44; children Eller, 24, tobacco factory hanger, Lillie, 20, tobacco factory hanger, James, 18, carpenter’s helper, and Willie, 15; grandchildren Doretha, 11, Etta, 8, Christine, 4, and Shirley, 2.

In 1945, Wade Hilton Finch registered for the World War II draft. Per his registration card, he was born 17 May 1927 in Wilson County; lived at 502 South Warren Street, Wilson; his contact was grandfather Bob Lucas, 502 South Warren; and he worked for mechanic Joe Knight, 501 South Warren.

Robert Lucas died 26 July 1973 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 30 June 1894; worked with carpenter; was married to Rosetta Lucas. Informant was Herman Lucas, 1701 East Nash Street, Wilson.

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user weezalini.

The estate of Hickman Ellis, Sr.

James Barnes was administrator of Hickman Ellis‘ estate. Among his duties in 1861, he secured a doctor’s visit for an unnamed enslaved woman staying at John Owens’ farm:

Barnes hired out Ellis’ slaves to assorted kin and neighbors in 1861. J.R.P. Ellis leased Peter and Chana for $9.00; Jonathan T. Dew, Jack for $10.00; Lorenzo Felton, Margaret and an unnamed child for $3.00; D.S. Richardson, Liza and two children for $1.00 and Tempe and one child for $3.50; John Carter, Netty and one child for $1.75; John I. Sharpe, Rose for 25 cents; and Jackson Lassiter, Hannah for free. The estate paid Barnes $5.00 to care for Harriet and two children.

He also obtained “docttrin” for “negar Jack,” “Aren when was burnt,” Milbry and Netty’s fellow in October 1861.

In 1862, these individuals and several others were hired out again, along with several fields and the “low grounds”:

A court-appointed committee charged with dividing Hickman Ellis’ enslaved property filed its report at Wilson County Court on October Term 1863. Ellis’ daughter Spicey received Jim, Netty, Aaron, Rose, Mary, Hannah, Old Peter and Old Chaney, valued at $11,050. The remaining enslaved people — Jack, Margaret, Elvy, Hewel, Tempy, Peter, Harriet, Gray, Hardy, Chaney and child Isaac, Eliza, John, Milbry and child Betsy, and Nancy — were held in common by Unity Ellis and Hickman Ellis (Jr.)

Hickman Ellis Estate (1860), Wilson County, North Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.

Smith keeps a “contract.”

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Pittsburgh Courier, 13 December 1941.

Mable Smith
John Dallas McGirt — in the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Archie McGirt, 52, fertilizer plant laborer; wife Pearl, 47, tobacco factory laborer; son John, 23, fertilizer plant laborer; daughter Lillian Simms, 21, tobacco factory laborer; son Belton [McGirt], 19, delivery boy for grocery store; [grandson] Walter, 5; and son-in-law Allen Simms, 25, cement finisher for contractor. John Dallas McGirt registered for the World War II draft in 1940 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 25 May 1916 in Maxton, N.C.; lived at 1013 Stantonsburg Street, Wilson; his contacts as father Archie McGirt, same address; and he worked for Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, Wilson. McGirt died 7 March 1972.
Ada Barnes

I wanted whatever I did to be outstanding.

In December 1980, the Daily Times featured Georgia Williams Dupree and Rosa Rhine Lupe Weathers in an article about holiday cooking.

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Wilson Daily Times, 13 December 1980.

	B.W.A. Historical Ma… on Fisk’s Rosenwald archive…
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	PILLOW on Other suns: Illinois.
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	PILLOW on The Scarboroughs migrate to Ok…

	B.W.A. Historical Ma… on Fisk’s Rosenwald archive…
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	PILLOW on Other suns: Illinois.
	Lisa Y. Henderson on The Scarboroughs migrate to Ok…
	PILLOW on The Scarboroughs migrate to Ok…

Black Wide-Awake

Documents of Historical and Genealogical Interest to Researchers of Wilson County, North Carolina's African-American Past