Month: March 2021

The death of young Alex Washington.

Twelve year-old Alexander Washington died of appendicitis in March 1918, a not uncommon outcome in an era of clumsy surgery and few antibiotics. Compounding the sadness of his young death is the realization that he was already a full-time working man when he was struck down.

Washington’s death certificate notes that he was a servant in a boarding house and employed by Mrs. Lillie Barnes. Astonishingly, in 1916, when he was 11, he was listed as a butler in the Wilson city directory. I have not been able to identify with certainty Lillie Barnes or the boarding house. The inclusion of the honorific “Mrs.” implies that Lillie Barnes was white. However, there was only one Lillie Barnes listed in the 1912 and 1916 city directories, and she was “colored.” In 1916, Lillie Barnes was listed with no occupation and living at 612 East Nash Street. The 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson reveals a small shotgun, or “endway,” house at this address, not a dwelling large enough to have been a boarding house requiring a full-time servant.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Spruce Street, Aaron Washington, 46, drayman; wife Stella, 36, laundress; and children Clee, 17, cook, Ora, 12, cook, Grey A., 10, Hattie, 8, Alex, 6, Beatrice, 5, Lillie R., 2, and James W., 1.

In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Washington Alex (c) butler h Wainwright av nr S Reid. Also: Washington Aaron (c) drayman h Wainwright av nr S Reid; Washington Hattie (c) dom h Wainwright av nr S Reid; Washington Ora M (c) dom h Wainwright av nr S Reid.

[Note: The informant on Alexander Washington’s death certificate was his paternal grandmother, Judia [Julia] Washington. She correctly named Alex’s father, Aaron Washington, but when asked “maiden name of mother,” she gave her own maiden name — Judia Sharpe. It was a surprisingly common mistake. Alex Washington’s mother was Estella Simms Washington.]

Lane Street Project: Lucinda White.

Lucinda Wife of Geo. W. White Oct. 15, 1880 Nov. 30, 1915 Age 35

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George White, 34, of Craven County, son of Louisa Dew, married Lucinda Parker, 20, of Craven County, on 27 December 1898 at Jackson Dew‘s residence in Wilson township, Wilson County. Alfred Dew applied for the license, and Baptist minister J.T. Deans performed the ceremony in the presence of James T. Alston, L.A. Allen, and Jackson Dew.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: George White, 25, day laborer fireman, and wife Lucinda, 23.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Suggs Street, George White, 35, box factory laborer, and wife Lucindia, 30.

Lucinda White died 13 November 1915 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born in 1883 in North Carolina to Henretta Richardson; was married; and was buried in Wilson. George Wilson was informant.

Order for publication for non-resident defendants, heirs of Willis Jones.

A notice in the matter of P.B. Deans vs. Shade Jones et al. ran for a month in the summer of 1883. The matter was an action for the partition of land, land that apparently was part of the estate of Willis Jones. Willis and Sarah K. Jones‘ children included Josiah Jones, Charity Jones Taylor (ca. 1827-1891), Jacob Jones (ca. 1828), Shade Jones (ca. 1832), Henry Jones (ca. 1840), Alexander Jones (ca. 1841), Noel Jones (1843), Willis Kingsberry Jones (ca. 1847), Payton A. Jones (ca. 1849), and Bethany Jones Barnes (ca. 1852). Two of Willis Jones’ children resided out of state, and the court ordered the notice commanding them to answer the complaint in the case. Charity Jones Taylor and her husband, Kingsberry Taylor, were believed to be in Indiana; Josiah Jones, in South Carolina.

Wilson Advance, 13 July 1883.

In fact, by 1883, Charity Taylor had been living in western Michigan for decades.

Kingsberry Taylor married Charity Jones on 4 July 1846 in Nash County, North Carolina. Both were free people of color. Jones for certain and Taylor likely lived in a section of Nash County that became Wilson County in 1855.

The couple immediately migrated to Indiana. In the 1850 census of Madison township, Jefferson County, Indiana: laborer Kingsberry Taylor, 29, owner of $100 real estate, born in N.C.; wife Charity, 20, born in N.C.; and daughter Sarah A., 3, born in Indiana. All were classified as mulatto.

They did not stay long. Mid-decade, the family moved more than 300 miles due north in Allegan County, Michigan. Per the History of Allegan and Berry Counties, Michigan, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Their Men and Pioneers (1880), Kingsbury Taylor was one of ten men who bought land in Section 28 of Cheshire township between 1852 and 1858. “A considerable proportion of the population are of the colored race, who merit notice in a history of Cheshire [township]. As a class they stand well for both sobriety, and industry. Many of them have farms upon which comfortable houses are built, and the land of which is improved and well maintained. They also have two church organizations, to which a liberal support is accorded, and of which mention is made farther on. They are by no means the least influential of the citizens of the township, and have won much credit for the ambition they display in their farming pursuits and the good reputation they have established in all their social relations. The first colored men to settle in the township were C. Tomison and K. Taylor, who located on the southwest quarter of section 28. The land owned by the colored people was mostly bought of the Indians when they departed.”

In the 1860 census of Cheshire township, Allegan County, Michigan: Kingsbury Taylor, 35, farmer, owned $400/real property, $250/personal property, born in N.C.; wife Charity, 30, born in N.C.; and daughter Sarah A., 13, born in Indiana.

In the 1870 census of Cheshire township, Allegan County, Michigan: Kingsbury Taylor, 52, farmer, owned $2500/real estate, born in N.C.; wife Charity, 42, born in N.C.; and daughter Sarah A., 22, born in Indiana.

In the 1880 census of Cheshire township, Allegan County, Michigan: Kingsbury Taylor, 61, farmer, born in N.C.; wife Charrita, 48, born in N.C.; and daughter Sarah A. Brown, 33, divorced, born in Indiana.

On 17 September 1880, Foster H. Maxwell, 42, mason, of Manger, Michigan, born in Ross County, Ohio, married Sarah A.J. Taylor, 33, divorced, of Cheshire, Michigan, born in Jefferson County, Indiana, in Bloomingdale, Michigan. The marriage entry noted that they were black. [Maxwell was a Civil War veteran, having served in Co. D, 102nd United States Colored Infantry.]

Charity Taylor died 16 April 1891 in Cheshire township, Allegan County, Michigan. Per her death certificate, she was 63 years old; was born in N.C. to Wilis Jones and Sarah Jones; and was a farmer.

Illustrated Atlas of Allegan County, Michigan (1895). (Would that these types of plat maps existed everywhere.)

In the 1900 census of Cheshire township, Allegan County, Michigan: widower Kinbury Taylor, 82, farmer, and granddaughter Nina Maxwell, 19.

In the 1900 census of Springfield, Clark County, Ohio: Sarah Maxwell, 52, and daughters Dayette, 18, and Christina, 14. All were classified as white. Sarah was married, and three of her five children were living. 

On 5 June 1900, in Allegan County Circuit Court, Foster H. Maxwell, 59, was granted a divorce from Sarah A. Maxwell, 45, on the grounds of desertion.

Kingsbury Taylor died 3 November 1906 in Cheshire township, Allegan County, Michigan. Per his death certificate, 

The Hartford Day Spring (Hartford, Michigan), 14 November 1906.

In the 1910 census of Cheshire township, Allegan County: Sarah A. Maxwell, 62, “own income,” and daughter Dayetta, 27.

In the 1920 census of Allegan, Allegan County: at 634 Academy, widow Sarah A. Maxwell, 72.

In the 1930 census of Allegan, Allegan County: at 634 Academy, owned and valued at $1000, widow Sarah A. Maxwell, 82, and granddaughter Betty A., 6.

Sarah Ann Maxwell died 11 September 1938 in Allegan, Michigan. Per her death certificate, she was born 29 August 1847 in Madison, Indiana, to Kingsburg Taylor and Charity Jones, both of Wilson, N.C.; was the widow of Foster Maxwell; lived at 634 Academy Street; and was buried in Lindsley Cemetery, Allegan. Dayette Maxwell was informant.

Kingsberry and Charity Jones Taylor were also buried in Lindsley Cemetery. 

Christine Charity Maxwell Chandler (1885-1937), daughter of Foster H. and Sarah A. Taylor Maxwell.

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user PatriciaPhillips212.

Joshua Woodard dies suddenly.

Wilson Daily Times, 1 October 1935.

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In the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: in the household of Wiley Corbett, 45, servant Julus Hagans, 35, day laborer; servant Annie Deans, 19; and servant Joshaway Woodard, 19, day laborer.

In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Woodard Joshua lab h 512 S Lodge

In 1918, Josh Woodard registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 15 September 1881; lived at 512 Lodge, Wilson; worked as a laborer for Imperial Tobacco Company; and his nearest relative was sister Clory Woodard.

Joshua Woodard, 38, of Wilson, married Mary Battle, 27, of Wilson, on 10 September 1919 in Wilson. 

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 511 Green Street, Josh Woodard, 38, laborer; wife Mary W., 27; widowed mother-in-law Dorothy Battle, 65; and sister-in-law Lenora Battle, 19, cook.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Joshua Woodard, 48, “chofer” for C.M. Fleming, and wife Mary Woodard, 34.

Josh Woodard died 29 September 1935 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born about 1887 in Wilson County to Marriman [Merriman] Woodard and Jane Mills; was married to Mary Woodard; lived at 410 East Banks Street; and worked as a laborer. Bessie Baldwin, 412 Jones Street, was informant. His sudden death was attributed to an abscess of the lungs caused by pulmonary tuberculosis.

“Negro dwellings” destroyed.

Wilson Daily Times, 23 September 1929.

In the Jim Crow era, even buildings were racialized. Houses were not merely in “negro” neighborhoods; they were somehow, at their essence, “negro houses.” This brief article reports the destruction by fire of three houses on East Nash Road, in the vicinity of present-day B.O. Barnes Elementary School. Though the houses were owned by Ben Eagles, a wealthy white tobacconist, and one was being used as storage, they were “negro dwelling houses.”

Lane Street Project: Delzela Rountree.

Delzela Dau of Jack & Lucile Rountree Born Aug. 5, 1897 Died Mar. 8, 1914 An angel visited the green earth and took the flower away.

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In the 1900 census of Falkland township, Pitt County: farmer Jack Rountree, 49; wife Lucy, 27; and children Julius, 5, Daisy E., 2, and Cora, 2 months; sisters Marcela, 23, Cora, 24, and Ella Bargeron, 26; and boarder Jacob Worthan, 18.

In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, farmer Jack Rountree, 53; wife Lucy, 35; and children Junius, 15, Delzel, 12, Cora Lee, 10, John H., 7, James, 6, Mable, 4, and Gollie May, 1.

Daisy L. [sic] Roundtree died 5 August 1914 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born in 1898 to Jack Roundtree and Lucy Body; was single; lived on Stantonsburg Street; and was buried in Wilson. 

The obituary of Serena Savage.

Wilson Daily Times, 1 October 1935.

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Frank Savage, 21, of Wilson, son of George and Harriet Savage, married Rena Woodard, 18, of Wilson, daughter of Fannie Woodard, in Wilson on 28 January 1907.

In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Viola Street, odd jobs laborer Frank Savage, 25; wife Serina, 22, cook; and daughters Marthy, 3, and Eva, 10 months.

In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Savage Rena (c) dom h 211 Manchester

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Savage Rena (c) cook h 609 Viola

Eva Gray Savage died 17 March 1928 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 18 years old; was born in Wilson to Frank Savage of Edgecombe County and Serena Woodard of Wilson County; was a student; and was buried in Rountree cemetery. Serena Savage, 621 Viola Street, was informant.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Savage Rena (c) cook h 1203 Washington. Also, Savage Hallie (c) student h 1203 Washington; Savage Mollie (c) student h 1203 Washington; and Savage Vedford (c) sch tchr h 1203 Washington

Elias Lucas, 22, of Toisnot, son of Haywood and Cora Lucas, married [Martha] Bedford Savage, 23, of Wilson, daughter of Frank Savage of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Serina Savage of Wilson, on 6 July 1930 at the bride’s residence in Wilson. Presbyterian minister J.T. Douglas performed the ceremony in the presence of Cora Lucas, Serina Savage and Mellie O. Savage.

Serena Savage died 29 September 1935 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 49 years old; was married to Frank Savage; was born in Wilson County to Matthew Barnes and Fannie Woodard; lived at 1203 Washington Street; and was buried in Wilson.

O.N. Freeman plat map.

 

This 1928 plat map of property belonging to Oliver N. Freeman is readily recognizable in the present-day landscape, though it does not appear the land was subdivided as shown. (The area was described as “near” Wilson as it was outside city limits at the time.)

Plat Book 3, Page 39, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson; aerial view, Google Maps.