Month: April 2022

If the newspaper is going to attack these poor, helpless people …

Though strawberry picking is now regarded as a quaint pastime, suitable for Instagrammable photos of one’s toddlers, North Carolina’s strawberry fields were a labor battleground in the late 1930s.

We read here of three African-American Wilson women who were ruled in April 1938 to have committed fraud and misrepresentation for seeking unemployment benefits after refusing offers to pick strawberries.

A month later, the Daily Times reported a “mass strike” by potential pickers — more than 400 unemployed Black men and women who refused to accept job offers working in strawberry fields. When these workers filed for unemployment, they were charged with fraud and tried in mass hearings at which they faced fines and denial of benefits. “‘They seem to feel,’ said Herbert Petty, manager of the [employment] branch office [in Wilson], ‘that they would rather get $4 from us for not working than they would $10 a week by working for it.'” When asked what people would do without unemployment relief, Petty snapped: “‘They got along all right this time last year when they couldn’t get this insurance.”

The spring of 1939 saw the protest reemerge. Per the April 10 edition of the Daily Times, the Wilson employment office sent out a “hurry call” for strawberry pickers, who would be sent to fields near Warsaw and Wallace in Duplin County, 50 to 80 miles south of Wilson. The report noted that there was “nothing mandatory” about the first few calls for laborers, but later in the season the employment office might be “forced” to draft pickers from the ranks of applicants for unemployment. If this happened, and applicants refused to go, “official action would be taken against them.”

In response to Times columnist John G. Thomas’ dismissive takes on the motives and concerns of African-American laborers, Willis E. Prince submitted for publication this remarkable rebuke.

Wilson Daily Times, 13 April 1939.

Who was Willis Ephraim Prince? In 1939, he was a 53 year-old self-employed carpenter and bar owner who had spent a decade living in Philadelphia and New York City and whose financial independence allowed him to raise his voice in protest without fear of repercussion. Just as importantly, he was the son of Turner Prince.

In 1865, formerly enslaved men and women settled on the flats just across the Tar River from Tarboro; they called their community Freedom Hill. Pitt County-born freedman named Turner Prince (1842-1912) and his wife, Sarah Foreman Prince, soon arrived in the community. Prince, a carpenter, constructed houses and other buildings throughout Freedom Hill and involved himself in local Republican politics. In recognition of his leadership and literal community-building, Freedom Hill residents chose the name Princeville when the town was incorporated in 1885, the first town in North Carolina (and probably the United States) incorporated by African-Americans.

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In the 1900 census of Tarboro township, Edgecombe County: carpenter Turner Prince, 58; wife Sarah, 54; children Laura, 18, Sarah J., 16, Willis E., 14, and Jonas A., 11; and granddaughter Lucy Lloyd, 9.

On 21 August 1907, William Prince married Gertrude Pittmon in Manhattan.

In the 1910 census of Manhattan, New York, New York: at 165 West 72nd, William P. Prince, 24, born in N.C., janitor at apartment house, and wife Gertrude P., 30, born in N.C., housekeeper at apartment house.

On 6 June 1912, shortly before he died, Turner Prince made out a will whose provisions included: “I give, devise and bequeath to Ephraim Prince my son & Susie Gray my grandchild the house in which we now live. Ephraim is to have full possession of said house during the minority of said Susie Gray and in return contribute to her support. If at any time he should discontinue to do so, then he shall forfeit ($50.00) Fifty Dollars to my estate, the amount forfeited to be used for the benefit of said Susie Gray. If Susie Gray should die before maturity then said property shall revert to Ephraim in full. Otherwise he is to pay Susie Gray $50.00 upon her becoming of age, and he come in full possession of said property.”

In 1918, Willis Ephraim Prince registered for the World War I draft in Manhattan County, New York. Per his registration card, he was born 22 January 1886; lived at 2470-7th Avenue, New York City; was an unemployed licensed engineer; and his nearest relative was wife Gertrude Prince.

On 22 November 1919, Willis E. Prince, 31, of Edgecombe County, son of Turner and Sarah Prince, married Marina White, 21, of Edgecombe County, daughter of Edgar and Marietta Wilkins, at the courthouse in Wilson.

In the 1920 census of Tarboro, Edgecombe County: on Tarboro Road, carpenter Willis Prince, 32; wife Marina, 21, teacher; and daughter Vivian, 8 months.

On 31 December 1920, Tarboro’s Daily Southerner reported the arrests of four men for stealing a safe from Willis Prince’s store in Tarboro.

On 21 November 1922, Willis Prince, 36, son of Turner and Sarah Prince, married Mary Gear, 36, daughter of Dan and Sarah Gear, in Wilson. A.M.E.Z. minister B.P. Coward performed the ceremony in the presence of Laura Peele, S.A. Coward, and Louise Cooper.

In the 1925 and 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories, Willis and Mary Prince are listed at addresses on Suggs Street.

Mary Prince died 14 November 1928 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 45 years old; was born in Wilson County to Daniel and Sarah Gier; was married to Willis Prince; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery. Alice Woodard was informant.

In the 1930 census of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania: at Chestnut Hill Hospital, Willis E. Prince, 49, boarder, porter at public hospital; born in North Carolina.

On 27 January 1934, Willis Prince, 47, son of Turner Prince and Sarah [maiden name not listed], married Alma Mae Hines, 29, daughter of Amos and Sarah Hines, in Wilson. C.E. Artis applied for the license, and A.M.E. Zion minister I. Albert Moore performed the ceremony in the presence of M.W. Hines, C.L. Darden, and A.M. Dupree.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Willis Prince, 54, carpenter/private contractor, and wife Allie, [blank].

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Prince Willis E (c; Ella M; Small Town Club) h 205 Stantonsburg

1941 Wilson, N.C., city directory.

The last will and testament of Willis E. Prince, 1947. Daniel McKeithen, Talmon Hunter, Dr. Kenneth Shade, S.P. Artis, and Daniel Carroll witnessed the document.

Willis Ephraim Prince died 2 October 1950 at Mercy Hospital. Per his death certificate, he was born 17 January 1889 in Edgecombe County to Turner Prince and Sarah [maiden name not listed]; was married to Allie Mae Prince; lived at 205 Stantonsburg Street, Wilson; and worked as a merchant at his own business.

For more about Princeville, see here and here and here.

The history of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.

“In 1917 this church was called Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. The Rev. A.L.E. Weeks was pastor. Many called it Weeks Chapel.”

“Brother G.H. Holden, Brother James Holden, Brother J.C. White, and Rev. Frank F. Battle served as trustees. Rev. Fred Davis replaced Rev. Weeks and served as pastor for a short time. Dr. G.K. Butterfield and Brother Carter Foster also served as deacons at that time.”

“Rev. Charlie Jones became pastor and the church name was changed to Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church.”

“In 1936, the original building was a wood frame structure and was badly in need of repair. Rev. Charlie Jones and members formed committees and captains to raise money to pay for the remodeling of the church.”

“While the church was being remodeled, worship services were held at Calvary Missionary Baptist Church on Gay Street.”

“After much prayer and hard work, we returned to a beautiful new church. We now had electric lights, but no air condition. We had outside toilets and 2 pot belly stoves, new pews, and a baptismal pool under the pulpit.”

“Deacon James Stevenson can be remembered for his contributions to the maintenance of the church. Deacon George Alexander can be remembered for his contribution to the welfare and growth of the church. Deacon John Carr was ordained in 1952. Other deacons were: Brother Leary Underwood, Brother James Reeves, Brother Matt Turner, Brother Dempsey Mercer, Brother Charlie Harris, Brother Ned Barnes, Brother York and Brother Albert Ward.”

“The church celebrated its mortgage burning and a plaque was embedded out front in the corner of the church. …”

Ebenezer’s cornerstone.

Many thanks to Rev. Charles L. Howard, pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church since 2008, for sharing this history. Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2016.

Borrowing from Wilson Home and Loan Association, pt. 1.

East Wilson’s new property owners often turned to Wilson Home and Loan Association, a savings and loan association affiliated with George D. Green, for short-term financing.

  • On 25 February 1901, Charles Battle borrowed $700 from Wilson Home and Loan Association, mortgaging (1) a two-acre lot on the east side of Stantonsburg Street adjoining the lands of William Goffney, Jane Taylor, Peggie Farmer, M.H. Cotton, and John Gaston and (2) a quarter-acre lot on the east side of Green Street bounded by Pender Street, an alley, the lot of Anna Bynum, and others. The note was paid off and cancelled 5 January 1906. Deed Book 32, page 159. [This lot appears to be the property Battle’s wife Leah Battle, who died in 1898, purchased from George and Ella Green in 1887. The alley was what we now know as Viola Street; see below.]
  • On 17 June 1901, [Mary] Jane Henderson (whose husband was Sandy Henderson, but who applied for the loan herself) borrowed $500 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a lot on the west side of Nash Street adjoining the lots of J.E. Clark, Ed. Moore, and R.J. Taylor known as “the Alfred Robinson lot” and purchased by Jane Henderson from Robinson. The note was paid off and cancelled 5 December 1906. Deed Book 32, page 170. [For more about this lot, now numbered 536 East Nash, see here.]
  • On 3 July 1901, Daniel Vick and wife Fannie Vick borrowed $800 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-third acre lot on the north side of Church (or Goose Neck) Street adjoining the lots of Wash Sugg, J.W. McGowan, Mrs. Julia Harrison, and others, “it being the lot assigned Wilson Barnes, and of which he died in possession.” The note was paid off and cancelled 5 December 1906. Deed Book 32, page 171.
  • On 9 September 1901, C.M. Wells and wife Cherry Wells borrowed $300 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-third acre lot “on a lane in rear of Charles Battle’s lot leaving Pender street, familiarly known as Pig Alley,” adjoining the lots of S.H. Vick, and Levi Peacock and being the home place of the Wellses. The note was paid off and cancelled 27 December 1906. Deed Book 32, page 174. [Charles Malachi “Mack” Wells, Cherry Williams Wells, and family lived at 615 Viola Street. It appears that the lane behind Charles Battle’s lot, known as Pig Alley, was the precursor to Viola Street, which Samuel H. Vick named for one of his daughters. That Viola began as an alley explains its narrowness relative to Green and Vance Streets.]

1922 Sanborn fire insurance map showing the Wellses’ house at 615 Viola and Viola’s narrow width.

  • On 15 August 1901, Della Barnes (with consent of her husband David Barnes) borrowed $600 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-third acre lot on the east side of Green Street adjoining the lots of Hardy Tate and S.H. Vick, “it being the lot conveyed to Della Barnes by George D. Green and wife … in 1894.” The note was paid off and cancelled 19 May 1906. Deed Book 32, page 173. [The Barneses’ house at 613 East Green Street stood until the 1990s.]
  • On 12 February 1902, Walter Hines borrowed $400 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a lot on the northeast side of Green Street adjoining the lots of David Barnes and Charles Thomas, it being the lot bought from Samuel and Annie Vick. The note was paid off and cancelled 19 May 1906. Deed Book 32, page 180. [This lot is at what is now 621 East Green Street. The Vicks bought the lot from John Blount.]
  • On 13 February 1902, Hardy Johnson and his wife Martha Johnson borrowed $300 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a  lot on the eastern suburb of Wilson “on the south west side of Vick alley near Green Street adjoining Isham Perry and others” and purchased from S.H. Vick. The note was paid off and cancelled 18 May 1907. Deed Book 32, page 181. [The description does not seem to fit the location of the Johnsons’ house at 705 East Green Street, but Isham Perry lived at 703 East Green. Was “Vick alley” the original name of Elba Street (also named by Sam Vick for one of his daughters)?]
  • On 29 May 1902, L.A. Moore and wife Louisa Moore borrowed $550 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-quarter acre lot on the north side of “the old plant [plank] road” Green Street adjoining the lots of Bowlden Tyson, Surry Tarboro, and S.H. Vick. The note was paid off and cancelled 4 June 1907. Deed Book 32, page 189. [This appears to be the lot at 646 East Nash, just west of East Street, on which Lee Andrew and Louisa Moore’s first house was located.]
  • On 26 November 1902, Dorsey Williams borrowed $400 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a lot on the eastern side of Lipscomb Street adjoining the land of Mrs. S.B. Lipscomb and Lucy Woodard. The note was paid off and cancelled 18 May 1907. Deed Book 32, page 198.

  • On 8 January 1903, Daniel Vick borrowed $500 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a  lot on the fork of the old plank road [East Nash Street] and the old Barefoot road [probably what we now know as South Pender Street] adjoining the land of Charles Darden, “it being all the land owned by E.N. Mercer in the forks of said roads and on which is located a Brick store house and also all the land claimed by said Vick in the forks of said roads.” The note was paid off and cancelled 4 August 1908. Deed Book 32, page 200.

 

Craps game ends in deadly shooting.

In early March 1924, Tom Hagin allegedly shot Otto King to death over a cheating allegation during a game of craps. The Daily Times could not help but engage in casual racism in reporting the tragedy, referring to the dice game as “African golf.”

Wilson Daily Times, 4 March 1924.

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In the 1900 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Shandy King, 51; wife Nancy, 49; and children Jack, 21, Marcellus, 19, Shandey, 16, Mahala, 14, Columbus, 12, Otto, 7, and Harriett, 6. 

In the 1910 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: Jim Bass, 19, and lodgers James Allen, 21, and Otto King, 19, all farm laborers.

In 1918, Otto King registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 22 March 1891 in Wilson; lived at Route 4, Wilson; worked in farming for Charley Walston; and was single.

Otto King’s World War I service record.

On 11 January 1919, Otto King, 26, of Saratoga township, son of Shandy King, and Roberta Taylor, 16, of Gardners township, daughter of Moses Fent and Rena Taylor, were married in Saratoga township, Wilson County.

In the 1920 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: on Plank Road Highway, farmer Otto King, 28, and wife Roberta, 17. 

“Shot through neck & lungs Homicide”

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

411 New Bern Street.

The one hundred-fifty-fourth 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 building is: “ca. 1922; 1 story; Elijah Kane [sic, King] house; double-pile, hip-roofed cottage with center gable and hip-roofed porch; a late and simply classical example of the type in the district; contributing auto garage.”

The house at 411 New Bern Street is the oldest on its block. It is shown below in detail from the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson. [Note the misspelling of “Mewborn,” the original name of New Bern Street. Mewborn is a surname locally associated with a northern Wayne County extended family. Note also that Rountree Street was originally called Bardin Avenue.]

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Thomas Annie (c) lndrs h 411 New Bern. In the 1930 city directory, the address was listed as vacant. 

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Elijah King, 29, laborer with Privett Contractors; wife Emma, 28; and sons George, 9, Elijah, 7, and Richard, 5.

In 1940, Elijah King registered for the World War II draft. Per his registration card, he was born 13 May 1910 in Wilson County; lived at 411 New Bern Street; his contact was wife Emma King; and he worked for C.C. Rackley, building contractor. 

The Kings mortgaged their home in 1940. They defaulted and, in the spring of 1946, it was advertised for auction on the courthouse steps. King was able to buy the house back on 16 April 1946, but in 1948 he and his second wife, Sudie Mae King, took out another mortgage for $400. This debt was paid off successfully, and 411 New Bern Street remained the Kings’ property until it was sold after Elijah’s death in 1980.

Wilson Daily Times, 14 March 1946.

Elijah James King Sr. died 10 January 1980 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 13 May 1910 in Wilson County to Oscar Ellis and Ella King; was a widower; had worked as a carpenter; and lived at 411 New Bern Street. 

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, April 2022.

White supremacy made permanent.

On 2 August 1900, in the wake of the Wilmington Massacre, North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment that effectively disenfranchised its African-American voting population. This disenfranchisement was the point, not a by-product. For more than a year prior to the vote, politicians and press across the state made that point clear in speeches and editorials, including this one that the Wilson Daily Times ran 123 years ago today.

First, the text of the Suffrage Amendment: 

Then, a breezy — and nakedly racist — explanation of the amendment’s purpose and impact. The literal bottom line: “The white people are determined to make white supremacy permanent in North Carolina.”

Wilson Daily Times, 10 April 1899.

Local heroes Josephus Daniels and Charles B. Aycock were central figures in North Carolina’s white supremacist campaign and the physical and political violence it engendered. The Suffrage Amendment, whose passage was as much their legacy as anyone’s, long outlived both of them, standing until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The life of William S. Hagans.

Back in February, I sat down (virtually) with Tyler Mink, Historic Interpreter at Wayne County, North Carolina’s Governor Charles B. Aycock Birthplace State Historic Site, to talk about William S. Hagans, an Aycock contemporary. William S. Hagans was not a Wilson County native, but his mother Apsilla Ward Hagans was, and he grew up on a farm on Aycock Swamp just below the Wayne-Wilson county line. I have published here a series of transcripts of testimony about a land dispute that directly involved Hagans and pulled in as witnesses several men with Wilson County links.

William S. Hagans, his brother Henry E. Hagans, and their free-born father Napoleon Hagans were contemporaries of Daniel Vick, William H. Vick, and Samuel H. Vick and other African-American Wilsonians in late nineteenth-century Republican politics, and I share this video to illuminate the world in which they all lived.

The obituary of Green Taylor, Sr., school janitor.

Wilson Daily Times, April 1942.

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In the 1910 census of Bull Head township, Greene County: farmer Greene Taylor, 28; wife Annie, 24; children Clara, 4, and Greene, 1; and cousin Lonnie Malons, 8.

On 25 February 1914, Green Taylor, 34, of Greene County, married Sula Swinson, 20, of Greene County, daughter of Willis and Matilda Swinson, in Bullhead, Greene County.

In the 1920 census of Snow Hill township, Greene County: farmer Green Taylor, 39; wife Sula, 30; and children Clara, 14, Green, 12, and Essie Lee, 4.

On 4 January 1930, Green Taylor, 49, of Wilson, son of Green and Viney Taylor, married Rebecca Ruffin, 44, of Greene County, daughter of George and Lucy Batts, in Wilson County. Free Will minister A. Bynum performed the ceremony in Wilson County.

In the 1930 census of Bull Head township, Greene County, N.C.: on Bullhead Wilson Road, farmer Green Taylor, 49; wife Rebecca, 45; sons Elijah, 10, and Alfred R., 9; and stepchildren Charlie, 19, farm laborer, Lillie, 10, Wauline, 7, and Julia Mercer Ruffins, 1.

On 20 September 1932, Green Taylor [Jr.], 24, of Wilson, son of Green Taylor, married Bessie Leon Artis, 21, of Wilson, daughter of Noah and Patience Artis, who were Wayne County residents. Baptist minister B.F. Jordan performed the ceremony in the presence of Marion B. Jordan, Odess Jordan, and William Jordan. [Bessie Artis Taylor was a sister of Pauline Artis Harris.]

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 516 Carroll Street, high school janitor Green Taylor, 57; wife Rebecca, 54; stepdaughters Lillie, 26, Wauline, 18, and Julia, 11; and son Robert Taylor, 19.

Green Taylor died 2 April 1942 at Mercy Hospital. Per his registration card, he was 57 years old; was born in Greene County to Green Shackleford and Mary Taylor; was married to Rebecca Taylor; lived at 915 East Vance; worked as a common laborer; and was buried at Bethel cemetery.

Green Taylor Jr. died 27 September 1967 at his home at 1201 Atlantic Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 15 May 1907 in Greene County to Green Taylor and Sulla Swinson; was a retired laborer; served in World War II; and was a widower. Elijah Taylor, Washington, D.C., was informant.

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.