Month: June 2022

Grant burned to death in home at veneer company.

Wilson Daily Times, 26 May 1948.

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Emanuel Grant had lived in Wilson only a few months when he was killed in a house fire. Though the newspaper account of his death emphasizes his alleged intoxication, Grant’s death certificate paints a different picture of his demise, describing it as “by fire in burning building” due to being “unable to escape due to unconsciousness due to smoke filled room.”

Emanuel Grant died 25 May 1948 in Wilson. He was born 21 February 1914 in Georgetown, South Carolina, to Essau Grant and Lue White; worked as a laborer at Wilson Veneer Company; lived at Wilson Veneer; was single; and was returned to Georgetown, South Carolina, for burial.

Wilson’s only Green Book hotel.

Though several hotels opened and closed on East Nash Street in the first half of the twentieth century, only one, the Wilson Biltmore, made it into the famous Negro Motorist Green Book. (Other listings for Wilson include a taxi service and an ambiguous reference to a residential address on Washington Street.)

North Carolina African American Heritage Commission’s Green Book Project is an interactive web portal compiling in-depth information about more than 300 Green Book sites across the state. The project also includes a traveling and virtual exhibition that highlights the experiences of African American travelers in North Carolina during the Jim Crow era.

The Project’s entry on the Wilson Biltmore Hotel cites to research in Black Wide-Awake, and I’m happy and honored to be able to contribute to the documentation of this era in African-American history.

Image courtesy of Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: Transcription Center.

Willie Richardson, age 13, drowns.

Wilson Daily Times, 11 June 1934.

Wilson Daily Times, 12 June 1934.

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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 208 East Hines Street, at $12/month, coal yard helper Junious Richardson, 31; wife Rose, 27; and children Willie, 9, and Henry, 2 months.

Willie Richardson died 10 June 1934 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 9 May 1921 in Wilson to Junius Richardson of Selma, N.C., and Rosevelt Battle of Portsmouth, Virginia; was in school and unmarried; and lived at 412 East Walnut Street, Wilson.

The death of Joseph Marvin Farmer.

Wilson Daily Times, 9 June 1947.

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In the 1930 census of Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina: farmer Elija Farmer, 39; wife Nancy, 38, child nurse; and children Georgia, 9, Eli, 7, Frank, 6, Booker T., 4, Marvin, 3, and Lizzie M., 1.

In the 1940 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: town garbage remover Elijah Farmer, 49; wife Nancy, 49, midwife; and children Georgia B., 19, Elijah Jr., 18, Frank, 15, Booker T., 14, Marvin, 13, Lizzie May, 11, Alfred, 10, Marjorie, 6, Doris, 5, and Joe Lewis, 2.

Joseph Marvin Farmer died 6 June 1947 at Central Prison, Raleigh, North Carolina, of asphyxiation by court order of State of North Carolina. Per his death certificate, he was born 8 May 1927 in Wilson County to Elijah Farmer and Nancy McNeil; was a farmer; was single; resided in Johnston County; and was buried in Wilson.

Statesville Record and Landmark, 6 June 1947.