Month: August 2022

He said he would shoot her head off.

On 21 August 1911, Martha Atkinson pressed charges against her husband, Dock Atkinson, for assault with a deadly weapon. She and her daughters testified in support of the arrest warrant:

Martha Atkinson being sworn says: That the defendant drew a double barrel shot gun on her at her house on Sunday night Aug 19th & swore that he would shoot her head off. That she ran out of the house & hid under the house until she thought her husband had gone to sleep, then she went out in the cotton patch & stayed until 3 o’clock, & from there to the house of another woman in the neighborhood, & that she has not been back home since, & is afraid to go.

Daisy Atkinson corroborates her mother almost verbatim.

Rosa Atkinson says that her father took the gun from the rack & pointed it at her mother & said he would blow her brains out.

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In the 1870 census of Selma township, Johnston County, North Carolina: farmer Louis Atkinson, 60; wife Rose, 50; and children Jimmima, 20, Raiford, 17, Henrietta, 15, Allen, 10, Hardy, 8, Dock, 6, and Cook, 2.

In the 1870 census of Cokey township, Edgecombe County, North Carolina: Vinous Bullock, 50; Mike Bullock, 60, farmer; [Mike’s wife?] Gatsey, 50; Alexander, 29; his wife Hannah, 23; and their children Martha, 4, Charley, 2, and General Grant, 5 months.

In the 1880 census of Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: laborer Alex Bullock, 30; wife Hannah, 34; and children Martha, 14, Charlie, 13, Gen’l Grant, 8, George, 7, Puss, 7, Mary, 5, Nannie, 3, and Orren, 4 months.

On 20 September 1884, Blount Powell, 21, married Martha Bullock, 19, in Edgecombe County.

Dock Atkinson, 26, of Stantonsburg, son of Louie and Rosa Atkinson, married Martha Powell, 20, daughter of Alex Bullock, in Stantonsburg township, on 9 December 1897. Daniel Ellis applied for the application.

In the 1900 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Dock Atkinson, 35; wife Martha, 32; daughters-in-law [stepdaughters] Mary E., 14, Martha, 13, and Daisey Powell, 11; daughter Rosella Atkinson, 4; son Lewy Atkinson, 6 months; and cousin Jollie Bullock, 24.

In the 1910 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Dock Atkinson, no age given; wife Martha, no age given; and children Daisey, 17, Rosetta, 14, Louie, 10, Ida, 7, Alexander, 5, and William A., 4.

Lewis Atkinson died 25 July 1919 in Wilson township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 28 October 1899 in Wilson County to Dock Atkinson and Martha Bullock; was single; and worked as a tenant farmer.

Martha Adkison died 29 October 1932 in Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born February 1866 in Edgecombe County, N.C., to Alex Bullock and Hannah Bennett; and was a widow.

Martha Farmer died 1 December 1965 in Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born 5 July 1889 in Edgecombe County to Blount Powell and Martha Bullock.

Criminal Action Papers, 1911, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

810 East Green Street, revisited.

Arsonists set fire to two East Wilson houses on 17 August 2022, resulting in the demolition of one. After putting out an early morning blaze at 804 East Vance Street, firefighters were dispatched to 810 East Green, one of an original set of five identical rental houses William Hines built in the mid-1920s. Fire damaged the house extensively, and it had to be torn down.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, August 2022.

Lane Street Project: the environment.

I understand that poking around in cemeteries is not for everyone. Might I interest you, then, in a creek cleanup?

This is Sandy Creek. Yesterday, just past Rountree Cemetery, I shepherded a snapping turtle from the middle of street to the curb, then watched it tip itself headlong into this filth. Like the other waterways of East Wilson — branches of Hominy Swamp and Toisnot Swamp — the pollution in Sandy Creek is atrocious. That any animal, much less one as large and ancient as a dinner-plate-sized turtle, is able to survive in this soup is a miracle, but does life need to be so hard? 

Lane Street Project: with the naked eye.

It’s my first visit to Wilson since George E. Freeney Jr. sent me the astonishing aerial photos of drought-browned Vick Cemetery giving up its secrets. I was curious — how visible were the graves at ground-level?

The answer: not very, but knowing where to look helps. Here — rest in peace — two graves lying a few dozen yards east of the central monument.

I’m on tenterhooks awaiting the results of the GPR study, and hope it will be available in time for Lane Street Project’s third season.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, August 2022.

He heard a bump and stopped; second highway death in three days.

Wilson Daily Times, 31 August 1942.

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  • Fred Woodard — in the 1940 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Fred Woodard, 36; wife Maggie, 36; and children Roy, 15, John D., 13, Doris N., 11, Fred Jr., 9, and Rosie Lee, 7. Fred Woodard died 30 August 1942 in Cross Roads township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 1904 in Wilson County to William Woodard and Cora [maiden name unknown]; was engaged in farming; and was buried in Newsome cemetery.
  • George Allen — in the 1940 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer George Allen, 45; his children George Love, 18, Clinton, 16, Ula Pearl, 14, Petronia, 13, and Josephine, 10; niece Jessie, 18; sister Rosa Creech, 35, and niece R. Virginia Creech, 14.
  • Mamie Daniel — in the 1940 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Louis Daniel, 56; wife Mamie, 42; and farm hand Willie R. Bynum, 18. Mamie Daniel died 27 August 1942 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 1902 in Johnston County, N.C., to Willie Wilson and Phillis Smith; was married to Louis Daniel; and was buried in Beckie Pate cemetery.

State vs. Daniel Sharp.

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In the 1860 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer James G. Williford, 46; [second] wife Nancy, 26; and children Mary A., 18, John T., 16, Nancy T., 14, Caroline, 11, Arabella, 5, Elijah A., 4, and James C., 1. 

In the 1870 census of Joyners township, Wilson County: Nancy Williford, 34, and children John B., 3, and Mary E., 2. All were described as white. [I initially assumed that this Nancy was James G. Williford’s daughter. However, her age as listed in the 1870 and 1880 censuses is more consistent with that of Williford’s wife Nancy Mears Williford. Williford died in 1861. His and Nancy’s son Elijah Elbert is listed in the 1870 census as Bertie Williford, 14 year-old apprentice to Hickman Barnes, and daughter “Arvilla” is listed in the household of her half-brother William Williford. Did Nancy lose custody of her children as a result of her relationship with Daniel Sharp?]

In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Benjamin Tillery, 27; wife Cherry; and daughter Jane, 3; Lucy Taylor, 23, and son Columbus, 8 months; and Daniel Sharp, 26, farm laborer.

In the 1880 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Nancy Williford, 42, and children John, 13, farm laborer, and Mary E., 12. Here, Nancy’s children were described as mulatto.

In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Daniel Sharp, 40, farmer.

Mary Williford, 18, daughter of Nancy Williford, and Lorenzo Barnes, 22, son of William and Sarah Barnes, obtained (but did not return) a marriage license in Wilson County on 15 April 1891.

On 20 February 1895, John Williford, 28, married Mary Ella Barnes, 21, in Toisnot township. G.A. Gaston, J.C. Ellis and Buck Dew witnessed the ceremony.

In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: widower John Williford, 34, farmer; daughter Mary B., 4; and boarder Sammie Barnes. 19.

On 29 October 1893, Daniel Sharp, 52, of Toisnot, married Cynda Parker, 19, of Toisnot, in the presence of John Williford, Mose Parker and Jason Barnes.

In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Daniel Sharp, 58, farmer; wife Lucinda, 25; and children Joseph, 6, George W., 4, and James H., 2.

In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Renza Barnes, 26; wife Mary, 32; daughters Nanny, 11, and Minnie, 8; and niece Bertha Williford, 4.

On 19 December 1900, John Williford, 34, son of Dan Sharp, married Lena Locust, 19, daughter of Elbert and Rose Locust, in Elm City in the presence of J.C. Ellis, Lucian Norfleet, Willie Locus, and George Braswell.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: John Williford, 43; wife Lena, 28; and children Bertha, 14, Beatrice, 7, John L., 6, Edward, 4, Arnold, 2, and Odell, 2 months.

In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: well digger John Williford, 53; wife Lena, 38; and children John, 15, Edwin, 13, Arnel, 12, Frank, 8, and Inez, 17 months.

In the 1930 census of Elm City town, Toisnot township: John Gaston, 48, brickmason; wife Nannie, 41; daughters Pricilla, 21, and Minnie, 18; plus mother-in-law Mary Barnes, 62.

Mary [Williford] Barnes died 6 April 1949 in Elm City. Per her death certificate, she was born 5 May 1868 in Wilson County to unknown parents and was a widow. Nannie Gaston was informant.

Bastardy Bonds, 1866, Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

Barbershop ratings.

Wilson Daily Times, 2 August 1935.

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The paper carried a ranking of 13 barber shops in Wilson, ten of which exclusively served white customers. The shops known to be African-American-owned were William Hines, Briggs Hotel (the location of Walter Hines‘ shop), Hargroves, Neal’s, and Sanitary, and perhaps Atkinson’s. 

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

Taxi driver Nicholson carjacked.

Wilson Daily Times, 10 August 1936.

This 1925 map of the Stantonsburg area shows the locations of Fairfield Dairy, north, and Edmundson bridge, southwest of Stantonsburg. Roads are marked with their current names. Wilson County Soil Map, 1925, North Carolina Maps, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.