Wilson Daily Times, 16 March 1936.

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In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: day laborer Henry Mercer, 48; wife Florence, 36; children Lesley, 18, Aderns, 14, Candis, 9, Isaac, 7, and Augustus, 2; plus boarder Jesse Farmer, 29.

On 17 June 1903, Leslie Mercer, 21, of Wilson, son of Henry and F. Mercer, married Carrie Gunner, 21, daughter of James and M. Gunner, at Henry Mercer’s residence in Wilson County. Primitive Baptist minister Jonah Williams performed the ceremony in the presence of J.D. Reid, H.S. Edwards, Jason Farmer, and E.L. Reid.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lipscomb Road, Henry Mercer, 63, town wagon driver; wife Fourence, 45, laundress; children Lesslie, 23, brickyard laborer, Odjus, 19, market butcher, Isear, 12, brickyard laborer, Augustus, 9, Henry, 3, and Cora, 22, cook, and [grand]daughter Lucel, newborn.

On 28 May 1911, Leslie Mercer, 27, son of Henry and Florence Mercer, married Cora Barnes, 22, daughter of Maddison Barnes, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony in the presence of Will Bullock, Jason Farmer, and [illegible] Baker.

On 25 December 1914, Leslie Mercer, 35, of Wilson, married Mary Jones, 37, of Wilson, in Wilson. Banks Blow applied for the license, and Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony in the presence of Blow, Isaac Cobbs Jr., and Willie A. Cobbs.

Mary Jane Jones died 21 July 1920 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born April 1877 in Wake County, N.C., to Henry Mathews; was married to Leslie Mercer; worked as a stemmer for Wilson Tobacco Company; and lived at 510 Narroway Street, Wilson.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Leslie Mercer, 42, tobacco factory laborer; wife Mary, 40; and son-in-law [sic] Albert Parker, 50, widower.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 712 Viola, rented for $12/month, Marrion Mercer, 32, tobacco factory laborer; wife Sarah, 28; brother Leslie Mercer, 50, tobacco factory laborer; and children Isear, 10, Marjorie, 8, and Florence Mercer, 5.

Leslie Mercer died 15 March 1936 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 59 years old; was born in Wilson to Henry Mercer of Edgecombe County, N.C., and Florence Farmer of Wilson County; was married to Bertha Mercer; lived at 614 Viola; and worked as a laborer. His cause of death: intracranial hemorrhage after “auto ran over him on Green St.”