Washington Battle‘s death in 1909 was investigated and ruled the result of exposure.
Coroner’s Records, Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.
T.A. Granger’s account of the gruesome accidental death of a man on a Wilmington & Weldon Railroad trestle near Black Creek incidentally reveals the presence of an African-American laborer, an unnamed brakeman who likely was enslaved by the railroad company.
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State of North Carolina, Wilson County}
The examination of T. A. Granger taken before me A. H. Aycock Coroner of the county aforesaid this 5th day of April 1859 at Black Creek Depot in the county aforesaid upon the body of a man (name unknown) then & there lying dead to wit; The said T. A. Granger maketh oath that he was on the Train going North on the night of April 4th 1859 an the Wilmington & Weldon Rail Road that while crossing Black Creek Trestle work he heard the whistle blow for brakes I amediately Sprung to the brake and locked the brook on the choach I was on Knowing there was something the matter more then common by the the Engineer giving the Signal for Brakes Midway the trestle work after the train was stoped the Engineer in form the conductor that he had killed a man on the truss the Engineer Bagage Master conductor & my self and one of the Brake man (Negro) went back to see if we could find the man after going some hundred yards we found him hanging across the rail his hed was & his arms completely mashed to pieces by the train pasing over him the train was then backed to the place of accident and the body taken on the platform of the Coach and brought to Black Creek and placed on the platform at the depot Sworn to before me the day & year above written T.A. Granger
A.H. Aycock cor
Coroner’s Records, Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.
Inquisition over body of Tom Barnes
North Carolina, Wilson County}
The examination of Hilliard Hill, Frank Lipscomb, Bill Barnes and Geo. Barnes taken before the under-signed, Coroner of said county, this the 23rd day of Nov., 1910, in the Grand Jury room, after having viewed the body, upon the body of Tom Barnes, to-wit:
Hilliard Hill, being duly sworn, says: The trouble started at a corn shucking at Jno. Webbs. All had been drinking pretty heavy. I was about drunk. I was talking to Mr. Geo. Barnes and Jim Donnelly was standing around. Tom Barnes walked up and said “What in the hell are you all talking about?” Some one pushed him off and told him to go on. In a few minutes we heard a fuss about forty yards away like some one fussing about to fight. We went to where the fuss was and found Tom Barnes lying down and Jim Donnelly standing over him trying to stamp him, but we stopped him. Tom and Jim went on off, and Tom was cursing. We went back towards house and pretty soon heard pistol fire, and we went where they were and Jim said “Dam it. I had to kill him” or “Dam it, I am about to kill him.” Jim went back towards Mr. Webb’s house. He Tom died in a few moments after he was shot. Tom and Jim were at the corn shucking when I got there. I don’t know whether they had been fussing previously or not. After Tom was shout I saw a pistol in Jim’s hand. Did not see a knife nor pistol before shooting. Jim and Tom were both drinking. Nov. 23rd, 1910 /s/ Hilliard Hill
Frank Lipscomb, being duly sworn says: Tom Barnes and Jim Donnelly got into a dispute about “holloaing” at the corn shucking. Pretty soon we saw some one fighting. We went down there and Tom was down on his face and Jim was trying to get to him again. Jim had a pistol in his hand. I tried to get it away from him, but didn’t get it. I, Bill, Tom Barnes and Hilliard Hill went towards road and Jim was walking along by the side of Tom with pistol by the side of his (Tom’s) head. Jim was cursing Tom. When we got to the road Jim said to Tom “I am a great a mind to kill you any how.” Tom said “If you kill me you will have to do it.” Then Jim said “Don’t you say much to me, if you do I will kill you any how.” Then he stuck the pistol to the side of his Tom Barnes head and shot him. Tom was standing in the road before he was shot with his hands to his side, was not trying to him or cut him. Didn’t see a knife nor pistol in Tom’s hand. Jim Donnelly killed Tom Barnes — I saw him. After Tom fell I started towards Mr. Webb’s and Jim said to me “Don’t you go another but further that way” (and he drew him pistol on me) “if you do I will kill you.” Nov. 23rd, 1910 Frank (X) Lipscomb
Bill Barnes, being duly sworn, says: Tom Barnes is my son. I was on Mr. Webbs portch giving out the “holloa.” Saw two men run down towards stable, and I ran out that way too. Just as I ran out the side gate heard a pistol fire back of stables. When I got down there Tom was down and Jim was trying to stamp him, but didn’t do it — Hilliard Hill pulled him off. Jim had a pistol in his hand and told me not to come on him, waving his pistol towards me. Tom was not shot then. I, Hilliard, Frank, Tom, and Jim started towards road, but I didn’t go to the road. I was about 100 yds. away and heard a pistol shot and saw the light. I went to Tom and he died in about ten minutes. I saw Him going towards Mr. Webbs with his pistol in his hand, and wouldn’t let Hilliard Hill go up to him. Never heard of any fuss between them before. All were pretty full. Nov. 23rd, 1910 /s/ Bill Barnes
Geo. B. Barnes, being duly sworn says: When the “holloaing” was going on Jim Donnelly came to me on the porch and said “I have got to kill Tom to-night.” I tried to get him not to do it, but he said “I am bound to do it.” Didn’t say why he was going to kill him. Pretty soon I heard a pistol fire. For about fifteen minutes heard a second shot and saw light. Nov. 23rd, 1910 /s/ George Barnes
Verdict
We the undersigned Coroner’s jury, find that the deceased, Tom Barnes, came to his death from a pistol wound, said pistol being in the hand of Jim Donnelly, and that the act was premeditated and willful. /s/ J.D. Williams, R.B. Evans, [illegible], W.L. Lucas, J.F. Batts, D.T. Turner, Jurors
Henry B. Best, M.D., Coroner of Wilson Co., Nov. 23rd, 1910.
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In the 1880 census of Lower Town Creek township, Edgecombe County, N.C.: farmer Sol Hill, 28; wife Hannah, 24; and sons Hilliard, 6, and William, 2.
On 13 December 1892, Hilliard Hill, 21, of Wilson, son of Solomon Hill and Hannah Hill, married Ada Howell, 16, of Wilson, daughter of Caroline Hall, at the bride’s home in Wilson township. H.S. Edwards applied for the license, and the ceremony took place in the presence of M.L. Phillips, Charlie Neal, and Bettie Sanders.
In the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: teamster Hilliard Hill, 24; wife Ada, 18; and daughter Hanah, 1.
In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: planing mill laborer Hilliard Hill, 35; wife Ada, 29; and children Hannah, 11, John, 7, Mildred, 3, and Edwin, 1.
In the 1870 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: carpenter Stephen Lipscomb, 49; wife Mariah, 29; and children Anna, 13, Tilitha, 12, Betha, 12, Frank, 10, Archibald, 8, Penny, 6, and Daniel, 1 month.
In the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farmer Frank Lipscomb, 42; wife Roda, 43; and children John, 18, Lizza, 17, Jona, 14, Mariah, 9, and Sarah, 5.
In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Frank Lipscomb, 53; wife Rhoda, 54, laundress; daughter Maria, 20; and grandsons James, 3, and Willie Lipscomb, 3 months, and Rosavell Barnes, 7.
On 10 May 1913, Frank Lipscomb, 55, married Sue Cooper, 28, in Wilson township, Wilson County.
Frank Lipscomb died 5 October 1941 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 80 years old; resided at Wilson County Home; was a widower; was a farmer; and was born in Wilson County to Stephen and Mariah Lipscomb. Johnnie Coley was informant.
Coroner’s Inquests (1910), Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.
Wilson Daily Times, 20 November 1945.
W.H. Raper was struck and killed by a night train near Lucama on 20 March 1897. The plaintiff in Martin Raper, Adm’r W.H. Raper, deceased, vs. The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad argued that the railroad company’s negligent upkeep of the guard rail at the railroad crossing caused or contributed to Raper’s death. Much of the testimony detailed the severe mutilation of Raper’s body, but Isaac Rich testified more generally about the frequency of night trains.
A white witness vouched for Rich’s good character:
Another witness, John H. Hill, testified that he had walked with Raper that night: “I went past the colored church and section house and there told him goodbye and told him to go home by county road.”
Raper’s estate lost at trial and again on appeal.
Wilson [County, North Carolina] Estate Case Files 1854-1959, http://www.familysearch.org.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 2 December 1902.
The furor around Lily-White Republican Senator Jeter C. Pritchard‘s attempt oust postmaster Samuel H. Vick, who represented “the last vestige of negro office holders in the state,” was covered avidly in state and national press. This cartoon in the News and Observer depicted the issue as literal powder keg.
Hat tip to V. Cowan for alerting me to this graphic, a photocopy of which was passed down in Vick’s family.
Let me know how it goes.
On 9 July 1895, a Wilson County Superior Court judge ordered three year-old Lydia Lancaster bound as an apprentice to Isaac Rich until she reached 18 years of age.
On 30 December 1898, a Wilson County Superior Court judge ordered 5 year-old Roman Oniel bound as an apprentice to Isaac Rich until he reached 21 years of age.
In the 1900 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: widower Isaac Rich, 50, farmer; daughters Martha A., 28, and Wibby, 16; niece Lettie Langston, 8, and nephew Rommie Oneil, 8.
In the 1910 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Isaac Rich, 60; wife Jacan, 45; nephew Roman Oneil, 18; nephew Robert Creech, 18; and laborer Bruce Depree, 18.
In 1911, Isaac Rich made this bequest in his last will and testament: “At my death I give to Roman Oneal, my foster son, who has been faithful to me, a horse worth not more than twenty dollars and one Bible to cost one dollar.”
In 1917, Roman Ricks [sic] registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 15 May 1892 in Wilson; lived in Lucama; worked as section hand on the A.C.L. Rail Road; and he had a wife and one child. He signed his name “Roman Rich.”
In the 1920 census of Crossroads township, Wilson County: farmer Roman Ricks, 24; wife Phyllis, 45; and daughter Annie, 12.
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., directory: Rich Roman (c; Phyllis) lab h 512 New Bern
On 2 November 1941, Roman Rich, 46, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, married Katie Sims, 51, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Wilmington, Delaware. Per their marriage application, Rich was born in North Carolina on 3 January 1895 to Isaac and Eliza Rich; was a widower; and worked as a stripper in Sun Ship Yard.
In 1942, Roman Rich registered for the World War II draft in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Per his registration card, he was born 30 January 1895 in Wilson; lived at 4835 Merion Street, Philadelphia; his contact was Katie Rich; and he worked for Lowe & Son, 46th and Lancaster Streets, Philadelphia.
Roman Rich died 9 July 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Per his death certificate, he was born 7 July 1887 in Wilson, North Carolina, to Isaac and Liza Rich; was married to Katie Rich; lived at 4812 Reno Street, Philadelphia; and he was buried in Merion Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Wilson [County, North Carolina] Apprentice Bonds 1869-1914, http://www.familysearch.org.
Wilson Daily Times, 15 November 1943.
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A lawsuit P.B. Deans filed against the heirs of Willis Jones illustrates the peril of heir property. Jones died without a will, leaving his land to pass collectively to his many children. Five sons — Noel, Henry, Alexander, Willis K., and Payton Jones — sold their one-tenth shares to Patrick B. Deans, a white farmer on the climb. With a claim to half the total shares, Deans successfully petitioned Wilson County Superior Court to force the sale of the property — and push any remaining Joneses off the land.
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P.B. Deans vs. Shade Jones; Essick Barnes & wife Thany Barnes; Kingsbury Taylor & wife Charity Taylor; Josiah Jones; the heirs at law of Jacob Jones, to wit John Harry Jones, Jesse Jones & wife Eliza; Joseph Powell & wife Charity; Stephen Jones’ heirs, to wit Tempsie Ann, Susan & Maggie; Nathan Jones & wife Diana; Millie Ann, Nancy, and Josiah Jones Jr.
North Carolina, Wilson County} In the Superior Court
To the Honorable, the Superior Court, The petition of P.B. Deans respectfully showeth unto the court that he with the defendants are tenants in common of a tract of land in Old Fields township County and state aforesaid adjoining the land of the late Gray Lodge, H.J. Deans, Stephen Deans, Mary E. Deans, and B.G. Simpson known as the Thaney Jones land containing the 99 acres more or less
That by reason of the purchase of and the shares of Noel Jones, Henry Jones, Alex Jones, W.K. Jones, and P.A. Jones, he is entitled to 5/10 of said land and the defendants to the other 5/10
That by reason of the seize and situation of the said land and the and the number of shares into which it is to be divided actual partition cannot be made without injury to some of those entitled to share in the same except by sale
That of Jacob Jones’ children, Nancy, Milly and Josiah are infants; and Susan, Tempie and Maggie Jones, children of Stephen Thomas Jones, without any Guardian. That Josiah Jones is resident of South Carolina when last heard from and Kingsberry Taylor and wife Charity are residents of the state of Indiana when last heard from.
The petition therefore prays the Court to appoint a suitable person Guardian ad litem for the infant defendants named to plead answer on demur to the complaint in their behalf and that service be made upon the non residents by publication and for order of sale to me made by a commission to be appointed by the court authorized and empowered to sell convey and distribute proceeds according a further order.
And as in duty bound &c, Geo. W. Blount for Plaintiff Jul 3 1883
Wilson [County, North Carolina] Probate Estate Case Files 1854-1899, http://www.familysearch.org