During Wilson County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions’ January Term 1858, the clerk made this entry in court minutes:

“Ordered by the court that James Mitchell alias (James Artice) aged Five years Son of Susan Mitchell be bound apprentice to Bryant L. Barnes upon his entering into Bond with John Dew as surety (Bond filed)”

James Mitchell’s alias suggests he also used his father’s surname, at least in childhood, as was not uncommon among free children of color whose parents were not formally married. “Artice” is a variant spelling of Artis, the name of a large free family of color in the Wayne/Greene/Edgecombe/Wilson County area.

——

In the 1860 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Susan Mitchell, 26, washing, and children James, 10, Annie, 7, and George Mitchell, 2.

In the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Stella Best, 12, Claudius Little, 14, Mary Parker, 15, Henrietta Knight, 19, and Charlotte Adams, 16, all domestic servants; James Mitchell, 19, store porter; and Harriet Dunstan, 18, domestic servant. [This household was listed next to Robert Taylor, a white farmer and miller who claimed $20,000 in real property and may have been their employer.]