Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 1 July 1950.

Add the highly-accomplished Henrietta Foster Mebane to the top of the list of early twentieth-century Black registered nurses in Wilson.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Walter Foster, 34, fireman at wagon factory; wife Nettie, 39; and children Henry E., 8, and Walter A., 5; plus boarder Arthur Broady, 22, laborer.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 707 Vance Street, Walter Foster, 46, fireman at wagon company; wife Rosa, 34; children Heneretta, 18, Carl, 6, and Naomi, 4; and sister-in-law Etta Parker, 32, a school teacher.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 308 North Hadley Street, Mary Shaw, 49, servant; adopted daughter Grace V. Shaw, 4; and lodger Henretta Foster, 28, trained nurse at hospital.

Walter Mebane was born and died 6 August 1931 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Per his death certificate, he was the son of John A. Mebane of Rocky Mount and Henrietta Foster of Wilson and was buried in Nash County, N.C.

In the 1940 census of Tarboro, Edgecombe County, N.C.: church minister John A. Mebane, 54; wife Henrietta, 38, registered nurse; and children William A., 6, and Florence, 5.

Grace Mebane died 7 February 1940 in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, N.C. Per her death certificate, she was born 11 April 1926 in Petersburg, Virginia, to John Mebane of Bertie County, N.C., and Henrietta Foster of Wilson County, and was buried in Wilson [probably in her grandparents’ plot in Odd Fellows Cemetery.]

In the 1950 census of Tarboro, Edgecombe County, N.C.: painter John A. Mebane, 64; wife Heneretta A., 48; public health nurse; and daughter Florence Y., 14.

Henrietta Alline Foster Mebane died 2 June 1950 at her home at 504 Bradley Avenue, Tarboro. Per her death certificate, she was born 24 August 1901 to Walter Foster and Nettie Young; was married to John A. Mebane; worked as a nurse; and was buried in Roundtree Cemetery “near Wilson, N.C.” [Henrietta Mebane’s grave likely lay near those of her parents near the old gates into Rountree. Her remains were later removed to Rest Haven Cemetery, where she was reinterred alongside her husband.]

Henrietta Alline Foster Mebane (1901-1950).

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user mebane714.