Wilson Daily Times, 1 September 1932.
Firemen allowed a grass fire at “a negro cemetery” to “burn over” the field. Alarm boxes at two locations on Stantonsburg Street indicate that the cemetery was Oakdale, which the Town of Wilson had abandoned in favor of Vick almost two decades earlier.
A retrospective on Montclair, New Jersey’s historic Washington Street Branch Y.M.C.A. featured photographs of Wilson-born pharmacist William H. Vick and his wife Carrie Dixon Vick.
W.H. Vick, seated in the wicker chair on the front row, above. Below, Carrie Vick, seated front row, left.
Montclair Times, 26 January 1978.
Wilson Daily Times, 8 December 1934.
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Chicago Defender, 16 January 1937.
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After Jackson Chapel and Saint John A.M.E.Z., the building in which Saint Mark’s Episcopal worships is the third oldest continuously occupied African-American sanctuary in Wilson. However, recent structural stresses have imperiled its future.
Around 1925, Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist erected a church on Reid Street just south of East Nash. Ten years later, Mount Sinai had vacated the building. Looking for a location away from the downtown tobacco warehouse district and closer to its congregants, the Episcopal diocese purchased the church to house Saint Mark’s. With a few repairs, and the installation of its old circular stained glass cross, the church was ready for its new occupants in January 1936.
I took a few photos on a recent visit to Saint Mark’s, but they don’t adequately capture its simple beauty. Though its liturgical articles and ornaments have largely been removed, its altar, pews, and simple stained glass windows tell a century-old story.
The spine of Saint Mark’s building is broken, but the spirit of its worshippers, now largely members of the Guadalupana Mission, continues to soar.
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2025.
The Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 13 January 1934.
In January 1934, Anna Snipes, co-owner of the Biltmore Hotel, sent in a column detailing holiday happenings, the sick and shut-in, comings and goings, and the hotel’s guestbook. A holiday highlight: the party the Four Star Girls Club — teenagers Edna G. Taylor, Lucy D. Artis, Annie F. Crawford, and Robnette Boyd — held at the hotel with Laddie Springs entertaining.
Chicago Defender, 2 January 1932.
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Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 3 January 1931.
Passaic (N.J.) Daily Herald, 28 December 1931.
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In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm laborer Jack Hodge, 64; wife Gilly, 49; and children Susan, 19, Sidney, 13, and Joseph, 33. [Next door: farm laborer Handy Hodge, 20, and wife Roxy, 21.]
On 28 December 1881, John Perry, 22, married Susan Hodge, 21, in Stantonsburg township, Wilson County. Jack Hodge and Zillie Hodge were among the witnesses.
In the 1900 census of Militia District 1209, Bulloch County, Georgia: farmer John H. Perry, 39; wife Susan, 39; and children William H., 14, Martha J., 13, John H., 11, and Mary E., 10. The younger two children were born in Georgia; the rest of the family, in North Carolina.
In the 1910 census of Laston, Bulloch County, Georgia: farmer John H. Perry, 49; wife Susan, 49; son George, 14; and adopted son Luther Spells, 7. Susan reported that only 2 of her 11 children were living.
In the 1920 census of Norfolk, Virginia: at 1347 East 46th Street, railroad office boy John Perry, 60; wife Susan, 50; niece Hazel Gill, 14; and grandchildren Viola, 9, Elzie, 7, and Ida Perry, 6.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 26 December 1936.