Business

The Cave.

Me: Yeah. Now, what about the place – my daddy used to talk about a place called The Cave. Was that on –

Samuel C. Lathan: Yeah, man. That’s where I met my wife.

LYH: Really?

SCL: Yeah. I didn’t meet her there, but that’s where she and I would hang out. Now, The Cave was opened by Robert Vick.

LYH: Okay.

SCL: Robert Vick was a educator, and he was the principal of several schools, wonderful schools here. But when he came here, he brought a little New York down here.

LYH: Okay.

SCL: Because we didn’t have nothing. We had the Stop Light Grill.

LYH: Right.

SCL: But we didn’t have nothing like The Cave because The Cave had the sundaes. It had the milkshakes, it had the ice cream fancies. You know, it had all the little bar things that you would have, you know. Had good fried chicken in there and good sandwiches, you know, and brought the hoagie in, you know. Yeah, yeah, now. And Tom Woodard’s, and they had an excursion that Saturday — on that Friday night, there was a big excursion. A hayride. And the truck — was going to be two trucks would be at The Cave. Now, Robert Vick would put the things on like that. But I was sitting on my front porch because I could see – I was right across from The Cave.

Hill’s 1947 Wilson, N.C., city directory.

The Cave occupied a storefront in the two-story brick building Camillus Darden built at 561 East Nash Street.

Copy of tax return courtesy of Vicki Cowan; interview with Samuel C. Lathan copyrighted, all rights reserved.

The obituary of Lander Coe.

The obituary of Lander Coe (7 March 1935-19 August 2014) not only memorialized his life, but preserved small details of mid-century East Wilson culture.

Lander Coe, 79, of Wilson succumbed to the silent halls of death Tuesday at his residence with his loving wife, Dorothy Thompson Coe, and family at his side. Mr. Coe was employed with Hamilton Funeral Home for over 60 years. He was the Godfather and first mentor in funeral service to Rev. [Ernie] Haskins. He was named honorary chairman of the board of the Haskins Funeral Home. Mr. Coe was employed with Hamilton Funeral Chapel for over 61 years. Mr. Coe was the husband of Dorothy Thompson Coe whom he loved dearly. Lander was born to the late Lenzie Coe and Rebecca McDonald Coe. In addition to his parents, he was also preceded in death by his brother, Richard. Lander Coe  was raised by his aunt, Libby McFadden [McPhatter], who owned Libby’s Restaurant. As fate would have it, the restaurant was located across the street from Hamilton Funeral Home. At the adventurous age of 14, young Lander found his way across the street to the funeral home following Baby Hart, who worked at the funeral home at the time. Lander watched under watchful eyes of Talmon Hunter and Landy Hodges. A vibrant youngster, he was assigned the duties of making removals, working funerals and was the infamous ambulance driver who was also the man on call. Back in those days, the night man stayed at the funeral home overnight. Lander was blessed to work with three generations of the Hamilton family including the founder, the late Levi Hamilton and his wife, Geneva B. Hamilton. Over the years, he has observed changes in the funeral traditions of Wilson and the surrounding counties. He remembers removing door frames and windows in order to place bodies in homes for the custom of “sitting ups.” Some of his most vivid memories are of driving the ambulances while transporting expectant mothers. His comical fear was that they would deliver while en route to the hospital. To facilitate the growth of the business, the funeral home moved to 211 South Pender Street in 1961. Lander made his home on the second floor of the funeral home for more than 15 years. During those formative years, Lander always stood ready to answer the phones and perform any tasks needed. He became known as a fixture at Hamilton Funeral Home. At the height of the funeral home’s business, he remembers having nine funerals in one day. Lander had an uncanny talent for arranging flowers at the funerals and even using the beautiful floral arch. You could easily tell the services that he conducted because he would take extra care and arrange the flowers neatly on the grave. He would often say, “the family would be back to look at the flowers.” In 1980, Hamilton added a cemetery, Hamilton Burial Garden. Lander became the sexton of the cemetery. He would maintain the cemetery in a pristine and dignified manner. If asked, he could locate the grave of a family’s loved one without looking at the map. His dedication to his work was evident, as he often [dug] graves by hands when the back hoe was broken. In June 1968, he met Dorothy Thompson, and on April 6, 1973, they were united in holy matrimony. Dot, as she is affectionately known as, made a home in the funeral home’s upstairs apartment. Dot would accompany him to do removals and also dig graves at various cemeteries. She learned patience as she stood by her “Funeral Home Man.” Lander accepted the Lord as his personal Savior in 2004. For many years he was a member of Calvary Presbyterian Church. He later joined the Union Grove FWB Church. A celebration of his will be held on Sunday, August 24, 2014, 2:00 pm at L.N.Forbes Original Free Will Baptist Tabernacle, 1800 Lane Street Extension, Wilson. Pastor George Dupree will officiate with Reverend Ernie Haskins bringing forth the eulogy. Interment will follow at Hamilton Burial Garden Lane Street Extension, Wilson. Loved by all who was blessed to know him, Lander leaves to cherish his beautiful life with loving memories are; a devoted wife of 41 years, Dorothy Thompson Coe of the home; three stepsons: James Thompson of Wilson, North Carolina, Richard Thompson of Suitland, Maryland, and Anthony of Germany; one Godson, Reverend Ernie Haskins (Miranda) of Goldsboro, North Carolina; two Goddaughters: Tishana Graham of Rocky Mount, North Carolina and Jennifer Bynum of Wilson, North Carolina; five brothers: Lenzie (AG) Coe (Bessie) of Wilson, North Carolina, David Coe (Mary) of Covina, California, Curtis Coe and Lennon Coe both of Parkton, North Carolina and Lynwood Coe of Fayetteville, North Carolina; four sisters: Ealer Mae Coe Shells of Wilson, North Carolina, Louise Coe Muse (Clarence) of Washington, DC, Gloria Coe of Parkton, North Carolina and Carolyn Williams of Fayetteville, North Carolina; stepmother: Lula Coe of Fayeteville, North Carolina; and a host of other relatives and friends. A public viewing will take place on Saturday, August 23, 2014 from 2:00 pm until 8:00 pm with the family present from 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Hamilton Funeral Chapel, 726 Tarboro Street SW, Wilson. All other times the family will receive friends at the residence where they will also assmble one hour prior to the funeral service in preparation for the funeral procession.

 

Hughes, the white barber.

Two ads placed by “Hughes, the white barber.” Barbering in this era — and well into the twentieth century — was a trade plied overwhelmingly by African-American men. White barbers like “Hughes” often emphasized their ethnicity in their advertising. Here, “white” signaled Hughes’ suitability for handling the hair of white women.

The Daily News (Wilson, N.C.), 20 September 1900.

Call Gabe Bowden for a city hack.

The Daily News (Wilson, N.C.), 20 September 1900.

——

In the 1870 census of Lower Conetoe township, Edgecombe County, N.C.:  Gaib Bowden, 23, Daniel Wiggins, 25, Albert Lovett, 19, Orphan Knight, 23, and Richard Suggs, 19, farm laborers.

On 18 April 1875, Gabriel Bowden, 26, married Anne Ruff, 24, in Wilson.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Sarah Jackson, 21; brother-in-law Gabriel Bowden, 40, brother-in-law, laborer; sister Anna, 32, cook; nephews Columbus, 11, house servant, and James, 9; son B.F. Jackson, 6; mother Vinus Ruff, 52; and boarder Whitehurst Wiswould, 64, laborer.

Gabel Bowden died 17 January 1911 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 71 years old; was born in Edgecombe County; was a widower; lived at 410 Green Street; worked as a common laborer; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Oakdale Cemetery.]

Signal Boost: Goldsboro’s James & Pine Black Business District.

Well, now. Here’s an idea.

“The city of Goldsboro dedicated the James and Pine Black Business District Memorial Parklet on Saturday.

“The parklet, at 401 S. James St., is dedicated to honor Goldsboro’s historic James and Pine Black Business District which “was a major center of Black economic, cultural, and social life from roughly the 1920s through the 1970s, during segregation, when Black residents built a self-sustaining commercial district that served as a hub for entrepreneurship, community gathering, and empowerment,” according to the event program.

“The project is meant to be a ‘living park’ to honor the legacy that was left behind by the Black business owners and community leaders who built the district into a place for the community to gather.

“Councilwoman Hiawatha Jones and Barabara Dantonio, James and Pine Black Business District Committee chair, introduced the work completed by the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Design Committee, Bill Ellis of Playtime Installers who designed the park and the city for the installation and planning support.

“Continued efforts to capture the heritage and stories, and identify future funding will be carried out by the James and Pine Black Business District Committee, according to organizers.

“The committee will work to preserve the history of the district, develop a storytelling place to tell the history of the district, and revitalize the area to support new Black-owned businesses in the future. …”

From “Park dedicated to honor legacy of Black business owners,” Aynaelyssa Thomas-Frunk, http://www.newsargus.com, 24 June 2006.

The talented and enterprising Calvin S. Edwards.

Per his 1918 World War I draft registration card, Calvin S. Edwards worked as a plumber for J.E. Alphin, a commercial heating and plumbing systems contractor doing business across eastern North Carolina. Around 1921, Edwards branched out on his own, working from a shop at 529 East Nash Street.

Wilson, N.C., city directory (1922).

The 1925 Wilson, N.C., city directory reveals the many pots in which Calvin S. Edwards had a finger, listing him four times:

  • Edward Calvin S (c) plumber 549 E Nash h Carolina nr Reed
  • Edwards Calvin (c) (Carnation Hotel) h 1109 Carolina
  • Carnation Hotel (c; Henry Lassiter, Calvin Edwards) 518 E Nash
  • PLUMBERS-GAS AND STEAM FITTERS Edwards Calvin S (c) 549 E Nash

He had moved his plumbing shop up the block to a storefront in the Odd Fellows Lodge Hall and, with Henry Lassiter, opened the short-lived Carnation Hotel in the building we know better as the Orange Hotel.

The two-story Carnation Hotel was at 518 East Nash in the early 1920s. Detail, 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map.

By 1930, as seen in this Sanborn map,

Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, Edwards remained engaged in plumbing work, but invested in real estate in east Wilson, including the corner grocery at 1114 Carolina Street.

Wilson Daily Times, 19 February 1945.

Were the Gays one family?

A prosperous set of families with the surname Gay appear in Wilson County records within the first ten years of freedom. Were they one extended family? Unrelated families who adopted the same surname, perhaps from a former enslaver? (And if so, whom?)

Here’s what we know about them:

  • Anthony Gay

Anthony Gay and Catherine Speight registered their 22-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 25 August 1866.

On 9 August 1868, Spencer Gay, son of Anthony and Catherine Gay, married Adeline Barnes, daughter of Baalam and Jinny Barnes, in Wilson County.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: blacksmith Antney Gay, 44; wife Catherine, 40; and children Laura, 20, Thomas, 20, and Francis, 2 [adjacent to Spencer Gay’s household and one household away from Charles Gay’s.]

On 16 February 1871, for $250, Spencer Gay and his mother Catherine Gay sold R.J. and Sallie Taylor a three-quarter acre parcel of land near the fork of the old plank road and the Barefoot road [today’s Nash Street and South Pender Street.] The Gays had not registered a deed for the purchase of this land. See Deed Book 4, page 454.

On 30 April 1872, for $25, Anthony and Catherine Gay and Spencer and Adline Gay sold Esther McGowan a lot on the east side of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad on the old plank road. Deed Book 6, page 183.

Anthony Gay was still alive when Charles Gay was murdered in 1874, but died before 1880.

In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: widow Cathren Gay, 52; son Thomas, 28, laborer; daughter-in-law Julia, 27, laundress; boarder Anna Bone, 59; [grand]son Nelson, 6; and daughter Frances, 14 [next door to son Spencer’s widow Adeline Gay and family.]

Also: in the 1880 census of North Wilson township, Wilson County: Willie Gay, 32, hireling; wife Catherine, 30; and children Phillis, 12, Anthony, 10, Henrietta, 8, Nancy, 6, Catherine, 4, and John, 2. [Willie Gay was likely the son of Anthony and Catherine Gay.]

  • Charles Gay

Charles Gay and Emly Gay registered their three-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 9 August 1866.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Charles Gay, 35; wife Emma, 25; children Charles, 5, and Mary, 1; and lodgers Rich’d Harper, 20, and Haywood Watson, 17.

Charles Gay was murdered in 1874.

  • Emma Gay (or Artis or Byrum) Gay Rountree

See Charles Gay, above.

Emma Gay, sometimes referred to as Emily Gay, bought property as early as December 1874. See Deed Book 9, page 522.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Emma Gay, 35; children Charlie, 15, a steam-mill worker, Mary, 11, Etheldred, 8, and Willie, 6; plus a boarder Fannie Thompson, 19, cook.

On 4 February 1892, Henry C. Rountree, 44, married Emma Gay, 44, at the bride’s residence in Wilson. Presbyterian minister L.J. Melton performed the ceremony, and witnesses were Edward Pool, Mark Blount and S.H. Vick.

On 29 October 1902, Willie Gay, 27, son of Charles Gay and Emma Rountree, married Mary Johnson, 22, daughter of Edmund Johnson and Bertha Johnson, at Henry Johnson‘s. H.S. Phillips applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of Cain Artis, Charles S. Thomas, and Robert E. Artis.

On 23 March 1906, William Gay, 33, son of Charles and Emma Gay, married Augustus McNeil, 30, daughter of Peter and Emily Patterson, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of J.E. Farmer, Robert Strickland, and Charlie Farmer.

Henry C. Rountree died 24 September 1916 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1848 in  North Carolina to Jessie Artis and Becker Artis; was married; worked as a dealer in groceries; and was buried in Wilson. Emma Rountree was informant.

Emma Rountree died 25 June 1917 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was about 65 years old; was born in Greene County, N.C., to unidentified parents; was a widow; and was buried in Wilson County [probably, Vick Cemetery]. Lizzie Whitfield was informant.

Mary Strickland died 16 December 1936 in the Wilson County Home. Per her death certificate, she was 67 years old; was born in Wilson to Charley Gay and Emma Artis; was a widow; and was buried in Wilson. Will Gay was informant.

Willie Gay died 25 May 1940 at the Veterans Administration hospital in Kecoughtan, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 February 1874 in Wilson, N.C., to Charles Gay and Emma Byrum, both of Greene County, N.C.; was divorced; was a veteran of the Spanish American War; was a railroad worker; and lived at 526 Smith Street, Wilson.

Dred Gay died 26 January 1950 in the Wilson County Home. Per his death certificate, he was born 1 January 1870 in Wilson County to Emma Gay; was a widower; and worked as a laborer.

  • Samuel, Albert, and Daniel Gay

Samuel, Albert, and Daniel Gay were the sons of Harriet Gay and Amos Thigpen (or Edmundson).

Sam Gay, son of Amos Thigpen and Harriet Gay, married Alice Bryant, daughter of Louisa Bryant, on 10 February 1870 in Wilson. P.E. Hines performed the ceremony.

On 20 January 1870, Daniel Gay, son of Amos Edmundson and Harriet Gay, married July Taylor, daughter of Alfred Robbins and Trecy Taylor, in Wilson.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Samuel Gay, 24, wife Alice, 20, and brother Albert, 21.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Daniel Gay, 20, and wife Julia, 20.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm worker Samuel Gay, 27, wife Allice, 25, and children Blanch, 8, Louizah, 7, Edgar, 4, Charlie, 3, and Mamie, 1 month.

In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: south of the Plank Road, Daniel Gay, 28; wife Judie, 24; and daughters Mary, 9, and Creacy, 6.

Albert and Daniel Gay appear to have died before 1900.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farmer Sam Gay, 54; wife Alice, 50; and children Charlie C., 23, Edgar B., 25, Lucy, 17, Samuel, 14, Albert and Beatrice, 10, and Lily, 4.

On 27 April 1904, John Stones, 30, of Wilson, married Mary Gay, 25, of Wilson, daughter of Daniel and Julia Gay, both deceased. A.D. Dawson applied for the license, and A.M.E. Zion minister H.C. Phillips performed the ceremony at the home of W.H. Kittrell in the presence of Kittrell, Mary Kittrell, and Charles Dawson.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Samuel Gay, 65, wife Alice, 55, and children Albert, 20, and Lilly, 15.

Samuel Gay died 1 February 1919 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per his death certificate: he was 73 years old, married to Allace Gay, resided at 620 Green Street, worked as tenant farmer for W.E. Warren, and was born in Wilson County. Charley Gay [his son] was informant.

Mary Stone died 19 November 1932 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 58 years old; was born in Wilson to Daniel Gay and Julia Gay; was a widow; worked as a cook; lived at 402 Viola Street; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.] Emma Davis, 418 East Green, was informant.

  • Candis Gay

Candis Gay and Jason Farmer registered their 22-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 25 August 1866.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Jason Farmer, 33; wife Candis, 29; and children Florance, 9, Isiah, 6, and George 4.

In the 1880 census of North Wilson township, Wilson County: farmer Jason Farmer, 43; wife Candas, 43; and children Florrance, 17, Isaiah, 13, George W., 11, Jessee, 9, Jason, 6, Jennie, 4, and Mayland, 2,

Candis Gay Farmer died before 1891, when her husband remarried.

  • The possible enslaver(s)

In the 1860 slave schedule of Wilson County, Edgecombe County native William M. Gay reported enslaving 21 people — men and boys aged and women and girls aged .

But also in the 1860 slave schedule of Wilson township, Wilson County: Thomas Gay reported enslaving 8 people — six men and boys aged 1 to 24 and a woman and girl aged 7 and 28.