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.
Wilson Advance, 19 September 1889.
J.F. White was in Wilson only briefly, touting his arrival loudly and gone by year’s end. I have not been able to discover any additional information about him.
The Daily News (Wilson, N.C.), 20 September 1900.
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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.]
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.
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:
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.
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 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 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.
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 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 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.
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.
Wilson Daily Times, 9 April 1948.
Edwards Funeral Home offered mutual burial association membership.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 27 May 1933.
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They say a closed mouth don’t get fed.
Tuesday I asked for help cutting Odd Fellows Cemetery’s front section, as our well-used lawnmower recently died and the grass is shin-deep. Within hours, I received a call. P.L. Woodard and Company/Womble Hardware, Wilson’s 125+ year-old downtown hardware emporium, was offering to donate a brand-new mower!
Yesterday morning, Senior Force leaders Briggs Sherwood and Castonoble Hooks picked up our gift. With it, we will be able to keep Odd Fellows presentable during the fecund summer months when our cleanups are on hiatus, but weeds leap skyward under hot sun and rain.
We are grateful for the generosity of Jimmy Miller at Woodard/Womble, as well as those who facilitated this connection, and are greatly encouraged by this concrete show of deep community support. Friends of Lane Street Project is excited about this new phase of our journey to reclaim East Wilson’s historic African-American cemeteries, and we invite you to travel with us. Also: support local business!
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 21 May 1949.
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