Wilson Daily Times, 13 January 1928.
I had to read this a few times before I understood that the couple being married was not named in the piece.
As for James Artis, at age 19 he married Cherry Murphy, 18, on 1 October 1922 in Ormonds township, Greene County, North Carolina. I have not found a license for him and Lena Edwards.
In April 1912, a Wilson County clerk of court typed up notes in the matter of State vs. Charles Evans, who was also known as “Dog Head.” Evans had been charged with highway robbery, apparently on the evidence of Jim Redman, who testified that he had come to Wilson with Evans from Washington, N.C., and had lifted a man’s pocket book and given it to Evans. Bond for Evans was set at $200, but someone dashed off a comment in pencil that went to the core of the alleged crime. Who was the victim? “What man — who?”
It does not appear that Evans or Redman were residents of Wilson.
Criminal Action Papers, 1912, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.
Elisha Woodard Jr., son of Elisha and Mary Elizabeth Sasser Woodard, lived north of Contentnea Creek in an area of Edgecombe County now in Wilson County. When he died in 1835 at age 80, he left 14 heirs stretching from Edgecombe County across the South. Treasy Woodard, Henry Woodard, Elisha Woodard, Patsy Woodard Batts and her husband William Batts, Zylphia Eure, Josiah Woodard (a minor), Anna Woodard (a minor), and Henry Benson lived in Edgecombe; Elizabeth Peele and her husband John Peele in Georgia; Nathan Woodard and Jethro Benson in Alabama; and Treasy Stokes and husband John Stokes, Judith Amason and husband Levi Amason, Betsy Boyte and husband Patrick Boyte in Tennessee.
Elisha Woodard’s estate included Old Ben, Young Ben, Jesse, Old Beck, Young Beck, Hester, Mary, Sylley, and Ethel[illegible]. Per administrator Stephen Woodard’s Petition for Sale & Division of Negroes, presented to court at November Term 1835, “owing to the small number of slaves & the large number of those entitled to distribution it is impossible to make a fair & equitable division of the same without a sale.”
Detail of petition.
Estate file of Elisha Woodard (1835), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.
Ten days after Frank Jenkins testified about a shooting involving a grocer and a bystander, Carrie Strickland pressed charges against him for kidnapping a little girl.
“… Frank Jenkins did unlawfully, willfully, feloniously forcibly and fraudulently kidnap and carry away Mabel Jenkins, the said Frank Jenkins having previously thereto forfeited his right to the care and custody of said Mabel Jenkins.”
Strickland swore that she had tended Jenkins’ sick wife and their daughter Mabel; that the woman asked her to take the child; and that the woman had died in late 1911. Strickland had kept Mabel until 20 November 1912, and Jenkins had never said anything. She had “kept [the girl] well clothed and sent her to school.” On the morning of the 20th, Jenkins had stopped Mabel as she walked to school. She had run, but he had caught her and taken her with him.
Strickland said Jenkins had occasionally sent food in a little wagon when she first began to care for his wife, but stopped. Jenkins did not visit his wife, but Strickland saw him in and out of another house.
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On 15 November 1906, Frank Jenkins, 18, of Wilson, son of John Batts and Alice Jenkins, married Sarah Wells, 18, of Wilson, daughter of Jacob and Claud Wells, in Wilson. Neptune Lee applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Sarah Wells, 52; children Sarah, 22, laundress, Mabel, 5, and Frank, 3; grandson Russell, 2; lodgers Frank Jenkins, 25, horseshoer at blacksmith’s shop, and Sarah Marrian, 29, factory laborer; and brother John Wells, 43, odd jobs. [Despite their marriage in 1906, Sarah Wells is listed with her maiden name, and Frank Jenkins as a lodger in the household.]
On 28 November 1912, three days after Strickland swore out a warrant [and apparently before he was arrested and posted bond], Frank Jenkins, 28, of Wilson, son of John Batts and Alice Batts, married Ethel Barnes, 22, of Wilson, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony.
Ethel Jenkins died 22 February 1913 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 22 February 1891 in Wilson to George Barnes and Emma McGowan and worked in washing. Frank Jenkins was informant.
On 6 December 1913, Frank Jenkins, 26, of Wilson County, married Pet Tucker, 28, of Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony.
In 1918, Frank Jenkins registered for the World War I in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born in 1884; lived at Spring Street, Wilson; worked as a horse shoer for Holmes & Boykin at Centre Brick Warehouse; and his contact was wife Pet Jenkins.
Wilson Daily Times, 4 December 1918. Jake Tucker was the shopkeeper against whom Jenkins testified in 1912.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 319 Goldsboro Street, John Batts, 56, oil mill laborer; wife Alice, 46; grandchildren Mabel, 15, and Frank Jenkins, 13; and roomers Lucy Taylor, 32, dishwasher in cafe, Josephine Atkins, 24, private cook, George Owens, 27, Charlie Howard, 34, oil mill laborer, Olivers Wheeler, 21, tobacco factory worker, and Roland James, 26. [Eight years after her father was charged with kidnapping, Mabel Jenkins and her brother Frank Jr. were living with their father’s parents.]
Also in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Frank Jenkins, 36; wife Pet, 23; and son Haywood, 4.
On 22 November 1921, James Bennett, 27, of Wilson, son of Wash Little and Rosa Bennett, married Mabel Jenkins, 18, of Wilson, daughter of Frank and Sarah Jenkins, in Wilson. James Barbour applied for the license, and A.M.E. Zion minister A.L.E. Weeks performed the ceremony.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 511 Spring Street, rented at $20/month, blacksmith Frank Jenkins, 43; wife Pet, 32; and children David, 15, Haywood, 13, Mary E., 8, and William H., 4.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 404 East Hines, rented at $12/month, blacksmith Frank Jenkins, 53; wife Pet, 41; children Mary Elizabeth, 19, laborer at redrying tobacco factory, William H., 18, and Haywood, 24, laborer at redrying tobacco factory; and daughter-in-law Laurine, 22, laborer at redrying tobacco factory.
Frank Jenkins died 8 August 1945 at Duke Hospital, Durham, North Carolina. Per his death certificate, he was born 6 August 1884 in Wilson to John Jenkins and Alice [maiden name not given]; was married to Alice [sic] Jenkins; and worked as a blacksmith.
Wilson Daily Times, 11 August 1945.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Spring Street, brickmason Goodsey Holden, 50; wife Laura, 47; daughters Estella, 25, Bertha, 24, laundress, and Ione, 20, laundress; and lodger Carrie Strickland, 18, hotel chambermaid.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Strickland Carrie (c) dom h 603 S Spring
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 603 Spring Street, brickmason Goodsey Holden, 59; wife Laura, 52; and roomer Carrie Strickland, 29, tobacco factory worker.
In the 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Strickland Carrie I (c) hairdresser h 603 S Spring
In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Strickland Carrie (c) hairdresser 528 E Nash h 504 S Lodge
Criminal Action Papers, 1912, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.
In November 1912, Mayor O.P. Dickerson heard preliminary evidence in a charge against of Jake Tucker for assault with a deadly weapon.
Mack Sharp testified that he was at Tucker’s store, heard Tucker and his son fighting, and heard Tucker fire a shot.
Will Jefferson testified that Tucker “had some trouble” with his son Smoot Tucker, shot at him, and hit Jefferson.
Frank Jenkins corroborated Jefferson’s statement.
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Criminal Action Papers, 1912, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.
On 7 January 1870, a Wilson County Probate Court judge ordered 28 month-old George Vick bound as an apprentice to John D. Wells until he reached 21 years of age.
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George Vick is not listed in John D. Wells’ household in the 1870 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County.
Possibly, in the 1880 federal mortality schedule of Toisnot township, Wilson County: George Vick, 11, black, died in November 1879 of typhoid fever.
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
On 11 January 1870, a Wilson County Probate Court judge ordered 14 year-old Isaac Bynum bound as an apprentice to Jolly Bynum until he reached 21 years of age.
In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Jolly Bynum, 60, farm laborer; wife Amy, 54; and Isaac, 15. [Was Isaac the grandson of Jolly and Amy Bynum?]
Perhaps, in the 1880 census of Garders township, Wilson County: Isaac Bynum, 27, farm laborer, living alone.
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
On 20 October 1869, a Wilson County Probate Court judge ordered three year-old Sovid Applewhite bound as an apprentice to Lewis Ellis until he reached 21 years of age.
[The spelling of this unusual name is difficult to decipher. Though “Lovid,” as in Lovett, seems more logical, the capital letter does not match the consistently double-looped L in “Lewis.”]
Sovid Applewhite (or no one with any approximation of his name) is not listed in the household of Lewis and Milly Ellis in the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County.
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
Eatmons (also “Eatman”) settled in what is now the Rock Ridge area of Wilson County by the mid-1700s. They are thought to descend from brothers John and Thomas Eatmon, but exact relationships between various Eatmon lines, which often intermarried, are murky.
This post is the first in a series featuring documents from Eatmon/Eatman family estate files.
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Joel Eatmon, son of John and Ruth Ruffin Eatmon, was born about 1780 in Nash County, N.C., and died 7 July 1851 in Nash County, N.C. Eatmon’s estate opened shortly after. Pending inventory and distribution of his assets, several of the enslaved people he had held were hired out to neighbors:
“The acount of the higher of the neroes of Joel Eatmans discease highered the 3 of March 1852”
Nathan Williams hired Reddick for a year for $56.50; Cornelius Jordan Sr. hired Sewel for $56.25 and Clary for $37.50; and Alexander Baker hired Haywood for $36.75.
Eatmon’s estate paid Alexander Eatmon $85.00 for “maintainance” of Charity and her four children, and Bertley Well $46.25 to care for Easter and her four children.
On 8 July 1851, the court approved the distribution of Eatmon’s enslaved property. Daughter Sally Eatmon drew Sowell, valued at $800; son Peter Eatmon drew Reddick, valued at $750; son Alexander Eatmon drew Haywood, $675; son-in-law John Eatmon, on behalf of his wife Elizabeth Eatmon Eatmon, drew Clary and Zilla, $912.50; son Amos Eatmon drew Easter, Ben, and Vilet, $837.50; son-in-law Barney B. Person, on behalf of wife Piety Eatmon Person, Charity, Delpha, Hawkins, and Wester, $825; and the heirs of Amy Eatmon Williams, Dolly, Barbary, and Milbry, $900.
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In the 1850 slave schedule of Nash County, North Carolina, Joel Eatmon reported nine enslaved people — a 52 year-old man, a 41 year-old woman, a 35 year-old woman, a 19 year-old young man, a 14 year-old boy, a 13 year-old girl, a 10 year-old boy, and 5 and 8 year-old girls.
In the 1870 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: farmer Redick Eatmon, 40, and wife Charity, 39.
In the 1880 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: farmer Reddic Eatmon, 49; wife Charity, 48; and hireling Casana Wiggins, 14.
Estate File of Joel Eatmon, North Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.
On 6 January 1871, a Wilson County Probate Court judge ordered 14 year-old John Ellis bound as an apprentice to Francis R. Ellis until he reached 21 years of age.
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In the 1870 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County, 14 year-old John Ellis is listed as a “farmer’s apprentice” in the household of William and Rebecca F. Ellis.
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.