Family

303 Elba Street, for sale.

When I first hit Wilson, I always pay my respects to my father and grandmother at Rest Haven and to the dead of Vick, Odd Fellows, and Rountree Cemeteries, and I always check on 303 Elba Street.

My family owned this little house from 1908 until 1938. My grandmother grew up here, Jack Henderson lived here when he first arrived in Wilson, and my father and his siblings were born here. It was, as the old folk say in Wide-Awake, my family’s “home house.”

Friday, for the first time since I’ve been paying attention, a For Sale sign hung out front.

If I were burning money, maybe I’d hand over $38,000 for a tiny house that needs a complete gut to be habitable. As it is, I’ll just pull up to the curb to pay homage to Hattie Henderson Ricks and Jesse and Sarah Henderson Jacobs as long as 303 stands. 

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, May 2026.

Lane Street Project: Mother’s Day 2026.

Was a mother buried here?

We will never know, but today we remember and honor all the mothers buried in Vick, Odd Fellows, and Rountree Cemeteries, and vow to continue the search for all lost graves in these grounds.

Photos of the disturbed gravesite in Vick Cemetery and bits of its marble surround taken May 2026 by Lisa Y. Henderson.

Ardelia Pender, a mother you should know.

The Afro-American (Baltimore, Md.),  30 May 1953.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, Jesse Barnes, 37, farmer; wife Sarah, 31, public school teacher; and children Lucresia, 16, Ned, 14, Nancy, 12, Lemon, 11, Jessie Bell, 10, Maggie May, 7, and Ardenia, 5.

In the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, farmer Jesse Barnes, 46; wife Sarah, 47; and children Ned, 23, Nancy, 22, Lemon, 20, Jessie Belle, 18, Maggie, 15, Ardenia, 13, Frank, 11, James, 6, and Mildred, 3.

On 17 September 1924, Jonah Pender, 24, of Wilson, married Ardenna Barnes, 20, of Wilson, daughter of Jesse R. Barnes, in Wilson. Presbyterian minister A.H. George performed the ceremony, and James O. Bunn, Mack Jones, and Rosa J. Hussey witnessed.

Comodore Pender died 17 December 1925 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 25 November 1925 in Wilson to Jonah Pender and Ardena Barnes; lived at 718 Viola; and was buried in Barnes Cemetery, Wilson.

In the 1930 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Lane Street, Johnnie Pender, 29, tobacco factory laborer; wife Ardena, 24; and children Robert L., 5, Therado [Theodore], 4, Henry T., 3, Louvena, 18 months, and Katie, 1 month.

In the 1940 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: widow Ardelia Pender, 33, tobacco factory laborer, and children Robert, 16, grocery store delivery boy, Theodore, 15, Henry, 13, and Luvenia, 11.

Theodore Pender died 4 November 1944 in Goldsboro, Wayne County. Per his death certificate, he was born 25 November 1925 in Wilson to Jonah Pender and Ardelia Barnes; was single; lived at 1016 Robinson [Roberson]; and worked for J.C. Penney Company.

In 1945, Richard Henry Terry Pender registered for the World War II in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 31 August 1927 in Wilson County; lived at 1016 Robertson [Roberson] Street; his contact was Ardelia Pender; and worked for Bissette Drug Company, Nash Street.

In the 1950 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: at 1016 Roberson, widow Ardelia Pender, 45, and children Richard, 23, operates washer at laundry, Luvenia, 20, Katie, 17, Dorothy, 15, Jessie, 16, grocery store clerk, Paul, 15, grocery store clerk, Harry, 12, and James, 11.

Nellie Woodard visits her late husband’s parents in Wilson.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 25 August 1917.

Nellie V. Woodard’s late husband was William H. Woodard, son of Jack and Fannie Simms Woodard, a cleaning and pressing club owner who had died 26 February 1917. He was about 35 years old.

A few weeks later, Nellie Woodard placed a notice thanking friends for their kindnesses during her husband’s illness and her bereavement.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 17 March 1917.

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In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Jack Woodard, 35; wife Fannie, 32; and children John, 12, Julia, 7, Cynthia, 6, Albert, 5, and Aaron, 2.

In the 1900 census of Black Creek township: farmer Jackson Woodard, 56, wife Fannie, 53, children Daisy, 30, Aaron, 18, Harry, 19, Augustus, 17, Steven, 16, Mary, 11, and Harriet, 8, and grandchildren Eddie, 5, Bessie, 3, and Frank, 6 months.

Virginian Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), 13 October 1910. 

Virginian Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), 2 November 1910. 

Norfolk (Va.) City Directory (1918).

Lucy Hall’s children.

We’ve met Nicey Caroline Hall Lynch, the free woman of color whose refusal to kowtow to his wife so irked Confederate soldier Ruffin Barnes. What of her siblings though?

In the 1850 census of North Side of Neuse, Wayne County, Lucy Hall, 45, appears with her children Sarah, 16, George, 15, Nathan, 13, Nicy, 10, Samuel, 3, and Esther Hall, 6, plus Alford, 15, John, 14,  Rhoda, 13, Julia, 12, and Rheuben Artis, 10, and Rufus Lane, 22. (Read here of Lucy Hall’s legal battle to have her children apprenticed as she saw fit.)

Lucy Hall apparently died before 1860. I have not been able to trace Sarah, George, or Nathan Hall. However,

  • Samuel Hall

In the 1860 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farm laborer Noah Walker, 25; wife Polly, 21; and Samuel Hall, 13. [Samuel had likely been apprenticed to the Walkers by a Wilson County judge.]

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: brick maker Samuel Hall, 22; wife Caroline, 20; and children Donas, 3, and John, 2 months [next door to Wyatt and Niecy Lynch.]

In the 1880 census of Speights Bridge township, Greene County, N.C.: laborer Sam Hall, 32; wife Caroline, 32; and children John W., 10, Jane E., 8, Sam, 6, and Baby, 1.

In the 1900 census of Bulloch County, Georgia: woodcutter Sam Hall, 50; wife Caroline, 50, washerwoman; children Sam Jr., 24, George, 21, Emma, 19, and Minnie, 10; and daughter-in-law Fannie, 23, washerwoman. All but Fannie were born in North Carolina.

In the 1910 census of Bulloch County, Georgia: farmer Sam Hall, 65; wife Caroline, 63; son-in-law John Kennedey, 31; daughter Maria, 19; and their children Pearl, 2, and John, 3 months.

  • Esther Hall

In the 1860 census of Davis district, Wayne County, James Yelverton [Jr.], 40, shared a household with Hester Hall, 20, and her children Fanny, 7, and Puss, 5. [Yelverton was the father of Esther’s sister Nicey Caroline’s first child, Susianna Frances Hall, alias Yelverton.]

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As to the children Lucy Hall sheltered other than her own, Alford, John, Rhoda, Julia, and Reuben were the children of Julia Artis and Reuben Pettiford. The couple apparently did not marry until after they had had about ten children together, exposing the children to involuntary apprenticeship as “baseborn,” i.e. born out of wedlock. In 1850, they, like Lucy Hall’s children the following year, were apprenticed to William J. Exum, the white man on whose farm they lived. Curiously, in the 1850 census, the children are also listed with their parents and siblings 70 miles away in Warren County, North Carolina: stonemason Reuben Pettiford, 30; wife Judy A., 37; children Eliza, 21, Alfred, 15, Jack, 13, Rhody, 12, Reuben Jr., 10, Julian, 9, and Mary Artis, 7, and Elizabeth J., 5, and Virginia Pettiford, 3; [Julia’s mother] Middy Artis, 60; and Isah Artis, 4 months.

In 1860, the family — by then all using the surname Pettiford — was intact in Halifax County. Per Freedmen’s Bureau records, Alfred and Jack Pettiford were in Plymouth, Washington County, during the Civil War, and other family members followed.

Note that the Alford Artis who appears in Wilson County records by 1880 is not the same man as Alford Artis alias Pettiford:

  • Alford [Alfred] Artis

In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm worker Alford Artis, 45; wife Eliza, 40; and children Luvinia, 18, John, 16, Edwin, 14, Lee, 10, George, 9, Lila, 8, Frank, 5, Delia, 2, Marcellus, 10 months, and Annie, 2.

In the 1900 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Alfred Artis, 69; wife Liza, 68; son Patrick, 16; and grandchildren Jennie E. Artis, 14, and Luther Best, 13.

In the 1910 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: laborer Alfred Artis, 80, widower.

William Frank Artis died 27 November 1949 in Black Creek township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 May 1876 in Wilson County to Alfred Artis and Eliza Artis; was married; and was a farmer. [Note that his Social Security application listed his parents as Alford Artis and Eliza Felton.]

Lila Reid died 22 April 1953 in Fremont, Wayne County, N.C. Per her death certificate, she was born 25 March 1870 in Greene County, N.C., to Alfred Artis and Liza Artis; was the widow of Frank Reid; and was buried in Hooks Grove Cemetery.

Of Rufus Lane, we know only that he was bound out multiple times in Wayne County — to James Forehand in 1837, to Joel Lane in 1836, and to William Exum in 1837.

Snaps, no. 121: the Sharpe sisters.

Sisters Annie Sharpe Batts (1911-1961), Sarah Sharpe Williams (1895-1985), Effie Sharpe Ruffin (1902-1980).

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In the 1900 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer James Sharp, 28; wife Bettie, 25; and children Sarah, 7, Minnie, 4, Lonnie, 2, and Yetta, 7 months.

In the 1910 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: on the Plank Road, farmer Jim Sharp, 38; wife Bettie, 35; and children Sarah, 15, Sunny, 13, Etta, 12, Mary, 10, Mahala, 9, Jimmie, 7, Della, 5, Bettie, 3, and Annie, 2.

In the 1920 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: on the Tarboro Road, farmer James Sharp, 47; wife Bettie, 40; and children Sonnie, 21, Effie, 18, Mahaly, 17, Jimmie, 15, Dolena, 14, Annie, 13, Bettie, 12, and Willie, 7.

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user GeraldNelson31.

Build a family tree workbook.

Just as I input the last row in a 700-line spreadsheet cataloging the largest one of my funeral program collections, Cousin Dr. Portia Nicole shared this detailed guide f0r building a family tree workbook using Claude AI and obituaries. I’m a lot of things, but tech-savvy is not one, so I’m excited and intrigued about the possibilities for organizing and extracting data from the thousands of documents I’ve accumulated. Let me know how it works for you!