For a brief period in the 1920s, a second African-American dentist plied his trade on East Nash Street in competition with Dr. William H. Phillips. He appears in the 1925 and 1928 Wilson city directories and, as far as known, nowhere else:
In the 1900 census of Raleigh, Wake County: on Cabarrus Street, lineman Richard Jones, 36; wife Alice, 34; and children Charlie, 15, Walter, 10, Palmer, 8, Leclair, 4, and Lewis V. Jones, 4; Sonnie Mitchell, 5 months; and mother-in-law Laura Gray, 55.
In the 1910 census of Raleigh, Wake County: on NWest Cabarrus Street, tobacco factory laborer Richard Jones, 42; wife Alice, 43; and children Charley, 24, Walter, 20, Lee C. and Louis V., 14, and Nathaniel, 10, plus mother-in-law Laura Gray, 59.
Lee Clarence Jones registered for the World War I draft in 1917 in Wake County, North Carolina. Per his draft card, he was born 2 September 1895; resided at 124 West Cabarrus; was unemployed; and was single.
Mess Attendant Lee C. Jones, left, on the deck of the USS Susquehanna during World War I, February 1918.
In the 1920 census of Raleigh, Wake County: at 124 West Cabarrus, Alice Jones, 56; sons Walter, 27, L.C. and Louis V., 22, and N.R., 19; and mother Laura Gray, 64.
On 8 November 1921, Lee Clarence Jones and Sadie Lee Coley were married in Washington, D.C.
In the 1925 Wilson city directory: Jones Lee C, dentist 553 E Nash h 111 N Pender
On 30 June 1926, Lee and Sadie Coley Jones’ twins Clinton Merrill Jones and Clarence Conte Jones were born in Wilson.
In the 1928 Wilson city directory: Jones Lee C (c; Sadie L), dentist 559 1/2 E Nash h 1010 Atlanta
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1010 Atlantic Street, seamstress Sadie Jones, 32, and sons Emery L., 7, Clarance and Clinton, 3; and lodgers Catherine Joyner, 14, James Coley, 9, and Elaine Coley, 15. [Sadie Jones was described as “single” and presumably was divorced.]
In the 1940 census of Salisbury, Rowan County: at 116 North Lee, dentist Lee C. Jones, 35, and sons Emory L., 17, Clarence, 13, and Clinton M., 13. [The boys were also listed in their mother Sadie Jones’ household in the 1940 census of Washington, D.C.] Per the Salisbury Historic District (Boundary Amendment and Additional Documentation) form submitted to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, Dr. Jones opened an office on North Lee as early as 1939, and he and his son Clinton practiced there in the 1950s.
Lee Clarence Jones died 27 October 1961 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Per his death certificate, he was born 2 September 1895 to Richard Jones and Alice Stewart in Raleigh; resided in Salisbury; was married to Alice M. Jones; and worked as a dentist. He was a World War I veteran and was buried in Oakdale cemetery, Salisbury.
Photograph reprinted in the 26 January 2015 edition of the Salisbury Post, on-line here.
