Wilson Daily Times, 2 June 1948.
Alexander Allen registered for the World War II draft in Bailey, Nash County, North Carolina, in 1940. Per his registration card, he was born 14 June 1905 in Clarendon, South Carolina; his contact was his wife; and he worked for J.B. Manning, Bailey.
It is likely that Allen was a tenant farmer or sharecropper and had not lived in the Black Creek area long when he died. (Where were Victory Church and its cemetery??)
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In the 1940 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Columbus Ward, 20; mother Hattie Ward, 55, widow; brother Bill Ward, 28; and half-brother James Johnson, 19.
In 1941, James Johnson registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born1 November 1920 in Wilson; lived on R.F.D. #2, Wilson; his contact was Hattie Johnson; and he worked for M.L. Smith.
Image courtesy of Veterans of World War II Wilson County, spiral-bound volume, Wilson County Public Library.
Wilson Daily Times, 3 March 1948.
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In the 1880 census of Nahunta, Wayne County: farmer Jack Sherod, 37; wife Cassey, 28; and children Fanny, 12, William, 9, Ida, 7, Marcy, 2, John, 5, and Benny, 11 months.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 8 March 1947.
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In the 1900 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: shoemaker Watson Cooper, 40; wife Fannie, 34; and daughters Savanah M., 15, Minnie, 12, Eva, 10, Mamie A., 6, and Ether P., 2.
In the 1910 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: Watson J. Cooper, 51; wife Fannie, 43; and children Minnie, 20, Eva, 16, Mamie, 13, Ethel, 11, Lubia, 8, and James, 5.
On 12 June 1912, Willie Shirley, 21, of Toisnot township, son of A.S. and Lizzie Shirley, married Mamie Cooper, 18, of Toisnot township, daughter of Watt and Fannie Cooper, at Fannie Cooper’s house. Buck Locus applied for the license in Wilson County.
In the 1912 Rocky Mount, N.C., city directory: Shirley Mamie (c) laundress h 210 Dunn
In the 1940 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: widow Fannie Cooper, 73, cook; daughter Mamie Bunn, 45, widow, and granddaughter Susie, 7.
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.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 13 August 1938.
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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,
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.
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:
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.
Wilson Daily Times, 25 April 1950.
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On 14 March 1926, Ladie May Patrick, 21, daughter of Dolphus and Lela Patrick, married Joe Thomas, 25, son of Tom and Della Thomas, in Wilson.
On 23 July 1938, Lady Mary Mae Patrick, 34, of Wilson County, daughter of Paul McDowell and Lela Patrick, married Thomas Massey, 45, of Wilson County, son of Richard and Liddie McDowell, in Nash County, N.C.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Lela Patrick, 55, tobacco stemmer; brother Luther Blue, 51, farm laborer; mother Catherine Blue, 78, widow; lodger Thomas Mathews, 45, tobacco factory fireman; and his wife Lady M., 35.
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 305 Hackney Street, Tom Massey, 52, tobacco factory fireman; wife Lady Mae, 43; daughter Sadie Mae, 12; and mother-in-law Lela Patrick, 65, tobacco stemmer.
Lady Mae Massey died 23 April 1950 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 22 January 1905 in Robeson County, N.C., to Dolphus Patrick and Lela Blue; was married; and lived at 305 Hackney Street.
Courier-Post (Camden, N.J.), 2 November 1959.
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In the 1900 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer Isaac S. Kirby, 58; wife Mary, 54; and sons Leroy A., 21, William, 14, and Isaac R., 13.
In the 1910 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer William Kirby, 23; wife Nannie, 20; daughter Fredie M., 5 months; mother Mary, 66, widow; boarder [and brother] Leroy, 32; and brother Ransom, 23.
In 1918, Ransome Kirby registered for the World War I draft in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Per his registration card, he was born 7 April 1882; lived at “Penn RR Camp,” Butler and Sepviva Streets, Philadelphia; worked as a cook for Pennsylvania Railroad; and his nearest relative was Mary Kirby, Kenly, N.C.
In 1926, Ransome Kirby and Albert Jones married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In late 1926, Ransom Kirby’s barbershop was one of eleven homes and businesses raided by Camden police looking for illegal alcohol. He was later acquitted of the charge.
The Courier (Camden, N.J.), 1 December 1926.
In the 1929 Camden, New Jersey, city directory:
In the 1930 census of Lawnside, Camden County, New Jersey: Clarence [sic] Kirby, 40, barber, born in N.C.; wife Alberta, 37, born in Virginia; and son Eugene, 2, born in Pennsylvania.
In the 1940 census of Woodbury, Gloucester County, New Jersey: at 444 South Broad, barber Ramson H. Kirby, 53, and son Eugene, 2.
In 1942, Isaac Ransome Kirby registered for the World War II draft in Gloucester County, New Jersey. Per his registration card, he was born 7 April 1887 in Kenly, N.C.; lived at 438 Mantua Avenue, Woodbury, Gloucester County; his contact was William Kirby, R.F.D. #3, Kenly; and he was self-employed at 438 Mantua Avenue.
In the 1950 census of Woodbury, Gloucester County, New Jersey: widower Isaac Kirby, 60, barbershop proprietor.
