Wilson Daily Times, 22 April 1924.
The victim, in fact, was named Cora Lee Carr. I have not found more about her terrible death.
——
Cora Lee Carr died 21 April 1924 in Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was about 24 years old; was married to Earnest Carr; and was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Willie Williams was informant. Cause of death: “Crushed scull with axe Homicide Instant death.”
Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.
Charles Augusta Bynum (1885-1969) and wife Earle Gilmore Bynum.
Charles A. Bynum was the brother of Rachel Bynum Scarborough. They, their eldest siblings, and parents migrated from Wilson County to Lonoke County, Arkansas, in the early 1890s.
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In the 1900 census of Richwoods township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: Lawrence Bynum, 55; wife Edna, 39; children Ed, 25, Mary, 19, Charlie, 17, Hattie, 16, Rachel, 9, Lewis, 6, Cora, 3, and Lawrence, 11 months; grandsons Mack and Romie Notsie(?), 3 months; and son-in-law Ed Notsie(?), 25, farm laborer. The four oldest children were born in North Carolina.
Chas. Bynum, 24, married Earl Woods, 19, on 22 December 1908 in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
In 1918, Charlie Bynum registered for the World War I draft in Lonoke County, Arkansas. Per his registration card, he was born 16 January 1882; lived in Scott, Lonoke County; farmed for Edna Bynum; and his nearest relative was Earl Bynum.
In the 1920 census of Walls township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: farmer C.A. Binam, 37; wife Earl, 27; and cons Collie, 4, and Ollie, 23 months.
In the 1930 census of Walls township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: farmer Charley Bynum, 48; wife Earle, 38; and children Collie, 14, Ollie, 11, Nettie, 9, and Freddie, 3.
In the 1940 census of Walls township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: farmer Charlie A. Bynum, 55; wife Pearl, 50; and children Collie, 24, Ollie, 22, Freddie, 12, and Minnie, 8.
In 1942, Charley Augusta Bynum registered for the World War II draft in Lonoke County, Arkansas. Per his registration card, he was born 16 January 1885 in Saratoga, North Carolina; lived in Scott, Lonoke County, Arkansas; his contact was Earl Bynum; and was a self-employed farmer in Keo, Lonoke County.
Charles Bynum died 28 June 1969 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Per his death certificate, he was born 16 January 1882 in North Carolina to Lawrence Bynum and Edna [unknown]; was a retired farmer; lived at 904 G St., Dixie Addition; and was buried in Sullivan cemetery, Lonoke, Arkansas. Collie Bynum was informant.
Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user chazsmiles.
Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 2 July 1910.
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Possibly, in the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Clarisea Lewis, 43, widow, farmer; and children Emma, 18,, 15, Gertrude, 12, Whit, 10, George, 8, Mattie, 6, and Hattie, 3.
In the 1910 census of Connecticut State Prison, Wethersfield town, Hartford County, Connecticut: Edward Lewis, 25, prisoner, born in N.C., does not work; “This man is insane.”
The Government Hospital for the Insane was later known as Saint Elizabeths Hospital.
I find myself with an unexpected day off, so what better way to kick off the real holiday than chopping it up with Zella Palmer about family, Black history, and Wide-Awake Wilson?
Zella is chair and director of Dillard University’s Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture and renowned for her innovative work to preserve African-American food culture. Find out what she and I have in common — besides everything Black — this afternoon at 3:00 PM Eastern in our Instagram Live conversation @maisonzella!
George and Rachel Bynum Scarborough, perhaps around the time of their marriage in 1906.
Rachel Bynum Scarborough and her children, probably circa 1940s.
The Bynums were among the dozens of Wilson County families who migrated to Lonoke County, Arkansas, in the late 19th century.
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On 30 January 1878, Lawrence Bynum, 23, married Edney Bynum, 16, in Wilson County. Lydia Bynum, James Ellis, and Millie Corbett were witnesses.
In the 1880 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: laborer Larence Bynum, 24; wife Edney, 19; children James, 1, and Mary J., 1 month; mother-in-law Liddie, 55; brother Isac, 22, and sister-in-law Anna, 17.
In the 1900 census of Richwoods township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: Lawrence Bynum, 55; wife Edna, 39; children Ed, 25, Mary, 19, Charlie, 17, Hattie, 16, Rachel, 9, Lewis, 6, Cora, 3, and Lawrence, 11 months; grandsons Mack and Romie Notsie(?), 3 months; and son-in-law Ed Notsie(?), 25, farm laborer. The four oldest children were born in North Carolina. [Next door: Haywood and Agness Armstrong, who also migrated from Wilson County.]
In the 1900 census of Richwoods township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: George Scarborough, 47; wife Millie, 37; and children Walter, 16, George, 15, Martin, 11, Charity, 8, Council, 8, Ava Mariah, 6, Jessie, 4, Fannie, 2, and Joseph, 11 months. The oldest four children were born in North Carolina. [The Scarboroughs were listed two households from the Bynums.]
On 26 November 1906, George Scarborough, 24, of Cobbs, Lonoke County, married Rachel Scarborough, 17, of Cobbs, Lonoke County, in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
George Orange Scarborough registered for the World War I draft in 1918 in Lonoke County. Per his registration card, he was born 25 January 1884; lived on Route 2, Scott township, Lonoke County; farmed for Smith Daniels; and his contact was Rachel Scarborough.
In the 1920 census of Walls township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: on Community Road, George Scarborough, 36; wife Rachel, 30; and children James, 11, Berthrie, 9. Other, 5, Elsie, 3, and Ugine, 21 months.
In the 1930 census of Richwoods township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: widowed farmer Rachel Scarborough, 40, and children James, 20, Arthur Lee, 12, Eugene, 10, Mable, 9, Maude, 7, Flora Bell, 5, George, 3, and Rosetta,Â
In the 1940 census of Richwoods township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: Jon Highway 31, ames Scarborough, 31; wife Louise, 18; mother Rachel, 51, widow; and siblings Eugene, 22, Mable T., 19, Modessa, 17, Flora Bell, 15, George Jr., 13, and Rosetta, 9.
Photos courtesy of Ancestry user LesBynum, who credits “Debra Jones’ personal collection.”
We did a little trip down to Cordele, Georgia, this weekend. Once there, I was a little hazy on the directions, but I spotted A.S. Clark Drive and knew we were good.
Augustus S. Clark was among the cohort of (mostly) young men who erupted from Wilson in the 1880s and ’90s,* determined to lead. Born in the final days of slavery, or just after, they drank in everything J.C. Price and Samuel H. Vick poured at Wilson Academy, went straight to university (often at Lincoln, their instructors’ alma mater), then set out, in Clark’s later words, to “… do what I can for the uplift of my people.”
Dr. Augustus S. Clark (1874-1959). Photo courtesy of Frank T. Wilson, ed., “Living Witnesses: Black Presbyterians in Ministry II,” Journal of Presbyterian History, volume 53, number 3 (Fall 1985).
For his part, in 1902 Clark founded, with his wife Annie, the Gillespie Normal School, later Gillespie-Selden Institute, in Cordele. In 1925, the institute added an hospital. (The closest Black medical facility was 142 miles away in Atlanta.) I’ve written of Gillespie-Selden here and finally went to see it.
Gillespie Institute Founded By Rev. and Mrs. Augustus Clark September 1, 1902 Served By Them Until October 1, 1941 Alumni 1942
The school complex forms the heart of Cordele’s Gillespie-Selden Historic District. Below, the school’s administration building, built in 1935.
The girls’ dormitory below, built in 1929, is the most imposing building in the neighborhood.
A rear addition has been largely torn down, and an open door grants access to the interior.
The building holds evidence of fairly recent use as a family resource and daycare center, as well as squatters. All things considered though, it is in pretty good condition.
This room runs the length of the back wall on the first floor.
At the front of the building, a series of small interconnected rooms flanks a central entry hall. I didn’t venture upstairs.
The cornerstone of the girls’ dormitory.
A marble plaque inlaid by the class of 1929.
The President’s House, also known as Dr. Clark’s house, which sits just to the west of the girls’ dormitory. The Clarks retired from active teaching and school leadership in 1941.
Below, Saint Paul Presbyterian, also founded by Rev. Clark. The tin-roofed section at right appears to be the original church, updated with brick.
Gillespie-Selden Institute, Class of 1947, in front of the girls’ dormitory. (Photo courtesy of St. Paul Gillespie-Selden Learning Center Facebook page.)
Gillespie-Selden Institute closed in 1956 when Cordele finally erected a high school for African-American students. Named in honor of A.S. Clark, the school eventually converted to an elementary school, but closed in 2014. The building is now under development as a non-profit biomedical institute.
For more about Gillespie-Selden Historic District, see the Gillespie-Selden Historic District National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, which contains this passage:
“Within the Gillespie-Selden Historic District, the outreach missionary role of Dr. Augustus S. Clark (1874-1959) and St. Paul Presbyterian Church is significant to the development of the neighborhood. Dr. Clark completed his theological training at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1897; he was sent by the Presbyterian National Board of Missions to Cordele in 1898 as a missionary to help the struggling Portis Memorial Presbyterian Church. During that same year, a loan was secured from the Board of the Church Erection Fund of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church for the construction of a new church building to be named St. Paul Presbyterian Church.
“In 1902, Dr. Clark and his wife, Anna, realized that there were less than adequate educational institutions for African-Americans to attend in Cordele as well as the entire southwest region of the state. Dr. Clark taught elementary-level and Sunday-school classes in the basement of St. Paul Presbyterian Church, but found he needed more space. … By 1904, enough money had been donated by white members of northern Presbyterian churches, especially the Gillespie family of Pittsburgh, that three buildings of the school complex were constructed. …”
See also, this 2009 design charrette prepared by University of Georgia’s Center for Community Design and Preservation and the 2103 Gillespie-Selden Historic District Design Guidelines.
Another memorial plaque, this one embedded in a brick pillar in front of the administration building.
——
* This cohort included A.S. Clark’s brothers John H., William H., and Thomas G. Clark, Samuel H. Vick, his brother William H. Vick, and cousin Frank O. Blount, brothers Daniel C. and James T. Suggs, Henry C. Lassiter, Braswell R. Winstead, and Charles H. Bynum, all Lincoln University graduates; the Suggses’ sister Serena Suggs Moore; Joseph H. Ward; Ardella Kersey; Mahala Williamson Reid; sisters Ada G. Battle and Geneva Battle Faver; and J. Arthur Cotton.
Photos of G.S.I. taken by Lisa Y. Henderson, June 2020.
Just when I thought I could not be further surprised about Black Wilson came this glorious ad for Gordon’s Glory Hair Dressing Parlor.Â
Wilson Daily Times, 10 August 1920.
Yes, for a while, Wilson had its own entrant in the early 20th-century battle for Black hair care supremacy.
Before Wilson, Oscar Gordon was in Winston-Salem, N.C. It’s not clear when he developed his hair care formula or when he opened his laboratory, but in September 1916, there was this:Â
Twin-City Daily Sentinel, 12 September 1916.
Gordon registered for the World War I draft in Winston-Salem in 1917. His card notes that he was born 29 June 1888 in Kittrell Springs, N.C.; lived at 209 Fogle; was single; and worked as a self-employed laborer. Later that year, he placed this modest ad for for his Glory Hair grower.
Winston-Salem Journal, 27 October 1917.
By 1918, Gordon had relocated to Wilson and was placing ads in newspapers across the country touting his “course in hair dressing” (which included a certificate of qualification and a “hair dresser’s outfit” of tools and creams) and various products developed by “O.C. Gordon’s Laboratory” and for order from his manufacturing company at 512 East Nash Street.Â
The illustration shows the “Hair Dressers’ Oil Stoves for heating two combs.” Birmingham Reporter, 17 August 1918.Â
Gordon placed this testimonial ad close to home:
Gordon’s Glory in its tin box. Wilson Daily Times, 25 June 1919.
Gordon also placed an ad for a “lady bookkeeper”:
Wilson Daily Times, 3 October 1919.
The 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory lists O.C. Gordon Manufacturing Company, a maker of toilet preparations, at 512 East Nash Street. Oscar C. Gordon, its proprietor, lived at 521 East Nash.Â
By late 1920, Gordon had expanded his product line to include face powders (in “good brown,” pink and white) and hair pullers (“unnecessary to wrap rags around the handle” — something like a flat iron?)
Birmingham Reporter, 11 December 1920.
As first seen in 1917 in Winston-Salem advertising, a la Madam C.J. Walker, Gordon occasionally intensified his branding to include a photograph of himself in a tie and high detachable collar — and a magnificent head of flowing hair.Â
He has restored hair on thousands of bald heads. Wilson Daily Times, 1 July 1921.
In the 1922 directory, Gordon is listed as a hairdresser at 511 East Nash. His factory is not listed. The 1922 Sanborn map of Wilson shows a hairdresser at 513, and at 511 a presser, which generally meant a clothes presser. Â The site is now a parking lot.
1922 Sanborn fire insurance map, Wilson, N.C.
Soon after, Oscar Gordon took his talents to New York City, where he set up shop in Harlem at 267 West 144th Street.
“Use Gordon’s Glory Hair Grower for that bald spot and be convinced.” Wilson Daily Times, 21 January 1926.
He was still in business in 1930, advertising face bleach and black hair dye in addition to creams and combs. An ad placed in 1933 in the New York Age shows Gordon weathered the early years of the Great Depression.
Wilson Daily Times, 29 March 1930.
In 1942, Oscar Caroline Gordon registered for the World War II draft in New York City. Per his registration card, he was born 29 June 1888 in Kittrell Springs, N.C.; lived at 147 West 143rd Street, Apartment 1; his contact was Mrs. Brown at the same address; and he was a hairdresser with his own business at that location.Â
It’s not entirely clear, but it appears that Oscar C. Gordon died in New York City in 1983.
I’ve found much less about Gordon’s assistants. Madame Bell Malone left no trace in Wilson at all. Â Madame Alma Pouncey’s time there is also difficult to trace. An Alma Pouncey, 24, married Will Hemmingway in Wilson in 1915 (well before Gordon’s ad called her by her maiden name). Their marriage license provides no other personal details. Lucin Hemingway was born 31 August 1918 in Tanner Creek district, Norfolk County, Virginia, to Wm. Hemingway, 41, laborer, of South Carolina and Alma Pouncey, 20, laundress, of South Carolina. Alexander Dudley Hemingway was born (and died) 12 August 1919 in Bennettsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina, to William Hemingway of Richmond, Virginia, and Alma Pouncey of Marlboro County.
In the 1920 census, Will and Alma Hemmingway and their son Will Jr. were working as farm laborers in Clio, Marlboro County, South Carolina. (Did the Hemingways move to Wilson later that year?) On an unknown date, Alma Holmes applied for a delayed birth certificate in Marlboro County, S.C. Per the application, she was born Alma Pouncey on 17 November 1900 in Bennettsville, S.C., to Lucien Pouncey and Ida Swinney, both now dead, and resided in New York City. Alma P. Holmes died 16 June 1952 in Bennettsville, S.C. Per her death certificate, she was about 52 years old; was born in Marlboro County, S.C., to Lucious Pouncey and Ida Swiney; was the widow of Roudalph Holmes; and worked as a seamstress. Ethel L. Grace was informant.
Indianapolis News, 25 October 1950.
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On 26 May 1886, Henry Joyner, 30, and Annie Conner, 20, both of Wilson County were married at the A.M.E. Zion church in Wilson. A.M.E. Zion minister J.N. Rasberry performed the ceremony in the presence of S.H. Vick, E.C. Simms, and H. Haywood.
In the 1900 census of Indianapolis, Indiana: at 949 King Avenue, Henry Joyner, 49, laborer; wife Anna, 35; and children Edwin, 13, Stella, 11, Lama, 9, George, 7, Thomas, 4, and Cora, 2; plus boarder Bennet Beachem, 71, laborer. Henry, Anna, and Edwin were born in North Carolina.
In the 1910 census of Indianapolis, Indiana: at 117 North Tremont Avenue, Henry Joyner, 55; wife Annie, 44; and children Edwin, 23, Lama, 19, George, 16, Thomas, 14, Cora, 11, Cecil, 9, and Henry , 7.
In 1917, Edwin H. Joyner registered for the World War I draft. Per his registration card, he was born 6 March 1887 in North Carolina; lived at 881 West Pratt Street, Indianapolis; worked as a chauffeur for Hulett Law Motor Car Company, 333 North Pennsylvania Street; and was married. He signed his name [in a neat, upright hand]: Edwin H. Joyner.
In the 1920 census of Indianapolis, Indiana: at 512 West Saint Clair, Edwin Joyner, ; wife Florin, 32; and daughter Edwina, 1.
In the 1930 census of Indianapolis, Indiana: at 518 Saint Clair Street, rented for $14/month, Edwin H. Joyner, 41, truck driver; wife Floriene, 34, hairdresser; children Edwina, 12, and Henry E., 8; and “daughter?” Jacquelin Fahl, 7.
Edwina La Verne Joyner died 15 February 1937 in Indianapolis. Per her death certificate, she was born 27 January 1918 to Henry Joyner of North Carolina and Florida Thurman of Indianapolis; was single; and lived at 2345 North Capitol Avenue.
In the 1940 census of Indianapolis, Indiana: at
Edwin H. Joyner died 24 October 1950 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Per his death certificate, he was born 6 March 1887 in North Carolina to Henry Joyner and Anna Connes; lived at 2858 Highland Place; was divorced; and worked as an oil truck driver. Brother E. George Joyner was informant.
One of the great benefits of blogging is the insight and information contributed by readers. In October 2019, I wrote of an 1866 custody dispute referred to the Freedmen’s Bureau by John B. Batts, former owner of a woman named Penny and her children. (The 1860 slave schedule of Gardners township, Wilson County, lists John B. Batts with seven slaves — a 55 year-old man; a 21 year-old woman; boys aged 9, 8, 7, and 6; and a 2 year-old girl.) The children’s father, Abram, was seeking to take them, and Batts and Penny contested his claim. Batts did not name the children in his petition, nor did he give surnames for Penny and Abram.
Isabelle Martin cracked the mystery on the basis of information provided in Nash County marriage license applications filed in the 1870s. Penny Hines was the mother, Abram Sharpe was the father, and the children were Alexander, Adline, Amanda, Gandy, Joshua, and Peter Batts (and maybe others.) That the children adopted J.B. Batts’ surname, rather than that of their mother or father suggests (but does not prove) that they remained with him well after slavery, and demonstrates the folly of making assumptions about relationships among freedmen on the basis of their last names.
Here’s what I now know about the family:
We’ve already met Abram Sharpe here. He was enslaved by Benjamin W. Sharpe and named in Sharpe’s will. Abram Sharpe, son of Church Bynum and Thana Sharp, married Caroline Hines, daughter of Allen Hines and Harriet Hines, on 12 January 1869 in Wilson County.
In the 1870 census of Joyners township, Wilson County: farm laborer Abram Sharp, 30, wife Caroline, 19, and son John, 9 months.
In the 1900 census of No. 13 Cokey township, Edgecombe County: farmer Abram Sharp, 64; wife Caroline, 62; children Willie, 15, Mamy, 14, and Richard, 8; grandchildren Fred, 7, Nathan, 4, and Liza, 2; and widowed mother-in-law Harriett Hines, 77. Â But also, in the 1900 census of No. 10 township, Edgecombe County: farmer Abrom Sharp, 55; wife Caline, 50; and children Mamie, 8, Willie, 7, and Hattie, 30.
In the 1880 census of Cooper township, Nash County: Penny Hines, 40, hireling. [On either side, son Red Batts and daughter Amanda Batts Hargrove. All appear to have been working for white farmer Wiilis Eason.]
On 31 December 1883, Alice Batts, 19, daughter of Penny Hines, married Daniel Parker, 21, at Redman Hines’ in Nash County. [Is this another of Abram and Penny’s children? Or just Penny’s?]
[Was Penny a Hines because she remarried? Was her next husband Redman (or Reddin) Hines, called “Red”? Red Hines hosted or witnessed the marriages of three of the Batts children. In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Wilson County: ditcher Reddin Hines, 40; wife Penny, 40; and children Alice Ann, 15, Margaret, 12, Jno., 7, Calford O., 6, Charles B., 4, and Joe and Ida, 1.]
On 20 December 1874, Alex Batts, 19, married Mariah Daniel, 24, at Red Hines’ house in Nash County.
In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Nash County: ox driver Alex’r Batts, 23; wife Mariah, 26; and children Bettie, 4, Jno. Rich’d, 1, and Mary, 3 months.
In the 1900 census of Rocky Mount township, Nash County: farmer Alex Batts, 46; wife Maria, 45; and children Johnnie, 22, Joseph, 14, Laurence, 12, Mancy, 11, Lula B., 9, Rosco, 8, and Roy, 4.
On 26 December 1871, Adline Batts, daughter of Abram Sharp and Penny Batts, married Jerry Davis, son of Doctor O. Bunn and Harriet Davis, at Red Hines’ in Nash County.
On 4 November 1875, Charles Hargroves, 35, of Nash County, married Amanda Batts, 18, of Nash County, daughter of Abram Sharpe and Penny Hines, in Cooper township, Nash County.
In the 1880 census of Cooper township, Nash County: next to Red Batts, 23, hireling, and Penny Hines, 40, hireling, hireling Charles Hardgrove, 46, and wife Amanda, 18, hireling.
In the 1900 census of Township No. 14 Upper Town Creek, Edgecombe County: farmer Charles Hargroves, 63; wife Amanda, 38; and children John C., 16, Mance H., 13, Maggie, 11, Cora, 10, Bessie, 8, Ether, 5, and Ella, 1.
Manda Lane died 10 June 1914 in Township #12, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was about 53 years old; was married; and was the daughter of Abram Sharp and Pennie Forehand. Mance Hargrove was informant.
Ether Bryan died 11 June 1916 in Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was born August 1894 to Charles Hargrove and Amanda Hines; and was married. Flora Hargrove was informant.
Mance Hargrove died 5 May 1945 in Rocky Mount, Nash County. Per his death certificate, he was born 22 June 1886 in Nash County to Charles Hargrove and Manda Batts; was married to Florida Hargrove; lived in Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County; was a merchant in a grocery store; and was buried in Unity cemetery, Rocky Mount.
Lillie Williams died 26 December 1947 in Sharpsburg, Rocky Mount township, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was born 15 March 1907 in Nash County to Charles Hargrove and Mandy Lewis; was married to Mandonia Williams; and was buried in Unity cemetery, Rocky Mount.
On 23 May 1878, Gandy Batts, 24, of Nash County, son of Abram Sharp and Penny Hinds, married Emily Whitley, 18, daughter of John and Crensy Whitley, in Rocky Mount, Nash County. Red Hines was a witness.
In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Nash County: farm laborer Gandy Batts, 26; wife Emily, 21, and son Balaam, 1.
In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Gandy Batts, 48; wife Emma, 40; sons Bailey [Balaam], 21, and Allen, 15; and cousin Charley Hines, 24.
Gandy Batts is buried in Elm City Colored Cemetery. His broken headstone, made in the anchor-and-ivy style, states: Gandy Batts died Sept. 22, 1908 Age 53 Yrs. Gone to a brighter home Where grief can not [come.]
Ballam Batts died 25 March 1952 at his home at 1000 Roberson Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 15 October 1886 to Gandy Batts and Emily Whitley; was married to Clara Batts; worked as a farmer; and was buried in Elm City [Colored] Cemetery.
On 10 May 1873, Joshua Batts, 20, of Nash County, son of Abram Sharp and Penny Hines, married Silvia Whitaker, 25, of Nash County, daughter of Gray Whitley, at John Joyner’s plantation in Coopers township, Nash County. Peter R. Batts applied for the license and was a witness.
In the 1880 census of Stony Creek township, Nash County: farmer Joshua Batts, 26, farm laborer; wife Sylvia, 28; and children William, 15, Fountain, 10, Ella, 6, Helen, 5, Ella, 2, and Mindy Ann, 1 week.
In the 1900 census of Morehouse Parish, Louisana:Â farmer Josh Batts, 54; wife Silvie, 52; and daughter Elvie, 15.
On 27 July 1878, Peter Reddick Batts, 22, of Nash County, son of Abram Sharp and Penny Hines, both of Wilson County, married Harriet Whitaker, 20, of Nash County, daughter of Jacob Whitaker, at Charlie Hargro’s in Cooper township, Nash County. Joshua Batts was a witness.
In the 1880 census of Cooper township, Nash County: Red Batts, 23, hireling, and Penny Hines, 40, hireling.
Peter R. Batts died between 1880 and 1885. On 5 January 1885, his widow Harriett Batts married Charles Farmer at the Wilson County Courthouse. Farmer adopted her and Red Batts’ infant son, Edward, and the family migrated to Arkansas.
In the 1900 census of Ellis township, Pulaski County, Arkansas: farmer Charles Farmer, 53; wife Harriett, 48; and son Claudis, 13, all born in North Carolina.
Edward Berry Farmer died 13 July 1938 in Brodie County, Arkansas. Per his death certificate, he was 62 years old; was born in North Carolina to Red Bats and Hattie Whitaker; and lived near Little Rock. Ida Taylor was informant.
Ida Taylor Parker died 17 January 1962 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Per her death certificate, she was born 11 March 1880 in North Carolina to Red Bats and Harriette [maiden name not given]; was a widow; and was buried in Mount Zion cemetery. Bernice Joyner, Oakland, California, was informant. [Taylor and Parker were married names. Presumably, Ida’s maiden name was Batts.]
