Cleveland (Oh.) Gazette, 29 March 1924.
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$1,285,000 was a staggering net worth in 1924. Greensboro was the city in which Daniel C. Suggs lived, but was not his hometown. He was a native of Wilson and owned considerable property there, too. Though I question the accuracy of the valuation of Suggs’ property, he was unquestionably a wealthy man in the lead-up to the Great Depression.
Los Angeles Evening Herald, 19 January 1928.
In January 1928, attorney Charles S. Darden went into court to defend himself against a suit filed by his landlord for non-payment of rent. Darden asserted that the Central Avenue office space was uninhabitable because it was overrun by rats. His attempts to combat them with a cat called Jack Dempsey had failed, and Darden and his stenographer Viola Lambert had abandoned the premises. The judge was not swayed and entered judgment for the plaintiff landlord.
Richmond Times Dispatch, 29 June 1951.
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In the 1900 census of Highland, Orange County, New York: James B. Darden, 18, waiter [at hotel.]
In the 1910 census of Opelika, Lee County, Alabama: physician John Darden, 34; wife Jean, 26; and brother James B. Darden, 26, drugstore clerk.
In 1918, James Benjamin Darden registered for the World War II draft in Petersburg, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 17 July 1881; lived at 516 Byrne, Petersburg; was an M.D.; and his nearest relative was Lillian Darden.
In the 1920 census of Petersburg, Virginia: physician James B. Darden, 38, and wife Nannie, 32.
In the 1930 census of Petersburg, Virginia: at 516 Byrne, physician James B. Darden, 46; wife Lillian, 42; and mother-in-law Sarah Allen, 75.
In the 1940 census of Petersburg, Virginia: medical doctor James Darden, 56, and wife Lillian, 52.
In 1942, James Benjamin Darden registered for the World War II draft in Petersburg, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 17 July 1882 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 516 Byrne, Petersburg; was a doctor at 122 South Avenue; and his contact was Lillian A. Darden.
In the 1950 census of Petersburg, Virginia: doctor James B. Darden, 67, and wife Lillian A., 60.
Lillian A. Darden died 11 February 1983 in Petersburg, Virginia. Per her death certificate, she was born 8 January 1887 to Charles Allen and Sarah Cole in Tennessee and was a retired music teacher.
Boston Globe, 24 September 1903.
This odd little all’s-well-that-ends-well story involves Samuel H. Vick and a ten year-old headed North for school. Annie Holloway‘s father Louis Holloway was an Odd Fellow with Vick, and her brother Lewis Holloway attended Vick’s college alma mater, Lincoln University. Her aunt, Abigail Holloway McLeod, was a well-to-do businesswoman who owned a lodging house and laundry. For more about Sam Vick’s brother, Ernest L. Vick, see here.
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In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: brick laborer Louis Holoway, 40; wife Lear, 39; and children Jeff, 14, Edwin, 12, Elic, 10, Harry, 5, Anie, 8, Lewis, 4, and Willie, 7 months.
On 30 March 1910, Henry Rountree, 20, of Wilson, married Annie Holloway, 19, of Wilson, daughter of Louis and Lear Holloway, at Louis Holloway’s residence in Wilson. Noah Best applied for the license, and Primitive Baptist minister Jonah Williams performed the ceremony in the presence of James A. Whitfield, Jeff Holloway, and Lewis Holloway.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Nash Road [in Grabneck], machine shop laborer Henry Rountree, 21; wife Annie, 19; and stepdaughter Vary Lee Holloway, 15 months.
In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: south of the Plank Road, Edward Holloway, 39, farm worker; wife Harriet, 44; and children Lewis, 20, Abigail, 11, James S., 6, and Milly, 3.
On 10 February 1892, John A. McLeod, 24, of Boston, Massachusetts, son of John and Ruth McLeod, married Abbie G. Holloway, 21, of New York City, New York, daughter of James and Amanda Holloway, at People’s Temple Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. John A. Hughes officiating.
Boston Globe, 13 February 1892.
In the 1900 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: at 15 Village Street, porter John McLeod, 33, and wife Abbie, 28, with 13 lodgers, mostly North Carolina-born men working as waiters.
The Sunday Herald (Boston, Mass.), 16 June 1907.
Boston Globe, 20 August 1909.
Boston Globe, 14 October 1910.
In the 1912 Boston, Massachusetts, city directory: McLeod Abbie Mrs (Edison Hand Laundry) 10 Clarendon h 19 Newbern Rox[bury]
The 17 April 1912 of the Boston Evening Transcript reported that Abbie McLeod had sold the building at 19 Newbern, which carried a tax valuation of $10,900..
The Sunday Herald (Boston, Mass.), 4 October 1914.
The Sunday Herald (Boston, Mass.), 14 April 1918.
In the 1920 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: at 24 Yarmouth, John A. McLeod, 50, laundry business; wife Abigail, 46, laundry business; and eight lodgers.
Per the 11 December 1921 Boston Globe, Abbie McLeod bought the “3 1/2 story and basement swell front brick house” at 621 Massachusetts Avenue.
Abigail Holloway McLeod died in 1925 in Boston.
Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1840-1915, http://www.ancestry.com; People’s Temple Methodist Episcopal Church Records, Northeast Select United Methodist Church Records, 1787-1922, http://www.ancestry.com.
Savannah Tribune, 22 February 1908.
Samuel H. Vick‘s cohort, born into slavery and educated by Joseph C. Price, produced phenomenally successful men. As wealthy as Vick was at him prime, he may not have been the wealthiest of the group. Daniel C. Suggs, educator and entrepreneur, was said to be a millionaire, and his diverse portfolio included an insurance company, Savannah Mutual and Fire Association.
I’ve obtained a clearer copy of the photograph posted here depicting five generations of women who lived on the lands of and worked for Edwin Barnes or his heirs near Evansdale.
Wilson Daily Times, 20 April 1950.
Unfortunately — and surprisingly — I’m still not able to identify the women with certainty.
Many thanks to J. Robert Boykin III for the clipping.
In 1989, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution published an in-depth piece celebrating Wilson native Augustus S. Clark, his wife Anna W. Clark, and the life-changing school they founded in Cordele, Georgia, in 1902.
I visited Gillespie Institute in the summer of 2021 and wrote about it here.
Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 12 March 1989.
Greensboro Daily News, 2 December 1945.
