Slavery

Haywood Sauls passes century mark?

Winston-Salem (N.C.) Sentinel, 15 October 1923.

Claims of ages of one hundred or more raise my eyebrow. They are unreliable enough to warrant cross-checking with other sources.

Tracing Haywood Sauls proved an unexpected challenge. Available records reveal more than one man named Haywood Sauls in the area.

Lee H. Sauls claimed Haywood was born 17 February 1821 according to family records. (Do those records still exist???) Lee Sauls’ grandfather Etheldred Sauls (1801-1859) lived in the Nahunta area of northeastern Wayne County, but had close ties just across the county line in Black Creek township. Etheldred Sauls executed a will and died in 1859. The will named 19 enslaved people, including Haywood, whose age was not listed. Haywood was allotted to Etheldred’s son Lawrence J. Sauls for the benefit of daughter Elizabeth Sauls Becton.

On 29 August 1866, formerly enslaved Haywood Sauls and Fannie Newsome registered their four-year cohabitation in Wayne County, North Carolina. Another Haywood Sauls registered a 40-year cohabitation with Lidia Sherrard in the same county on 2 September 1866.

In 1868, James P. Hooks, son of Solomon and Sarah Hooks, married Mariah Sauls, daughter of Hawood and Silvey Sauls, in Wayne County. James P. Hooks changed his name to Patrick Sherrod by the 1870 census. He, Mariah, and a child lived next door to “Howard,” 80, and Lindy Sauls, 65, in Goldsboro, Wayne County, that year. I believe Howard and Lindy are the Haywood and Lidia who married in September 1866. By 1880, Howard/Haywood apparently was deceased, but Sidney Sauls is listed with Patrick and Maria Sherrod. Celia Williams may have been another of this Haywood. She died 20 November 1913 in Township #13, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was born 20 November 1851 in Wayne County to Hawood Sauls and Sidney Sherod. This Haywood Sauls does not appear to be the man referred to in the article.

In 1874, Haywood Sauls and his wife Fannie were named among the heirs of his father-in-law Elijah Cox.

In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: wagon driver Haywood Sauls, 46, and wife Fannie, 56.

Fannie apparently died 1880-1890 and, on 12 April 1890, Haywood Sauls and Lishia Yelverton were married in Wayne County.

Lishia died soon after and, on 23 May 1893, Haywood Sauls, 50, of Black Creek township, and Bettie Saunders, 45, were married at Haywood Sauls’ residence in Black Creek.

In the 1900 census of Fremont, Nahunta township, Wayne County: farmer Haywood Sauls, 66; wife Bettie, 53; and daughter Delber, 15.

In the 1910 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Haywood Sauls, 74, and wife Betsey, 60.

In May 1912, Betsey Sauls executed a will leaving her property to her husband Haywood Sauls and son Frank Sanders. [Betsey Sauls had received a significant settlement in a tort suit a few years prior. More about this later.]

Bettie/Betsey Sauls died within months, and her husband quickly remarried. On 5 September 1912, Haywood Sauls, 77, of Wayne County, married Frances Davis, 40, of Wayne County, in Fremont, Nahunta township, Wayne County.

In the 1920 census of Buck Swamp township, Wayne County, N.C.: farmer Marcellus Sauls, 53; wife Fannie, 46; and father Haywood, 83, widower. [Marcellus Sauls died 19 December 1937 in Cross Roads township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 70 years old

Over the next few years, a few human-interest articles appeared in North Carolina newspapers noting Haywood Sauls’ great age and revealing his penchant for baseball and the Tobs. One mentions Sauls selling photographs of himself at the 1923 Wilson County fair. (Do any survive??)

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 11 October 1923.

Wilson Mirror, 21 October 1924.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 27 April 1925. 

Greensboro (N.C.) Daily News, 29 April 1925.

Heywood Sauls died 8 January 1927 in the Wilson County Home, Wilson township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 101 years old; was a widower; and was buried in Wilson County.

Sauls’ death certificate places his birth in 1825, a few years after the February 1821 claim. However, census and marriage records indicate a birth year between 1834 and 1843, averaging 1836. This would have made Haywood Sauls actually about 90 when he died in early 1927, still an extraordinary age for a man who’d grown to adulthood in slavery.

A graveside visit.

I finally saw Julia Boyette Bailey‘s grave for myself. 

Getting there required a slog along the edge of Buckhorn reservoir, which has retreated from the wood line under a ferocious and prolonged drought. At water’s edge, I nearly lost my boot when the crust of the soft yellow-gray mud gave way beneath my step. 

The snags of old cypresses now stand fully exposed, and Julia Bailey’s grave is now well above the waterline.

Randy Marshburn and Al Letchworth have placed flowers at the site, cut back the briars growing over it, and stood up the cleaned headstone in a temporary, but solid, repair. Julia Bailey’s footstone is visible at the bottom of this photo. Andrew W. Terrell‘s footstone lies across her grave. His broken headstone was once visible underwater, but has since disappeared. Depressions near Bailey’s grave suggest other burials.

I’ll say it again. This is the grave of “Julia Boyette Bailey, a woman who was born into slavery; grew to adulthood, married, and bore children under its yoke; and lived only four years beyond it. Hers is one of the, if not the, oldest known burials of an African-American person in Wilson County.”

We know that R. Ward Sutton, a Rocky Mount undertaker, was contracted to disinter, remove, and reinter 16-18 graves in the “Bailey-Tarell” cemetery in 1998. We also know that he never did it. Sutton ran adds on four consecutive weeks in April 1998, notifying the public that Julia Bailey, Andrew W. Terrell, and unnamed others would be reburied in Bailey Cemetery. And yet here they are, still on the City of Wilson’s land.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, July 2026.

Wilson township enslavers.

The 1860 slave schedule is the only known surviving, contemporaneous list of the men and women who enslaved black people in Wilson County. It is not a list of the enslaved themselves, as none are named in that census. Rather, the schedule described people by “color” (black or mulatto), sex, and age.

Organized by township, this series will set forth these enslavers, the number of people they held in 1860, and the ages of the youngest and oldest people held. Where possible, I will also name people known to be enslaved by each person. They may or may not correspond to the enslaved people described in the 1860 slave schedule. The paucity of such identifications is heartbreaking, and I continue to search.

Wilson district, which included the Town of Wilson and its immediate surrounds, was the southwestern end of Edgecombe County prior to 1855. The 1860 slave schedule lists 118 enslavers — far more than in any other township of Wilson County — the largest of whom were William Barnes, who held 79 people, and his brother Joshua Barnes, who held 67 people and controlled another 29 as a trustee for minor heirs.

B.H. [Benjamin H.] Bardin — 13, aged 1 to 30 years

B.H. Bardin, in trust — 8, aged 1 to 30 years

J.J. [Jesse J.] Bardin — 5, aged 7 to 60 years

Willie Daniel — 18, aged 6 months to 37 years

Albert Farmer — 2, aged 13 and 15 years

Westley Swift — 12, aged 1 to 37 years

W.G. Jordan — 13, ages 1 to 40 years

R.D. [Robert D.] Johnston — 8, ages 2 to 39 years

W.W. [Willie W.] Winstead — 1, age 15 years

B.B. Barnes — 2, ages 23 and 52 years

William M. Gay — 10, ages 8 to 60 years

William M. Gay, in trust — 11, ages 8 to 70 years

W.D. [Willie Daniel] Rountree — 5, ages 2 to 50 years

Moses Rountree — 4, ages 2 to 50 years

N.A.H. Godwin — 3, ages 10 to 30 years

Jesse D. Barnes — 6, ages 9 to 45 years

James D. Barnes — 35, ages 8 months to 56 years

William Murray — 1, age 50 years

S.M. [Spencer May] Warren — 1, age 31 years

Alfred J. Brown — 4, ages 2 to 26 years

E.G. [Edwin G.] Clark — 2, ages 11 and 13 years

Margaret H. Battle — 32, ages 1 to 68 years

Thomas C. Davis — 4, ages 4 months to 23 years

Edmund Moore — 23, age 6 months to 50 years

Lovet Peacock, in trust for one minor — 4, ages 3 to 28 years

Lovet Peacock — 2, ages 1 month and 30 years

John Hearn — 8, ages 7 to 38 years

William Hamlet — 1, age 30 years

Arthur D. Farmer — 5, ages 7 to 40 years

Sarah A. Stephens — 3, ages 12 to 66 years

Jane Hamlet — 2, ages 12 and 31 years (the younger described as “D[eaf] & D[umb]”)

Spencer Fountain — 1, age 11 years

A.C. Thomas — 1, age 14 years

Perry Barnes, in trust for one minor — 4, ages 18 to 60 years

Thomas D. Gay — 8, ages 1 to 28 years

Sallie Barnes — 2, ages 8 and 11 years

J.D. [Jonathan Dew] Rountree — 12, ages 4 months to 50 years

B[uckner D]. Stith — 1, age 38 years

Mary E. Ricks — 1, age 20 years

L.D. [Larry Dew] Farmer — 33, ages 2 months to 37 years

Elizabeth Farmer — 14, ages 9 months to 54 years

Jesse H. Adams — 31, ages 2 to 70 years

George Howard — 8, ages 6 to 39 years

Jacob S. Barnes — 20, ages 2 to 65 years

Jesse S. Barnes — 7, ages 4 months to 36 years

John Farmer — 21, ages 3 to 34 years + “left out on page,” 6 additional, ages 37 to 56 years

John Farmer, in trust for 6 heirs — 19, ages 8 to 63 years

George Barefoot — 10, ages 1 to 75 years

John S. Barnes — 1, age 7 years

Dempsey G. Barnes — 1, age 26 years

A.J. [Andrew Jackson] Barefoot — 15, ages 5 months to 60 years

Mary Barnes’ Sarah — age 100

James Tomlinson — 6, ages 3 to 30 years

John McGowns — 11, ages 2 months to 40 years

Ann Scarboro — 10, 6 months to 50 years

Benjamin Simms — 37, ages 3 months to 63 years

Larry Dew — 34, ages 3 months to 60 years

Joshua Barnes — 67, ages 8 months to 94 years

Thomas Jordan — 15, ages 9 months to 32 years

J.H. Martin — 1, age 21 years

Jacob Taylor — 6, ages 8 to 45 years

Julian Jordan — 4, ages 3 to 30 years

John Barnes — 8, ages 4 months to 27 years

William Tomlinson — 9, ages 2 to 54 years

Samuel Barnes — 3, ages 5 months to 24 years

Jonathan Bullock — 1, age 50 years

John W. Farmer — 10, ages 7 to 46 years

Ira G. Ellis — 8, ages 10 months to 32 years

Cornelius Jordan — 7, ages 2 to 50 years

John P. Clark — 5, ages 3 to 25 years

R.H. [Richard Hines] Blount — 27, ages 4 months to 80 years

R.H. Blount, in trust for 2 minor heirs — 2, ages 24 and 75 years

J.J. [Joseph J.] Lawrence — 2, ages 12 and 19 years

James Jordan — 4, ages 12 to 30 years

J.W. [James Watson] Davis — 2, both age 14 years

Martha Selby — 5, ages 3 to 45 years

Isaac Harris — 6, ages 1 to 26 years

John Dew — 27, ages 5 months to 39 years

Gray B. Sharp — 5, ages 14 to 52 years

Samuel Marshbourn — 18, ages 1 month to 65 years

Jonathan T. Dew — 7, ages 8 to 34 years

  • Edwin

David Dew — 7, ages 6 to 50 years

John Coleman — 2, ages 27 to 30 years

Patsey White — 8, ages 1 to 47 years

  • Stephen, Cherry, Luke, Thomas, Harriet, Fanny,

Isaac B. Farmer — 20, ages 6 months to 40 years

Nancy Farmer — 2, both age 50 years

Ephraim E. Cobb — 1, age 18

Isaac Farmer — 2, ages 45 and 50 years

Ceborn Farmer — 3, ages 9 to 55 years

Iredell Farmer — 1, age 20 years

Permelia Farmer — 1, age 55 years

Jesse B. Robbins — 5, ages 8 months to 38 years

Arthur Robbins — 10, ages 1 month to 60 years

John Thorn — 5, ages 2 to 25 years

S.B. Farmer — 14, ages 1 to 67 years

G.W. Ruffin — 22, ages 3 to 43 years

James Farmer — 1, age 94 years

Arthur B. Dew — 6, ages 3 months to 51 years

Lemon Ruffin — 21, ages 1 to 52 years

David Conner — 1, age 70 years

Elizabeth Amason — 4, ages 5 to 50 years

Calvin Rountree — 2, ages 1 and 36 years

Crissie Rountree — 1, age 8 years

  • Deley

Elizabeth Rountree — 6, ages 10 months to 61 years

James Rountree — 1, age 32 years

Charles Rountree — 8, ages 2 to 29 years

Margaret Rountree — 12, ages 1 to 37 years

Elisha Barnes — 1, age 23 years

James D. Barnes, in trust for 4 minor heirs — 5, ages 14 to 51 years

Charles F. Deems — 1, age 40 years

Jackson Brinkley — 2, ages 8 and 17 years

[no first name] Skinner — 1, age 25 years

Nathan T. Rountree — 3, ages 2 to 30 years

  • Patsey, Jane, Amos, George

John Harper — 3, ages 8 to 36 years

  • Jason, Lettice, Martha

O[swald]. Lipscomb — 9, ages 6 to 55 years

  • Stephen

Benjamin Bynum — 12, ages 1 to 41 years

Thomas Mollison — 3, ages 13 to 23 years

Walter Farmer — 13, ages 3 months to 55 years

A.S. [Alexander Spotswood] Cotton — 42, ages 1 to 70 years

Thomas Hadley — 39, ages 2 to 74 years

Calvin Parker — 13, ages 1 to 38 years

Jesse Fulghum — 9, ages 2 to 56 years

Alsey Stott — 2, ages 7 and 20 years

David Taylor — 5, ages 8 to 50 years

Thomas Johnston — 4, ages 11 to 56 years

Joshua Barnes, in trust for 2 minor heirs — 29, ages 2 months to 65 years

William Barnes Jr., in trust for 1 minor heir — 6, ages 9 to 38 years

 

Moye & Adams ply their trade.

On 4 February 1850, Michael Holt served as security for Narcissa Dawson, who had purchased a mother and child, Lucy and Anelizer, from Moye & Adams, “traders in negroes,” with a note for $475.00 payable in 12 months. Deed Book 14, page 256, Chancery Clerk’s Office, Monroe County, Mississippi.

Wyatt Moye and Robert S. Adams formed their slave-dealing partnership in Edgecombe (now Wilson) County, specializing in hauling enslaved people from North Carolina to the slave markets of Aberdeen County in western Mississippi. I don’t know where Lucy and Anna Eliza fell into their hands or what became of them.

Joyous Juneteenth 2026!

Though it’s not a precise reckoning, the 1870 federal census is the closest account we have of who was emancipated in Wilson County five years earlier. The 310 surnames inscribed above are those reported to the census taker by the newly freed (and a few freeborn).

We need no one’s permission to honor and amplify the memory of our forebears, and we needn’t wait for the government to teach us their stories and struggles. Today, we celebrate freedom, resilience, and the enduring legacies of the men, women, and children these names represent.

Pour one for the ancestors this Juneteenth!

——

Juneteenth, observed annually on June 19th and a federal holiday since 2021, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of the Civil War and slavery—more than two months after Appomattox Court House and two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Signal Boost: Lives of the Greene County United States Colored Troops.

Far fewer men escaped Wilson County to join the U.S. Colored Troops, but the close ties between southeastern Wilson County and western Greene County will make this talk by my friend Trisha Blount especially interesting to Wilson County researchers.

Register here From Enslavement to Reconstruction: Lives of the Greene County USCT before June 30.

Plantation House Series: James Reddick Barnes house.

The James Reddick Barnes house, built between 1850 and 1860, stands well back off the road in Saratoga township, southeast of Wilson. It is not registered with the National Register of Historic Places.

In the 1860 slave schedule, James R. Barnes reported enslaving 41 people and controlling another 32 as trustee for minors. (Though unnamed in the census, those minors included the Isaac Scarborough heirs.) In June 1856, two people he jointly owned with others, Cate and Sherard, were sold at auction at a toll house on White Oak Swamp. As high bidder, Barnes was able to buy them back.

In 1950 and 1960, the Wilson Daily Times ran articles on historic Wilson County houses, most of which had anchored plantations. The James R. Barnes house was featured twice.

Wilson Daily Times, 10 January 1950.

Ten years later, the house’s history had stretched a bit. Now the claim was that the house itself, rather than the land, had passed through seven generations from John Barnes. However, Barnes died in 1789 and his grandson Reddick Barnes in 1835, and great-grandson James Reddick Barnes actually built the house. (Also note the incorrect suffixes added to the names of the owners, i.e. III, IV, and VI. They are the result of the reporter’s incorrect interpretation of the owner’s generation of ownership, as spelled out in the 1950 Times article.)

Wilson Daily Times, 8 January 1960.

 

Were the Gays one family?

A prosperous set of families with the surname Gay appear in Wilson County records within the first ten years of freedom. Were they one extended family? Unrelated families who adopted the same surname, perhaps from a former enslaver? (And if so, whom?)

Here’s what we know about them:

  • Anthony Gay

Anthony Gay and Catherine Speight registered their 22-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 25 August 1866.

On 9 August 1868, Spencer Gay, son of Anthony and Catherine Gay, married Adeline Barnes, daughter of Baalam and Jinny Barnes, in Wilson County.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: blacksmith Antney Gay, 44; wife Catherine, 40; and children Laura, 20, Thomas, 20, and Francis, 2 [adjacent to Spencer Gay’s household and one household away from Charles Gay’s.]

On 16 February 1871, for $250, Spencer Gay and his mother Catherine Gay sold R.J. and Sallie Taylor a three-quarter acre parcel of land near the fork of the old plank road and the Barefoot road [today’s Nash Street and South Pender Street.] The Gays had not registered a deed for the purchase of this land. See Deed Book 4, page 454.

On 30 April 1872, for $25, Anthony and Catherine Gay and Spencer and Adline Gay sold Esther McGowan a lot on the east side of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad on the old plank road. Deed Book 6, page 183.

Anthony Gay was still alive when Charles Gay was murdered in 1874, but died before 1880.

In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: widow Cathren Gay, 52; son Thomas, 28, laborer; daughter-in-law Julia, 27, laundress; boarder Anna Bone, 59; [grand]son Nelson, 6; and daughter Frances, 14 [next door to son Spencer’s widow Adeline Gay and family.]

Also: in the 1880 census of North Wilson township, Wilson County: Willie Gay, 32, hireling; wife Catherine, 30; and children Phillis, 12, Anthony, 10, Henrietta, 8, Nancy, 6, Catherine, 4, and John, 2. [Willie Gay was likely the son of Anthony and Catherine Gay.]

  • Charles Gay

Charles Gay and Emly Gay registered their three-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 9 August 1866.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Charles Gay, 35; wife Emma, 25; children Charles, 5, and Mary, 1; and lodgers Rich’d Harper, 20, and Haywood Watson, 17.

Charles Gay was murdered in 1874.

  • Emma Gay (or Artis or Byrum) Gay Rountree

See Charles Gay, above.

Emma Gay, sometimes referred to as Emily Gay, bought property as early as December 1874. See Deed Book 9, page 522.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Emma Gay, 35; children Charlie, 15, a steam-mill worker, Mary, 11, Etheldred, 8, and Willie, 6; plus a boarder Fannie Thompson, 19, cook.

On 4 February 1892, Henry C. Rountree, 44, married Emma Gay, 44, at the bride’s residence in Wilson. Presbyterian minister L.J. Melton performed the ceremony, and witnesses were Edward Pool, Mark Blount and S.H. Vick.

On 29 October 1902, Willie Gay, 27, son of Charles Gay and Emma Rountree, married Mary Johnson, 22, daughter of Edmund Johnson and Bertha Johnson, at Henry Johnson‘s. H.S. Phillips applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of Cain Artis, Charles S. Thomas, and Robert E. Artis.

On 23 March 1906, William Gay, 33, son of Charles and Emma Gay, married Augustus McNeil, 30, daughter of Peter and Emily Patterson, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of J.E. Farmer, Robert Strickland, and Charlie Farmer.

Henry C. Rountree died 24 September 1916 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1848 in  North Carolina to Jessie Artis and Becker Artis; was married; worked as a dealer in groceries; and was buried in Wilson. Emma Rountree was informant.

Emma Rountree died 25 June 1917 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was about 65 years old; was born in Greene County, N.C., to unidentified parents; was a widow; and was buried in Wilson County [probably, Vick Cemetery]. Lizzie Whitfield was informant.

Mary Strickland died 16 December 1936 in the Wilson County Home. Per her death certificate, she was 67 years old; was born in Wilson to Charley Gay and Emma Artis; was a widow; and was buried in Wilson. Will Gay was informant.

Willie Gay died 25 May 1940 at the Veterans Administration hospital in Kecoughtan, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 February 1874 in Wilson, N.C., to Charles Gay and Emma Byrum, both of Greene County, N.C.; was divorced; was a veteran of the Spanish American War; was a railroad worker; and lived at 526 Smith Street, Wilson.

Dred Gay died 26 January 1950 in the Wilson County Home. Per his death certificate, he was born 1 January 1870 in Wilson County to Emma Gay; was a widower; and worked as a laborer.

  • Samuel, Albert, and Daniel Gay

Samuel, Albert, and Daniel Gay were the sons of Harriet Gay and Amos Thigpen (or Edmundson).

Sam Gay, son of Amos Thigpen and Harriet Gay, married Alice Bryant, daughter of Louisa Bryant, on 10 February 1870 in Wilson. P.E. Hines performed the ceremony.

On 20 January 1870, Daniel Gay, son of Amos Edmundson and Harriet Gay, married July Taylor, daughter of Alfred Robbins and Trecy Taylor, in Wilson.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Samuel Gay, 24, wife Alice, 20, and brother Albert, 21.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Daniel Gay, 20, and wife Julia, 20.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm worker Samuel Gay, 27, wife Allice, 25, and children Blanch, 8, Louizah, 7, Edgar, 4, Charlie, 3, and Mamie, 1 month.

In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: south of the Plank Road, Daniel Gay, 28; wife Judie, 24; and daughters Mary, 9, and Creacy, 6.

Albert and Daniel Gay appear to have died before 1900.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farmer Sam Gay, 54; wife Alice, 50; and children Charlie C., 23, Edgar B., 25, Lucy, 17, Samuel, 14, Albert and Beatrice, 10, and Lily, 4.

On 27 April 1904, John Stones, 30, of Wilson, married Mary Gay, 25, of Wilson, daughter of Daniel and Julia Gay, both deceased. A.D. Dawson applied for the license, and A.M.E. Zion minister H.C. Phillips performed the ceremony at the home of W.H. Kittrell in the presence of Kittrell, Mary Kittrell, and Charles Dawson.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Samuel Gay, 65, wife Alice, 55, and children Albert, 20, and Lilly, 15.

Samuel Gay died 1 February 1919 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per his death certificate: he was 73 years old, married to Allace Gay, resided at 620 Green Street, worked as tenant farmer for W.E. Warren, and was born in Wilson County. Charley Gay [his son] was informant.

Mary Stone died 19 November 1932 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 58 years old; was born in Wilson to Daniel Gay and Julia Gay; was a widow; worked as a cook; lived at 402 Viola Street; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.] Emma Davis, 418 East Green, was informant.

  • Candis Gay

Candis Gay and Jason Farmer registered their 22-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 25 August 1866.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Jason Farmer, 33; wife Candis, 29; and children Florance, 9, Isiah, 6, and George 4.

In the 1880 census of North Wilson township, Wilson County: farmer Jason Farmer, 43; wife Candas, 43; and children Florrance, 17, Isaiah, 13, George W., 11, Jessee, 9, Jason, 6, Jennie, 4, and Mayland, 2,

Candis Gay Farmer died before 1891, when her husband remarried.

  • The possible enslaver(s)

In the 1860 slave schedule of Wilson County, Edgecombe County native William M. Gay reported enslaving 21 people — men and boys aged and women and girls aged .

But also in the 1860 slave schedule of Wilson township, Wilson County: Thomas Gay reported enslaving 8 people — six men and boys aged 1 to 24 and a woman and girl aged 7 and 28.

Lane Street Project: Colbert Cemetery, Calhoun, Georgia.

Though I will always be of Wilson, I have lived in Atlanta nearly all of my adult life. It is very much “home” for me, too, and is a bottomless well of African-American culture and history that often informs the way I process research and work related to Black Wide-Awake and Lane Street Project.

I’ve begun visiting metro Atlanta’s historic African-American burial grounds. How have they weathered exploding population growth, shifting demographics, outmigration, land loss, and other pressures? The eighth in a series — Colbert (formerly Calvary) Cemetery in Calhoun, Georgia.

——

Colbert Cemetery, also known as Calvary, lies at the top of a hill at the end of steep road on the edge of Calhoun, Georgia. Calhoun, a town of about 16,000, is in far north Georgia on land that once held the capital of the Cherokee Nation. As is typical of the area, its African-American population is low — only about 7%. Early in the twentieth century, this percentage dropped from about 15% with the exodus created by the Great Migration.

In 1841, Atlanta founder and railroad tycoon Richard Peters bought 4000 acres in Gordon County. He worked 2500 acres with enslaved African Americans and set aside a burial ground for them on this site. About 1910, Peters’ children deeded the cemetery to trustees for use by Calhoun’s Black community, many of whom were descended from people enslaved at Peters Plantation.

The Porches are one of the largest families buried at Colbert. Both J.L. and Sina Porch were born enslaved. 

You know I love a vernacular grave marker. Here are two of a set of three similar “stones.”

These embossed markers, likely provided by a funeral home, mostly date from the 1930s to 1950s.

One of a relatively few fieldstone markers.

Seventy miles up the road from Atlanta, an Eldren Bailey marker.

The cemetery was active as recently as 2016 and is a much-visited space.

Squire Frix appears as a ten year-old farm laborer in the 1870 federal census of the Town of Calhoun living as part of the household of white insurance agent Joseph W. Malone.

Like Odd Fellows Cemetery, Colbert is dotted with yucca plants marking grave sites.

Unusually, several bronze military markers were installed upright, rather than flats designed.

Caroline Heard was about 75 years old when she died in 1921.

In the valley below, new construction wraps around the base of the hill. Gordon County Civic Club, which oversees Colbert Cemetery, is engaged in protracted litigation against the developer, asserting that the subdivision may encroach on hidden graves.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, May 2026.