Slavery

Stephen Woodard’s enslaved, part 2.

When Stephen Woodard Sr. executed his last will and testament in 1858, he determined the fates of 72 enslaved African-Americans.

In Item 8th, son Willie Woodard received 11 enslaved people. Woodard died in 1864, and all were likely freed before his estate was distributed. Though they presumably were in Wilson County at Emancipation, I’m able to trace forward relatively few people.

  • Barden

In the 1870 census of Snow Hill township, Greene County, North Carolina: farm laborer Badan Woodard, 49; wife Serenia, 40; and children Jesse, 16, Smithy, 14, Amos, 18, Mitchel, 13, Ollin, 10, May, 3, Mike, 6, and John, 1.

On 6 December 1877, Jesse Woodard, 20, of Greene County, son of Barden and Seney Woodard, married Lucy Swinson, 17, of Greene County, daughter of John and Hannah Swinson, in Bull Doze township, Greene County.

In the 1880 census of Bull Head township, Greene County: farmer Barton Woodard, 59; wife Smithy, 54; children Rena, 30, Amos, 25, Marshal, 17, Zacharias, 15, and Sarah, 12; and grandchildren Amos Jr., 10, Mary, 6, and Charles, 5.

On 20 March 1884, Robert Manuel, 24, of Greene County, married Smitha Woodard, 30 of Greene County, daughter of Barden and Seney Woodard, at Barden Woodard’s in Snow Hill.

On 20 May 1905, Oliver Woodard, 43, of Greene County, son of Barton and Sena Woodard, married Annie Sutton, 45, of Wayne County, in Wayne County.

Martha Woodard died 8 November 1927 in Bull Head township, Greene County, North Carolina. Per her death certificate, she was 69 years old; was born in Wilson County to Barden Woodard and Silva Woodard; was single; and was buried in Lindell. Charley Woodard was informant.

Jessie Woodard died 12 February 1930 in Goldsboro, Wayne County. Per his death certificate, he was 63 years old; was the son of Bardan Woodard and Senie Woodard; was married; worked as a laborer; and was buried in Greene County. Jessie Woodard Jr. was informant.

  •  Sy

Perhaps: Simon Woodard, who  registered his 12-year marriage to Charity Woodard with a Wilson County justice of the peace in 1866.

  • Reddic
  • Jonas

On 17 November 1866, Jonas Woodard and Lucy Daniel were married in Wilson County.

In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm laborer Cooper Woodard, 56; wife Candiss, 56; and Austin, 21, Jonas, 24, Handy, 17, and Esther Woodard, 21. Cooper claimed $225 in personal property. [Austin and Handy, and perhaps Jonas, were Cooper Woodard’s sons by previous relationships, and Esther was Austin’s wife.]

  • Sena and her four children Smithy, Amos, Jesse, and Michel

Sena was the first wife of Barden Woodard, above. She apparently died between 1870 and 1880.

On 5 October 1886, Amos Woodard, 38, of Greene County, son of Borden and Conia Woodard, married Venus Lynch, 30, of Greene County, daughter of Peter and Hannah Dawson, at Bull Head township, Greene County.

Amos Woodard died 15 January 1916 in Speights Bridge township, Greene County. Per his death certificate, he was born about 1850 in Wilson County to Bart Woodard and Senie Woodard; was married; worked in farming; and was buried on the Edmundson Place.

  • Maram and her child Bedy

Stephen Woodard’s enslaved, part 1.

When Stephen Woodard Sr. executed his last will and testament in 1858, he determined the fates of 72 enslaved African-Americans.

In Item 2nd, Woodard bequeathed to his son Stephen Woodard Jr. 26 enslaved people. Woodard died in 1864, and all were likely freed before his estate was distributed. Though they presumably were in Wilson County at Emancipation, I’m able to trace forward relatively few people.

  • Lazarus

In 1866, Lazarus Woodard and Pennina Woodard registered their 12-year marriage with a Wilson County justice of the peace. [Pennina presumably was enslaved by a different Woodard, as she is not among the 72 people Stephen Woodard named.]

I have not found Lazarus Woodard in census records. [In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County, George, 45, and Katie Woodard, 47, are listed with a 2 year-old boy named Lazarus. Was the child a close relative of Lazarus the elder?]

Louella Woodard died 23 October 1960 in Stantonsburg township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born 25 August 1869 in Wilson County to Lazarus Woodard and Penina Woodard; was a widow; and worked as a domestic. Lee Woodard was informant. [This appears to Paul Lee Woodard, son of Stephen Woodard Jr., suggesting a very long relationship between enslaved and former enslaver.]

  • Randol
  • Henry

Possibly, in the 1870 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Henry Woodard, 35, and Caroline, 18, Isom, 13, Harriet, 12, Geneva, 11, John, 7, Louisa, 3, and Daton Woodard, 1 month; and Nathan Horn, 15.

  • Harry

Perhaps: in 1866, Harry Woodard and Hannah Ward registered their 31-year marriage with a Wilson County justice of the peace.

Or: in an unspecified date in 1867, a marriage license issued for Harry Woodard, son of Lewis Shallington and Pleasant Woodard, and Dellah Woodard, daughter of Ben Woodard and Phereba Woodard. The license was not returned.

  • Little Bob
  • Jack
  • Arch

In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: common laborer Arch Woodard, 45; wife Sarah, 42; children Sallie, 12, Cooper, 8, Richmond, 5, and Liddia, 1; daughter-in-law Chany, 17; and stepson Joseph, 16.

  • Solomon

On 3 April 1866, Solomon Woodard and Dewey Edmundson registered their four-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace.

In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Solomon Woodard, 30, farmer; wife Dewry, 25; and Mary, 3.

Solomon Woodard presumably died before 1879, when his wife Dewry Woodard remarried.

  • Cooper

On 31 August 1866, Cooper Woodard and Candis Barnes registered their 7-year marriage with a Wilson County justice of the peace.

On 21 November 1868, Cezar Woodard, son of Cooper Woodard and Amy Taylor, married Jane Brooks, daughter of Maj. Martin and Rena Brooks, in Wilson County. [Was this the same Cooper Woodard?]

In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm laborer Cooper Woodard, 56; wife Candiss, 56; and Austin, 21, Jonas, 24, Handy, 17, and Esther Woodard, 21. Cooper claimed $225 in personal property. [The young adults in the household appear to be Cooper’s (but not Candis’, sons, plus a daughter-in-law. See Chacy, below.]

In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Cooper Woodard, 65, and wife Candis, 64.

Cooper Woodard died in 1883.

  • Mintus

See Mintus Woodard, here. There were at least three freedmen in Wilson County known as Mintus Woodard, two of whom had been enslaved by William Woodard.

  • Chacy and her child Handy

On 6 February 1869, Grey Woodard, son of Cooper Woodard and Chacey Woodard, married Jane Edmondson, daughter of Ester Edmondson, in Wilson County. [Was this the same Chacy? Was Gray’s father the Cooper Woodard above?]

On 1 January 1870, Austin Woodard, son of Cooper Woodard and Chacey Woodard, married Easter Newsome, daughter of Cezar Newsome and Jane Simms, in Wilson County. [This appears to be the Austin Woodard and Easter Woodard in Cooper Woodard’s household above.]

On 25 February 1875, Handy Woodard, 21, married Hennetta Barnes, 19, at the residence of justice of the peace G.W. Stanton in Wilson County. [This appears to be the Handy Woodard above in Cooper Woodard’s household in 1870 and thus another son of Cooper and Chacey.]

  • Jackan and her children Julia and Silvia
  • Rachel and her children Lawrence and Jim
  • Charity and her children Minger and Anzy

In 1866, Charity Woodard and Simon Woodard registered their 12-year marriage with a Wilson County justice of the peace.

  • Little Peggy 

Perhaps: on 13 March 1870, Ebonezer McGowan married Peggy Woodard, daughter of Easter Woodard, at Warren Woodard’s in Wilson County.

  • Dianna
  • Nicey
  • Old Peggy
  • Darkus

The estate of Cooper Woodard.

Cooper Woodard spent only 18 of his approximately 68 years in freedom. When he died in late 1883, his small estate went into probate, revealing that he raised hogs; grew corn, fodder, potatoes, and cotton; and owned one mule. His sole heir was his wife Candis Barnes Woodard.

——

On 31 August 1866, Cooper Woodard and Candis Barnes registered their 7-year marriage with a Wilson County justice of the peace.

In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm laborer Cooper Woodard, 56; wife Candiss, 56; and Austin, 21, Jonas, 24, Handy, 17, and Esther Woodard, 21. Cooper claimed $225 in personal property.

In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Cooper Woodard, 65, and wife Candis, 64.

Estate file of Cooper Woodard (1883), North Carolina, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

The last will and testament of Stephen Woodard Sr. (1858).

When Stephen Woodard Sr. executed his last will and testament in 1858, he determined the fates of 72 enslaved African-Americans.

In Item 2nd, Woodard bequeathed to his son Stephen Woodard Jr. 26 enslaved people — Lazarus, Randol, Henry, Harry, Little Bob, Jack, Arch, Solomon, Cooper, Mintus, Chacy and her child Handy, Jackan and her children Julia and Silvia, Rachel and her children Lawrence and Jim, Charity and her children Minger and Anzy, Little Peggy, Dianna, Nicey, Old Peggy, and Darkus. (In Item 6th, Woodard provided that, if an annuity could not be paid to son John G. Woodard, he would receive Jackan and her children.)

In Item 8th, son Willie Woodard received 11 enslaved people — Barden; Sy; Reddic; Jonas; Sena and her four children Smithy, Amos, Jesse, and Michel; and Maram and her child Bedy.

In Item 11th, daughter Elizabeth Woodard Newsome received 15 enslaved people: Alfred; Washington; Sherard; Ned; Wright; Frank; Auston; Etney and her three children Jane, Hugh, and Oliver; Jincy and her child Chany; Hester; and Lucy.

In Item 15th, daughter Penelope Woodard received 20 enslaved people — Asa, James, Ben, George; William; Jacob; Gray; Sam; Old Bob; Sarah and her children Delilah, Edwin, and Ellen; Rebecca and her children Isidore, Isaac, and Mary; Rose; Cherry; and Barbery.

Woodard’s will also gave insight into the way his farming operation was set up. He also bequeathed Stephen Woodard Jr. “all of my stock hogs at Lazerus’ pen & at Reddic’s pen and those at my home place” and Willie Woodard “my stock hogs at Washington’s pen.” In other words, Woodard’s hogs were kept at several locations across his plantation, including pens assigned to specific enslaved men.

Later posts will attempt to trace forward each group of Woodard’s enslaved.

Will of Stephen Woodard (1858), North Carolina, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

High school students research plantation’s enslaved.

I just happened across this brief 26 July 2022 news report. It’s not from Wilson County, but it’s close — and worthy of emulation.

Stonewall Manor.

Built on the banks of the Tar River in 1830, Stonewall Manor is an antebellum plantation house in the heart of Rocky Mount. In 2022, honors history students at Nash Central High School set out to document the people enslaved at Stonewall.

Here’s the 26 July 2022 report by ABC11 reporter Lucy Collins, “Nash Central High school students honor people who were enslaved at Stonewall Manor”:

“Nash Central High School AP US History Students honor and remember enslaved peoples at Stonewall Manor through a research project.

“Lead by their teacher, Renny Taylor, students went through public records and other archives to find the names of the slaves who worked on the property.

“‘We went through auction records, land deeds, wills last seen ads of slaves and just everything that we could to make sure that we didn’t forget anybody because our main goal here was just to honor and remember the forgotten,’ said Camryn Eley, one of the students who researched for the project.

“Students worked after school and weekends to work on this project, even acting as docents on the property.

“‘They did a great job. I think one of the things they found out is that when you’re doing this research, which I like to call the Easter egg hunt, you’re not always successful. We had people that went different places and didn’t find anything and then you would stumble across something and find one or two names… Just them having the perseverance to continue to find it and look for it,’ said Taylor, recalling his students’ research efforts.

“The next round of AP US History students at Nash Central High School will continue to add on to the project and the students who started the work are excited to see how they will build upon their research.

“‘I’m ready to see the final outcome and it continuing to be built on. I always think that one door opens and then everybody else can open other doors so I feel like it’s going to be a really good outcome. Especially from what we did in just a year and a half,’ said Makayla Pugh, another of Taylor’s students who worked on the project.

“The students’ work will be available for public viewing in September.”

At the completion of their project, Coach Taylor’s classes created a large display board naming those known to have been enslaved at Stonewall Manor, which has been installed onsite. Thank you, Coach Taylor and students, for calling the names of Stonewall Manor’s enslaved.

No grand brick plantation houses survive in Wilson County (if any were ever built), but antebellum houses whose owners built their wealth on the backs of African-Americans dot the countryside. Certainly enough to keep every AP History class in the county busy for a couple of years with projects like that undertaken at Nash Central.

[P.S. On a personal note, at the liquidation of Bennett Bunn’s estate in 1849, Kinchen Taylor purchased Green. My great-great-grandfather Green Taylor is listed in the 1856 inventory of the enslaved people held by Kinchen Taylor of far northern Nash County. Was he once held at Stonewall Manor?]

Photo courtesy of Stonewall Manor’s Facebook page.

The children of the estate of Thomas Williamson.

In an earlier post, we examined the will of Thomas Williamson and the sale after his death in 1856 of 16 boys and girls he had enslaved.

On 16 May 1859, nine men bought the children at top dollar:

Williamson lived in what is now far southwest Wilson County. These 16 children, some just toddlers, were pulled from their mothers, fathers, and siblings, and sold across three counties. It breaks my heart that I can trace only one of the children forward into freedom.

  • John T. Barnes purchased Nathan, 8, Denick, 7, Dillicy, 10, and Carolina, 7.

In the 1860 census of the Town of Wilson, Wilson County, John T. Barnes, 29, is listed as the sheriff of Wilson County. He claimed $5000 in real property and $18,000 in personal property. He was living in the household of Jesse H. Adams and presumably owned farmland out in the county. The bulk of his personal property would have been comprised of enslaved people, but I have found no record of their names.

  • W. Swift purchased Ben, age 7, for $800.00, and Harriet, age 9, for $950.00.

Wesley Swift is listed in the 1860 census of the Town of Wilson with his wife and daughter. Though no occupation is ascribed to him, he is listed with $6000 in real property and $30,000 in personal property. In the slave schedule the same year, he claimed 12 enslaved people.

  • Garry Fulghum purchased Amos, 5, and Catherine, 3.

Garry Fulghum does not appear in the 1860 census, but was a 16 year-old living in his parents’ household in Nash County (in the section of the county that would soon become Oldfields township, Wilson County).

  • Wright Blow purchased Joe, 5.

In the 1860 slave schedule of the district east of the Neuse River, Johnston County, North Carolina, Wright Blow claimed 12 enslaved people, including a six year-old boy who likely was Joe. In the federal census, Blow was described as a merchant with $1800 in real property and $12,225 in personal property.

Joe was the son of Charity, who went to Mourning Williamson Peele under the terms of Thomas Williamson’s will. Joe was reunited with his mother after Emancipation, and the family appears in the 1870 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Charity Blow, 32, domestic servant, and children Joseph, 18, Lenday, 9, Thomas, 3, and Lucind, 1. By the late 1880s, Joe Blow was serving as constable of Wilson township.

  • James Boyette purchased Allen, 3.

In the 1860 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: James Boyette, 53, farmer, who claimed $2900 in real property and $9500 in personal property.

  • John Wilkins purchased Bethea, 8.

Of three John Wilkinses in the area in 1860, the most likely is the John Wilkins listed in Joyners & Gardners district, Wilson County, with $2400 in real property and $14,750 in personal property. In the 1860 slave schedule, he claimed 14 enslaved people. I have not been able to identify them by name.

  • Joshua Barnes purchased Chaney, 7.

Father of Wilson County General Joshua Barnes enslaved dozens and dozens of Black people. He claimed in $79,000 in personal property in 1860, and the slave schedule shows him with 66 enslaved people housed in ten dwellings on his plantation.

  • William Ricks purchased Renner, 5.

In the 1860 census of Collins township, Nash County, farmer William Ricks, 32, claimed $2000 in real property and $15,650 in personal property. I have not been able to identify the people he enslaved by name.

  • Ransom Hinnant purchased Dizey, 5.

Ransom Hinnant was an enslaver of relatively modest means, appearing in the 1860 census of Kirbys district, Wilson County, with a very precise $2023 in real property and $5487 in personal property. I have not been able to identify any of the people he enslaved by name.

  • A.J. Taylor purchased Lyddey, age 2.

Forty-two year-old farmer Alsey J. Taylor appears in the 1860 census of Bailey district, Nash County, owning $25,000 in real property and $42,850 in personal property. He appears in the slave schedule of Sullivants district with 35 enslaved people housed in ten dwellings. I have not been able to identify them by name.

On Black Wide-Awake’s 8th anniversary.

Eight years. 5,162 posts.

Yesterday, I received an email from Harold Finigan.

“I am the historian at the Darby PA Friends (Quaker) Meeting (est. 1682).  For the past several years, I have been researching our Meeting members’ roles in the abolitionist movement, especially the UGRR [Underground Railroad].  To date, I have confirmed 43 members that participated in this activity.

“In uncovering the members’ involvement, one can sometimes uncover the stories of the lives of the freedom seekers themselves. For obvious reasons, many of these stories were not published at the time, and most have been lost to history.

“As fugitive slave warrants may have been issued in their enslaved name, many [freedom seekers] changed identities without leaving any incriminating evidence.  Occasionally, some bits remain.

“Last week we were notified by the National Park Service that our NETWORK TO FREEDOM application had been approved.  This is an official designation that recognizes a particular person or place’s involvement in the UGRR.

“Amongst the members of our meeting were the famous abolitionists Isaac T. Hopper & Thomas Garrett, Jr. These men alone helped nearly 6,000 freedom seekers; but it was not a story associated with these two that I chose to represent the Meeting.

“Instead, I chose the story of Allen Ricketts. Allen was an eleven year-old boy in 1831 when he took his own freedom,  escaping with other family members from their enslaver near Baltimore, MD. His well-documented story chronicles the outcome of the values of the community as displayed in his finding safe harbor among them, his education at the Darby Friends School, and the support the Darby Quakers provided to rescue him from a later kidnapping [during which he] was taken to Baltimore to be sold on to the slave market in New Orleans. His Friends had 4 days to raise the equivalent of $30,000 to buy his freedom.

“You can read more about it here: https://www.swarthmore.edu/friends-historical-library/underground-railroad-and-sharon-female-academy-delaware-county

“The Darby Quaker community had a long tradition of advocacy, dating back to at least 1694,  for anti-slavery causes. They simply saw the idea of Equality & commitment to the Golden Rule as a core values of their beliefs.

“I have put a power point presentation together with the facts of the matter.  So far, I have shown it about a half a dozen times, with many descendants of Allen present. Before my contacting them, they knew nothing of the ordeal of their ancestor. I have found the experience healing and cathartic for many … to learn what their ancestor did, what he went through, and what the community sacrificed for of one of their members who wasn’t special, just a simple farmer. Nonetheless he was a member of the community and a person of dignity and worth.

“I think it is a lesson about what Equality truly means and how we should behave to one another today. Ms. Christina Sharpe is Allen’s 3rd great granddaughter.

“Your website was instrumental in helping me make that connection and reach out to her to tell her the deep history of her family. I wanted to let you know what a positive impact your labors have brought.”

Thank you, Mr. Finigan, for your kind words and, most importantly, for the vital work you do to research historic Darby Friends’ role in abolition and to link freedom seekers with their descendants.

Happy anniversary, Black Wide-Awake. May it continue to be a bridge.

Email reproduced with permission.

Lane Street Project: Johnston County reclaims its past.

This past weekend, Johnston County Heritage Center and Johnston County Heritage Commission put on a fantastic series of events focused on preserving the county’s African-American history and culture. Beth Nevarez, founder and principal of Beth Nevarez Historical Consulting, took notes for those of us who couldn’t be there:

“This past weekend I sponsored & attended @johnstoncountyheritage’s event: Reclaiming the Black Past: An Artifactual Journey. The event highlighted the importance of preserving spaces/places, artifacts and songs & stories that relate to African American history.
Friday evening we had a campfire conversation at the Boyette Slave House led by Joseph McGill of the @slavedwellingproject. Our gathering of about 25 discussed everything from those who lived in the Boyette Slave House & family history to issues of book bans and curriculums in schools today. We reflected on the importance of bringing awareness to the built environment that stands as a primary source of slavery’s past, as well as the importance of learning about that past in the present. Many thanks to Joseph McGill for leading this conversation & to the Stancil family who owns the property the Boyette Slave House sits on for hosting us.

“Saturday’s program included hearing more from Joe McGill on how he started the Slave Dwelling Project and the many ways in which it has evolved over the years. He spoke of the myths he works against including that slavery was only a southern institution.

“Then we heard from @philip_j_merrill of @nanny_jack_and_co about the importance and power of physical artifacts to preserve and share Black history. He brought along a number of interesting artifacts and spoke about ‘peeling back the onion layers’ of meaning and the many different ways artifacts, even some you wouldn’t expect, can be used to talk about Black history.

“We also heard both songs and history from @maryd.w who sang spirituals throughout her powerful presentation about the historical context of these songs and how they were used by enslaved people and later in the civil rights movement with coded messages hidden in their lyrics. These songs were passed down orally rather than in writing and contained messages of freedom and resistance.

“We concluded the day with a visit to the Sanders-Smith cemetery where descendants spoke the names of their ancestors buried there.”

WRAL News covered the gathering at Sanders-Smith Cemetery:

“Why is a cemetery hidden [in] a wooded stretch of land running alongside the highway – and directly adjacent to a modern day parking lot for the Johnston County Agricultural Center?

“According to [Todd] Johnson[, Executive Director for Johnston County Heritage Center], the land was all once part of the Sanders plantation.

“‘Ashley Sanders owned this land, which was roughly a 1,500 acre plantation,’ said Johnson. ‘His father was one of the largest landowners, who owned probably around 10,000 acres total. He left plots of land to his children.'”

…

“After the families enslaved here were emancipated after the Civil War, one of the men that had been enslaved on the property bought 25 acres of the plantation — including the cemetery.

“‘His name was Adam Sanders,’ said Johnson.

“By purchasing the cemetery land, Adam Sanders helped preserve the burial ground for future generations of his family – and help protect those who were already interred there.

“‘His parents were likely buried here,’ said Johnson.”

Many descendants of those enslaved by Ashley Sanders and family later migrated into Wilson County, such as Rodger Creech Jr., who attended Saturday’s observance at the cemetery. Future posts in Black Wide-Awake will attempt to make some of these connections.

Kudos to Johnston County for recognizing the importance of African-American history outside of Black History Month, for bringing Joseph McGill’s groundbreaking work to eastern North Carolina, and for recognizing Sanders-Smith Cemetery as an historic sacred space.

The Callie S. Braswell house, known as Hawthorne.

Hawthorne was one of four antebellum plantation houses included in the Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District. Forty years after nomination, none are standing.

Hawthorne in 1980.

Per the National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form for Upper Town Creek Rural Historic District, prepared by Kate Ohno in 1982, the family of Callie (or Cally) S. Braswell (1828-1893) were long prominent in this area of the county. Braswell began acquiring land in the 1840s, and bought his home site around 1853. He married Martha Ann Trevathan in 1855, and the couple probably built Hawthorne shortly after.

At the November 1847 term of Superior Court, heirs of Benjamin Braswell, which included Callie S. Braswell, filed a petition for the division of the elder Braswell’s slaves. The petition names Lewis, Zilly, Amy, Warren, Amos, Lettice, Albert, Boston, Esther, Arden, Prissy, Charlotte, Eliza, Drew, Hilliard, John, Elisha, and Lina as the group to be divided. The court appointed W.D. Petway and David Williams, among others, to set values and apportion them, but no report identifying each heirs’ allotment can be found in Braswell’s estate file.

In the 1850 slave schedule of Edgecombe County, Cally S. Braswell is listed with ten enslaved people — women and girls aged 80, 30, 20, 6, and 1, and men and boys aged 18, 13, 10, 8, and 5.

In 1860, the slave schedule recorded twelve enslaved people occupying three houses for Calla S. Braswell: women and girls aged 42, 26, 13, 11, 11, 6, 4,  and 2, and men and boys aged 26, 15, 9, and 9. [The inconsistency in ages suggests considerable turnover during that decade.]

In 1866, Hilliard Braswell and Annis Batts registered their 6-year cohabitation with an Edgecombe County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Hilliard Braswell, 29, farm laborer; wife Anniss, 41; and son Gray, 4; with Austin, 16, and Frank Batts, 13. Next door: Boston Braswell, 29, farm laborer; wife Eliza, 38; son Henry, 10; and Georgeana Jenkins, 15. In 1866, Boston Braswell and Eliza Williams had registered their 5-year cohabitation with an Edgecombe County justice of the peace.

In 1866, Amos Braswell and Lettis Braswell registered their 12-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: Amos Braswell, 44, farm laborer; wife Lettace, 36; and children Sophy A., 16, William Ann, 15, Amanda, 13, Burtin, 7, Willis, 5, Jordan, 3, and Arden, 2.

In 1866, Pricilla Braswell and James Armstrong registered their two-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Augustus Armstrong, 30, wife Pricilla, 22, and children Sallie, 4, Stella, 2, and William, 4 months. [Is James Armstrong the same person as Augustus Armstrong? Augustus was the son of Quinnie Braswell, who registered his 33-year marriage to Venus Braswell in 1866.]

Former site of Hawthorne, off East Langley Road near the Edgecombe County line.