Wilson Daily Times, 26 December 1942.
We read about some of Tom Johnson‘s earlier troubles here. On Christmas Day, as Johnson walked down Pender Street, he encountered Milton Lucas, whom he had allegedly shot days before near First Baptist Church. Lucas shot Johnson, then turned himself in at police headquarters, but a court soon released him, finding “no probable cause.”
Wilson Daily Times, 6 July 1932.
Tom Johnson survived this shooting, but not a second ten years later.
For more of Johnson’s colorful life, see here.
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On 24 February 1917, Tom Johnson, 31, son of Orange and Lula Johnson, married Ethel McGill, 21, daughter of James and Hattie M. McGill, in Farmville, Pitt County, N.C.
Probably, in the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 112 Reid Street, owned and valued at $1500, Tom Johnson, 41, and wife Ethel, 38, cosmetics agent.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Tom Johnson, 55; wife Ethel, 42; mother Lula, 68, widow; and son Rogers McGill, 27.
Tom Johnson died 25 December 1942 on Pender Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 12 September 1895 in Terrll County, Georgia, to Orange Johnson and Lula [no maiden name]; lived at 112 South Reid Street; was married to Ethel Johnson; and worked as a laborer. He died of gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen “on the street.”
In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Porter Geo clnr and presser, h 116 Ashe
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Porter Geo tobwkr h 506 Spring
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Porter Geo lab h 508 Spring
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 508 South Spring Street, pressing club operator George Porter, 34, born in Georgia; servant Jeneva Brown, 30, and her children Esther, 13, Martha, 12, and Oliver, 9; and George’s daughter George M., 14.
On 28 February 1935, George Porter, 36, of Wilson County, son of William and Louisa Porter, married Geneva Townsend, 35, of Wilson County, daughter of Louis and Henrietta Townsend, at the home of Baptist minister W.T. Thompson Jr. in Nashville, Nash County. Luther Jones applied for the license and was a witness, as were James W. Hardy and Laura Harris.
George Porter died 4 September 1937 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 37 years old; was born in Georgia to William Porter of Georgia and Louisa Barnes of Wilson County; worked as a storekeeper; was married to Geneva Porter; and was buried in Wilson.
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.
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.
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 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).
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.
In the 1860 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: James Boyette, 53, farmer, who claimed $2900 in real property and $9500 in personal property.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Wilson Daily Times, 6 October 1945.
Given the circumstances — gone squirrel-hunting, headed home — Sheriff Weathersby’s determination that Henry Ray committed suicide seems hasty. His death certificate is more equivocal, citing his cause of death as “Probably suicide Gunshot wound in chest” and noting that the incident occurred “near house.”
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In the 1940 census of Rocky Mount township, Nash County, N.C.: Callie Ray, 55, widow, and grandson Henry, 16, both farm laborers.
In 1942, Henry Ray registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 23 October 1923 in Nash County, N.C.; lived in Sharpsburg, Wilson County; his contact was H.P. Massingill, Sharpsburg; and he worked on Claud Albritton’s farm, Sharpsburg, Nash County.
Henry Ray died 5 October 1945 in Toisnot township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 20 years old; was born in Nash County, N.C., to Coley Ray of Nash County and Ida Barnes of Wilson County; was single; worked in farming; and was buried near Sharpsburg, Nash County.
Wilson Daily Times, 13 October 1945.
I have not found a death certificate for Marie McGuire, or any other information about her death.
Wilson Daily Times, 1 June 1911.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 12 September 1911.
I haven’t been able to determine whether one-armed Henry Howard was a Wilson County native.
Prior to Wilson County’s formation in 1855, much of its present-day territory lay in Edgecombe, including everything east of a line running a couple of miles inside present-day Interstate 95 and north of Contentnea Creek. In 1844, the Tarboro’ Press published “Rules and Regulations to be Observed by the Patrollers of the several Districts in the County of Edgecombe.” Slave patrols, known as patrollers or patty rollers, were government-sanctioned groups of armed men charged with monitoring and enforcing discipline upon enslaved people.
Edgecombe County patrollers operated under a set of comprehensive and precise rules. Tasked with visiting ever house inhabited by enslaved people at least once a month, they rode at night. They searched for firearms and “seditious publications” and kept a sharp lookout for any enslaved person out and about more than a mile from home. They could beat people — up to 15 lashes — for having too much fun. On Sundays, their job was to make sure enslaved people were not “strolling about” enjoying their one day off or selling trinkets for pocket change. Patrollers ran down runaways and, if met with “insolence,” could drop a whip 39 times across a black back. They were compensated for their services.
Tarboro’ Press, 9 March 1844.
Caught rifling through a money drawer, James Hinton lost a shoot-out with a storeowner northwest of Wilson. Though his family gave information for his death certificate, they refused to arrange with Darden Funeral Home for his burial. Following their suggestion, Darden sold the man’s body to the medical school at Wake Forest College.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 23 September 1933.
Wilson Daily Times, 26 September 1933.
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James Hinton [not John or Hinnant] died 21 September 1933 at Moore-Herring Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 45 years old; was born in Wendell, North Carolina; worked as a laborer; and lived at the Biltmore Hotel. Cause of death: “was dead from bullet wound when I saw him shot thru abdomen.” Allie P. Hinton, Wendell, was informant. Written in the margin: “was shot robbing a store.”
Wilson Daily Times, 2 September 1918.
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In 1917, Henry Brice registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 1 May 1891 in Winnsboro, South Carolina; lived on East Street, Wilson; worked as a wagon driver for J.L. Matthews; and was married.
Wilson Daily Times, 5 August 1941.
Brothers Avan and Calvin Melvin were arrested and charged with the murder of Willie Knight. Avan Melvin claimed he struck Knight because Knight was cutting Calvin Melvin. Calvin Melvin claimed innocence. I have not been able to determine the outcome of the trial, which was held the month after the incident.
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In the 1910 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Colonel Knight, 24; wife Flora, 20; and son Willie, 1.
In the 1920 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Colonel Knight, 34; wife Flora, 28; and children Willie, 11, Nella, 8, George, 7, Colonel Jr., 4, and Percy, 2.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 717 Vance Street, rented at $16/month, Cullan Knight, 44, farmer; wife Flora, 37; and children Willie, 21, odd jobs laborer, George, 16, baker, Cullon Jr., bakery delivery boy, Percy, 13, and Gladys, 9.
In 1940, Willie Knight registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 4 June 1908 in Wilson County; lived at 646 Wiggins Street; was married to Thelma Newman Knight; and worked for R.P. Watson Tobacco Company. The card is marked “Deceased.”
Willie Knight died 2 August 1941 on Banks Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born in June 1909 in Wilson County to Colonel Knight and Flora Thomas; was married to Thelma Knight; lived at 127 Narrowly Street; and worked as a laborer. Cause of death: “hit on head with brick fracturing skull killing almost instantly.”