Vocation

Ethel Coley retires after 40+ years of teaching.

Wilson Daily Times, 6 May 1971.

Long-time teacher Ethel Moye Coley‘s early education came at Wilson Training School, also known as the Independent School or Industrial School — the school the Black community founded after leaving Wilson Colored Graded School in protest in 1918.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 459 Goldsboro Street, widowed laundress Della Moye, 31, with her children Albert, 17, twins Hattie and Mattie, 9, and Ethel, 2.

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Moye Ethel (c) student h 420 E Green

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: laundress Delia A. Moye, 50; grandson William A., 12; Zophey Sills, 25, cook; and Ethel M. Moye, 19.

On 29 December 1933, John A. Cain Jr., 24, of Durham, son of John A. Cain Sr. and Georgeanna Cain, married Ethel Moye, 24, of Wilson, daughter of Boston Moye and Delia Moye, in Raleigh, Wake County, N.C.

On 18 August 1944, Ethel Mae Moye, 35, daughter of O.L.W. Smith and Della Smith [sic], married David H. Coley, 49, son of W.H. and Luanna Coley, in Wilson. A.M.E. Zion minister W.A. Hilliard performed the ceremony in the presence of C.L. Darden, Norma Darden and Mrs. Ambrose Floyd.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1207 Washington Street, David H. Coley, 56, barber, and wife Ethel Cain Coley, 40, primary teacher/principal at rural school.

Wilson Daily Times, 27 February 1987.

Historically Speaking … Oliver Nestus Freeman (2009).

As plans get underway for the expansion of Freeman Round House and Museum, let’s take a look at a 2009 video about Oliver N. Freeman produced by the City of Wilson. Led by former City Preservation Planner Lu-Ann Monson and featuring granddaughter Mary Frances Banks Tate, this remarkable mini-documentary offers a deep, deep dive into Freeman’s incredible life and work, as well as the story of the museum’s founding and early days.

The Red Hots head to Winston-Salem.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 6 September 1910.

Twenty-six??? Who were they?

Elsie Knight, dressmaker.

After Daniel Vick‘s death in 1908, Samuel H. Vick took over the care of his nieces Annie and Nettie Jones, whose mother Nettie Vick Jones had been murdered eleven years earlier. Among the items he reported paying for out of Daniel Vick’s estate were dresses for the girls made by “Elsie K,” or Elsie Knight. The Vicks certainly had choices when it came to selecting dressmakers, which suggests Knight was an exceptional talent. (Or perhaps an exceptional value.)

On 26 December 1898, Charles Knight, 21, married Elsie McCullows, 21, in Wilson. Baptist minister W.T.H. Woodard performed the ceremony in the presence of Annie Jackson, Lizzie McCullers, and Florence Whitfield.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: day laborer Charles Knight, 24; wife Elsie, 26; daughter Emma, 7 months; and boarders Weldon Standfield, 24, day laborer, and wife Martha, 23.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Charles Knight, 35; wife Elsie, 37; children Charles, 8, and Frank, 6; and boarders Ethel Coleman, 23, and Sarah Jackson, 28, both teachers.

Charles Henry Knight registered for the World War I draft in 1918. Per his registration card, he was born 12 February 1875; lived at 115 Pender Street; was a self-employed barber at 533 East Nash Street; his nearest relative was Elsie Knight; and he had “rheumatism very badly cannot walk well.”

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Charlie Knight, 45; wife Elsie, 47; and son Frank, 16, auto shop laborer.

In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory:

Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory (1925).

Elsie Knight died 20 January 1930 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 58 years old; was born in Johnston County, N.C., to Willis McCullers and Emma Sanders; was the widow of Charles Knight; lived at 511 Vance Street; and was buried in Wilson [likely, Vick Cemetery.] Andrew McCullers was informant.

Funeral Program Friday: Beatrice Taylor Barnes (1912-1995).

More than seventy years after he last sat in her seventh-grade classroom, my father’s eyes still lit up when he spoke of “Miz B.T. Barnes.” Never underestimate the impact of educators.

See more about Beatrice Taylor Barnes here and here and here.

Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque keeps bringing flowers.

Ryan Mitchell got off a flight from Lagos to this news:

During a roadtrip to New Orleans in summer 2021, I stopped by to see my cousin Zella Palmer. The pandemic was still cutting up, so we sat on her porch and chatted, mostly about family, food, and history. At one point, Zella mentioned that she’d received an email feeling out her interest in co-writing a book about North Carolina barbecue. Specifically, about Ed Mitchell and his family. “Girl, call them,” I urged. “Mr. Mitchell is a legend — and my dad’s good buddy!”

The rest … well, is a James Beard nomination!!

(You don’t have a copy of Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque?? What you waiting for??)

Image courtesy of Ryan Mitchell.

Historic Black Business Series, no. 12: Lemon Taborn’s barbershop.

The 500 block of East Nash Street is justly remembered as the 20th century epicenter of Wilson’s African-American-owned businesses. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black entrepreneurs and tradespeople also operated across the tracks. As Wilson’s downtown experiences a resurgence, let’s rediscover and celebrate these pioneering men and women.

Check in each Sunday for the latest in the Historic Black Business Series!

Lemon Taborn (later spelled Tabron) was born free about 1834 in Nash County, North Carolina, to Celia Taborn. He moved to the town of Wilson before 1860 and soon established a barbershop — the earliest known Black-owned business in Wilson.

E.B. Mayo noted Taborn’s shop into his 1872 map of Wilson on Tarboro Street just north of Vance Street. Taborn owned a large parcel of land in this block. (The house above was built after the family sold the lot.)

The Wilson Advance, 24 September 1880.

His barbershop also is drawn into the 1882 map of the city.

Taborn died in 1893, and his wife Edmonia Barnes Taborn and daughter Carrie Taborn continued his business until his sons Joshua, Jacob Astor, and Thomas Henry Taborn established Tabron Brothers Barbershop.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2024.

People I want to know more about.

City directories offer endless possibilities. Who were these intriguing folk?

1916

Allen C. Wooten sold (made?) patent medicines.

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What kinds of baskets did Samuel W. White make?

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We’ve met Hood Vick before. I assume he played baseball professionally, but for whom?

1920

Toilet preparations? What exactly was Oscar C. Gordon cooking up on East Nash Street?

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The Eat More? How charming! But where was Preston McCadden‘s business? Two of the four corners at this intersection were houses, the third was Calvary Presbyterian. The fourth was the site of a white-owned grocery store for nearly all of the 20th century. (Sidenote: McCadden also worked as a chauffeur and lived at 201 West Nash.) [Update: a quick look at the 1922 Sanborn map informed me. The northwest corner contained not the house facing Green with which I am familiar, but a small grocery facing Pender. This was likely McCadden’s Eat More. My grandmother was 12 years old and lived a block away and surely was a patron!]

1922

What did W. Clyde Crawford‘s Wilson Building & Construction Company build? Who transacted with its loan division? The company’s offices were at 563 East Nash,

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Evander Eddy was a confectioner. What kind of candy did he make?

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I thought at first John Robertson and John W. Best were bottlers of soft drinks, but now believe they operated soft drink shops. What, exactly, did they sell? Who were their customers?

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But here is a bottler. Did Edward Hunter work for the local Coca-Cola bottler? Or did he have his own business?

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What did William H. Brown print?

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William Picot was both a cabinet maker and repairer of furniture. Was the studio on East Vance a house or commercial business? The 1922 Sanborn shows a small wooden building at the location.

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For which dairy did Luther Hall work?

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Though she lived over in Elm City, Sarah Lucas was Amos Batts‘ private secretary. There were several Amos Battses, but this was likely the undertaker.

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Beyond her interesting first name, Sister McMillan is one of very few, and the only woman, mill worker, I’ve spotted. What kind of mill did she work in?

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Lena Woody lived at the rear of 301 East Nash? A commercial building?

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Ice puller?

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George Martin is the earliest African-American electrician I’ve found in Wilson.

Etta Plummer, doctor woman.

This occupation description in the 1930 census of Wilson caught my eye:

“Doctor woman”?

The full entry: at 1104 Wainwright Avenue, owned and valued at $1000, widow Etta Plumer, 60, doctor woman, and son Samie, 40, oil mill laborer; Lee Palmer, 25, guano plant laborer, and wife Mary, 24, cook.

Other records show that Plummer was a midwife, but this label suggests a broader medical expertise.

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In the 1900 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer William Plummer, 53; wife Etta, 34; and children William Ann, 18, and Samuel, 14.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: city laborer William Plummer, 69, and wife Etta, 50.

In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Plummer Etta (c) midwife h 1104 Wainwright Av

William Henry Plummer died 23 February 1925 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 70 years old; was born in Warren County, N.C., to Mary Plummer; was married to Etta Plummer; worked as a common laborer; and lived at 1104 Wainwright. He was buried in “Rountrees Cemetery,” which could have been Rountree or Vick Cemetery.

In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Plummer Etta midwife h 1104 Wainwright Av

Etta Plummer died 6 September 1939 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 74 years old; was born in Nash County, N.C., to Sam and Pennie Hilliard; was the widow of William Plummer; lived at 1104 Wainwright; and worked as a midwife. Samuel Plummer was informant. She was buried in Wilson, most likely in Vick Cemetery.

Historic Black Business Series, no. 6: Willie Reid’s and William Hines’ barbershops.