Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 27 July 1935.
Surely, a good time was had by all at the Klondike Club‘s 1935 annual dance.
Wilson County
The last will and testament of Jennie Williamson Whitley.
Will book 8, page 551.
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In the 1880 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer Elic Williamson, 44; wife Gracy, 29; and children John, 14, Lugen, 11, Joseph, 9, Jennie, 7, Mary, 6, Clem, 4, Sarah J., 2, and Pall, 1.
In the 1900 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer Alex Williamson, 63; wife Gracy, 50; children Genny Whitley, 26, and Sarah, 22, Paul, 21, Daniel, 19, Henietta, 15, Edna, 15, and Katie Williamson, 12; and grandchildren Nancy, 8, Della, 5, and Pearle Whitley, 4.
In the 1910 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: on Wilson and Smithfield Branch Road, farmer Alexander Williamson, 72; wife Gracy, 62; widowed daughter Jennie Williamson, 38; daughters Sarah, 20, and Henrietta, 26; and grandchildren Nancy, 18, Della, 17, Hattie, 15, and Pearle Whitley, 14.
In the 1920 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: on Old Clayton and Wilson Road, farmer Alexandria Williamson, 83; divorced daughter Janie W. Williamson, 37; granddaughter Dezell Bailey, 4; and stepson [son-in-law?] McKinley Bailey, 28, house carpenter.
In the 1930 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: Ginnie Whitley, 57, laundress, and granddaughter Pearl Hinnant, 14.
Jennie Whitley died 3 April 1948 in Springhill township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born in 1878 in Wilson County to Alex Williamson and Gracie Shaw; was the widow of John Whitley; and was buried in Rocky Branch Cemetery.
Will of Jennie Whitley (1948), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.
The Coleman farmstead.
Mattie Barnes Robinson recently led me on a tour of her extended family’s current and former lands on Airport Boulevard. Mrs. Robinson attended Barnes School, which was just down the road and across the street from the farmstead on which she grew up. The house is gone, but traces remain on the land.
This tumbled chimney is all that remains of the house.
Remnants of the outbuildings. The pecan was already a mature tree during Mrs. Robinson’s childhood.
The well.
The pump in front of the Barnes School site.
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2025.
Hicks and Anthony’s fab show at the Globe.
Simms family sued for nonpayment.
Sometime prior to February 1897, Frank I. Finch contracted with Abbie Simms, Joe Simms, and Lee Simms to make repairs on “a house upon their lot in or near the town of Wilson N.C. adjoining the lands of the colored cemetery lot G.W. Suggs and others ….” Finch claimed he completed the work, but the Simmses refused to pay. Finch placed a lien on the property and filed suit claiming $210 in damages, plus interest.
Finch won, and a judge entered a judgment against the Simmses. The county sheriff auctioned off the property on 7 January 1898; Sidney A. Woodard, who had represented the Simmses in the matter, had the winning bid.
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- Abbie Simms
On 24 April 1894, Abbie McMannon conveyed to Lee Simms and his heirs “one lot or parcel near the Town of Wilson, Wilson County and State of North Carolina, adjoining the lands of Geo. Washington Suggs, Abbie McMannon, and others and bounded as follows: Beginning at a ditch near the Colored Cemetery on the old Barefoot road and … containing 1/5 of an acre more or less …” S.A. Smith witnessed McMannon’s execution of the deed. Deed book 36, page 141, Wilson County Register of Deeds, Wilson.
- Joe Simms
On 25 December 1889, James Caraway, 50, married Rosa Simms, 17, in Wilson township, Wilson County. Minister Crocket Best performed the ceremony in the presence of Henry Peacock, Joe Simms, and Abbie Simms.
- Lee Simms
On 12 August 1886, Lee Simms, 26, of Wilson County, son of David and Aby Simms, married Mary Harris, 16, of Wilson County, daughter of Sely Harris, in Wilson County.
On 1 June 1894, Lee and Mary Simms mortgaged the property above to secure a $86.32 loan from James W. McCowan. (The money was for materials to build a house on the lot.)
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Wainwright Street, brickmason Lee Simes, 35; wife Marry, 30, washing; and daughters Bessie, 13, tobacco stemmer, and Maggie, 9.
In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, Lee Sims, 44; wife Mary, 40, laundress; and daughter Maggie, 18.
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Simms Lee (c) bricklyr h 813 E Nash
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 648 Wainwright, brickmason Lee Sims, 56; wife Mary, 47; daughter Maggie Williams, 25, and son-in-law Sam Williams, 26, presser at pressing club.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 410 Hadley, brickmason Lee Sims, 66, bricklayer; wife Mary, 60, laundress; and adopted son Clarence Woodard, 6.
Robert Lee Sims died 10 October 1939 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 9 April 1864 in Wilson, N.C., to David Simms and Abbie Gay; lived at 205 North Vick; was married to Mary Sims; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.] Bessie Woodard was informant.
Civil Action Papers, Wilson County, N.C., Court Records 1895-1896, http://www.familysearch.org
Peyton waylaid in Beaufort County; wife goes missing.
News and Observer, 21 October 1910.
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- Wiley Peyton
In the 1910 census of Dry Wells township, Nash County, N.C.: lodgers Wiley Peyton, 28, lumber laborer, and wife Nettie, 30, in the household of Theodore Williams.
- Nettie Moore Peyton
Calvary Presbyterian’s radiant queen mothers!
Calvary Presbyterian Church‘s recent 136th Homecoming celebration brought together these three vibrant nonagenarians!
Wilson County natives Henrietta Hines McIntosh, 98, and Arlean Lindsey Sneed, 99, stand behind Addie Scipio Hagans, 97, who taught English to generations of students at Darden and Fike High Schools.
Photo courtesy of Cassandra Wiggins.
Lincoln Theatre plans church benefit.
Wilson Daily Times, 24 March 1928.
Howard children perish in house fire.
Goldsboro News-Argus, 20 October 1931.
Death certificates reveal that John Howard and Ardelia Whitley Howard‘s children Rosevelt Howard, born 8 March 1928, and Mary Ida Howard, born 8 February 1931, died in the fire. Ardelia Howard was pregnant when she rushed into the house to try to save her children. She gave birth the following February 8 to Martha Lee Howard. Tragically, that child died in September 1933 of colitis.
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In the 1930 census of Crossroads township, Wilson County: farm laborer John Howard, 25; wife Ardelia, 20; and sons Herman, 3, and Rosavelt, 1.
Hardy & Suggs.
This April 1909 execution of a $40 judgment in Superior Court reveals the existence of an early twentieth-century African-American business — Hardy & Sugg. John Hardy was a livery man, and it is reasonable to conjecture that George W. Suggs opened a stable with him.
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On 5 February 1902, John Hardy, 22, married Florence Williams, 20, in Wilson. Zion minister C.L. Alexander performed the ceremony in the presence of Mrs. Canna Alexander, L.C. Ligon, and A.L. Darden.
Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory (1908).
In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County, Wilson County: on Nash Street: barber Walter Maynor, 19, and wife Alice, 23; barber William Sutson [Sutzer], 65, barbershop proprietor; wife Mary J., 49, hotel proprietor; son Leondas Taylor, 23, pressing club laborer, and daughter-in-law Anna, 22; and boarders Lemuel Yancy, 36, drugstore clerk; Harry Carter, 35, music teacher; Ernest Allen, 30, hotel cook; and John Hardy, 30, livery stable owner; his wife Florence, 23, and daughters Lida, 7, and Estell, 5.
Wilson County, N.C., Court Dockets 1909-1910, Civil Issues Dockets, http://www.familysearch.org.