Women

Where we worked: 1949.

In 1949, Charlotte, North Carolina,’s Hollywood Film Company produced a 32-minute promotional film touting Wilson’s businesses, churches, schools, and neighborhoods. Predictably, not a single African-American person or place was mentioned, much less featured, though the town’s population was about 40% Black. This is the kind of erasure that will have you thinking your people never contributed, never built institutions, never thrived. Black people, however, can be glimpsed throughout the film, hard at work. Below, a few stills, starting with a scarfed African-American woman crossing Nash Street at Goldsboro Street, the courthouse and Confederate monument visible behind her. The other images depict tobacco warehouse and factory laborers, a laundry worker, and a bakery worker. The film also showed men working in a lumber yard and a concrete pipe manufacturer. Do you recognize anyone?

My thanks to the late Steve Brown for a DVD copy of this film.

Funeral Program Friday: Rosemary Fitts Funderburg.

——

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1007 Washington Street, Howdard Fitts, 37, and wife Courtney, 36, both teachers, with children Howdard Jr., 8, and Rosemary, 6.

In the 1949 Durham, N.C., city directory: Fitts Rosemary case wkr Family Serv r1611 Fville

In the 1950 Durham, N.C., city directory: Fitts Rosemary P case wkr Family Serv r809 Fville

On 3 June 1950, Ilon Owen Funderburg, 25, of Durham, son of Dr. F.D. Funderburg and Ethel Westmoreland Funderburg, married Rosemary Fitts, 26, of Durham and Wilson, daughter of Howard M. Fitts and Courtney Plummer Fitts, at Saint Alphonsus Church, Wilson.

Atlanta Funeral Programs Collection, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History, digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu

Walker defaults; Smith sells; Vick buys.

In September 1914, having borrowed money from Rev. Owen L.W. Smith, Sarah Walker secured her note with a mortgage on her property near South Goldsboro Street. Walker defaulted on the loan, and Smith put her property up at auction in May 1916. Samuel H. Vick made the high bid. 

“Beginning at a stake, Southwest corner of A.J. Townsend‘s lot on the edge of the west edge of a drainage ditch at the embankment of South Goldsboro Street South of Norfolk and Southern Railroad….” Deed book 111, page 336, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

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  • Sarah Walker

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Robert Walker, 31, lumber mill laborer, and wife Sarah, 29.

In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Walker Sarah (c) seamstress h 402 E Walnut

In the 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Walker Sarah (c) domestic h 402 E Walnut

In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Walker Sarah (c) tobwkr h 109 S East

In the 1928 and 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Walker Sarah (c) domestic h 109 S East

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: paying $/8 month rent, seamstress Sarah Walker, 40; also paying $8/month, Leon Crawford, 39, bricklayer; wife Mary, 37, cook; and roomers John Staden, 39, bellhop, and wife Louise, 33.

The 107th anniversary of the school boycott.

Today marks the 107th anniversary of the resignation of 11 African-American teachers in Wilson, North Carolina, in rebuke of their “high-handed” black principal and the white school superintendent who slapped one of them. In their wake, black parents pulled their children out of the public school en masse and established a private alternative in a building owned by a prominent black businessman.  Financed with 25¢-a-week tuition payments and elaborate student musical performances, the Independent School operated for nearly ten years. The school boycott, sparked by African-American women standing at the very intersection of perceived powerless in the Jim Crow South, was an astonishing act of prolonged resistance that unified Wilson’s black toilers and strivers.

Sallie Roberta Battle Johnson, one of the Graded School teachers.

The school boycott is largely forgotten in Wilson, and its heroes go unsung. In their honor, today, and every April 9 henceforth, I publish links to Black Wide-Awake posts chronicling the walk-out and its aftermath. Please read and share and speak the names of Mary C. Euell and the revolutionary teachers of the Colored Graded School.

we-tender-our-resignation-and-east-wilson-followed

the-heroic-teachers-of-principal-reids-school

The teachers.

a-continuation-of-the-bad-feelings

what-happened-when-white-perverts-threatened-to-slap-colored-school-teachers

604-606-east-vance-street

mary-euell-and-dr-du-bois

minutes-of-the-school-board

attack-on-prof-j-d-reid

lucas-delivers-retribution

lynching-going-on-and-there-are-men-trying-to-stand-in-with-the-white-folks

photos-of-the-colored-graded-and-independent-schools

new-school-open

the-program

a-big-occasion-in-the-history-of-the-race-in-this-city

womens-history-month-celebrating-the-teachers-of-the-wilson-normal-industrial-school

the-roots-of-mary-c-euell

respectful-petition-seeks-reids-removal

lucas-testifies-that-he-accomplished-his-purpose

there-has-been-an-astonishing-occurrence-in-wilson

no-armistice-in-sight

And here, my Zoom lecture, “Wilson Normal and Industrial Institute: A Community Response to Injustice,” delivered in February 2022.

Battle sister transfers land to brother.

On 1 January 1914, for $500, Ada G. Battle sold her brother Charles T. Battle a 28′ by 52′ parcel of land on Tarboro Street, “it being the identical lot on which was situated the black-smith shop of [their father] Charles Battle, deceased.”

Deed book 97, page 587, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

The 31 heirs of Harriet Wilkinson Barnes, part 1.

Harriet Wilkinson Barnes died in Wilson in 1916. She was survived by her husband Austin Barnes and a slew of nieces and nephews, but left no will. This set of documents related to the disposition of her property — a house and lot at what is now 702 East Green Street — is among the most astonishing I’ve ever encountered.

The lot was auctioned pursuant to court order. George H. Edmundson bought it for $1550 and requested that the deed be made out to his parents Jerry and Zillie Edmundson. Distributing the proceeds of the sale, however, required that Harriet Barnes’ heirs be identified, and W.H. Lee, a court-appointed referee, conducted an investigation that is breath-taking not only for the effort it represented for so small a reward, but for the range of matters it touched upon — slavery, fractured families, Exoduster and other migration, repeat naming patterns. Not to mention surprise witnesses and the fallibility of memory and family stories. In the end, the referee produced a report which, though flawed, outlines three generations of descendants of a woman who was born into, and barely outlived, slavery.

The petition and order of sale are below, and the referee’s report starts on page 459.

I’m going to try to summarize his findings, but I urge you to peruse the document for yourself. The referee interviewed the family of Harriet Barnes’ former enslaver, as well as numerous relatives, to determine which of Barnes’ siblings’ descendants had legitimate claims to her estate. An annotation of the named parties will need a follow-up post. There’s just too much.

First, Harriet Bynum was the daughter of Edna Bynum, who “was a slave woman owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Bynum or her husband.” There was no clear evidence as to the identity of Edna Bynum’s husband, but all their children were born prior to 1 January 1868 (which, apparently, was when Edna died.) Those nine children, including Harriet, were Louis Bynum, Arnold Bynum, Isaac Bynum, Ben Bynum, George Bynum, Sylvia Bynum Best, Chanie Bynum Mitchell, and Mary Bynum Dupree Bynum.

Also, as Harriet Bynum and her second husband, Austin Barnes, had no children, he was not entitled to inherit property she brought to the marriage.

The conclusions re Harriet Barnes’ brother Louis Bynum

Louis Bynum died leaving six children — Lawrence Bynum, Rennie Bynum Farmer, George Bynum, Isabella Bynum Best, Ida [Ada] Bynum Aycock, and Teda Bynum Bynum. Per George Bynum — an 81 year-old man who lived near Saratoga, had also been enslaved by Elizabeth Bynum, but was no relation to Harriet — Louis never married.

The referee relied on evidence in a letter received by John Edwards [the husband of one of her nieces, but who was the letter from?] to conclude that Lawrence Bynum was dead; that he had lived with Rachel Newsome, but never married her; that “he left here many years ago and went to Arkansas”; and that his many children — James C., Louis, Charlie, Lawrence Jr., Mary, Rachel, and Ada, who lived in Scott, Arkansas — were “illegitimate.” Louis’ son George Bynum of Mount Olive, N.C., and his daughter Isabella Best of Stantonsburg also gave testimony about their uncle. (The report refers to them incorrectly as Lawrence Bynum’s children. The substitution of “Lawrence” for “Louis” appears to happen several times in the first paragraph of page 460, as when the referee discounts George’s testimony about having a brother named Scott Bynum who had not been heard from in 28 years.)  [The referee’s conclusions were incorrect several ways. First, we’ve met the Lawrence Bynum family. Lawrence Bynum married Edna Bynum in Wilson County in 1878; they migrated to Lonoke County, Arkansas, with their elder children. Second, Louis Bynum very much had a son Scott. Census records establish his children (and their approximate birth years) as George (1859), Ada (1860), Scott (1862), Marenda “Rennie” (1863), Pet (1865), Isabella (1867), Charles (1869), and Tedy (1871). ]

Rennie Bynum married Robert Farmer and died before 1916. Her surviving children were Nealy Farmer Edwards of Stantonsburg; Maggie Farmer Brown of Stantonsburg; Ida Bynum Hall of Stantonsburg; Katie Farmer Hall of Stantonsburg; Hattie Farmer Wynn of Dudley [Wayne County, N.C.]; Robert Farmer of American Expeditionary Forces, France; and Bessie Farmer Brown of Stantonsburg. [Personal note: my grandmother’s first cousin, Mildred Henderson, married Katie Farmer Hall’s son Louis Hall. Louis Hall founded a vault company in the 1950s that is now a third-generation operation. When I began researching gravestone artist Clarence B. Best, I spoke with Louis Hall Jr., who told me his father had taken over Best’s business when he retired in the early 1970s. I had no idea that Louis Hall and Clarence Best were cousins. See below.]

The conclusions regarding her brother Arnold Bynum

Per Louis’s son George Bynum and Clarence Best, Arnold Bynum died without children.

The conclusions regarding her brother Isaac Bynum

Isaac Bynum was deceased. Per George Bynum, Isaac had a son Ben Bynum. Per witness Calvin Bynum, Isaac “left here 30 or 40 years ago.” As neither Ben nor any other descendant had put in an appearance, the referee determined Isaac Bynum had no descendants who were heirs at law.

The conclusions regarding her brother Ben Bynum

More confusion, as Ben Bynum is described as “son of Lawrence” rather than son of Edna Bynum and brother of Harriet Barnes. Further, the referee noted that the evidence he received was contradictory. George Bynum of Saratoga said Ben was one of Lawrence Bynum’s children [sic]. George Bynum of Mount Olive (Louis Bynum’s son) said Ben Bynum’s descendants were not related to him. A white man named B.A. Scott testified that a Ben Bynum who belonged to Elizabeth Bynum married a woman named Charlotte, who had been enslaved by Scott’s father. Calvin Bynum, age 69, son of Moses Bynum and averred first cousin of Edna Bynum’s children, who had been enslaved by the same family as Edna, said Harriet Bynum’s brother Ben Bynum married Charlotte Scott. “He says that his father, Moses, always told him that this Ben Bynum was a brother of Harriett, and that Harriett was a daughter of a sister of this father.” Other witnesses claimed to be Ben Bynum’s children and said they had visited Harriett and called her “aunt,” and she recognized them as her nieces and nephews, and Ben always claimed Harriett as his sister.

The referee concluded that Ben Bynum, deceased, was Harriett Barnes’ brother and his children were her heirs at law. They included Riley Bynum of New Bern, N.C.; George Bynum of Bonnerton, N.C.; W. Randal Bynum and Ida Bynum of Royal, N.C.; Lina White of Greenville, N.C.; and Mary Jane Jackson of 421 Green Street, Wilson.

The conclusions regarding her brother George Bynum

Per George Bynum of Saratoga, this George Bynum died in childhood.

The conclusions regarding her sister Sylvia Bynum Best

Per Robert E. Bynum, son [actually, nephew] of Eliza [sic; Elizabeth] Bynum, who had enslaved Edna and her daughter Sylvia, Sylvia had been married and had a child named Ben Best, born before the Civil War. Ben Best was deceased, leaving children Jenetta Newsome, Junius Best, Ollie Best, and Clarence Best. (Who had their own legal representative in this matter — attorney E.J. Barnes.) George Bynum of Saratoga and John Edwards testified that Sylvia had two more children, Lou Ellis and Cora Deans, born out of wedlock after the Civil War.

The referee concluded that Ben Best’s children were entitled to their grandmother’s share as heirs at law, and Ellis and Deans were not entitled to anything. [Clarence Best was the well-known grave memorial cutter featured in multiple posts here.]

The conclusions regarding her sister Chanie Bynum Mitchell

Chanie Bynum married a Mitchell and had two children — Fannie and John Mitchell — who were believed to be living.

The conclusions regarding her sister Mary Bynum Dupree Bynum

Again, contradiction among witnesses and confusion created by the referee’s sloppiness. (He calls Mary “Annie” at one point.) The petition to sell Harriet Barnes’ land stated Mary was married to a Dupree, but George Bynum of Saratoga said she married Hack (or Jack) Bynum. Clarence Best testified that Annie [sic; Mary] Dupree married Sam Ward, “went South about ten years ago and has not been heard from.” Isabella Best said Mary Bynum first married a Dupree and had two children, Ben and Sam. Ben migrated to Arkansas; Sam lived and died near Wilson. No known children for either. But: after witness testimony concluded, “a negro man came in who claimed to be Ben Dupree, the son of Mary Bynum by her first marriage.” Ben Dupree testified that he had moved to Leesburg, Florida, many years before; that he had lost touch with his brother Sam Bynum [sic; Dupree]; that he had come to “see about it”; that he had found that his brother had died; and that his brother had seven living children — Ed, 21, Mary, 18, Sam, 13, Minnie Bell, 12, Sallie, 9, Maggie, 8, and Bennie Dupree, 6. Having been fetched, Ed Dupree confirmed that he and his siblings were Sam Dupree‘s children, and Sam had died five years earlier. Ben Dupree also stated that his mother Mary had married Jack Bynum and had two or three children; that about thirty years after Mary died, the children “left and went to the far South or South-west”; and that they had not been heard from since, and no one knew if they were living or dead. The referee thus concluded that Ben Dupree and Sam Dupree’s seven children stood to share Mary Bynum’s share of Harriet Barnes’ estate.

“These parties are negroes,” the referee stated, “and many of them without Counsel.” He acknowledged that the strict rule of procedure had not been followed in collecting evidence from witnesses who testified in multiple hearings and lived in various places around the state of North Carolina, “but I have collected the facts from any and whatever sources available, calling witnesses whenever it was learned that their personal knowledge might throw some light upon case pertaining to the relationships of the parties ….” He then broke down the interest to which each person was entitled, ranging from 1/20 to 1/175. Even if the full $1550 from the sale of Harriet Barnes’ lot were available — which it wasn’t, as court costs had to be paid — the payouts would have ranged from $77.50 down to $8.85.

Wilson County, North Carolina, Property Settlement Records 1905-1923, http://www.familysearch.org.

The last will and testament of Susan Richardson Gaston Rattley.

Susan Richardson Gaston Ratley drafted her will on 4 March 1925, several years before she died. She left eldest son John Henry Gaston a “grind rock” (presumably, grindstone) and “Opants bed quilt.” The remainder of her property went to children Ivory Gaston, Charlie Gaston, and Nonia Gaston Carney. Son-in-law George Carney was appointed executor, as well as guardian of Charlie Gaston, who was “of an unsound mind, and not mentally capable of looking after his own affairs.” Ratley explained that she used “some discrimination in the division of [her] humble estate” because her younger children “by hard work and co-operation with [her], enabled [her] to thus save that [she has,] without the aid of [her]oldest son Henry Gaston ….” Thus, “they are justly entitled to the greater part of my estate.’

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On 20 April 1876, Simon Gaston, 25, married Susan Richardson, 20, in Stantonsburg, Wilson County, in the presence of H. Richardson, Ned Ellis, and H. Donell.

In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Simon Gaston, 28, farm laborer; wife Susan, 23; and children Henry, 3, Joseph, 1, and a 1 month-old infant.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm laborer John Gaston, 21; mother Susan, 48; and siblings Charley, 13, Ivor, 10, and Mary M., 8.

On 16 November 1904, John Radcliffe, 70, of Wilson, son of Jack and Martha Radcliffe, married Susan Gaston, 48, of Wilson, at William Jenkins‘ residence in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony in the presence of B.S. Jordan, R.B. Ellis, and Henry Mitchell.

In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Charles, Ivy, and Joseph Gaston, all laborers, are listed at 610 Stantonsburg Street.

In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Charles and Ivey Gaston, both laborers, are listed at 615 Stantonsburg Street.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 313 Manchester, oil mill laborer Henry Gaston, 31; wife Dora, 28; and daughter Josephine, 3.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 618 Nash, George Carney, 30, laborer in auto shop, and wife Nonnie, 28.

In the 1928 and 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Rattley Susan (c) h 408 Manchester

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 408 Manchester, owned and valued at $400, widow Susan Rattley, 74, and son Charlie Gatsin, 23, odd jobs.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 508 Woodard, Henry Gaston, 42, town laborer; wife Dora, 38; and stepdaughter Josephine Whitaker, 14.

Susan Rattley died 15 October 1931 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 75 years old; was born in Wake County to Frank Richardson; was the widow of John Rattler; lived at 408 Manchester Street; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.] Nonia Carney was informant.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Nonia Connie, 45; brother Ivry Gaston, 50, plumber for City of Wilson; husband George Connie, 49; and James H. Williams, 24, tobacco factory laborer.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Henry Gaston, 58, clerk in own store; wife Dora, 48; stepdaughter Josephine Ward, 24; and step grandson Walter Whitaker, 7.

In the 1940 census of Raleigh, Wake County, N.C.: at North Carolina State Penitentiary, Charlie Gaston, 47, inmate. [In 1938, Gaston was charged in the rape of a ten year-old girl. A judge accepted his plea of guilty to a lesser charge in consideration of Gaston’s “low mentality,” which was estimated to be equivalent to a six or seven year-old child. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.]

Henry Gaston died 27 December 1940 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was verb 19 January 1881 in Wilson County to Handy Heart; lived on Taylor Street; was married to Dora Gaston; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery.

In 1943, Charlie Gaston registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was about 45 years old; he was born in Wilson County; his contact was sister Nome Carney, Wilson; he was “employed” at Central Prison; and he was blind.

Charlie Gaston died 11 December 1949 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1888 to Simon Gaston and Susan Rattley Richardson [sic]; was single; lived at 502 Manchester Street; worked as a laborer; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery. Nonia Carney was informant.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: George Carney, 61, janitor at private club; wife Nonie, 50, hanging tobacco; brother-in-law Ivory Gaston, 56, fireman at city electric plant; and James H. Williams, 33, tobacco packer.

George T. Carney died 7 July 1958 at his home at 502 Manchester Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 June 1895 in Edgecombe County, N.C., to John Carney and Amanda Freeman; was married to Nonie Carney; and worked as a laborer.

Ivory Gaston died 27 May 1968 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 4 January 1904 to Susan Richardson and lived at 502 Manchester Street. Nonie Carney was informant.

Nonie Carney died 9 January 1972 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 15 May 1896 to Sue Riley; was a widow; had worked as a laborer; and lived at 502 Manchester Street. James Williams was informant.

The last will and testament of Argent Harper.

In a will executed 22 May 1928, Argent Harper left her daughter Deborah Swindell her house and part of the lot it sat upon on Suggs Street, and the remainder of her property to all her children — Swindell, Charles Harper, Elizabeth Hampton, and Effie Lewis. She nominated Camillus L. Darden her executor.

——

In the 1870 census of Kinston, Lenoir County, North Carolina: Thomas Morris, 40, works in blacksmith shop; wife Judia, 30; children Clarissey, 21, Argeant, 13, Allice, 11, and Fannie, 5; Jonah Phillips, 26, farm laborer; Eunice Phillips, 1; and Argeant Morris, 66, midwife.

On 6 November 1879, Richard Harper, 28, of Wilson County, son of James and Cloe Harper, married Argent Morris, 19, of Lenoir County, daughter of Tom and Judah Morris, at the A.M.E.Z. church in Kinston.

In the 1880 census of Kinston, Lenoir County, North Carolina: blacksmith Thomas Morris, 56; wife Judy, 45; children Alice, 20, and Fannie Morris, 6; daughter Clarisa Phillips, 30, laborer; daughter Argent Harper, 22, laborer; and grandchildren Henrietta, 7, Jonah, 6, Sally, 1, and Mary Phillips, 13.

In the 1900 census of Pinetucky district, Laurens County, Georgia: farmer Richard Harper, 59; wife Argen, 43; and children Cora, 17, Dora, 16, Deby, 13, Charlie, 12, Estella, 10, Richard, 7, and Elizabeth, 5.

On 8 November 1917, Whit Lewis, 29, of Wilson, married Effie Harper, 24, of Wilson, in Wilson. A.M.E. Zion minister B.P. Coward performed the ceremony in the presence of Alice Carington, Thomas Cooke, and John Graham.

Richard James Harper died 8 January 1918 in Wilson township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 31 August 1851 in Greene County, N.C., to James and Clara Harper; was married to Argent Harper; worked as a tenant farmer for Ashley Young; and was buried in Wilson County.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Argent Harper, 58, and daughters Deba, 25, seamstress, and Elizabeth, 17.

In the 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Harper Argent (c) dom h 141 Suggs

On 30 January 1924, Louis Swindell, 24, of Washington, N.C., son of Lewis Swindell and Selista [no maiden name], married Deborah Harper, 27, of Wilson, daughter of Richard and Argene Harper, in Wilson. A.M.E.Z. minister B.P. Coward performed the ceremony in the presence of Julia Bryant, Effie Lewis, and Whit Lewis.

In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Harper Argent (c) laundress h 630 Suggs

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Harper Argent (c) lndrs h 630 Suggs

Argen Harper died 1 August 1929 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 60 years old; was born in Kinston, N.C., to Tom Morris and Judy Morris; was the widow of Richard Harper; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.] Deborah Swindell was informant.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 630 Suggs, owned and valued at $1000, Debbie Swindell, 40, helper at beauty parlor; roomer [sic; sister] Effie Lewis, 35, widow, servant; roomers [Effie’s children?] Essie M., 10, Mathew, 8, and William J. Lewis, 4; and daughter Deborar Swindell, 6.

Effie Lewis died 14 March 1958 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 15 March 1890 in Georgia to Richard Harper and Argent Morris; was a widow; lived at 413 Stantonsburg Street, Wilson; and worked as a domestic. Effie Mae Fields was informant.

Charles H. Harper died 11 May 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Per his death certificate, he was 29 March 1890 in South Carolina to Richard Harper and Argent Morris; was married to Lucinda Harper; and was retired.

Deborah Harper Swindell died 2 February 1979 in Burlington, Alamance County, N.C. Per a North Carolina Death Index, she was born 24 August 1886.

State v. John Brown.

To stave off responsibility for caring for poor women and their children, unwed mothers were regularly brought before justices of the peace to answer sharp questions about their circumstances.

On 9 August 1869, Ann Anderson admitted to Wilson County justice of the peace F.W. Taylor that she had given birth to a child whose father was John Brown. Taylor ordered that Brown be arrested and taken to a justice to answer Anderson’s charge.