Women

Farm club men honor their wives.

Wilson Daily Times, 13 December 1944.

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  • Yelverton school
  • Robert Swain — Robert Swain died 7 June 1946 in Saratoga township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 19 October 1893 in Bertie County, N.C., to Robert Swain and Mattie Sutton; was married Lucinda Swain; was a farmer; and lived in Wilson County near Walstonsburg.
  • Charlie Ruffin — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farmer Charles Ruffin, 39; wife Henretta, 38; and children Bertha, 19, Charles, 17, James R., 16, Juanita, 12, Gladys Lee, 10, Christine, 8, Bruce, 7, Bertie Mae, 4, and Curtis, 10 months.
  • Arlestus McNair
  • Paul Barnes — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farmer Paul Barnes, 39; Sarah, 35; and children Ethel Mae, 17, Paul Jr., 15, Jimmie, 12, David, 8, Irene, 7, Louisa, 4, and William A., 2.
  • Jasper Jones — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farmer Jasper Jones, 64; wife Mary, 51; children Mary Lee, 19, and James, 14; and Henry Bynum, 40, hired hand.
  • Wesley Beaman — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farmer Levi Barnes, 30; wife Elizabeth, 27; children Nora Mae, 11, Vernistine, 9, Levi Jr., 7, Eula Sue, 5, James M., 3, and Willie E., 1; brother-in-law Wesley Beamon, 32, and wife Ethalene, 28.
  • Mack Ellis — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farmer Mack Ellis, 44, widower; children William Henry, 20, Lena, 17, Robert Lee, 15, Tempie Ruth, 14, Mamie, 10, and Helen, 8.
  • Ollie Barret — in the 1950 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farmer Ollin J. Barrett, 24; wife Mary L., 27; and children Alice F., 5, Hurley J., 3, and Shirley J., 1.
  • John C. Edwards — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: John Edward, 37; wife Bettie, 30; and children Roy McCray, 15, Mary C., 10, James J., 7, Betsy, 4, and Carrie Lee, 3.
  • Levi Barnes — see Wesley Beaman, above.
  • James Mercer — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: James Mercer, 57; wife Ida, 54; children Fannie, 19, Eulis and Mary Lee, 17, Chris, 16, and Clifton, 12; and granddaughter Mary Lee, 8.
  • Howard Barrett — in the 1940 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: widower Howard Barrett, 44; daughters William A., 16, Ines, 14, Beatrice, 12, and Thelma Lee, 10; and grandson Howard, 5.
  • Dennis Swain — in the 1930 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County, farmer Robert Swain, 39; wife Leora, 33; children Denis, 11, and Arthana, 10; and boarder Henry Bynum, 33.
  • C.W. Foster — Carter W. Foster.

Did Texas kill his wife?

Wilson Daily Times, 24 November 1911.

That first sentence is difficult to untangle, but my take-away is that Texas Faison of Wilson was believed to have killed his wife (who lived in Richmond, Virginia, but regularly moved between there and Wilson?) in Richmond.

  • Texas Faison — “Texas” was a common nickname in the era, and I suspect it suggested less a place of origin than a certain swagger. I have not found him in local records.

Studio shots, no. 249: Martha Newsome Harris Cotton.

Martha Newsome Harris Cotton (1890-1955).

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In the 1930 census of Bailey township, Nash County, N.C.: Martha Harris, 32, widow, farmer, and children [and stepchildren] James W., 14, Walter, 12, Mary, 10, Rosa, 8, and Leroy Harris, 7.

Walter Harris died 28 September 1936 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 19 years old; was born in Wilson County to William Harris and Martha Newsome; was married to Maggie Harris; worked in farming. Martha Cotton of Bailey, N.C., was informant; he was buried in Nash County.

In the 1940 census of Town of Bailey, Bailey township, Nash County: lumber mill laborer James Cotton, 38; wife Martha, 38, maid; and son Leroy Harris, 18, lumber mill laborer.

Martha Cotton died 28 January 1955 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 1 June 1900 in Wilson County to Walter Newsome; lived in Bailey, Nash County; was married; and was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery. Mary Peppers, 121 Ward Boulevard, Wilson, was informant.

Mamie Durham died 18 February 1980 in Newport News, Virginia. Per her death certificate, she was born 1 February 1913 in Wilson County, N.C., to William Harris and Martha Newsome; was married to John T. Durham; and was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery, Wilson.

Photograph courtesy of Ancestry.com user Lawrence Brown.

The sale of Dinah.

Know all men by these presents that I Redmon Curl of the County of Edgecombe And State of North Carolina for and in the consideration of the sum of fifty dollars to me on hand paid by Brittain Barker of the county and state a fore said have bargain sold and delivered And by these presents do Bargain sell and deliver unto the said Brittain Barker a certain Negro Woman Known by the name of Dinah to have and to hold the said Woman Dinah from me the said Redmon Curl my heirs Executors and Administrators unto him the said Brittain Barker his heirs Exers Admrs or assigns And I the said Redmon Curl doth hereby covenant promise and agree that I will Warrant and forever defend the title of the said Woman Dinah from my self my heirs Exers Admrs in witness whereof I the said Redmon Curl have hereunto Set my hand and seal this 27th day of October 1834

Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of Robert Barnes /s/ Redmon Curl

Wilson [County, North Carolina] Enslavement Records, 1855-1864, http://www.familysearch.org.

Funeral Program Friday: Lona McNiel Jackson (1905-1992).

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In the 1910 census of Back Swamp township, Robeson County, N.C.: farmer York McNeill, 49; wife Francess, 46; and children Franklin, 16, Lillie, 14, Tonnie, 11, Walter, 8, Lulu, 6, Lonie, 4, and Dewey, 2.

In the 1920 census of Lumberton township, Robeson County: farmer John W. McNeill, 59; wife Frances, 53; and children Lillie, 24, Fonnie, 22, Walter, 19, Lula, 16, Lona, 14, and Hughie, 12.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Macon Jackson, 38; wife Lona, 34, worked in green tobacco; and children Margaret, 14, Thurman, 13, Louise, 12, Theodore, 7, and Doris, 5.

In 1944, Thurman Willis Jackson registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 5 August 1926 in Saratoga, N.C.; lived at 1203 Carolina Street; his contact was mother Lona Jackson, same address; and he worked for P.B. Coley, Elks Club, Goldsboro Street, Wilson.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Macon H. Jackson, 49; wife Lona, 44; and children Margaret, 24, housecleaner, Louise, 22, Theodore, 17, Dorthory, 15, and Levarne, 3.

Macon Henry Jackson died 1 July 1958 in Chapel Hill, Orange County, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was born 22 November 1903 in Greene County, N.C., to Macon Jackson and Frances Walton; was married to Lona McNeill; resided in Wilson; and worked as a barber. 

Nina Hardy’s crazy quilt.

I’ve written several times of Nina F. Hardy, the Wayne County cousin who came to Wilson around the same time as Jesse and Sarah Henderson Jacobs. In a way, she was returning home, as her grandmother Catherine Boseman Aldridge likely was born just below Elm City in what was then Edgecombe County.

Many years ago, I connected with J.M.B., the great-grandson of Jefferson Farrior, the man for whom Aunt Nina worked for decades as a cook and nursemaid. He shared dozens of photos of her at work at the Farriors’ enormous house on Woodard Circle. Last week, he sent another rare treasure — a crazy quilt Aunt Nina made shortly after his mother was born in 1945. Pieced from bright bits of synthetic fabric in florals and geometric patterns, it features intricate contrasting stitching in bold threads.

Any sewing or quilting or fabric experts out there? I am correct that these are synthetic fabrics? From the 1930s and ’40s? And the neat embroidery stitches were hand-sewn?

I appreciate J.M.B.’s return of Nina Hardy’s handiwork to her family. He has been a generous source of information about our beloved cousin.

Jewel Jennifer Phillips, teacher, singer, songwriter.

The Evening Star, 1 December 1917.

On 30 November 1917, William H. Phillips, 25, of Raleigh, North Carolina, married accomplished pianist Jewel Jennifer, 18, in Washington, D.C. Dr. Phillips, in fact, had recently established a dental practice in Wilson, and the couple set up their home there.

The Phillipses had no children, and the marriage did not last. Before 1930 (when her former husband remarried), Jewell J. Phillips had returned to D.C., where she commenced a remarkable musical career under her maiden name and took a position in the business college her brother W. Emile Jennifer founded, the first of its kind for African-Americans in Washington.

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In the 1910 census of Washington, D.C.: at 445 Second Street, census office clerk William Jennifer, 40, born in Maryland; wife Syme, 31, born in Mississippi; children Harold, 15, born in Louisiana, Jewel, 13, and William, 10, born in Texas, and Archibald, born in D.C.; and mother-in-law Bettie Jones, 50, widow, born in Mississippi.

Washington Bee, 17 May 1913.

In 1917, Jewel Jennifer was appointed teacher at the Banneker School.

The Evening Star, 17 June 1917.

The Evening Star, 22 November 1917.

Six months later, newly married, she requested an official name change:

Strangely, Jennifer is also listed in the 1917-18 Catalogue of

In 1919, Jewel J. Phillips appears in the Raleigh, N.C., city directory as a teacher at Shaw University.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 332 South Spring, widow Ella Battle, 52, and her children Grace [Glace], 27, teacher Roberta, 29, tobacco worker John, 25, and Olga Battle, 11, shared their home with boarders Georgia Burks, 25, a Georgia-born teacher; chauffeur Theodore Speight, 17; and roomers William Phillips, 35, a dentist, and his wife Jewel, 23.

Washington Bee, 20 March 1920.

Jewel J. Phillips was still in Wilson when her brother Archibald Jennifer died in 1925.

The Evening Star, 

And she appears in the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory:

However, the same year, she filed a copyright for an original composition and listed her address as Washington, D.C.

In the 1929 Washington, D.C., city directory: Jennifer Jewel musician r 1243 N J av nw

In the 1930 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1243 N.J. Avenue, owned and valued at $20,000, Syme Jennifer, 49, manager at business college; daughter Jewel, 28, Jennifer School teacher; and roomer Flo. K. Williamson, 34.

Washington Tribune, 8 September 1934.

In the 1940 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1243 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Emile W. Jennifer, 39, private school teacher; mother Syme L. Jennifer, 60, notary; and sister Jewel J. Phillips, 33, pianist for fraternal corporation.

Times Herald (Washington, D.C.), 1 February 1947.

Jewell Jennifer Phillips died 8 June 1949 at her family home at 1243 New Jersey Avenue, Washington, D.C.

The Evening Star, 11 June 1949.

The last will and testament of Sally Barnes.

Sally Barnes drafted her simple will on 22 April 1909, leaving all her property to her husband Ed Barnes and nieces Lizzie and Bruce Adams. Samuel H. Vick and Julia Burnett signed the document as witnesses. Barnes died months later, and Vick was appointed administrator of her small estate on 8 January 1910.

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On 3 June 1897, Ed Barnes, 22, married Sallie Johnson, 21, at N.A. Adams’ in Wilson County. Missionary Baptist minister Crockett Bess performed the ceremony in the presence of Adams, Alfonzo Graves, and J.W. McKay.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm laborer Edwin Barnes, 25, and wife Sallie, 24. Next door: sawmill fireman Nathan Adams, 30; wife Bruce, 26; and daughters Lizza, 6, and Sissie, 4. [It appears in fact that Nathan Adams’ wife was Lizzie, and their daughter was Bruce.]

Bruce Adams died 25 April 1914 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 27 June 1894 in Wilson County to Nathan Adams and Lizzie Adams; worked as a cook; and was buried in Wilson [likely Vick Cemetery.] Lizzie Adams was informant.

Will of Sally Barnes (1910), Wilson, North Carolina, Wills 1663-1978, http://www.familysearch.org.