The obituary of Nathaniel Ford Jr. of Trenton, New Jersey.

Trenton Evening Times, 30 April 1986.

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In 1940, Nathaniel Ford registered for the World War II draft in Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Per his registration card, he was born 15 June 1906 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 111 Fall Street, Trenton; his contact was friend Effie Olston; and he worked for W.P.A.-Fort Dix, N.J.

In the 1950 census of Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey: Nathaniel Ford, 43, building construction laborer; wife J.M., 33; children Nathaniel F., 6, Jimmie, 5, and Jay R., 1; and roomer Maud Stevenson, 34, cleaning woman.

Expenses of white and colored schools.

Wilson Daily Times, 12 December 1921.

In 1921, Wilson County paid expenditures for its white and “colored” schools at a ratio of 16:1. Note not only the overall money spent, but what it was spent for. (Or not.) There were no African-American high schools anywhere in the county — hence, no salaries paid. No assets used for African-American students were insured, and no transportation was provided. No furniture, blackboards, desks, stoves, new houses, sites, or equipment accrued to Black students. The County did pay out $67.50 in rent, however, as many rural schools did not have their own buildings.

B.W.A. Historical Marker Series, no. 15: Saint Alphonsus Catholic School.

In this series, which will post on occasional Wednesdays, I populate the landscape of Wilson County with imaginary “historical markers” commemorating people, places, and events significant to African-American history or culture.

We been here.

SAINT ALPHONSUS SCHOOL

Second location of Black Catholic school, 1948-1968, staffed by sisters of Oblate Sisters of Providence. Succeeded by co-op kindergarten Kiddie Kollege of Knowledge.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, August 2024.

There will be no provision made for the colored soldiers.

1919. World War I had ended. Wilson planned Memorial Day Exercises and a Home Celebration for “the boys who answered their country’s call.” Or most of them, anyway.

The Daily Times published this clarification days before the festivities. Bottom line: Black soldiers were not invited. The mayor had designated “July 4th as the day on which the colored people of Wilson County will honor the returned heroes of their race ….” The good white businessmen of the town had agreed to throw a little money at the later event, but “… there will be no provision made for the returned colored soldiers in [the] parade or barbecue dinner.”

Wilson Daily Times, 10 May 1919.

Pine Tree.

This marker on N.C. Highway 42 has long mystified me.

PINE TREE. Original center of Gardners township. Established by John Gardner. December 22, 1848.

Hugh B. Johnston Jr. described Pine Tree as the “community around John Gardner’s store about 20 years before and after the Civil War. On the Tarboro Highway about 6 1/2 miles E. of Wilson and 1 1/2 miles W. of Wilbanks.” 

The records of Gardner’s 1857 estate, which was beset with claims and bad accounts receivable, do not note any enslaved property, but in the 1840 census of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Gardner claimed one male aged 10-24, a female aged 10-24, and a female under age ten. In the 1850 slave schedule of Edgecombe County, John A. Gardner claimed ten enslaved people: women aged 50, 40, and 39; men aged 41, 23, 18, and 18; a boy aged 4; and girls aged 2 and 12. 

Beyond these men and women, Gardner and Pine Tree would have been well known to enslaved people throughout what is now northeastern Wilson County. 

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, September 2024.

917 Atlantic Street.

The one hundred ninety-fifth in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1913; 1 story; Queen Anne cottage with double-pile, hip-roofed form, projecting front wing; remodeled with aluminum siding and metal porch posts.”

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In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Turner Jasper (c; Madie) mill hd h 917 Atlanta

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Bynum Dudley (c; Olie) barber h 917 Atlantic av

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 917 Atlantic, barber Dudley Bynum, 49, and wife Ola, 45, laundress at Hotel Cherry.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Bynum Dudley (c; Oleona) barber Wm Hines h 917 Atlantic

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Oleona R. Bynum, 55; husband Dudley Bynum, 59; and lodger Cora Parker, 51, widow.

Wilson Daily Times, 24 October 1959.

Oleonia Brooks Bynum died 21 October 1959 in Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina. Per her death certificate, she was born 8 June 1893 to Dennis Brooks and Mary Ann Helms; was married to Dudley Bynum; and lived at 917 Atlantic Street, Wilson.

Wilson Daily Times, 19 July 1962.

Dudley Bynum died 19 July 1962 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born August 1889 in Wilson County to Berry Bynum and Loddie [no maiden name]; lived at 917 Atlantic Street; was a widower; was a barber; and was buried in Masonic Cemetery. Lydia B. Knight, 311 Manchester Street, was informant.

Wilson Daily Times, 15 August 1962.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, September 2024.

The murder of Mildred Powell.

Durham Sun, 1 March 1933.

Robert Jones was finally arrested in Raleigh in early October. Within days, he was on trial, but facing a reduced charge of manslaughter. Jones had recanted a confession that he had shot Wilson native Mildred Powell in “a Hayti rooming house” over a liquor dispute. His defense then claimed he and Virginia White had been tussling over a gun that accidentally discharged and fatally struck Powell. While Jones was on the lam, White died of tuberculosis and the investigating detective was murdered, severely cramping the state’s case against Jones. Nonetheless, he was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

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Mildred Powell died 28 February 1933 in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina. Per her death certificate, she was 26 years old; was born in Wilson County to John Powell and Sarah Hagan; lived at 518 Elm Street; worked in a factory; and died of “gun shot wound (pistol) of chest; homicide.” Virginia White was informant, and Powell’s body was returned to Wilson for burial.

Lane Street Project: “my heart cries for all.”

I went home to celebrate my father with my mother and sister and to learn and share at the African American Cemeteries and Their Communities symposium in Durham. I thought the weekend had already filled me to the brim, but then I stopped by Vick Cemetery on my way to the airport. I placed a new “We remember” placard to signal our care for this space and wandered over to assess the condition of our fence-cum-signboard. It could stand a bit of tidying, and I stooped to look more closely at an unfamiliar ziplock bag affixed to the chain link. Inside, a single sheet of paper, damp and mildew-spotted, with neat, block lettering, faded but mostly legible.

Sunday March 9th 2024

I have never been in Wilson N.C. before but felt compelled to visit since reading about Vicks Cemetery. There is no reason that is acceptable and can explain how grave marking or head stones are removed from a persons final resting place. I do not know anyone from Wilson now or ever so my heart cries for all laid to rest and all the families who no longer know where their loved one lies. The people who make these dreadful decisions should pray that they never feel this anguish of not knowing where their loved ones lie.

We travelled from Greensboro to honor all who lie here in Vicks’ Cemetery and may they rest in peace.  

The note is signed, but I will preserve its author’s privacy. I am sorry that six months passed before I saw her note, and I appreciate the care she took to protect it from the elements just in case. I am most grateful that she was moved to drive hours to visit Vick Cemetery. I hope she reads Black Wide-Awake regularly and will see this belated, but heartfelt, acknowledgment of the honor she paid to the thousands interred here. The violence done to our dead reverberates beyond their descendants. Thank you, M.C.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, September 2024.