Wilson Daily Times, 6 July 1932.
For more on Wilson’s 1920s, early ’30s Black baseball team, the Braves, see here and here and here.
Sauls bruised when building collapses.
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.), 12 June 1937.
- Jim Sauls — I did not firmly identify Sauls, but John Y. Aycock lived in Black Creek township, Wilson County.
Studio shots, no. 242: Elmer Langston.
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In the 1930 census of Great Swamp township, Wayne County, North Carolina: farmer Barney Langston, 34; wife Jennie, 43; and children Canaan, 13, Mattie, 10, Corena, 8, Junius, 6, Elma and Thelma, 4, Ethel, 3, and Troy L., 1 month.
In the 1940 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Barney Lancaster, 47; wife Jenny, 49; and children Kiney, 23, Pauline, 21, June, 19, Thelma, 17, Elmer and Ethel, 15, and Troy, 11.
In 1943, Elmon Langston registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. per his registration card, he was born 20 February 1925 in Wayne County; lived at Route 1, Fremont, Wilson County; was a student at Mincey [Minshew] School; and worked at Jessie Edmundson farm, Fremont. he signed his card ‘Elmar Langston.’
In the 1950 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Bonnie Langston, 54; wife Maggie, 54; children Thelma, 24, Ethel Lee, 22, Troy D., 19, and Elmer, 24; daughter-in-law Harriet, 23; grandchildren Louise, 2, and Elmer Lee, 1; and grandchildren Carolyn, newborn, and Virginia, 3.
On 2 April 1960, Elmer Langston, 31, of Fremont, married Daisy Hooks, 32, of Fremont, in Wilson County.
Photo courtesy of Ancestry user Chakela Barrington.
Snaps, no. 113: Mattie Gibson Shelley.
I did not know her, but these snapshots of Mattie Gibson Shelley are windows onto the landscape of my childhood.
Mattie Shelley, three girls, and boy, out in the country. A tiny cemetery; a fresh grave. Corn fields; a young sweetgum tree.
Mattie Shelley with cat eye glasses and a slight smile, in town. A classic metal porch chair. (Ubiquitous, yet so uncomfortable. There’s a glider on the porch across the street.) Puffy white cloud, a young tree.
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In the 1910 census of Cartersville township, Florence County, South Carolina: Walie Gibson, 36; wife Mary, 39; and children Cora, 15, Ada, 13, Julius, 9, Walter, 7, Joseph, 5, Mattie, 3, and Annie, 10 months.
In the 1920 census of Cartersville township, Florence County, South Carolina: Wallie Gibson, 46; wife Ella, 26; and children Walter, 18, Joseph, 15, Mattie, 12, Annie, 10, Eva, 7, and Willie, 5.
In the 1940 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer Roy Shelley, 44; wife Mattie, 31; and children Marthy Lee, 11, Walter, 9, Lee Roy, 7, William, 4, and Willie, 1.
In the 1950 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Roy Shelley, 53; wife Mattie, 42; children Martha, 21, Walter, 19, Leroy, 17, William, 14, Willie, 11, Dorthy, 7, Bearnice, 5, and James, 3; and granddaughter Bobbie Hardin, 2.
Mattie Gibson Shelley died 1 October 1973 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 13 December 1907 in South Carolina to Wallie Gibson and Mary Anthony; was a widow; lived at 925 Poplar Street; and was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery. Martha Chestnut, 501 Lane Street, was informant.
Photo courtesy of Ancestry user T’Keyah Fleming. Thank you!
The death of George Farmer, about whom nothing too good could be said.
Wilson Times, 9 April 1918.
There was a time when some acted as if there was no greater honor for a Black person than to be validated in death by a white person.
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Sam Vick knows what to select.
Wilson Daily Times, 29 July 1921.
Younger arrested for peach beer.
Wilson Daily Times, 23 July 1921.
Charlie Younger’s beer recipe sounds … intriguing. (Note that as late as 1921, East Wilson was described as a “negro settlement south of the railroad.”)
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In 1918, Charlie Younger registered for the World War I draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born in 1876; lived at 203 Manchester; worked as a laborer for American Tobacco Company; and his nearest relative was Maggie Younger.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Charlie Younger, 49; wife Maggie, 31; and children Charlie Jr., 16, Doctor, 13, Florence, 9, Edna, 7, Sarah Bell, 5, and James, 2.
On 7 August 1920, Charlie Younger, 21, son of Charlie and Maggie Younger, married Laura Southern, 21, daughter of Burrell and Eliza Southern, in Wilson. Cleveland Daniel applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister Charles T. Jones performed the ceremony in the presence of Thea Owens, Emma Rountree, and Buirl Summerville.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Methodist minister Raymond Murphy, 31; wife Eula, 31; children Jackson, 11, John D., 9, Robert L., 7, Mary L., 5, and Martha L., 6 months; and roomer Charlie Younger, 58, widower, guano plant laborer.
The obituary of Peter Blackwell of Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Star, 7 June 1937.
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In the 1900 census of Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana: day laborer Nathan Blackwell, 59; wife Delpha, 53; daughter-in-law Harriett, 33, house cleaner; and [grand]children James, 16, foundry offbearer, Jonas, 13, Martha, 11, and Peter, 10; all born in North Carolina.
In the 1910 census of Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana: at 969 West 24th, Robert Evans, 22, jobber; sister Georgia Blackwell, 23, laundress; brother-in-law Pete Blackwell, 23, street laborer; boarder Jim Staton, 35, cement laborer; and mother-in-law Ruth Evans, 46, laundress, widow.
In the 1918 Indianapolis, Indiana, city directory: Blackwell Peter E lab h 979 w 26th
Pete Blackwell died 6 June 1937 in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. Per his death certificate, he was about 48 years old; was born in North Carolina to Edward Blackwell and Hattie Lassiter; lived at 2706 Ethel, Indianapolis; was a porter at Claypool Hotel; and was married.
Peterson accused (and later convicted.)
The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 8 July 1887.
- Arthur Peterson
Union 55, Neverson Quarry 23.
Barre Daily Times (Barre, Vt.), 6 July 1948.
It’s rare that my professional life intersects with Black Wide-Awake, but seventy-five years later, I would be the Regional Director certifying the results of a NLRB election at a Wilson County quarry.