Lane Street Project: in memory of Alice Artis (1877-??)

I’ve spoken of the database I am developing of likely burials in Vick, Odd Fellows, and Rountree Cemeteries. My spreadsheet draws upon death certificates, obituaries, and other sources — most distressingly imprecise. The term “Rountree Cemetery” on these documents may refer to Vick, Odd Fellows, or Rountree. Some documents broadly refer only to burial in Wilson. However, in the absence of official burial records for any of the cemeteries, we make do.

This series honors the men, women, and children who never had grave markers, or whose stones have been lost or stolen or destroyed. Graves believed to be in Vick Cemetery, which the City of Wilson stripped of remaining markers in 1996, will be identified with a Vick Cemetery logo.

In the 1900 census of Ingrams, Johnston County: widower farmer Archie Artis, 78; daughters Bathanie, 32, and Alice E., 22; and granddaughters Victoria, 13, Effie, 10, and Pollie, 1.

In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Artis Alice (c) cook h Vance nr Pender

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Joe Evans, 26; wife Effie, 17; daughter Never E., 3; sister Victory E., 22, widow; [her?] children William, 7, Maggie, 6, and Harvey, 3; mother-in-law Bettie Artice, 37; aunt Alice, 35; and her daughter Polly, 10.

On 3 Dec 1914, Solomon Ward applied for a marriage license for Jesse Henderson of Wilson, age 21, son [great-nephew] of Jesse Jacobs and Sarah Jacobs, both dead, and Pauline Artis of Wilson, age 18, daughter of Alice Artis. On the same day, Fred M. Davis, Baptist minister, performed the ceremony at his residence before Mary Barnes, Annie Hines, and Willie Cromartie, all of Wilson.  [Jesse and Sarah Henderson Jacobs, who were very much alive, reared Jesse, who was the son of Sarah’s sister.]

In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Artis Alice (c) dom h 219 1/2 Pender

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 217 Pender Street, Jesse Henderson with wife Pauline, daughter Bessie, and mother-in-law Alice Artis. Jesse worked as a truck driver for a woodyard. Alice Artis was a cook for a private family.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 318 Pender Street, Jack Henderson, truck driver, 38; wife Pauline, 31, and children Bessie, 12, Alic, 10, Joice, 8, Mildred, 6, and Archy, 4, listed in the household of mother-in-law Alic Artis, 49, private cook, paying $18/month rent.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 309 Pender Street, Alice Artis, 56; daughter Pauline Henderson, 39, household servant; granddaughters Bessie L., 23, hotel elevator girl, Alice, 20, household servant, Joyce, 18, household servant, Mildred, 16, and Doris, 10; and grandson Robert [Bobby], 4.

I have not found Alice Artis’ death certificate. Her grandchildren, however, report that she was buried in Vick Cemetery.

Recommended reading, no. 17: Sandy Level Cemetery Burial Records.

I added Bailey and Bailey’s Sandy Level Cemetery Burial Records to my little local history set yesterday. Sandy Level is in Nash County, but this is a valuable Black Wide-Awake resource for many reasons.

(1) Sandy Level Cemetery is on present-day Stoney Hill Church Road at Bailey Road, less than three miles from the Wilson County line. Extended families often straddled the line between Nash County’s Bailey and Jackson townships and Wilson County’s Old Fields township.

(2) Sandy Level A.M.E. Church established the cemetery circa 1900. (The church itself was formed before 1875, and Willis Cone was an early trustee.) Mount Carmel A.M.E. of Bailey, which is still active (and my mama’s church!), was more or less its successor. Dozens of church members are buried in Sandy Level, but the cemetery also seems to have become a community burial ground by mid-twentieth century.

(3) Many who left the Bailey area for different opportunities returned to Sandy Level for burial. Some only migrated 15 miles east to Wilson. Others joined the Great Migration North. And Mercy Hospital was the closest African-American hospital during the Jim Crow era, so many Nash County residents buried in Sandy Level actually died in Wilson.

(4) The Baileys’ book is an exemplar for recording and preserving African-American church and cemetery history. The 154 known burials are presented alphabetically, with a brief description drawn from obituaries or death certificates.

If you’re interested in ordering a copy of Sandy Level Cemetery Burial Records, please contact Margaret Bailey at baileym@uncw.edu. The book costs $25, shipping is $5, and the order turn-around time is impressive.

Lane Street Project: a moment to help our Mississippi sisters and brothers.

Leasondra May-Clayton cannot visit her ancestors’ historic graves because they are buried on private property that her family does not own. The landowner has denied access to the burial site unless she pays him $2.2 million. The State of Mississippi does not have a law granting access to cemeteries on private property. As a result, May-Clayton cannot restore the Landon Road Cemetery to the respectful resting place it once was.

May-Clayton and thousands more Mississippians need your help. House Bill 309 was introduced to the 2024 Legislature in an effort to grant access to cemeteries located on private property while protecting the owner from civil suit. Please help this bill pass by sharing this information and contacting a Mississippi State Legislator to urge them to vote “YES” on HB 309. You may also support the effort by signing a petition at Change.org, https://chng.it/GGLFbmsnBR
Composite photo courtesy of Black Cemetery Network.

“Trained Teachers and Trained Leaders”: Wilson County’s Rosenwald Schools.

I have a bottomless well of names to say and stories to tell about Wilson County, and I always look forward to Februarys at Wilson County Public Library. WCPL walks the talk of inclusion daily and on many paths, and I deeply appreciate their invitations to speak with my home folk about our community’s rich legacy.

Come out on Thursday, February 8, to learn about Wilson County’s Rosenwald schools. Funded by community fundraising and Sears Roebuck magnate Julius Rosenwald, these two- and three-teacher schools became the hubs of their communities and forever changed the lives of their students.

Pvt. Robert E. Ashford is killed in action in France.

Wilson Daily Times, 19 January 1945.

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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Rosa Ashford, 38, cook; children Granader, 19, William, 12, Catherine, 9, Robert E., 6, and Mina L., 3; and roomer William Perry, 65, widower, odd jobs laborer.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 523 Church Street, widow Rosa Ashford, 53, tobacco factory laborer, and children William, 22, Robert, 17, and Mynie L., 13. [Two other families shared the house.]

In 1940, William Ashford registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 12 January 1918 in Wilson; lived at 523 Church Street; his contact was mother Rosa Ashford; and he worked for George Currier.

Robert Edward Ashford registered for the World War II draft in 1942 in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 23 July 1923 in Wilson; lived at 614 East Green Street, Wilson; his contact was mother Rosa Ashford; and he worked at the Marine Base in Jacksonville, N.C.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 614 Green Street, Rosa L. Ashford, 62, and daughter Mymia Lovett, 22.

City Workers Club brings cheer to the elderly.

Wilson Daily Times, 18 January 1943.

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  • Joshua H. Neal —  Joshua H. Neal died 29 September 1947 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 6 October 1883 in Franklin County, N.C., to Abraham Neal and Louisa Brodie; was married to Vera Neal; worked as a laborer; and lived at 1319 East Nash Street.
  • John C. Dancy — John Christopher Dancy died 28 March 1972 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 October 1900 to John Dancy and Elizabeth May; was married to Pennie Mills Dancy; was a retired city laborer; and lived at 702 Suggs Street.
  • N.J. Jeffreys — Nathan Jefferies died 5 June 1952 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 12 April 1886 in Raleigh, N.C.; was laborer; was a widower; and lived at 1307 East Nash Street. Janie Jefferies was informant.
  • Marcellus Farmer — Marcellus Farmer Sr. died 28 November 1964 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 9 April 1899 to Morrison Farmer and Gracie Sharpe; was a widower; and worked as a laborer.

Physician’s house bombed.

In January 1952, in the midst of the N.A.A.C.P.’s push to integrate Cairo, Illinois, schools, the home of Dr. Urbane F. Bass; his wife, Wilson native Mary Della Wilkins Bass; and their four children was rocked by a dynamite blast. No one was injured, but the rear of the house was heavily damaged. The bombing followed burning crosses set as a warning to Black parents seeking to transfer their children to all-white Cairo schools.

Clinton Daily Journal and Public Record, 30 January 1952.

Within days, the police arrested and charged five white men with the crime. A year later, used car salesman Robert Hogan pleaded guilty and received a one-year suspended sentence. Charges against the rest were dismissed.