Where we worked: on the railroad.

Wilson Daily Times, 2 March 1950.

Though Wilson was not a railroad town in the way Rocky Mount was, the Atlantic Coast Line and Norfolk Southern railroads kept significant numbers of African-Americans employed. The work was steady, but often dirty and dangerous, especially for brakemen and switchmen.

City directories, census enumerations, draft registration cards, and other records yield this running list of railroad employees:

  • Tom Abram, laborer, A.C.L. R.R., 1917
  • Claude Albritton, laborer in freight depot, N.S. Ry. Co., 1917
  • Dock Applewhite, railroad section hand, lived in Stantonsburg, 1910
  • Allen Armstrong, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Frank Asbell, depot station hand
  • James Austin [Alston], brakeman, lived at 206 East Spruce, 1908; laborer for Norfolk Southern R.R., 1912
  • Romeo Bagley, baggage porter, A.C.L. baggage station, 1918; railroad laborer, 1920
  • George Barnes, railroad laborer, 1910
  • George Barnes, freight porter, A.C.L. station, 1920
  • George T. Barnes, station hand, A.C.L. R.R., lived at 632 Viola, 1916
  • John Barnes, station hand, A.C.L. R.R., lived at 808 Viola
  • Joseph Barnes, brakeman, lived on Daniel nr Spruce, 1908
  • Martin Barnes, section hand, N.S. R.R. Co., Cent. Div., lived in Stantonsburg, 1918
  • Pierce Barnes, railroad laborer, lived on the A.C.L. Railway near Spruce, 1908
  • David Battle, railroad crossing flagman, 1920
  • Frank Battle, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Harry Battle, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Millard Battle, railroad laborer, 1920
  • Samuel Bethea, railroading, 1916
  • Jule Berkley/Julius Burkett, N.&S. Railway brakeman, 1920
  • Elijah Bishop, depot freight hand, 1920
  • Warren Brington [Brewington?], laborer, freight department, 1917
  • Arthur Brodie, laborer, Norfolk Southern R.R., 1928
  • James Brown, yard switchman, A.C.L. Railway, lived at Viola near Reid, 1912
  • James E. Brown, fireman on A.C.L. railroad, 1918
  • Sam Brown, railroad laborer, 1917
  • Willie Bryant, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Julius Burkett, railroad yard switchman, 1920
  • Will Byrd, Seaboard Air Line Railway Company laborer, 1920
  • Karl Crank, depot drayman, 1910
  • Brister Daniel, A.C.L. R.R. section hand “Contentnea to near Fremont,” 1918
  • Harry Draughn, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Dallas Dunford, railroad section hand, 1910
  • John Hardy Ellis, Norfolk & Southern Railroad section hand, 1917, resided in Stantonsburg
  • Fulghum Edwards, A.C.L. Railway brakeman, 1916, 1920
  • Swift Faison, mail porter, A.C.L. station, 1920
  • Leroy Farmer, section hand, N.&S. R.R., Central Division, lived in Stantonsburg, 1918.
  • George Frederick, section hand, 1924
  • Bud Gaston, brakeman, 1912
  • John H. Gaston, A.C.L. freight station, 1918
  • William Gates [Gay], brakeman, lived at 529 Church, 1908
  • Isaiah Gilyard, longshoreman, C.&O. Railway, 1918
  • Samuel Green, section hand, Stantonsburg, 1916
  • Reid Hagans, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Robert Hall, railroad section hand, lived in Stantonsburg, 1910
  • Leslie Harris, freight hand, Atlantic Coast Line R.R., 1917
  • Charles Hayes, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Daniel S. Henry, labor, A.C.L. passenger depot, 1917
  • Eddie Herron, railroad laborer, 1920
  • Henrietta Hill, matron at A.C.L. passenger depot, lived at 134 Pender, 1908
  • Charles Hines, flagman, 1920
  • George Hobbs, section hand, 1917
  • Will R. Hockaday, section hand, A.C.L. Ry., Elm City, 1918
  • Eddie Hogan, section work, Norfolk So. R.R. Co., 1918
  • Edward Howard, laborer, A.C.L. R.R. Co., 1918
  • Will Jeffreys, railroad laborer, Sharpsburg, 1918
  • Hardy Johnson, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Allen Jackson, station hand, lived at 423 South Railroad Street, 1920
  • James Joyner, railroad laborer, 1920
  • James Mack, laborer, N.&S. R.R. Co., 1917
  • Charlie Macon, laborer, A.C.L. depot, 1918
  • Ulysses Martine, railroad postal clerk, 1920
  • Eziel McCoy, baggage man, A.C.L. station, 1918
  • John McDaniel, A.C.L. Railway laborer, 1920
  • James C. McLean, station hand, A.C.L. R.R., 1917
  • Alec McMillan, freight hand, 1920
  • Louis Miles, railroad laborer, 1917
  • Dave Mills, “extra track gang track man,” Norfolk & Southern Central Division, 1918
  • Gertrude Moss, cleaner, A.C.L. Railroad, 1910
  • James Moore, freight handler, A.C.L. R.R., 1917
  • James Nowling, railroad laborer, 1918
  • Tom Overstreet, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Menus Parker, railroad laborer, Norfolk Southern Ry. Co., 1917
  • James Peacock, depot station agent, 1920
  • Jimmie Pender, railway laborer, Norfolk Southern Ry. Co., 1917
  • Fred Pickens, laborer, freight depot, A.C.L. R.R., 1917
  • Robert Pittman, railroad employee, N.S. R.R. Co., 1918
  • Isaiah Procter, laborer, “S.L. Johnson’s section,” Lucama, 1917
  • Charlie Reed, railroad fireman, 1920
  • Will Reid, A.C.L. Railway Company laborer, 1920
  • Doc Richardson, railroad section hand, 1917
  • Roman Ricks, section hand, A.C.L., Lucama, 1917
  • John Roberson, laborer, N.S. R.R. Co., 1918
  • Ashley Sanders, laborer, A.C.L. freight depot, 1918; freight handler at freight depot, 1920
  • Carey Simms, laborer, N.S.R.R., 1918
  • Shafter Simpson, laborer, Norfolk Southern Ry. Co., 1918
  • Edward Smith, brakeman, 1920
  • George H. Smith, railroad porter, 1920
  • John Spencer, depot freight hand, 1920
  • Samuel Stephens, station hand, 1920
  • George Taylor, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Andrew J. Townsend, Norfolk & Southern Railway section hand, 1940
  • Shirley Thomas, railroad section hand, A.C.L. R.R., Elm City, 1917
  • Lizzie Thompson, depot matron, 1920
  • John Ward, section hand, Atlantic Coast Line, 1918
  • Alonzo Westley, railroad hand, Lucama, 1917
  • Walter Whitfield, railroad station hand, A.C.L. R.R., 1918
  • Lonnie Whitley, flagman, 1920
  • Bud Wiggins, extra force group, Norfolk Southern R.R., Central Division, 1918
  • Daniel Williams, laborer, N.S.R.R. tracks, 1920
  • Ed. O. Williams, laborer, 1918
  • Edward Williams, railroad laborer, 1910
  • Jesse Williams, laborer, Norfolk Southern R.R., 1918
  • Tom Williams, brakeman, 1892
  • Charley Winn, laborer, Norfolk & Southern R.R. Co., Elm City, 1918
  • Jessie Winn, brakeman, A.C.L. Ry. Co., 1917

Three year-old struck by taxi and slightly injured.

Wilson Daily Times, 4 March 1949.

——

  • Ralph Woodard, son of Herbert and Georgia Battle Woodard
  • Roy Hardy — in the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Walter Hardy, 67; daughter Mary E., 25, practical nurse; son Roy L., 24, taxi operator; and grandchildren Yvonne, 8, Janet, 6, Walter E., 4, and Carolyn, 2.

The Vick-Valle family.

We met Elba Vick Valle, eldest daughter of Samuel H. and Annie Washington Vick, here. A regular contributor to Black Wide-Awake shared these wonderful photos of the Valle family:

Curiously, Elba Vick and Carlos C. Valle were married twice — in December 1921 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and again in July 1922 in Wilson. The photo above appears to have been taken at or after the second ceremony, held at Samuel and Annie Vick’s Green Street home. Samuel Vick Sr. and Annie Vick are at far left, with Samuel Vick Jr. standing beside them. Cousin Bessie Parker Hargrave stands with a small girl, who is the youngest Vick child, Monte Vick Cowan. Newlyweds Carlos Valle and Elba Vick Valle stand at center. One of the flower girls is Doris Vick Walker. Daniel L. Vick may be the man standing behind the couple.

Carlos Valle is seated in the middle on the running board. Daughter Melba Gwendolyn Valle is seated in the lap of an unidentified man in the car.

Elba Vick Valle in about the 1950s.

Carlos Celedonio Valle y Ugarte (1892-1964) in an official portrait in his position as Grand Organizer for the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Valle, a native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, studied at Tuskegee Institute among a cadre of Afro-Latino students whose experience is set forth in Brian McClure’s 2013 University of Memphis dissertation, “Educating the Globe: Foreign Students and Cultural Exchange at Tuskegee Institute, 1898-1935.” (Mount Olive, North Carolina’s long-time Black physician Tomas Monte Rivera was also part of the Tuskegee-Puerto Rico program.)

Many thanks to V. Cowan!

Lane Street Project: future land use?

Back in September, Black Wide-Awake remarked upon the curious coloring of the Bishop L.N. Forbes’ cemeteries on the City of Wilson’s 2043 Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map. Shortly after, Rest Haven, Hamilton, and Masonic Cemeteries were changed to blue, the “institutional use” designation that matches Maplewood. Vick Cemetery, strangely, remained the maize of medium-density residential. (Presumably, the color change was acknowledgement of an error, as I have not seen any notice of rezoning for the cemeteries.)

I recently noticed the map below in a bundle of documents attached to the 18 January 2024 city council agenda. The documents were assembled in support of the proposed conversion of the old Happy Valley golf course into 600+ houses and townhouses. (I have a lot to say about this folly, but it’s off-topic for BWA, so I’ll spare y’all.) This Future Land Use Map was pulled from the City of Wilson 2030 Comprehensive Plan and also shows Rest Haven, Vick, and Odd Fellows Cemeteries in maize. (Rountree Cemetery is appropriately blue.)

Then, on 2 March 2024, the Wilson Times published an article, “Planning board sets public hearing on 2043 Comprehensive Plan,” that includes this map:

It’s a little hard to see, so:

(1) is Maplewood Cemetery, designated red for “commercial.” So is (2), Rest Haven Cemetery. “Commercial” is odd, but (3) is absolutely chilling. “VACANT”? Vick Cemetery is a lot of things, but vacant is not one, as the 4,224+ bodies lying beneath its bland surface attest.

What in the magic kaleidoscope is going on here?

I did a little digging on the Wilson County GIS website. Rest Haven Cemetery’s Main Improvement Description is “Business-Mortuaries/Funeral Home.” Maplewood Cemetery’s Main Improvement Description is, oddly, “Business-Office Building.” (On a hunch, I checked Evergreen Memorial Gardens’, too. It’s the same as Maplewood.) Masonic, Hamilton, Rountree, Odd Fellows, and Vick Cemeteries’ Main Improvement Description is “Vacant.”

Maybe there’s no meaningful distinction among these differing descriptions for parcels of land dedicated to the burial of the dead, but I don’t see how any good can come of describing cemeteries as vacant, and, in my 2020 voice, stay woke.

Public hearing on the final draft of the 2043 plan is 6:00 PM, Tuesday, March 5. Y’all go down there and ask some hard questions.

Dr. and Mrs. Hargrave after his election win.

Unidentified newspaper.

——

On 19 September 1907, F.S. Hargrave, 33, of Wilson, son of Henry and Laura Hargrave, married Bessie Parker, 20, of Wilson, in Wilson. Presbyterian minister Charles E. Tucker performed the ceremony at Calvary Presbyterian Church in the presence of J.D. Reid, Fred M. Davis, and Lena N. Harris.

Parker was a cousin of Samuel H. Vick and appears in his household in the 1900 census of Wilson.

Courtesy of V. Cowan. Thank you!

Historic Black Business Series, no. 11: Columbus E. Artis’ eating house.

The 500 block of East Nash Street is justly remembered as the 20th century epicenter of Wilson’s African-American-owned businesses. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black entrepreneurs and tradespeople also operated across the tracks. As Wilson’s downtown experiences a resurgence, let’s rediscover and celebrate these pioneering men and women.

Check in each Sunday for the latest in the Historic Black Business Series!

By 1910, Wayne County native Columbus E. Artis operated a small grocery store in Stantonsburg. Less than two years later, he had set up an eatery in a narrow brick building on South Goldsboro Street. (Alexander D. Dawson, having closed his fish and oyster stall in the city market, ran a rival eatery across the street. The directory listed eight eating houses — all downtown, all African-American-owned.)

In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Artis Columbus E eating house 214 Goldsboro h 304 Jones.

By 1915, Artis had gone into business as an undertaker and in time would establish a funeral home that rivaled Darden & Sons. He did not completely abandon the restaurant business, though, as, in 1917, Will Barnes reported on his draft registration card that he was a cook for C.E. Artis, and the 1922 city directory lists Artis as proprietor of The Delicatessen at 559 East Nash Street.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2024.

The Blind Jubilee Singers, “the most remarkable and inimitable songsters of the age.”

The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph, 24 May 1885.

A recent email inquiry has made me take another look at the singing Williamson siblings, whom we met here and here and here.

The Charlotte Observer, 28 July 1881.

Edmund and Bethania “Thaney” Williamson and their oldest children were enslaved in Wilson County. (Edmund Williamson was enslaved by Hardy H. Williamson.) The family is not found in the 1870 census of Wilson County, but in 1880 they appear in Cross Roads township. The enumerator noted nine children at home — William, 25, Nicie, 23, Eliza, 22, Eddie, 21, Ally, 19, Pollina, 17, Dolly Ann, 15, Isaac, 12, and Raiford, 7. Six of the children — William, Eddie, Ally, Pollina, Isaac, and Raiford — were described as blind, and the occupation of the elder four was “gives concerts.” We know those four attended the North Carolina School for the Deaf, the Dumb, and the Blind, whose “colored” division opened circa 1869. Into the 1890s, the Williamson siblings toured the Southeast, singing and performing musical mimicry.

The Tarborough Southerner, 17 October 1878.

The Monroe (N.C.) Express, 22 July 1881.

  • William Williamson

Per an asylum enrollment book, William Williamson was born August 1853 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. He was born totally blind. Two second cousins on his father’s side were also blind.

In May 1867, the Wilson County sheriff identified to a local Freedmen’s Bureau the names of “unfortunates,” including Wm. Williamson, 8, Edward Williamson, 12, Allice Williamson, 4, Pauline Williamson, 5, and Aquilla Williamson, 7. All were described as blind. (Aquilla apparently was a seventh vision-impaired Williamson sibling and likely died before 1870.) This identification may have led to the placement of four of the Williamson children in the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum.

In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.

William Williamson apparently toured with his siblings for decades. I have not found him in census records subsequent to 1880.

On 12 October 1903, Edmund Williamson drafted his last will and testament. Per his wishes, his “two blind sons William Williamson and Edmund Williamson” and his “blind daughter Leany Williamson” were to equally divide a life estate in all his real estate and then to successive heirs “to remain in the Williamson family forever.”

  • Nicie Williamson

On 18 October 1891, David Barnes, 32, of Cross Roads township, son of Joshua and Maria Barnes, married Nicy Williamson, 35, of Cross Roads township, daughter of Edd and Bethany Williamson, at Edmund Williamson’s in Wilson County.

Nicie Williamson Barnes is not listed in her father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.

  • Eliza Williamson

Eliza Williamson is not listed in her father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.

  • Eddie J. Williamson

Per the enrollment book, Eddie J. Williamson was born June 1859 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. He was born totally blind.

He is named as “Edward Williamson” in the 1867 sheriff’s letter.

In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.

Edmund “Eddie” Williamson apparently toured with his siblings for decades. I have not found him in census records subsequent to 1880. He was alive as late as 1903, however, when he was named in his father’s will.

  • Allie A. Williamson

Per the enrollment book, Allie A. Williamson was born January 1861 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. She was born blind, “totally or nearly so.”

She is named as “Allice Williamson” in the 1867 sheriff’s letter.

In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.

Allie Williamson is not listed in her father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.

  • Pelina M. Williamson

Per the enrollment book, Pelina M. Williamson was born September 1862 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. She was born blind, “totally or nearly so.”

She is named as “Pauline Williamson” in the 1867 sheriff’s letter.

In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.

Pelina Williamson apparently toured with her siblings for decades. I have not found her in census records subsequent to 1880.

Pauline Williamson died 7 March 1925 in Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia. Per her death certificate, she was born “sometime in 1859” in Raleigh, N.C., to Edd Williamson and an unnamed mother; was single; worked as a musician; and was buried in the city cemetery. Mary Ella Moore was informant.

I have found no record of her in Georgia prior to her death.

  • Dolly Ann Williamson

On 20 April 1884, Jesse Seaberry, 25, married Dolley Ann Williamson, , at Ed Williamson’s in Wilson County.

On 22 May 1899, Bristow Brownrigg, 52, of Wilson County, son of Reddick Brownrigg and Annie Barnes, married Dolly Ann Seabury, 35, of Wilson County, daughter of Edmund and Thaney Williamson, Cross Roads township, Wilson County. S.H. Vick applied for the license, and Burket Woodard, Stephen Hadley, and Nellie Barnes were witnesses to the ceremony.

Per Edmund Williamson’s 1903, daughter Dollie Ann Brownricks [Brownrigg] was to receive a life estate in all his personal property, money, stock and crops, with her children Timothy, Bethania, and Lizzie Seabury [Seaberry] to receive the remainder.

On 24 December 1919, Madison Barnes, 64, applied for a license to marry Dollie Barnes, 54.

In the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Madison Barnes, 70; wife Dollie Ann, 53; and granddaughter Annie V. Vick, 8.

Dollie Ann Barnes died 19 January 1928 in Cross Roads township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 67 years old; was born in Wilson County to Edmond and Bethune Williamson; was married Matherson Barnes; worked as a common laborer; and was buried in Williamson Cemetery, Wilson County. Timothy Seabury, Lucama, N.C., was informant.

Elizabeth Edmundson died 21 November 1970 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 13 January 1887 to Jessie Seabury and Dollie Ann Williams; was a widow; lived in Lucama, N.C.; and worked in farming. L.V. Edmundson was informant.

  • Isaac Williamson

Isaac Williamson died 1 September 1895 in Norfolk, Virginia. Per an index of death certificates, he was born about 1868 in North Carolina; was single; and worked as a musician.

Isaac Williamson is listed in the 1887-1889 Annual Report of the North Carolina Institution for the Deaf, the Dumb, and the Blind.

  • Raiford Williamson

Raiford Williamson is not listed in his father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.

Raiford Williamson is listed in the 1881-1883 Annual Report, but I have found no evidence to date that he, like his musical siblings, performed for a living.

From page 367 of the 1881-’83 Annual Report.

——

The Norfolk Virginian, 5 June 1879.

The News and Advance (Lynchburg, Va.), 21 July 1880.

The Daily Journal (New Bern, N.C.), 14 July 1891.

Enrollment Book, Negro Deaf 1873-1893, Negro Blind 1869-1893; Student Records; Box 1; General Records; State School for the Blind and Deaf; North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, N.C. (Thank you, Amanda Stuckey!)

Roosevelt Weaver, gospel quartet member, dies suddenly.

Wilson Daily Times, 31 March 1945.

——

In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farmer Frank Weaver, 30; wife Mattie, 26; and children Freddie, 11, Johnie, 5, and Rosa Bell [Roosevelt], 3.

In the 1920 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Frank Weaver, 40; wife Mattie, 37; and sons Fred, 20, Johnnie, 15, and Roosevelt, 12.

On 19 November 1925, Rosevelt Weaver, 19, married Carrie Melton, 18, in Wilson County.

In the 1930 census of Coopers township, Nash County, N.C.: farmer Rosevlt Weaver, 23; wife Carry, 22; and children Mattie L., 3, and Emmer, 1.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: fertilizer plant laborer Rosevelt Weaver, 32; wife Mattie, 29, tobacco factory laborer; children Mattie, 13, Emma, 11, Frank Jr., 7, and Velma, 3; brother-in-law Henry Melton, 30, farm laborer; sister-in-law Savannah, 26, farm laborer; and nephew James Melton, 11.

In 1940, Roosevelt Weaver registered for the World War II draft. Per his registration card, he was 33 years old and born in Wilson; lived at 705 Gay Street, Wilson; his contact was wife Carrie M. Weaver, 705 Gay Street; and he worked for T.A. Loving Company, Cherry Point, N.C.

In 1942, Eddie Gray Weaver registered for the World War II draft. Per his registration card, he was born 2 August 1903 in Wilson County; lived in Gardners township, Wilson County; his contact was Roosevelt Weaver, 208 Manchester Street; and he worked for Contentnea Guano Company, Wilson.

Rosevelt Weaver died 18 March 1945 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 23 July 1907 in Wilson County to Frank Weaver and Mattie Braswell; was married to Carrie Weaver; worked as a laborer; lived at 627 Railroad Street; and was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery.

Emma L. Weaver died 26 October 1945 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 21 December 1929 in Wilson County to Rosevelt Weaver and Carrie Melton; lived at N.S. Railroad [now Norfolk Street]; and was buried in Rest Haven. She died of complications from childbirth.

1000-1020 Robeson Street.

The one hundred ninety-second 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.

This 2003 aerial photograph shows a neat line of ten shotgun (“endway”) houses in the 1000 block of Robeson Street, differentiated only by the materials of their roofs. By 2007, they were gone.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, 1000 Robeson Street was: “ca. 1913; 1-story; shotgun with hip-roofed porch and gable returns, diamond-shaped vent in the gable; white speculator and tobacconist J.C. Hadley probably had this shotgun and #1002-1018 erected in the early 1900s.”

The 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson shows the original 11 endway houses in the 1000 block of Robeson.

The 1928 city directory shows these residents of the block:

In the 1930 city directory, 1002, 1004, and 1006 Robeson were vacant. 1020 is listed, but was gone by 1940.

Endway houses were built as rental properties, but occasionally a resident was able to purchase one. The 1940 census of Wilson reveals that Ashley Tillery, 29, Bank of Wilson elevator operator, owned 1008 Robeson Street, which was valued at $900. His wife Mary, 28, and children Mary E., 8, Bettie, 6, Geraldine, 4, and Ashley Jr., 1, lived in the house with him. Tobacco factory laborer Willie Gardner, 46, owned 1018, where he lived alone. Rents in 1940 were $8 to 10/month, and several dwellings housed two families, each apparently occupying a bedroom.

The 1000 block of Robeson Street is now part of Freeman Place, a city-developed housing community.

2003 aerial courtesy of Wilson County GIS Website; current aerial courtesy of Google Maps.