The last will and testament of Martha Barnes (1856).

In her 1856 will, among other bequests, Martha Barnes left her son James Reddick Barnes her “interest in negro woman Clary and her children.” We can infer that Martha Barnes jointly owned Clary and her children with unnamed others.

In the 1860 slave schedule, James R. Barnes reported enslaving 41 people (and controlling another 32 as trustee for unnamed minors. In June 1856, two people he jointly owned with others, Cate and Sherard, were sold at auction at a toll house on White Oak Swamp. Barnes was high bidder.

World War I service cards, no. 1.
  • Obert Bullock

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lee Street, Frank Bullock, 65; wife Lizzie, 60; and children Ernest, 25, Hady, 23, Petrony, 26, and Obert, 16.

On 23 December 1919, Cordy Tillery applied for a marriage license for Obert Bullock, 24, son of Frank and Lizzie Bullock, and Lorena Ellis, 21. The license was never used and was cancelled in June 1920.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 410 Pine, Lizzie Bullock, 65, widow, cook for McLean; daughter Gertruge, 25, cook, and son Obert, 24, cafe cook.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 409 Pine, widow Lizzie Bullock, 70, practical nurse; children Ernest, 43, house painter, Obert, 33, hotel cook, and Gertrude, 35, private home laundress; and lodgers Charlie Moye, 29, truck farmer, and Edward Williams, 53, farm laborer.

On 26 December 1934, Obert Bullock, 39, of Wilson, son of Frank and Lizzie Bullock, married Hattie Smith, 23, of Wilson, daughter of Sam and Silly Ann Smith, in Wilson.

  • Mack Bullock

In 1917, Mack Bullock registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 26 May 1895 in Edgecombe County, N.C.; lived in Wilson; worked in Noah Tate‘s pool room; and was single.

  • George J. Bullock

In the 1900 census of Rocky Mount township, Nash County: on Thomas Street, farm laborer George Bulock, 35; wife Ella, 25; and children Sallie A., 9, Jack, 7, Lucy, 5, Isaac, 3, and Bettie, 1.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Town Creek Road, farmer George Bullock, 48; wife Ella, 39; and children Sallie A., 20, George, 17, Lucy, 15, Isaac, 13, Bettie, 12, Rosa, 9, Charlie, 6, James, 4, and Etta and Effie, 2.

In 1917, George Junius Bullock registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born in 1896 in Warren County, N.C.; lived on West Nash Street, Wilson; worked as a laborer for M.W. Edmundson, Anderson Street, Wilson; and was single.

On 2 July 1920, George J. Bullock, 24, of Wilson, son of George and Ella Bullock, married Lucinda Jones, 19, of Wilson, daughter of Duff and Rebecca Jones, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister Charles T. Jones performed the ceremony in the presence of Gertrude Jones, Louisa Johnson, and Ruth Jones.

George Junius “Jack” Bullock died 24 December 1965 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 15 December 1894 in Wilson to George Bullock and Ella Hargrove; lived at 712 Suggs Street; worked as a tobacco factory laborer; was married; and was a World War I veteran. Etta Bullock was informant.

  • Rochelle Bullock

In 1917, Rochell Carter Bullock registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born in 1896 in Wilson County; lived in Elm City; worked as a sawmill laborer for John Flowers; and was single.

Rochell Bullock died 6 May 1935 in Sleepy Hole, Nansemond County, Virginia; was single; was born in Wilson, N.C., to Edward Bullock and Lucy Allen; and worked as a laborer.

Ledger-Star (Norfolk, Va.), 14 May 1935.

  • Lendery Bunn

North Carolina World War I Service Cards 1917-1919, http://www.ancestry.com

Lane Street Project: 16 days later.

I took this photo one week ago this morning. As far as I know, if you drove down Bishop L.N. Forbes Street today, this is what you’d see.

Sixteen days later, and we have had no explanation of what happened on the morning of December 10; no explanation of the original plan; no explanation of what the stones are and whether there are graves beneath them; no explanation of the path forward.

And no apology.

The City of Wilson wants you to believe that things have changed since it brutalized Vick Cemetery in the 1990s. Maybe some have, but the disrespect remains constant.

Christmas reflection.

Miss Edie Bell. Aunt Pet. Aunt Minnie. Aunt Alice. Aunt Nora Lee. Aunt Lula Mae. Holiday dinners in my childhood were often spent at tables prepared by these amazing women, the grandmother and great-aunts of my cousins Monica Ellis Barnes and Tracey Ellis Leon. 

I cherish warm memories of these generous women and the delicious meals they prepared — and of me, my sister, and cousins, safe and loved and well-fed.

Christmas brings joy, but also floods of memories of those we can no longer hug or break bread with. I held quiet space yesterday for memories of my grandmother and father and uncle and the Barnes sisters, and all who no longer sit with us in Wilson or wherever we once shared a table. I hope you were able to find joy and beauty in Christmas this year, and I pray for a better 2026 for all of us.

Unexpected joy on Christmas morning.

During the depths of the Great Depression, young Lusynthia Johnson wrote this Christmas short story set in a thinly veiled Wilson.

The Afro-American (Baltimore, Md.), 26 December 1936.

——

Lusynthia Page Johnson was born in 1922 in Wilson County to Theodore Roosevelt Johnson and Rachel Bynum Johnson. In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Mamie Bynum, 50; daughter Mozell Jeffrey, 23, maid; daughter Rachel Johnson, 25, hospital maid; son-in-law Rosevelt Johnson, 23, orchestra musician; roomer Namie Lasitor, 22, servant; and granddaughter Lucinda Farmer, 8.

Rest in peace, Willie Woodard Sr.

Willie Woodard Sr. celebrated his 100th birthday in September surrounded by generations of family and friends. This past Saturday, after a brief illness, he passed from labor to reward. As his son Eric Woodard shared, “He was active and vibrant for most of his 100 years of life. He cared deeply for family and friends, and he was full of good humor and had a surprisingly quick wit. He loved singing songs of praise and worship to the Lord, playing his guitar and harmonica, and most of all, praying for and sharing his faith with others.”

Rest in perfect peace, Mr. Woodard. My deepest condolences to all he loved.

Photographs courtesy of Eric M. Woodard.

B.W.A. Historical Marker Series: no. 36 (mural edition).

In this series, which posts on occasional Wednesdays, I usually populate the landscape of Wilson County with imaginary “historical markers” commemorating people, places, and events significant to African-American history or culture. This time, I imagine a mural to commemorate the life of Samuel H. Vick.

Vick’s controversial service as postmaster of Wilson thrust him onto the national stage. Though Wilson’s handsome old Neo-Classical post office was erected long after his tenure, its Douglas Street facade is a fitting place for a tribute to Sam Vick.