Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 26 November 1938.
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- Rev. Fred M. Davis
The obituary of Charles E. Lucas of Norfolk, Virginia.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 26 January 1952.
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In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Dotson Locus, 26; wife Nellie, 27; orphan Riley F., 13; and sons Joe P., 8, Elias, 7, and Offie, 5.
In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Dodson Lucas, 40; wife Nellie, 39; sons Elice, 17, and Offie, 14.
In the 1940 census of Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, N.C.: Charlie Lucas, 36, N.&S.R.R. laborer; wife Annie, 40, boarding cook; and son Leander, 23; lodger Fulton Martin, 30, cement finisher; and nephews James, 13, and Lamar Page, 12.
In 1942, Charles Eliase Lucas registered for the World War II draft in Norfolk, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 7 July 1903 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 511 Reilly Street, Wilson; his contact was Annie Reilly; and he worked on the naval base in Norfolk.
In the 1950 census of Norfolk, Virginia: at 509 Reilly, Charles E. Lucas, 47, and wife Annie Mary, 49.
Charles Lucas died 8 January 1952 in Norfolk, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born 7 July 1903 in Wilson, N.C., to Joe Dodson Lucas and Nellie Joyner; lived at 509 Reilly Street, Norfolk; worked as a stevedore; and was married to Annie Lucas.
Bynum School wins glee club contest.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 2 May 1942.
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- Beatrice R. Jones
- Flossie R. Dunston
Former organist visits family.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 6 January 1940.
Paul McPhail lived with the family of his brother Jesse T. McPhail for four years in the late 1930s and played organ at Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church.
Hartford E. Bess, as imagined.
I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.
I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated. Let me know what you think about them.
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Hartford E. Bess (1910-1988), founder of Handel’s Chorus.
B.W.A. Historical Marker Series, no. 26: Kirby’s Crossing 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.
Also known as Kirby’s or Boyette’s School. Three-room school stood near St. Delight Original Free Will Baptist Church, facing railroad. Constructed with Rosenwald funds ca. 1920; probably replaced an older building.
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[Sidenote: Hoping to get a sense of where Kirby’s Crossing School stood, I turned into the narrow unpaved track leading road leading to Saint Delight. A man working on the church’s front porch said his wife’s family might know about the school, but he wasn’t as familiar with the area because he was from Stantonsburg. I studied his face a bit, then commented, “I have family from near there. You favor them — they’re Artises.” He rared back a little: “That’s my name!” In fact, he is a grandson of Leslie and Minnie Diggs Artis and a great-grandson of my great-great-grandmother Louvicey Artis Aldridge’s brother Napoleon Artis!]
Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, July 2025.
Seaman Johnson lost when ship torpedoed.
The obituary of Austin N. Neal, barber.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 5 March 1949.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 19 March 1949.
We met Austin N. Neal and his barber shop here and learned about his estate here.
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In the 1900 census of Freeman township, Franklin County: widower Austin Neal, 30, and children Bryant, 3, and Bertha, 1, plus brother Abram, 17, and sisters Tabitha, 19, and Bessie, 21.
In the 1912 Wilson city directory, Austin Neal was listed as a barber at 409 East Nash. His home address was “Wainwright av for Freeman.”
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 105 Wainwright, widowed barber Austin Neal, 42, with children Bryant, 21, also a barber, Daisy, 16, Annie, 13, Samuel, 7, and Ruth, 5.
In the 1930 census, Wilson, Wilson County: at 1214 Wainright Avenue, barber Austin Neal, 61, wife Lizzie, 38, servant for a private family, and son Samuel, 18, a hotel bell hop.
In the 1941 Norfolk, Virginia, city directory, Austin N. Neal is listed as living at 1106 Chicazola Avenue and working as a barber for Robert Pope.
In 1942, Austin Niel [sic] registered for the World War II draft in Norfolk, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 7 November 1878 in Louisburg, N.C.; he lived at 1106 Chicazola Street, Norfolk; his contact was Daisy Brown, same address; and he worked for William Rose, 922 Church Street.
In the 1942 Norfolk, Virginia, city directory, Austin N. Neal is listed as living at 1106 Chicazola Avenue and working as a barber for William H. Rhodes.
In the 1946 Norfolk, Virginia, city directory, Austin N. Neal is listed as living at 1106 Chicazola Avenue and working as a barber at Rosebud Barber Shop.
Austin N. Neal died 14 February 1949 at Mercy Hospital of terminal uremia. He was born 11 November 1878 in Franklinton, North Carolina, to Abron Neal and Louise Brodie. He was buried in Rountree [likely, Vick] Cemetery. Mrs. Lizzie H. Neal was informant.
Hamilton Burial Garden in peril.
Wilson Times posted this article to its Facebook page a few days ago, and the furor was immediate. The condition of Hamilton Burial Garden is tragic, and, given my Lane Street Project work, I understand the pain and bewilderment family members are experiencing. I also feel deeply for the cemetery’s nominal new owner, LaMonique Hamilton, who is saddled ad infinitum with a financial burden she neither created nor sought.
In the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, when citizens were demanding that the city meet its obligations to public Vick Cemetery, opponents snapped, “Why didn’t families take better care of their loved ones? Why did they let the cemetery go?” This was ludicrous criticism in the context of a city-owned cemetery left out of the revenue stream to which African-Americans paid fees and contributed tax dollars year in, year out. This article illustrates how this response is equally useless in the context of private cemeteries. Hamilton Burial Garden today is Rountree and Odd Fellows Cemeteries 75 years ago. With the meager income from past burials long gone, few new burials, relatives scattered across the country, and owners who have either died out or are too aged or infirm to do the work themselves, the grass grows ever higher, the vines thicker, the trees taller. A single Southern summer is enough to obliterate a lawn, and no single family can stop the slide.
The issue is not unique to African-American cemeteries. Google “are perpetual care cemeteries forever” for some truly depressing reading. As shocking and painful as the realization is, the $500 or $1000 or $5000 paid for a plot ten or twenty or forty years ago cannot cover cemetery upkeep as long will be necessary. (Contrary to the article, Hamilton Burial Garden was founded around 1981, when Lamont Hamilton purchased the property. Newspaper obituaries show burials as early as February 1982.)
LaMonique Hamilton has forthrightly laid out Hamilton Burial Garden’s realities. She is seeking your ideas about how to address ongoing needs for care. How can the community help prevent another Odd Fellows?
Wilson Times, 29 July 2025.
