Daily News (Wilson, N.C.), 20 September 1900.
Tobacco processing work was divided by race and gender. Tobacco factories employed black men and women as redrying hands and stemmers, low-paying, hot, dusty jobs. Relatively cleaner manufacturing jobs, such as in cigarette factories, were reserved for white “girls.”
Two ads placed by “Hughes, the white barber.” Barbering in this era — and well into the twentieth century — was a trade plied overwhelmingly by African-American men. White barbers like “Hughes” often emphasized their ethnicity in their advertising. Here, “white” signaled Hughes’ suitability for handling the hair of white women.
The Daily News (Wilson, N.C.), 20 September 1900.
Wilson Advance, 19 September 1889.
J.F. White was in Wilson only briefly, touting his arrival loudly and gone by year’s end. I have not been able to discover any additional information about him.
The Daily News (Wilson, N.C.), 20 September 1900.
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In the 1870 census of Lower Conetoe township, Edgecombe County, N.C.: Gaib Bowden, 23, Daniel Wiggins, 25, Albert Lovett, 19, Orphan Knight, 23, and Richard Suggs, 19, farm laborers.
On 18 April 1875, Gabriel Bowden, 26, married Anne Ruff, 24, in Wilson.
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Sarah Jackson, 21; brother-in-law Gabriel Bowden, 40, brother-in-law, laborer; sister Anna, 32, cook; nephews Columbus, 11, house servant, and James, 9; son B.F. Jackson, 6; mother Vinus Ruff, 52; and boarder Whitehurst Wiswould, 64, laborer.
Gabel Bowden died 17 January 1911 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 71 years old; was born in Edgecombe County; was a widower; lived at 410 Green Street; worked as a common laborer; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Oakdale Cemetery.]
Wilson County planters George W. Stanton, Robert M. Cox, and Benjamin H. Bardin lent effusive praise to this advertisement for Lancaster’s Cotton Seed Sower. None of them actually worked the fields themselves, so Stanton and Cox made clear that the “machine” was not too complicated for black farmhands.
The Norfolk Virginian, 21 February 1866.
The Johnsenior (1926), yearbook of Johnston County Training School, Smithfield, N.C.
Undertaker Isaac Woodard of Smithfield, Johnston County, N.C., was a Wilson County native.
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In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm laborer Isaac Woodard, 32; wife Anner, 26; and children Fannie, 12, Nellie, 10, James, 9, Frank, 6, Isaac, 3, and Sis, 1.
In the 1900 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Frank Farmer, 22; wife Fannie, 23; son John H., 4; nephew George, 18; and boarder Isaac Woodard, 20.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: house mover John Boykin, 50; wife Dicy, 44, cooking; and children Sallie, 19, cooking, James, 18, day laborer, Dotia, 14, Susia, 14, Lillie, 10, and Eliza, 7.
On 26 November 1905, Isaac Woodard, 23, of Wilson, son of Isaac and Susan Woodard (he, living in Arkansas), married Sudie Boykin, 19, of Wilson, daughter of Jno. and Eliza Boykin, in Wilson township, Wilson County. Missionary Baptist minister W.H. Woodard performed the ceremony in the presence of C.L. Darden, Thomas Barnes, and J.J. Langley.
In the 1908 Rocky Mount, NC., city directory: Woodard Isaac (c) blksmith h 907 Beal
In the 1910 census of Rocky Mount, Nash County, N.C.: Isaac Woodard, 25; wife Sudie, 24; children Pauline, 3, and Russell, 18 months; and grandmother Edith Woodard, 65.
In 1918, Isaac Woodard registered for the World War I draft in Johnston County. Per his registration card, he was born 4 July 1882; lived on Market in Smithfield; worked for himself as a horseshoer and undertaker; and his contact was Sudie Woodard.
In the 1920 census of Smithfield, Johnston County: blacksmith Isaac Woodard, 35; wife Sudie, 33; and children Pauline, 13, and Russell, 11; and grandmother Edith Woodard, 83.
Edith Woodard died 16 October 1920 in Smithfield, Johnston County. Per her death certificate, she was 86 years old; was born in Wilson to Ester (no surname given); was a widow; and was buried in Wilson County by Isaac Woodard. Sudie Woodard was informant.
In 1926, Russell Woodard was one of four boys in the Johnston County Training School’s junior class. From the The Johnsenior.
In the 1930 census of Smithfield, Johnston County: on Market Street, Isic Woodard, 43, undertaker; wife Sudie, 40, public school teacher; children Pauline, 23, Russell, 21, Isic Jr., 4, and Hattie, 11 (adopted); and boarder St. Julian Walker, 25, high school teacher.
In the 1940 census of Smithfield, Johnston County: funeral director/undertaker Isaac W. Woodard, 48; wife Suda, 46, public school teacher; and son Isaac Jr., 14.
In 1943, Isaac Woodard Jr. registered for the World War II draft in Smithfield, Johnston County. Per his registration card, he was born 15 November 1925 in Smithfield; lived at 811 East Market Street; his contact was Isaac Woodard Sr.; and he was a student at A.&T.
The Washington Star, 19 November 1978.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 16 October 1943.
Paul T. Williamson and John Williamson were the sons of Alex and Grace Shaw Williamson.
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John Clemon Williamson, son of Alex and Grace Williamson, practiced medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for 14 years before his death in 1927. This is curious. Could Paul T. Williamson not know that his brother was dead? I’ve found no evidence that Dr. Williamson lived in Texas.
However, in the 1900 census of Waxahachie, Ellis County, Texas: day laborer John Williamson, 24, born in N.C. to parents born in Georgia; wife Minnie, 28; and children Alexander, 6, Beatrice, 4, and Fleta, 3, all born in Texas. [Ellis County is a southeastern suburb of Dallas.]
In 1910 census of Dallas, Dallas County, Texas: laborer John Williamson, 39, born in N.C. to N.C.-born parents; wife Minnie, 32; and children Alexander, 19, Beatrice, 15, Pleta, 13, and Warren, 7.
Did Alex and Grace Williamson have two sons named John? Yes. The first John (whose name is attributed as Ellic in some family trees), their firstborn child, was born about 1866. The second was John Clemon, born about ten years later. Both appear in the 1880 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer Elic Williamson, 44; wife Gracy, 29; and children John, 14, Lugen, 11, Joseph, 9, Jennie, 7, Mary, 6, Clem, 4, Sarah J., 2, and Pall, 1.
John Williamson the elder, who migrated to Texas before 1900, does not appear in census records after 1910 and likely was dead long before his brother Paul advertised for his whereabouts in 1943.
What (or who) was the Cra-Mi Company?
The Sunday News (Charleston, S.C.), 16 March 1924.
Birmingham (Ala.) Post-Herald, 21 March 1924.
Portsmouth (Va.) Star, 29 March 1924.
Chicago Defender, 12 April 1924.
Southwest American (Fort Smith, Ark.), 27 April 1924.
… and rheumatism?
The Sunday Record (Columbia, S.C.), 29 June 1924.
Placement of ads in dozens of newspapers across the South (and in the Defender) implies the success, or perhaps ambition, of this competitor to Gordon’s Glory Hair Dressing.
The company was serious enough that it registered a patent for its product in January 1924, as this poor reproduction shows.
Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, 18 March 1924.
Cra-Mi kept up its widespread advertising blitz for the first half of 1924 … then disappeared. I have not been able to determine who owned the business or anything else about it.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 27 May 1933.
In May 1933, the Journal and Guide devoted nearly a full page to Wilson-related news and ads. Stay tuned for features.
