Wilson Daily Times, 29 March 1943.
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Wilson Daily Times, 13 August 1919.
African-American veterans of World War I were explicitly excluded from a gathering of former sailors and soldiers.
Wilson Daily Times, 10 June 1949.
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In the 1930 census of New Haven, Connecticut: at 67 Charles Street, mail carrier Collins Fitch, 47; wife Lulu, 45; and children Collins, 25, theatre porter, William, 19, drugstore porter, Harrison, 17, Leroy, 15, George, 12, Milton, 9, Jerome, 7, and Althea, 4.
In the 1940 census of New Haven, Connecticut: Collins Fitch, 56; wife Lula, 54; and children Harrison, 35, club janitor, Leroy, 23, insurance company messenger, George, 21, ring boxer, Milton, 19, new worker, Jerome, 17, janitor in retail clothing store, and Althea, 14.
In 1941, Milton Frederick Fitch registered for the World War II draft in New Haven. Connecticut. Per his registration card, he was born 25 June 1920 in New Haven; lived at 183 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven; his contact was Mrs. Collins L. Fitch; and he worked as a porter at the Winchester Club House, New Haven.
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 516 Lodge, letter carrier Milton Fitch, 30; wife Cora, 31; children Jerome, 7, Milton, 3, Patricia, 2, and Ernestine and Christine, born the previous December; father-in-law Walter Whitted, 58; and mother-in-law Helen Whitted, 56, 6th grade school teacher.
Wilson Daily Times, 11 March 1933.
I had some questions about the American Legion’s circus, and I still do. However, this article shows that it was an annual event, and the white Post sponsored one, too. In 1933, the circus featured a basketball game between Wilson and Greenville’s Black high schools and a dance featuring the “reorganized” Carolina Stompers.
Wilson Daily Times, 24 January 1930.
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Wilson Daily Times, 15 February 1932.
As the Great Depression deepened, Henry Ellis Post No. 17, American Legion, collected names of unemployed workers and sought employers willing to hire.
North Carolina World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919, http://www.ancestry.com
Memorial Day services at “the cemetery” — which might have been Rest Haven, but was probably what we now know as Vick and Odd Fellows Cemeteries — were a regular event in the early 20th century.
Wilson Daily Times, 29 May 1940.
On 3 June 1919, the Daily Times published a list of Wilson County soldiers who died during World War I. The list is segregated. First in the Colored List is Henry Ellis, who was killed 6 October 1918 and in whose honor Wilson County’s African-American post of the American Legion was named.
Wilson Daily Times, 3 June 1919.
The Daily Times had commemorated Ellis’ death when it received word in December 1918:
“Private Henry Ellis Son of Mrs. Mary J. Howard, Route 1, Wilson, N.C. Died of wounds received in action while fighting for his country and oppressed humanity.” Wilson Daily Times, 4 December 1918.
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In the 1870 census of Chesterfield township, Nash County, N.C.: farmer Martin Lucus, 52; wife Eliza, 42; and children Irvin, 19, Neverson, 16, Sidney, 13, Eliza, 7, Westray, 6, Anne, 4, and Mary, 2.
In the 1880 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Nelson Eatmon, 66, wife Eliza Eatmon, 50, daughters Amanda Locus, 18, and Mary J. Locus, 14, “son-in-law” Asa Locus, 10, and “daughter-in-law” Lougene Locus, 4, Margaret Howard, 21, and Harriet Howard, 2. [Nelson Eatmon married Eliza Locust on 28 January 1880 in Wilson County. The Locuses’ relationship designations are obviously erroneous; they were Nelson Eatmon’s stepchildren.]
On 6 February 1887, Warren Ellis, 19, of Wilson County, married Mary Jane Locust, 19, of Wilson County, in Wilson County. Phillis Ellis was one of the witnesses.
In the 1900 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Mary J. Ellis, 34, widow, and children Willis, 12, Walter, 9, William, 8, Henry, 5, and Lou, 4.
In the 1910 census of Jackson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Mary Jane Ellis, 44, and children Henry, 16, Louise, 13, and Charles, 6; and brother Neverson Lucas, 56.
Henry Ellis registered for the World War I draft in Nash County, N.C, in 1917. Per his registration card, he was born 10 November 1895 in Wilson County; lived at Route 2, Bailey; was a tenant farmer for Elijah Griffin; and was single. He signed his card in a neat, well-practiced hand: “Henry T. Ellis.”
In the 1920 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Mary Howard, 52, widow; son Charlie Ellis, 17; and sister Luginer Colman, 45, widow.
Mary J. Howard died 20 June 1936 in Wilson township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was the widow of Manuel Howard; was 65 years old; and was born in Wilson County to Martin Locus and Louisa Brantley. Gray Ellis was informant.
Henry T. Ellis, then, was the son of Warren Ellis and Mary Jane Locus Ellis and stepson of Manuel Howard. He was descended (or connected) on his mother’s side from several free families of color with deep roots in the area of western Wilson County — Locuses, Brantleys, Eatmons, Howards — and on his father’s from Hilliard and Faribee Ellis, a formerly enslaved couple who established a prosperous farm in the New Hope area shortly after the Civil War.
I have seen no evidence that Ellis’ body was returned to Wilson County for burial. His parents, grandparents, and siblings are buried in Hilliard Ellis cemetery, but there is no marked grave for him there.
Wilson Daily Times, 27 May 1932.
On Memorial Day 1932, Henry Ellis Post #17 of the American Legion led a group in a march from post headquarters to Rountree Cemetery [which was probably actually Odd Fellows or Vick Cemetery.] There, they held a program that “includes song services and public speaking at which special tribute will be paid to the soldiers of all wars who sleep in Roundtree’s cemetery.”
[Note: Via Lane Street Project, I had hoped to be able to arrange a ceremony with Post #17 for this Memorial Day. Perhaps in 2022.]
Wilson Daily Times, 27 May 1921.