Barbour

The obituary of Sallie Barbour, revered teacher.

Wilson Daily Times, 25 April 1942.

In the 1880 census of Clayton, Johnston County, North Carolina: Essex Blake, 53; wife Clara, 43; and children Della, 23, Robert, 21, Sallie, 19, Benjamin, 17, James, 15, Halsey, 12, Antney, 10, Timothy, 8, Ardelia, 6, Narsissie, 6, and Jerry, 5.

On 11July 1886, Charles Barber married Sallie Blake in Clayton, Johnston County.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: mechanic Charley Barber, 41, described as married; sons Luther, 13, James and John, 7, and Hubert, 5; widowed sister Mary Tomlingson, 42, and her children Ella, 9, and Charley, 4; and boarders Turner Utley, 27, John Purkison, 31, and George Garrett, 25. In a different household: John W. Rodgers, 30; wife Mary E., 22; sister Minnie, 17; and boarder Sallie Barber, 35, described as “widowed.” [In fact, she and her husband had separated.]

In the 1908 version of Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, the only Barbers listed are James M., Jno. W., and Luther Barber at 129 Pender Street, and Sallie Barber next door at 131 Pender.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: mechanic Charlie Barber, 47; wife Sallie, 40, teacher; sons Luther, 21, James and John, 17, and Hubert, 15; and roomers Willie Harris, 17, and Carrie Mayswood, 16.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 809 Nash Street, barber John Barber, 27; wife Ethel, 26; widowed mother Sallie, 59, a school teacher; and brother Luther Barber, 32, also a barber.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1100 East Nash Street, Sallie Barber, 67, widowed public school teacher, and her sister Tiny Hill, 69, also a widowed teacher.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Sallie Barbour, 85, widow, and lodgers Ordelia Nunn, 66, and James Pettiford, 47, barber at Hines barbershop.

Sallie Minnie Barbour died 22 April 1942 at her home at 1100 East Nash Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 71 years old; was born in Wake County to Essex Blake and Clara Hodge; was a widow; and was a schoolteacher. Ardelia Nunn, 1100 East Nash, was informant.

Wilson Daily Times, 29 April 1942.

Clippings courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

The obituary of Ardelia Nunn.

Wilson Daily Times, 27 June 1947.

——

In the 1880 census of Clayton, Johnston County: Essex Blake, ; wife Clara, ; children Della, Robert, Sallie, Benjamin, James, Halsey, Antney, Timothy, Ardelia, and Jerry, 5; and granddaughter Narcissie, 6.

In the 1900 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: minister of the gospel Essex Blake, 70; wife Nancy, 59; daughter Ardelia, 26, trained nurse; and Ellen Ransom, 60, seamstress.

In the 1910 census of Raleigh, Wake County: Ardelia Blake, 35, sick nurse, and “sleepers” Joanna Taylor, 42, and Harriett Davis, 65, both children’s nurses.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Nunn Ardelia (c) 1100 E Nash

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Sallie Barbour, 85, widow, and lodgers Ordelia Nunn, 66, and James Pettiford, 47, barber at Hines barbershop.

Sallie Minnie Barbour died 22 April 1942 at her home at 1100 East Nash Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 71 years old; was born in Wake County to Essex Blake and Clara Hodge; was a widow; and was a schoolteacher. Ardelia Nunn, 1100 East Nash, was informant.

Ardelia executed a will on 24 June 1946 in the presence of D.C. Yancey and C.E. Artis. Nine months later, she signed a codicil adding provision. The first provision bequeathed to Wesley Rogers her house at 1100 East Nash Street provided he care for her if she became disabled. Second, she bequeathed $100 to her sister Ordie J. Jones. Third, to her cousin Maud Hobbs, her interest in a house at 306 South Street, Raleigh, that had been willed to her and her sister Sallie Barbour. Per the codicil, Nunn bequeathed various sums of money to Maud Hobbs, Rebecca Farmer, and Vernecia Moore.

Ardelia Nunn died 25 June 1947 at Mercy Hospital. Per her death certificate, she was 70 years old; was born in Wake County, N.C., to Essex Blake and Clara Hodges; was a widow; lived at 608 North Carroll Street; and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery. Informant was Caroline Dismond, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III; Ardelia Nunn Will, North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, ancestry.com.

Dispute at the cold drink stand.

Wilson Daily Times, 28 July 1911.

Johnny Matthews and Luther Barber [Barbour] were fined ten dollars each (or was it $22?) after an altercation over two bottles of Coca-Cola at Matthews’ cold drink stand on the Plank Road (roughly, Martin Luther King Parkway). State law prohibited the sale on Sunday of any goods other than “drugs, undertaking supplies, ice and those things absolutely necessary for the sick.”

1100 East Nash Street and 1208 Woodard Avenue.

The one hundred-seventh 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.

Screen Shot 2019-04-14 at 8.43.04 PM.png

 Wilson Daily Times, 12 April 1946.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, 1100 East Nash Street: “ca. 1913; 2 stories; Sallie Barbour house; Queen Anne house with hip-roofed main block and front two-story wing; asphalt veneer; modernized porch; Barbour was noted schoolteacher whose name was given to the former black elementary school (Wilson Colored School) that once stood on Stantonsburg Road.” The house was demolished in the early 1990s.

In the 1922, 1925 and 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Parker Allison (c; Mary) hlpr h1100 E Nash

Allison Parker died 27 January 1930. Per his death certificate, he was 75 years old; was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, to Hillard and Dianah Parker; was married to Mary Parker; lived at 1100 East Nash; and worked as a housecleaner. Cause of death: “heart attack probably died suddenly while sitting up in chair. Died before Doctor reached him.”

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1100 East Nash Street, Sallie Barber, 67, widowed public school teacher, and her sister Tiny Hill, 69, also a widowed teacher.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Barbour Sallie M (c) h1100 E Nash; Barbour Luther (c) barber h 1100 E Nash

Sallie Minnie Barbour died 22 April 1942 at her home at 1100 East Nash Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 71 years old; was born in Wake County to Essex Blake and Clara Hodge; was a widow; and was a schoolteacher. Ardelia Nunn, 1100 East Nash, was informant.

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Rogers Rufus (c; Dora) tob wkr Export Tob h1100 E Nash

1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson.

——

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, 1208 Woodard Avenue is: “ca. 1917; 1 story; shotgun with gable returns and hip-roofed porch; asphalt veneer.”

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, this house was vacant. In the 1930 directory: Davis John (c; Vinie) h 1208 Woodard Av

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1208 Woodard Avenue, rented for $12/month, sawmill laborer William Davis, 42; wife Vina, 42; and children Margana, 17, Curtis, 14, Viola, 13, Arabella, 8, Castella, 7, James, 5, Laura J., 4, and Augusta, 3.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Nash Sidney (c) tob wkr h1208 Woodard av

In 1942, Alvin Sidney Nash registered for the World War II draft. Per his registration card, he was born 9 August 1900; lived at 1208 Woodard Avenue, Wilson; his contact was Rosa Nash Battle, 913 Washington Street; and he worked for W.T. Clark’s Tobacco Factory, Wilson.

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Ward Floyd (c; Beatrice) rodmn City h1208 Woodard av

1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson.

Photo courtesy of Google Maps.

He is a Wilson negro and a bad one at that.

One hundred years ago today:

Screen Shot 2019-03-15 at 12.15.26 PM.png

The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 16 March 1919.

  • Kit Shaw
  • Luther Barbour — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 809 East Nash, John Barber, 27; wife Ethel, 26; mother Sallie, 59, teacher; and brother Luther, 32. Luther is described as single.

“Work’s never hurt me”: The life of Willie R. Barnes.

Screen Shot 2018-05-31 at 11.05.58 PM.png

Screen Shot 2018-05-31 at 11.05.31 PM.png

Wilson Daily Times, 24 April 1995.

In the spring of 1995, the Daily Times profiled Willie Roscoe Barnes, 84, long-time proprietor of Wardrobe Cleaners. He passed away the following year.

Highlights:

  • Willie R. Barnes began working at Wardrobe in 1923, when he was 13 years old.
  • He was an only child whose mother died when he was 6. His paternal grandmother reared him.
  • He attended Wilson Colored Graded School through third grade, then he “had to get out of there and go to work.” He first delivered groceries for H.W. Baxter’s store at Pender and Nash Streets. His second job was in a wood yard. He then went to work for Jim Barbour, whose Wardrobe Cleaners was across the street from Baxter’s.
  • At age 18, Barnes started dry-cleaning clothes. He eventually married Barbour’s widow.
  • He served in Morocco and Italy during World War II and at one point was assigned to guard Winston Churchill in Marrakech.
  • After the war, Barnes returned to Wilson, and he and his wife built a new facility on one of eight lots they owned on Elvie Street. The new cleaners faced Pender.
  • After his first wife died, he married a woman named Clementine. They live in a house they built on Elvie adjacent to the cleaners.
  • He scorned the quality and durability of modern fabrics.
  • He took up golf and joined the advisory board of Wedgewood Golf Course.
  • Long-time neighbor and customer Bertha H. Carroll noted that Barnes believed in helping people.
  • Long-time friend Herbert Woodard Sr., 87, said he and Barnes shared an interest in sports going back to the 1930s, often traveling to New York together to watch prize fights and the Yankees.

——

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1005 Atlantic, owned and valued at $2000, Nancey Barber, 30, widow and presser at pressing club; son James D., 14; widowed mother Linna Carroll, 63; and lodger Willie Barnes, 21, tobacco factory cooper.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1005 Atlantic, pool room owner Daniel Carroll, 27; wife Lenora, 24, sewing; widowed mother Lina, 76; sister Nannie Barber, 40, owner of pressing club; her son James Barber, 23, presser at pressing club; and roomer Willie Barnes, 28, pressing club tailor.

On 7 January 1957, Willie R. Barnes, 47, parents unknown, married Clementine Rogers, 46, daughter of Will and Carrie Rogers, in Wilson.

  • “grandmother” — Henrietta Farmer Lloyd died 16 December 1961 at Mercy Hospital. Per her death certificate, she was born 1 August 1886; her parents were unknown; she resided at Barnes Rest Home, 626 East Vance; and she was a widow. Informant was Willie R. Barnes, 732 Elvie Street.
  • Jim Barbour — James Daniel Barbour died 23 September 1959 at Mercy Hospital. Per his death certificate, he was born 19 September 1915 in Wilson County to James Barbour and Nannie Carroll; never married; resided at 1005 Atlantic Street; worked as a presser at Wardrobe Cleaners; and was a World War II veteran. Informant was Daniel Carroll, 715 Elvie Street.
  • “Barbour’s widow” — Barnes did not Barbour’s widow at all, but his mother Nannie Barbour (and per James Barbour’s World War II draft registration, she owned Wardrobe Cleaners.) Nannie Barbour Barnes died 13 April 1956 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 7 October 1897 in Henderson, North Carolina, to Daniel Carroll and Lina Coppedge; and worked in dry cleaning. The informant was Willie R. Barnes, 1005 Atlantic.
  • Clementine Rogers Barnes
  • Bertha H. Carroll — Bertha Bryant Hawkins Carroll’s husband Daniel Carroll was the brother of Willie Barnes’ wife Nannie Barbour Barnes.
  • Herbert Woodard Sr.

Willie R. Barnes registered for the World War II draft in 1940.

Barber v. Barber.

Attorney John E. Woodard filed this divorce petition on behalf of his client, Sallie M. Barbour, in Wilson County Superior Court in early 1901.

  • Charles and Sallie M. Barber were married 11 July 1886 in Clayton, Johnston County. [Note: as shown in her signature, Sallie, at least, spelled her last name “Barbour.”]
  • Their sons — Luther, 13, twins James and John, 9, and Hubert, 7 — live with their father, “who is not a proper person to have the care and custody” of the children.
  • On 27 February 1900, Charles assaulted Sallie with a pistol, forcing her to flee their home to a neighbor’s house.
  • Charles, “who is a strong man,” also struck Sallie, “a frail delicate woman,” with his fist.
  • Charles is a “habitual drunkard” who, when under the influence, has repeatedly threatened Sallie’s life.
  • Since she was forced to leave their house, Charles has refused to support Sallie. Sallie has tried to support herself as a school teacher, but Charles, “to annoy and embarrass” her, notified the school superintendent and trustees to pay her salary to him.
  • Charles has committed adultery with Dora Sills, Hannah Cooke and others.
  • Sallie, a life-long North Carolina resident, is seeking divorce, child custody, and costs.

——

In the 1880 census of Clayton, Johnston County: Essex Blake, 53; wife Clara, 43; and children Della, 23, Robert, 21, Sallie, 19, Benjamin, 17, James, 15, Halsey, 12, Antney, 10, Timothy, 8, Ardelia, 6, Narsissie, 6, and Jerry, 5.

The 1900 census reflects the Barbours’ separation. In Wilson, Wilson County: mechanic Charley Barber, 41, described as married; sons Luther, 13, James and John, 7, and Hubert, 5; widowed sister Mary Tomlingson, 42, and her children Ella, 9, and Charley, 4; and boarders Turner Utley, 27, John Purkison, 31, and George Garrett, 25. In a different household: John W. Rodgers, 30; wife Mary E., 22; sister Minnie, 17; and boarder Sallie Barber, 35, described as “widowed.”

In the 1908 version of Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, the only Barbers listed are James M., Jno. W., and Luther Barber at 129 Pender Street, and Sallie Barber next door at 131 Pender.

However, over the next decade, the couple reconciled. In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: mechanic Charlie Barber, 47; wife Sallie, 40, teacher; sons Luther, 21, James and John, 17, and Hubert, 15; and roomers Willie Harris, 17, and Carrie Mayswood, 16.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 809 Nash Street, barber John Barber, 27; wife Ethel, 26; widowed mother Sallie, 59, a school teacher; and brother Luther Barber, 32, also a barber.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1100 East Nash Street, Sallie Barber, 67, widowed public school teacher, and her sister Tiny Hill, 69, also a widowed teacher.

Sallie Minnie Barbour died 22 April 1942 at her home at 1100 East Nash Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 71 years old; was born in Wake County to Essex Blake and Clara Hodge; was a widow; and was a schoolteacher. Ardelia Nunn, 1100 East Nash, was informant.

43rd State Sunday School convention.

Screen Shot 2015-12-29 at 7.55.11 PM

Screen Shot 2015-10-21 at 12.22.48 PM

Screen Shot 2015-10-21 at 12.25.06 PM

Screen Shot 2015-10-21 at 12.24.08 PM

Minutes of the Forty-Third Annual Session of the North Carolina Baptist State Sunday School Convention (1915). 

——

  • Mrs. Sallie Barber — Per her death certificate, Sallie Minnie Blake Barbour was born about 1871 in Wake County to Essex and Clara Hodge Blake. In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson township, Wilson County: mechanic Charlie Barber, 47; wife Sallie, 40, teacher; and sons Luther, 21, John, 17, James, 17, and Herbert, 15, plus two roomers. Wilson’s black graded school was named in her honor in the early 1930s. She died in 1942.
  • Mrs. Anne E. Weeks — In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson township, Wilson County: Alfred Weeks, 44, a minister; wife Annie, 44; daughter Marie, 14, and sister Bessie, 26. Annie Elizabeth Cook Weeks, then a resident of Elizabeth, New Jersey, died while visiting Wilson on 19 April 1943. Her death certificate noted that she was born in Wake Forest, North Carolina, in 1875 to Henderson B. and Mariah D. Batchlor Cook of Wake County, and was a teacher.
  • F.S. Hargrave — Dr. Frank Settle Hargrave was a physician.
  • S.Y. Griffin
  • Miss Daisy Holland — In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson township, Wilson county: at 450 Goldsboro Street, widow Charity Holland, 48, laundress; son Charlie Holland, 24, barber; and daughters Jane, 20, Mazie, 18, Daisy, 18, Lue, 16, and Lillian, 12. Daisy died of pulmonary tuberculosis on 10 May 1927. Her death certificate notes her parents as Benjamin Holland and Charity Jones, originally of Wake County; her husband as George Cooper; and her occupation as school teacher.
  • Mrs. A.L. Fauk — Probably, Arzalia L. Faulk. In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson township, Wilson County: barber Hiram Faulk, 44; wife Arzalia L., 40, a dressmaker; and daughter Marie, 14.
  • A.L.E. Week — New Bern native Rev. Alfred Leonard Edward Weeks was minister of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Wilson. He was pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church of New Bern from 1896-1912 and his “dynamic leadership” is credited with the rebuilding of the church after a devastating fire, as well as the founding of the New Bern Industrial Collegiate Institute.

Minutes at Duke Divinity School Library Archives.