Battle

Bill of sale for Syphax, Jim, Mose, and Cherry.

Deed book 1, pages 612, Wilson County Register of Deeds, Wilson, North Carolina.

Whereas at the Spring Term A.D. 1860 of the court of Equity for Wilson County NC a decree was made in the suit of Sabra Parker & others to the Court confirming the sale of Slaves Syphax Jim & Mose & ordering James W. Davis as trustee of the plaintiff another slave in the stead & whereas the said James W. Davis by & with the consent of the plaintiff has contracted with Alexander Eatman for the purchase of a slave by the name of Cherry as a substitute which bargain & purchase has been approved & confirmed by the said court of Equity Now therefore the said Alexander Eatman for & in consideration of the sum of twelve hundred Dollars in hand paid the receipt of which by the said Eatman is this day acknowledges has bargained sold & conveyed & by these presents doth bargain sell & convey unto the said James W. Davis trustee as aforesaid slave Cherry to have & to hold according to the decree of the court of Equity aforesaid & the said Alexander Eatman does hereby warrant the title to said Negroe & that she is sound  June 19th 1860  Alexander Eatman {seal}

P.W. Barnes

The Execution of the foregoing Bill of Sale is proven before me by P.W. Barnes the subscribing witness thereto August 14th 1860    T.E. Davis Clerk of Wilson Court

Record for Registration August 14th 1860  A.J. Brown Regr

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Some context for this transaction is provided in this post and post, but it is difficult to fully understand what is happening here. Edgecombe County planter Weeks Parker died in January 1844, leaving a widow, Sabra Hearn Parker, and three children, Margaret H. Parker Battle, Simmons B. Parker, and Henrietta Parker Battle. (Another son, Dr. John H. Parker, who had migrated to Florida, died while his father’s estate was in probate. Syphax, Jim, and Moses were among the 30 enslaved people Weeks Parker bequeathed to Margaret Battle, wife of Amos Johnston Battle. The Parker heirs fought amongst themselves and with the estate’s administrators over the handling of the estate, and Emancipation eventually intervened to prevent a final distribution of all of Weeks Parker’s immense wealth. In the meantime, there were partial distributions here and there, as well as sales of unsatisfactory slaves and purchases of replacements. That appears to be what happened in this situation, though it’s not clear who Cherry replaced. 

What I am fairly certain of, however, is that Cherry was my great-great-grandmother.

In 1986, I wrote legendary local Hugh B. Johnston Jr. for help tracing my enslaved ancestors, Willis Barnes and Cherry Battle, who registered their six-year cohabitation in Wilson County in 1866. Johnston wrote back promptly, opining that Cherry had been “a slave belonging to the noted Reverend Amos Johnston Battle of Wilson, whose wife owned a small farm north of Wilson not far from the [Joshua] Barnes plantation.” [More about this letter later.]

In 1860, Alexander Eatmon, a Nash County farmer, sold 18 year-old Cherry to a trustee, who passed her on to Margaret H. Battle. The young woman went to live at Walnut Hill, Battle’s farm just north of Wilson. Shortly after, Cherry married Willis, who is believed to have been enslaved on Joshua Barnes‘ neighboring plantation. Their eldest child, Rachel Barnes Taylor, was my great-grandmother.

Willis and Cherry Battle went on to have at least nine children, whose marriage licenses and death certificates list their mother’s maiden name as Cherry Battle, but just as often name her as Cherry Eatmon. 

The obituary of John Parker Battle, World War I veteran.

Wilson Daily Times, 22 December 1945.

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In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: moulder Parker Battle, 45, wife Ella L., 38, children Mamie P., 19, James A., 17, Sallie R., 14, Sudie E., 12, and John T. [sic], 9, plus mother-in-law Roberta A. Outlaw, 49.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: foundry laborer Parker Battle, 54, wife Ella, and children Roberta, 24, a teacher, Grace, 22, a factory laborer, and John, 19.

In 1917, John Parker Battle registered for the World War I draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 20 October 1889 in Wilson; lived at 332 Spring Street, Wilson; worked brick laying for Bill McGowan; and was single.

John P. Battle’s service card.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 332 South Spring, widow Ella Battle, 52, and her children Grace [Glace], 27, teacher Roberta, 29, tobacco worker John, 25, and Olga Battle, 11, shared their home with boarders Georgia Burks, 25, a Georgia-born teacher, and chauffeur Theodore Speight, 17; and roomers William Phillips, 35, a dentist, and his wife Jewel, 23.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 322 South Spring Street, owned and valued at $8000, cooper John Battle, 39; wife Gladis, 26; and children Grace G., 3, and Parker, 1; also, blacksmith Timothy Black, 23; wife Grace, 30; relative Olga L. [Battle], 22, public school teacher.

In 1942, John P. Battle registered for the World War II draft in Kecoughtan, Elizabeth City County, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 20 October 1891 in Wilson; his contact Roberta Johnson, 1108 East Nash Street, Wilson; and was “totally blind.”

John P. Battle‘s headstone, Masonic Cemetery, Wilson.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson; North Carolina World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919, http://www.ancestry.com.

Daily Times paperboys, no. 2.
  • Willie Battle Jr.

Wilson Daily Times, 3 October 1950.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 908 East Nash, widow Mamie Hill, 43; nephew Bobbie Becton, 10; and lodgers Willie Battle, 48, and sons Willie Jr., 17, and James, 16.

  • Percy Bowens

Wilson Daily Times, 3 October 1950.

This boy’s name, in fact, was Percy Bowens. (And he grew up to be a well-known East Wilson businessman.)

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: carpenter Welch Bowens, 55; wife Leola, 55; daughter Mary D. Brown, 23, house cleaner; and grandchildren Raymond, 15, LeAnna, 14, and Percy Bowens, 12, and Veronia, 5, Colin Jr., 3, Patricia Ann, 2, and Mary Brown, born in June.

  • Joshua E. Winstead Jr.

Wilson Daily Times, 5 October 1950.

In the 1940 census of North Whitakers township, Nash County, North Carolina: teamster Josh Winstead, 20; wife Flora, 19; and children Joshua E., 2, and Darlina, 9 months.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1020 Roberson Street, Flora Bowens, 29, “cook and keep house,” divorced; children Joshua, 12, Darlena D., 10, and Aldonia Winstead, 8; and lodger Susie G. Edwards, 26.

Clippings courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

Studio shots, no. 194: the Battle siblings?

A reader who wishes to remain anonymous submitted this family portrait. The four women’s dark dress suggests a family in mourning.

Who were they? The only clue we have is a pencilled notation on the reverse: “Chandler/Battle.” I thought immediately of Nicholas R. Battle, who was born in Wilson County about 1862 to Charles and Leah Hargrove Battle and migrated to Chandler, Oklahoma, about 1900. His sister Ada G. Battle briefly lived in Chandler as well, and Nicholas and Ada had a sister, Chandler Battle Wright.

Could this be a portrait of Charles and Leah Battle’s children — most of them, anyway — taken around the time of Charles Battle’s death in 1910? (Leah Battle died in 1898.) Their known children were Nicholas R. (1863), with Lewis (1862), appear to have been Charles’ children by an earlier relationship; Susan (1869); Ada G. (1875); Geneva Battle Faver (1878); Virgil T. Battle (1880); Chandler (1883); Caledonia “Doane” Battle Williston (1887); and Charles T. Battle (1888). Lewis, Susan, and Virgil appear to have died young. The six remaining children included four girls and two boys, which is consistent with the photo. 

In 1910, the living children would have been Nicholas, 48; Ada, 35; Geneva, 32, Chandler, 27; Doane, 23; and Charles T., 22. The daughters’ ages are consistent with the woman depicted. The man at bottom left appears to be Charles T. Battle, the younger of the two sons, and closely resembles his son, Dr. C.T. Battle Jr. The man at bottom right looks younger than 48 years old, but that age is not out of the range of possibility, and this is likely Nicholas Battle.

If anyone can identify the family depicted here more accurately, I’d love to hear from you.

A visit to Oklahoma.

The Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City), 25 May 1922.

Ada G. Battle and Nicholas R. Battle, both born in Wilson County, were the children of Charles Battle.

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In the 1880 census, Wilson, Wilson County: blacksmith Charles Battle, 35, wife Leah, 30, and children Adelia, 5, Geneva, 2, Virgil, 1 month, and Nicholas, 18.

On 27 February 1901, Nicholas R. Battle, 37, born in North Carolina, residing in Chandler, Oklahoma, married Mrs. Dora J. Bolton, 39, born in Mississippi, residing in Guthrie, Oklahoma, in Logan County, Oklahoma.

In the 1910 census of Chandler township, Lincoln County, Oklahoma: farmer Nicklos Battle, 46; wife Dora, 41; adopted children Charley Suggs, 5, and Henry Caldwell, 3; and hired man Cleveland Smith, 24.

In the 1920 census of Chandler township, Lincoln County, Oklahoma: farmer Nichols Battles, 56; wife Dora J., 58; and son Henery N., 12.

Dora Battle died 10 November 1921 in Chandler, Oklahoma.

In the 1930 census of Chandler, Lincoln County, Oklahoma: farmer Henry Battle, 22; wife Vannie, 23; son Henry Jr., 3; and father Nicholas B. Battle, 64, widower, farmer.

In the 1940 census of Chandler township, Lincoln County, Oklahoma: farmer Nichols Battles, 75; wife Ella, 39; and children Ada L., 5, Nicholas R., 3, and Evelene, 1.

Nicholas R. Battle died 24 December 1946 in Chandler, Oklahoma.

Fiftieth anniversary of First Baptist Church.

Wilson Daily Times, 18 September 1922. 

Was a memorial drinking fountain ever installed in front of the church? I do not recall ever seeing one. 

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  • “the late Rev. Jackson” — Rev. Andrew J. Jackson was founder of First Baptist Church, now known as Jackson Chapel First Missionary Baptist Church. 
  • Rev. J.A. Mebane — John Alexander Mebane, a native of Bertie County, lived in Wilson only briefly. In the 1922 Hill’s directory of the city: Mebane John A Rev (c) 308 Hackney

Rev. J.A. Mebane (1885-1974).

  • M.E. Rogers — Mary Elizabeth Rogers. 
  • John Battle — probably, John Parker Battle.
  • Henrietta Foster — Foster, who was listed as living at the rear of 308 Hackney Street in 1922, later married Rev. Mebane. Henrietta Foster Mebane died in 1950 and, though the Mebanes spent most of their married life in Tarboro, N.C., was buried in Wilson’s Rountree Cemetery. Later, her body was moved to Rest Haven Cemetery to lie beside her husband. Their daughter Grace Mebane, who died in Tarboro in 1940 at age 14, is also buried in Wilson.

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user Satwun.