Best

“Gone but not forgotten”: the eternal art of Clarence B. Best.

Nearly all grave markers from the last 30 years or so are machine-cut, their lettering precise and even and utterly predictable. In Wilson County’s African-American cemeteries, however, even a casual perusal of older markers reveals artisanal work. Though there are many styles, one font repeatedly snags the eye — squarish letters with flared serifs and, especially, 9’s with long, pointed tails. These engravings are the work of marble cutter Clarence Benjamin Best, who, for more than 50 years, chiseled lambs, stars, stylized flowers and Masonic emblems, as well as pithy grammatically idiosyncratic epitaphs, into slabs of stone. I have found his work in rural Wilson County cemeteries and as far afield as Wayne, Edgecombe, Nash, and Greene County, but Rest Haven cemetery is the ground zero of his oeuvre.

Best, whose monument business operated from his home on the outskirts of east Wilson, got his start as a marble cutter at Wilson Marble Mantle & Tile Company on North Railroad Street. By the early 1920s, he was designing and cutting headstones for African-American clients, perhaps initially as a side gig. He seemingly worked at every price point, offering custom monuments that collectively testify to his skill and endless creativity.

Clarence Best is just one of North Carolina’s unsung vernacular artists. These samples are a tribute to  the breadth of his work:

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  • James Brody Artis, died 1963. June S. Artis cemetery, Eureka, Wayne County. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
  • George and Beulah Best, died undated and 1972. William Artis cemetery, Eureka, Wayne County.
  • William and Mary Kittrell, died 1952 and 1947. Masonic cemetery, Wilson. Likely a repurposed machine-etched stone. Not uncommonly, Best was off with his spacing estimates for lettering and here had to squeeze in the H. for William Kittrell’s middle initial.
  • Ben Hart, died 1951. Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson. Modern asymmetric concrete slab inset with etched black glass.
  • Virginia Hooks, died 1972. Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson. Virginia Hooks and her mother Donella died within months of one another. The shapes of their stones differ, but the style is much the same — name, dates, and a long epitaph. For Virginia, some extra verbiage crept in: WE MISS YOU NOW OUR HEARTS ARE SORE AS TIMES GOES BY WE MISS YOU NOW OUR HEARTS ARE SORE AS TIMES GOES BY WE WILL MISS YOU MORE. YOUR LOVING SMILES AN GENTLE FACE. NO ONE CAN FILL YOUR SPACE.
  • Donella Hooks, died  1972. Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson. TO SOME, SHE MAY BE FORGOTTEN/ TO OTHERS, JUST PART OF THE PAST/ BUT TO THOSE WHO LOVED AND LOST HER/ HER MEMORIES WILL ALWAYS LAST/ JUST A CLUSTER OF BEAUTIFUL LOVE SPRAYED WITH A MILLION TEARS/ WISHING GOD COULD HAVE SPARED HER/ FOR JUST A FEW MORE YEARS. (The last line shoe-horned in.)
  • Jacob Edwards, died 1950. Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson.
  • Archie Harris, died 1935. Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson. WE LOVED YOU BUT GOD LOVED HIM BEST.
  • Matthew and Lillian Williams, died 1968 and 1975. Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson. Pink granite was an unusual medium for Best. Names engraved on the front. On the back, astonishing and enigmatic carvings. Depending from banners, two large peaches (hearts?) carved with a plump fish for Lillian and a rifle for Matthew.

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  • Henry and Mamie Lucas, died 1942 and 1962. Masonic cemetery, Wilson. A rather plain piece with lettering somewhat rougher than usual.
  • Charles and Gertrude Jones, died 1963 and 1968. Masonic cemetery, Wilson. All Best’s main motifs — extra deeply incised family name, flowers, decorative border and religious epitaph.
  • Maggie Ellis, died 1964. Hilliard Ellis cemetery, Wilson. Dogwood design at top center.
  • Daisy Price, died 1965. Elm City colored cemetery. Extraordinary piece with stylized angel.
  • Dewey Gaston, died 1946. Elm City colored cemetery. A unique lily of the valley motif, symbolizing Christ’s second coming.
  • Link Bell, died 1959. Pyatts Chapel A.M.E. church cemetery, Edgecombe County. This oddly proportioned marker was perhaps the recycled top half of a broken slab.
  • Clarence Winstead, died 1968. Bethel A.M.E.Z. church cemetery, Stantonsburg.
  • Lucy Edwards, died 1971. Bethel A.M.E.Z. church cemetery, Stantonsburg. An apparently recycled marker, as tablet seems to have been chiseled clean.
  • Lucille Ellis, died 1964. Bethel A.M.E.Z. church cemetery, Stantonsburg. A heart engraved with a dainty ‘LOVE’ depending from a dogwood flower.

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  • Fannie Newsome, died 1960. William Artis cemetery, Eureka, Wayne County.
  • Ada Artis Rowe, died 1964. William Artis cemetery, Eureka, Wayne County. Unusual ablet in the form of a closed book.
  • Sarah Artis Speight, died 1950. Artis Town cemetery, Greene County.
  • Ruel and Louise Bullock, died 1969 and 1968. Masonic cemetery, Wilson. Masonic and Eastern Star emblems.
  • Malissia Hill, died 1929. Masonic cemetery, Wilson. An early model, the tails of the 9’s are rounded. Off-center epitaph.
  • Betty J. Levy, died 1975. Masonic cemetery, Wilson. Marble plaque inset into brick. Among Best’s last works.
  • Addie W. Taylor, died 1963. Masonic cemetery, Wilson.
  • Rev. R.J. Young, died 1933. Masonic cemetery, Wilson. Masonic emblem.
  • Short W. Barnes, died 1943. Masonic cemetery. A delicate cross top center.

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  • John and Mary Hogans, died 1951 and undated. Elmwood cemetery, Goldsboro, Wayne County. In God we trust, and a cross sprouting leaves.
  • Henry Sharper, died 1945. Elm City colored cemetery. Bird in tympanum (symbolizing eternal life) perhaps machine-cut. Veteran of World War I.
  • William H. Hall Sr., died 1925. Bethel A.M.E.Z. Church cemetery, Stantonsburg. One of the earliest stones, before Best settled in on the pointed 9’s.
  • Georgina Hall, died 1933. Bethel A.M.E.Z. church Cemetery, Stantonsburg. A tiny off-center cross leans curiously atop the tablet.
  • Edward Newsome, died 1956. Fremont colored cemetery, Fremont, Wayne County.
  • Milton and Nora Reid, died 1961 and 1965. Turner Swamp Baptist Church cemetery, Eureka, Wayne County.
  • Locus. Turner Swamp Baptist Church cemetery, Eureka, Wayne County. Perhaps a repurposed machine-cut stone. (The scroll at top is not Best’s work.) The incised trapezoid below the deeply cut tablet is unusual.
  • Walter M. Foster, died 1928. Odd Fellows cemetery, Wilson. A fine early work framed in delicate florals with an epitaph whose freehand font diminishes in size.
  • Gus and Cora Armstrong. Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson. Bizarrely proportioned lines of lettering.

——

In the 1900 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Benjamin Best, wife Eliza, and children Virgin N., Mildred, Junius, Sopremia, Benjamin, Corinthia, Remantha, Olian, and Clarence. Benjamin and Eliza reported having been married 25 years, and Eliza reported that 10 of the 12 children she had borne were living.

In the 1910 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: widow Eliza Best, 53, with children Junius, 29, Rematha, 20, Allen, 18, and Clarence, 16, plus grandchildren Suprema, 5, and Martha A., 3.

On 24 January 1917, Clarence Best, 22, of Wilson township, son of Benjamin and Eliza Best, and Geneva Smith, 22, of Gardners township, daughter of Henry and Mahala Smith, were married in Gardners township by C.H. Hagans, a Primitive Baptist minister. Fred Woodard, John Barnes and Len Woodard witnessed.

Clarence Best registered for the World War I draft on 5 June 1917. He reported that he was born 22 October 1894 in Wayne County, North Carolina; that he resided at RFD #4, Box 4, Wilson; and that he worked as a stone rubber at Wilson Marble Mantle & Tile Company. He claimed that he supported his wife and his mother and her two grandchildren. He was described as medium height and build, with brown eyes and black hair.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, marble cutter Clarence Best, 26, wife Geneva, 26, and son Clarence H., 1, plus Eliza Best, 68, Martha Ann Best, 11, and Suprema Hooks, 11. Next door, Junius Best, 38, wagon factory assembly man, wife Mary A., 27, and children Mary Olivia, 2, and Colonius, 4 months.

Eliza Best died 1 September 1929 in Wilson of “injury of rt. leg; cut her leg on a piece of tin.” She resided at 1310 East Nash Street, Wilson, and was the widow of Benjamin Best. She was about 64 years old and had been born in Wilson County to Jim Ellis and Zannie Applewhite. She was buried in Rountree cemetery; Clarence Best was informant.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 203 East Nash Street, marble works polisher Clearance Best, 37, wife Geneva, 37, and son Clearance, 11. Nearby: wagon factory laborer Junious Best, 47, wife Mary, 39, and children Mary, 12, Colanelus, 11, Mattie, 7, and Rematha, 2.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: marble dresser Clarence Best, 46, wife Geneva, 46, and son Clarence H. Best, 21, tobacco stemmer, plus nephew Frank Brake, 14.

In 1943, Clarence Herman Best registered for the World War II draft. He reported his home address as 1306 East Nash Street, Wilson; his date of birth as 3 October 1918; and his closest relative as Clarence Benjamin Best, his father. His employer was Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Genevia Smith Best died 23 September 1969 in Wilson. Per her death certificate , she was born 19 August 1896 to William Henry Smith and Martha (last name unknown.) She was buried at Rest Haven cemetery; Clarence Best was informant.

Clarence B. Best died 18 November 1980 in Wilson. The double headstone he had created after his wife’s burial — with extra pointy 9’s, a cross, and a slighty too-long epitaph — awaited his death date as a final entry. When the time came, it was, of course, incised perfectly by machine.

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Be honest & true. Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.

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Wilson Daily Times, 23 May 1951.

All photos by Lisa Y. Henderson.

 

No. 2738.

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When Aaron Bess opened an account at the Freedmen’s Bank in New Bern, he reported that he had been born and raised in Greene County, resided at the Widow Bess’ in Greene County, and farmed for Heywood Bess. He and Evelina Bess had been married 26 years and had eleven children: Orpheus, Harper, Jane, Mary (deceased), Argent, Cherry, Alice, Nancy, Samuel Lincoln, Hattie and Hope. His parents were Abel Edwards (deceased) and Argent Edwards, who lived in Wilson County, and his siblings were Richard, Margaret, Harriet, Gracie and Justina.

In the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County: teamster Cally Speight, wife Margaret, 26, and Ann Speight, 13, a domestic servant. Sharing their household were Abel Edwards, 84, Argen, 72, Jssie(?), 24, a hotel chambermaid, Gracy, 23, a domestic servant, and Ann P. Edwards, 5.

In the 1880 census of Moseley Hall, Lenoir County: laborer Aaron Best, 62, wife Eveline, 48, children Nancy, 18, Harriet, 12, Hopewell, 9, and Mariah, 4, and grandchildren Eugenia, 8, and Frances Joyner, 3.

Freedmen’s Bank Records, 1865-1871 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com. 

Harper Best heard from.

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Wilson Daily Times, 10 March 1911.

——

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Spring Street, drayman Harper Best, 30, and his lodger “Methodist preacher” Franklin Bird, 24.

Harper Best, 33, married Rosa England, 18, on 22 September 1882 in Wilson.

Before the decade was out, the Bests migrated to California, and Harper Best appears in San Jose city directories as early as 1890 and at least as late as 1916.

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1892 San Jose, California, city directory.

In 1890, he even registered to vote in San Jose:

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Copy of the Great Register of Santa Clara County.

This is likely a 1901 Santa Clara death register entry for Best’s son, also named Harper Best and born in North Carolina in about 1882. Presumably, Rosa Best died before her son did:

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Record of Deaths, Santa Clara County.

In the 1910 census of San Jose, Santa Clara County, California: 83 South First Street, 59 year-old Harper Best was lived alone. His occupation was porter in a dry goods store, and he was described as single.

The 10 March 1911 newspaper article above is not the only time Harper Best was featured in the Wilson Daily Times. On 7 May 1912, the Times printed a short letter with an accompanying clipping from a San Jose-area newspaper:

HARPER BEST BEST.

A Worthy Colored Man Who Left Wilson and Went West.

The following letter from Mr. J.M. Waterman, private secretary to Harper Best explains itself. Harper lived with Mr. Green for 13 years and is a worthy colored man.

Mr. G.D. Green, Wilson, N.C.

Dear Sir: —

Acting upon the suggestion of your friend, Harper Best, I am sending you a newspaper clipping cut from on of our principal papers, and you will note how popular Harper is out here in the “Wild and Wooly West.”

All matters in the notice are true, regarding his physical condition and [h]is insatiable appetite. He has a regular possum grin on his face at all time.

With best regards from Harper, and hoping to hear from you in the very near future, I am,

Yours respectfully, J.M. Waterman, Private Secretary to H.B.

Harper Best and Hear[t]beats.

Almost everyone in San Jose knows Harper Best, the old and trusted handy-man around the Arcade, who has held his position for about 24 years, and who at the age of 62 can still get around like a youngster. Harper is good-natured at all times, and a few hints to his many friends at this time will not be amiss on how to stay young and be happy. Harper is an epicure. Any time you meet him he begins to talk about something to eat. Chicken, young duck, ‘possum and sweet potatoes and so on. But the ‘possum seems to be his long suit and he claims that if you know how to cook it and put plenty of sweet potatoes in the roaster at the right time you will be able to stay young. If you should happen to pretend to doubt him on the age question he will pull a typewritten statement on you and prove his age to the heart beat. Here follows his age: 62 years, 744 months, 3224 weeks, 22,568 days, 541,632 hours, 32,497,920 minutes, and 1,949,875,200 heart beats. His next expression is this way: “Now, friend, you have the proof and if you want to stay young do what I do. Eat ‘possum and you can’t get old.”

And two years later, on 2 May 1914, the Times published this letter from Best himself:

Tribute from a Colored Man.

April 23, 1914.

Wilson Daily Times, Wilson N.C.

Gentlemen: — Kindly allow me space in your valuable paper to say: “Some years ago along about 1873 I came from Snowhill, Green County, to Wilson, your city. After a couple of years, I went to work with Palmer and Green, a hardware store. I stayed with Mr. Green and worked for him until 1888. Then in January, 1888, I made up my mind to start for California.

Owing to the fact that it was so far away in the West, I had not the money as usual. I was, however, [section missing] and on cold mornings I would build a fire up for him before he got up. One morning I said to him: “I am going to leave, Mr. Green.” He said, “Where are you going?” I replied that I was going to California and he inquired how I would get there. I said, “I will have to borrow the money from yo.” So it was arranged, and I got the money from him and started for California.

Since that time Mr. Green has been a dear friend of mine as well as all the time I was employed by him. It mattered not what come or went I could always depend on him. During the many years that I worked for him, I have seen the time where there were many people in the town and county that would come to Mr. Green for favors large and small. He always did what he could for them and gave them satisfaction. After I had come to California, Mr. Green settled some of my debts for me and sent me the bills. I sent him a check for the same and if there was a friend among whites or colored that upbuild Wilson, it as Mr. Green.

His brains was often required in the courthouse, and men of all classes would come to him for advice.

I find that Mr. Frank Barnes is on my mind at this time. He was on e of the leading men of the county. Also the Woodards, several of whose names I could mention. They were farmers in the country. Also Mr. Joshua Barnes was a well-known man.

After all many of these men that I remember have passed into the world beyond, but their memory will never be forgotten as long as Wilson remains a city.

I have many friends in the section of the country where I live, San Jose, California, and my life has been such that a very large majority of the people know me — and if they don’t know my name they know my face.

Now at this time, I am thinking very strongly of paying another visit to Wilson, during the summer and perhaps I will remain there for a few months. If any of my friends wish to come out to the exposition next year I want to say to them, “California is a very good country for health, but like all countries now, money is plentiful but work for young men is very scarce. With all their education they can’t get a decent job sometime. Gold is not like it used to be, nor is silver. It takes very hard pushing now for a man to get through who hasn’t any money, but if you have plenty of money, it goes very easily. But if you haven’t it, it is very hard pulling.

If any one wish to write me during the next sixty days he can do so. I will give them all the information I can about this community and section of the country. To my many friends in Wilson I will say that Wilson is dear to me. As I meet many North Carolinians from the Western and Eastern portion and I speak of the grand old state it makes me feel very proud of North Carolina. I know that there are men of very great brains and understanding and wisdom that were reared in North Carolina. As far as I can see there are no better educated men, white or colored, in any state in the Union.

I just give this little sketch to your readers. This is from an old friend.  HARPER BEST.

Best appears to have returned to Wilson during or just after World War I. By 1920, he had joined his sister’s household at 330 South Spring Street: widowed Nannie Best, 61, her daughter Frank, 30, son Aaron, 21, and daughter-in-law Estelle, 19, and a lodger, nurse Henrietta Colvert, 24 [a Statesville native who was my great-great-aunt.] (N.B.: what appears to be the same 65 year-old Harper Best is also listed as a head of a household at 109 Wiggins Street that included his brothers Morris Best, 50, and Frank Best, 32; sister Estelle Best, 21; and son Orren Best, 19. [The recurrence of given names suggests a relationship to Daniel Best (born circa 1808) of Greene County. Daniel and his wife Jane had sons Orren Best, born about 1848, and Noah Best, born about 1854. Orren Best and his wife Hancey had a daughter Nannie. Noah Best had sons Morris and Frank.]

Here are Harper and extended family in the 1922-23 city directory:

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On 22 October 1929, Harper Best dictated a will describing himself as a resident of Wilson and leaving all his property, personal and real, to his sister Nannie Best and nieces Eliza and Frankie Best. He died just under eight months later.

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California Voter Registers, 1866-1898 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com; California Death and Burial Records from Select Counties, 1873-1987 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com. 

The heritage of Theodore and Edith Barnes Ellis.

Benjamin Barnes was born about 1819, probably in southern Edgecombe County or northern Wayne County, areas that later became Wilson County. Circumstantial evidence, largely in the form of naming patterns and proximity, suggests that Benjamin had at least two brothers, Andrew Barnes, born perhaps 1815, and Redmond Barnes, born about 1823. On 21 April 1866, Benjamin Barnes and Violet Barnes, born about 1817, registered their cohabitation at the Wilson County Courthouse. Their registration did not list the length of their marriage during slavery. Ben and Violet’s only certain child was Calvin Barnes, born about 1836, though they probably had several more.

[Update, 4/8/2023: Caesar Wilkins, son of Samuel Horn and Sarah Farmer, married Bina Barnes, daughter of Benjamin Barnes and Violet Barnes, in 26 January 1871 in Wilson County.]

In the 1870 census of Saratoga, Wilson County, Violet is described as a midwife, and three young girls, Elvy (1859), Ailcy (1862) and Spicy (1863), live with her and Benjamin. Given Violet’s age, it seems likely that these are granddaughters. Violet Barnes died sometime before 13 November 1879, when Benjamin married Mary Bynum in Wilson County. [N.B.: The Benjamin Barnes, son of Isaac and Judia Bynum, who married Lucy Barnes in 1872 in Wilson County is a different man.] Benjamin and Mary’s appearance in the 1880 census of Saratoga is their first and last. Benjamin listed his father’s birthplace as Virginia, but provided no additional information. He died before 1900.

Benjamin and Violet’s son Calvin Barnes and Sealie [Celia] Barnes registered their five-year cohabitation in Wilson County on 17 July 1866. Celia’s parents are unknown. In the 1870 census of Saratoga, Wilson County, Calvin and family were living next door to his parents Benjamin and Violet. Calvin and Celia’s children were Benjamin (1864), Spicy (1865), Jesse (1866), and Peter (1869). Also in the household were 20 year-old Dora Ebon (Calvin or Celia’s sister?) and her likely children Louisa (1866) and Mary E. (1869).

In 1880, in Saratoga, Wilson County: Calvin headed a household that included wife Celie and children Peter, Drue, Redman, Lizzie B., and William. In 1900, the family was listed in Stantonsburg township. Calvin was farming, and Celie reported 10 of 13 children living. Only four — William, Mary S., Laura and Celie Barnes, plus Mary’s daughter Dora Barnes — were at home. Son Peter was nearby with his wife Jane and children John R., General, Annie and Sallie, as was son Redmond with wife Genett [Jennette] and their first child Dora. Celia died prior to 1909, when Calvin married Cherry Brown Tart. The marriage was her third, and the 1910 census found them living in the town of Wilson on Stantonsburg Street. Ten years later, they are living at 610 Stantonsburg Street and both employed were in a private home. Calvin Barnes died 21 February 1923 in Wilson.

Calvin and Celia’s son Redmond Barnes was born 3 May 1873 near Saratoga or Stantonsburg. In 1898, Redmond married Jennette Best on W.H. Applewhite’s farm, where the Barneses were either sharecroppers or tenant farmers. (Applewhite’s grandson, James, is a celebrated poet whose writing often draws on the world of his childhood in Wilson County.) Their children included Dora Barnes Weaver Ward (1899-1994), Fred Barnes (1901-1968), Mary Estelle Barnes (1903-1989), Minnie B. Barnes Barnes (1905-1985), Edith Bell Barnes Ellis (1907-1984), Betty Lee Barnes Bullock (1909-1992), Nora Lee Barnes (1911-2001), Alice Jennette Barnes Smith (1914-2011), Lula Mae Barnes Speight (1916-1996), Redmond Barnes Jr. (1918-1989), John Harvey Barnes (1920-1994), and Jennette Barnes, who died in infancy.

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Rest Haven cemetery, 2014.

Jennette Best was born about 1880 near Stantonsburg. Her marriage licenses lists her parents as Sam Best and Edy Strickland. However, in the 1870 census of Stantonsburg, Wilson County, “Edy Strickland” appears as Edith Winstead, age 10, in the household of Isaac Winstead, 52, and wife Jane, 35, whose other children were Robert, 7, Amanda, 3, and Aneliza, 1. The 1880 census of Stantonsburg, shows “Ada Best” in a household with her stepfather Isaac Winstead, mother Jane, half-siblings Manda, Ann, Charlie, Major, Lucy and Levi, brother Rob Farmer, and likely children Sam, 3, and Mary Best, 1. Sam Best is not listed in the county and may have died or have deserted his family just before Jenette was born. I have not found him in any census or vital record. Nor have I found any other mention of Edith Best or Strickland.

Redmond Barnes’ brother Peter Barnes (1869-?) married Jane Ruffin in 1891 in Wilson County. Their children included John Redmond (1892-1970), General (1895), Annie (1897), Sallie (1899), and Albert (1900-1924).

Redmond’s brother Andrew “Drew” Barnes (1871-1945) married Estella “Stella” Williams in 1892 in Wilson County. [Not to be confused with Andrew Barnes, son of Andrew and Amy Williford Barnes — possibly Calvin Barnes’ first cousin — who married Stella Battle in 1870.] Their children included John (1890), Wade (1894), Frank (1895), James (1897), Lula (1898), and Andrew Jr. (1900).

Redmond’s sister Elizabeth “Lizzie” or “Betty” Barnes (1873-?) married W.T. Sherrod Ellis, son of Reuben and Clarky Ellis. Their children: Willie (1892), Robert (1895), Mary E. (1896), Maggie D. (1899), Sallie (1900), Joseph (1904) and Mamie Ellis (1906).

Redmond’s sister Mollie Barnes married Floyd Ellis. Their children included Floyd Theodore (1907-1981), Columbus (1909), John Adam (1916-1965), Mary Rebeckah (1919) and Leathie Charlotte (1922).

——

Isom (or Isham) Ellis was born about 1807 in southern Edgecombe County. The will of William Ellis Sr., proved in Edgecombe in 1813, declared in part, “I leave unto my said wife Unity Ellis, the following negroes, To wit, Arthur, Jonas, Isom, Belford, Lisle, Pat, Mimah, Treasy & Hester.” It seems probable that this listing is a reference to Isom Ellis.

Unity Ellis died in 1817, before her husband’s estate settled. “Pursuant to the annexed order to us directed we the commis’rs met on the 19th March at the late dwelling house of William Ellis, dec’d, and thought proper to divide the negroes between the heirs instead of selling them, after [illegible]ing the negroes belonging to the Estate of said dec’d [Unity Ellis] a draw was made as followeth:

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Isom/Isham thus passed to Willie Ellis’ ownership in 1818, when he was about 11 years old. He appears to have remained with Willie until Emancipation.

On 24 July 1866, Isom Bynum and Patience Bynum registered their 40-year cohabitation in Wilson County. Several other men — Guilford, Robert, Jackson and Lewis — also registered as Bynums, but are listed with the surname Ellis in the 1870 census. For this and other reasons, including proximity and naming patterns, I believe these men were all sons, or close relatives, of Isom Ellis.

Lewis Ellis, born circa 1834, first married Dossie Best, by whom he had one son, John Ellis (1853). He then married Millie Thompson (1832-?), who gave birth to Daniel (1860-1938), Mary (1863), Adeline “Addie” (1865), Martha (1868), Cora (1870) and James Ellis (1874). Neither Lewis nor Millie appears in the 1900 census.

Lewis and Milly’s son Daniel Ellis first married Rosa Barnes, by whom he had a daughter, Lena (1890-1928). He then married Celia Lewis (1872-1912), daughter of Furney and Eliza Lewis on 29 August 1893 in Wilson County. Their children were William (1894), Maeliza (1897), Samson (1898-1918), Harry (1900-1988), Jackson (1901-1918), Robert (1904-1968), Louetta (1906), Orran (1910-1918) and Theodore Roosevelt Ellis (1912-1979). After Celia’s death in or just after childbirth, Daniel married Maggie Woodard in 1914. Their children were Mack (1916), John Henry (1919-1963), Mattie (1922) and Jem (1925). Daniel Ellis died 10 October 1938.

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Top, Fannie Hardy Ward, Theodore R. Ellis and Edith Barnes Ellis. Bottom, Eloise Ward and T. Roosevelt Ellis Jr., probably near Stantonsburg, Wilson County, circa 1939.

Photo courtesy of Monica E. Barnes.

Daniel Cato Suggs; or the meaning of one generation of freedom.

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A.B. Caldwell, ed., History of the American Negro and His Institutions, North Carolina Edition (1921).

The 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson township, shows Washington Suggs, 42, brickmason, with children Sarena, 8, Mary, 2, Decatur [Daniel Cato], 6, plus farm laborer, Richard Harper, 17. Wife Esther was apparently overlooked.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: brickmason Washington Sugg, 51, wife Esther, 38, and children Nicy, 21, Sarena, 17, Cator, 16, Molly, 12, Edmonia, 10, Juda, 5, and James, 3.

As first mentioned here, in 1884, Daniel C. Suggs was nominated as a candidate for a cadetship at West Point. It was the first public recognition of the extraordinary potential of this young man.

Hburg The State Journal 2 23 1884

The State Journal (Harrisburg PA), 23 February 1884.

In the 1900 census of the 5th Militia District, Chatham County, D.C. Suggs, 35, is listed as a teacher at Georgia State Industrial College [now Savannah State University.]

On 29 September 1902, in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, Daniel C. Suggs, 36, of Savannah, Georgia, married Mary A. Nocho, 26, of Guilford County.

In the 1910 census of Militia District 5, Chatham County, Georgia: college teacher Daniel C. Suggs, 45, wife Mary A., 33, and daughter Chrystine, 1.

In the 1920 census of Greensboro, Guilford County: at 406 East Market, college president Daniel C. Suggs, 50, wife Mamie A., 42, children Christine, 11, Daniel C., Jr., 8, Beatrice, 6, Frank, 3, and George, 9 months.

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The Roxboro Courier, 31 January 1917.

In the 1930 census of Greensboro, Guilford County: at 406 East Market, Daniel C. Suggs, 58, retired, wife Nora A., 52, and children Christine J., 21, Batrice B., 16, Frank G., 13, and George R., 10.

Daniel Cato Suggs died 23 November 1936 in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was 71 years old.

No. 3600.

From the records of the Freedmen’s Bank, New Bern branch:

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Clara Best, born about 1813 near Stantonsburg, reported that she was reared in Greene County. Her husband Daniel Best had died the “1st spring Yankees come.” She named twelve children (plus “2 not named”) — Cynthia, William, Philip, Nancy, Ivory, Jinnie and Clara, living, and Ransom and Toney (“d. soldier”), deceased. Her father Isaac Best was dead, as was brother Nathan, but mother Sylvia seems to have been living yet, as were siblings Isaac, Rose Ann, Patience, Isaiah and David.