Wilson Daily Times, 6 December 1948.
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Bethel AME Zion
Stantonsburg news, June 1934.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.,), 23 June 1934.
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This piece offers a rare look at the social life of Stantonsburg’s African American community.
- Marion Artis — It opens with an account of the funeral of Marion Artis. Though detailed, the decedent was misgendered. (This suggests that the correspondent did not know Artis personally and was making assumptions from second-hand information.) Marion Artis died 8 June 1934 in Stantonsburg, Wilson County. He was born in 1909 in Wilson County to Will Artis and Frances Ford; was married to Bessie Lee Artis; and worked as a farmer.
- Bethel A.M.E. Zion Church
- Rev. C.W. Jones
- J.E. Edwards
- C.E. Artis — Columbus E. Artis, a Wilson undertaker with roots across the county line near Eureka. Artis operated a small grocery in Stantonsburg circa 1910.
- C.F Fuller — probably, Clyde Fuller. In the 1930 census of Stantonsburg, Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: on “Delaware Line (on street),” renting for $8/month, Clyde Fuller, 40, chauffeur; wife Mattie, 34, servant; and lodger Pete Whitley, 35, sawmill fireman.
- Artelia Whitley and Irene Whitley were sisters. In the 1930 census of Stantonsburg, Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: on “Delaware Line (on street),” owned and valued at $600, John Whitley, 49, blacksmith; wife Mollie, 25; children Artillia, 18, Irene, 15, D.H., 13, John W., 10, Mary F., 8, Marjorie, 3, and Claron, 1 month; and father-in-law Wiley Locus, 70, widower, school janitor. Artelia and Irene worked as washerwomen.
- Katie B. Coward — Katie Coward was the daughter of Rev. Bryant P. and Sarah Coward. In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Coward Katie B (c) student r 1013 Atlantic av
- Marion B. Jordan
Memorial Day salute in Stantonsburg.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from Jose A. Rivera Jr., a police officer in Stantonsburg. Officer Rivera is a relative newcomer to Wilson County and his patrols led him past a small cemetery on the edge of town. He is a veteran and was particularly interested in the military headstones he found. He also saw a marker for William H. Hall. The cemetery is badly overgrown in areas, and Officer Rivera and his chief of police wished to clean it up and place flags on the graves of these veterans that are laid to rest there.
Officer Rivera came across Black Wide-Awake while searching for more information about the cemetery and learned that it is owned by Bethel A.M.E. Zion Church. My cousins’ family, descended from William Hall, have been members for generations, and I was able to provide him a contact information for a church member.
This morning, Officer Rivera emailed me again: “In observance of Memorial Day, our Police Department placed a flag at each of the military headstones that we found at the Bethel AME Zion Church Cemetery.” And he attached photos. (Where available, I’ve added the applications for these markers.)
- Pvt. Oscar Isler, World War I
- M. Sgt. James B. Newsome, World War II and Korea
- Milton Winstead, World War II
- Robert Farmer, World War I
- Sgt. Booker Tarrant, World War I
- Leroy Ellis
- PFC James F. Ward, World War II
- Pvt. Council T. Reid, World War I
- SFC Willie L. Speight, World War II
I look forward to seeing the results of Stantonsburg Police Department’s collaboration with Bethel A.M.E. Zion to clear this historic cemetery.
Officer Rivera pays his respects.
Photos courtesy of Jose A. Rivera Jr.; Headstone Applications for Military Veterans 1925-1963, ancestry.com.
Cemeteries, no. 3: Bethel A.M.E. Zion Church cemetery.
Like many small rural churches, the early members of Stantonsburg’s Bethel A.M.E. Zion were drawn largely from a group of related families. At their core was the large extended family of William Henry Hall, whose family plot in the church cemetery was profiled here.
The cemetery, about a mile from the present location of the church, is set along a slight rise above the cut of Peacock Bridge Road, just south of the Norfolk & Southern railroad. It is lovingly tended despite its isolation, with most of the graves lying in sandy bays extending back from the unpaved road. Foxgrape vines and sassafras saplings edge the clearings, and rose bushes have naturalized among the trees.
Besides William Hall, among the earliest marked burials are:
Dick Barnes married Quilla Joyner on 10 February 1870 in Wayne County, North Carolina. (The county line is just a few miles west of Stantonsburg.) In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Richard Barnes, 38, wife Aqulla, 33, and children Edward C., 9, William H.M., 8, Lewis H., 6, Maryland, 5, and Corneleous, 4. In the 1900 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Richard Barnes, (second) wife Gracey, 23, and children Peter, 23, Cornelius, 21, Mary S., 18, Geneva, 16, John H., 14, and Barnie, 7, and boarder Addison Fort, 17.
and William M. Hardy, who lived a few miles away over the Greene County line.
