Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 29 June 1940.
Georgia Eugenia Cooke married George William Gant at Saint John A.M.E. Zion Church in 1940. Members of the wedding party from Wilson included Clara G. Cooke, Vertist Crawford, Annie E. Cooke, Jerry L. Cooke Sr., Monte Vick, Henderson Cooke, Jerry L. Cooke Jr., Randall James, Malcolm Williams, Charles James, Milton Fisher, and Edwin Cooke.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 17 July 1943.
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In the 1930 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: Howard Farmer, 52, wife Sarah, 51, and son Quinton, 7.
In the 1940 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: Howard Farmer, 61, wife Sarah, 61, and son Quenten, 17.
In 1942, Quentin Alston Farmer registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 16 December 1922 in Wilson; lived at Route 2, Elm City; and his contact and employer was father Howard Farmer.
On 21 June 1943, Quenton Farmer, 20, of Elm City, son of Howard and Sarah V. Farmer, married Annie Elizabeth Cooke, 22, of Wilson, daughter of J.L. and Clara R. Cooke, in Wilson. A.M.E. Zion minister William A. Hilliard performed the ceremony in the presence of J.L. Cooke, Charles James, and Carter Foster.
On 4 June 1952, Quentin A. Farmer, 29, of Wilson, son of Howard and Sarah Farmer, married Cecil Chaminade Clinton, 28, of Wilson, daughter of Willie and Lottie Clinton of Silver Spring, Maryland, in Weldon, Halifax County, N.C.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Hadley Street, railroad mail clerk Jerry L. Cook, 43; wife Clara, 39, teacher; children Henderson, 20, Edwin D., 18, Clara G., 14, Georgia E., 12, Annie, 8, Jerry L., 6, and Eunice D., 4; sister Georgia E. Wyche, 48, teacher; and nieces Kathaline Wyche, 7, and Reba Whittington, 19.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 916 East Green Street, railway clerk J.L. Cook, 54, born Wake County; wife Clara, 48, born Craven County; children Henderson J., 30, Clara, 24, Annie, 18, Jerry, 16, and Eunice, 14; and cousin Ella Godette, 18. Henderson and young Clara were born in New Bern; the remaining children in Wilson.
Rev. A.L.E. Weeks spent years as pastor of several Missionary Baptist churches in Wilson before migrating to Elizabeth, New Jersey.
New York Age, 11 August 1928.
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Wilson Daily Times, 20 April 1943.
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Wilson Daily Times, 27 October 1945.
This brief piece reveals a number of interesting tidbits:
Sixth-grade teacher Clara Rosetta Godette Cooke (1891-1952). The Trojan yearbook, C.H Darden High School, 1949.
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In the 1900 census of Township #5, Craven County, N.C.: farmer Jessie Godette, 32; wife Liza, 29; children Martha A., 13, Matilda, 11, Clara R., 8, Beauler, 7, Eather, 5, Walter A., 2, and Eunice, 8 months; cousin Blanger Godette, 16; and boarder William Fenner, 22.
On 21 May 1908, Jerry L. Cook, 21, of Wake Forest, N.C., married Clara R. Godett, 17, of New Bern, in New Bern, Craven County, N.C. Rev. A.L.E. Weeks, Missionary Baptist minister, performed the ceremony.
In the 1910 census of Township #8, Craven County, North Carolina: at 5 Randolph Street, printing office mail dispatch employee Jerry L. Cooke, 23; wife Clara R., 19; son Henderson J., newborn; and widowed lodger Fanny Tull, 52, cook.
In the 1920 census of New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina: government mail clerk J.L. Cook, 33; wife Clara R., 29; and children Henderson, 9, Edwin, 8, Clara, 4, and Georgia, 2.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Hadley Street, railroad mail clerk Jerry L. Cook, 43; wife Clara, 39, teacher; children Henderson, 20, Edwin D., 18, Clara G., 14, Georgia E., 12, Annie, 8, Jerry L., 6, and Eunice D., 4; sister Georgia E. Wyche, 48, teacher; and nieces Kathaline Wyche, 7, and Reba Whittington, 19.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 916 East Green Street, railway clerk J.L. Cook, 54, born Wake County; wife Clara, 48, born Craven County; children Henderson J., 30, Clara, 24, Annie, 18, Jerry, 16, and Eunice, 14; and cousin Ella Godette, 18. Henderson and young Clara were born in New Bern; the remaining children in Wilson.
Clara Godette Cook died 31 January 1952 at her home at 916 East Green Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 18 April 1891 in Craven County, North Carolina, to Jesse P. Godette and Eliza Ann Fenner; was married; and worked as a teacher. Clara Cook Bailey, 916 East Green Street, was informant.
Wilson Daily Times, 5 July 1952.
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Jerry L. Cooke‘s open letter to Heilig-Meyers furniture company offers an unusual glimpse of private life. Cooke wrote of his health, his medical treatment, his work history, and his consumer preferences. Born in 1886 in New Bern, N.C., Cooke lived in Wilson from about 1920 to his death in 1976. Though this letter was published a few years outside the period of Black Wide-Awake’s focus, I post it for its unique insight.
On the occasion of her induction into the Shaw University Athletic Hall of Fame, Annie Cooke Dickens shared memories of her school days in Wilson and beyond.
Wilson Daily Times, 14 December 1993.
Women’s basketball team, Shaw University Journal (1939).
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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Hadley Street, railroad mail clerk Jerry L. Cook, 43; wife Clara, 39, teacher; children Henderson, 20, Edwin D., 18, Clara G., 14, Georgia E., 12, Annie, 8, Jerry L., 6, and Eunice D., 4; sister Georgia E. Wyche, 48, teacher; and nieces Kathaline Wyche, 7, and Reba Whittington, 19.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 916 East Green Street, railway clerk J.L. Cook, 54, born Wake County; wife Clara, 48, born Craven County; children Henderson J., 30, Clara, 24, Annie, 18, Jerry, 16, and Eunice, 14; and cousin Ella Godette, 18. Henderson and young Clara were born in New Bern; the remaining children in Wilson.
Pittsburgh Courier, 8 January 1949.
From the 1939 edition of the Shaw University Journal:
In the 1920 census of New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina: government mail clerk J.L. Cook, 33; wife Clara R., 29; and children Henderson, 9, Edwin, 8, Clara, 4, and Georgia, 2.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Hadley Street, railroad mail clerk Jerry L. Cook, 43; wife Clara, 39, teacher; children Henderson, 20, Edwin D., 18, Clara G., 14, Georgia E., 12, Annie, 8, Jerry L., 6, and Eunice D., 4; sister Georgia E. Wyche, 48, teacher; and nieces Kathaline Wyche, 7, and Reba Whittington, 19.
Georgia E. Cooke graduated from Wilson Colored High School in 1935.
On 10 June 1940, Georgia Cooke, 22, daughter of Jerry L. Cooke and Clara R. Cooke, of Wilson, married George W. Gant, 24, of Greensboro, North Carolina, son of A.V. and Ada Gant. A.M.E. Zion minister R.A.G. Foster performed the ceremony in the presence of Henderson J. Cooke of Wilson, Joshua W. Levister of Raleigh and A.B. Moseley of Kinston.
George and Georgia Cooke Gant’s son George Arlington Lee Gant was born in Wilson in 1941.
Georgia Cooke Gant died 16 December 1970 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Per her death certificate, she was born 18 December 1917 to Jerre L. Cooke Sr. and Clara Goddette; resided in Sedalia, North Carolina; was married to George W. Gant; was a school teacher; and was buried at Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Robert Haskins, 37, bottling company laborer; wife Gertrude, 28; and children Mandy, 14; Elizabeth, 12; Estelle, 10; Robert, 7; Lossie, 5; Lawrence, 4; and Thomas, 1.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Robert Haskins, 44, insurance agent; wife Gertrude, 39; and children Mandy, 22, cook; Elizabeth, 20; Estell, 18; Robert, 17; Lossie, 14; Larence, 12; and Tommie, 10.
Lossie Haskins graduated from Wilson Colored High School in 1935.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Robert Haskins, 55, drug company salesman; wife Gertrude, 48; and children Mandy, 36; Elizabeth, 33, cook; Estelle, 29, beauty shop cleaner; Robert D. Jr., 29, hotel kitchen worker; Lossie, 24, N.Y.A. stenographer; and Thomas, 20, barbershop shoeblack; plus granddaughter Delores, 15, and lodger Henry Whitehead, 21.
For more re Gracie Swinney, see here.