Cox

Children admitted to Colored Orphanage Asylum, Oxford, North Carolina.

DigitalNC recently uploaded a ledger of African American children admitted into Grant Colored Asylum, an institution established by the North Carolina legislature in 1883. The facility’s name was changed to the Colored Orphanage Asylum of North Carolina in 1887 and is now known as the Central Children’s Home of North Carolina. Ledger entries record a child’s name, town and county of residence, date of admittance into the orphanage, date of birth, physical description, and observations about the child’s character. Other information documented could include the child’s parents’ names and church affiliation, notes about the parents, and names of those recommended the orphanage and filed the application for admittance. Some entries contain detailed information about the child’s stay at the orphanage and his or her whereabouts after the stay. [Warning: by today’s standards, descriptions of the lives of these children and their families can appear harsh and judgmental.]

I found entries for these six Wilson County children:

  • Edwin [Edward] Pitt

Ten year-old Edwin Pitt entered the orphanage on 8 June 1908. His parents, who were not married, were Thomas Day, who died in 1902 after a fall, and Martha Pitt, who was living. Dr. Frank S. Hargrove recommended Edwin’s admission; Martha Pitt applied; and A.M.E. Zion minister Nicholas D. King approved it. “Neither mother nor child bear good reputation. The mother once stood well.”

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In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Violet Pit, 50, washing, and children Martha, 24, washing, Hattie, 22, cooking, Lula, 21, cooking, Ben, 19, tobacco stemmer, Carry, 12, cooking, Rosa, 16, nurse, Meaner, 11, Jenney, 5, and Edward, 2.

In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Pitt Martha (c) laundress h 410 S Goldsboro

In the 1910 census of Fishing Creek township, Granville County, North Carolina: at Oxford Colored Orphanage, Edward Pitt, 12, inmate, home farm laborer.

Edward Pitts died 14 January 1918 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 21 years old; was born in Wilson County to Thomas Day and Martha Pittman [sic]; was single; and worked as a hotel waiter. Elsie Pitts was informant.

  • Eddie Woodard

Twelve year-old Eddie Woodard entered the orphanage on 23 November 1908. His parents, who were not married, were Eddie Sanders, who died in 1902, and Chloe Woodard.

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In the 1910 census of Fishing Creek township, Granville County, North Carolina: at Oxford Colored Orphanage, Eddie Woodard, 12, inmate.

In 1917, Eddie Woodard registered for the World War I draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 21 October 1896 in Wilson, N.C.; lived in Wilson; was single; and worked as a delivery boy at a dry goods store, Barrett Patrick Company, Wilson.

On 17 July 1919, Eddie Woodard, 23, married Ada Melton, 18, at Milton’s house. Otis Wright applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony in the presence of Augustus Blow, Otis Wright, and Sarah Jones.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Cora [sic] Woodard, 47; won Eddie, 24, tobacco factory worker; daughter-in-law Ada, 19, tobacco factory worker; grandson Robert Wright, 6 months; and son-in-law Odis Wright, 25, widower, hardware company laborer.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 815 Mercer Street, owned and valued at $1500, Clora Woodard, 56, washing; son Eddie Woodard, 34, clothes presser at pressing club; and Robert L. Wright, 10, grandson.

In 1942, Eddie W. Woodard registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 3 October 1895 in Wilson; lived at 815 Mercer Street (411 Church Street, Norfolk, Virginia, was crossed out); was unemployed; and his contact was mother Cloara Woodard.

  • Nola Davis

Sixteen year-old Nola Davis entered the orphanage on 16 November 1909. Her parents Alonzo and Adeline Parks Davis were dead; they had had a “good reputation.” Dr. William Mitchner had recommended her admittance; Amanda Bynum had applied; and Samuel H. Vick had approved it.

  • Lillian and Dave Morris

Siblings Lillian Morris, 12, and Dave Morris, 7, entered the orphanage in February 1917. Their father Dave Morris had died of tuberculosis several years earlier, and their mother Lillian Hinson Morris was “a hopeless invalid.” Episcopal rector E.R. Perry [R.N. Perry] recommended that they be sent to Oxford.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Green Street, painter David Morris, 34; wife Lillian, 30; and children Pearle E., 12, Charles, 9, Lillian, 7, and David, 7 months.

By 1920, Lillian had aged out of the orphanage and returned home. In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 108 Smith, William Johnson, 25, born in South Carolina; wife Lillian, 32, born in England; and [his] stepchildren Charles, 17, Lillie, 15, and Mabel, 6.

However, in the 1920 census of Fishing Creek township, Granville County, N.C.: in the Oxford Colored Orphanage, inmate David Morris, 10.

Lillian [Hinson Morris] Johnson died 6 March 1921 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 38 years old; was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia; was married to William Johnson; and lived on Smith Street.

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Morris Lillian (c) elev opr Court House h 22 Ashe

On 14 December 1935, David E. Morris married Lorenza Williams in Brooklyn, New York.

In the 1940 census of Kings County, New York: at 624 Madison, David Morris, 30, W.P.A. worker; wife Lorenza, 22; and son Edward, 4.

However: also in 1940, David Edward Morris registered for the World War II draft in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. Per his registration, he was born 28 February 1909 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 99 Stockton Street, Brooklyn; his contact was Sylvia Lipshitz Morris; and he worked for W.P.A., 70 Columbus Avenue, New York. On the reverse of the card, Morris is described as having a light brown complexion with black hair and brown eyes. Under “Race,” the check mark beside “Negro” is blacked out and the word “Error” written in; “White” is checked with a different pen in a different hand.

Detail from David E. Morris’s draft registration card. 

In the 1950 census of Brooklyn, David Morris is not found, but S.O. Morris is described as divorced, and Lorenza Morris as separated.

David Morris died in Brooklyn on 3 August 1965.

  • Maggie Cox

Scant notes survive for Maggie Cox, who was 13 years old when she entered the orphanage in, most likely, 1917. There were “no particulars” about her background, other than that she had been “sent by S.N. [sic] Vick.”

Grant Colored Asylum and the Colored Orphanage Asylum of North Carolina Enrollment Ledger, Central Children’s Home of North Carolina, North Carolina Memory, digitalnc.org.

The obituary of Carrie Hardy Cox.

Wilson Daily Times, 18 February 1942.

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On 1 January 1925, Jacob Hargrove, 20, of Wilson, son of Duncan and Vinnie Hargrove, married Carrie Mae Hardy, 20, of Wilson, daughter of W.H. Hardy, at the bride’s residence in Wilson. Duncan J. Hargrove applied for the license, and Free Will Baptist minister E.S. Hargrove performed the ceremony in the presence of John Hargrove, Roser Hargrove, and D.J. Hargrove.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Hargrove Jacob (c; Carrie) lab h 1108 Carolina

On 3 November 1938, Eddie H. Cox, 46, of Wilson, son of Washington and Julia Ann Cox, married Carrie H. Hardy, 33, of Wilson, daughter of Will and Nancy Hardy of Wilson. C.L. Darden applied for the license, and Rev. S. Wilson of Ayden, N.C., performed the ceremony in Wilson in the presence of Richard A.G. Foster and W.H. Phillips of Wilson and H.R. Reaves of Ayden.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 625 Green Street, owned and  valued at $2300, Rev. Eddie H. Cox, 49, minister, and wife Carrie H., 32, registered nurse.

Carrie Hardy Cox died 17 February 1942 at her home at 625 East Green Street. Per her death certificate, she was born 4 May 1907 in Lenoir County, N.C., to Willie Hardy and Nancy Locas; was married to Eddie H. Cox; worked as a nurse; and was buried at Rest Haven Cemetery.

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III. 

The obituary of Rev. Eddie H. Cox, Baptist minister.

Wilson Daily Times, 6 May 1949.

In addition to being a Free Will Baptist minister (and leading the rebuilding of Piney Grove in 1939), Rev. Eddie H. Cox operated a clothes cleaners on East Nash Street and sold insurance.

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In the 1900 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farm laborer Henrietta Cox, 15, and her daughter Julia, 2 months, and her siblings Piercy L., 14, Hardy, 12, Jesse, 10, Eddie, 8, James W., 7, and Lena A., 3.

In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Cox Eddie (c) presser h S Reid nr Robinson

In 1917, Ed Cox registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 3 November 1892 in Sampson County, N.C.; lived in Reid Street, Wilson; worked at a pressing club for W.T. Powell; and had a wife and one child.

In the 1920 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Eddie Cox, 27; wife Mattie, 27; and daughter Ebenezer Cox, 11.

On 15 March 1920, Jasper Robinson, 30, of Wilson, son of Edgar Robinson and Susanna [maiden name not known] married Ebenezar Pender, 20, of Wilson, daughter of James Dixon and Mattie D. Cox. E.H. Cox applied for the license, and Free Will Baptist minister H.Y. Dillard performed the ceremony on Reid Street, Wilson, in the presence of Willie Sanders, Demetrius Brain, and Mrs. J.B. Hargrove.

In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Cox Edward H (c) propr Cox’s Pressing Club h 111 Carroll; also Cox Ebenezer (c) h 111 Carroll

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Cox Edward H (c; Mattie) clnr and presser 531 E Nash  h 308 N Reid

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 308 North Reid, rented for $16/month, insurance agent Eddie Cox, 40; wife Mattie, 42; grandson Evergreen Robinson, 21, tobacco factory laborer; and lodgers Jasper, 28, meat market laborer, and James Robinson, 20, tobacco factory laborer.

Mattie Cox died 19 August 1933 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 6 May 1892 in Wilson County to Lovett Locus and Sidnie Locus; was married to Eddie Cox; and lived at 308 North Reid, Wilson.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 625 Green Street, owned and  valued at $2300, Rev. Eddie H. Cox, 49, minister, and wife Carrie H., 32, registered nurse.

Wilson Daily Times, 23 August 1947.

Eddie Harrison Cox died 30 April 1949 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 3 November 1891 in Wayne County, N.C., to Washington Cox and Julia Ann Evans; lived at 625 East Green Street; was a widower; and had worked as a minister. Lela Wright, 204 North East Street, was informant.

Remembering Virginia Celia Robinson Cox, centenarian (or nonagenarian).

Wilson Daily Times, 18 March 2022.

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In the 1910 census of Mars Hill township, Cumberland County, North Carolina: farmer  Dock Robinson, 40; wife Mary, 30; and children Joseph, 10, Eva, 8, Clyde, 7, Celia, 6, David, 4, Eliza, 3, and Leana, 17 months.

In the 1920 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: tenant farmer Doc Robinson, 55; wife Maggie, 53; children Mary, 18, James C., 19, Virginia, 17, David, 14, Elijah, 12, and Jessie B., 3; Vangie, 32, Geneva, 17, and Addie McDoogle, 15; and Moses Robinson, 8, and lodgers Jack, 103, and Annie Armstrong, 101.

On 25 January 1922, Herman Cox, 23, of Wilson County, son of David and Florence Cox, married Virginia Robinson, 19, of Wilson County, daughter of Dock and Mary Robinson, at Dock Robinson’s residence in Taylors township. A.M.E. Zion minister J.B. Sutton performed the ceremony in the presence of Dan Blue, W.J. Armstrong, and E.L. Sutton.

In the 1940 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Herman Cox, 40; wife Gennie, 35; and children Herman Jr., 17, Ida Odser, 16, Comillus, 14, Raymond, 10, Willie Gray, 8, Rosevelt, 6, Douglas, 4, Joe Lewis, 3, and Henry Lee, 9 months.

Herman Cox died 4 October 1966 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 24 December 1899 in Wayne County, North Carolina, to Dave Cox; worked as a farmer; and was married to Virginia Cox. Roosvelt Cox was informant.

Smithfield Herald, 8 July 2003.

308 North Pender Street.

The sixty-fourth 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.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1908; 1 story; two shotguns joined together to form a duplex with unifying hip-roofed, turned-post porch; house appears in 1908 bird’s-eye view of Wilson.”

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In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Artis Columbus E propr[ietor] The Delicatessen h 308 Pender

In the 1925 Wilson city directory: Artis Columbus E (A & Flanagan) h 308 Pender

In the 1928 Wilson city directory: Artis Columbus E (c; Ada D), undtkr 571 E Nash and prop[rietor] Smith’s Filling Sta h 308 Pender.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Artis Columbus E (c) (Ada D), undrtkr 571 E Nash h 308 Pender

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County:  at 308 Pender Street, valued at $4000, Columbus Artis, a merchant/undertaker, wife Ida, and niece Gladys Adams.

In the 1940 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Cox Leslie (c; Mary) h 308 Pender

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 308 Pender, rented for $16/month, Leslie H. Cox., 58; wife Mary, 53; and Nancy, 26, Florence, 20, both household servants, Leslie Jr., 18, hotel bellhop, David, 16, and Ardelia, 15, and grandson June Lee, 9.

In 1942, Leslie Robert Cox registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 8 August 1921 in Wilson, N.C.; his address was 308 Pender Street; his contact person was Mary Cox, 308 Pender; and he worked at the Briggs Hotel, East Nash Street, Wilson.

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Cox Leslie H (c) carp h 308 Pender and Cox Nancy (c) maid h 308 Pender.

Photograph by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2018.

The estate of Elijah Cox.

Less than a decade after gaining freedom, Elijah Cox passed away in southern Wilson County. He had assembled a small farm in Cross Roads township, but it would not pass intact to the next generation.

Receipt for reimbursement to Ben Cox, alias Horne, for clothing purchased “for burying father.”

Dr. R.E. Cox filed a claim against the estate for medical care provided in Elijah Cox’s final illness.

In 1874, Patience Cox applied for letters of administration in Wilson County Superior Court for her husband’s estate. His heirs were named as Haywood Sauls and wife Fannie; Sherrod Cox and wife Diana; Simon Dew and wife Telitha; Jerry Everett and wife Jane; Ben Barnes and wife Hester; Ben Cox; William Horne; and Warren Barnes. His estate file reveals that Cox owned about 56 acres at his death and that his debts were estimated at $175. For her support, Patience Cox was allotted barrels of corn, shucks, fodder, cotton seed, cattle, hogs, peas, potatoes, garden tools, plows, and household and kitchen furniture, which essentially wiped out Elijah’s personal property. As a result the court ordered Cox’s land sold to create assets to pay off his debts.

Inventory of Elijah Cox’s estate.

In a final accounting after the sale, heirs received payments of about $16 in February 1876.

Request from Cox’ daughter Fannie Sauls of Fremont, Wayne County, to have her share delivered via her husband Haywood Sauls.

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In 1866, these formerly enslaved couples registered their cohabitations in Wayne County (Haywood Sauls and Fannie Newsome, 4 years) and Wilson County (Simon Dew and Litha King, 18 years, and Benjamin Barnes and Hester Barnes, 20 years.) I have not found cohabitation records for Elijah and Patience or their other children. (Sidenote: the multiple surnames used by Elijah’s children — Cox, Horne, Barnes, King, Newsome — suggests that they had different mothers or were held in slavery by several different owners.)

In the 1870 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: shoemaker Elijah Cox, 66; wife Patience, 65; and children (or grandchildren) Jerry, 11, Clara, 5, and Patience Cox, 3. Cox claimed $150 real estate.

In the 1880 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Ben Jamin Horne, 33; wife Mandy, 26; and children William Henderson, 14, Alvester, 10, Hilliard, 8, Amos, 6, and Louetta Cox, 3; and mother Patience Cox, 70.

In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: wagon driver Haywood Sauls, 46, and wife Fannie, 56.

In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Simon Dew, 55; wife Lithy, 48; children Lany, 27, Peter, 25, Lucy, 23, Diannah, 21, Isaih, 20, Hilliard, 18, Hester, 16, Aarch, 14, Liscy, 12, Patience, 10, Sarah, 8, and Simon, 6; and grandchildren Zilpha, 13, Roxie A., 2, and William, 1.

In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Benjaim Barnes, 52; wife Hester, 52; and children Ervin, 17, Rebecca, 16, Bettie, 13, Larry, 10, Thomas, 8, and Benjaim, 6.

North Carolina Wills and Estates, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.

Robert M. and Zillah Horne Cox house.

Per Kate Ohno, Wilson County’s Architectural Heritage (1981):

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“Dr. Robert Cox was born in 1825 and he married Zillah Horne, an heir to the Horne land where this house was built. In 1844 Cox purchased his wife’s share of the Horne land, amounting to 385 acres. This house was probably built in the 1840s. After the death of Zillah, Cox married her sister, Elizabeth Horne. According to the 1860 census he was identified as a farmer with real property worth $8,000. … The Cox House consists of a two-room dwelling with an engaged porch and rear shed. The sturdy porch posts are chamfered and a shed room with access from the outside was built under one side of the porch. There are two exterior end chimneys; one centrally located on the west elevation which served the parlor and one on the east elevation on the rear shed. On the interior the house is divided into two main rooms with a shed room running the width of the house at the rear.”

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In the 1850 census of the North Side of the Neuse River, Wayne County, North Carolina [in an area which became part of Black Creek township, Wilson County, in 1855]: farmer Robert Cox, 25; wife Zillie, 23; and daughter Julia, 10 months. Per the 1850 slave schedule of the same district, Cox enslaved a 37 year-old woman, four girls ranging in age from 4 to 14, a 42 year-old man, and two boys, aged 7 and 14.

In the 1860 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Robert M. Cox, 35; wife Elizabeth, 21; Barney B. Cox, 21, clerk; John H. Minshew, 28, clerk; and J.S. Holt, 28, merchant. Cox reported $8000 in real property and $36000 in personal property. His personal property, per the 1860 slave schedule of Wilson County, included five enslaved girls and women ranging from 9 to 30 years old and ten enslaved boys and men ranging from 9 months to 35 years old. Cox provided three dwellings to house them.

The 1870 census of Wilson County lists 20 African-Americans with the surname Cox living in four households in Black Creek, Stantonsburg and Cross Roads townships. Though Robert Cox was the sole Cox slaveholder listed in Wilson County in 1860, several of his Cox kin in neighboring Wayne County owned slaves.