His obituary does not mention it, but Arthur N. Darden attended North Carolina A. & M. College [now North Carolina State A. & T. University] from 1904 to 1908. A World War I veteran, Darden was a founder and long-time officer of Henry Ellis Post 17 of the American Legion.
Los Angeles Evening Herald, 19 January 1928.
In January 1928, attorney Charles S. Darden went into court to defend himself against a suit filed by his landlord for non-payment of rent. Darden asserted that the Central Avenue office space was uninhabitable because it was overrun by rats. His attempts to combat them with a cat called Jack Dempsey had failed, and Darden and his stenographer Viola Lambert had abandoned the premises. The judge was not swayed and entered judgment for the plaintiff landlord.
Richmond Times Dispatch, 29 June 1951.
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In the 1900 census of Highland, Orange County, New York: James B. Darden, 18, waiter [at hotel.]
In the 1910 census of Opelika, Lee County, Alabama: physician John Darden, 34; wife Jean, 26; and brother James B. Darden, 26, drugstore clerk.
In 1918, James Benjamin Darden registered for the World War II draft in Petersburg, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 17 July 1881; lived at 516 Byrne, Petersburg; was an M.D.; and his nearest relative was Lillian Darden.
In the 1920 census of Petersburg, Virginia: physician James B. Darden, 38, and wife Nannie, 32.
In the 1930 census of Petersburg, Virginia: at 516 Byrne, physician James B. Darden, 46; wife Lillian, 42; and mother-in-law Sarah Allen, 75.
In the 1940 census of Petersburg, Virginia: medical doctor James Darden, 56, and wife Lillian, 52.
In 1942, James Benjamin Darden registered for the World War II draft in Petersburg, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 17 July 1882 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 516 Byrne, Petersburg; was a doctor at 122 South Avenue; and his contact was Lillian A. Darden.
In the 1950 census of Petersburg, Virginia: doctor James B. Darden, 67, and wife Lillian A., 60.
Lillian A. Darden died 11 February 1983 in Petersburg, Virginia. Per her death certificate, she was born 8 January 1887 to Charles Allen and Sarah Cole in Tennessee and was a retired music teacher.
Wilson Daily Times, 2 July 1976.
(1) Do these “records of burial preparations” still exist? If so, where?
(2) “The Oddfellows’ Cemetery apparently accepted blacks for burial.” Well … yes. But Odd Fellows Cemetery is not the same as Rest Haven Cemetery. The “other old cemetery” was Oakdale/Oakland.
(3) Who was Tom Woodard and in what way was he instrumental in getting Charles H. Darden‘s business started?
The New York Age, 19 October 1916.
We learned here of the relationship between Lawrence Lightner and C.H. Darden & Sons. Here, we see that Camillus L. Darden traveled to Raleigh to conduct the funeral of Lightner’s 18 month-old niece.
The New York Age, 2 April 1932.
The family of Charles H. Darden marked the first anniversary of his passing with this notice in The New York Age.
My recent examination of World War I draft registration cards from Wilson County is yielding pleasant surprises. For example, I had no idea that South Carolina native Lawrence T. Lightner, brother of prominent Raleigh builder and funeral director Calvin E. Lightner and founder of Goldsboro’s Lightner Funeral Home had lived in Wilson and worked for Charles H. Darden. He seems not to have stayed long, for by the 1920 census L.T. Lightner is listed as an undertaker in Goldsboro.
Darden and Son funeral home’s address was 610 East Nash Street. 615 was a small shotgun house across the street that the business, or Darden himself, may have owned.
Thirty years ago, the north side of the 500 block of East Nash Street was largely intact. In 2024, however, all of these buildings, except the one at far left, are long gone.
The three-story brick building at left is, of course, the Odd Fellows hall that Samuel H. Vick erected in 1894, when he was barely in his 30s. The lodge met on the top floor, and the Globe Theatre occupied the second floor for decades. In the 1920s, Camillus L. Darden built the two-story building at right and the two one-story buildings between it and the Odd Fellows lodge.
Photo courtesy of Richard L. Mattson, “The Cultural Landscape of a Southern Black Community: East Wilson, North Carolina, 1890-1930,” North Carolina Historical Review, January 2011.
Deed book 290, page 585, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
Herman Ernest Dannenberg of Baltimore, Maryland, died suddenly during a 1928 visit to Wilson, where he and his family had briefly lived. On 20 March 1941, the trustees of his estate sold to Camillus L. and Norma Duncan Darden a lot on Pender Street for the nominal sum of ten dollars.
At October Term 1857, Wilson County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions ordered the division of a group of eight enslaved people belonging to the estate of Theophilus Bass — Charles, Mary, Easter, Warren, Eliza, Martin, Sarah, and Howell.
As we saw here, Bass had inherited Charles, Mary and Easter (Esther) from his uncle James A. Barnes after the death of Barnes’ widow Sarah Daniel Barnes. Warren, Eliza, Martin, and possibly Sarah were Easter’s children. Their father Howell was also owned by James A. Barnes, but passed to McKinley Darden, and the Howell listed above may have been Howell and Easter’s child.
A ninth enslaved person, Mason, was ordered sold at public auction in Wilson County.
Sarah, valued at $250, was allotted to Winnefred Bass.
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We traced Charles, Mary, and Easter forward here.
In the 1870 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Howard Darden, 47, farm laborer; wife Esther, 38; and children Warren, 20, Eliza, 18, Martin, 17, Toby, 12, and Crawford, 1.
Warren Darden, 24, married Louisa Dew, 18, on 1 May 1873 in Wilson, before witnesses Amos Dew and Raiford Dew.
In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Warren Darden, 30, wife Louisa, 25, children Warren, 3, and an unnamed infant, and farmhand Wilie Lee, 14.
In the 1900 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Warren Darden, 50; wife Lou, 45; and children Warren Jr., 23, Mary L., 18, Lizzie, 12, Sallie, 6, and Minnie, 2.
Minnie Darden died 7 May 1925 in Black Creek township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born 27 August 1898 in Wilson County to Warren Darden and Louisa Darden. Grant Farmer was informant.
Sallie Farmer Eddie died 9 December 1945 in Black Creek township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born 2 March 1891 in Wilson County to Warren Darden and Louisa Dew; was married to John Eddie; and was buried in Newsom Cemetery near Lucama, N.C. George W. Dew was informant.
On 29 December 1892, Henry Dortch, 52, of Wilson, son of Isaac Thorne and Bedie Artis, married Eliza Darden, 42, at Crawford Darden‘s in Wilson County. Free Will Baptist minister Daniel Blount performed, and Frank Woodard, Warren Darden, and Isom Sutton witnessed the ceremony.
On 22 December 1871, Martin Darden, son of Howell Darden and Esther Jordan, married Jane Dew, daughter of Haywood and Jane Dew, at H. Dew’s in Wilson County.
In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Martin Darden, 27; wife 25; and daughters Esther, 5, Ellen, 5, and Nellie, 3.
On 25 December 1888, Lawrence Mitchell, 21, of Crossroads township, Wilson County, son of Primus Mitchell, married Ester Darden, 18, of Crossroads township, daughter of Martin and Jane Darden, at Primus Mitchell’s.
In the 1900 census of Great Swamp township, Wayne County: farmer Martin Darden, 48; Jane, 50; and children Tinsey, 17, Howard, 14, Jineva, 11, and Silvey, 9.
In the 1910 census of Glissons township, Duplin County, N.C.: farmer Martin Darden, 58; wife Jane, 59; and daughter Silva, 18.
On 27 January 1915, Clint Smith, 28, of Duplin County, son of Dudly and Priscilla Smith, married Silva Darden, 23, of Duplin County, daughter of Martin and Jane Darden, at Martin Darden’s in Glissons township.
Easter Mitchell died 16 November 1918 in Crossroads township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, she was 40 years old; was born in Wilson County to Martin Darden and an unknown mother; and was buried in Ricks graveyard.
In the 1920 census of Glissons township, Duplin County, N.C.: farm laborer Martin Darden, 68, and Jane, 69.
Martin Darden died 22 December 1926 in Kenansville township, Duplin County. Per his death certificate, he was 74 years old; was married to Jane Darden; was born in Wilson County to Howard and Easter Darden; and worked as a farmer and blacksmith. Howard Darden of Fremont was informant.
Janie Darden died 21 February 1936 in Kenansville, Duplin County. Per her death certificate, she was 72 years old; was born in Wilson County; was the widow of Martin Darden; and did farm and housework. Clint Smith was informant.
On 12 May 1866, Mason Bass and Kate Edmundson registered their four-year marriage with a Wilson County justice of the peace.
In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Mason Bass, 32; wife Katy, 33; children Spicy, 7, Bettie, 6, Riley, 1, and Nathaniel, 2 months; Mary, 53, Eliza, 28, and Sarah Bass, 16; and Ruffin Barnes, 18.
In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Mason Bass, 43; wife Kate, 45; and children Isicy, 17, Bettie, 16, Amanuel, 2, and Mattie, 10 months.
In the 1900 census of Coahoma County, Mississippi: North Carolina-born Mason Bass, 63; wife Katie, 65; children Emanuel, 22, and Amelia, 18; and granddaughter Conelus, 1. Next door: Olie Henry, 45; wife Spicie, 37; and their children Amie, 14, William, 5, and Nathan, 3.
Estate File of Theophilus Bass (1857), Edgecombe County, North Carolina Estate Files 1663-1979, http://www.familysearch.org