Darden

Crummedy puts up her land.

In January 1915, Della Crummedy signed a mortgage deed to secure a $25 debt she owed C.H. Darden & Son (presumably for undertaking services.)

The land Crummedy gave as collateral was a one-quarter acre lot on the eastern side of Stantonsburg Street near the Colored Graded School, adjoining S.H. Vick, James Simms, and others.

The penciled note at the bottom of the page shows that Crummedy paid off the loan on 11 May 1915, and the mortgage was cancelled.

Deed Book 97, page 70, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

Abe and Edna Darden buy a house.

Deed Book 290, page 596, Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

Abe and Edna Darden bought 701 East Vance Street from Home Development Company on 18 October 1944.

Home Development Company was a real estate subsidiary created by Durham, N.C.-based North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, once the oldest and largest black-owned life insurance company in the world. North Carolina Mutual used H.D.C. to acquire, build, and develop residential properties for African American buyers, who were largely marginalized or completely shut out of the traditional mortgage market at the time.

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In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 701 [East Vance], ditcher Abe Darden, 53; wife Edna, 48; grandson Delma Earl Darden, 7; granddaughter Eva Gray Kerney, 18; and nephew John T. Johnson, 29.

Edna Darden died 13 February 1966 in Goldsboro, Wayne County, N.C. Per her death certificate, she was born 6 May 1902 to Henry and Ida Tyson; was married to Abe Darden; lived at 701 East Vance Street, Wilson; and worked as a tobacco factory laborer.

John W. and Jean Darden celebrate 25 years.

Chicago Defender, 2 January 1932.

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Dr. John W. Darden, as imagined.

I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated. Let me know what you think about them.

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Dr. John W. Darden (1876-1949), physician.

Rev. Foster fights for Black schools.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 1 October 1938.

Rev. Richard A.G. Foster made the most of his few years in Wilson. Among other things, he led the fight for improved school facilities for Black students in town and in the county. With Camillus L. Darden, he successfully mobilized African-American voters to put unresponsive county commissioners out of office. The two new schools they eventually secured were Frederick Douglass High School in Elm City and Samuel H. Vick Elementary School in Wilson.

Darden completes beauty culture course in New York.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 17 February 1934.

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On 2 July 1925, Arthur Darden, 35, of Wilson, son of Charlie and Dianah Darden, married Olive Blanks, 21, of Wilson, daughter of J.B. and Susan Blanks, in Wilson. C.L. Darden applied for the license, and A.M.E. Zion minister J.E. Kennedy performed the ceremony in the presence of L.A. Moore, C.L. Darden, and V.L. Moore.

1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 109 Stantonsburg Street, Arthur Darden, 38, proprietor of undertaking environment; wife Olive, 21, public school teacher, born in South Carolina; son Charles R., 3; and roomer Estella Williamson, 17.

In the 1940 census of Bronx, New York: at 1324 Prospect Street, Olive Darden, 32, and son Charles, 13, both born in North Carolina.

In 1945, Charles Arthur Darden registered for the World War II draft in Queens, New York. Per his registration card, he was born 11 February 1927 in Wilson, N.C.; he lived at 167-08 111th Avenue, Jamaica, Queens, N.Y.; his contact was mother Olive Darden Edinboro; he was unemployed; and had a scar under his right eye.