DeBerry

The obituary of Handy Deberry, cook.

Wilson Daily Times, 6 October 1945.

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In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Sallie Joyner, 23, cook; daughter Josephine, 8; and boarders Handy DeBerry, 23, brickyard day laborer; Hattie Arrington, 22, cook; James DeBerry, 21, brickyard day laborer; and Anthony Battle, 22, tobacco stemmer day laborer.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: factory laborer Hardy DeBerry, 28; wife Katie, 25; and daughter Alice, 10, factory laborer.

In 1918, Handy Deberry registered for the World War I draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 8 December 1875; lived at 427 Sunshine Avenue; worked as a cook for Walter Horne, Goldsboro Street; and his nearest relative was father Virgil Deberry.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 425 Sunshine Avenue, in one half of the duplex, Handy LeeBerry, 41, widower. In the other half, Mary Melton, 32, and daughter Elizabeth, 7 months.

Virgil Deberry died 30 December 1931 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 66 years old; was married; lived in Sunshine Alley; and worked as a common laborer. Handy Deberry was informant.

On 4 July 1920, Hardy Deberry, 45, of Wilson, married Mary Melton, 34, of Wilson, in Wilson. Disciples minister J.B. Kornegay performed the ceremony in the presence of Allis Gardner, Fannie Allen, and Victora Webbs.

In the 1928 Wilson, N.C., city directory: Deberry Handy (c; Mary) cook J H Horne h 208 Sunshine al

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 509 South Spring, Handy Deberry, 55, cook in cafe; wife Mary, 40; and children Mary E., 11, Alice G., 8, Margarie, 4, and Almira, 23.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 819 Mercer, lumber mill yard man Handy De Berry, 64; wife Mary, 57; daughters Mary Elizabeth, 20, and Alice Gray, 19; and grandchildren Margaret Williams, 13, William Henry De Berry, 12, and Barbara De Berry, 2.

Handy Deberry died 5 October 1945 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 8 December 1876 in Wilson County to parents unknown to the informant; was married to Mary Deberry; worked as a laborer; lived at 819 Mercer Street; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery, Wilson. [Note that his obituary lists Rest Haven.]

The estate of Lemon P. Stanton.

On 12 October 1844, Lemon P. Stanton of the Stantonsburg area drafted a will that, among other things, bequeathed a man named Larry to his nephew George W. Stanton and an enslaved family to his niece and nephew, Louisa and Lemuel DeBerry.

The will entered probate in February 1846, and six years later, the court received this  petition to partition Negroes:

The takeaways:

  • Stanton’s will left the DeBerry siblings an enslaved woman named Phillis, her children Alford and Curtis, and any future children.
  • As the time of the petition in early 1852, Phillis had four children — Alford, Curtis, Romulus, and Laura. Another child, Haywood, had died.
  • Phillis and her children were in the care of Lemuel DeBerry Senior, guardian of Louisa and Lemuel DeBerry.
  • In November 1850, Louisa DeBerry had married Ferdinand H. Whitaker, the petitioner.
  • Whitaker sought the partition of Phillis and her children so that his wife could get the half owed her under her uncle’s will.
  • Lemuel DeBerry chimed in that he was “equally desirous” of partition. However, he later filed a memorandum with the court explaining that he was not certain, but Stanton’s will might have directed payout to the DeBerrys only when they reached age 21 — Louisa was 20 and Lemuel Jr., 18.

The digitized file contains no order in response to Whitaker’s petition. Inevitably, though, dividing the group in half would have meant that Phillis and one or more of her children were separated.

Will Book F, page 334, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds Office, Tarboro, North Carolina; Estate of Leeman P. Stanton, Edgecombe County, North Carolina Estate Files, http://www.familysearch.org.