On 27 September 1913, for $350, Wilson Insurance & Realty Company sold Columbus E. Artis a lot at the corner of Vick and Nash Streets, known as Lot 8 of Block A of the Rountree Tract. The address of this property is now 103 North Vick Street.
Deed Book 97, page 242, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
On 22 September 1913, Samuel H. and Annie M. Vick sold mail carrier Albert S. Barnes and blacksmith Hilliard T. Thomas a lot on the south side of Tarboro Street adjoining the property of Wilson Oil Mill and W.J. Davis Machinery Company. Vick had purchased the 40 foot by 150 foot lot from Silas Lucas and wife.
W.J. Davis Machinery, formerly Davis & Winstead, was on the south side of South Tarboro, at the Kenan Street end of the block. (Wilson Oil Mill owned a lot there, but their facility was on Grace Street at Stemmery Street.) The Vicks were among a very few African Americans who invested in real estate in early twentieth-century Wilson’s industrial blocks.
Deed book 97, page 235, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
In the fall of 1951, having opened several new brick school buildings across the county for African-American students, the Wilson County Board of Education moved to auction off its old wooden school houses, some of which had been built with Rosenwald funds. For several weeks, the Wilson Daily Times ran lengthy notices identifying the properties by name and metes and bounds.
Early in 1952, the Daily Times reported land transfers involving four of the former “colored” schools — Jones Hill, Stantonsburg, Bynums, and New Vester.
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Wilson Daily Times, 3 January 1952.
On 30 May 1913, the Wilson County Board of Education sold Frank Baines and Thomas Jones, trustees of an unnamed church, a one-quarter acre tract “in the northwest corner of the school lot, District #2 colored, Old Fields Township” to be used for a church.
Deed book 97, page 258, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
Where in Old Fields was the District #2 colored school? Was this the land upon which Jones Hill Primitive Baptist Church was built?
On 10 May 1913, Irving and Margaret Locus sold Susan Strickland five acres in Taylors township. The land had belonged to Robert Eatman and represented Margaret Locus’ one-quarter share in his estate. It lay adjacent to the lands of Gilbert Howard, Asa Locus, Wilmouth Eatman, and Mrs. J.E. Farmer.
Deed book 97, page 146, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
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.
A prosperous set of families with the surname Gay appear in Wilson County records within the first ten years of freedom. Were they one extended family? Unrelated families who adopted the same surname, perhaps from a former enslaver? (And if so, whom?)
Here’s what we know about them:
Anthony Gay and Catherine Speight registered their 22-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 25 August 1866.
On 9 August 1868, Spencer Gay, son of Anthony and Catherine Gay, married Adeline Barnes, daughter of Baalam and Jinny Barnes, in Wilson County.
In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: blacksmith Antney Gay, 44; wife Catherine, 40; and children Laura, 20, Thomas, 20, and Francis, 2 [adjacent to Spencer Gay’s household and one household away from Charles Gay’s.]
On 16 February 1871, for $250, Spencer Gay and his mother Catherine Gay sold R.J. and Sallie Taylor a three-quarter acre parcel of land near the fork of the old plank road and the Barefoot road [today’s Nash Street and South Pender Street.] The Gays had not registered a deed for the purchase of this land. See Deed Book 4, page 454.
On 30 April 1872, for $25, Anthony and Catherine Gay and Spencer and Adline Gay sold Esther McGowan a lot on the east side of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad on the old plank road. Deed Book 6, page 183.
Anthony Gay was still alive when Charles Gay was murdered in 1874, but died before 1880.
In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: widow Cathren Gay, 52; son Thomas, 28, laborer; daughter-in-law Julia, 27, laundress; boarder Anna Bone, 59; [grand]son Nelson, 6; and daughter Frances, 14 [next door to son Spencer’s widow Adeline Gay and family.]
Also: in the 1880 census of North Wilson township, Wilson County: Willie Gay, 32, hireling; wife Catherine, 30; and children Phillis, 12, Anthony, 10, Henrietta, 8, Nancy, 6, Catherine, 4, and John, 2. [Willie Gay was likely the son of Anthony and Catherine Gay.]
Charles Gay and Emly Gay registered their three-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 9 August 1866.
In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Charles Gay, 35; wife Emma, 25; children Charles, 5, and Mary, 1; and lodgers Rich’d Harper, 20, and Haywood Watson, 17.
Charles Gay was murdered in 1874.
See Charles Gay, above.
Emma Gay, sometimes referred to as Emily Gay, bought property as early as December 1874. See Deed Book 9, page 522.
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Emma Gay, 35; children Charlie, 15, a steam-mill worker, Mary, 11, Etheldred, 8, and Willie, 6; plus a boarder Fannie Thompson, 19, cook.
On 4 February 1892, Henry C. Rountree, 44, married Emma Gay, 44, at the bride’s residence in Wilson. Presbyterian minister L.J. Melton performed the ceremony, and witnesses were Edward Pool, Mark Blount and S.H. Vick.
On 29 October 1902, Willie Gay, 27, son of Charles Gay and Emma Rountree, married Mary Johnson, 22, daughter of Edmund Johnson and Bertha Johnson, at Henry Johnson‘s. H.S. Phillips applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of Cain Artis, Charles S. Thomas, and Robert E. Artis.
On 23 March 1906, William Gay, 33, son of Charles and Emma Gay, married Augustus McNeil, 30, daughter of Peter and Emily Patterson, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of J.E. Farmer, Robert Strickland, and Charlie Farmer.
Henry C. Rountree died 24 September 1916 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1848 in North Carolina to Jessie Artis and Becker Artis; was married; worked as a dealer in groceries; and was buried in Wilson. Emma Rountree was informant.
Emma Rountree died 25 June 1917 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was about 65 years old; was born in Greene County, N.C., to unidentified parents; was a widow; and was buried in Wilson County [probably, Vick Cemetery]. Lizzie Whitfield was informant.
Mary Strickland died 16 December 1936 in the Wilson County Home. Per her death certificate, she was 67 years old; was born in Wilson to Charley Gay and Emma Artis; was a widow; and was buried in Wilson. Will Gay was informant.
Willie Gay died 25 May 1940 at the Veterans Administration hospital in Kecoughtan, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 February 1874 in Wilson, N.C., to Charles Gay and Emma Byrum, both of Greene County, N.C.; was divorced; was a veteran of the Spanish American War; was a railroad worker; and lived at 526 Smith Street, Wilson.
Dred Gay died 26 January 1950 in the Wilson County Home. Per his death certificate, he was born 1 January 1870 in Wilson County to Emma Gay; was a widower; and worked as a laborer.
Samuel, Albert, and Daniel Gay were the sons of Harriet Gay and Amos Thigpen (or Edmundson).
Sam Gay, son of Amos Thigpen and Harriet Gay, married Alice Bryant, daughter of Louisa Bryant, on 10 February 1870 in Wilson. P.E. Hines performed the ceremony.
On 20 January 1870, Daniel Gay, son of Amos Edmundson and Harriet Gay, married July Taylor, daughter of Alfred Robbins and Trecy Taylor, in Wilson.
In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Samuel Gay, 24, wife Alice, 20, and brother Albert, 21.
In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Daniel Gay, 20, and wife Julia, 20.
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm worker Samuel Gay, 27, wife Allice, 25, and children Blanch, 8, Louizah, 7, Edgar, 4, Charlie, 3, and Mamie, 1 month.
In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: south of the Plank Road, Daniel Gay, 28; wife Judie, 24; and daughters Mary, 9, and Creacy, 6.
Albert and Daniel Gay appear to have died before 1900.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farmer Sam Gay, 54; wife Alice, 50; and children Charlie C., 23, Edgar B., 25, Lucy, 17, Samuel, 14, Albert and Beatrice, 10, and Lily, 4.
On 27 April 1904, John Stones, 30, of Wilson, married Mary Gay, 25, of Wilson, daughter of Daniel and Julia Gay, both deceased. A.D. Dawson applied for the license, and A.M.E. Zion minister H.C. Phillips performed the ceremony at the home of W.H. Kittrell in the presence of Kittrell, Mary Kittrell, and Charles Dawson.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Samuel Gay, 65, wife Alice, 55, and children Albert, 20, and Lilly, 15.
Samuel Gay died 1 February 1919 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per his death certificate: he was 73 years old, married to Allace Gay, resided at 620 Green Street, worked as tenant farmer for W.E. Warren, and was born in Wilson County. Charley Gay [his son] was informant.
Mary Stone died 19 November 1932 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 58 years old; was born in Wilson to Daniel Gay and Julia Gay; was a widow; worked as a cook; lived at 402 Viola Street; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.] Emma Davis, 418 East Green, was informant.
Candis Gay and Jason Farmer registered their 22-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace on 25 August 1866.
In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Jason Farmer, 33; wife Candis, 29; and children Florance, 9, Isiah, 6, and George 4.
In the 1880 census of North Wilson township, Wilson County: farmer Jason Farmer, 43; wife Candas, 43; and children Florrance, 17, Isaiah, 13, George W., 11, Jessee, 9, Jason, 6, Jennie, 4, and Mayland, 2,
Candis Gay Farmer died before 1891, when her husband remarried.
In the 1860 slave schedule of Wilson County, Edgecombe County native William M. Gay reported enslaving 21 people — men and boys aged and women and girls aged .
But also in the 1860 slave schedule of Wilson township, Wilson County: Thomas Gay reported enslaving 8 people — six men and boys aged 1 to 24 and a woman and girl aged 7 and 28.
On 7 December 1909, Rev. Owen L.W. Smith and his wife Cynthia A. Smith sold the trustees of Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church — Rev. William J. Moore, Rev. Wyatt Studaway, and Morrison Speight — a 50′ by 100′ lot on the south side of Banks Street, 45 feet west of Goldsboro Street in Wilson.
Deed book 86, page 299, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
Trinity built its first church on the site and, to my amazement, owned the property until February of this year.
Detail, Wilson County, N.C., GIS Mapping Website.
In 1909, Moyton Lodge #5101 — the Stantonsburg-area Odd Fellows — bought a lot at the corner of Broad Avenue and South Yelverton Street. Did they ever build a lodge hall there?
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STANTONSBURG LAND & IMP. CO.
TO
MOYTON LODGE #5101 OF THE O. F. OF WILSON CO.
(DEED)
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, WILSON COUNTY }
THIS DEED, Made this the 28 day of December, 1909, by the Stantonsburg Land and Improvement Company, a Corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of North Carolina, party of the first part, and S.H. Burney, G.W. Applewhite, A.J.S. Edwards, C.B. Best, J.H. Edwards, Joseph Jones, Sr., and W.H. Hall, Trustees of Moyton Lodge No. 5101 of the G.U.O. of O.F. of Wilson County, State of N. C., parties of the second part,
WITNESSETH: THAT the said party of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of One Hundred and Twenty-Five Dollars to it paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, has bargained and sold, and by these presents does bargain, sell and convey to the said parties of the second part and their successors in Office, a certain tract or parcel of land in Stantonsburg Township, Wilson County, State of North Carolina; being known as lot No. 12 in block 23 of a town site laid out and plotted for said party of the first part, said plot being recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Wilson County in Book …., page ….. and more particularly described as follows, to-wit:
Beginning at the corner of Broad Ave. and ….. St., and runs North 150 feet, corners, thence East 50 ft. to corner of lot No. 11, thence South 150 ft. to Broad Ave., thence West with Broad Ave 50 ft. to the beginning.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the aforesaid tract or lot of land and all privileges and appurtenances thereto belonging to the said party of the second part, Trustees as aforesaid, and their successors in Office, to their only use and behoof forever.
And the said party of the first part covenant that it is seized of said premises in fee and has a good right to convey the same in fee simple; that the same is free and clear from all incumbrances, and that it will warrant and defend the title to the same against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF the said Stantonsburg Land and Improvement Company has caused its name to be hereunto signed by its president, attested by its Secretary, and its corporate seal hereto affixed, all by order of its Board of Directors, this the day and year first above written.
Stantonsburg Land & Improvement Co.
BY: S. H. Crocker, President.
Attest: H. E. Thompson, Secretary
Broad and Yelverton today. Bethel A.M.E. Zion is visible at the other end of the block.
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Deed book 91, page 381, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson; photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, October 2025.
In April 1896, Cherry Hinnant, Henry R. Hinnant and wife Pennie Adella Hinnant, and John T. Revell sold Dock H. Hinnant, Vandorn Hinnant, and Guilford Wilder a parcel of land adjacent to the “colored Christian church,” i.e. Rocky Branch United Church of Christ, and “colored free school” number 12, i.e. the precursor to Rocky Branch School. The Hinnants and Wilder were officers and trustees of Rocky Blue Lodge #56, Prince Hall Masons.
Deed Book 43, page 442, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
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