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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NOTE: I found these documents before my trip to Aberdeen. They, in fact, spurred me to go.
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I’ve been hunting for digitized evidence of the trade of Wilson County slavers like Wyatt Moye, Robert S. Adams, Stephenton Page Jr., and Joshua Barnes in Aberdeen, Mississippi. I finally found some in a deed book dated 1847-1850. (Wilson County, of course, had not yet formed, but these and other traders lived or had lived in parts of Edgecombe, Nash, Wayne, or Johnston Counties that are now Wilson County.) These registered affidavits attest to the affiants’ personal acquaintance with an enslaved person who had been sent from North Carolina to Mississippi for further sale.
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Deed Record 13, page 643. Chancery Clerk’s Office, Monroe County, Mississippi.
Know all men by these presents that we Zadock Peacock and Washington M. Stanton, Citizens and free holders of the State of North Carolina & County of Edgecombe hereby certify we are acquainted a negro woman by the name of Beady that Wyatt Moye sent to Mississippi by Stephenton Page, Junior, that said Slave is about nineteen years of age, very tall black slave, furthermore certify said Slave has never been guilty of convicted of arson Burglary or felony in Said State within our knowledge or belief. Given under our hands & Seals Feby 28th 1849. /s/ Zadoc Peacock, W.M. Stanton
Deed Record 13, page 644. Chancery Clerk’s Office, Monroe County, Mississippi.
Know all men by these presents that we Josh Barnes and L.D. Farmer, citizens and free holders of the County of Edgecombe & State of North Carolina do hereby certify we are acquainted with negro boy about Seventeen or Eighteen years of age, a very black Slave weighs about one hundred & twenty or thirty pounds said Slave Joshua was sold by Delpha Wiggins to Moye & Adams furthermore that said Slave has not been guilty or convicted of murder arson Burglary or other felony within our knowledge or belief in said State. Signed this 27th day of Feby 1849. /s/Joshua Barnes, L.D. Farmer
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Documents reproduced at www.familysearch.org.
In June 1855, Stephenton Page Jr. of Wilson County, a slave dealer, conveyed a 19 year-old enslaved woman named Milly in trust to John Norfleet of Edgecombe County for the sole use of Zilla Ann Peel, “free from the control or management of [her husband] Henry W. Peel”. Page warranted that Milly was “sound in every respect, her eyes excepted which are known by both the parties to be defective, the defect being or supposed to be short or near sightedness.” The deed was registered in Edgecombe County in March 1859.
Deed book 27, page 856, Edgecombe County Register of Deeds, Tarboro, N.C.
Deed book 97, page 245, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
On 23 December 1912, Major J. Lofton, for $18, sold the trustees and deacons of Lane’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church a quarter-acre lot near Contentnea Creek on the north side of “the Aycock road, running from the town of Wilson.”
Neither Aycock Road nor Lane’s Chapel rang a bell, but I started wondering about Lofton. It’s not a common surname in Wilson County, but shows up on both an African-American graded school and a church. Lofton School sat on 1 3/4 acres on what is now Downing Street, just below Contentnea Creek. The deed for the property gives the road’s original name — Aycock — and it appears Lofton School stood on the other side of the bridge from Lane’s Chapel’s lot. Was it named for Major Lofton? And Lofton Chapel? It was a Free Will Baptist Church, like Lane’s. And we know its building was moved from elsewhere to its (or, rather, its successor’s) site on Bishop L.N. Forbes Street. Perhaps, as was commonly done, Lane’s was renamed Lofton for the grantor of the land it stood on near Contentnea Creek.
In the 1880 census of Indian Springs township, Wayne County, N.C.: Robert Loftus, 34; wife Ednie, 34; and children Sylvester, 10, Robert, 8, Emma, 7, Benjamin F., 6, Alice A., 5, Major, 3, and Donas, 10 months.
In 1918, Major James Lofton registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 16 July 1876; lived on Route 3, Wilson; was a self-employed farmer; and his nearest relative was his father Robert Lofton.
Major Lofton applied for a marriage license for Sam Barron, 24, son of Ben and Mary Barron, and Jessie Lofton, 24 daughter of Robert and Evaline Lofton, both of Gardners township, Wilson County. The marriage took place in Wilson on 30 December 1919.
In the 1920 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Major J. Lofton, 42, widower; mother Evaline, 71, widow; brother-in-law Sam Barron, 24; sister Jessie Barron, 24; and nieces Donnie, 13, Maybelle, 12, and Marie Barron, 10.
Major Lofton applied for a marriage license for Festus Simms, 29, and Maebelle Lofton, 18, both of Black Creek. The marriage took place in Wilson on 1 April 1925.
In the 1930 census of Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia: at the U.S. Penitentiary, Major Loften, 53, prisoner, born in North Carolina.
In the 1950 census of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: widower Lubie Oliver, 67; partner Major Lofton, 74, widower; and brother Henry Oliver, 50, truck driver.
In the 1910 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Josiah Hinnant, 38; wife Mary, 34; stepdaughter Estella, 17, widow; daughter Sarah, 12; son Cleotha, 6; niece Lessie Locus, 13; and boarder Slade Chatman, 40.
In the 1920 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Slade Chatman, 52, widower.
In the 1930 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Slade Chatman, 52; wife Almenia, 27; and children Ned S., 7, Eddie, 6, Willie, 4, Bertie L., 2, and Charlie, newborn.
In the 1940 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Slade Chatmon, 65; wife Almenia, 37; and children Ned, 17, Ed, 16, Willie, 14, Bettie, 12, Charlie, 10, Joseph, 8, Ernest, 6, Ruby Lee, 3, and Freddie, 3 months.
In 1942, Ed Chatman registered for the World War II in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 30 June 1924 in Wilson County; lived on Route 1, Wilson; and his contact was father Slade Chatman.
In 1942, Ned Chatman registered for the World War II in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 15 June 1922 in Wilson County; lived on Route 1, Wilson; and his contact was father Slade Chatman.
In 1943, Willie Chatman registered for the World War II in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 4 November 1925 in Wilson County; lived on Route 1, Wilson; his contact was father Slade Chatman; and he worked at Carl Aycock farm.
In the 1950 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Slate Chapman, 73; wife Almenia, 48; children Willie, 24, Betty, 22, Charlie, 20, Joseph, 18, Earnest, 16, Ruby, 13, Luddie, 11, Virgina, 7, Dorthy, 5, and Sylva, 1; and granddaughter Alma, 1.
On 29 October 1951, Slade Chatman, 75, of Lucama, son of Jerry Chatman and Catherine Greene Chatman, married Almenia Chatman, 49, of Lucama, daughter of Reddick Simms and Bettie Boykin Simms, in Wilson.
Slade Chatman died 17 December 1954 in Lucama, Cross Roads township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 14 April 1876 in Craven County, N.C., to Catherine [maiden name unknown]; was married to Almena Chatman; worked in farming; and was buried in Dew Cemetery, Lucama.
Deed book 111, page 170, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
On 14 April 1917, Frank Hodges and his wife Harriet Hodges of Wilson township, for $80, sold William Bustion, Willie Wynn, and Mattie Porter of Toisnot township, “Active Trustees of Wynn’s Chapel, United American Freewill Baptist Church,” for a lot abutting the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.
The 1923 Sanborn map of Elm City shows the small wooden church at 313 South Broad Street, just below J.D. Winstead Cotton Gins.
1923 Sanborn fire insurance map of Elm City, N.C.
Lane Street above is now Morgan Street. This parcel is now owned by the Town of Elm City, and is the southeastern-most section of a town park accessible from Parker Street.
“Wynn Chapel Church was founded in the early 1900’s, between 1908-1909. The members held their original meetings at the Mason Hall of Fellowship in Elm City, North Carolina. The church was named Free Will Baptist Church and the first Pastor was Rev. Jim Brown. After several meetings in the Mason Hall, the members discussed that the building was not suitable to have church services because it had a dance hall that was being routinely used. Early church members, Willie and Jenny Wynn, donated land for the first building and the church was renamed Wynn Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in the early 1920’s. The first Deacons were Willie Burke, Jasper Evans, Talman and Willie Hunter and Pink Wynn. The church mothers were Penny Evans, Lofton Winstead and Jenny Wynn. Irene Evans served as the first secretary.
“In 1940, the little church burned down. Rev. McKinley Love Whitley was the pastor. While plans were being made to rebuild the church, members met at the Presbyterian Church in “Blood Field,” the Church of God, and several other area churches that were gracious enough to allow them to utilize their facilities. After a while, the officials of the church purchased land on Armstrong Street in Elm City. The pastor was Rev. Fred Gardner. The Deacons were Mason Benjamin, Ernest (J.B.) Dew, Marcellas (Doll) Evans, Cecil Hagans, and Matt Washington. There was one trustee, Mr. Masco Norman and two mothers, Penny Evans and Alberta (Babe) Moore. The little church continued to grow and prosper under several different pastors over the next forty years.”
[Where was “Blood Field”??]