dressmaker

Elsie Knight, dressmaker.

After Daniel Vick‘s death in 1908, Samuel H. Vick took over the care of his nieces Annie and Nettie Jones, whose mother Nettie Vick Jones had been murdered eleven years earlier. Among the items he reported paying for out of Daniel Vick’s estate were dresses for the girls made by “Elsie K,” or Elsie Knight. The Vicks certainly had choices when it came to selecting dressmakers, which suggests Knight was an exceptional talent. (Or perhaps an exceptional value.)

On 26 December 1898, Charles Knight, 21, married Elsie McCullows, 21, in Wilson. Baptist minister W.T.H. Woodard performed the ceremony in the presence of Annie Jackson, Lizzie McCullers, and Florence Whitfield.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: day laborer Charles Knight, 24; wife Elsie, 26; daughter Emma, 7 months; and boarders Weldon Standfield, 24, day laborer, and wife Martha, 23.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Charles Knight, 35; wife Elsie, 37; children Charles, 8, and Frank, 6; and boarders Ethel Coleman, 23, and Sarah Jackson, 28, both teachers.

Charles Henry Knight registered for the World War I draft in 1918. Per his registration card, he was born 12 February 1875; lived at 115 Pender Street; was a self-employed barber at 533 East Nash Street; his nearest relative was Elsie Knight; and he had “rheumatism very badly cannot walk well.”

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Charlie Knight, 45; wife Elsie, 47; and son Frank, 16, auto shop laborer.

In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory:

Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory (1925).

Elsie Knight died 20 January 1930 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 58 years old; was born in Johnston County, N.C., to Willis McCullers and Emma Sanders; was the widow of Charles Knight; lived at 511 Vance Street; and was buried in Wilson [likely, Vick Cemetery.] Andrew McCullers was informant.

Historic Black Business Series, no. 19: Ada’s Modeste Parlor.

The 500 block of East Nash Street is justly remembered as the 20th century epicenter of Wilson’s African-American-owned businesses. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black entrepreneurs and tradespeople also operated across the tracks. As Wilson’s downtown experiences a resurgence, let’s rediscover and celebrate these pioneering men and women.

Check in each Sunday for the latest in the Historic Black Business Series!

By 1925, Ada Davis Winstead‘s dressmaking business, Ada’s Modeste Parlor, was booming at 108 West Nash Street, upstairs in the Wilson Theatre building at the heart of downtown. She employed at least five dressmakers catering to the fashion needs of her white clientele, including her sister-in-law Ella Davis, Louise Wilson, Lovella Cotton, Eliza Best, and Lessie Locust.

1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory.

Dressmakers.

Twelve of the fifteen dressmakers listed in the 1922 Wilson city directory were African-American women.

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Hill’s Wilson, N.C., City Directory (1922).

  • Lucy Alston — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Walnut Street, hospital janitor Zick Artis, 26, and wife Belle, 30; and, renting from them, tobacco factory worker Lucy Alston, 33, and children Luvenia, 9, Eluse, 7, and Lucille, 6.
  • Mabel E. Anderson — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 202 Vick Street, painter William Brown, 29; wife Eva, 28, dressmaker; brother-in-law Walter Anderson, 23, plasterer; sister-in-law Mable, 21, dressmaker; and sister-in-law Alma Purcell, 20, all born in South Carolina.
  • Sarah L. Bowser — in the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Best [Burt] Bowser, 48, pool room conductor; wife Sarah, 40, seamstress; sons Russell, 19, Astor B., 13, and Thomas F., 11; sister-in-law Rosa Rountree, 21, public school teacher; brother-in-law James Rountree, 14, milliner store servant; and mother Lucinda Bowser, 60, widow.
  • Eva L. Brown — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 202 Vick Street, painter William Brown, 29; wife Eva, 28, dressmaker; brother-in-law Walter Anderson, 23, plasterer; sister-in-law Mable, 21, dressmaker; and sister-in-law Alma Purcell, 20, all born in South Carolina.
  • Stattie Cannon — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Charles Cannon, 35, barber in a “white shop”; wife Statie, 34; and children Charles, 11, Ruth, 9, and Statie Benton, 13.
  • Lethia Clark — in the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Sarah Clark, 40, school teacher, and daughters Catherine, 22, Letha, 19, and Bettie, 17; granddaughter Ruth Jenkins, 8; and servant  Mary James, 26.
  • Sattena Gaston — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 120 Manchester Street, seamstress Sattena Gaston, 41, and sons Johnnie, 16, and Lorenzo, 13.
  • Jane Hooks
  • Letitia Lovitt — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 415 Stantonsburg Street, Almus Lovett, 42, shop blacksmith, and wife Letitia, 43, seamstress. Both were Georgia natives.
  • Eva Mitchell — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 549 Nash Street, widow Annie Mitchell, 71,  children Sallie, 46, Eddie, 44, Albert, 42, Eva, 36, and Floyd, 34, niece Severana, 18, and nephew Lester, 16.
  • Ruby I. Purcell — on 27 September 1922, John A. Shade, 22, son of I.A. and Estella Shade, married Ruby Percell, 20, daughter of H.H. and Ida M. Percell, in Wilson. W.H. Phillips applied for the license, and Presbyterian minister A.H. George performed the ceremony in the presence of Phillips, Henry N. Cherry and Will Farmer.
  • Ada Winstead — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Braswell Winstead, 60, wife Ada E., and daughter Ethel L., 13, at 300 Pender Street.