This 2004 plat map of part of New Hope Business Subdivision includes the Hilliard Ellis cemetery.
Detail of the one-third acre parcel:
Deed Book 33, page 141, Wilson County Register of Deeds, Wilson.
Ellis
Nurse Ellis outlines the essentials of happiness.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 11 June 1949.
See “Nurse Ellis speaks at graded school graduation.”
Also:
- Mary Elizabeth Anderson
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 213 Manchester, Edward Anderson, 31; wife Alberta, 29; and children Austin, 9, Hellen, 6, John E., 5, Elizabeth, 4, Guynell, 2, and Robert L., 4 months.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 213 Manchester Street, Ed Anderson, 40; wife Alberta, 39; and children Octavia, 19, Helen, 16, John, 15, Mary, 14, Gaynell, 13, Robert, 10, Deloris, 6, and Ruth, newborn.
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Ed Anderson, 45, “pulls ice” at ice plant; wife Alberta, 43, “cleans house”; children Mary E., 23, history teacher at county school; Robert L., 20, nightclub waiter; Delores, 17; Ruth J., 13; and Samuel G., 7; and grandson James E., 3.
On 4 June 1950, Jessie Bynum, 25, of Wilson, son of Julius and Gertrude Bynum, married Mary Elizabeth Anderson, 24, of Wilson, daughter of Ed and Alberta Anderson, at Holy Hope Church, Rocky Mount, N.C. Episcopal priest Robert J. Johnson performed the ceremony.
Nurse Ellis throws a surprise party.
With the help of C.E. Artis, nurse Mable Ellis threw her husband George Ellis a surprise birthday party in February 1928.
Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 17 March 1928.
Contrast the tone of this piece, published in a Black newspaper, with the snark of white newspapers of the era, which often sneered at even the most joyous occasion. The Ellises were newlyweds, having married the previous September. George Ellis was 52, and Mable Weaver Ellis, 26, when they wed. Told with humor and charming detail, here were Black people via a Black gaze.
Cyclist killed in collision with auto.
Wilson Daily Times, 1 September 1948.
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In the 1940 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: widow Winnie Mitchell, 72; nephew Robert Barnes, 44; son Lonnie Barnes, 36; and lodgers Beulah, 13, Jimmie, 11, Reby, 8, and S.D. Ellis, 7.
In 1946, Jimmie Lee Ellis registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 28 March 1928 in Wilson County; lived at Route 1, Wilson; his contact was Winnie Mitchell; and he worked for Ronie Williams.
Jimmie Lee Ellis died 31 August 1928 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 27 March 1928 in Wilson County to Jim Ellis and Sellie Hines; worked as a day laborer; lived on Route 1, Stantonsburg; and was buried in a family cemetery.
The Ellises sell Ellis Chapel a parcel of land.
Hilliard and Feraby Rountree Ellis sold Ellis Chapel for the nominal sum of $7.50 the half-acre parcel of land upon which Ellis Chapel Free Will Baptist Church was eventually built. Ellis Chapel’s cornerstone cites the church’s founding as 1882. This deed, however, is dated 26 April 1881 and shows the church had already formed at that time.
Deed book 18, pages 559-560, Wilson County Register of Deeds office.
The confusion may stem from the registration date of the deed — 16 June 1882.
Hat tip to Melanie Nelson Ellis for this copy of the deed.
The apprenticeship of Jesse Ellis.
On 20 January 1870, a Wilson County Superior Court judge ordered 14 year-old Jesse Ellis bound as an apprentice to Guilford Ellis until he reached 21 years of age.
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In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farm laborer Guilford Ellis, 40; wife Pleasance, 29; and Ned, 16, Cherry, 14, Jesse, 12, Arabella, 11, and Sarah, 4.
In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: common laborer Guilford Ellis, 55; wife Penny, 55; and children Sarah E., 16, Mary E., 10, and Layfaytte, 8.
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
The Wilson County roots of Bishop J. Delano Ellis.
Bishop Jesse Delano Ellis II of the Pentecostal Church of Christ was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Jesse Lee Ellis, a migrant from Wilson County, North Carolina, and Lucy Mae Harris Ellis.
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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 508 East Walnut Street, ice plant laborer Calvin Ellis, 33; wife Matha, 29; and son Jessie L., 10; plus roomers Wilson Webb, 47, a Contentnea Guano laborer, wife Victoria, 40, and daughter Minnie Webb, 2.
In the 1940 census 0f Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: domestic Martha Ellis, 39, widow; sister Lucy Lucas, 33; and son Jessie, 20, coal yard laborer. In 1935, Martha Ellis had lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Lucas, in Philadelphia; and Jesse Ellis in Wilson, North Carolina.
In 1940, Jesse Lee Ellis registered for the World War II draft in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Per his registration card, he was born 18 August 1919 in Wilson, N.C.; his contact was mother Martha Ellis; and he worked for the 1355th Company, Civilian Conservation Corps, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Jesse and Lucy Mae Ellis, presumably at their 1943 wedding in Philadelphia.
In the 1950 census of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Martha Ellis, 49, widow; son Jesse L. 30, stevedore on docks; daughter-in-law Lucy Mae, 21; and grandsons Jesse D., 5, James B., 1, and John C., born in November [1949].
In 1950, Jesse L. Ellis applied for World War II compensation in Pennsylvania. Per his application, he was born 18 August 1919 in Wilson; lived at 616 Mercy Street, Philadelphia; and his dates of service were 22 June 1942 to 26 March 1943.
Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user Dawn Speaks.
An accidental overdose.
The Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.), 3 June 1876.
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Wormseed oil, or oil of chenopodrem, was a treatment for intestinal parasites. Described as a “pale yellow liquid with an unpleasant odor and a bitter, burning taste,” wormseed oil worked by paralyzing the worm and was frequently toxic.
The death of Rosetta Ellis McCoy, Exoduster.
In a post about the Littleton and Judie Ellis cemetery on today’s Forest Hills Road in Wilson, I asked if the Ellises had migrated to Arkansas with the Exoduster movement, then returned to Wilson. The death certificate of their daughter Maggie Ellis Darden reported that she was born in Arkansas in 1886.
Below, the death certificate of Rosetta McCoy, filed in North Little Rock, Pulaski township, Arkansas, states she was born 22 October 1887 in Wilson, N.C., to Littleton Ellis and Mary [is this a mistake?; maiden name unknown]. Thus we have additional evidence that Littleton Ellis and family made the long journey west, but returned to Wilson County before 1900.
In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Littleton Ellis, 45; wife Judah, 30; and children Bryant, 14, Martha, 12, Patsey, 10, Mary, 8, Bud, 6, Thomas, 4, Rose, 2, and James, 1.
On 28 November 1897, James McCoy, 21, of Toltec, Lonoke County, Arkansas, married Rosetta Ellis, 19, of same, in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
In the 1900 census of Williams township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: farmer James McCoy, 23; wife Rosetta, 22; and children Alberta and Birtrice, 1; also, Sarah Smith, 26, a cook.
In the 1910 census of Lafayette township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: on Witherspoon Road, farmer James McCoy, 33, born in North Carolina; wife Rosetta, 32; and children Bertrice and Alberta, 11; Willie, 9; Johnny, 8; Asillie, 6; Gus C., 4, and James M., 1.
In the 1920 census of Lafayette township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: on Keo Road, James H. McCoy, 47; wife Rosetta, 43; children Bertrice and Alberta, 21, Willie, 19, Johnnie, 18, James M., 11, Norah, 8, L.C., 7, Nathaniel, 5, Ruthie, 2, and Thomas, 6 months; daughter Rosa L. Huggins, 16, and son-in-law James Huggins, 19.
In the 1940 census of Lafayette township, Lonoke County, Arkansas: farmer Rosetta McCoy, 45, widow; children L.C., 17, Nathaniel, 15, Ruthie, 13, and Thomas, 10; and grandson Willie Henry, 8.
In the 1940 census of North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas: Rosetta McCoy, 63, widow, born in North Carolina; daughter Gertrude Duckery, 40, widow, maid; and grandchildren Rosetta Howard, 15, Artelia Howard, 12, James Duckery, 9, Famous Hall, 15, and Rosie Anne McCoy, 4.
The obituary of Macordia Ellis.
Wilson Daily Times, 8 January 1949.
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In the 1870 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: James Ellis, 48; wife Zana, 38; and Eliza, 14, James, 5 months, Cora, 13, Macoid, 11, Oscar, 6, and Anna, 1.
In the 1880 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farm laborer James Ellis, 59; wife Zany, 49; and children Mccoid, 18, Oscar, 17, Anna, 11, James, 10, Johnithan C., 8, and Benjiman S., 5.
In the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farmer Johnathan Ellis, 27; mother Zaney, 68; sister McCarda, 34; and brother James, 29.
In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: at Barnes Crossing, James S. Ellis, 39; sister Macordie, 45; nephew Johnson C., 16; and sister Annie Mercer, 40.
In the 1920 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: on Rocky Mount Road, farmer John Ellis, 47; wife Annie, 53; children Ernest, 14, Dollena, 12, John Jr., 11, Nettie, 7, Chasey, 6, Nathaniel, 6; and sister-in-law McCordy Ellis, 50.
In the 1930 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Jonathan Ellis, 51; wife Annie, 43; children Jonathan J., 21, Nettie, 18, Chasie, 17, Nathaniel, 15, Macordie, 5, Leroy, 3, and Pattie M., 2; and boarder Mcordie Ellis, 58, widow.
In the 1940 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer J.C. Ellis, 67; wife Annie, 52; children Macordia, 12, Larry, 13, and Pattie May, 12; and sister Macord Ellis, 75.
Macordia Ellis died 6 January 1949 in Toisnot township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born in May 1872 in Wilson County to James Ellis and Zannie Applewhite; was single; and worked in farming. She was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery.