Giles

Where did they go?: Washington obituaries.
  • Georgia Jiles

In the 1880 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: Wesley Tayborne, 30; wife Madora, 23; and Martha, 6 months.

The Taborns joined the exodus to Arkansas circa 1891, settling in Saint Francis County,

In the 1900 census of Telico township, Saint Francis County, Arkansas: Wesley Taborn, 47; wife Dora, 43; children Henrietta, 20, Arnie, 18, Lula, 16, Claudia, 13, Georanna, 10, Hattie, 7, and Walter, 1; and boarder Robert Lucas, 46. All were born in North Carolina except Hattie and Walter, who were born in Arkansas.

In the 1920 census of Wynne township, Cross County, Arkansas: Arlie Taborne, 45; sister Gergia, 24; daughter Hattie, 22; daughter Grattice, 2; son Herman, 2; and uncle Robert Lucas, 63. The two children were born in Arkansas; everyone else in North Carolina.

1939 Seattle, Washington city directory.

The Northwest Enterprise (Seattle, Wash.), 6 January 1940.

In the 1940 census of Seattle, King County, Washington: at 1534 – 23rd Avenue, widow Hattie B. Lewis, 43; son Herman L. Lewis, 22; sister Georgia Jiles, 45; nephew Grattis T. Scott, 22; niece Alberta Morrow, 23; and nephew Millard Morrow, 23. All but the Morrows reported they had been in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1935.

Georgia Jiles died 10 February 1956 in Seattle, King County, Washington. Per her death certificate, she was born 20 October 1896 in Wilson, N.C., to Westley Taborn and Dora Jones; was a widow; lived at 1615 – 20th Avenue; and was buried in Washelli Cemetery.

  • Mancie Gaston

In the 1900 census of Town of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Pender Street, barber and plasterer George W. Gaston, 44, wife Cilla, 44, a cook; and children Rosco, 18, bricklayer; John, 16, common laborer; Georgia, 15, cook; Addar, 12, nurse; Nina, 11, nurse; Mancy, 6; Lacy, 6; Augustas, 6; Boston, 1; and Dewey, 6 months.

In the 1910 census of Town of Elm City, Wilson County: on Wilson Street, barber George Gaston, 55, wife Priscilla, 53; and children Roscoe, 28, barber; John, 26, barber; Georgie, 25; Ada, 23, teacher; Nina, 21; Mancie, 17; Augustus, 16; Flossy, 16; Boisy, 14; Dewey, 9; and Lee J. Gaston, 7.

In 1917, Mancie Gaston registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 10 June 1892 in Elm City; lived in Elm City; worked as a barber for G.A. Gaston; and was single.

World War I service card for Mancie Gaston.

1922 Wilson, N.C., city directory.

Dewey Gaston, 23, son of George and Priscilla Gaston, married Mary B. Howard, 24, daughter of Mary E. Darden, on 8 March 1923 in Tarboro, Edgecombe County. Witnesses were Mancie Gaston and Fannie F. Ricks of Elm City.

Around 1930, Gaston headed west, living briefly in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving on to Reno, Nevada.

1931 Albuquerque, New Mexico, city directory.

In the 27 October 1932 edition of the Reno Evening Gazette, Mancie Gaston was listed as a registered voter in Washoe County, Nevada. He spent an eventful few years in the state before relocating to Seattle, Washington.

Reno Evening Gazette, 25 January 1933.

Nevada State Journal (Reno, Nev.), 4 February 1936.

In the 1940 census of Seattle, King County, Washington: at 121 Maynard Avenue [a single-room occupancy dwelling], Mancie Gaston, 47, W.P.A. laborer.

In 1942, Mancie Gaston registered for the World War II draft in Seattle. Per his registration card, he was born 10 June 1892 in Elm City, North Carolina; lived at 413 1/2 Maynard Avenue, Seattle; and worked for I.D. Dudley [white barber Isaac D. Dudley], 609 Jackson, Seattle.

At the time he registered for the draft, Gaston lived in Seattle’s Chinatown. This 12 May 1941 photo, courtesy of the Seattle Times Archives, depicts a funeral procession in the block of Maynard, between Jackson and King, that he lived in.

In the 9 June 1943 issue of The Northwest Enterprise, Mancie Gaston is listed as a paid member during a N.A.A.C.P. membership drive.

Mancie Gaston died 7 August 1946 in Seattle, King County, Washington. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 June 1892 in Elm City, N.C., to George Gaston and Priscilla Mercer; lived at 613 1/2 Jackson Street; was a widower; worked as a barber; was a veteran; and was returned to Elm City for burial.

406 East Green Street.

The one hundred-fortieth in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

As described in the nomination form for the East Wilson Historic District, this building is: “ca. 1893; 1 story; two-room house; among oldest in district; intact porch with chamfered posts.”

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As shown in the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, the first few houses of the 400 block of East Green comprised a rare integrated block. Houses (and a grocery) numbered 402, 404, 406, 408 1/2, and 410 had white occupants. Numbers 405, 408, 411, and the remainder of the block headed east had black occupants. (400 and 407 were vacant; there was no 401 or 403.) 406 was occupied by William H. and Cora Brown.

By the 1930 Hill’s city directory, laborer Ephraim Brown and his wife Cora lived at 406. His white neighbors were Baker Brothers grocery, William J. and Mandy Pittman, Sallie A. Ezzell (who owned three adjoining houses mid-block), and James and Martha Farmer. 

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 406 East Green, Evelyne Giles, 30, stemmer, divorced; daughter Thelma, 14; mother Aline Hawkins, 42, stemmer, and her son Lee Hawkins, 22, odd jobs laborer. 

John Lee Hawkins registered for the World War II draft in Wilson in 1940. Per his registration card, he was born 6 July 1916 in Black Creek, N.C.; lived at 406 East Green; his contact was mother Aileen Hawkins; and he worked for Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, South Goldsboro Street.

In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Giles Evelyn (c) tob wkr h 406 E Green

In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Giles Evelyn (c) fctywkr h 406 E Green

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, November 2021.