Wilson Daily Times, 17 April 1948.
Extraordinary and prolific gravestone carver Clarence B. Best went into business for himself in 1946, after many years moonlighting while working for a white-owned marble company in downtown Wilson.
The race is on to find gravestones in Odd Fellows Cemetery before spring foliage engulfs them again. This little headstone was trapped under multiple bands of wisteria vine.
There were two Junius Peacocks, father and son. This marker most likely heads the grave of Junius Wesley Peacock, the son, who died in 1935.
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In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: in the household of 27 year-old white farmer William Bynum, Henry Peacock, 30, works on farm; wife Zetta, 28; and children Henry, 12, John, 7, Junius, 5, Sarah, 4, and Emma, 2.
Junius Peacock, 22, of Wilson, son of Henry and Rosetta Peacock, married Nora Haskins, 17, of Wilson, daughter of Martha Haskins, on 30 March 1898 at Martha Haskins’ in Wilson. Primitive Baptist minister J.W. Williams performed the ceremony in the presence of J. Bradley Exum, Noah Tate, and C.B. Gay.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Junious Peacock, 23, bartender; wife Nora, 19; son Junious, 7 months; mother [in-law] Martha Haskins, 60, washing; sister[in-law] Addie, 34; and Addie’s children Rosko, 13, Nathan, 4, and Allen, 3.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Junius (c) cook h E Chestnut
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Junius (c) elev opr Oettinger’s
In 1918, Junius Wesley Peacock registered for the World War I draft in Norfolk, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 30 December 1935; lived at 316 Kent Street, Norfolk; worked as a bellboy at a Turkish bath, 416 Atlantic Street; and his nearest relative was Nora Stokes, 535 East Nash Street, Wilson. [Nora Peacock, likely a widow, had married Turner Stokes in Wilson in 1916.]
Junius Peacock, 21, of Norfolk, Virginia, son of Junius and Nora Peacock, married Ethel Wilson, 22, of Norfolk, Virginia, daughter of F. and A. Wilson, in Norfolk, Virginia, on 24 October 1918.
In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Junius W (c) barber h 524 E Nash
In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Junius W (c) barber Coley & Taylor h 525 E Nash
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Junius (c; Ethel) barber Walter S Hines h 817 E Green
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 807 Green Street, barber Junius Peacock, 30, barber, and wife Ethel, 34, maid.
Junius Wesley Peacock died 28 April 1935 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 35 years old; was born in Wilson to Julius Peacock and Nora Haskins; was married to Ethel Peacock; lived at 817 East Green Street; and worked as a barber.
Ethel M. Peacock died 25 May 1974 in Norfolk, Virginia. Per her death certificate, she was born 23 October 1893 in Norfolk to Fred Wilson and Ann Brooks; was the widow of Junius Peacock; and was buried in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Photos courtesy of Joseph Stair.
H.S. Phillips Born Dec. 6, 1870 Died Feb. 22, 1919 Gone, but not forgotten
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In the 1880 census of Tarboro, Edgecombe County: minister H.C. Philips, 37, wife Emma, 34, and children Louisa, 12, Hood, 9, Walton, 6, and Cornelius, 3.
On 18 May 1893, Hood S. Phillips, 22, of the town of Wilson, son of H.C. and E.E. Phillips, married Phillis Gay, 24, of the town of Wilson, daughter of Wiley and Catharine Gay. Rev. H.C. Phillips performed the ceremony at the A.M.E. Zion church. Witnesses were Annie Mincy, Annie Thorn and Alex Warren.
Hood Phillips is listed as a barber living at 623 Viola in the 1908 Wilson City directory.
On 26 December 1916, Richard Renfrow, 50, married Matilda Taylor, 50, in Wilson. Hood Phillips applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister A.L.E. Weeks performed the ceremony in the presence of Boston Griffin, J.E. Farmer and Henry Lucas.
Alma Phillips died 9 December 1916 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 12 August 1901 in Wilson County to Hood Phillips and Bessie Ralia; was a school girl; and was buried in Wilson County [possibly in Odd Fellows Cemetery.]
Hood S. Phillup died 22 February 1919 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 48 years old; was born in North Carolina to Henry Phillip and Elezbith Moore, both of South Carolina; lived on Stantonsburg Road extended; was married to Phillis Phillips; worked as a barber for hire for Garfield Ruffin; and was buried in Wilson County. William Phillup, Green Street, was informant.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 415 Stantonsburg Street, widow Phillis Phillips, 33, tobacco factory laborer, and roomers John Bogans, 46, and Carl Goods, 25, both oil mill laborers.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 808 East Nash, paying $8/month rent, widow Phillis Phillips, 42, and, also paying $8, Ardena Barnes, 46, both tobacco factory stemmers.
Phillis Phillips died 22 May 1932 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 51 years old; the widow of Hood Phillips; was born in Wilson to Wylie Gay and Catherine Speights, both of Greene County, N.C.; and was buried in Wilson [probably in Odd Fellows Cemetery.] Catherine Arrington of Richmond, Virginia, was informant.
Lucinda Wife of Geo. W. White Oct. 15, 1880 Nov. 30, 1915 Age 35
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George White, 34, of Craven County, son of Louisa Dew, married Lucinda Parker, 20, of Craven County, on 27 December 1898 at Jackson Dew‘s residence in Wilson township, Wilson County. Alfred Dew applied for the license, and Baptist minister J.T. Deans performed the ceremony in the presence of James T. Alston, L.A. Allen, and Jackson Dew.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: George White, 25, day laborer fireman, and wife Lucinda, 23.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Suggs Street, George White, 35, box factory laborer, and wife Lucindia, 30.
Lucinda White died 13 November 1915 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born in 1883 in North Carolina to Henretta Richardson; was married; and was buried in Wilson. George Wilson was informant.
This large marble headstone, with its delicate crossed fern fronds, stands near the front edge of Odd Fellows Cemetery adjacent to plot of the Noah Tate family. It marks the family plot of the Alexander and Lucy Hill Dawson family.
Alexander, known as A.D., Dawson was born about 1860, likely in Green or Lenoir County, N.C., and arrived in Wilson by the 1880s. He was active in county Republican Party politics and was a teacher before going into business as a restaurant and fish market owner. Lucy Annie Hill Dawson (1860-1917) was born in Edgecombe County and worked as a dressmaker. The couple married in Wilson in 1882.
The only identifiable individual headstones in the plot are those of Lucy Dawson and daughter Virginia S. Dawson (1890-1933).
I’ve written about the artistry of Clarence Best‘s distinctive grave markers and the markers I’ve dubbed Concrete Stipple Style. Another common school of gravestones found in Black Wilson County cemeteries is one I’ll call Anchor-and-Ivy. The basic form: a concrete monolith with rounded top; a panel featuring an anchor and ivy vine; deeply stamped letters in a strongly serifed, all-caps font similar to Century Schoolbook; tight line spacing; and irregular indentation. They also often display lengthy, if formulaic, epitaphs.
The headstones below are found across Wilson County, though I’ve seen the style as far afield as southern Wayne County. Were they the work of a single artist or workshop?
Renda wife of James Green. Died June 2, 1908, Age 47 Yrs. Gone to a brighter home where death cannot come.
W.S. Ward. Born Apr. 12, 1901. Died Jan. 12, 1929. Another link is broken in our household bank, but a chain is forming in a better land.
John H. Jones. Born July 4, 1851. Died June 10, 1928.
Rufus, son of James and Amelia Artis. Born July 16,1900. Died April 24, 1916. We Can Safely Leave Our Darling Harboring In Thy Trust.
Tempsey, wife of Rufus Speight. Died July 15, 1917. Age 75 years. Gone To A Brighter Home Where Grief Cannot Come.
I don’t know when or why two dozen intact headstones, and bits of several more, were piled atop one another in Odd Fellow cemetery’s midsection, or who did it. (Though I don’t believe this was the city’s dirty work.) Here’s the way I found a buried stack in the pile.
After disassembling the visible stack, I prodded the earth around it for hidden stones. My soil probe struck a solid surface here:
I snapped the wisteria runners with a lopper, brushed away soil and leaves, and found this:
I turned it over — the top half, and below that the bottom half, of the headstone of infant Johnnie McNeal. (And a few pieces from a different grave marker.)
Below McNeal’s headstone, another came into view.
This belonged to Belle Dewey, who died in the middle of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic.
And under Belle Dewey’s stone, half the headstone of Adeline, wife of Daniel S[mith], plus more bits of others.
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, January 2021.
The grave marker of my father’s paternal grandmother, found 27 January 2021.
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In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Willis Barnes, 30; wife Cherry, 25; and children Rachel, 7, West, 5, Jesse, 2, and Ned, 5 months.
In the 1880 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Willis Barnes, 42; wife Cherey, 20; stepdaughter[?] Rachel Battle, 17; children Wesley, 15, Jesse, 13, Ned, 11, Eddie, 7, and Mary Barnes, ; niece Ellen Battle, 2; and son Willey Barnes, 1.
On 21 September 1882, Mike Taylor, 20, Wilson, married Rachel Barnes, 19, of Wilson, in Wilson. Baptist minister Louis Croom performed the ceremony in the presence of W.T. Battle and Edmon Pool. [Prominent planter Howell G. Whitehead (Jr. or Sr.?) applied for the marriage license on Mike Taylor’s behalf, suggesting a personal relationship — most likely employment. Whitehead erroneously named Taylor’s father as “John” Taylor and admitted he did not know the names of Taylor’s mother or either of Barnes’ parents.]
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Mike Taylor, 36, drayman; wife Rachel, 36; and children Roderick, 17, Maggie, 14, Mattie, 13, Maddie, 12, Bertha E., 8, and Hennie G., 6. Rachel and daughters Maggie, Mattie and Maddie were occupied at washing. Roderick and the youngest girls “go to school.”
On 16 May 1906, W.T. Taylor applied for a marriage license for Roddrick Taylor, 23, of Wilson, 23, son of Mike Taylor and Rachel Taylor, and Mary J. Pender of Wilson, 18. Fred M. Davis, Baptist Minister, performed the ceremony the same day at Mike Taylor’s in Wilson, with witnesses W.T. Taylor and Addie Rauls.
On 30 May 1906, W.I. Barnes, 22, married Madie Taylor, 18, of Wilson, daughter of Mike and Rachel Taylor, in Wilson. A.M.E. Zion minister N.D. King performed the ceremony in the presence of William Mitchell, Alex H. Walker, Roderick Taylor, and Sarah Ward.
On 10 August 1906, Sam Ennis, 22, of Durham, N.C., son of Freeman and Della Ennis of Smithfield, N.C., married Maggie Taylor, 20, of Durham, daughter of Mike and Rachel Taylor of Wilson, in Durham. Presbyterian minister I.H. Russell performed the ceremony.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lee Street, drayman Mike Taylor, 52; wife Rachel, 51, laundress; daughters Mattie, 21, Bertha, 18, and Henny, 16, laundresses; and niece Louise, 12.
Hennie Taylor died 25 December 1916 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 1897 in Wilson County to Mike Taylor and Rachel Barnes; worked as a domestic; and was buried in Wilson. Rodderick Taylor was informant.
On 14 January 1920, Bertha Taylor, 24, of Wilson, married Jimmie Reaves, 26, of Pitt County, in Wilson. Rev. B.P. Coward performed the ceremony in the presence of Roderick Taylor, John Barber, and Van Smith.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 114 Lee Street, Mike H. Taylor, 50, cook in cafe; wife Rachel, 58; son [actually, nephew] Tom Perry, 12; bricklayer Van Smith, 33, and his wife Mattie, 28.
Rachel Taylor died 2 October 1925 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 54 years old; was born in Wilson County to Willis Barnes and Cherry Barnes; was married to Mike Taylor; lived at 108 West Lee Street; was buried in Wilson; and worked as a laundress. Roddrick Taylor was informant.
Mike Taylor died 8 January 1927 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was about 68 years old; was the widower of Rachel Taylor; worked as a day laborer; was born in Wilson County to Green Taylor and Ferby Taylor; and was buried in Wilson. Roddrick Taylor was informant.
Roderick Taylor Sr. died 4 August 1947 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 16 March 1882 in Wilson to Henry Taylor and Rachel Barnes and worked as a barber. Informant was Mary J. Taylor, 607 East Green St., City.
Bertha Reaves died 18 June 1962 in Greenville, Pitt County, N.C. Per her death certificate, she was born 12 March 1891 in Wilson County to Henry Taylor and Rachel [no maiden name]; was married to James Reaves; worked as an elevator operator; and lived at 1400 West Fourth Street, Greenville. She was buried in Rest Haven cemetery, Wilson.
I’ve gone on and on about the artistry of Clarence B. Best, the marble cutter who carved hundreds of gravestones in and around Wilson County between the 1920s and mid-1970s. Now, after a few years of exploring local African-American cemeteries, I recognize the signature work of other monument makers. Whether the work of an individual, like Best, or a company, they were likely produced in Wilson or an adjoining county, and perhaps by African-American craftsmen.
One common type of concrete monuments dates from the first quarter of the twentieth century. The basic design, which I will call Concrete Stipple Style, is a large rectangle with rounded edges, a smooth central field with stamped block letters and no punctuation, and a stippled border. Unlike Clarence Best’s work, the inscriptions are rigorously centered. I do not know enough about molding concrete to speculate why so many Concrete Stipple stones develop a deep crack about one-third down the face of the monument. (See below.)
A fine example of Concrete Stipple, except for the bullet holes. The couple are buried in Odd Fellows cemetery, and the stone probably dates from just after Daniel’s death in 1908.
Lizzie M. Barnes was buried in Odd Fellows cemetery in 1919.
Sylvania and Calvin Sutton were buried in 1916 and 1922, respectively, in Polly Watson cemetery, which lies just over the Wilson County line in Wayne County.
Bessie McGowan died in 1925 and was buried in Odd Fellows cemetery.
Harrison B. Davis died in 1915 and is buried in the Masonic cemetery.
My guess would have been that this is a foot stone for the grave of Charles S. Thomas, who died in 1937. However, this marker is in the Masonic cemetery, and Charles S. Thomas’ lovely headstone is in Odd Fellows.
This lovely little headstone was discovered in Odd Fellows cemetery this very morning by volunteers at Lane Street Project’s Clean-Up Kick-Off!
Lula Dew Wooten’s grandparents and several generations of descendants are buried in the Dew cemetery on Weaver Road, northeast of Wilson. Lula’s grave in Odd Fellows cemetery suggests that she was buried in a plot purchased for her and her husband, Simeon Wooten. Wooten died in 1950, and his death certificate lists his burial location as “Rountree.” As we know, Rountree was the name broadly applied to Rountree, Odd Fellows, and Vick cemetery.
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In the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Jeff Dew, 38; wife Jane, 32, farm laborer; children Bessie, 12, Lesse, 9, Lula, 8, Nettie, 6, James E., 3, Lizzie, 2, and Jesse, 1 month.
In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Nash Road, Jeff Dew, 46, farmer; wife Jane, 43, farm laborer; children Bessie, 21, Lessie, 19, Lula, 17, Nettie, 16, Eddie, 13, Lizzie, 12, Jessie, 9, Joseph, 8, Margaret, 6, and Jonah, 3. Jane and all but the youngest two children worked as farm laborers.
In the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Rocky Mount Road via Town Creek, Jefferson Dew, 57, farmer; wife Jane, 55; children Lula, 26, Nettie, 24, Eddie, 22, Jesse, 20, Joe, 17, Margaret, 16, and Jonie, 14.
On 11 July 1920, Sim Wooten, 38, of Wilson, son of John and Claudia Wooten, married Lula Dew, 26, of Wilson, daughter of Jeff and Jane Dew, at Jeff Dew’s residence. Daniel A. Crawford applied for the license, and Primitive Baptist minister C.H. Hagans performed the ceremony in the presence of Moses Dew, J.C. Lassiter, and John P. Battle.
Lulu Jane Wooten died 7 November 1927 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 11 May 1892 in Wilson County to Jefferson Dew and Jane Weaver; was married to Simeon Wooten; lived at 510 South Lodge, Wilson; and was a dressmaker.
Photo courtesy of Jane Cooke Hawthorne.