We’re keeping the birthday love flowing for Cora Green Wellington Dawson, who turned 98 on February 28!
Green
The death of Henry Green.
Baltimore Sun, 6 October 1941.
Henry Green migrated temporarily to Maryland to work at a dairy. Tragically, he did not come home.
——
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Grace Street, public service laborer Henry Green, 47; wife Lottie, 40, cook; and children Cora, 12, Fred, 9, Henry Jr., 7, Edward, 2, and James, no age given.
The apprenticeship of Jerre Green.
On 4 April 1872, a Wilson County Superior Court judge ordered twelve year-old Jerre Green bound as an apprentice to Jesse Bass until he reached 21 years of age. He was to be trained to be a farmer.
——
- Jerre Green
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
Principal Eustace E. Green.
Wilmington native Eustace E. Green spent only a brief time in Wilson as principal of the Colored Graded School in 1883. He left so quickly that he had time to graduate from Howard University’s Medical School in 1886. He moved his family to Macon, Georgia, to establish his practice that is remembered to this day.
For more of Dr. Green’s legacy in Macon, see:
historic-macon-adds-former-home-dr-ee-green-2022-fading-five-list
Historic Black Business Series, no. 18: Neverson Green’s grocery.
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!
——
Neverson Green owned a series of grocery stores in the 400 block of South Spring [now Douglas] Street in the early 20th century. We know he was in business as early as 1906, when he paid $57.50 for a computing scale, but the earliest address for which we have evidence is 410, a location taken over for Agnes Taylor‘s eating house.
On 24 December 1906, Neverson Green agreed to purchase a #10 Computing Scale from The J.H. Parker Co. of Richmond, Virginia, for $57.50 payable in installments. Deed Book 72, page 205.
Neverson Green’s first name was occasionally mistaken as “Nelson.” 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory.
In 1909, Green’s grocery was burgled by the son of a rival grocery storeowner, Jacob Tucker.
City directories appear to show Green’s grocery store sliding up and down South Spring every year, which doesn’t seem probable. In 1912 and 1916, he is at 412 South Spring. In 1920, at 424. (This was also the address of Jacob Tucker’s grocery. The two may have been in the business together for brief periods.) In 1922, he’s at 420, but in 1924, he’s back at 424. In 1925 and 1928, he’s at 400 South Spring.
Detail from 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson.
Remnants of the old Norfolk Southern tracks, seen in the map above, are still visible in the asphalt of Douglas Street. They offer a glimpse of the chaotic landscape of early 20th-century downtown Wilson.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: grocery merchant Neverson Green, 58, grocery merchant; wife Isabella, 54; daughters Lula, 21, Bessie, 16, and Eva, 12; and roomer Willie Ward, 19.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: grocery store merchant Nelson Green, 72; wife Isabella, 65; daughters Lula, 30, and Eva, 23; and grandchildren Lila R. Barnes, 12, and Lissa Strickland, 12.
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Green Nelson (c; Isabella) gro 400 Spring h 502 S Lodge
606 South Lodge Street.
This triple-A cottage is not within the bounds of East Wilson Historic District. However, South Lodge Street — below the warehouse district — has been an African-American residential area since the turn of the twentieth century.
For much of the twentieth century, the house was owned and occupied by Oscar B. Green, his wives, and their descendants.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 606 South Lodge, Oscar Green, 35; wife Josie, 22; children Willie, 6 months, and Eva, 2; and sister-in-law Mattie Walls, 20.
In the 1922 and 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories: Green Oscar (c) tobwkr h 606 S Lodge
Josephine Green died 21 October 1927 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 37 years old; was born in Henderson, N.C., to Joseph Ward and Francis Rawls; was married to Oscar Green; lived at 606 South Lodge; and worked as a day laborer at Export Tobacco Company.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Green Oscar (c; Essie M) lab h 606 S Lodge
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Green Oscar (c; Essie M) factorywkr h 606 S Lodge
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 606 South Lodge, tobacco cooper Oscar Green, 44; wife Essie M., 26; and children Eva L., 12, Willie O., 10, Hattie M., 6, and Lucile, 4; Mary Barnes, 48, dressmaker, and her children Alma, 20, servant, Elizabeth, 16, Lalla R., 12, and Elois, 8.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 606 South Lodge, Oscar Green, 53, redrying laborer at tobacco factory; wife Essie May, 36; and children Eva L., 22, Willie Oscar, 19, Charles B., 16, Hattie Margaret, 15, and Lucille, 14.
In 1940, Willie Oscar Green registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 16 June 1919 in Wilson; lived at 606 South Lodge Street; his contact was Beulah Sutton Green, 606 South Lodge; and he worked for R.P. Watson Tobacco Company, 410 South Street, Wilson.
Eva L. Green died 6 April 1941 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 15 May 1917 in Wilson to Oscar Green and Essie Winstead; was single; worked as a tobacco factory laborer; and lived at 606 South Lodge.
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 606 South Lodge, Arthur [sic, Oscar] Green, 64, loads truck at tobacco company; wife Essa Mae, 40; daughter Lucy, 24; grandsons Dona Roy, 1, and Jessie, 3; son Willie, 30; granddaughter Marie, 8; grandson Willie M., 7; daughter Hattie M., 26; granddaughter Margaret, 4; and son Charlie, 26.
Essie Mae Green died 5 September 1953 in Wilson. She was born 1 July 1904 in Wilson to Junius Walker and Louise Hyman; lived at 606 South Lodge Street; worked as a laborer; and was married to Oscar Green.
Wilson Daily Times, 19 September 1953.
Carrie Coleman Green died 23 July 1972 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 23 December 1902 in Alabama; was married to Oscar Green; was retired; and lived at 606 South Lodge.
Oscar Bell Green died 26 September 1975 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 14 September 1897 to Nelson [Neverson] Green and Isabella Thorp; was a widower; lived at 606 South Lodge; and was a tobacco factory laborer. Lucille Tillery was informant.
Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, November 2022.
Fred Green’s pupil sheet.
This “Individual Pupil Sheet” recorded the attendance of Fredrick Green during the twenty days he was enrolled at Samuel H. Vick Elementary School in the fall of 1938. The boy was born 4 November 1931 in Wilson; his mother was Lottie McGill [actually, Lottie McPhail Green]; and he resided at 218 Narroway Street. He was in Grade 1, Section 1, until he moved out of the district on 3 October 1938.
——
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Grace Street, public service laborer Henry Green, 47; wife Lottie, 40, cook; and children Cora, 12, Fred, 9, Henry Jr., 7, Edward, 2, and James, no age given.
Many thanks to Dr. Judy Rashid for sharing this document. Fred Green was her uncle.
A Sallie Barbour student remembers.
Cora and Levi Wellington reared seven children on Manchester Street, first in a three-room endway house at 313 and then a four-room house at 402. Cora Wellington, now Dawson, is now 92 years old and has vivid memories of her East Wilson school days:
From Charles L. Coon, The Public Schools of Wilson County, North Carolina: Ten Years 1913-14 to 1923-24.
Cora Ruth Greene Wellington Dawson attended Sallie Barbour School from 1934 to 1937. Eleanor P. Reid was principal. Mrs. Dawson recalls that Mrs. Reid rang a big bell when school started (and everyone had to be seated), at lunch time, and at the end of the day. She remembers eating peanut butter with jelly sandwiches and homemade soup at school everyday – at no charge. She remembers huge swings and merry go rounds in the playground and outside toilets. Some of the teachers at the school were Mrs. Georgia Dupree, Mrs. Addie Butterfield (who taught 4th grade), and Mrs. Celie Norwood. Mrs. Norwood, who taught Mrs. Dawson’s first husband Levi Wellington in third grade, lived in a two-story house on Pender Street. The house, which has been demolished, stood behind Calvary Presbyterian Church, which then faced Green Street. Many of the teachers, who were always sharply dressed in heels and suits, walked down Wainwright Street to the school.
Sallie Barbour School was located across from Cemetery Street near the present location of cinderblock apartments. Mrs. Dawson recalled that students entered the school on the Stantonsburg Street side, now known as Pender Street. The back of the school faced Manchester Street. This section of Wilson is often referred to as “the school yard” long after Sallie Barbour School is gone. The school building was all wood. The front porch, where everyone entered the building, was very large. The principal’s office, located in the front of the building, faced Stantonsburg Street, and children had to pass Mrs. Reid’s office and walk down a long hall way to their classes. Though she was just six years old, Mrs. Dawson remembers having to take her younger brother to school with her because she was his babysitter. She would go downstairs to the girls’ toilet outside to change his diaper, and the teacher would make a place for him to take a nap behind the big blackboard in the back of the classroom.
Cora Green Wellington Dawson in 2018.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Grace Street, public service laborer Henry Green, 47; wife Lottie, 40, cook; and children Cora, 12, Fred, 9, Henry Jr., 7, Edward, 2, and James, no age given.
Cora Green married Levi Wellington on 28 September 1944.
Levi Wellington.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Highway 42, farmer Haywood Willieston, 35; wife Lonie, 30; and children Haywood, 12, Leavay, 10, Sudie, 6, Mary, 8, Magline, 4, Raymond, 2.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Grace Street, public service laborer Haywood Wellington, 46; wife Lona, 40; and children Levi, 20, grocery store delivery, Sudie, 16, Magerlean, 14, Raymon, 12, Helen, 7, and Gereldean, 4.
In 1940, Levi Wellington registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 16 September 1919 in Greene County, North Carolina; lived at 409 Grace Street, Wilson; his contact was mother Lona Wellington, same address; and he worked for Barnes-Graves Grocery Company.
Levi Wellington died 13 November 1978 in Wilson.
Cora and Levi Wellington at their house on Manchester Street, 1960s.
Many thanks to Dr. Judy Wellington Rashid for sharing her mother’s memories of the Sallie Barbour School and photographs of her family.
Memorial Service for Mrs. Ada Green Knight.
Ada Green Knight‘s funeral was held 11 March 1973 at Saint John A.M.E. Zion Church. Elder Lonnie Barnes of London Primitive Baptist Church officiated.
In the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: carpenter Neverson Green, 45; wife Isabeler, 35; and children Mary J., 18, Annie B., 15, Oscar, 13, Ada, 11, Ora, 9, Rose L., 6, William O., 5, Lula B., 2, and Besse, 3 months; plus boarder William Alley, 21.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lodge Street, house carpenter Neverson Green, 49; wife Ezabell, 45 and children Ada, 22, Viola, 19, Rosa, 16, William O., 14, Lula, 12, Henry, 8, Bessie, 6, and Eva, 2. Ada, Viola and Rosa were tobacco factory laborers; William worked in a box factory.
James Henry Knight registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 2 November 1885; lived at 607 Lodge; worked horseshoeing for J.Y. Buchanan; and his nearest relative was wife Ada Knight.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: James Knight, 31, blacksmith; wife Ada, 29, tobacco factory worker; and children Mildred, 8, James Jr., 7, William, 4, and Robert, 2.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 603 South Lodge Street, blacksmith James H. Knight, 45; wife Ada H., 43; and children James H., Jr., 17, William, 14, Marvin, 12, Eveline, 9, and Nancy J., 10 months.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: retail grocer James H. Knight, 53; wife Ada Elsie, 52; and children Marvin, 22, Evelyn, 19, Nancy Doris, 10, and Joseph Frank, 8.
Ada Green Knight died 3 March 1973 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born in Virginia on 13 March 1887 to Nelson Green and Isabell Thorp; resided at 502 South Lodge Street; and was a retired laborer. Informant was Nancy Doris Lucas, 502 South Lodge.
Thanks to Lisa R.W. Sloan for sharing this funeral program from a family collection.
817 East Green Street.
The one-hundred-sixteenth 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, the house that stood at 817 East Green Street was: “ca. 1913; 1 story; I-plan cottage with intact turned-post porch.”
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Winstead Arnold (c; Sybina) brklyr h 817 E Green
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Peacock Junius W (c; Ethel) barber Walter S Hines h 817 E Green
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 807 [sic] East Green, rented for $13/month, Junius Peacock, 30, barber, and wife Ethel, 34, maid at public school.
Junius Wesley Peacock died 28 April 1935 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 35 years old; was born in Wilson County to Junius Peacock and Nora Hoskins, both of Wilson County; lived at 817 East Green; and was a barber. Informant was Ethel Peacock.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 817 East Green, rented at $14/month, George Green 32, blacksmith at repair shop, born in South Carolina; wife Martha F., 26, hospital nurse; and mother-in-law Anetta Rosser, 63 (who had lived in Whitakers, Nash County, in 1935). Also, paying $5/month, Graham Bynum, 31, building carpenter, and wife Katherine, 29, hospital nurse.
In 1940, George Willie Green registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 15 October 1906 in Saint Matthew, South Carolina; lived at 817 East Green; his contact was wife Frances Rosser Green; and he worked for Bissett’s Repair Shop, 307 South Tarboro Street.
In the 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Green Geo W (c; Frances) blksmith Herbert W Bissett h 817 E Green
817 East Green was one of several dozen houses demolished on the order of Wilson City Council in 2002. Council also approved demolition of three other houses on East Green Street owned by the heirs of Walter S. Hines. (Walter Hines often rented his Green Street properties to barbers in his employ, like Junius Peacock.)
Wilson Daily Times, 21 June 2002.
Photograph by Lisa Y. Henderson, July 2019.