Chicago Defender, 26 October 1935.
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- Rev. Joseph Jordan
influenza
The toll.
The Spanish flu pandemic decimated families within days.
Between October 23 and 28, 1918, Daniel and Celia Lewis Ellis lost sons Sam, 20, Jackson, 17, and Orran Ellis, 8.
Sam Ellis died 23 October 1918.
His brother Jackson Ellis had passed three hours earlier.
Their little brother Orran Ellis died five days later on 28 October 1918. Will Artis buried all three on the E.C. Exum place in Wayne County.
Austin and Clara Lawrence Dawes lost sons Rosevelt, 8, Handy, 1, and Thomas Dawes, 4, over a four-day span.
Rosevelt Handy died 19 October 1918.
Handy Dawes died the next day.
Thomas Dawes died on the 23rd.
And then their father Austin died.
Austin Dawes, 49, tenant farmer.
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In the 1910 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: on Stantonsburg Road, farmer Daniel Ellis, 50; wife Celia, 35; and children Maeliza, 13, Willie, 14, Samson, 11, Harry, 10, Robert, 7, and Jackson, 8.
In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Austin Daws, 37; wife Clara, 26; and children Hazel M., 9, Annah M., 4, Lara L., 2, and Theodore R., newborn.
Lane Street Project: in memory of victims of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.
This month marks the 105th anniversary of the arrival of the Spanish influenza pandemic to Wilson County. As detailed here, scores died as the virus scorched its way from house to house. This 14 October 1918 expressed hope that “disease” in the city had reached a climax. Though the contagion did peak that month, influenza swirled through Wilson County the rest of the year.
Wilson Daily Times, 14 October 1918.
I have not found death certificates for the children named in the article. However, the men, women, and children below died of influenza October through December 1918 and were likely buried in Vick Cemetery.
October
11 — Lula Winstead, 23, a Liggett & Meyers tobacco factory stemmer.
13 — Benjamin Jones, 54, a city worker who lived at 628 Viola Street.
13 — Arch Morrison, 37, a Hackney Wagon employee who lived at 217 Banks Street.
13 — Abon Neal, 30, a laborer.
15 — Beatrice Edwards, 23, a homemaker who lived at 113 Pender Street.
17 — Zula Leach, 16, a tobacco factory stemmer who lived on Wiggins Street.
18 — Elma Stokes, 35, a cook who lived on Stantonsburg Street.
18 — Theresa Carolina Williams, 4, who lived at 413 Walnut Street.
18? — Wallie Campbell, 19, laborer for Lee Woodard.
19 — Annie Mae Parker, 1. (And perhaps her brother, Jessie Parker, 15, a farmer who died on the 16th.)
19 — Mannie Battle, 38, a homemaker.
21 — Jim Offie Jr., 1.
22 — Samuel Jenkins, 35, a brickmason.
23 — Irene Bynum, 26, a cook who lived on Daniel Street.
24 — Will Johnson, 29, a prisoner in Wilson County jail.
25 — Mary Farmer, 32, a laborer.
25 — Lizzie Ruffin, 30, a homemaker.
25 — Mary Elizabeth Williams, 19 months.
26 — Avester Evans, 6, who lived on Green Street.
26 — John Farmer, 6, who lived on Suggs Street.
27 — Olive Barnes, 20.
28 — Frances R. Batts, 20.
28 — Jennie Batts, 33, a homemaker.
29 — John Berthia, 33, who was on the chain gang.
29 — Julia Jones, 29, a homemaker who lived at 645 Green Street.
30 — Elvis Alston, 4, who lived on Walnut Street.
30 — Luburta Bynum, 3.
30 — Curley Rozin, 35, who was on the chain gang.
November
1 — Emanul Lundsford, 21, a grocery store deliveryman who lived at 637 Vance Street.
3 — Bennie Roberson, 2, who lived on Hackney Street.
5 — Hattie Novilla Bynum, 5, sister of Luburta, above.
17 — Sarah Haggens, 37, a laborer.
December
28 — Lizzie Jenkins, 29, a tenant farmer.
Rev. Taylor returns from Y.M.C.A. service.
Wilson Daily Times, 2 September 1919.
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Camp Zachary Taylor, near Louisville, Kentucky, circa 1918.
- Rev. H.B. Taylor — for more about Rev. Taylor’s appointment, see here.
- Camp Zachary Taylor
Caufield & Shook, photographers; digital image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
Auction of the estate of Wiley Williams.
Wilson Daily Times, 30 June 1919.
Wiley Williams‘ wife Carrie died of post-influenza pneumonia when the flu pandemic swept through Wilson County in late 1918. Perhaps overwhelmed by grief, Williams took his own life seven months later. Nicodemus Patterson, from whom Williams had rented farmland, stepped in to arrange the sale of Williams’ belongings for the benefit of his three teenaged children.
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On 8 March 1899, Wiley Williams, 21, of Wilson County, son of Harriett Williams, married Carrie Sessoms, 22, of Wilson County, daughter of Claude Sessoms, in Gardners township, Wilson County.
In the 1910 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Wiley Williams, 30; wife Carrie, 40; and children Arthur, 10, Ivor M., 7, and Lizzie, 4.
Wiley Williams registered for the World War I draft in 1918. Per his draft registration card, he was born 28 October 1878; lived at R.F.D. 4, Elm City; was a tenant farmer for Nick Patterson; and his nearest relative was wife Carrie Williams. He signed his name with an X.
Carrie Williams died 3 November 1918 in Toisnot township, Wilson County. Per her birth certificate, she was about 47 years old; was born to Claude and Betsy Sessoms; was married to Wiley Williams and was a farm laborer for N.D. Patterson. G.W. Williams was informant.
Wiley Williams died 11 June 1919 in Wilson township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was about 41 years old; was a widower; was born in Wilson County to Duck Barnes and Harritt Williams; and was a tenant farmer. G.W. Williams was informant.
On 16 June 1919, N.D. Patterson filed for letters of administration in Wiley Williams’ estate, identifying his heirs as Arthur V., Lizzie, and Ivah Williams, all minors, and valuing his estate at about $500.
Arthur Williams died 28 January 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Per his death certificate, he was born 25 February 1900 in North Carolina to Wylie Williams and Carrie Session; was married to Della Williams; and worked as a laborer. Daughter Clementine Wormsley was informant.
The death of Henry Faucett.
Wilson Daily Times, 14 February 1920.
I have not found a death certificate or other record of Henry Faucett in Wilson.
Thanks to J. Robert Boykin III for sharing this clipping.
Good colored nurses do fine work during an epidemic.
Wilson Daily Times, 10 February 1920.
- Celia Norwood — Cecilia Hill Norwood.
- “the wife of M.A. Spel” — This is actually Martha A. Spell (the wife of John S. Spell.)
The remains of West Vick, a colored soldier, return.
Wilson Daily Times, 18 March 1919.
In the 1900 census of Stony Creek township, Nash County: farm laborer John Vick, 45; wife Hanna, 40; and children Tassey, 21, Clara, 19, Johnnie, 17, Berry, 15, Elisha, 13, Joseph, 10, Westray, 9, Paul 3, and Baby, 1.
Wesley Vick, 21, son of John and Hannah Vick, married Sarah Locus, 20, daughter of Jesse and Florida Locus, on 25 May 1912, in Wilson.
Influenza cases.
Wilson Times, 7 January 1919.
- Frank Mitchell, Grab Neck — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Nash Street, laborer Frank Mitchell, 27, wife Alice, 23, daughter Nora M., 1, and boarder Noah Bess, 63.
- Alex Hall, Elm City — in the 1930 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: widower Alex Farmer, 50; his mother Saro, 80; sister Maggie, 45; and children Leaston, 18, Randolf, 17, and Annie, 8.
- Albert Wright, South Elm City — Albert Wright registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County in 1917. Per his registration card, he was born 17 May 1890 in Clinton, N.C.; resided in Elm City; farmed for Jno. D. Bailey in Toisnot township; had a wife and four children; and had a “stiff foot.”
- Kirby Haskins, Stantonsburg — in the 1920 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: farmer Kirby Hoskins, 22, wife Lula, 24, and son Eddie, 7 months.
- Maria Lipscomb, Route 1, Wilson
He knows nothing of the death of his wife.
Wilson Daily Times, 25 October 1918.
Lucy Barnes‘ death certificate:
In the 1900 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Ransom Ruffin, 30; wife Maggie, 33; and children Claudius, 7, Floyd, 6, and Selia Ruffin, 3; plus “son-in-law” William Barnes, 17, and “daughters-in-law” Lucy, 15, and Bertha Barnes, 13. [The Barneses were Ransom Ruffin’s step-children rather than his in-laws. Allen Barnes, presumably, had died, and Ruffin was Maggie’s second husband.]
On 2 December 1903, Lucy Barnes, 21, daughter of Allen Barnes and Maggie Ruffin, married Amos Bynum, 23, son of Joe and Hagar Bynum, in Wilson County. Ransom Ruffin, R.M. Joyner and Pattie Williams were witnesses. [Why, then, was Lucy a Barnes on her death certificate?]
In the 1910 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: on Plank Road, farmer Amos Bynum, 31; wife Lucy, 25; and daughters Clyde, 8, and Penny, 4 months. [The article describes three small children. Clyde was probably the daughter who stepped in to care for her younger siblings, including Penny and a son Amos Bynum Jr. (Lucy and Amos are listed on his 1946 marriage license and his death certificate.)]