Johnson

Technician Fifth Grade James Johnson, drowned in Burma.

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In the 1940 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Columbus Ward, 20; mother Hattie Ward, 55, widow; brother Bill Ward, 28; and half-brother James Johnson, 19.

In 1941, James Johnson registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born1 November 1920 in Wilson; lived on R.F.D. #2, Wilson; his contact was Hattie Johnson; and he worked for M.L. Smith.

Image courtesy of Veterans of World War II Wilson County, spiral-bound volume, Wilson County Public Library.

Unexpected joy on Christmas morning.

During the depths of the Great Depression, young Lusynthia Johnson wrote this Christmas short story set in a thinly veiled Wilson.

The Afro-American (Baltimore, Md.), 26 December 1936.

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Lusynthia Page Johnson was born in 1922 in Wilson County to Theodore Roosevelt Johnson and Rachel Bynum Johnson. In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Mamie Bynum, 50; daughter Mozell Jeffrey, 23, maid; daughter Rachel Johnson, 25, hospital maid; son-in-law Rosevelt Johnson, 23, orchestra musician; roomer Namie Lasitor, 22, servant; and granddaughter Lucinda Farmer, 8.

Cause of death unclear for Johnson.

Wilson Daily Times, 22 November 1950.

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In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 312 South East Street, Allie Cannon, 45; son James D. Cannon, 8; son-in-law Ernest Johnson, 33, cement mixer at concrete block company; wife Brownie M., 27; and daughter Helen R. Kirby, 10.

Earnest Johnson Jr. died 20 November 1950 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 17 June 1917 in Plymouth, N.C., to Earnest Johnson Sr. and Mary Rose; lived at 312 East Street; and was married. He was buried in Plymouth Cemetery, Washington County, N.C.

The Johnson-Moore wedding.

The Afro-American (Baltimore, Md.), 1 February 1936.

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Robert Huff Johnson married Muriel Jeanette Moore during the brief time her father I. Albert Moore was pastor at Wilson’s Saint John A.M.E. Zion Church. Johnson’s father, Rev. Robert J. Johnson eventually was appointed rector at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Wilson. The marriage imploded in less than a year.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Johnson quietly marry.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 8 May 1943.

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In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 903 Nash, lumber company engineer William Barnes, 37; wife Julia, 33; daughters Evelyn, 4, and Mary, 2; and roomer Gladys Jones, 16.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1020 Wainwright, owned and valued at $900, lumber mill laborer William Barnes, 46; wife Julia, 42; and children Evelyn, 13, Mary B., 11, and William Jr., 8.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1020 Wainwright, owned and valued at $1800, cotton mill engineer William Barnes, 58; wife Julia, 55; daughters Evylene, 25, beauty parlor beautician, and Mary, 19; adopted daughter Nebraska, 11.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Wainwright, Evelyn Johnson, 34, beauty shop proprietor, and Johnnie Johnson, 43.

Evelyn Barnes Johnson died 12 May 1957 at her home at 1020 Wainwright Avenue, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 21 December 1914 in Wilson to William Barnes Sr. and Julia Fields; was a beautician; and was married to Monk Johnson. She was buried in the Masonic cemetery, Wilson.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 13 May 1957.

The last will and testament of Sally Barnes.

Sally Barnes drafted her simple will on 22 April 1909, leaving all her property to her husband Ed Barnes and nieces Lizzie and Bruce Adams. Samuel H. Vick and Julia Burnett signed the document as witnesses. Barnes died months later, and Vick was appointed administrator of her small estate on 8 January 1910.

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On 3 June 1897, Ed Barnes, 22, married Sallie Johnson, 21, at N.A. Adams’ in Wilson County. Missionary Baptist minister Crockett Bess performed the ceremony in the presence of Adams, Alfonzo Graves, and J.W. McKay.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm laborer Edwin Barnes, 25, and wife Sallie, 24. Next door: sawmill fireman Nathan Adams, 30; wife Bruce, 26; and daughters Lizza, 6, and Sissie, 4. [It appears in fact that Nathan Adams’ wife was Lizzie, and their daughter was Bruce.]

Bruce Adams died 25 April 1914 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 27 June 1894 in Wilson County to Nathan Adams and Lizzie Adams; worked as a cook; and was buried in Wilson [likely Vick Cemetery.] Lizzie Adams was informant.

Will of Sally Barnes (1910), Wilson, North Carolina, Wills 1663-1978, http://www.familysearch.org.