Lincoln Benefit Society of Wilson, N.C., established by Dr. Frank S. Hargrave and Samuel H. Vick, issued burial policies across eastern North Carolina.
Wilson Daily Times, 18 June 1912.
The documents below relate to a policy Lincoln Benefit Society issued in December 1912 to George E. Elliott, a resident of Manchester, Cumberland County, North Carolina. (There were two George E. Elliotts, father and son, and it is not clear which carried the policy.)
Elliott paid thirty cents a month on his policy.
I have not been able to identify J.J. Jordan, who issued Elliott’s initial fee receipt, or his collector H.K. Johnson.
Special thanks to J. Robert Boykin III for sharing these documents.
On 22 January 1870, a Wilson County Probate Court judge ordered Ashley Jordan bound as an apprentice to Jacob H. Barnes until he reached 21 years of age. At the end of his term, Jordan was to receive “six dollars in cash, a new suit of clothes and a new Bible.”
Ashley Jordan — Jordan is not listed in the household of Jacob H. Barnes in the 1870 census, and I have found no further information about him.
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
Benjamin F. Jordan of First Missionary Baptist Church submitted to the paper a tribute to tobacconist R.P. Watson on behalf of the Negro Ministerial Alliance of Wilson. Watson had been a benefactor of Mercy Hospital.
In the 1880 census of Richland, Beaufort County, North Carolina: day laborer Phillip Jordon, 38; wife Elizabeth, 30; and children David F., 10, Solomon, 6, Judy Ann, 4, and Benjamin F., 1.
In the 1900 census of Idalia township, Beaufort County: farmer Phillip Jordan, 56; wife Elizabeth, 49; son Solomon, 26, daughter-in-law Carseary, 21; their child Perline, 1; daughter Julia A., 23; and son Ben F., 21.
In the 1910 census of Lumberton, Robeson County, North Carolina: Benjamin F. Jordan, 30, minister, was a boarder in the household of John H. and Margret Kinnear.
On 26 October 1910, B.F. Jordan, 32, married Maggie E. Dickins, 24, in Elizabeth City, Pasquotank County, North Carolina.
In 1918, Benjamin Franklin Jordan registered for the World War I draft in Bladen County, North Carolina. Per his registration card, he was born 21 April 1879; was married to Maggie E. Jordan; and worked in the ministry.
In the 1920 census of Mullins township, Marion County, South Carolina: on Laurel Street, clergymen Benjamin F. Jordan, 40; wife Maggie, 32; and children Benjamin F., Jr., 6; Marion, 4, Milford, 2, and Odis, 1.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1113 East Nash Street, minister Benjiman Jordan, 50; wife Maggie, 44; and children Milford L., 12, Odis, 11, Williard, 10, Irene C., 8, and James D., 6.
Benjamin Franklin Jordan died 8 December 1955 at 717 East Green Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 75 years old; was a minister; was born in North Carolina to Phillip Jordan and Elizabeth (last name unknown). Informant was Marion J Maultrie, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The thirty-eighth 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 East Wilson Historic District: “1927; 2 stories. Parsonage, Jackson Chapel Baptist Church; cubic, hip-roofed, is blend of Colonial Revival and bungalow traits, typical of a host of middle-class dwellings in district built during 1920s.”
In the 1930 Wilson city directory: Jordan Benj F Rev (c) (Maggie L) pastor First Bapt Ch h 1113 E Nash.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1113 East Nash Street, minister Benjiman Jorden, 50; wife Maggie, 44; and children Benjiman F., 16, Mary B., 14, Milford L., 12, Odis, 11, Willard, 10, Irene C., 8, and James D., 6.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1113 East Nash Street, renting for $20/month, W.P.A. project laborer Oscar Ellis, 50; wife Mamie, 48; children Henry, 23, laborer, Estell, 22, housekeeper, Aja, 21, waiter, Charles, 20, deliveryman for Moore’s Drug, James, 18, Bessie, 17, Herbert, 15, Leroy, 13, Fred, 8, Mamie, 10, and Clarence, 5; and adopted children Annie, 15, and Rosco Jones, 13.
In the 1880 census of Town of Wilson , Wilson County: Thomas Jordan, 45, wife Jane, 32, and children Ida L., 5, and J.A., 2. Thomas’ occupation was servant,
Energy and favorable reception notwithstanding, Rev. J.F. Jordan did not remain long in Wilson. In keeping with Methodist practice, A.M.E. Zion ministers are appointed annually and may be reassigned by a bishop at annual conference.
