Around the turn of the 19th century, at least five Wilsonians said their vows in Boston, Massachusetts:
John A. McLeod and Abbie G. Holloway
On 12 February 1892, John A. McLeod, 24, of Boston, waiter, born in Fayetteville, N.C., to John and Ruth McLeod, and Abbie G. Holloway, 21, resident of New York, N.Y., domestic, born in Wilson, N.C., to James and Amanda Holloway, were married in Boston.
In the 1900 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: at 15 Village, porter John McLeod, 33, and wife Abbie, 28, and 13 lodgers (all but one, a New Jersey man, were migrants from the South.)
In the business section of the 1911 Boston, Massachusetts, city directory, under “Laundries”: McLeod Abbie, 10 Clarendon.
In the 1920 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: at 72 Yarmouth Street, John A. McLeod, 50, laundry business, and wife Abagail, 46, laundry business, with eight lodgers.
William Henry Harris and Henrietta Murphy Allen
On 29 November 1899, Wm. Henry Harris, 30, of 183 Elm Street, barber, born in Wilson, N.C., to James H. and Nancy Hill, and Henrietta (Murphy) Allen, 40, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, born in Baltimore, Md., to Benjamin and Caroline Murphy, were married in Cambridge.
Charlie Hinton and Lottie Green
On 6 March 1905, Charlie Hinton, 24, resident of 393 Northampton Street, laborer, born in Wilson, N.C., to Calvin Hinton and Maggie Thomas, and Lottie Green, 24, same residence, domestic, born in Savannah, Ga., to John Green and Mary Field, were married in Boston.
Walter S. Hines and Sara E. Dortsch
On 6 September 1907, Walter S. Hines, 27, of Wilson, N.C., barber, son of Walter S. Hines [sic] and Della Barnes, and Sara E. Dortsch, 24, of Goldsboro, N.C., school teacher, daughter of Whitmore Dortsch and Mary Burnett, were married in Boston.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Walter Hines, 30; wife Sarah, 29; children Elizabeth, 2, and Walter D., 8 months; and boarder Inez Moore, 31, a school teacher.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Walter Hines, 40, wife Sara, 37, Elizabeth, 11, Walter Jr., 10, and Carl, 5.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Walter Hines, 50, wife Sarah, 48, and children Elizabeth, 21, Walter, 20, Carl W., 16, and Clifton R., 7.
Charles Dashun and Carrie Pitts
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Pettigrew Street, farmer William Pitts, 34; wife Violet, 25; and children Ailsey, 10, Martha, 5, Hattie, 3; and Laura, 10 months.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Violet Pit, 50, washing, and children Martha, 24, washing, Hattie, 22, cooking, Lula, 21, cooking, Ben, 19, tobacco stemmer, Carry, 12, cooking, Rosa, 16, nurse, Meaner, 11, Jenney, 5, and Edward, 2.
In the 1905 state census of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York: Carrie Pitts, 19, servant, in the household of William Fletcher, 752 Ocean Avenue.
On 10 October 1911, Charles Dashun, 26, resident of New York, N.Y., bartender, born in Danish West Indies to John Dashun and Rosalind Steven, and Carrie Pitts, 26, resident of New York, N.Y., domestic, born in Wilson, N.C., to William Pitts and Violet Woodard, were married in Boston.
In 1918, Charles Dasher registered for the World War I draft in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Per his registration card, he was born 20 April 1884; lived at 2403 East 39th Street, Cleveland; and his wife was Carrie Dasher.
In the 1920 census of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio: Harvey C. Dasher, 36, Pullman porter, New York; wife Carrie, 34, North Carolina; son Harvey Jr., 17, North Carolina; and widow Hattie Johnson, 42, department store elevator operator, North Carolina.
In the 1940 census of New York, New York County, New York: on West 121st Street, Carrie Dasher, 58, widow, maid, North Carolina, with six lodgers.
Daisy Unas, nee Battle, applied to the United States District Court in Boston to take an oath of allegiance to the United States on 28 March 1942. Per her application, she was born 12 April 1888 in Wilson, North Carolina; lived at 144 Worcester Street, Roxbury; had a dark complexion, brown eyes, and black/gray hair; was 5’7″, 180 pounds; married Henry Unas on 27 November 1908 in Boston; and believed she had lost her citizenship by marrying a subject of Great Britain. Daisy Unas took the oath of renunciation and allegiance on 6 April 1942.
——
In the 1900 census of Portsmouth, Virginia: Lizzie Battle, 40, laundress, born in Virginia; children Charlie, 18, teamster, Lee J., 13, day laborer, Daisy, 11, and Sylvester, 8; and boarder Ross George, 32, day laborer. Sylvester was born in Virginia; the other children in North Carolina.
On 27 November 1908, Henry Unas, 22, resident of 1 East Lenox Street, seaman, born Barbuda, West Indies, to Thomas Unas and Frances Webber, married Daisy Battle, 23, resident of same, cook, born in Durham, N.C., to William Battle and and Sarah James.
In the 1910 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: widow Elizabeth Battle, 38, born in Virginia, washing; daughter Daisey E. Eunice, 20, born in North Carolina, domestic; son-in-law Henry Eunice, 24, Spanish West Indies, collard laborer; and granddaughter Marion, 3.
In 1918, Henry Alfred Unas registered for the World War I draft. Per his registration card, he was born 24 September 1884 in “Great Britain, West Indies;” lived at 69 Ruggles Street, Roxbury; worked as a longshoreman for United Fruits Company; and his wife was Dasie Unas.
In the 1920 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: at 24 Westminster Avenue, Henry A. Unis, 36, furniture expressman, born in British West Indies; wife Daisy A., 33; and children Marion U., 12, and Alice G., 5.
In the 1930 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: at 24 Westminster Avenue, owned and valued at $3000, Henry Alfred Unas, 43, born in Barbuda, West Indies, employed as “expressing-moving”; wife Daisy U., 43, born in North Carolina; and children Alice S., 14, and Doris P., 3; and nephew Paul C. Galloway, 8. Unas immigrated in 1908.
In the 1940 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: at 31 Eustis, Dasey Unes, 52; nephew Paul Galloway, 18; and daughter Doris Unes, 13.
In the 1942 Boston, Massachusetts, city directory: Unas Daisy A Mrs dom h 31 Eustis Rox[bury]
Henry Alfred Unas petitioned for naturalization on 1 October 1945. Per his petition, he was born 24 September 1889 in Barbuda, British West Indies; lived at 23 Westminster Street, Roxbury; had a dark complexion, brown eyes, and black hair; was 6’1″, 175 pounds; married Daisy on 27 November 1908; had two children, both born in Boston, Alice, 12 May 1916, and Doris, 12 November 1967; and migrated into the United States from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 15 October 1906.
On 10 February 1892 in Boston, Massachusetts, Abbie G. Holloway, 21, of New York City, born in Wilson, North Carolina, to John and Amanda Holloway, married John A. McLeod, 24, waiter, of Boston, born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to John and Ruth McLeod. The ceremony was performed by Rev. John A. Hughes at People’s Temple Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston’s South End.
——
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm laborer Edward Holloway, 39; wife Harriet, 44; and children Lewis, 20, Abigail, 11, James S., 6, and Milly, 3. [Is this Abbie G. Holloway? The family was in Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County, in the 1870 census.]
In the 1900 census of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts: on Village Street, John McLeod, 33, porter, and wife Abbie, 28, headed a household of thirteen African-American men and women lodgers working primarily as waiters and porters.
The McLeods appear in more than a dozen Boston city directories between 1904 and 1925. By 1904, they were living at 10 Clarendon Street, apparently over the laundry in which they worked. By 1911, they were living at 19 Newborn in Roxbury, while still working at 10 Clarendon as laundress and laundryman. In 1914, Mrs. Abbie McLeod was listed with two workplaces, People’s Hand Laundry at 10 Clarendon and Edison Hand Laundry at 24 Yarmouth. By 1920, the McLeods were working at Edison only. [24 Yarmouth Street, by the way, is four-story brownstone now divided into five condominiums valued at $750.000 and up.]
Per a Massachusetts Death Index digitized at http://www.ancestry.com, Abigail Halloway McLeod died in 1925.
Massachusetts Vital Records, 1840–1911, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston; United Methodist Church Records, 1787–1922, Baptism, Marriage, and Death Registers, New England Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History, Boston School of Theology Library; both digitized at http://www.ancestry.com.
