In 1942, Charlie Wesley Harper registered for the World War II draft in Petersburg, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 30 January 1896 in Robinson [sic] County, North Carolina; lived at 469 Byrne Street, Petersburg; his contact was Mary Harper, same address; and he worked for Boyle Russell Wise Contracting Company, Richmond, Virginia.
In the 1950 census of Petersburg, Virginia: at 300 Gill Street, Charlie Harper, 54, widower, born in North Carolina, wholesale tobacco factory laborer.
Charlie Wesley Harper died 18 July 1967 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Durham, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was born 17 April 1896 in Cumberland County, N.C.; was a widower; worked in construction; and lived at 508 New Bern Street, Wilson.
In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Jack Woodard, 35; wife Fannie, 32; and children John, 10, Julia, 7, Cynthia, 6, Albert, 5, and Aaron, 2.
On 7 February 1900, Albert Woodard, 25, of Wilson County, N.C., son of J. and F. Woodard, married Alice Bonney, of Norfolk County, Virginia, daughter of C. and R. Bonney.
In the 1910 census of Norfolk, Virginia: H.W.R. Holland, 31, clothes cleaner, and lodger Albert Woodard, 34, railroad laborer.
Roderick Albert Woodard was born 11 March 1914 in New York, New York, to Albert Woodard and Henrietta Hux.
In the 1920 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Jack Woodard, 74; wife Caroline, 51; son Albert, 50; daughter-in-law Henrietta, 38; and grandchildren Roderick, 6, Viola, 3, and Carrie, 2.
In the 1940 census of Pittsgrove township, New Salem County, New Jersey: Albert Woodard, 65; wife Henrietta, 50; and lodgers Herbert Edwards, 30, poultry farm laborer, and wife Margaret, 27. All were born in North Carolina.
The Standard Star (New Rochelle, New York), 14 November 1958.
In the 1900 census of Highland, Orange County, New York: James B. Darden, 18, waiter [at hotel.]
In the 1910 census of Opelika, Lee County, Alabama: physician John Darden, 34; wife Jean, 26; and brother James B. Darden, 26, drugstore clerk.
In 1918, James Benjamin Darden registered for the World War II draft in Petersburg, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 17 July 1881; lived at 516 Byrne, Petersburg; was an M.D.; and his nearest relative was Lillian Darden.
In the 1920 census of Petersburg, Virginia: physician James B. Darden, 38, and wife Nannie, 32.
In the 1930 census of Petersburg, Virginia: at 516 Byrne, physician James B. Darden, 46; wife Lillian, 42; and mother-in-law Sarah Allen, 75.
In the 1940 census of Petersburg, Virginia: medical doctor James Darden, 56, and wife Lillian, 52.
In 1942, James Benjamin Darden registered for the World War II draft in Petersburg, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 17 July 1882 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 516 Byrne, Petersburg; was a doctor at 122 South Avenue; and his contact was Lillian A. Darden.
In the 1950 census of Petersburg, Virginia: doctor James B. Darden, 67, and wife Lillian A., 60.
Lillian A. Darden died 11 February 1983 in Petersburg, Virginia. Per her death certificate, she was born 8 January 1887 to Charles Allen and Sarah Cole in Tennessee and was a retired music teacher.
The New Pittsburgh Courier covered the 1947 wedding of A.D. and Lucy Hill Dawson‘s granddaughter Wilhelmina Elaine Dawson to Robert L. Smith in Norfolk, Virginia. The bride’s father, Alexander D. Dawson Jr., migrated from Wilson to Norfolk around 1915.
New Pittsburgh Courier, 28 June 1947.
Alexander D. Dawson
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: restaurant cook Alexander Dawson, 50; wife Lucy, 49; and children Sophie, 25, school teacher, Mattie, 23, stenographer, Virginia, 19, school teacher, Lucile, 17, Alexander, 15, Clarence, 13, Augusta, 11, and Arlander, 1.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory Dawson Alex D Jr (c) barber h 505 E Vance
In 1917, Alexander Dawson registered for the World War I draft in Norfolk, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 26 July 1894 in Wilson, North Carolina; lived at 363 Queen Street, Norfolk; was single and had one child; and worked as a barber for J.H. Jackson, Norfolk.
In the 1920 census of Norfolk, Virginia: journeyman barber Alexander Dawson, 25, and wife Madie, 23.
In the 1930 Norfolk, Virginia, city directory: Dawson Alex D (c; Maddie) barber Terminal Barber Shop h 432 Lewis
Cora Fitch and son Jerome Fitch
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 516 Lodge, letter carrier Milton Fitch, 30; wife Cora, 31; children Jerome, 7, Milton, 3, Patricia, 2, and Ernestine and Christine, born the previous December; father-in-law Walter Whitted, 58; and mother-in-law Helen Whitted, 56, 6th grade school teacher.
Eva Hines
Probably, in the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 303 Elba Street, Eva Hines, 50, household servant; son Charlie, 21, yard boy; and daughter Henrietta, 13, shared a household with Louis Hines Jr., 21, whiskey storage loader; wife Dolly M., 19, tobacco stemmer; and daughter Martha L., 6 months.
Like many in eastern North Carolina, William G. Bynum migrated to Tidewater Virginia. At the time of his death in 1984, none of his closest relatives remained in Wilson County.
——
In the 1930 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farm laborer Isaac Bynum, 36; wife Dorsey, 36; and children Martha, 17, Mammie, 16, Daisy, 15, Hagar, 13, Mary, 11, William, 8, Essie M., 6, Hula G., 4, and Mavis G., 1.
In the 1940 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farm operator Isaac Bynum, 48; wife Dossie Ann, 45; children William G., 17, Essie Mae, 16, Hulla Gray, 14, and Mavis Greer, 11; and grandsons Ernest Burner Farmer, 5, and Dorsey E. Blackstone, 3.
In 1942, William Bynum registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 17 November 1921 in Wilson County; resided at Route 2, Elm City; his nearest relative was mother Dorsey Bynum; and he worked for John L. Bailey, Elm City.
On 10 October 1950, William Bynum, 28, barber, born in Wilson County, N.C., to Isaac Bynum and Dorsey Farmer, married Leila Ruth Reavis, 26, born in Brunswick County, Virginia, to George Reavis and Carrie Green, in Newport News, Virginia.
William G. Bynum died 30 January 1930 in Hampton, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born 17 November 1921 in North Carolina to James Isaac Bynum and Dorsie Farmer; was a retired barber; and was married to Lelia Ruth Bynum.
Funeral program courtesy of Levolyre Farmer Pitt from the collection of her mother Savannah Powell Farmer.
On 12 June 1928, tobacco laborer Sylvester Barnes, 28, of Wilson, N.C., son of West Barnes and Ellar Mercer, married Effie Moore, 25, of Wilson, N.C., daughter of Ive Moore and Jennie Evans, in Danville, Virginia. Both were residents of Burlington, North Carolina.
In the 1930 census of Burlington, Alamance County, N.C.: odd jobs laborer Sylvester Barnes, 33; wife Effie, 30; daughter Eloise, 1; and sons Carl, 15, and Fred Gibson, 14.
Effie Barnes died 3 October 1933 in Burlington, Alamance County, N.C. Per her death certificate, she was born in 1896 in Alamance County to Ive Moore and Jennie Evans; was married; and did domestic work. She was buried in Alamance County.
Sylvester Barnes died 12 October 1936 at the Veterans Administration hospital in Oteen, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Per his death certificate, he was born June 1891 in Wilson to Wesley Barnes and Ella Mercer; was a widower; resided in Wilson; and was buried in Wilson [most likely, Vick Cemetery].
Elouise Watson Barnes died 10 January 1947 at the Wilson County Sanatorium, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 17 years old; was born in Burlington, N.C., to Sylvester Barnes of Wilson and Effie Moore of Burlington; and was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery. Lucy Watson was informant. [Like both her parents, Eloise Barnes died of pulmonary tuberculosis.]
Marion Elaine Barnes died 6 June 1949 in Alexandria, Virginia. Per her death certificate, she was born 6 March 1932 in Alamance County, North Carolina, to Sylvester Barnes and Effie Moore; lived at 1303 Madison, Alexandria; and was a school girl. She was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery, Wilson, N.C. Lulu Jackson was informant.
[Marian Barnes was my distant cousin. She and my father shared great-grandparents in Willis and Cherry Barnes. We have met Marian Barnes’ aunt, Olivia Mercer Batts, her paternal grandmother’s half-sister, here; another aunt, Viola Barnes Bernard, her grandfather’s sister, here; and her half-brother Frank R. Barnes here.]
On a single day, two local draft boards sent 41 African-American men to Fort Bragg’s Army induction center, including several who no longer lived in Wilson County: James Moore Jr., Clifton Hagans, John Daniel Smith, Clarence Virgo Holley, William Howard Jr., Levi Parker, Odies Newsome, Julius Darden, Henry Cornelius Faison, Willie Sylverty Reynolds, Jimmie Lee McCarthey, Percy Mincey, FestusScarborough, John Wilbert Williams, Othel Hamilton, Creed Junior McCoy, Booker T. Raynor Jr., Frank Rogers Blake (Petersburg, Virginia), David Lee Lane, Alvesta Hilton, Theodore Hooker (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Edward Sharpe, Rillie Speight, Walter Worsley (Suffolk, Virginia), Sylvester Thomas Dawson, Johnnie Parker, Benjamin Scott Harris, John Henry Allen, Oakie Parker, Ben James Barnes, James D. Etheridge, Grover Finch, Joseph Thomas Rogers (Norfolk, Virginia), Leland D. Speight (Norfolk, Virginia), Charles Henry Pope (Norfolk, Virginia), Willie Bynum (Norfolk, Virginia), Sip Allen (Baltimore, Maryland), Albert Sylvester Gay (Baltimore, Maryland), Arthur Cromartie (Portsmouth, Virginia), Jordan Mercer (Suffolk, Virginia), and Willie Artis (Washington, D.C.)
My sister, me, and my cousins, Newport News, Virginia, circa 1970.
My mother grew up in Newport News, Virginia, and Easter often found us at my grandmother’s house and their family church, Saint Paul A.M.E.
Little did I know that on our drives from Wilson to Tidewater, we were traveling a reverse migration route. Hundreds of Wilson County family were drawn to the docks and shipyards of Newport News and Norfolk or the lumber mills of Suffolk in the early to mid-twentieth century. In fact, my mother’s childhood best friend had Wilson County roots.
Wishing all who observe a Happy Resurrection Sunday!
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Marther Vick, 46, widow, washing, and sons [sic] Peater, 20, and Hud, 6.
In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Martha Vick, Peter Vick, and Hood Vick, the latter two described as laborers (though Hood was only 14 years old) are listed at 105 Pender.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Martha Vick, laundress; Peter Vick, porter; and Hood Vick, cleaner and presser, are listed at 105 Pender.
Mildred Ward died 9 January 1914 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 24 October 1913 in Wilson County to Hood Vick of Wilson County and Lucy Ward of Pitt County; and lived at the corner of Nash and Railroad Streets. Lucy Ward, Wilson, was informant.
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Martha Vick, laundress, and Hood Vick, ball player, are listed at 105 Pender Street. [Peter Vick died 11 January 1916 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 January 1887 in Wilson County to Peter Taylor and Matha Vick, both of Nash County, N.C., and was single.]
In 1917, Hood Vick registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 10 June 1894 in Wilson; lived on Pender Street; worked as a machine operator at a moving picture theater for C.L. Jones; and was single.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 105 Pender Street, Martha Vick, 65, widow, and grandchildren Artha Stokes, 15, and Hood Vick, 25, laborer.
On 8 November 1928, Hood Vick, 35, born in Washington, D.C., to Hood Vick and Lucy Taylor Vick, and employed as an operator, married Anna Windsor in Norfolk, Virginia.
In the 1930 census of New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina: at 20 Browns Alley, private nurse Anna J. Windsor, 70, widow; and, paying $6/month rent, Hood Vick, 36, theatre operator, and wife Anna, 22.
In the 1934 Norfolk, Virginia, city directory: Vick Hood (c; Lucy) lab h 411 1/2 Church
In the 1940 census of Norfolk, Virginia: Hood Vick, 31, divorced, chauffeur, was a lodger at 411 Church Street.
In the 1941 Norfolk, Virginia, city directory: Vick Hood (c) porter Union Bus Term Inc h 417 Church
In 1942, Hood Vick registered for the World War II draft in Norfolk, Virginia. Per his registration card, he was born 10 June 1897 in Wilson; lived at 411 Church Street, Norfolk; worked for Union Bus Company, Norfolk; and his contact was Lucy Wilson, 411 Church Street.
In the 1950 census of Elizabeth City, Virginia, Hood Vick, 56, is listed as a patient in the Hospital Section of “Vet. Adm. Center.”
Hood Vick died 24 October 1950 in Kecoughtan, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 June 1893 in Wilson, N.C., to Hood Vick and Lucy [maiden name unknown]; was married; lived at 506 Church Street, Norfolk; and worked as a porter. Anna Whitney Vick was informant.
Darden Memorial Funeral Home applied for a flat marble marker for Hood Vick’s grave in Rountree Cemetery. The cemetery actually was likely Vick Cemetery (recall that Rountree, Vick, and Odd Fellows were known collectively as Rountree). If so, the marker was destroyed in the aftermath of the clearing of Vick in 1995.
Juanita Kelley Wilson made the great migration in stages. Born in South Carolina, she spent her childhood in Wilson before moving to Richmond, Virginia, and then on to Philadelphia.
——
In the 1920 census of Richmond, Virginia, 16 year-old Juanita Kelley is listed as a servant for the family of James and Clara Williams, 1622 Maryland Avenue.
