migration to Washington DC

Studio shots, no. 237: William B. Battle Jr.

William B. Battle (1913-1961).

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In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 609 East Green Street, William Battle, 43; wife Nora, 30; and children Ester, 12, Jessie, 9, William Jr., 7, Aurtha L., 4, and Walter E., 1; and roomers William, 57, widower, and Mary Christmas, 24.

In the 1940 census of Washington, D.C.: Wm. Battle, 28, porter at the Times-Herald, was a lodger in the household of Jessie C. Wormsley at 1501 R Street.

William Blackwell Battle registered for the World War II draft in Washington, D.C., in 1940. Per his registration card, he was born 26 February 1913 in Wilson; lived at 2009 – 13th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.; his contact was friend Rose Lofon; and he worked at the Times-Herald Building, 1319 H Street, N.W., Washington.

In the 1950 census of Washington, D.C.: William B. Battle, 37, newspaper paper handler, was a lodger in the household of Rosa B. Lawson, 35, beautician.

William B. Battle died in August 1961.

Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user PHILLYEVANS44.

The obituary of Louise Boddie, age 15.

Wilson Daily Times, 2 December 1950.

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In the 1940 census of Washington, D.C.: Elias B. Boddie, 42, born in N.C.; wife Eunice, 29; born in N.C.; son Elias B., Jr., 10, son Clifton, 8, stepdaughter Bertha, 20, granddaughter Louise, 5, and grandson John H., 2.

Louise Boddie died 27 November 1950 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born in Washington, D.C., to John Poston and Bertha Boddie; was single; lived at 514 West Walnut Street; and was a student.

Snaps, no. 108: Joyce Henderson Boyd.

Joyce Lorine Henderson Boyd (1922-2004).

——

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 318 Pender Street, Jack Henderson, truck driver, 38; wife Pauline, 31, and children Bessie, 12, Alic, 10, Joice, 8, Mildred, 6, and Archy, 4, listed in the household of mother-in-law Alic Artis, 49, private cook, paying $18/month rent.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 309 Pender Street, Alice Artis, 56; daughter Pauline Henderson, 39, household servant; granddaughters Bessie L., 23, hotel elevator girl, Alice, 20, household servant, Joyce, 18, household servant, Mildred, 16, and Doris, 10; and grandson Robert [Bobby], 4.

In the 1950 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1864 California Street, Joyce L. Henderson, 27, apartment building elevator operator, born in North Carolina, was a lodger in the home of Eunice M. Moore, a beautician, also born in N.C.

Photo courtesy of R.B.T. 

41 men sent to the Army.

Wilson Daily Times, 28 April 1944.

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, Festus Scarborough, 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.)

Other suns: Elijah and Marie Haskins Warren, Washington, D.C.

Donna Warren Davis reached out to me after discovering references to her ancestors at Black Wide-Awake. Elijah Warren, Marie Haskins Warren, and their family joined the Great Migration in the mid-1930s, landing, like so many North Carolinians, in Washington, D.C.

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In the 1910 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: William Warren, 42; wife Millie J., 42; and children Ezekiel, 18, Keturrah, 17, Joseph, 14, Elijah, 13, Samuel, 11, Deborah, 9, William, 8, Millie, 5, Alchester, 3, and Edie, 2.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Ada Haskins, 27, odd jobs laborer; daughter Arena, 12, born in Virginia, house servant [is this Marie?]; and lodger Alfred Williams, 32, widower, machinist.

On 21 October 1928, Marie Williams, 26, of Wilson, married Elijah Warren, 29, of Black Creek, in Wilson. Primitive Baptist church Johnie Bunch performed the ceremony in the presence of Cora W. Farmer, William Warren, and Wilson Farmer. [This was a second marriage for Marie Haskins Williams.]

In the 1930 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer William Warren, 62; wife Millie, 62; daughter-in-law Marie, 26; grandson Jerome, 11 months; granddaughter Mary, 10; sons Elijah, 32, Chichi, 23, and Sam, 30; and adopted son Richard Edmundson, 12.

In the 1940 census of Washington, D.C.: at 2816 Pennsylvania Avenue, W.P.A. laborer Elijah Warren, 38; wife Marie, 38, beauty parlor operator; step-daughter Mary Williams, 20; and children Jerome, 10, Jonathan, 9, and O’Donnell Warren, 7. All were born in North Carolina, except Mary, who was born in Pennsylvania. The census taker noted that the family had been living in the “same place” in 1935, which narrows the date of their migration to D.C. to about 1934.

In February 1942, Elijah Warren registered for the World War II draft in Washington, D.C. Per his registration card, he was born 2 April 1897 in Fremont, Wayne County; lived at 2816 Pennsylvania Avenue; worked for National Defense Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.; and his contact was Marie Warren.

The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 21 August 1942.

The Evening Star, 11 March 1944.

In the 1950 census of Washington, D.C.: at 2816 Pennsylvania Avenue, beauty shop proprietor Marie Warren, 46; children Jerome, 20, mechanic at auto dealer, Donald, 17, and William V., 6; and mother Ada Haskins, 80, widow.

In the 1950 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1616 – 10th Street N.W., lodger Elijah Warren, 54, separated, mechanic at Navy Yard.

The Evening Star, 6 January 1954.

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  • Whitelaw Hotel — designed, financed, and built by African-Americans for African-Americans, the Whitelaw was an upscale apartment hotel in the U Street Corridor neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
  • First Baptist Church of Georgetown
  • 2816 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. — Elijah and Marie Warren arrived in Georgetown in the last decades of the long period that it was home to a sizable African-American minority. By the 1950s, gentrification was pushing Black Washingtonians out. Built about 1900, the two-story brick building at 2816 Pennsylvania Avenue now houses a high-end spirits retailer and is just down the street from the Four Seasons Hotel.

Funeral program courtesy of Donna Warren Davis. Thank you!

Rest in peace, Vanilla P. Beane.

Black Wide-Awake mourns the passing of Vanilla Powell Beane, Wilson native, Washington, D.C., legend, and milliner extraordinaire. Her 103 years of life were exceptionally well-lived, and the world so much richer for her talents.

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Vanilla Beane, the District’s ‘Hat Lady,’ dies at 103.

By Michael Rosenwald, The Washington Times, 25 October 2022.

Vanilla Beane, whose radiant hats topped the heads of legions of African American women at church, weddings and funerals in the District for half a century, earning her the title of “D.C.’s Hat Lady,” died Oct. 23 at a hospital in Washington. She was 103.

The cause was complications following an aortic tear, said her grandson Craig Seymour.

Mrs. Beane’s hats, which she had designed and fabricated at the Bené Millinery and Bridal Supplies shop on Third Street NW, were featured on postage stamps and in collections at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Every hat was one-of-a-kind.

“Nobody wants to walk into a church and see someone else wearing their hat,” she once said.

Poet Maya Angelou wore one of Mrs. Beane’s millinery creations. Civil rights activist Dorothy I. Height donned them for meetings with presidents and other officials. “Hats give me a lift and make me feel real special,” Height explained — a sentiment shared by the countless others who shopped at Mrs. Beane’s store.

Mrs. Beane worked six days a week into her 100th year.

“Some people like real fussy hats,” she told The Washington Post in 2009. “Others like sophisticated hats, and a lot of people like simple hats. I try to please people regardless of their race or background.”

Mrs. Beane made her hats the old-fashioned way, wetting buckram — a stiff cotton — into molds decorated with all manner of fabrics. Keeping her fingernails cut short, Mr. Beane made tams, turbans, panamas, sailors and cloches. Decades of the repetitive fashioning turned her fingers stiff and rough.

“They look like I have been digging potatoes,” she said.

Vanilla Powell was born in Wilson, N.C., on Sept. 13, 1919, the second youngest of nine siblings. Her father was a carpenter and farmer, and her mother was a seamstress who also worked in White people’s homes washing their clothes.

Growing up during the Depression instilled a robust work ethic in the Powell children, who worked in the fields picking tobacco and cotton. On Sundays, they rested and walked to Sandy Point Baptist Church, where women sat in the pews wearing fancy hats.

“In the past, when most Blacks had blue-collar jobs, dressing up on Sundays was a cherished ritual,” Craig Marberry, co-author of “Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats,” said in a 2019 story about Mrs. Beane in The Post. “The hat tradition grew out of the idea that you were expressing how God has blessed you. The more flamboyant a hat, the more God has blessed you.”

After graduating from [C.H. Darden] high school in 1940, Vanilla Powell moved to Washington and two years later married Willie Beane Sr., producing the name that endlessly charmed her customers and friends, though it took her a little bit to realize its novelty.

“I was in the drugstore and the pharmacy said, ‘Do you know there is a Vanilla Beane?’” she recalled in a television interview in 2020. “I said I guess it was meant to be.”

In Washington, Mrs. Beane worked as an elevator operator in a downtown building with a hat store called Washington Millinery Supply. She was enamored by the intricate hats and the craft of making them, so she bought some supplies and began making them herself.

Eventually she showed her hats to the store’s owner, Richard Dietrick Sr. “She had very much talent, but she didn’t have the design know-how in those days,” Dietrick recalled later. “She picked it up very quickly.”

Mrs. Beane eventually began working for him, and when he moved his shop to Gaithersburg, Md., she bought his supplies and, in 1979, opened her own store. She was a shrewd businesswoman, convincing Ethel Sanders, the owner of Lovely Lady Boutique in Bethesda, Md., to move her store near Bené Millinery.

“People knew us as a team,” Sanders recalled in 2019. “Women would come in for a dress and I’d send them to Vanilla for a hat. Or they’d go for a hat and she’d send them to me for an outfit.”

Mrs. Beane’s shop had White customers, as well. One of them was Sherry Watkins, who founded the Rogue Hatters, a group of women who collected Mrs. Beane’s hats. Watkins owned 75.

Mrs. Beane taught them the rules of hat wearing.

“Don’t match the hat to the outfit,” Watkins recalled. “Just buy a hat you like and the outfit will come. Never wear your hat more than one inch above your eyebrows. Slant it to look more interesting and possibly even risque.”

Mrs. Beane seemed to never get designer’s block. Her designs constantly evolved.

At the National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of Mrs. Beane’s hats is green velveteen.

“The hat is circular with a rounded peak and constructed by layering a strip of fabric over itself in a wrapped design,” the museum’s description says. “The base of the fabric is a light green while the pile is a darker green, giving the hat a two-tone appearance.”

Another is a red felt bicorn style.

“The hat is composed of a single piece of stiff felt that has been folded up at the center front,” the museum notes. “The dome of the hat is cylindrical, with the raised brim attached at the top of the crown. There are red felt bows affixed at the attachment points.”

Mrs. Beane’s husband died in 1993. Their son, Willie G. Beane Jr., died in 1980. Ms. Beane is survived by two daughters, Margaret L. Seymour of Charleston, S.C., and Linda R. Jefferson of the District; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Beane was such a fixture of Washington that then-Fox News host Chris Wallace named her “Power Player of the Week” in the summer of 2020.

Wallace asked her what made a proper church hat.

“Well,” she answered, “any hat that’s not too fancy, not too wide.”

The host marveled at her longevity.

“In these challenging times,” Wallace said, “it’s nice to know there are still some constants in the world, like Vanilla Beane.”

Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post.

Wilson County’s own Vanilla Powell Beane honored as she turns 103!

Nothing I could write could improve upon Jeni Hansen’s remarks about her remarkable grandmother, so I take the liberty to share them here:
“This past week, on the evening of her 103rd birthday,​ ​Vanilla Powell Beane received the ​2022 ​Mayor’s Arts Award for Distinguished Honor. Thank you, Mayor [Muriel] Bowser​, and ​thank you DC for showing up to honor the oldest small business owner in Washington!
“I’ve said this before but it stands true today — one of the things I remain most inspired by, is my grandmother’s desire to do something without being recognized.
The other day we were talking about becoming who you are — the dedication, determination, triumphs, and challenges. I am not surprised she did the damn thing without analytics, likes, and without a platform – her passion wasn’t built around the approval of others but a genuine love for her craft. She was inducted into the National Association of Fashion & Accessories Designers in 1975, has more than one day named after her in Washington, and hats are featured on a U.S. Postal Service stamp and in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“If it takes you 103 years to be recognized for your talents, work hard and enjoy every day. When you make it where you’re going, overcome the obstacles you and others put in your way, and become who you are destined to be — I hope you’ll look in the mirror and say exactly what my grandma said to me, ‘Well, I’m here aren’t I?’
“The life you lead, truly, is the legacy you leave.”
Photo by Salah Djimbananou and text courtesy of Jeni Hansen, via Sandy Alston, Mrs. Beane’s great-niece.

The obituary of Jake Blackwell.

Wilson Daily Times, 24 May 1943.

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In the 1920 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer William Blackwell, 45; wife Sally Ann, 29; and children Bennie, 10, Curvis, 7, Jakie, 5, and Nancy, 1.

In October 1940, Jake Blackwell registered for the World War II draft in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Per his registration card, he was born 15 December 1914 in Wilson County, N.C.; lived at 923 Virginia Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey; his contact was Mabell Ingram, friend; and he was unemployed.

In the 1940 census of Prince George’s County, Maryland: at Glenn Dale Sanatorium, [a tuberculosis hospital], Jake Blackwell, born in North Carolina, resident of Washington, D.C.

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

The obituary of Hattie Rose Gaston Pannell, 100.

“Hattie Rose Pannell, 100, transitioned to be with the Lord on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, at Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC.

“A viewing will be held Wednesday, December 8, 2021, from 2 pm-5 pm at McGuire Funeral Home, 7400 Georgia Avenue, Washington, DC and a Celebration of Life Service will take place on Saturday, December 11, 2021, at Tabernacle Temple of Jesus Christ 1601 Bishop L.N. Forbes St., Wilson, NC 27893 at 1 pm followed by burial at Rest Haven Cemetery.

“Hattie was born May 4, 1921, to Hattie Bates Gaston and William Gaston. Hattie attended Elm City public schools and moved to Washington, DC at a young age.

“Hattie was a pillar to her community and will be truly missed.  Hattie was a faithful and devoted member of St. Mark’s Baptist Church for 48 years, she loved her pastor Raymond Matthews, First Lady Matthews, and her church family. Regardless of how Hattie was feeling on any given Sunday, she took pleasure in attending Sunday school, church service, worshipping with her St. Mark’s Baptist Church family, singing hymns, reading Scriptures, and praising the Lord. Individually and collectively, it all gave her so much joy. Hattie is the longest-serving church usher in the District of Columbia. Hattie will now be waiting with Saint Peter to greet her.

“Hattie was a faithful member of St. Mark’s Missionary Society; she was in fact the oldest member of the Missionary Society.  Hattie loved her St. Mark’s church family.

“Tribute to Mrs. Hattie Pannell:

“The Fort Stevens Senior Center has lost a treasure of insurmountable value; priceless.

“Mrs. Hattie Rose Pannell was always the person who greeted you, in fact, she was the head of the ladies of the round table; the group that actively volunteered to plan, orchestrate and host most of our events and all our fabulous birthday parties. It was Mrs. Pannell, the fashionista, the show-stopping model, the actress, the flower arranger extraordinaire, the plant doctor, the hostess with the mostest that attracted so many people to become members of Fort Stevens Senior Center. Hattie enjoyed line dancing at the Senior Center the younger seniors had to keep up with her.  Hattie was recognized for her Distinguished Volunteer Service to the Fort Stevens Senior Planning Committee by the DC Department of Recreation and Parks.  Hattie enjoyed her 100-year-old birthday celebration/drive-by party at Fort Stevens Senior Center in May, the celebration was featured in The Washington Informer, so many people came from near and far to CELEBRATE with her. Hattie REALLY enjoyed herself and talked about it for months after. Hattie loved her Fort Stevens family.

“Hattie was a General Service Supervisor for over 25 years and retired in the 1990’s. Hattie enjoyed traveling and was in a traveling club. Hattie has visited all 50 states, Africa, and other countries. Hattie attended a lot of social events, she was TRULY a socialite.  Hattie catered for major events in the District of Columbia area and enjoyed fashion, modeling, acting, event planning, decorating parties, flower arranger extraordinaire, the plant doctor, enjoyed tea parties, manicures, and pedicures (even at 100 years old) listening to jazz and gospel, her favorite artist was Marvin Gaye, “Let’s Get It On” was her favorite song. She enjoyed hour-long conversations with family and friends these were just a few things that warmed her heart, lifted her spirits, and place a smile on her face.  Hattie met many friends who would remain a special part of her friendship circle throughout her life. Hattie loved politics, she made sure she voted in every election, and she was eager to vote in the 2020 election. Hattie received several awards throughout her life for her outstanding accomplishments and volunteer services, including letters from the President of The United States for her Birthday and Councilmembers of the District of Columbia recognizing her as well.

“Hattie’s sweet spirit, warm smile, and calming presence will be solely missed by those who loved her.

“In the presence of the Lord, she now joins her late mother, Hattie Bates Gaston; father, William Gaston; sisters, Annie Nancy Gaston-Knight and Marie Ruth Gaston-Howard; and brothers, William Glenn Gaston Jr., John Rufus Gaston, and George Eddie Gaston.

“Hattie is survived by her 96-year-old sister, Catherine Bernice Gaston-Atkinson of Elm City, NC; a host of nieces, nephews, loving relatives, and friends; and a special goddaughter, Vee Davis.

“Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers as their Matriarch has gained her wings to become their guardian ANGEL.

“Arrangements have been entrusted to Stevens Funeral Home, 1820 Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway, Wilson, NC.”

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In the 1930 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Will Gaston, 39; wife Hattie, 28; and children Willie, 12, Hattie, 9, John R., 8, Bernice, 6, Nancy, 3, and Marie, 3 months.

 

Other suns: Washington, D.C.

New York City may have been the Number One destination for North Carolinians during the Great Migration, but Washington, D.C., surely was second, especially after the Great Depression.

  • Moody, William, wife Sarah Ward Moody and children, bef. 1900
  • Artis, Solomon Andrew, bef. 1907
  • Artis, Columbus E., mid-1910s (returned to Wilson bef. 1922)
  • Barnes, Clinton Robert, bef. 1917
  • Bowser, Russell L., bef. 1917
  • Barnes, Harvey Grey, bef. 1918
  • Brown, Richard B., bef. 1918
  • Farrior, Dalley, bef. 1918
  • Burns [Bunn], William, bef. 1920 (first, to Maine)
  • Gaston, Augustus, bef. 1930
  • Reid, James D., bef. 1930
  • Reid, J.D., 1930
  • Ruffin, James Garfield, wife Parthenia, and children, bef. 1930
  • Winstead, Arnold Clearfield, betw. 1930 and 1934
  • Cotton, Sidney W., bef. 1931
  • Bagley, Lonnie, bef. 1933
  • Warren, Elijah, wife Marie Haskins Warren, and children, ca. 1934
  • Whitehead, Thelma Reid, bef. 1935
  • Bryant, Counsel, bef. 1935
  • Bynum, Theodore, bef. 1935
  • Bynum, Raymond, bef. 1935
  • Cameron, John R., bef. 1935
  • Cooper, Haywood R., bef. 1935
  • Barnes, Frederick A., bef. 1935
  • Henderson, Dempsey L., 1930s
  • McNair, Lena, 1930s
  • Powell Battle Dade, Inez, 1930s?
  • Bynum, Benjamin, betw. 1935 and 1940
  • Harrison Palmer, Ojetta, bef. 1937
  • Hill Westray, Kay, 1939
  • Barnes, John, bef. 1940
  • Brown, James E., bef. 1940
  • Bynum, Joe, bef. 1940
  • Bynum, William, bef. 1940
  • Bynum, William, bef. 1940
  • Bynum, Willie James, bef. 1940
  • Bullock, James A., bef. 1940
  • Bullock, Joseph, bef. 1940
  • Carter, Roby, ca. 1940
  • Coppedge, James E., bef. 1940
  • Campbell, Theodore, bef. 1940
  • Creech, David, bef. 1940
  • High, John W., bef. 1940
  • Powell, Eddie C., bef. 1940
  • Bullard, James, bef. 1941
  • Cox, Henry L., bef. 1941
  • Barnes, John T., bef. 1942
  • Black, Troy, bef. 1942
  • Bullard, Frank, bef. 1942
  • Byrd, Samuel, bef. 1942
  • Cogdell, Pervis, bef. 1942
  • Cotton, Isaac E., bef. 1942
  • Cotton, Zid, bef. 1942
  • Carter, Lenard, bef. 1942
  • Carter, James W., bef. 1942
  • Farmer, Lonnie, bef. 1942
  • Haskins, Allen J., bef. 1935
  • Haskins, James, bef. 1942
  • Haskins, Nathan Porter, bef. 1942 
  • Hines, Joseph Peter, bef. 1942
  • Hockaday, Willie, bef. 1942
  • Hollings, Fred, bef. 1942
  • Jones, William Pete, bef. 1942
  • Jones, Willie, bef. 1942
  • Powell, Dempsey Ward, bef. 1942
  • Redding, Fleetwood, bef. 1942
  • Robinson, Walter, bef. 1942
  • Rosser, James Hays, bef. 1942
  • Simms, Dempsey, bef. 1942
  • Simms, Henry, bef. 1942
  • Simms, James, bef. 1942
  • Tabyran, Calvin, bef. 1942
  • Taylor, Joshua Paul, bef. 1942
  • Watson, Herbert, bef. 1942
  • Westray, William Herbert, bef. 1942
  • Whitley, John G., bef. 1942
  • Williams, James J., bef. 1942
  • Williams, Thomas, bef. 1942
  • Woodard, Calvin, bef. 1942
  • Powell Beane, Vanilla, bef. 1942
  • Jones, Johnnie W., and Marie Lofton Jones and children Ruby, Cecilia, Johnie, Charles, Joan and Jacqueline, 1944
  • Burns, James A., bef. 1945
  • Reid, Herbert O., 1947
  • Boyd, Joyce Henderson, late 1940s
  • Swinney Dupree, Gracie, late 1940s
  • Wilder, Seth, 1950s 
  • Henderson, Jesse A., 1950s (in Philadelphia, Penn., before and Baltimore, Md., after)

Jesse A. Henderson in D.C., circa early 1950s.