Mincey

Lane Street Project: Ben Mincey’s cleanup work revisited.

Another gift from the Joneses: the aluminum offset printing plates for the 18 February 1989 edition of the Wilson Daily Times, which featured Ben Mincey‘s work to honor his parents at Odd Fellows Cemetery.

On closer look, I see that the photo below was taken in Vick Cemetery. Though the City later was struck by amnesia, the sign clearly states that the property was overseen (if not actually cared for) by “The City of Wilson Cemetery Commission.”

This photo was taken in Odd Fellows, but a very different-looking Odd Fellows than today. The two tall grave markers at center left are those of Della Hines Barnes and Dave Barnes. You’ll notice that, while today they stand in the open, they were then surrounded by trees. A car is visible inside the tree line, likely parked on one of the paths that were used to dump trash in the cemetery.

Below, Ben Mincey stands closer to what is now the Vick Cemetery parking lot (the Barnes markers behind him.) In the foreground, a large flanged metal pipe. In the back, Henry Tart‘s tilting monument.

Prince E. Mincey, as imagined.

I am ambivalent about using artificial intelligence to restore photographs. Or, more specifically, I’m concerned about manipulated photographs supplanting original images and further blurring the line between reality and misinformation. However, the allure of AI-enhanced images is strong, as I often contend with blurry, poorly lit photographs in unnatural sepia or black-and-white tones. Photographs whose condition sometimes exacerbates the distance between us and our ancestors.

I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately, feeding it queries and images to be restored and colorized. The results are somewhat haphazard, with many images weird and off-putting. Other times, the images are breathtakingly sharp and … alive. Black Wide-Awake exists to resurrect forgotten lives, and I believe these images are valuable to help us connect with the men and women we read about in these posts. From time to time, I’ll share the better ones here, clearly marked as AI-generated. Let me know what you think about them.

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Rev. Prince E. Mincey (1908-??), pastor of Holy Temple Church.

Rev. Prince Mincey.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 6 April 1940.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm laborer John Minsie, 30; wife Olivia, 28; and children Laurena, 12, James, 11, Robeta, 9, Joseph, 4, Etta, 2, and Prince, 6 months.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: tobacco factory worker Jack Mency, 45; wife Olivia, 40; and children Laura, 20, James, 18, Beatrice, 16, Joseph, 13, Etta, 11, Prince, 8, Olivia, 5, Margory, 3, and Susan, 1.

On 12 September 1929, Prince Mincey, 22, of Wilson, son of Jack and Olivia Mincey, married Alice Hannah, 20, of Wilson, daughter of Davis and Ollie Hannah, in Wilson. Holiness minister July Wells performed the ceremony in the presence of W.E. Holliday, Dock Cooper, and Rob Batts.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: tobacco factory laborer John Mincey, 50; wife Olivia, 46; children Olivia D., 17, Joseph, 23; Margie, 15, Susie M., 12, Johnie C., 8, Percy, 6, and Prince, 21, and Prince’s wife Alice, 19; and grandsons James, 12, Lawrence L., 7, and Willie L. Carroll, infant.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 511 Stantonsburg, Prince Mincey, 30, fertilizer plant laborer, and wife Alice, 29, tobacco factory laborer.

In 1940, Prince Mincey registered in the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 18 March 1908 in Wilson; lived at 511 Stantonsburg Street, Wilson; his contact was wife Alice Hiunh [Hannah] Mincey; and he was employed by C.J. Moore in Wilson.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 511 Stantonsburg, Prince Mincey, 40, stacks fertilizer at fertilizer plant, and wife Alice, 39.

Benjamin Mincey buys a lot on Wiggins Street.

On 17 February 1905, Benjamin Mincey purchased a 50-by-110 foot lot on the south side of Wiggins Street for $150. The property adjoined lands owned by Charles Darden, Daniel Vick, Gilbert Stallings, and James T. Wiggins, and remained in his family until 1955.

Deed book 68, page 334, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

Settlement of the estate of Ben Mincey.

Under the terms of his 1948 will, Mattie Barnes Mincey served as executor of her husband Ben Mincey‘s estate. She submitted a final account of receipts and disbursements of cash on 11 July 1951.

The disbursements included:

  • $900 to Darden [not Bardin] Memorial Funeral Home. (Interesting, given Mincey had no conventional headstone. What could have cost $900 in 1950?)
  • payments to three physicians — J.G. Tillery, William C. Hines, and Boisey O. Barnes.
  • a payment to Barrett’s Printing House, which has been in business in downtown Wilson since 1896.
  • specific gifts to sister Emma Barnes, sister-in-law Olivia Mincey, and daughters Emma Sharpe and Mae Lille Sharpe.

The last will and testament of Ben Mincey.

Red Hots fire chief Ben Mincey executed his last will and testament on 29 September 1948, leaving property to his wife Mattie Barnes Mincey; sister Emma Barnes; sister-in-law Olivia Mincey; children John Mincey, Ben Mincey, Mildred Mincey Woodard, and Madison Mincey; and, separately, daughters Emma Sharpe and Mae Lillie Sharpe.

Mincey died 14 July 1950 and was buried with great ceremony in Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Will of Ben Mincey (1948), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

 

Mincey siblings killed by lightning.

On 4 August 1931, siblings Mary and Willie Mincey were struck by lightning and killed instantly in Wilson.

Willie Mincey’s death certificate is identical to his sister’s except for his name and age — 7. I have found no details of their deaths in available local newspapers.

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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 507 Stantonsburg Street, James Mincey, 26, fertilizer plant laborer; wife Lucinda, 22, tobacco factory stemmer; and children Mary N., 8, Willie, 7, and James Jr., 6.