mortgage deed

Hardy Barnes pledges his carpenter’s tools.

Hardy Barnes owed the general merchandise firm of Ward and Moye $5.50 due 6 August 1877. To secure the debt, he pledged a set of carpenter’s tools consisting of a fore plane, two jack planes, a smoothing plane, a hand saw, a framing square, a try square, a hand square file, chisels of several sizes, several augers, a drawing knife, a hatchet, an oilstone, a pair of compasses, and two mallets. If Barnes failed to pay the money, the firm could sell off his tools to cover the debt.

Deed book 13, page 363, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

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Probably, in the 1870 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: Watson Stanton, 65, farm laborer, born in Virginia; wife Rosa, 53; and children Richard, 15, Adeline, 13, Feribee, 8, and Louisa, 21; Cherry Rogers, 80, midwife; and Hardy Barnes, 20, carpenter’s apprentice.

The Sanchas-Bowden family fights to save their house.

On 22 September 1924, John Sanchas, his wife Mary Adams Bowden Sanchas, and her sons Timothy and Willie Bowden mortgaged their house on Finch Street to secure payment of a $150 loan from William Adams. The Sanchas-Bowden family paid off the loan, the mortgage deed was void. If they defaulted, the house would be sold at public auction.

The Sanchas-Bowden house at 210 Finch Street, as shown in the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson.

A note stamped across the document noted that the mortgage and note had been satisfied as of November 1925.

Deed book 155, page 24, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

In March 1928, John and Mary Sanchas took out another mortgage on their house. This time, however, they defaulted, and trustee D.S. Boykin advertised a public sale in March 1931. However, as late as 1937, Sanchas appears in published tax lists as owner of a lot on Finch Street.

Wilson Daily Times, 28 March 1931.

Crummedy puts up her land.

In January 1915, Della Crummedy signed a mortgage deed to secure a $25 debt she owed C.H. Darden & Son (presumably for undertaking services.)

The land Crummedy gave as collateral was a one-quarter acre lot on the eastern side of Stantonsburg Street near the Colored Graded School, adjoining S.H. Vick, James Simms, and others.

The penciled note at the bottom of the page shows that Crummedy paid off the loan on 11 May 1915, and the mortgage was cancelled.

Deed Book 97, page 70, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

J.D. Reid borrows $200.

Deed Book 66, page 565, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.

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J.D. Reid borrowed $200 from Nancy Harriss in January 1904, guaranteeing the loan with a mortgage on a lot he owned on Green Street that bordered Short Barnes and Louis Battle. The loan was to be repaid in twelve months, but margin notes reveal the mortgage wasn’t cancelled until March 1912. Note that S.H. Vick acted as Reid’s agent.

Dupree mortgages a quarter-acre.

Deed Book 66, page 489. Wilson County Register of Deeds, Wilson.

In December 1903, Henry Dupree borrowed $100 from his neighbor Calvin Blount. He secured the loan with a mortgage on the quarter acre piece of land he owned “east of and off of the road leading from the town of Wilson, to William Bynum’s in the southeast suburbs of the town of Wilson … south of a path or lane leading to the colored cemetery from said road ….”

The “colored cemetery,” of course, was Oakdale.

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  • Henry Dupree

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Stantonsburg Road, farm laborer Henry Dupree, 34, and wife Ellar, 38.

Wilson, N.C., city directory (1912).

Henry Dupree registered for the World War I draft in 1918 in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 3 December 1873; lived in Bynum Lane, Wilson; farmed “for self” “with D.C. Sugg“; and his nearest relative was wife Ella Dupree.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Railroad Street, Henry Dupree, 44; wife Ella, 47; granddaughter Ella Faison, 13; and nephew Issac Thigpen, 22.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widower Henry Dupree, 68, farm laborer, and lodgers David Brewington, 80, Issac Thigpen, 40, and David Faison, 19, public service laborer.

In 1942, Davis Faison registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 24 November 1921 in Wilson; lived at 606 South Blount Street; his contact was Henry Dupree, 606 South Blount Street; and he worked for L. Arner Junk Shop, Jones and Railroad Streets, Wilson.

Henry Dupree died 18 April 1956 in Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 2 December 1881 in North Carolina to Celie Dupree; lived at 610 Blount Street; was separated from wife Bessie Dupree; and worked as a farmer. Dave Faison was informant. 

The Vicks buy property in Raleigh.

Samuel and Annie M. Vick did not confine their real estate portfolio to Wilson. In January, the Vicks took out a three-year mortgage to purchase a roughly three-quarter acre lot on the north side of the intersection of Swain and Lenoir Streets on what was then the outskirts of Raleigh.

Wake [County, North Carolina] Deeds 1904-1905, http://www.familysearch.org.

Edmonia Taborn secures a loan.

On 18 May 1897, widow Edmonia Barnes Taborn borrowed sixty dollars from John F. Bruton, mortgaging her home and lot on Tarboro Street to secure the loan. She repaid her debt timely, and the mortgage was cancelled. 

Deed book 45, page 1, Wilson County Register of Deeds, Wilson.

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On 18 July 1870, Lemon Tabourne, son of Hardy Taylor and Celey Tabourn, married Edmonia Barnes, daughter of Louisa Barnes, “in church” in Wilson. 

In the 1870 census, in the town of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Lemon Taber, 28; wife Edmina, 17; and daughter Stella (by an earlier relationship?), 5; plus domestic servant Tillman Blount, 13, and Terry Noble, 18, barber. Edmonia reported that she was born in Virginia.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Tarboro Street, barber Lemon Taborn, 45; wife Edmonia, 26; and children Stella, 16, Elma, 7, Carrie, 5, Lucy, 3, and Joshua, 1.  

On 19 July 1903, Frank Sears, 21, of Goldsboro, son of Hilary and Edney Sears, married Carrie Taborn, 18, of Wilson, daughter of Lemon and Edmonia Taborn, in Wilson. Presbyterian minister L.J. Melton performed the ceremony in the presence of David Pyatt, C.H. Bynum, and S.H. Vick.

On 1 June 1904, J.L. Tabron, 25, son of Lemon and Edmonia Tabron, married Pocahontas Scott, 20, daughter of Joseph and Anna B. Scott, in Goldsboro, Wayne County.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Raleigh Road, widow Edmonia Tabron, 56, widow; son Astor, 23; daughter-in-law Nettie, 23; lodger Joseph Jordan, 33, bricklayer; and son Pat D. Tabron, 12, bootblack at barbershop.

On 16 May 1911, Thomas Henry Tabron, 21, of Wilson, son of Lemon and Edmonia Tabron, married Mattie Belle Smith, 19, of Fayetteville, daughter of William and Sarah Smith, in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, N.C. 

In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Edmonia E (c) barber J A Tabron  h Daniel nr N S R R

In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Edmonia (c) dom h 235 W Kenan

On 29 August 1917, Douglas Tabron, 21, of Wilson, son of Lem and Edmonia Tabron, married Bessie Ray, 18, of Fayetteville, daughter of Ned and Martha Ray, at Barney Brewington’s in Cross Creek township, Fayetteville, Cumberland County.

Astor Tabron died 1 October 1917 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 3 November 1883 in Wilson County to Lem Tabron of Wilson and Edmonia Barnes of Virginia; was married; and worked as a barber. Nettie Tabron was informant.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Douglass Tabron, 27; wife Bessie, 28; daughter Dorris, 2; and mother Edmonia, 68, widow.

In the 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Edmonia (c) dom h 113 Walnut

Edmonia Barnes Tabron died 13 July 1925 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 55 years old; was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Louisa Barnes; was the widow of Lemon Tabron; lived at 305 South Street; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery. Douglas Tabron was informant.

Thomas Henry Tabron died 19 April 1932 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 40 years old; was born in Wilson to Lemon Tabron of Nash County and Edmonia Tabron of Virginia; lived at 304 South Street; was married to Mattie Belle Tabron; worked as a barber; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.]

Henderson Howard, alias Brantley, mortgages 25 acres.

On 16 January 1904, having borrowed $250, Henderson Howard, who was also known as Henderson Brantley, gave Zealous Howard a mortgage deed for 25 acres in Taylors township, Wilson County. If Henderson failed to repay the loan, Zealous was authorized to sell the property at auction.

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In the 1850 census of Nash County, North Carolina: Betty Brantley, 50, and her children Kimbrel, 25, Henderson, 14, and Guilford B. Brantley, 12, all described as mulatto.

In the 1860 census of Bailey township, Nash County, North Carolina: Henderson Howard, 21, farm laborer, in the household of farmer Thomas B. Deans, 25. 

In the 1880 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: Henderson Howard, 40; wife Mollie, 25; and children Charley, 8, Richard, 6, Bettie, 5, and Hellan, 1.

In the 1900 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: widow Henderson Howard, 59, farmer; children Charley, 26, and Bettie, 21; and servant Linda Boon, 44. 

In the 1910 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: on Howards Path, Henderson Brantley, 70, widower; daughter Bettie, 23; and cousin Dock Howard, 38.

On 9 April 1915, Hence Brantley executed a will in Wilson County. Under its terms, his daughter Bettie was to receive 22 1/2 acres, including the home place; son Charley Brantley was to receive an adjoining 22 1/2 acres; and daughter Molie Hourd [Mollie Howard] was to receive his remaining land. His money was to be split evenly among the children. Brantley named his “trusty friend” Grover T. Lamm executor, and Lamm and Dock Howard were witnesses.

Henderson Brantley died 2 December 1916 in Taylor township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 80 years old; was a widower; was a retired farmer; and was born in Nash County to Bettie Brantley. Informant was Charles Brantley.

Deed book, page 576-577, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office.

Borrowing from Wilson Home and Loan Association, pt. 3.

East Wilson’s new property owners often turned to Wilson Home and Loan Association, a savings and loan association affiliated with George D. Green, for short-term financing.

  • On 29 April 1892, S.H. Vick borrowed $300 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-half lot adjoining R.J. Taylor, Peter Rountree, and others on Nash Street. The loan was satisfied 25 September 1897. Deed Book 32, page 9.
  • On 28 January 1893, Noah Best and wife Sarah Best borrowed $125 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one and one-eighth acre lot on the eastern side of the northern extension of Nash Street near the town of Wilson, adjoining Orren Best, T.A. Woodard, Nelson Farmer, and others, and purchased from Orren Best. The loan was satisfied 11 May 1899. Deed Book 32, page 21.
  • On 30 March 1893, A.D. Dawson and wife Lucy Dawson borrowed $300 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-half acre lot on the south side of Vance Street adjoining Silas Lucas, James T. Wiggins, and others. The loan was satisfied 29 May 1899. Deed Book 32, page 25.
  • On 26 January 1896, Della Hines borrowed $250 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a lot on the west side of Green Street adjoining Hardy Tate, S.H. Vick, and others, and being the lot upon which Hines lived. The loan was satisfied 14 December 1899. Deed Book 32, page 33.
  • On 8 June 1894, Short Barnes and wife Frances Barnes borrowed $300 from W.H.L.A., a one-quarter acre lot on Green Street adjoining John T. Bridgers and George D. Green. The loan was satisfied 5 May 1900. Deed Book 32, page 47.
  • On 25 January 1897, C. Mack Wells and wife Cherry Wells borrowed $500 from W.H.L.A, mortgaging a one-third acre lot “on a lane in the rear of Charles Battles lot leaving Pender Street” [i.e., Viola Street] and adjoining Levi Peacock and S.H. Vick. The loan was satisfied 10 March 1913. Deed Book 32, page 85.
  • On 15 February 1897, Sam’l Barnes and wife Ida Barnes borrowed $400 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-fourth acre lot on a lane [Viola Street] in the rear of Ann Bryan‘s lot leaving Pender Street and adjacent to Elder Phillips‘ lot. The loan was satisfied 23 May 1904. Deed Book 32, page 88.

This note from Wilson Home & Loan to Wilson County Register of Deeds is pasted in the deed book.

  • On 10 January 1898, R.S. Wilkins and wife Mary Wilkins borrowed $200 from W.H.L.A., mortgaging a one-quarter lot on the north side of Lodge Street adjoining Annie Bynum and others, conveyed to the Wilkinses by W.G. Batts. The loan was satisfied 19 May 1903. Deed Book 32, page 98.

Computing scales, a massage machine, and a release: miscellaneous transactions, no. 3.

Most “deed” books stacked in the search room of the Wilson County Register of Deeds Office contain just deeds, but others, like Volume 72, contain miscellaneous records of sales agreements, leases, contracts, chattel mortgages, and other transactions. These documents offer rare glimpses of the commercial and farming lives of Black Wilsonians.

  • On 19 December 1908, Charity Robbins rented a heater pipe and fire board for $11.65 from Dildy & Agnew. Deed Book 72, page 414.
  • On 1 October 1907, George W. Suggs rented a range and fixtures for $23 from Dildy & Agnew. Though the full price was to be paid by 1 January 1908, the contract was not recorded until 11 March 1909, when Beatrice Suggs signed instead of G.W. Suggs. Deed Book 72, page 416. [This would seem to be Washington Suggs, but if so, who is Beatrice Suggs? She was not one of his daughters.]
  • On 9 April 1909, Oscar Best, “owner of store,” agreed to pay Strubler Computing Scale Company, Elkhart, Indiana, $85.00 for a Number Two “computing scales green finish.” Deed Book 72, page 443.
  • On 23 July 1909, Levi Jones gave a mortgage to The Eugene Berninghaus Company for a Birkman massage machine to secure a $28 debt. Deed Book, page 472.
  • On 19 August 1909, D.C. Suggs granted Sidney A. Woodard an option to purchase for $3600 a nine-acre parcel of land bounded in part by the intersection of the Norfolk & Southern and Wilmington & Weldon railroads. The option included this provision: “I also agree to allow a Rail Road siding beginning at the 2 or 3 third telegraph pole from Floyd Bynum’s house to enter said plot of land passing through my land and to sign such papers as are necessary for a right of way.” Deed Book 72, page 475.
  • On 16 November 1909, for $300, O.L.W. Smith released Norfolk & Southern Railway Company from any damage to him or his property at Goldsboro and Banks Streets resulting from the building and construction of a railroad, railbed, roadways, bankments, and excavations adjacent to Smith’s property. Deed Book 72, page 505.