Wilson Daily Times, 13 August 1914.
Train trips to nearby cities, known as “excursions,” were popular entertainment well into the 20th century.
Excursion ends in collision.
New Bern NC
Big colored excursions.
Wilson Daily Times, 16 July 1912.
Wilson Daily Times, 9 August 1912.
Clippings courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.
No. 3462.
From the records of the Freedmen’s Savings Bank, New Bern branch:
Though born and raised in Wilson County, on 14 March 1871, Lizzie Washington married Elias Mitchell in New Bern, Craven County. In the marriage register, Elias’ parents are listed as Anthony and Nancy Mitchell. Lizzie’s parents are shown as Aaron Ruffin (rather than Bryant Barden) and Rachael Ruffin.
Freedmen’s Bank Records, 1865-1871 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.
No. 6067.
From the records of the Freedmen’s Savings Bank, New Bern branch:
Sixteen year-old John Barnes, newly arrived in New Bern from Wilson County, opened an account at the Freedmen’s Bank. His registration card speaks to a fractured family life. He had never been told his father’s name; his mother Nancy, uncle Gray and siblings Alfred and Lizzie were dead. I have been unable to identify with certainty any record of his grandmother Spicey Barnes‘ residence in “Wilson Town.”
Freedman’s Bank Records, 1865-1871 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.
No. 7170.
Peter Rountree‘s residency in New Bern, North Carolina, where he opened this Freedmen’s Savings Bank account, was apparently temporary. He, Lucinda and their children appear in the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County, in which Peter is described as a shoemaker. In 1880, they are again in Wilson, on Nash Street, Peter this time describing himself as a merchant. In 1900, Peter and Lucinda head a household comprised of two generations of offspring, and Peter is still working as a shoemaker.
Freedman’s Bank Records, 1865-1871 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.
No. 1481.
From the records of the Freedmen’s Savings Bank, New Bern branch:
Daniel Shellington, born about 1841, reported that he was born in Wilson County and was brought up “there & on Pungo river 32 mi. from Washington.”
Here is his mother Amelia “Milly” Cherry’s bank registration card. She named a two husbands, the second of which had died in Columbia, South Carolina. She had not seen her parents since she was a child:
And Daniel, wife Maria and children Cora and Isabela in New Bern, Craven County, as reported in the 1870 census. Daniel reported that he worked in a grist mill.
Freedmen’s Bank Records, 1865-1871 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.