Wilson Daily Times, 2 April 1932.
This tribute to Thomas Henry Tabron is an example the way in which even good works and praise were filtered through a racist lens.
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On 16 May 1911, Thomas Henry Tabron, 21, of Wilson, son of Lemon and Edmonia Tabron, married Mattie Belle Smith, 19, of Fayetteville, N.C., daughter of Wm. and Sarah Smith, at Saint Joseph’s Rectory, Fayetteville, N.C.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Thos H (c) barber J A Tabron h Daniel nr N S R R
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron T Henry (c) T Bros barber h 509 Boykin ct nr Hines
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Bros (T Henry & Jacob A) barbers 126 S Goldsboro
Henry Lee Tabron died 7 May 1918 in Macclesfield, Township 9, Edgecombe County, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was born 8 May [1913] in Wilson to Thomas Henry Tabron and Mattie Belle Smith; and resided on Tarboro Street, Wilson.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on West Walnut Street, barber Henry Tabron, 27; wife Mattie, 28; and children Elma, 8, William, 5, Edmonia, 3, and John, 6 months.
In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Henry (c) barber Reid Barber Shop h 306 South
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Henry (c) barber Wilson Barber Shop h 306 E South
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron T Henry (c; Mattie B) barber h 306 South
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Thos H (c; Mattie R) barber Wm C Reid h 700 E Vance
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Henry Tabron, 37; wife Mattie, 29, laundress; and children William, 15, shoe shop laborer, Edmonia, 14, Bill S., 11, Berkley, 9, and Donald, 7.
Thomas Henry Tabron died 19 April 1932 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 40 years; was married to Mattie Belle Tabron; lived at 304 South Street; was a barber; and was born in Wilson to Lemon Tabron of Nash County, N.C., and Edmonia Tabron, of Virginia.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 925 Atlantic Street, Henry Taborn, “dead”; wife Mattie, 45, cleaner at Thomas Yelverton, born in Maxton, N.C.; sons Bill, 21, Donnell, 17, and Berkley, 19, all born in Macclesfield, N.C.; daughter Elmer [Elma] Brodie, 29, cook at Woolworths, and her sons George, 8, Henry, 7, Robert, 3, and William, 5. [FYI: I have never seen a deceased person listed in a census record, much less one eight years deceased.]
Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.