“Pistol ball in brain by toy pistol in hands of boy unintentionally.”
I have not been able to learn more about the death of six year-old Etta Parker, who was fatally shot in the head by an unidentified boy with a toy pistol. (What kind of toy gun shot “pistol balls”? A BB gun?)
Wilson Daily Times, 21 June 1948.
Senior Willie L. Greenfield, Flame and Steel, the Dobbins-Randolph Vocational-Technical High School yearbook, 1952. [Greenfield would have been in my father Rederick C. Henderson’s class at Darden High School.]
Wilson Daily Times, 2 November 1948.
In his 2005 memoir Son of the Rough South, civil rights journalist Karl Fleming identified this column as his first front-page story in the Daily Times.
On 18 February 1949, the Daily Times reported that Leroy Hammonds [not Hamilton] had been convicted of Louise Parker‘s murder.
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In the 1930 census of Crossroads township, Wilson County: farm laborer Robert Gray, 34; wife Minerva, 34; and children Lossie, 15, Robert, 14, Willie, 11, Louisa ,7, Etta, 6, and Maggie, 1.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Therman Ruffin, 33, lumber mill laborer, and wife Delzell, 27, cook; plus Curtis Parker, 26, lumber mill laborer, and wife Louise, 19.
Curtis Hersey Parker registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 12 March 1912 in Lumber Bridge, North Carolina; lived at 814 Stantonsburg Street, Wilson; his contact was wife Louise Sis Parker; and worked for Stephenson Lumber Company on Stemmer Street.
Louise Parker died 1 November 1948 at 804 Oil Mill Alley, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 23 August 1925 in Wilson County to Robert Gray and Minnie Knight and was married to Curtis Parker. Lossie Williams, 625 Cemetery Street, was informant.
In the 1920 census of Wishart township, Robeson County, North Carolina: William L. Hammond, 27; wife Lula H., 23; and children Josiah, 7, William E., 5, Luther E., 3, and Grover L., 1. The family was described as Indian.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Luther Hammond, 59 [sic]; wife Lula, 32; and children Joseph, 17, Elwood, 14, Wallace R., 12, Grover, 10, and Hubart, 2.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Luther Hamonds, 41, light plant foreman; wife Lula, 40, tobacco factory laborer; and children Luther Jr., 24, tobacco factory laborer; Leroy, 21, body plant laborer, Hubert, 13, Lillie, 7, and grandson Junior Hamonds, 2.
Wilson Daily Times, 22 May 1948.
Per census records, Roxana Vick Parker Hines was actually a toddler when the Yankees rode through, having been born circa 1861.
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In the 1870 census of Cokey township, Edgecombe County: farm laborer Peyton Vick, 29; wife Ellen, 21; children Henry, 11, Riley, 9, Roxana, 3, and Isadora, 2; and Zady Mercer, 58.
In the 1880 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Peyton Vick, 24; wife Ellen, 24; and children Rily, 18, Roxie, 13, Isadora, 12, Lou C., 10, Defada, 8, Sablaska, 6, Investa, 4, and Invoida, 1.
On 27 October 1887, Jerry Parker, 21, of Wilson County, married Roxey Vick, 22, of Wilson County, at Paton Vick’s in Toisnot township.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Roxy Parker, 24, and children Joseph, 14, Minnie, 13, Elenn, 12, Armena, 11, Mathew, 10, and Defatie, 2.
On 19 April 1903, Charlie Hines, 40, of Wilson township, son of Wesley and Ollie Hines, married Rox Anna Parker, 40, of Wilson township, daughter of Payton and Ellen Vick. Elder B.W. Tippett, a Free Will Baptist minister, performed the ceremony at Rox Anna Parker’s residence in the presence of Stephen Strickland, Wm. H. Tippett, and H.F. Boswell, all of Elm City.
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Parker Roxie A (c) h Harper’s la nr Herring av
n the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Lipscomb Road, widow Roxie Parker, 50, cook, and daughter Ellen, 21, farm laborer. Next door: William H. Knight, 22; wife Minnie, 24; brothers-in-law Cephus, 29, Menus, 22, and Mathew, 18; and lodgers Mary Saunders, 25, and her children Lebis, 10, and Lovie, 8.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Parker Roxie A (c) laundress h 731 Harper
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Parker Roxie A (c) laundress h 802 Viola
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 811 Viola, laundress Ellen Gay, 36; mother Roxanna Parker, 67; and nephew Matthew, 16.
Roxie Parker died 18 August 1949 at her home at 616 Viola Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 6 April 1847 in Edgecombe County to Hayden Vick and Ellen Jones; and was a widow. Minus Parker was informant.
Wilson Daily Times, 6 April 1943.
Meet James Parker, American hero.
In April 1943, Parker boarded a Wilson city bus on Saturday evening. He sat down in the white section and remained firmly ensconced when the driver asked him to move. The driver, James Batchelor, abandoned his route to drive the bus to the police station, where Parker was arrested and charged with violating North Carolina’s “passenger law,” which allowed for the designation of colored and white sections in commercial transport vehicles. Parker was adjudged guilty and given a thirty-day suspended sentence provided he remain “in good behavior.” Per the Daily Times, Parker was the first person to challenge Jim Crow laws in Wilson County in 25 years.
Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.
We have seen here that Wilson’s Hannibal Lodge #1552 was not the only Odd Fellows lodge in Wilson County.
The three links engraved on the headstones of Gray Williams and Henderson Parker in William Chapel cemetery suggest an Odd Fellows lodge in Taylor township in far northwest Wilson County.
On 27 February 1900, the trustees of the Colored Odd Fellows paid Caswell F. and Eliza J. Finch $12.50 for a one-acre lot in Taylors township on the east side of the Wilson and Nash Road adjacent to the colored school lot. The deed was recorded on 10 March 1900 in Wilson County Register of Deeds in Deed Book 54, page 314. The Wilson and Nash Road was today’s N.C. Highway 58, and “the colored school lot” is probably a reference to Farmers Colored School, which was located just north of modern-day Silver Lake.
Gray Williams Oct 3 1882 Jul 12 1925 Lula Williams Born 1878 Jan 21 1923 Gone But Not Forgotten
Henderson Parker July 5, 1878 Sept 6, 1919
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, April 2022.
Wilson Daily Times, 24 April 1928.
Per her death certificate, baby Maggie Marie Parker‘s mother killed her with an auto spring. On 8 September 1928, the Times reported that charges against Maggie Parker had been dropped, and she had been sent to the state “insane asylum” in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
“Killed with auto spring by the hands of mother”
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On 7 November 1920, Anthony Parker, 28, of Wilson, son of Anthony Parker and Bettie P. Barnes, married Maggie Taylor, 24, of Toisnot township, daughter of Callie and Marcellus Taylor, at the residence of William K. Taylor, Wilson. Primitive Baptist minister C.H. Hagans performed the ceremony in the presence of Andrew Rountree, Raiford Rountree, and Albert Farmer.
Detail of photograph of Frank S. and Bessie Parker Hargrave.
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On 19 September 1907, F.S. Hargrave, 33, of Wilson, son of Henry and Laura Hargrave, married Bessie Parker, 20, of Wilson, in Wilson. Presbyterian minister Charles E. Tucker performed the ceremony at Calvary Presbyterian Church in the presence of J.D. Reid, Fred M. Davis, and Lena N. Harris.
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: medical doctor Frank Hargrave, 32; wife Bessie, 23; and boarder Lena Harris, 26, an insurance bookkeeper. Bessie Hargrave reported that she had borne two children, but neither were living.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 625 [later 624] Green Street, doctor Frank S. Hargrave, 40, and wife Bessie, 30.
In the 1930 census of Orange, Essex County, New Jersey: at 83 Kenilworth Place, valued at $10000, doctor Frank Hargrave, 50; wife Bessie E., 38; and South Carolina-born lodger Alexander Wilson, commercial dry goods salesman.
In the 1940 census of Orange, Essex County, New Jersey: at 83 Kenilworth Place, doctor Frank S. Hargrave, 58, and wife Bessie, 50.
Dr. Frank S. Hargrave died in March 1942.
Bessie Parker Hargrave died 18 May 1971 in Orange, New Jersey.
Photograph shared anonymously.
Wilson Daily Times, 8 January 1946.
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On 17 March 1905, Bert Wells, 55, of Toisnot township, son of Jolly Hagans and Caroline Wells, married Sarah Parker, 30, of Taylor township, daughter of Elbert and Grace Parker, in Wilson.
On 7 October 1908, D.S. Farmer, 46, of Wilson, applied for a license to marry Janie Lewis, 35, of Wilson.
In the 1910 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Dock S. Farmer, 52; wife Janie, 26; children Ella, 20, Emma, 18, Walter, 14, and Geneva, 12; and hired woman Sarah Wells, 32.
In the 1920 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Doc Farmer, 68; wife Janie, 30; son Walter, 25; and laborer Sarah Parker, 46.
In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Farmer Dock S (c) farmer h 1109 E Nash
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1109 East Nash Street, James L. [Jannie L.?] Farmer, 38, widow, tobacco factory laborer, and Sarah Wells, 50, widow, tobacco factory stemmer.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1109 East Nash Street, Jannie Farmer, 48, widow, laborer for Southern Tobacco Factory, and Sarah Wells, 70, widow.
Wilson Daily Times, 1 December 1936.
Wilson Daily Times, 2 December 1936.
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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Charity Holland, 48, laundress, and children Charlie, 24, barber, Jane, 20, Mazie and Daisy, 18, Lue, 16, and Lillian, 12.
On 26 April 1911, Lucy Hollond, 21, daughter of Ben Holland and Charity Hollond married Frank Battle, 21, son of Harry Battle and Bella Battle, at Charity Hollond’s residence in Wilson. Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of Ada Knight, Annie Roberson, and Joe Baker.
On 7 September 1911, Moses Parker, 47, of Wilson, married Charity Holland, 50, of Wilson, in Wilson township. Primitive Baptist minister Jonah Williams performed the ceremony at Charity Holland’s residence in the presence of John Battle, George W. Wood, and John H. Akins.
On 28 October 1914, Arthur Futrell, 23, of Rocky Mount, and Louisa Holland, 21, of Wilson, were married in Wilson. Methodist Episcopal minister B.P. Coward performed the ceremony in the presence of Shedriac Dancy, Moses Parker, and A.D. Dawson Jr.
On 24 December 1914, Mazie Holland, 20, daughter of Benjamin Holland and Charity Holland married Willie Wells, 21, son of C.M. Wells and Cherry Wells, at First Baptist Church in Wilson. Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of John T. Battle, J.W. Rogers, and Joe Baker.
Louise Futrell died 12 March 1918 in Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County. Per her death certificate, she was 23 years old; was born in Wilson, N.C., to Benjamin Holland and Charity Jones; was married to Arthur Futrell; had lived in Rocky Mount for three years; and was buried in Wilson.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 417 Goldsboro Street, general public drayman Moses Parker, 59, and wife Charity, 64.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Parker Moses (c; Charity) gro 1006 e Nash h 1004 e Nash
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1004 East Nash Street, owned and valued at $1700, grocery store proprietor Moses Parker, 63; wife Charity, 60; and roomer Elizabeth Simms, 17.
Moses Parker died 23 September 1936 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 73 years old; was born in Edgecombe County, N.C., to Jason Parker and Annis Parker; was married to Charity Parker; lived at 1004 East Nash Street; and worked as a carpenter.
I have not found Charity Parker’s death certificate.