pharmacy

The roots of Mary C. Euell.

Beyond the record of her astounding heroics leading up to the Colored Graded School boycott, Mary C. Euell left little trace of her short time in Wilson.

Mary C. Euell.

A recently discovered clue describes Euell as a native of Washington — presumably, D.C. Other evidence suggests she left teaching, returned briefly to her hometown, then obtained a pharmacy degree and opened a business in Asheville, North Carolina.

Two Mary C. Euells appear in Washington, D.C., census returns in the early twentieth century.  One was born about 1880, most likely in Virginia, to Minnie Euell Gasbea. The other — the one I believe was our Mary C. Euell — was born about 1890, most likely in Washington, to Henry and Mary C. Euell. Here’s what we know about both.

  • Mary C. Euell, hero

Henry Euell married Mary Allen on 12 August 1882 in Washington, D.C.

In the 1910 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1223 Linden Street, Henry Euell, 49, treasury department laborer; wife Mary, 40; children Oliver H., 26, treasury department laborer, Henry C., 22, treasury department laborer, Mary C., 20, and Edgar H., 18; and grandchildren Oliver H., Jr., 18 [sic], and Earnest C., 3.

In the 1914 Washington, D.C., city directory: Euell Mary bds [boards] 909 44th ne [Henry and Edgar Euell were also listed at this address.]

Mary C. Euell’s mother, also named Mary C. Euell, died 1 April 1915.

The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 1 April 1916.

The 23 September 1917 edition of the Evening Star ran a report on salary increases for federal employees by name. Mary C. Euell received a promotion and raise from printer assistant at $1.75 per diem to operative at $2.00 per diem, plus 25 cents per hour. [This appears to be our Mary C., but if so, she quit the printing bureau gig immediately and moved to Wilson to teach. The slapping incident took place on 1 April 1918, and the boycott began on April 9. Euell wrote to W.E.B. Du Bois on the 22nd and was in court on the 30th. There is no record of her in Wilson after that date.]

The 6 December 1919 edition of the New York Age reported Mary C. Euell as a dinner guest of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jones on Bly Street. [This may be the other Mary C.]

In the 1920 Washington, D.C., city directory: Euell Mary C opr bu ptg [operator — bureau of printing] r 909 44th ne [Edgar and Henry Euell are also listed at this address.]

Between 1920 and 1925, Euell obtained a degree (or otherwise received training) in pharmacy. A report of successful board examinees listed Euell’s home as Kings Mountain, North Carolina, just west of Charlotte.

Druggists Circular, volume 69 (September, 1925).

Eight months later, as pharmacist in charge, she ran an ad in a Columbia, South Carolina, newspaper for the Enterprise Drug Company — “Get acquainted with our ‘If its not right bring it back’ System.”

Palmetto Leader (Columbia, S.C.), 22 May 1926.

She soon relocated to Asheville, however, where she operated the Southside Pharmacy.

In the 1928 Asheville, N.C., city directory: Euell Mary C (c) Southside Pharmacy h 34 Victoria av. The pharmacy was one of three businesses located at 187 Southside Avenue. (The business is not listed in the 1927 directory.)

Mary C. Euell’s brother Oliver Holmes Euell died 18 May 1928 in Washington, D.C.

The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 21 May 1928.

On 9 August 1928, Mary C. Euell died in Asheville, Buncombe County. Per her death certificate, she was 35 years old; was single; was born in Washington; and worked at a pharmacy. Informant Nettie Candler, 34 Victoria Avenue, had no information about Euell’s parents. She was buried at South Asheville Cemetery. [Euell apparently had boarded with the Candlers. In the 1930 census, the family was still living at 34 Victoria: shoemaker Wallace Candler, 36, wife Nettie, 34, and daughters Willie A., 8, and Viola, 6. ]

News of her death appeared the next day in an Asheville newspaper. (Who was her “daughter”?)

Asheville Citizen-Times, 10 August 1928.

The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 11 August 1928.

The Afro-American, 1 September 1928.

Mary C. Euell died without a will, and a public administrator was appointed to handle her affairs.

  • The other Mary C. Euell

The Colored American, 25 November 1899.

In the 1900 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1011 7th Street, widow Missouri Euell, 62; daughter Minnie, 39; sons William, 34, and Moses, 33; daughter-in-law Dora, 25; and grandchildren Mary, 20, Jessee, 19, Missouri, 15, Georgia, 9, Rubie, 5, Annie, 5, and Jerome, 4. All were born in Virginia except Jerome, who was born in D.C.

In the 1910 census of Washington, D.C.: at 405 L Street, S.E., Minnie Euell, 49, cook, and children Mary C., 25, dressmaker, Missouri, 23, Georgia, 18, and Robbie, 14.

In the 1913 Washington, D.C., city directory: Euell Mary C sewing 405 L se [Georgie M., Jesse, Minnie (widow of Richard), and Moses Euell were also listed at this address.

In the 1914 Washington, D.C., city directory: Euell Mary C smstrs bds 405 L se [Georgie M. and Minnie Euell were also at this address.]

In the 1922 Washington, D.C., city directory: Euell Mary C tchr r 410 L se [Ruby Euell was also at this address.]

Minnie Euell Gasbea died 6 November 1927 in her L Street, S.E., home. Her survivors included daughter Mary C. Page.

Historic Black Business Series, no. 5: Ideal Pharmacy.

The 500 block of East Nash Street is justly remembered as the 20th century epicenter of Wilson’s African-American-owned businesses. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black entrepreneurs and tradespeople also operated across the tracks. As Wilson’s downtown experiences a resurgence, let’s rediscover and celebrate these pioneering men and women.

Check in each Sunday for the latest in the Historic Black Business Series!

Dr. Frank S. Hargrave, newly arrived in Wilson, established Ideal Pharmacy circa 1905. On 14 September 1906, Dr. Hargrave sold to F.O. Williston “all of the Drugs, Medicines, Sundries, and fixtures of the Ideal Pharmacy,” as well as accounts payable and receivable, but not the soda fountain, tanks, and other apparatus in the shop. Williston, a Cumberland County, N.C.-native who married a Wilsonian, did not remain in town long, and by 1908, Darcey C. Yancey was co-owned of the Ideal with Dr. Hargrave.

1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory.

1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory.

Wilson Daily Times, 11 November 1910.

Per the 1912 Wilson, North Carolina, Industrial & Commercial Directory, “IDEAL PHARMACY — This is the only colored Drug store in Wilson, and it has been established for about seven years. The proprietor, D.C. Yancy, Ph.G., receiving his degree from the Leonard School of Pharmacy, Shaw University Class of 1905-06, has been connected with the store for the past three years and has been sole proprietor for the past year and a half. He reports that the business is constantly growing and he hopes within a very few years to have one of the largest stores in the City. He personally presses over the prescription department and absolute accuracy is his watchword. His motto is ‘Not how cheap but how pure.’ The general stock includes fresh drugs, patent medicines, Tobacco, Sundries, etc, soda fountain in connection. 109 South Goldsboro street, phone 219.”

The 1912 Wilson city directory lists Mark Farmer as a porter at Ideal Pharmacy.

Sometime in 1914, the Wilson Times published a three-page insert highlighting the achievements of the town’s African-American community. Not surprisingly, many of the businesses touted placed ads in the pullout, including Ideal Pharmacy: “Any physician’s prescription will be filled at Ideal Pharmacy exactly as it would be by the best drug stores of the country. We guarantee the quality of drugs, accuracy of compounders, reasonableness of charges, and unexcelled service. Give us a trial.” By then, though, the drugstore had moved from Goldsboro Street to 546 East Nash, nearer Yancey’s clientele.

Hargrave’s Drug Store?

Wilson Times, 1 November 1901.

Though physician Frank S. Hargrave opened a pharmacy in Wilson shortly after his arrival, this advertisement does not tout his business:

  • Dr. Hargrave graduated from medical school in 1901, but practiced in Winston-Salem, N.C., for two years before arriving in Wilson in 1903.
  • The wording of this ad suggests a pharmacy that had been in operation for some time and employed more than one druggist. 
  • Per the Wilson, North Carolina, Industrial & Commercial Directory, published in 1912, Dr. Hargrave’s pharmacy (which he sold to D’Arcy C. Yancey before 1910) was established about 1905. It was called Ideal Pharmacy.
  • Ideal Pharmacy was located at 109 South Goldsboro Street. It was not “next door to Post Office,” which at that time was at 117 North Tarboro Street. 
  • And the clincher — the 1900 census of Wilson lists Benjamin Hargrave, 39, white, druggist. B.W. Hargrave died in 1907 and is buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Wilson.

Poppy Day.

Wilson Daily Times, 20 May 1930.

Black businesses, 1908, no. 1: South Goldsboro and East Nash Streets.

Page 4, Sanborn fire insurance map, Wilson, N.C. (1908).

Cross-referencing the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory and the 1908 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson reveals the specific locations of Black-owned businesses just after the turn of the century. Above, the intersection of South Goldsboro and East Nash Streets.

Moses Brandon operated an eating house at 127 South Goldsboro Street. (Within a few years, he moved to 411 East Nash Street.)

John H. Aiken and Braswell R. Winstead ran livery stables at 125 and 129 South Goldsboro. The map does not make clear how the space was divided between the two. Aiken was a long-time stablekeeper, but Winstead is a surprise. He was a teacher, then an assistant postmaster to Samuel H. Vick, then a barber.

Short W. Barnes was a carpenter by trade, and his ownership of a South Goldsboro Street barbershop is a surprise.

Annie Best‘s eating house at 121 South Goldsboro was just a few blocks from her home at 313 South Spring. 

Physician Frank S. Hargrave bought Ideal Pharmacy from a white pharmacist and brought in D’Arcey C. Yancey to staff it. Yancey took over as sole proprietor around 1910. 

Wilson Times, 11 November 1910.

Tate & Hines Barbershop, a partnership of Noah J. Tate and Walter S. Hines, operated in a storefront underneath the New Briggs Hotel at 213 East Nash Street. (The hotel’s footprint is now the site of the new Wilson Arts Center.) The business began as Paragon Shaving Parlor in 1903 with a third partner, Joshua Tabron. See here a note for Tate & Hines’ purchase of a new cash register in 1910.

A barber pole is visible curbside in this postcard depicting New Briggs Hotel circa 1900. Tate & Hines occupied the first storefront on the left.

In the interior of the block, circled in red, a narrow freestanding rectangle of a building labeled “servants.” There were few white servants in Wilson in this era, so the reference is surely to African-American workers, but whose servants? What kind of servants? And what did they do in this space?

Postcard image courtesy of Penny Postcard Archives, a USGenWeb Archives site.