plumber

A lucky find.

Wilson Daily Times, 22 October 1925.

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On 31 January 1910, Fletcher Bowling, 34, of Wilson, married Lucy Barnes, 25, of Wilson, daughter of Rhoda Barnes, in Wilson. Holiness minister Leroy Wiggins performed the ceremony in the presence of William King, Bertha Wiggins, Lemuel Hargett, and Elder J.R. Beamon of Mount Olive.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Walnut Street, Fletcher Bowling, 34, and wife Lucy, 25.

George Fletcher Bowling registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County in 1918. Per his registration card, he lived on Mercer Street, Wilson; was born 8 August 1975; worked as a plumber’s helper for J.R. Hinton, Tarboro Street; and his nearest relative was Maria Bowling, Simpsonville, Greenville County, South Carolina.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Fletcher Bowling, 45, plumber; wife Lucy, 40, tobacco factory laborer; and daughter Ruby, 18 months.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 508 Spruce Street, paying $16/month in rent, Fletcher Bowling, 54, city sewer laborer; wife Lucy, 54; and daughter Ruby, 12.

In the 1940 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: at 407 Spring Street Alley, Fletcher Bowling, 66; wife Lucy, 56; daughter-in-law Ruby Powell, 22, retrying tobacco factory laborer; and grandchildren Billy and Bobby, 5, and Edna Earl, 4.

Fletcher Bowling died 25 December 1940 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1878 in South Carolina to George F. Bowling and Mariah Smith; was married to Lucy Bowling; was a common laborer; lived at 407 Spring Street Alley; and was buried in Masonic Cemetery.

Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.

1105 Carolina Street.

The thirty-sixth in a series of posts highlighting buildings in East Wilson Historic District, a national historic district located in Wilson, North Carolina. As originally approved, the district encompasses 858 contributing buildings and two contributing structures in a historically African-American section of Wilson. (A significant number have since been lost.) The district was developed between about 1890 to 1940 and includes notable examples of Queen Anne, Bungalow/American Craftsman, and Shotgun-style architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

As described in the nomination form for East Wilson Historic District: “ca. 1940; 1 story; double-pile, hip-roof house with original brick veneer and bungalow type porch posts.”

The 1930 Wilson, N.C., city directory lists plumber Calvin S. Edwards and wife Lizzie at 1105 Carolina Street, suggesting that the house is at least ten years older than indicated above.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 1105 Carolina Street, owned an valued at $2500, Calvin Edwards, 59, born in Goldsboro, and wife Lizzie, 58, born in Tarboro. Calvin was engaged in construction plumbing and Lizzie in washing.

The 1941 Wilson, N.C., city directory lists Calvin S. Edwards at 1105 Carolina Street.

Calvin Sidney Edwards died 10 January 1947 at Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 February 1887 in Wayne County to Aaron Edwards of Orange County and Lucinda Davis of Durham; resided at 1105 Carolina Street, Wilson; was a preacher; and was married to Lizzie Woodard. He was buried in the Masonic cemetery, Wilson.

Photograph by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2017.