postmaster

I certify to his high character.

When Lily-White Republican Senator Jeter C. Pritchard set out to oust postmaster Samuel H. Vick, who represented “the last vestige of negro office holders in the state,” a slew of prominent Wilson Democrats bucked convention to rally in Vick’s favor. Among the politicians, lawyers and businessmen supporting Vick was John H. Blount, whose letter of recommendation noted that Vick’s “mother and grandmother belonged to [his] father.”

The writer of this opinion piece mocks the Democrats who had once lamented Vick’s sinecure, “pictur[ing] how their dear wives and daughters were humiliated by having to transact all their postal business at Wilson with a negro postmaster and negro postal clerks.

peoples paper 12 10 1902

The People’s Paper (Charlotte, N.C.), 10 December 1902.

Negroes take advantage. (Vick is an unusual negro.)

NY Times 12 7 1902 Vick

President William H. Harrison appointed Samuel H. Vick postmaster of Wilson in 1889. President William McKinley selected Vick again for the position in 1898. Despite the setback described above, the Lily Whites ultimately were successful in thwarting Vick’s reappointment in 1903.

Sam Vick and his assistants.

screen-shot-2016-12-26-at-2-29-47-pm

Wilson Mirror, 26 February 1890.

screen-shot-2016-12-26-at-2-36-14-pm

Wilson Mirror, 1 April 1891.

screen-shot-2016-12-26-at-2-31-11-pm

Wilson Mirror, 11 August 1891.

screen-shot-2016-12-26-at-2-38-30-pm

Raleigh Morning Post, 14 July 1898.

rmp-4-8-1903

Raleigh Morning Post, 8 April 1903.

  • Samuel H. Vick
  • Braswell R. Winstead
  • Levi H. Peacock
  • Jim Thorp — On 22 March 1900, James J. Thorp, 22, of Wilson, son of Edy Thorp, married Hattie Bunn, 17, daughter of Joshua and Emma Bunn, at Joshua Bunn‘s house in Wilson. Richard Renfrow applied for the license, and Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of Hilliard Ellis, Levi Jones and Phyllis Ellis. In the 1912 Wilson city directory, James Thorp, insurance agent, is listed at 654 Viola Street.
  • Fannie McGowan — on 30 August 1905, at the bride’s residence on Vance Street, Henry Matt Daniel, 40, son of Dave and Flora Daniel, married Flora McGowan, 28, parents unknown. A.M.E. Zion minister N.D. King performed the ceremony in the presence of L.A. Moore, J.S. Spell, and Mack Sharp.

Postmaster.

An excerpt from a ledger recording appointments of Wilson County postmasters, including Samuel H. Vick:

postmaster appt

Vick’s appointment dates were 28 September 1889, 27 January 1890, and 24 May 1898.

(Click to enlarge.)

Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28, National Archives [database on-line], http://www.Ancestry.com.