Kudos to Ruby Powell Greene, who spearheaded efforts to reclaim Raleigh’s historic Hillcrest Cemetery in 2016. Mrs. Greene, who recently turned 92, forged a partnership with Duke Energy Foundation that creates a blueprint for us at Lane Street Project.
My sincere thanks to Willa-Jo Greene Dawkins, a friend from my UNC days, for sharing this article about her mother!
During Black History Month two years ago, when they were still playing near Zebulon, North Carolina, as the Carolina Mudcats, the Wilson Warbirds highlighted throwback jerseys honoring the Raleigh Grays, a semi-pro Negro League team.
The Grays and the Raleigh Tigers, who played from the mid-1940s to early 1960s, had a Wilson connection — Johnie Brewington, who briefly managed both teams.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 23 July 1941.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 15 May 1946.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 4 June 1946.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 20 June 1946.
When necessary, Brewington stepped behind the plate to play catcher.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 10 September 1946.
——
In the 1920 census of South Clinton township, Sampson County, N.C.: farmer Cnelus Brewington, 36; wife Emma, 26, retail grocery merchant; and children Norward, 22, Mabel, 6, and John, 3.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 912 East Nash, rented for $24/month, Frank Williams, 50, building mechanic; wife Emma, 36, public school teacher; and stepchildren Norwood, 21, odd jobs laborer, Mabel, 16, and Johnie Brewington, 14.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 309 Elba Street, rented for $20/month, widow Emma Williams, 45, public school teacher; daughter Mable Brewington, 25, public school teacher; son Johnie Brewington, 24, new worker; and lodgers Walter Holmes, 35, veneer factory laborer, and Alice Bryant, 33, household servant.
In 1940, Johnie Marion Brewington registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 3 February 1916 in Clinton, N.C.; lived at 309 Elba Street, Wilson; worked for Imperial Tobacco Company, Wilson; and his contact was mother Emma Williams.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 23 July 1941.
Even as he managed the Grays, Brewington played football at North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University.)
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 4 October 1941.
Johnnie Brewington enlisted in the United States Army on 26 January 1942 in Daytona Beach, Florida, and was discharged 4 August 1945, having achieved the rank of first sergeant in Company A, 184th Engineer Combat Battalion.
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 411 North Vick, John E. Dixon, 38, science teacher in city school; wife Mable E., 33, elementary educator in county school; sons John E. II, 6, and Levie, 4; mother-in-law Emma B. Williams, 50; and brother-in-law Johnie M. Brewington, 31.
Johnie Marion Brewington died 20 November 1964 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Durham, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was born 3 February 1916 in North Carolina to Neal Brewington and Emma Moore; was never married; lived at 411 North Vick Street, Wilson; and was a merchant (“general work & sports”); was a World War II veteran; and was buried in Rest Haven cemetery. Emma Williams was informant.
Samuel and Annie M. Vick did not confine their real estate portfolio to Wilson. In January, the Vicks took out a three-year mortgage to purchase a roughly three-quarter acre lot on the north side of the intersection of Swain and Lenoir Streets on what was then the outskirts of Raleigh.
Wake [County, North Carolina] Deeds 1904-1905, http://www.familysearch.org.
Raleigh Times, 1 November 1909.
Helen Tate won ten dollars in gold in the busiest “fashion show” ever.
Pittsburgh Courier, 9 May 1925.
——
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Noah Tate, 28; wife Hattie, 24; and children John P., 3, and Helen, 2.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Noah Tate, 42; wife Hattie, 34; boarder Mary Jennings, 28, teacher; and children Helen, 13, Mary Jane, 8, Andrew, 11, and Noah Jr., 3.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tate Helen (c) sch tchr h 307 Pender
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 307 North Pender, seamstress Hattie Tate, 44, widow, and children Hellen, 23, insurance agent, and Andrew, 21, hotel bellboy, as well as lodger Lucy Davis, a public school teacher.
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tate Helen (c) clk h 307 Pender
Not surprisingly for an era in which newspapers were the primary source of information beyond one’s neighborhood, Samuel H. Vick subscribed to more one than one.
Augustus S. Clark was a county commissioner? How so? He finished his theology degree at Lincoln in 1897, when he was about 23 years old, and went to Georgia a few later. A bit of research reveals a contemporary county commissioner named Robert S. Clark, who is likely the person intended.
Miss Carrie Smith of Wilson appears several times in the Gazette’s society columns circa 1897. She is likely the Carrie Smith, 20, nurse, in the household of her uncle and aunt Ed, 49, and Sallie Smith, 44, in the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County. Channie Smith, 24, another niece, also lived in the household.
Rev. “Woodward” was likely W.T.H. Woodard, a Missionary Baptist minister. I have not identified Rev. Strickland.
The Gazette (Raleigh, N.C.), 8 May 1897.
Wilson Daily Times, 8 May 1947.
——
In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Amos Daniel, 44; wife Olive, 25; and children Willy, 14, and Zana, 12.
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Pettigrew Street, Edward [Edmond] Moore, 23; wife Zana, 22; and daughter Mary, 3.
In the 1900 census of Rocky Mount, Nash County, North Carolina: on Thomas Street, Edmon Moore, 43, farmer; wife Zanie, 45; and children Mary, 22, Susa, 19, Edgar, 18, Wiley, 15, Matilda, 13, and Fred, 5.
In the 1910 census of Rocky Mount, Nash County, North Carolina: Edmond Moore, 55, farmer, and wife Zany, 50.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Moore Edward (c; Zanie) lab h 904 Atlanta [Atlantic]
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 904 Atlantic, Edward Moore, 70; wife Zannie, 60, laundress; and lodgers Blanch Guilford, 16, Julia Williams, 16, Ruth Donald, 17, private nurse, and Edner Donald, 15.
Zannie Moore died 6 May 1947 at Saint Agnes Hospital, Raleigh, North Carolina. Per her death certificate, she was 91 years old; was born in Wilson County to Amos Daniel and Ollie Jenkins; was the widow of Edmond Moore; worked as a farmer; and was buried in William Chapel church cemetery.
The New York Age, 19 October 1916.
We learned here of the relationship between Lawrence Lightner and C.H. Darden & Sons. Here, we see that Camillus L. Darden traveled to Raleigh to conduct the funeral of Lightner’s 18 month-old niece.
