In 1973, William Kirby‘s widow Nannie Shaw Kirby Richardson divided their land among their heirs — Roxanna KirbyExum, Hobbie Lee Kirby, William Henry Kirby, Willie Kilmer Williams, SarahKirby Wiggs, Nettie Kirby Forsythe, Queen Kirby Newsome, and Harvey Isaac Kirby. Each received two lots, e.g. 2 and 2-A. The Kirby family cemetery is represented by the small rectangle at the top of lot 4. Much of the land remains in the hands of Kirby descendants.
Plat Book 13, pages 38-39, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
Susan Richardson Gaston Ratley drafted her will on 4 March 1925, several years before she died. She left eldest son John Henry Gaston a “grind rock” (presumably, grindstone) and “Opants bed quilt.” The remainder of her property went to children Ivory Gaston, Charlie Gaston, and Nonia Gaston Carney. Son-in-law GeorgeCarney was appointed executor, as well as guardian of Charlie Gaston, who was “of an unsound mind, and not mentally capable of looking after his own affairs.” Ratley explained that she used “some discrimination in the division of [her] humble estate” because her younger children “by hard work and co-operation with [her], enabled [her] to thus save that [she has,] without the aid of [her]oldest son Henry Gaston ….” Thus, “they are justly entitled to the greater part of my estate.’
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On 20 April 1876, Simon Gaston, 25, married Susan Richardson, 20, in Stantonsburg, Wilson County, in the presence of H. Richardson, Ned Ellis, and H. Donell.
In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Simon Gaston, 28, farm laborer; wife Susan, 23; and children Henry, 3, Joseph, 1, and a 1 month-old infant.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farm laborer John Gaston, 21; mother Susan, 48; and siblings Charley, 13, Ivor, 10, and Mary M., 8.
On 16 November 1904, John Radcliffe, 70, of Wilson, son of Jack and Martha Radcliffe, married Susan Gaston, 48, of Wilson, at William Jenkins‘ residence in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister William Baker performed the ceremony in the presence of B.S. Jordan, R.B. Ellis, and Henry Mitchell.
In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Charles, Ivy, and Joseph Gaston, all laborers, are listed at 610 Stantonsburg Street.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Charles and Ivey Gaston, both laborers, are listed at 615 Stantonsburg Street.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 313 Manchester, oil mill laborer Henry Gaston, 31; wife Dora, 28; and daughter Josephine, 3.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 618 Nash, George Carney, 30, laborer in auto shop, and wife Nonnie, 28.
In the 1928 and 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Rattley Susan (c) h 408 Manchester
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 408 Manchester, owned and valued at $400, widow Susan Rattley, 74, and son Charlie Gatsin, 23, odd jobs.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 508 Woodard, Henry Gaston, 42, town laborer; wife Dora, 38; and stepdaughter Josephine Whitaker, 14.
Susan Rattley died 15 October 1931 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 75 years old; was born in Wake County to Frank Richardson; was the widow of John Rattler; lived at 408 Manchester Street; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.] Nonia Carney was informant.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Nonia Connie, 45; brother Ivry Gaston, 50, plumber for City of Wilson; husband George Connie, 49; and James H. Williams, 24, tobacco factory laborer.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Henry Gaston, 58, clerk in own store; wife Dora, 48; stepdaughter Josephine Ward, 24; and step grandson Walter Whitaker, 7.
In the 1940 census of Raleigh, Wake County, N.C.: at North Carolina State Penitentiary, Charlie Gaston, 47, inmate. [In 1938, Gaston was charged in the rape of a ten year-old girl. A judge accepted his plea of guilty to a lesser charge in consideration of Gaston’s “low mentality,” which was estimated to be equivalent to a six or seven year-old child. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.]
Henry Gaston died 27 December 1940 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was verb 19 January 1881 in Wilson County to Handy Heart; lived on Taylor Street; was married to Dora Gaston; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery.
In 1943, Charlie Gaston registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was about 45 years old; he was born in Wilson County; his contact was sister Nome Carney, Wilson; he was “employed” at Central Prison; and he was blind.
Charlie Gaston died 11 December 1949 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1888 to Simon Gaston and Susan Rattley Richardson [sic]; was single; lived at 502 Manchester Street; worked as a laborer; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery. Nonia Carney was informant.
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: George Carney, 61, janitor at private club; wife Nonie, 50, hanging tobacco; brother-in-law Ivory Gaston, 56, fireman at city electric plant; and James H. Williams, 33, tobacco packer.
George T. Carney died 7 July 1958 at his home at 502 Manchester Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 June 1895 in Edgecombe County, N.C., to John Carney and Amanda Freeman; was married to Nonie Carney; and worked as a laborer.
Ivory Gaston died 27 May 1968 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 4 January 1904 to Susan Richardson and lived at 502 Manchester Street. Nonie Carney was informant.
Nonie Carney died 9 January 1972 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 15 May 1896 to Sue Riley; was a widow; had worked as a laborer; and lived at 502 Manchester Street. James Williams was informant.
Per their marriage license, both Earnest and Irene Richardson were older than the ages reported above, but other documents suggest Irene Richardson was born in 1926.
Ernest L. Richardson, 20, of Wilson, son of Harriett Richardson, married Irene Byrd, 16, of Wilson County, daughter of Wilbert and Flossie Byrd, on 21 March 1940 in Wilson.
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 208 East Hines Street, at $12/month, coal yard helper Junious Richardson, 31; wife Rose, 27; and children Willie, 9, and Henry, 2 months.
Willie Richardson died 10 June 1934 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 9 May 1921 in Wilson to Junius Richardson of Selma, N.C., and Rosevelt Battle of Portsmouth, Virginia; was in school and unmarried; and lived at 412 East Walnut Street, Wilson.
The one hundred-forty-first 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 the East Wilson Historic District, this building is: “ca. 1910; 1 story; Frank Barnes house; L-plan cottage especially intact, with turned porch posts and sleeping loft; Barnes was a blacksmith.”
This house has recently undergone extensive renovation.
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In the 1912 and 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories: Barnes Frank (c) blksmith C Culpeper h Viola nr Reed
In the 1928 and 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories: Boykin Jas (c; Nancy S) carp h 900 Viola
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 900 Viola Street, owned and valued at $4000, private practical nurse Nancy S. Boykin, 59; husband Christian Church clergyman James, 44; daughter Lila R., 19; and roomers Ines Williams, 23, and Minnie Nelson, 20, both servants.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 900 Viola, farm laborer George Richardson, 40; wife Annie, 26, tobacco factory stemmer; and John B. Barnes, 27, tobacco factory packer.
In the 1941 and 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directories: Richardson Geo (c) Annie lab h 900 Viola
This house is not within the bounds of East Wilson Historic District. However, the blocks of Mercer Street southwest of the Norfolk & Southern Railroad lines have been an African-American residential area since the early twentieth century.
Now numbered 919, it appears that this house was numbered 915 Mercer Street until the late 1930’s.
The 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory lists laborer Thomas Hatcher and wife Estelle at 915 Mercer, as well as James Hatcher.
The 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory lists farmer James Richardson and wife Henrietta at 915 Mercer.
In April 1935, Samuel and Annie M. Vicklost 915 Mercer Street and more than one hundred other houses and lots at auction.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 919 Mercer, paying $8.50/month in rent, James Watson, 29, ditcher on a sewage project; wife Golden, 30, worker on stemmer machine at redrying plant; and children Earnestine, 11, Bessie Jean, 4, and Lucy Gray, 1. The family had lived in Kenly, N.C., in 1935.
In 1940, James Watson registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 26 December 1909 in Johnston County; lived at 919 Mercer Street; his contact was wife Golden Watson; and he worked for Imperial Tobacco, Barnes Street.
In 1941, Johnnie Clay Jones registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 23 April 1920 in Kenly, N.C.; lived at 117 South Pettigrew Street; his contact was Golden Watson, 119 [sic] Mercer Street; and he worked as a laborer for Williams Lumber Company.
The 1941 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory lists laborer James Watson, wife Golden, and four unnamed others at 919 Mercer.
On 19 April 1941, the Wilson Daily Times listed Willie Brown of 919 Mercer Street as a recipient of a questionnaire from the local draft board.
In 1944, Rev. Chester B. Beamon, pastor of nearby Trinity A.M.E. Zion church, lived at 919 Mercer Street, where he lead an adult education night school and a leadership training organization. The Beamons were likely renters, as Beamon and wife Louise were listed at 904 Mercer in the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, and shortly after left Wilson for a new pastorate.
Wilson Daily Times, 20 March 1944.
Tobacco worker Frank Lassiter and his wife Settie are listed at 919 Mercer in the 1947 directory. The Lassiter family remained in the house through Frank Lassiter’s death in 1972 and Settie Sanders Lassiter‘s in 1981.
In the 1900 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Willis Cone, 62; wife Sarah, 49; and children Willie M., 23, Lillie, 17, Jamerson, 13, Romane(?), 11, Aven, 9, Armencia, 5, and Rada, 1.
In the 1910 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: on County Line Road, farmer Willis C. Cone, 75; wife Sarah A., 61; and children Avon, 17, Amincy, 13, and Rader, 11.
Rader Cone registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County in 1918. Per his registration card, he was born 23 September 1899; lived at R.F.D #4, Wilson; farmed for Willis Cone; and his nearest relative was Sarah Cone.
On 21 September 1925, Rader Corne, 25, married Victoria Hall, 21, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister John A. Mebane performed the ceremony in the presence of James W. Coleman, Sylvia Best and J.H. Moore.
Rader Cone registered for the World War II draft in Detroit in 1942. Per his card, he was born 20 September 1898 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 929 Montcalm Street, Detroit; his contact was Fannie May Turner; and he worked at Cadillac Ginger Ale Company, Detroit. He was described as Negro, 6’1″, 204 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and dark brown skin.
On 9 September 1943, Rader Cohen, 43, son of Willis Cohen and Sarah Glover, married Fannie Mae Turner Smith, 43, in Lucas County, Ohio.
Rader Cohen died 1 February 1989 in Detroit.
Jesse Winn
In the 1920 census of Brogden township, Wayne County: Alice Wynn, 56; daughters Myrtle, 21, and Alice, 18; and grandchildren Ernest, 3, Jesse, 2, and Mildred, 11 months.
In the 1930 census of Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan: at 6321 Stanford, auto factory laborer Ernest Winn, 35; wife Almena, 37; children Ernest Jr., 14, Jesse, 13, and Mildred, 11; and lodgers Leslie, 28, auto factory laborer, and Ada Hinckle, 26, and George Griffin, 22, auto factory laborer.
In the 1940 census of Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan: at 5726 Vancourt, garage attendant Jessie Winn, 23, wife Agnes, 16, and daughter Betty Mae, 5 months, were lodgers in the household of Rev. Joseph Hankerson, 55, a Georgia-born barber.
Jesse Winn registered for the World War II draft in Detroit in 1940. Per his card, he was born 13 July 1917 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 5610 – 23rd Street, Detroit; his contact was sister Mildred Perry, 3741 Moore Place, Detroit; and he worked for Detroit Waste Works. He was described as Negro, 5’8 1/2″, 160 pounds, with black hair and eyes and dark brown skin.
Jesse Winn died in Detroit 20 January 1981.
Ernest Carlos Winn Jr.
In the 1920 census of Brogden township, Wayne County: Alice Wynn, 56; daughters Myrtle, 21, and Alice, 18; and grandchildren Ernest, 3, Jesse, 2, and Mildred, 11 months.
In the 1930 census of Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan: at 6321 Stanford, auto factory laborer Ernest Winn, 35; wife Almena, 37; children Ernest Jr., 14, Jesse, 13, and Mildred, 11; and lodgers Leslie, 28, auto factory laborer, and Ada Hinckle, 26, and George Griffin, 22, auto factory laborer.
On 26 June 1937, Ernest Winn Jr., 20, born in North Carolina to Ernest Winn and Anna May Richardson, occupied at factory work, married Mary B. Wilson, 18, born in Ohio to Robert and Rick Hicks Wilson, in Detroit.
In the 1940 census of Detroit, Wayne County: Ernest Winn, 23, crane man in auto factory; wife Mary, 18, born in Ohio; and sons Ernest III, 2, and Robert A., 6 months.
Ernest Carlos Winn registered for the World War II draft in Detroit in 1940. Per his card, he was born 26 March 1916 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 527 Erskine Street, Detroit; his contact was wife Mary B. Winn; and he worked for Briggs Manufacturing. He was described as Negro, 6’1″, 168 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair, and light skin, with a scar on his forehead.
Robert Winn died 4 January 1943 in Detroit of suffocation after inhaling smoke in a house fire. Per his death certificate, he was born 17 February 1940 in Detroit to Ernest Winn and Mary Wilson and lived at 616 Erskine.
Mary Winn filed a divorce petition on 14 August 1944, and she and Ernest Winn were divorced 6 November 1944 in Detroit.
Ernest Winn died in February 1980.
Moses Taylor
In the 1930 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: on an improved dirt road, farmer Hillard Taylor, 53; wife Annie, 48; and sons Walter, 24, and Moses, 14.
Moses Taylor registered for the World War II draft in Detroit in 1940. Per his card, he was born 4 January 1916 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 2149 East Canfield, Detroit; his contact was mother Annie Vanleer, 1360 East Willis, Detroit; and he worked for E&B. He was described as Negro, 5’8″, 136 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair, and light brown skin.
John Walter Richardson
In the 1900 census of Mannings township, Nash County: day laborer Gid Richardson, 44; wife Milbra, 30; and children Josh, 8, John, 3, and Mary, 5 months.
John Walter Richardson registered for the World War I draft in 1918 while in the Ohio State Reformatory. Per his registration card, he was born 3 April 1898; his permanent address was Wilson, N.C.; and his contact was Mildred Richardson, Wilson.
John Walter Richardson registered for the World War II draft in Detroit in 1942. Per his card, he was born 3 April 1897 in Wilson, N.C.; lived at 742 Ionia Avenue S.W., Grand Rapids, Michigan; his contact was daughter Johnnie Mae Benney, Ann Arbor, Michigan; and he was an unemployed crane operator. He was described as Negro, 5’11 1/2″, 170 pounds, with brown eyes, black eye, dark brown skin, and a bent finger on each hand.
On 21 October 1942, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, John Walter Richardson, 46, crane operator, born in Wheeling [sic], N.C. to Gid Richardson and Mary Moore, married Sadie Mae Woods, 42, born in Chandler, Oklahoma.
Sadie Richardson filed a divorce petition on 20 April 1944, and she and John Richardson were divorced 25 July 1944 in Grand Rapids.
White farmer Walter Butts split open the head of farm worker Ollie Richardson after an argument. The next day, following a preliminary hearing, a justice of the peace dismissed charges against Butts.
A guide to the article: the lighter text in the second half, beginning “A preliminary hearing …,” is the first edition version. The heavier text at the beginning, which details what happened at the hearing, was inserted later.
In a nutshell, deputy sheriffs responding to the scene arrested Butts and William Moore, an African-American material witness, who was later allowed to post bond. (After all, he was not accused of committing any crime.) Butts did not testify at the hearing the next day. Moore testified that Butts and Richardson argued, and Richardson said he was going to straighten Butts out and advanced on Butts, but Moore did not actually see anything in Richardson’s hands. “Two Negro girls” testified to something similar. Unnamed others testified that they saw a pitchfork under Richardson’s body after he’d been brained. In other words, there was no actual testimony that Richardson had threatened Butts with a pitchfork before Butts smashed him in the skull with an ax. Nonetheless, a justice of the peace declared the incident a justifiable homicide and let Butts go.
Wilson Daily Times, 2 July 1946.
In the 1920 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: Frank Richardson, 28; wife Mary W., 24; and children Lonie, 7, Ollie, 5, Bettie, 3, and Earlie, 1.
In the 1930 census of Wilson Mills township, Johnston County: Frank Richardson, 40; wife Harriet, 27; and children Lonie, 17, Bettie, 16, Ollie, 14, Early, 13, Beatrice, 10, Earnest L., 11, Vernell, 8, Gertrue, 6, Dump, 5, Tobus W., 5, Odel, 6 months, and Rosevelt, 2.
On 23 September 1935, Ollie F. Richardson, 21, of Cross Roads, son of Frank and Mary Richardson, married Crematha Wiggins, 20, of Wilson, daughter of Littleton Wiggins and Annie Royal, in Wilson in the presence of Oscar Eatman, Frank Richardson and Anna H. Royal.
In 1940, Ollie Frank Richardson registered for the World War II in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 20 August 1914 in Wilson; his contact was wife Crematha Richardson; and he worked for Otis Nichols, Bailey, Johnston County.
The local newspaper may not have known “Uncle John”‘s name, but the coroner did. Forty-nine year-old (was that “aged”?) John W. Richardson was run over on Highway 91.
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In the 1900 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer John Horton, 73; wife Esther, 65; and son Louis, 23; hired girl Rosell Peacock, 19; and nephews Nathaniel Hopson, 16, and John W. Richardson, 16.
In the 1930 census of Springhill township, Wilson County: farmer John W. Richardson, 43; wife Henrietta, 38; children Ramon, 11, Lena, 7, and Nannie L., 3; mother-in-law Ida Joyner, 50; and brother-in-law Isom Joyner, 20.
