On 1 January 1914, for $500, Ada G. Battle sold her brother Charles T. Battle a 28′ by 52′ parcel of land on Tarboro Street, “it being the identical lot on which was situated the black-smith shop of [their father] Charles Battle, deceased.”
Deed book 97, page 587, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph, 24 May 1885.
A recent email inquiry has made me take another look at the singing Williamson siblings, whom we met here and here and here.
The Charlotte Observer, 28 July 1881.
Edmund and Bethania “Thaney” Williamson and their oldest children were enslaved in Wilson County. (Edmund Williamson was enslaved by Hardy H. Williamson.) The family is not found in the 1870 census of Wilson County, but in 1880 they appear in Cross Roads township. The enumerator noted nine children at home — William, 25, Nicie, 23, Eliza, 22, Eddie, 21, Ally, 19, Pollina, 17, Dolly Ann, 15, Isaac, 12, and Raiford, 7. Six of the children — William, Eddie, Ally, Pollina, Isaac, and Raiford — were described as blind, and the occupation of the elder four was “gives concerts.” We know those four attended the North Carolina School for the Deaf, the Dumb, and the Blind, whose “colored” division opened circa 1869. Into the 1890s, the Williamson siblings toured the Southeast, singing and performing musical mimicry.
The Tarborough Southerner, 17 October 1878.
The Monroe (N.C.) Express, 22 July 1881.
Per an asylum enrollment book, William Williamson was born August 1853 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. He was born totally blind. Two second cousins on his father’s side were also blind.
In May 1867, the Wilson County sheriff identified to a local Freedmen’s Bureau the names of “unfortunates,” including Wm. Williamson, 8, Edward Williamson, 12, Allice Williamson, 4, Pauline Williamson, 5, and Aquilla Williamson, 7. All were described as blind. (Aquilla apparently was a seventh vision-impaired Williamson sibling and likely died before 1870.) This identification may have led to the placement of four of the Williamson children in the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum.
In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.
William Williamson apparently toured with his siblings for decades. I have not found him in census records subsequent to 1880.
On 12 October 1903, Edmund Williamson drafted his last will and testament. Per his wishes, his “two blind sons William Williamson and Edmund Williamson” and his “blind daughter Leany Williamson” were to equally divide a life estate in all his real estate and then to successive heirs “to remain in the Williamson family forever.”
On 18 October 1891, David Barnes, 32, of Cross Roads township, son of Joshua and Maria Barnes, married Nicy Williamson, 35, of Cross Roads township, daughter of Edd and Bethany Williamson, at Edmund Williamson’s in Wilson County.
Nicie Williamson Barnes is not listed in her father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.
Eliza Williamson is not listed in her father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.
Per the enrollment book, Eddie J. Williamson was born June 1859 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. He was born totally blind.
He is named as “Edward Williamson” in the 1867 sheriff’s letter.
In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.
Edmund “Eddie” Williamson apparently toured with his siblings for decades. I have not found him in census records subsequent to 1880. He was alive as late as 1903, however, when he was named in his father’s will.
Per the enrollment book, Allie A. Williamson was born January 1861 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. She was born blind, “totally or nearly so.”
She is named as “Allice Williamson” in the 1867 sheriff’s letter.
In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.
Allie Williamson is not listed in her father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.
Per the enrollment book, Pelina M. Williamson was born September 1862 in Wilson County to Edmund and Thanie Williamson. She was born blind, “totally or nearly so.”
She is named as “Pauline Williamson” in the 1867 sheriff’s letter.
In the 1870 census of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina: at the North Carolina Colored Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum, pupils included Ally, 9, Pauline, 6, William, 15, and Edward Williamson, 11.
Pelina Williamson apparently toured with her siblings for decades. I have not found her in census records subsequent to 1880.
Pauline Williamson died 7 March 1925 in Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia. Per her death certificate, she was born “sometime in 1859” in Raleigh, N.C., to Edd Williamson and an unnamed mother; was single; worked as a musician; and was buried in the city cemetery. Mary Ella Moore was informant.
I have found no record of her in Georgia prior to her death.
On 20 April 1884, Jesse Seaberry, 25, married Dolley Ann Williamson, , at Ed Williamson’s in Wilson County.
On 22 May 1899, Bristow Brownrigg, 52, of Wilson County, son of Reddick Brownrigg and Annie Barnes, married Dolly Ann Seabury, 35, of Wilson County, daughter of Edmund and Thaney Williamson, Cross Roads township, Wilson County. S.H. Vick applied for the license, and Burket Woodard, Stephen Hadley, and Nellie Barnes were witnesses to the ceremony.
Per Edmund Williamson’s 1903, daughter Dollie Ann Brownricks [Brownrigg] was to receive a life estate in all his personal property, money, stock and crops, with her children Timothy, Bethania, and Lizzie Seabury [Seaberry] to receive the remainder.
On 24 December 1919, Madison Barnes, 64, applied for a license to marry Dollie Barnes, 54.
In the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Madison Barnes, 70; wife Dollie Ann, 53; and granddaughter Annie V. Vick, 8.
Dollie Ann Barnes died 19 January 1928 in Cross Roads township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 67 years old; was born in Wilson County to Edmond and Bethune Williamson; was married Matherson Barnes; worked as a common laborer; and was buried in Williamson Cemetery, Wilson County. Timothy Seabury, Lucama, N.C., was informant.
Elizabeth Edmundson died 21 November 1970 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 13 January 1887 to Jessie Seabury and Dollie Ann Williams; was a widow; lived in Lucama, N.C.; and worked in farming. L.V. Edmundson was informant.
Isaac Williamson died 1 September 1895 in Norfolk, Virginia. Per an index of death certificates, he was born about 1868 in North Carolina; was single; and worked as a musician.
Isaac Williamson is listed in the 1887-1889 Annual Report of the North Carolina Institution for the Deaf, the Dumb, and the Blind.
Raiford Williamson is not listed in his father’s 1903 will and apparently died before it was written.
Raiford Williamson is listed in the 1881-1883 Annual Report, but I have found no evidence to date that he, like his musical siblings, performed for a living.
From page 367 of the 1881-’83 Annual Report.
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The Norfolk Virginian, 5 June 1879.
The News and Advance (Lynchburg, Va.), 21 July 1880.
The Daily Journal (New Bern, N.C.), 14 July 1891.
Enrollment Book, Negro Deaf 1873-1893, Negro Blind 1869-1893; Student Records; Box 1; General Records; State School for the Blind and Deaf; North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, N.C. (Thank you, Amanda Stuckey!)
Julius, Sally, Julia, and Savannah Powell, circa 1918.
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In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, Howard Powell, 21; wife Geneva, 24; and children Savannah Lee, 19 months, and Sallie V., 1 month.
In the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, Howard Powell, 31; wife Geneva, 33; and children Savannah L., 11, Sallie, 9, Julius and Julia, 6, Johnny H., 4, and Christine, 2.
Thank you to Levolyre Farmer Pitt for sharing a copy of this precious photograph.
On 21 August 1869, a Wilson County Probate Court judge ordered 14 year-old William Ann Blount and 11 year-old Richard Blount bound as apprentices to Calvin Blount until they reached 21 years of age.
Neither William Ann nor Richard Blount appears in the 1870 census with Calvin Blount and family. However, William Ann was possibly the Ann Blount, 19, who married Parry Farmer, 24, in Wilson on 18 February 1874.
United States Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
A reader who wishes to remain anonymous submitted this family portrait. The four women’s dark dress suggests a family in mourning.
Who were they? The only clue we have is a pencilled notation on the reverse: “Chandler/Battle.” I thought immediately of Nicholas R. Battle, who was born in Wilson County about 1862 to Charles and Leah Hargrove Battle and migrated to Chandler, Oklahoma, about 1900. His sister Ada G. Battle briefly lived in Chandler as well, and Nicholas and Ada had a sister, Chandler Battle Wright.
Could this be a portrait of Charles and Leah Battle’s children — most of them, anyway — taken around the time of Charles Battle’s death in 1910? (Leah Battle died in 1898.) Their known children were Nicholas R. (1863), with Lewis (1862), appear to have been Charles’ children by an earlier relationship; Susan (1869); Ada G. (1875); Geneva Battle Faver (1878); Virgil T. Battle (1880); Chandler (1883); Caledonia “Doane” Battle Williston (1887); and Charles T. Battle (1888). Lewis, Susan, and Virgil appear to have died young. The six remaining children included four girls and two boys, which is consistent with the photo.
In 1910, the living children would have been Nicholas, 48; Ada, 35; Geneva, 32, Chandler, 27; Doane, 23; and Charles T., 22. The daughters’ ages are consistent with the woman depicted. The man at bottom left appears to be Charles T. Battle, the younger of the two sons, and closely resembles his son, Dr. C.T. Battle Jr. The man at bottom right looks younger than 48 years old, but that age is not out of the range of possibility, and this is likely Nicholas Battle.
If anyone can identify the family depicted here more accurately, I’d love to hear from you.
Wilson Daily Times, 26 December 1918.
Wilson Daily Times, 27 December 1918.
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The Daily Times published a handful of letters from African-American soldiers written during World War I, including these from Elton Thomas and two from Arthur N. Darden.
Despite their hopes, Thomas and his buddies did not get home until March 1919. Dave Barnes suffered the effects of his gas attack the rest of his life. This history of Company H, 365th Infantry’s battles in France suggests that the date of injury was November 10, not the 18th.
This service card provides details of Thomas’ time in the Army.
North Carolina World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919, www.ancestry.com
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In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Charlie Thomas, 38, printing office pressman; wife Sarah, 33; children Elton, 9, Louis, 8, Elizabeth, 6, and Hattie May, 2; and lodgers Manse Wilson, 36, and Johnnie Lewis, 21, both carpenters.
In the 1908 Wilson, N.C., city directory: Thomas Elton (c) lather h 616 E Green
In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Charlie Thomas, 49, laborer for printing office; wife Sarah, 44; and children Elton, 20, Lizzie, 18, Louis, 15, Hattie M., 11, Mary, 5, and Sarah, 1 month.
In 1917, Elton Thomas registered for the World War I draft. Per his registration card, he was born 17 July 1889 in Wilson; lived at 616 East Green Street; was single; and worked as lathing contractor for Kittrell & Wilkins.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Clarence Dawson, 23, barber; wife Elizabeth, 22; and daughter Eris, 2; widower father-in-law Charley Thomas, 59; brother-in-law Clifton Venters, 24, his wife Hattie, 20; and in-laws Elton, 29, Marie, 15, Sarah, 10, and Beatrice Thomas, 8.
In the 1927, 1929, 1930, 1934, and 1942 Newark, New Jersey, city directories, Elton H. Thomas is listed at several addresses, including 117 Summer Avenue, 105 Somerset Avenue, and 109 Sherman Avenue.
In 1942, Elton Henry Thomas registered for the World War II draft in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. Per his registration card, he was born 15 August 1894 in Wilson; resided at 108 Sherman Road, Newark; his contact was Charles Thomas, 619 East Green Street, Wilson; and worked for Julius Rose, 327 Amherst Street, Orange, New Jersey.
On 27 November 1947, Elton Thomas, 52, of Wilson, son of Charlie and Sarah Best Thomas, married Rebecca Williams, 44, of 804 East Vance Street, Wilson, daughter of Solomon and Lettie Kittrell in Wilson. Free Will Baptist minister E.H. Cox performed the ceremony in the presence of Lillie J. Thomas, 715 East Green; Harold E. Gay, 623 East Green; and Louis Thomas Jr., 715 East Green.
Elton Thomas died 15 December 1970 in Goldsboro, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was born 5 July 1891 to Charlie Thomas and Sarah Best; was married to Rebecca Thomas; resided in Wilson; and had worked in lathing construction.
On 4 December 1869, a Wilson County Probate Court judge ordered 15 year-old Joseph Hagans, described as an orphan, to serve James S. Barnes until he was 21 years of age. Joseph’s siblings Penny, 13, Edwin, 11, George, and Sarah Hagans, 6, were placed under Barnes’ control the same day.
The Haganses were the children of Robert and Sarah Hagans. In the 1860 census of Fields district, Greene County: day laborer Robert Hagans, 31; wife Sarah, 30; and children Mary, 12, Joseph, 8, Penelope, 5, and Edwin, 1. Robert and Sarah Hagans apparently died between 1864 and 1869.
In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: siblings Joseph, 15, Penelope, 12, Edwin, 11, Sarah, 8, and George Hagans, 6, all described as “farmer’s apprentices.” Their household is listed next to James R. Barnes, a wealthy farmer who reported owning $18,000 in real property. (This is a different James Barnes from the one who apprenticed the Hagans children. James S. Barnes died in 1871.)
Joseph Hagans was living in southern Wayne County, N.C., by 1881, when he married Mary Winn, daughter of David and Susan Winn, in the Dudley community. I have not found the younger Hagans siblings after 1870.
United States, Indenture and Manumission Records, 1780-1939, database at https://familysearch.org.
The Voice: An International Review of the Speaking and Singing Voice, vol. 7 (1885).
MUSICAL BLIND CHILDREN.
For several days past there has been a remarkable family of negroes in Atlanta. Their name is Williamson, and they came from Wilson county, North Carolina. There are three brothers and four sisters, all of whom have been totally blind from birth. They are the children of black parents who were slaves and ordinary field hands. Unto them were born fourteen children, seven of whom had sight, while seven were blind. The blind children were not only hardier and healthier, but their mental endowments are superior to those of their brothers and sisters who could see. They went to Raleigh to the state blind asylum and were there well educated. Every one of them developed a remarkable talent for music, and on leaving the asylum they organized themselves into a concert company and began to travel through the South. The oldest brother married a smart negro woman, who acts as guide and business manager of the party. They have been all over the South giving entertainments, which have paid them handsomely. They sing and play on various instruments with remarkable skill. All of them have good voices, which have been well trained.
Their most remarkable performances are the exhibitions of their powers of mimicry. They imitate a brass band so perfectly, that a person outside the hall in which they are humming would almost invariably be deceived. Their imitation of the organ is equally perfect. Each of the singers makes a peculiar noise and carries his or her own part of the performance, and the combined result is a deep music very like to the pealing of a grand organ. These are two of their many tricks. They are constantly adding to their repertoire, and perfecting themselves more and more in their curious arts. They have educated the sense of touch to a remarkable degree. By feeling of a person’s face and head, they can give an accurate description of his or her appearance; and one of the sisters claims that she can tell the color of the hair by touching it. The seven will stand with joined hands and any object can be placed in the hands of the oldest brother at the end of the line; while he holds it, he claims that the magnetic current which passes through the entire line will enable any one of his brothers and sisters to tell what he has in his hand. At any rate, some remarkable guesses of this kind are made.
The blind negroes have given a series of entertainments in various negro churches in the city, and have created a great sensation among the colored population. It is said they take great care of their aged parents, who still reside on the old homestead in North Carolina, in the same cabin where they lived as slaves, and where their fourteen children were born.The blind singers have bought the place and presented it to their parents. The brothers and the wife of the eldest manage the financial affairs of the combination so successfully that they accumulated a snug property. The oldest brother is about twenty-eight and the youngest sister about sixteen years old. Various efforts have been made by professional managers to secure the control of this remarkable family, but they prefer to take care of their own affairs. They are all intelligent and remarkably well posted on matters in general. — Atlanta Constitution.