Smith

Private Jasper L. Smith, stationed at Camp Shanks.

In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Charlie Smith, 28; wife Carry, 22; and children Ruth, 4, Millie, 3, and Jasper, 11 months.

In the 1930 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: Charlie Smith, 43; wife Carrie, 31; and children Ruth, 14, Midred, 13, Jasper, 11, Jessie G., 9, Virginia, 8, May E., 6, Willie J., 3, and William H., 2.

In 1940, Jasper Lee Smith registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 22 April 1918 in Wilson County; lived at Route 1, Wilson; his contact was mother Carrie Smith; and he worked for J.A. Watson.

Image courtesy of Veterans of World War II Wilson County, spiral-bound volume, Wilson County Public Library.

605 East Green Street.

The two hundred-third 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: “ca. 1908; 1 story; William Hargrove house; triple-A house with bracketed, chamfered porch posts and cut-out balustrade; asphalt shingled; Hargrove was a blacksmith.”

Originally numbered 606, the Hargrove house is second only to the Samuel H. and Annie M. Vick house in longevity on the block.

In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Hargrove Wm blksmith 206 S Goldsboro h 606 E Green

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 606 Green, blacksmith William Hargrove, 43; wife Louvenia, 40; daughters Bessie, 17, and Willie L., 13; and boarder John Howard, 18.

In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Hargrove Wm blksmith h 606 E Green

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 606 East Green, Luvenia Hargrove, 40, widow, and daughter Willie, 20, public school teacher.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 605 East Green, Luvenia Hargrove, 60, widow, and daughter Willie, 29, public school teacher.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 605 East Green, owned and valued at $1000, Louvenia Hargrove, 74, widow; son-in-law McDuffie Smith, 42, shoeshine parlor operator; and daughter Willie, 48, teacher.

In 1942, McDuffie Smith registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 12 July 1899 in Durham, N.C.; lived at 605 East Green; his contact was Luvenia Hargrove, 605 East Green; and he was self-employed.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 605 East Green, shoeshine parlor manager McDuffie Smith, 51; wife Willie H., 53, city grammar school teacher; and mother-in-law Luvenia Hargrove, 80, widow.

Luevenia Hargrove died 22 February 1958 in Wilson at her home at 605 East Green. Per her death certificate, she was born 27 February 1869 in Edgecombe County to Joshua Bulluck and Harriet Hines and was buried in Bulluck cemetery, Edgecombe County. Informant was Mrs. Willie Smith, 605 East Green.

McDuffie Smith of 605 East Green died 17 July 1971. Willie Hargrove Smith died 12 years later. Her nephew, William Hines Macklin, remained at 605 East Green.

Wilson Daily Times, 4 May 1983.

William H. Macklin died 13 March 1991 in Wilson.

On 7 November 1994, the Wilson Daily Times published a list of boarded-up houses that included 605 East Green, described as needing “minor repairs.”

The house was renovated and remains occupied today.

N.87-12-354-359, William Hargrove House, 605 E. Green Street, East Wilson Historic District, Wilson, Wilson County, Survey and National Register Branch, State Historic Preservation Office.

Notice of the sale of Smith’s buses.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 16 July 1925.

Garage owner James Edward Smith died of complications resulting from an automobile accident in March 1925. His widow Annie B. Smith, as administrator, sold two of his buses at public auction in August of that year. Alex Obey later bought the garage.

Mitchell vs. Smith and Moore.

In 1911, Annie Mitchell filed suit against Rev. Owen L.W. Smith over a land dispute. In 1907, Mitchell had purchased from Smith a lot in what is now the 500 block of East Nash Street. Per the deed, the lot measured 44 1/4 feet by 210 feet.

Soon, though, Mitchell learned that the lot was only 147 feet deep and that the back 63 feet that she thought she owned in fact was R.J. Taylor’s lot. She sued for the difference in the values of the full lot and the lot she got.

For reasons unstated, the court granted O.L.W. Smith’s motion to add Edward Moore as a party.

On 15 February 1913, Judge B.D. Cline ordered Smith to pay Mitchell $125, plus interest, and Moore to pay Smith $100, plus interest.

Civil Action Papers Concerning Land, Wilson County, N.C., 1908-1916; Wilson County, N.C., Court Records 1904-1916; http://www.familysearch.org.

Christine McDaniel joins the Bud Billiken Club.

Chicago Defender founder and publisher Robert Sengstacke Abbott created Bud Billiken in 1923 for the Defender Junior, the newspaper’s children’s page. The Bud Billiken Club encouraged reading, good behavior, and community involvement. Though based in Chicago, club membership was open to children across the country, and 14 year-old Christine McDaniel quickly applied.

Chicago Defender, 3 March 1923.

——

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Mamie McDaniel, 36, laborer; daughter Christian, 11; roomer Mattie Allen, 29, cook at Wilson Sanatorium; and brother Thomas Hicks, 18, cafe cook.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: widow Minnie McDaniel, 58; daughters Christine Smith, 27, teacher at Turner School, and Erma L. McDaniel, 14; and roomers Mozelle Simms, 22, and Lizzie Rogers, 20, both cooks.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Minnie McDaniel, 64, widow; son-in-law Robert Armstrong, 29, local hospital orderly; wife Christine, 35, elementary school teacher; and lodger Emma L. Armstrong.

Witnesses to divorce.

Haywood Freeman, Sidney Freeman, Nettie M. Vick, Hagar Edwards, and Mary Ward were called as witnesses to the divorce action filed by Charles H. Smith against his wife Virginia Smith.

Haywood and Sidney Freeman were the father and brother of Joseph Freeman, who was named as one of the men with whom Jenny Smith allegedly committed adultery. Hagar Edwards’ home in Greene County was the site of an alleged tryst. The focus of Nettie Vick and Mary Ward’s anticipated testimony is not known.

Three witnesses requested that their witness fees be paid over to someone else — in two cases, the man for whom they testified, Charles H. Smith himself. At a minimum, this request would raise an eyebrow today.

“please pay to C.H. Smith what is due me as a witness in his case”

“please pay to C.H. Smith the amount due me as a witness in his case”

Nettie M. Vick requested that her fee go to her brother W. Henry Vick. (Samuel H. Vick was another of her brothers.)

“please pay to Henry Vick the amount due Nettie Vick Witness of C.H. Smith case”

Charles Smith vs. Jennie Smith: a divorce.

On 7 September 1883, Charles H. Smith filed a divorce action in Wilson County Superior Court against his wife Jennie Smith. Smith had been principal of Wilson Academy (the private graded school that preceded the Colored Graded School) and was an up-and-coming figure in the A.M.E. Zion Church. He also founded a school in Black Creek. Jennie Smith was the sister of Braswell R. Winstead, educator, postal clerk, and close associate of Samuel H. Vick. J.W. Hood highlighted Charles H. Smith in One Hundred Years of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; or, the Centennial of African Methodism. Hood’s bio of Smith does not mention his marriage to Virginia Smith.

The plaintiff complains and alleges

(1) That on the ____ day of 1871 (or 72) he intermarried with the defendant Jennie Smith

(2) That he and said defendant were then and have ever since been citizens and residents of the State of North Carolina

(3) That he and said defendant had lived together as man and wife in various places in this State after their said marriage until on discovering the various acts of adultery hereinafter mentioned, he separated from her

(4) That in or about the Summer of 1881 (for want of information plaintiff is unable to state this or any subsequent dates with greater particularity) the defendant at the residence in the County and town of Wilson committed adultery with one Patrick Brewer

(5) That in or about April 1881 in Greene County, N.C., at or near the house of Hagar Edwards, the defendant committed adultery with one Scott Ward

(6) That in the winter of 1880 and also in [illegible] ’81 in the County and Town of Wilson, N.C., in or about the winter of 1881, and at her residence, the defendant committed adultery with said Scott Ward

(7) That at her residence in the County and Town of Wilson, N.C., in or about the summer of 1881, the defendant committed adultery with one Wardson Ward

(8) That in the County and Town of Wilson, N.C., in or about the winter of 1881, at her residence, the defendant committed adultery with one Joseph Freeman

(9) That there were born of the said marriage a son named Charles H. Smith aged five years, and a daughter named Araminta Smith aged nine years, now in the care and custody of the plaintiff

[Jurat omitted]

——

  • Charles H. Smith

Perhaps: in the 1870 census of Town of Wilson, Wilson County: farm laborer William Smith, 27; wife Temperance, 31; son Charles, 20, farm laborer; and Nancy Brown, 51.

On 28 August 1874, Charles Smith, 22, married Jennie Barnes, 17, in Wilson County.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Pettigrew Street, minister Charles Smith, 26; wife Virginia, 22; and children Arminta, 7, John T., 3, and Charles H., 1; and brother-in-law Braswell Winstead, 20, teaching school.

  • Jennie Smith

On 28 August 1874, Charles Smith, 22, married Jennie Barnes, 17, in Wilson County.

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Pettigrew Street, minister Charles Smith, 26; wife Virginia, 22; and children Arminta, 7, John T., 3, and Charles H., 1; and brother-in-law Braswell Winstead, 20, teaching school.

  • Patrick Brewer
  • Scott Ward

In the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: day laborer Scott Ward, 23; wife Tena, 24, cook; and children Beauty, 1, and Nathan, 3.

  • Wardson Ward

Perhaps, in the 1880 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: farmer Warren Ward, 53; wife Sarah, 52, washing; and children Manda, 8, Henry, 7, and Lawrence, 19.

  • Joseph Freeman

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Pettigrew Street, farmer  Haywood Freeman, 53; wife Emily, 40; and children Joseph, 17, and Sydnor, 15.

  • Charles H. Smith

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Pettigrew Street, minister Charles Smith, 26; wife Virginia, 22; and children Arminta, 7, John T., 3, and Charles H., 1; and brother-in-law Braswell Winstead, 20, teaching school.

On 17 April 1901, Chas. H. Smith married Elizzie Reed in Fair Bluff, Columbus County, N.C.

In the 1910 census of Tatums township, Columbus County: Charley Smith, 30, lumberyard foreman, and wife Lizzie, 28.

In 1918, Charlie Henry Smith registered for the World War I draft in Columbus County, N.C. Per his registration card, he was born 7 October 1879; lived in Boardman, Columbus County; worked as a lumberman for Butlers Lumber Company; and his nearest relative was Elizabeth Smith. He signed his card “Charles Henry Smith.” [Not to be confused with another Charlie Smith, who also registered in 1918. Per his registration card, he was born 12 August 1876; lived in Acme, Columbus County; worked as a laborer for Acme Manufacturing Company; and his nearest relative was Lizzie Smith. The form was signed with an X.]

In the 1920 census of Tatums township, Columbus County: lumber camp overseer Charlie Smith, 38, and wife Lizzie, 36.

Charles H. Smith died 9 June 1932 in Fair Bluff, Columbus County, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was 54 years old; was born in Wilson to Charlie H. Smith; was married to Annie Smith; and worked in a sawmill. Charlie Maultsby was informant.

  • Araminta Smith

In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Pettigrew Street, minister Charles Smith, 26; wife Virginia, 22; and children Arminta, 7, John T., 3, and Charles H., 1; and brother-in-law Braswell Winstead, 20, teaching school.

In December 1898, Charly Maultsby, son of Sophia Maultsby, married Araminta Smith, daughter of C.H. Smith and Jennie Smith, in Columbus County, N.C.

In the 1900 census of Whiteville, Columbus County, N.C.: day laborer Charles Maultsby, 25, and wife Araminta, 22.

Wilson County Divorce Records 1859-1913,