Stokes

The obituary of Turner Stokes, carpenter.

Wilson Daily Times, 30 June 1950.

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In the 1880 census of Jackson township, Nash County: farmer Simon Morgan, 62; wife Moriah, 41; and children Glindora, 14, Charles, 9, Turner, 8, Isadora, 7, and David, 5. [Mariah’s maiden name was Stokes, and at least two of her children with Simon Morgan — Turner and John — used her name as adults.]

In the 1908 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Stokes Turner (c) lab h 535 E Nash

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Nash Street, carpenter Turner Stokes, 41, and wife Nellie, 45, restaurant cook.

On 26 November 1916, Turner Stokes, 46, of Wilson, son of Simon and Mariah Stokes, married Nora Peacock, 35, daughter of Martha Haskins, at Mrs. Peacock’s. Missionary Baptist minister N.H. Arrington performed the ceremony in the presence of Johnny Bess, 

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 535 Nash Street, Turner Stokes, 50, carpenter; wife Morah, 39; mother-in-law Martha Pitt, 83; and boarders Isac Shade, 44, drugstore manager; wife Estella, 38; and children Kenneth, 13, and Sarah, 9. 

Nora Stokes died 26 December 1927 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 16 May 1882 in Wilson County to Martha Ann Haskins; was married to Turner Stokes; and lived at 530 East Nash.

On 3 June 1928, Turner Stokes, 57, of Wilson, son of Simon and Mariah Stokes, married Mattie Hinnant, 40, daughter of John and Margaret Renfrow, in Wilson. Missionary Baptist minister Charles T. Jones performed the ceremony in the presence of W.L. Jones, Martha Jones, and Alice Swinson.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 530 East Nash Street, Turner Stokes, 60, building carpenter; wife Mattie, 38, laundress; and roomers Mary Barnes, 16, and Lillian Dedman, 17.

On 3 October 1937, Turner Stokes, 65, married Maggie Parker, 60, in Wilson County.

In the 1941 Wilson, N.C, city directory: Stokes Turner (c; Maggie) carpenter h 104 Ashe.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 104 Ash Street, Maggie Stokes, 60; husband Turner, 82; daughter Jennie Curbo, 32, city elementary school teacher; grandsons Carlisle, 15, and James Parker, 9; and lodger Audrey A. Ellis, 5.

Turner Stokes died 29 June 1950 at his home at 104 Ash Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1868 in Nash County, N.C., to Simon Stokes and Mariah [maiden name unknown]; was married; worked as a carpenter; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery. Jennie Kerbo was informant. [Stokes may have been buried in Rountree Missionary Baptist’s cemetery proper, or may have been buried in nearby Vick Cemetery, which was colloquially referred to as Rountree.]

The wrong Turner: a correction (if not an apology).

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Wilson Daily Times, 15 July 1924.

  • Turner Lewis — in the 1920 census of Flea Hill township, Cumberland County, North Carolina: sawmill labor Turner Lewis, 40; wife Mellie, 22; and sister-in-law Gertrude Murphy, 12. In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Lewis Turner lab h 211 S Railroad. Turner Lewis died 1 March 1925 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 40 years old; his parents were Isaac and Pennie Lewis; he was single and worked as a fireman for Sims Company tobacco factor; and informant was Gertrude Murphy. Lewis died of “homicide; wound on head; skull broken; no doctor; fighting; wound produced by blow from ax.”
  • Turner Stokes — in the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 535 Nash Street, Turner Stokes, 50, carpenter; wife Morah, 39; mother-in-law Martha Pitt, 83; and boarders Isac Shade, 44, drugstore manager; wife Estella, 38; and children Kenneth, 13, and Sarah, 9. In the 1922 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Stokes Turner carp 524 E Nash. Turner Stokes died 29 June 1950 in Wilson.  Per his death certificate, he was born in 1868 in Nash County to Simon Stokes and Mariah (last name unknown); was a carpenter; was married; and resided at 104 Ash Street. Jennie Kerbo, 104 Ash, was informant.

104 Ash Street.

The fifty-sixth 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; triple-A cottage heavily modernized; aluminum sided.”

Prior to the early 1920s, 104 Ash Street was numbered 111. The 1913 Sanborn fire insurance map shows the house in its original L-shape.

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In 1918, Charlie Parker registered for the World War I draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 17 January 1898; resided at 111 Ash Street; was a laborer at the Naval Yard in Norfolk, Virginia; and his nearest relative was Charlie Parker, 111 Ash Street.

In the 1922 Wilson, N.C., city directory: Hedgepeth Jennie, cook h 104 Ashe; Parker Charles, carp h 104 Ashe; Parker Maggie, cook h 104 Ash.

Charlie Parker died 22 July 1923 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 53 years old; was married to Maggie Parker; was a carpenter; and was born in Easenburg(?), North Carolina, to Ruffin Parker and an unknown mother. Maggie Parker, 104 Ashe Street, was informant.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 104 Ashe Street, rented at $12/month, widow Maggie Parker, 40, cook, and daughters Maggie, 23, laundry ironer, and Jennie, 20, plus mother Jennie Hedgpeth, 60, widow. All were born in Virginia except Jennie Parker.

In the 1941 Wilson, N.C, city directory: Parker Magdelena (c) prsr Service Laundry & Dry Clnrs h 104 Ashe;    Stokes Turner (c; Maggie) carpenter h 104 Ashe.

Jennie Hedgepeth died 27 April 1942 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 65 years old; a widow; born in Virginia; resided at 104 Ashe Street; and was buried in Rountree cemetery. Jennie Parker was informant.

In 1942, Charlie Parker registered for the World War II draft in South Norfolk, Virginia. Per his registration card, he resided at 1220 Transylvania Avenue, South Norfolk, Virginia; his phone number was Berkley 696M; he was born 17 January 1898 in Wilson, North Carolina; his contact was Maggie Parker, 104 Ashe Street, Wilson; he wore glasses; and he owned a real estate business.

On 29 May 1950, Turner Stokes died at his home at 104 Ash Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1868 in Nash County to Simon Stokes and Mariah (last name unknown); worked as a carpenter laborer; was married; and was buried in Rountree cemetery. Informant was Jennie Kerbo, 104 Ash Street.

Maggie Parker Stokes died 4 March 1963 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 7 March 1884 in Roanoke, Virginia, to Calvin Hedgpeth and Jennie Adams; and her residence was 104 Ashe Street. Jennie Kerbo was informant.

Jennie Parker Kerbo resided at 104 Ash Street until her death in 2006.

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The modern footprint of 104 Ash. The narrow porch shown on the 1913 Sanborn map was likely converted to an interior hallway when a room was added on the southeast side of the house. Courtesy Google Maps.

Photograph taken by Lisa Y. Henderson, December 2017.

 

 

Ella Stokes Doyle.

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A.B. Caldwell, ed., The History of the American Negro and His Institutions, Georgia Edition (1917).

“On June 26, 1907, [Newton Alexander Doyle] was married to Miss Ella Stokes, a daughter of Henry and Charity Stokes, of Wilson, N.C. Prior to her marriage she was a teacher. They have three children: Geraldine, Christine and Leonora.”

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Dr. Newton A. Doyle, 33, of Gainesville, Georgia, married Ella Stokes, 24, of Wilson on 26 June 1907. [Their license reports Ella’s parents as unknown. The 1880 census of  Jackson township, Nash County: farm laborer Thomas Stokes, 27, wife Charity, 31, and their children, including daughter Ella, 7. This Ella Stokes is several years older than Ella Stokes Doyle.] Dr. Frank S. Hargrave applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony at Moses Brandon‘s house in the presence of Estella Holden and Roberta Battle. [Presumably the couple met at Shaw University.]

In the 1910 census of Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia: at 60 Athens Street, physician Nathan [sic] A. Doyle, 35; wife Ella, 30; daughter Julia, 1; and sister Florence, 20, a public school teacher.

On 12 September 1918, Newton Alexander Doyle registered for the World War I draft in Hall County. Per his registration card, he was born 30 September 1873; resided at 60 Athens Street, Gainesville; worked as a physician; and was of medium build with gray eyes and sandy hair. Ella Doyle was his nearest relative.

In the 1920 census of Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia: at 60 Athens Street, physician Newton O. Doyle, 45; wife Ella, 39; and daughters Geraldine, 10, Christine, 8, and Ella Lenore, 6.

In the 1930 census of Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia: at 60 Athens Street, physician Newton A. Doyle, 56; wife Ella, 49; daughters Christine, 19, and Lenora, 17; and nephew Willie, 25, a drug store clerk.

Newton A. Doyle died 18 January 1936 in Gainesville. His estate, perhaps battered by the Depression, was relatively modest: mortgaged vacant lots in Gainesville and Jefferson County, Alabama; the stock of medicines and merchandise in his drugstore at 78 Athens Street; a second-hand Essex automobile; and the furnishings and accessories of his home and business, many yet unpaid for.

In the 1940 census of Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia: on “street S. of Queen near Negro School,” Burnette W. Gallman, 31, public school principal; wife Lenora D., 26, school teacher; and mother-in-law Ella Doyle, 61.

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Keowee Courier (Pickens, South Carolina), 3 July 1907.