Wilson Daily Times, 23 April 1949.
1949 Trojan, the yearbook of Charles H. Darden High School.
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In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 412 Daniel Street, Harvey Rogers, 26; wife Martha, 25; and children Amos, 10, and Lena Mae, 7.
In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Harvey Rogers, 36, janitor at laundry and dry-cleaning business; wife Martha T., 36, domestic; and son Amos, 19, packer at tobacco retrying factory.
The 500 block of East Nash Street is justly remembered as the 20th century epicenter of Wilson’s African-American-owned businesses. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black entrepreneurs and tradespeople also operated across the tracks. As Wilson’s downtown experiences a resurgence, let’s rediscover and celebrate these pioneering men and women.
Check in each Sunday for the latest in the Historic Black Business Series!
The fantastic Wilson Arts Center now occupies the footprint of New Briggs Hotel. Paragon Shaving Parlor opened in a storefront space of the hotel at what was then 213 East Nash Street. The barbershop was located in the area of the “short,” far-left section of the arts center’s facade.
After apprenticing with barber John A. Gaston, Walter S. Hines joined with Noah J. Tate and Jacob Astor Tabron to open Paragon Shaving Parlor in a storefront at the New Briggs Hotel circa 1903. (Not 1912, as my little sign says.) In 1906, Tate, Hines, Tabron sold the shop’s furnishings to another barber, Richard Renfrow, suggesting a complete upgrade of Paragon’s interior.
Tabron soon left the partnership to start a barbershop with his brothers. Hines and Tate continued the business, which was described this way in the 1912 Wilson, North Carolina, Industrial & Commercial Directory: “The Paragon Shaving Parlor is located at 213 East Nash street in Briggs Hotel Block, and it can truthfully be said that it is the most popular Tonsorial parlor in the city of Wilson. It is owned and managed by N.J. Tate and W.S. Hines, both of whom are skilled barbers of long experience. Their genial manner and high class work have won for them the liberal share of the best patronage of the city. Their shop is fully equipped with all the latest appurtenances, and a short visit to this establishment will after passing through their hands, convince you of what the modern, up-to-date barber shops can do to put a man in good humor with himself and the rest of mankind. The shop is equipped with five chairs, each in charge of a professional barber. Go there for your next shave.”
By 1916, the business was known as Tate & Hines.
Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory (1916).
About 1920, Tate and Hines parted company, and Walter S. Hines assumed sole ownership of the barbershop. He briefly reverted to the Paragon Shaving Parlor name, but soon settled on Walter S. Hines Barbershop. His shop and that of his brother, the William Hines Barbershop, were friendly competitors for white custom until the 1970s.
Wilson Chamber of Commerce’s Facts About Wilson, North Carolina, published in 1934, featured a full-page for New Briggs with a photo of the hotel’s street-facing exterior. At lower left, Hines Barbershop is identifiable by its barber pole.
A close-up reveals two African-American men standing in front of the shop’s large window.
Walter S. Hines Barber Shop, early 1940s. Left to right: David H. Coley, Joe Knolly Zachary, Edgar H. Diggs, Roderick Taylor, and Sidney Boatwright.
Contrary to the passage below, which was lifted from the nomination form the Central Business-Tobacco Warehouse Historic District, Hines himself did not move the barbershop from the Briggs Hotel in 1955. Walter Hines died in 1941, and his family continued running the business for nearly 40 more years.
Barbers and bootblacks who worked for Walter S. Hines included Hiram A. Faulk, Walter Mainer, Roderick Taylor, David Barnes, Herman N. Grissom, Floyd Pender, Hubert Mitchner, Lonnie Barnes, Charles C. Chick, Edgar H. Diggs, Mancie Gaston, Elmer Gordon, Golden Robinson, James Smalls, Alonzo Barnes, David H. Coley, Sidney Boatwright, and Joe Knolly Zachary.
The 500 block of East Nash Street is justly remembered as the 20th century epicenter of Wilson’s African-American-owned businesses. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black entrepreneurs and tradespeople also operated across the tracks. As Wilson’s downtown experiences a resurgence, let’s rediscover and celebrate these pioneering men and women.
Check in each Sunday for the latest in the Historic Black Business Series!
Lemon Taborn (later spelled Tabron) was born free about 1834 in Nash County, North Carolina, to Celia Taborn. He moved to the town of Wilson before 1860 and soon established a barbershop — the earliest known Black-owned business in Wilson.
E.B. Mayo noted Taborn’s shop into his 1872 map of Wilson on Tarboro Street just north of Vance Street. Taborn owned a large parcel of land in this block. (The house above was built after the family sold the lot.)
The Wilson Advance, 24 September 1880.
His barbershop also is drawn into the 1882 map of the city.
Taborn died in 1893, and his wife Edmonia Barnes Taborn and daughter Carrie Taborn continued his business until his sons Joshua, Jacob Astor, and Thomas Henry Taborn established Tabron Brothers Barbershop.
Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2024.
I’ve been looking for Granite Point since 2019, and last month I finally posted a query here. Two weeks later, Lisa Winstead-Stokes responded that she absolutely knew where Granite Point is — it’s her family’s cemetery!
Yesterday I met up with Lisa and her husband Cornell Stokes on Thompson Chapel Church Road, just north of Silver Lake. We crossed into a patch of woods, and I immediately saw numerous depressions in the ground indicating sunken graves. After a few minutes, Lisa spotted an old metal funeral home marker, whose paper placard had long rotted away. She wasn’t sure there were any headstones in the cemetery, but then I spied this:
Earnest Windstead d. Apr. 17, 1953 Age 85 Yrs
The woods are bisected by an open stretch that also shows evidence of grave depressions. We realized immediately that the second section, on a slope leading down to a mill pond, was the primary location of burials in the cemetery. Several small beautifully preserved concrete headstones stand in neat rows alongside two vaults and a large granite headstone. Sadly, most mark the deaths of children within a two-year span from 1921 to 1923, when influenza and other disease struck the extended Joyner family hard.
The cemetery was established on property belonging to John S. Thompson as burial place for African-American sharecroppers and tenant farmers working his land. According to Lisa’s father, Roosevelt Winstead, who recalled attending funerals there in the 1950s, the site was open not only to family, but to anyone in the community who could not afford to be buried elsewhere. A deed search shows the land belongs to absentee Thompson heirs, but neither recent plat maps nor J.S. Thompson’s 1943 plat map mark the cemetery’s location. (Thompson owned 909 acres along both sides of Thompson Chapel Church Road stretching from Highway 58 across the Nash County border.) The cemetery lies astride the boundary of two of the five parcels making up the present day property, and the metes and bounds description of one parcel likely provides a clue as to the actual name of the cemetery. Obituaries and death certificates list is as Granite Point or Grantie Point. The Winstead family’s pronunciation of its name is something closer to Granny Pines. The parcel description notes a Moccasin Branch and Granny Branch (tributaries of Toisnot Swamp) as boundaries. The cemetery lies partially in a triangular wedge jutting out from the parcel’s eastern edge. Was the cemetery’s original name Granny Point?
Maggie Wife of Sessoms Eatmon Died Feb. 10, 1923 Age 26 Yrs. As A Wife, Devoted. As A Mother, Affectionate. As A Friend, Eternal.
Maggie Eatmon died 10 February 1923 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per her death certificate, she was 26 years old; was born in Wilson County to Henry Joyner and Margaret Winstead; was married to Sessoms Eatmon; worked in farming; and was buried in Wilson County.
Theodore Son of Henry & Margarette Joyner Born Dec. 29, 1909 Died Jan. 21, 1923. Gone But Not Forgotten.
Theordo Joyner died 2 February 1923 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per his death certificate, he was born in December 1909 in Wilson, N.C., to Wm. henry Joyner and Margret Winstead; was a school boy; and was buried in the “country.”
Martha A. Lucas Born Aug 9 1910 Died Aug 10 1921 Gone to be an angel.
Martha Lucas died 10 August 1921 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born 8 August 1909 in Nash County to Willey Lucas of Nash County and Elizabeth Lucas of Wilson County; was a school girl; and was buried in the “country.”
Herman Son of Lem & Susie Tabron Born Dec. 29, 1920 Died May 18, 1921. Asleep in Jesus.
Infants of Sessoms & Maggie Eatmon, Born Jan. 31, 1923 Died Feb. 2, 1923. At Rest.
Infant Abert Eatmon died 2 February 1923 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per his death certificate, he was born 31 January 1923 in Nash County to Sessoms Eatmon and Maggie Joyner, both of Wilson County; and was buried in the “country.”
Infant Son of Jarmon & Lula Eatmon. Born & Died June 25, 1921. Asleep in Jesus.
Vault cover of Tempie Scott’s grave, stamped Cofield Services.
Tempie Tabron Scott died 2 December 1968 in Halifax, Halifax County, North Carolina. Per her death certificate, she was born 30 June 1886 to Larse Tabron and Elizabeth [maiden name unknown]; was widowed; and was buried in Tabron family cemetery, Nash County, by Cofield Funeral Home, Weldon, N.C.
Annie B. Tabron Dobie May 6, 1927 Dec. 6, 1952
One of perhaps a dozen funeral home metal markers found in the cemetery.
Two Lisas on a chilly, almost-spring day.
Lisa Winstead-Stokes is exploring the logistics of clearing Granny Pines/Granite Point cemetery of years of overgrowth. If you have relatives buried or simply are interested in helping, please comment here with contact information!
Wilson Daily Times, 2 April 1932.
This tribute to Thomas Henry Tabron is an example the way in which even good works and praise were filtered through a racist lens.
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On 16 May 1911, Thomas Henry Tabron, 21, of Wilson, son of Lemon and Edmonia Tabron, married Mattie Belle Smith, 19, of Fayetteville, N.C., daughter of Wm. and Sarah Smith, at Saint Joseph’s Rectory, Fayetteville, N.C.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Thos H (c) barber J A Tabron h Daniel nr N S R R
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron T Henry (c) T Bros barber h 509 Boykin ct nr Hines
In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Bros (T Henry & Jacob A) barbers 126 S Goldsboro
Henry Lee Tabron died 7 May 1918 in Macclesfield, Township 9, Edgecombe County, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was born 8 May [1913] in Wilson to Thomas Henry Tabron and Mattie Belle Smith; and resided on Tarboro Street, Wilson.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on West Walnut Street, barber Henry Tabron, 27; wife Mattie, 28; and children Elma, 8, William, 5, Edmonia, 3, and John, 6 months.
In the 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Henry (c) barber Reid Barber Shop h 306 South
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Henry (c) barber Wilson Barber Shop h 306 E South
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron T Henry (c; Mattie B) barber h 306 South
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tabron Thos H (c; Mattie R) barber Wm C Reid h 700 E Vance
In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Henry Tabron, 37; wife Mattie, 29, laundress; and children William, 15, shoe shop laborer, Edmonia, 14, Bill S., 11, Berkley, 9, and Donald, 7.
Thomas Henry Tabron died 19 April 1932 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 40 years; was married to Mattie Belle Tabron; lived at 304 South Street; was a barber; and was born in Wilson to Lemon Tabron of Nash County, N.C., and Edmonia Tabron, of Virginia.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 925 Atlantic Street, Henry Taborn, “dead”; wife Mattie, 45, cleaner at Thomas Yelverton, born in Maxton, N.C.; sons Bill, 21, Donnell, 17, and Berkley, 19, all born in Macclesfield, N.C.; daughter Elmer [Elma] Brodie, 29, cook at Woolworths, and her sons George, 8, Henry, 7, Robert, 3, and William, 5. [FYI: I have never seen a deceased person listed in a census record, much less one eight years deceased.]
Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.
Wilson Daily Times, 15 April 2006.
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Harry Dunston married Mary Stancil on 28 December 1897 on Oneal township, Johnston County.
In the 1910 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: Harry Dunston, 58, his wife of 6 years Livia A., 46, and children James, 10, Pearly, 7, Percy, 7, Alparada, 3, and Ollie, 1 1/2.
In the 1920 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farmer Harry Duncan [sic], 59; wife Livian, 39; and children Alparato, 11, Oliver W. 9, Bettie, 8, Clara, 7, Joseph, 6, Sidney, 5, Ruby and Ruth, 3, and Pearl and Percy, 15.
Livan Dunston died 29 April 1947 in Old Fields township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born 14 May 1885 in Wilson County to Best Taborn and Clara Locus; was married to Harry Dunston; and is buried at New Vester.
Harry Dunston died 10 August 1950 in Old Fields township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born December 1859 in Wake County to Ben Dunston and Harriett Hester; was a widower; was a farmer; and was buried at New Vester. Eliza Dunstan Hayes was informant.
Ruby Dunston Jones passed away 6 March 2016, just before her 100th birthday.
Pittsburgh Courier, 24 May 1941.
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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 700 East Vance Street, rented for $16/month, barber Henry Tabron, 37; wife Mattie B., 39, laundress; and children William, 15, shoe shop laborer, Edmonia, 14, Bill S., 11, Berkly, 9, and Donald, 7.
S/Sgt. Olin B. Tabron, 24, son of Henry Tabron and Mattie Smith Tabron, married Lovie Dancy, 24, daughter of Johnnie Dancy and Pennie Mills Dancy, on 24 December 1945 in Wilson in the presence of T.R. Uzzell, Elma Brodie and Pennie E. Nancy.
In 1945, Olin Berkley Tabron filled a World War II draft registration card (though he had already enlisted.) Per his card, he was born 1 January 1921 [actually, December 1920] in Edgecombe County, North Carolina; his nearest relative was sister Elma Broady, 909 Green Street, Wilson; and his discharge date was 8 November 1945.
Olin Berkley “Bert” Tabron died 21 June 2004.
In March 1906, Noah J. Tate, Walter S. Hines and Joshua L. Tabron executed a lease-purchase agreement with Richard Renfrow for the entire contents of a barber shop, including four “hydrantic” chairs, four mirrored cabinets, a barber pole and eight water bottles. These items were “packed in R.E. Hagan’s Shop on Barnes Street,” which Tate, Hines and Tabron had purchased. Renfrow agreed to pay three dollars a week, plus insurance and taxes on the property. After 132 payments, Renfrow would own the barber shop. He paid at an accelerated rate, and the debt was cancelled before the end of the year.
On Old Raleigh Road, just west of Interstate 95, lies the old Jones Hill Primitive Baptist church cemetery. The church itself is perhaps a half-mile down the road to the east. The cemetery has been so overgrown that I failed to locate it on two previous attempts, but appears to have been rough cut within the last couple of years. It contains, among others, the graves of several members of a large free family of color, the Joneses. Per Findagrave.com, there are at least 25 marked graves here, but because of dense weeds and underbrush, I missed several, including Julious Locus 1854-1922, Josiah Jones 1862-1925 and Benjamin Coley 1864-1921.
The view from the road today:
Two views within the cemetery, which lies in a narrow strip of woodland sloping upward between two cultivated fields:
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In the 1870 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: Allen Powell, 32, dipping turpentine, wife Charity, 22, and children Robert and Cena, 2.
In the 1880 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farm laborer Allen Powell, 42, wife Chana, 36, and children Robert 13, Seneori, 11, Eligah, 9, Thomas R., 6, and James L., 1.
On 30 January 1896, Elijah Powell, 26, of Old Fields, married Sarah Tabron, 19, of Taylors, in Taylors township.
In the 1900 census of Crossroads township, Wilson County: farm laborer Elliga Powell, 29, wife Sarah, 22, children Roxie, 2, and Daisy, 6 months, sisters-in-law Maggie, 12, and Ida N. Batts, 8, niece Loutory Taborn, 14, widowed grandmother Sarah Williams, 70, and boarder Henry Barnes, 25.
In the 1910 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: farmer Elijah Powell, 39, wife Sarah, 31, and children Roxie, 12, Daisy, 10, Emma L., 8, Bettie, 6, and Elijah, 3. Nearby: Dempsie, 30, Joe, 21, and widow Chanie Powell, 68.
In the 1920 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: on the Road to Horns Bridge, Elijah Powell, 51, wife Sarah, 45, and children Daisy, 19, Emma, 16, Bettie, 14, and Elijah Jr., 13.
In the 1930 census of Crossroads township, Wilson County: Elijah Powell, 60, wife Sarah Powell, 52, and Isaiah Farmer, 22, a roomer.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on 407 East Walnut, Elijah Powell, 71, and wife Sarah, 62.
Elijah Powell died 8 September 1948 at his home at 407 Walnut Street. Per his death certificate, he was 77 years old, married to Sarah Powell, born in Wilson County to Allen Powell and Channie Boykins, and buried in Jones Hill cemetery.
On 25 June 1848, Jacob Jones married Milly Powell in Nash County.
In the 1850 census of Nash County: Jacob Jones, 25, wife Milly, 28, siblings Shade, 18, and Susan Jones, 21, plus Levi Worrel, 30.
In the 1870 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: steam sawmill worker Jacob Jones, 43, wife Milley, 43, and children John H., 17, Stephen, 15, Joanna, 13, Josiah, 11, Nancy, 7, and Milly A., 3, plus Jesse, 21, and Eliza Jones, 21.
On 16 May 1872, John Jones, son of Jacob and Milly Jones, and Penny Locust, daughter of Gaines and Fanny Locust, at Gaines Locust’s.
In the 1880 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: John H. Jacobs, 26, wife Penny, 22, and children Sallie Ann, 6, Frances, 4, and William H., 1.
In the 1900 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farmer John H. Jones, 49, wife Pennie, 46, and children George, 18, Jacob, 15, Richard, 13, Elizabeth, 11, Willie, 9, Callie, 5, and Mattie and Hattie, 2.
In the 1910 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farmer John H. Jones, 58, wife Penny, 57, and children Richard, 21, Chellie, 19, Willie, 17, Hattie and Mattie, 13, and Charlie Jones, 12.
In the 1920 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: Richard Jones, 33, and his widower father, John H. Jones, 66, both farmers.
In the 1870 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: farm laborer Ganes Locust, 40, wife Zana, 35, and children Penny, 15, Hasty, 12, James, 9, Julius, 5, Sarah, 4, and Amanda, 1.
She married John H. Jones in 1872. See above.
Thomas A. Jones and Kissiah Jones obtained a marriage license on 31 March 1888 in Wilson County, but did not return it.
In the 1850 census of Nash County, North Carolina: farmer Willis Jones, 50, wife Sarah, 42, and children Henry, 13, Alex, 10, Noel, 8, Kingsberry, 3, and Peyton, 9 months. Willis’ mother Thany Jones, 78, was next door.
In the 1860 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: Willis Jones, 62, black, farm laborer; wife Sarah, 51, mulatto; and children Henry, 20, Alexander, 17, Noel, 16, Willis, 12, Paton, 10, Burthany, 7, Sarah, 13, and James, 10. Also, Noel Jones, 15, making turpentine, with Gray Flowers, 28, white, also making turpentine.
On 12 July 1866, Noel Jones and Sarah Jones were married in Wilson County.
In the 1870 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farm laborer Noel Jones, 26, wife Sarah, 23, and children Josiah, 3, Charity, 1, and Edith, 4 months.
In the 1880 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: laborer Noel Jones, 34, wife Sarah, 32, and children Josiah, 13, Charity, 12, Edieth J., 10, and Noel J., 6.
In the 1910 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farmer Noel Jones, 68, wife Sarah, 66, daughter Pearly, 25, grandsons Eddie G., 15, and Earnest, 11, and brother Alexander Jones, 69 (who was described as “afflicted.”)
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, November 2016.
This is the first known map of Wilson, copied from a drawing made in 1872 by E.B. Mayo:
The orientation is odd, as the bottom of the page is north. (Or, more strictly speaking, northeast.) There, encircled at the edge, is the only reference to any of the African-Americans who made up just over a quarter of the town’s population in the early 1870s. It’s Lemon Taborn‘s barbershop.
Here, roughly outlined, is that area of downtown Wilson today:
Spring Street is now Douglas and Nash Street extends across the tracks (replacing “the Plank Road,”) but otherwise street names remain the same. There are, of course, no marl holes or wells or trees in the middle of roads. The railroad in the 1872 map is not angled enough; despite appearances, it does not parallel downtown streets. Today, Lemon Taborn’s location at Tarboro just past Vance Street is close to today’s Wesley Shelter, Wilson County’s domestic violence and sexual assault agency.