Tart

An inquiry into the death of Will Brown.

We read of the murder of Will Brown here. Below, the conclusion and transcripts of the coroner’s inquest. 

Frank Tart shot Brown near the railroad near Stantonsburg. Witnesses to the crime included five black and three white men. Two years earlier, Otto King, who was found to be an accessory after the fact to Brown’s killing, and his brother Lum King had been involved in a non-fatal shooting that also involved gambling, and Otto King himself was murdered in 1924.

Bob Hall, being duly sworn says I was up the RR on Saturday afternoon near sunset. While up the road I saw Will Brown, Frank Tart, Otto King, Will Edwards, Josh Fleming, gambling playing skin. I saw standing around the gambling crowd. Columbus King & Hagans. I staid there not over 15 minutes. Will Edwards owed me $2.00 and I went for that. As soon as I could get it, I left. While I was there, Will Brown seem to be winning the money. I saw Frank Tart change his pistol from his hip pocket and put it into his side pants pocket. Did not hear pistol shot as I had left before the shooting occurred. /s/ Bob Hall

Peter Ward, being sworn says that Frank Tart and Otto King came to my house Saturday night about 8 o’clock. Staid there until about 9:30 and on leaving told me told me that they were going to Gray Tart. Otto King come to Stantonsburg with me said that he wanted to see Josh Fleming. That Josh had his pistol. I come to Stantonsburg, and Otto come with me. I do not know that he got out of the buggy. [Illegible] Lum told me that Frank Tart shot a man. I told him [illegible] Lum that Frank Tart was at my house. Peter (X) Ward

Josh Fleming, being sworn says that “at or about the time of the killing I was about 150 years from the scene of the homicide at the time. I heard the pistol shot. I saw Columbus King and Otto King come running from the direction of the place of the homicide and from the direction I heard the pistol shot. I asked Otto King who it was shot and Otto King said that Frank Tart had shot a fellow Will, but did not know what Will. Columbus King and Otto King both come to the stable where Frank Tart’s horse was, got the horse and buggy and drove off. I came back to Stantonsburg after the policeman Mr. Stancill. I went back with the crowd to the scene of the homicide. I saw a man shot by the name of Will Brown. /s/ Josh (X) Fleming

Josh Fleming, called to the stand later, says that previous to the shooting was in the woods with Frank Tart, Will Edwards, Otto King, Will Brown gambling. Louis Hagans, Columbus King was there but did not see them gamble. Will Brown was principal winner. I saw Will Brown have as much as twenty-two dollars. Josh (X) Fleming

Richard Stancil, being duly sworn says that Josh Fleming came for me and said that Frank Tart had shot a man down the Rail Road and I hurried as quickly as I could and when I got to the place where the shooting occurred I found no one there but the shot man Will Brown. He was lying near the Rail Road track. He was not dead at the time and I had him carried to the doctors office. /s/ Richard Stancil

Will Edwards being duly sworn says he was with Josh Fleming, Frank Tart, Otto King and William Brown gambling playing skin. Will Brown beat the boys out of the money and he got up and started towards the R.R. He had I know twenty dollars when Brown left the game busted. Mr. Ernest Hartley (white), Bob Hall, Louis Hagans, and Columbus King were on the grounds while the gambling was going on but did not gamble any. I was about 100 yards from the scene of the shooting. Heard the shot. Did not see any pistols. Do not know who shot Will Brown. When I heard the shot I was on R.R. in the woods going  towards home when the shot was fired, but left immediately for home. Will (X) Edwards

Ernest Hartley, being duly sworn says at the time of the shooting I was in the E Road about 30 years from the scene of the shooting. Did not know any one there except Will Brown the shot man. I was out hunting and come up to a crowd. They moved towards the R.R. and stopped and seemed to talking together. I saw one low chunky dark man take hold of Will Brown. About that time heard pistol shot. The pistol was in the hands of a tall yellow negro. Immediately after the pistol fired, saw the black negro bending over Will Brown as if her was searching Will Brown pockets. The crowd dispersed and I left for home. I was near Sunset when it occurred as well as I remember. I work with Mr. Ben Paschall at saw mill so did Will Brown. I think Brown was paid off Saturday afternoon. He had I think $7.00 or $8.00. I think he had some money on his person before being paid off.  /s/ Ernest Hartley

Columbus King, being duly sworn says I was down the Rail Road about 20 yards from the scene of the homicide. Heard the pistol shot. My brother Otto King came running towards me and said, “Let’s us go, Frank Tart has shot a man.” I asked my brother where Frank was — and my brother Otto say, “come on, I know where he is.” Me and my brother got Frank Tart’s horse and buggy and drove off towards Saratoga but when we got as far as Toisnot Swamp, Frank Tart came out of the woods and got on the buggy and put me out. They went on towards home, and I got in with George Edwards and rode home with him. I saw in the crowd when the shooting occurred Josh Fleming, Frank Tart, Otto King. I saw one white man at the scene of the shooting. Think he had on a brown hat.  Columbus (X) King

Dr. H.H. Powell, being duly sworn says that he came in his office about 7:30 Saturday February 14 1914. Found a man who was shot, and the bystanders said his name was Will Brown. He had a bullet wound in forehead. Penetrated the skull from which wound the brain was discharging. He was thus in a dying [illegible.] Died about 8:30. /s/ H.H. Powell

[Punctuation added for clarity. Coroner’s Inquest (1914), Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.]

Taylor fined big for buggy accident.

Wilson Times, 3 December 1918.

——

  • Leonard Taylor — in 1917, Leonard Taylor registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 22 August 1883 in Pineville, Georgia; lived at 708 Viola; worked as a pipe layer for Henry Tart; and had a wife and two children. Fifty dollars was a staggering fine in 1918 — the equivalent of more than $1000 today. It’s hard to imagine that Taylor could have paid it, much less doctor bills and a buggy repair bill.
  • Henry Tart

 

414 North Reid Street.

The one hundred eighty-fourth 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. 1913; 1 story; Levi Peacock House; Queen Anne cottage with hip roof and double-pile plan; aluminum sided but retains distinctive patterned-tin roof; Peacock was a barber.” The patterned-tin roof has been replaced by ordinary shingles.

The original address of this house, as shown in the detail below from the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, appears to have been 418. The drawing of the house shows that the porch wrapping around the Green Street elevation and the front extension were later modifications.

From the 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map of Wilson, page 31. Note that East Green Street dead-ended at North Reid at the time, and Queen Street did not yet exist.

Prior to the Peacocks, Henry and Julia Clark Tart owned this house. Henry Tart was a well-regarded drayman, and his headstone is one of the most imposing in Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Henry Tart registered for the World War I draft on 18 September 1918. He recorded his address as the corner of Green and Reid Streets, his birth date as 11 April 1884, and his occupation as self-employed in the transfer business. His wife Julia C. Tart was his next-of-kin, and he signed his card in a neat, well-spaced hand.

In the 1920 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tart Julia (c) laundress h Reid cor E Green

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tart Julia (c) lndrs h 418 N Reid

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tart Julia (c) h 418 N Reid; also, Tart Olivia (c) student r 418 N Reid

Thomas Levi Peacock registered for the World War II draft in Wilson in 1946. Per his registration card, he was born 6 December 1928 in Wilson County; resided at 414 North Reid Street; his contact was Levi Harry Peacock; and he was a student at Darden High School.

Elouise R. Peacock died 15 June 1951 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 4 July 1906 in Wilson to Etta Fain; was a public school teacher; was married; and resided at 414 North Reid Street. Informant was Jeuetta Anderson.

The front room modification. Wilson Daily Times, 27 April 1962.

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, November 2022.

Lane Street Project: Season 2, number 2.

The original bulbs of these daffodils were planted in Odd Fellows Cemetery 70-125 years ago.

My visits to Wilson have not generally aligned well with LSP clean-ups, but this one did, and I was elated to join the last Black History Month effort at Odd Fellows. I am grateful to everyone who came out, including the cadre of Wilson Police Department officers that showed up early and stayed late to fell dead pines in the woods and clear winter’s dead weeds from the front; the pastors and members of Saint Timothy’s and Saint Mark’s Episcopal Churches; Our Wilson Mentoring; the Wilson Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (as always!); Wilson Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority; Total Impact Church (who brought barbecue lunches!); WhirliDogs; Seeds of Hope; and — surprise! — a group of students from East Carolina University’s Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement, who came to Wilson to work at Seeds of Hope’s community garden and were steered over to Odd Fellows to learn a little Wilson history and help us out! 

A cautionary word, though. Safety first. Please, PLEASE don’t lean on monuments. After 100+ years, many are unstable. Henry Tart‘s obelisk, the largest in Odd Fellows, was accidentally toppled Saturday. Fortunately, no one was standing behind it when it fell, as they would have been seriously injured. The obelisk was not damaged, but will have to remain where it is until we can secure professional help to stabilize the base and reset the shaft and pyramidion.

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, February 2022.

Brown murdered while gambling.

An afternoon of gambling ends in the murder of Will Brown and the frantic flight of the gunman and his friends.

Wilson Daily Times, — February 1914.

——

  • Frank Tart — in the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Frank Tart, 30, is listed among laborers at Wilson County jail.
  • Will Brown 
  • Lum King — in the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Lum King, 35, is listed among laborers at Wilson County jail.
  • Otto King — in the 1910 census of Saratoga township, Wilson County: Jim Bass, 19, and lodgers James Allen, 21, and Otto King, 18, all farm laborers.
  • Peter Ward
  • Will Barron

Lane Street Project: Henry Tart.

Henry Tart Born Apr. 11, 1886 Died Mar. 13, 1919

Henry Tart‘s magnificent obelisk is the largest gravestone standing in Odd Fellows. Tart was the well-known proprietor of a transfer company. Read more about him here and here and here.

——

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Walter S. Mitchel, 42, mason; wife Elizabeth, 36, laundress; and children Ada, 14, and Esther, 18; plus, wagon factory laborer Oleone Brooks, 18, and laborer Henry Tart, 18.

On 13 December 1911, Henry Tart, 25, of Wilson, son of John and Oliphia Tart, married Julia Clark, 23, of Edgecombe County, daughter of Mathew and Amanda Clark, at Saint Paul A.M.E. Zion Church, in Township #1, Edgecombe County. Levi Jones and Herman Grissom of Wilson were among the witnesses.

In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tart Henry lab h 613 E Green

Henry Tart registered for the World War I draft on 18 September 1918. He recorded his address as the corner of Green and Reid Streets, his birth date as 11 April 1884, and his occupation as self-employed in the transfer business. His wife Julia C[lark] Tart was his next-of-kin, and he signed his card in a neat, well-spaced hand.

Upon Henry’s death, Tart’s wife applied for Letters of Administration for her husband’s estate. She listed four surviving daughters, all minors — indeed, young children — Olivia, Julia, Josephine, and Miriam Tart.

Lane Street Project: May 1 and 15 and then a break.

Henry Tart’s obelisk early on a spring morning, April 2021.

First, if you’ve been to even one of Lane Street Project’s Odd Fellows Cemetery clean-ups, we thank you. Y’all are the real MVPs.

Now, if you haven’t, and you’ve been thinking about it, please come out tomorrow, May 1, or May 15 for our last clean-ups of Season 1. See the photo above? We need to cut back the green shoots to enable our defoliation crew to get in a good, effective spray. There are also plenty of vines to sever a little deeper into the woods and along the fence line, and pile of debris to discard.

Also, buy you a teeshirt!

Over the summer we’ll be planning and strategizing for Season 2, hoping to build on our successes, take lessons from our mistakes, and figure out ways to energize and engage the community around the important and perpetual work to be done here. (And how pay for all of it!) We’d really love to see more involvement by our local churches and civic and social organizations. Even if you can’t (or don’t want to) tramp around in the woods, there are myriad ways to support LSP’s mission. Please reach out in the Comments here or at lanestreetproject@gmail.com, and together we’ll figure out how you can help us make a difference!

Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson.

Town business.

861918.jpg

Wilson Daily Times, 6 August 1918.

Among business considered the first week of August 1918 by Wilson’s town commissioners were matters raised by:

  • J.D. Reid, who requested that the city install lighting at the corner of Green and Hackney Streets
  • Rev. Alfred L.E. Weeks, who, pleading cashflow problems, requested an extension of time for the A.M.E. Zion church to pay the city for installing “closets,” i.e. toilets
  • Henry Tart, who requested an increase in the fees he charged for hauling baggage. The two depots, by the way, were the Atlantic Coast Line and Norfolk Southern depots.
  • The colored fire department (the Red Hots), who requested funding for firemen’s tournaments.

Progressive citizens, pt. 3.

Sometime in 1914, the Wilson Times published a three-page insert highlighting the achievements of the town’s African-American community. “Wilson is fortunate in having a large proportion of sensible negroes,” the writer opined, and counted among the laudable such well-known citizens and institutions as Samuel H. Vick; J.D. Reid; Dr. Frank S. Hargrave; Charles, Camillus and Arthur Darden; Levi Jones; William Hines; Henry Tart; and H.G. Barnes; Wilson Hospital and Tubercular Home for Colored People; the Colored Graded School; First Baptist Church; Saint John A.M.E. Zion Church; C.H. Darden & Sons Undertakers; and Lincoln Benefit Society.

Here is page 3 of the insert:

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  • Crockett & Aiken
  • Acme Sign Works — “Estimates and designs furnished. Up-to-date electric signs promptly. Gold, silver and brass letters. Satisfaction guaranteed. Glass, cloth, wood, brass, metal and wire. ‘Anything in signs.’ H.G. Barnes, proprietor. ‘U No Barnes.’ He does the work.”
  • The Sanitary Shop — William Hines’ “up-to-date barber shop.”
  • Levi H. Jones, the Barber — “Hot and cold baths. No long waits. Clean shaves and everything sanitary. None but up to date workmen employed. Look for revolving sign opposite Lumina. Old customers stick. Drop in and join the stickers.”
  • Henry Tart, the Reliable Transfer Man — “When you need the luggage wagon or a hack — call Henry Tart at either phone 437 or phone 40. You get personal attention and careful handling of baggage. Our wagons and hacks meet all trains at both depots and we transfer baggage promptly to either depot or home or hotel and do it right. Hand baggage cared for with personal attention and delivered at the depot promptly. Passengers transferring between trains will find our drivers courteous. They will take of your hand baggage as well as transfer your trunks.”

Progressive citizens, pt. 1.

Sometime in 1914, the Wilson Times published a three-page insert highlighting the achievements of the town’s African-American community. “Wilson is fortunate in having a large proportion of sensible negroes,” the writer opined, and counted among the laudable such well-known citizens and institutions as Samuel H. Vick; J.D. Reid; Dr. Frank S. Hargrave; Charles, Camillus and Arthur Darden; Levi Jones; William Hines; Henry Tart; and H.G. Barnes; Wilson Hospital and Tubercular Home for Colored People; the Colored Graded School; First Baptist Church; Saint John A.M.E. Zion Church; C.H. Darden & Sons Undertakers; and Lincoln Benefit Society.

On page one, the main text of digitized version of the insert is difficult to read, but the advertisements and photographs are clear. Surrounding an image of the just-opened Wilson Hospital and Tubercular Home are ads placed by Henry Tart, “The Transfer Man”; York Pressing Shop; and C.H. Darden Undertakers. In addition to their funeral business, the Dardens touted their bicycle and firearm dealerships and their status as agents for Victor talking machines and records. The proprietors of the pressing club are listed only as Reed and Whitty. I have not been able to identify Whitty, but Reed seems to have been Lonnie Reid (a cousin of J.D. Reid), who is listed in the 1912 Hill’s city directory of Wilson operating a clothes cleaning shop at 603 East Nash Street. York was short-lived, as in the 1916 directory Reid was in business with Dunn, North Carolina, resident William Bates. Their tailor shop, Bates & Reid, also operated from 603 East Nash.

141061 (1)_Page_1

Original document in the collection of the Freeman Round House Museum, Wilson, and digitized at www.digitalnc.org.