tate

Helen Tate Huggins marries in Atlanta.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 16 December 1939.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Noah Tate, 28; wife Hattie, 24; and children John P., 3, and Helen, 2.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 208 Pender, barber Noah Tate, 42; wife Hattie, 34; boarder Mary Jennings, 28, a public school teacher; and children Helen, 13, Mary Jane, 8, Andrew, 11, and Noah Jr., 3.

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tate Helen (c) sch tchr 307 Pender

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 307 North Pender, seamstress Hattie Tate, 44, widow, and children Hellen, 23, insurance agent, and Andrew, 21, hotel bellboy, as well as lodger Lucy Davis, a public school teacher.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tate Helen (c) clk r 307 Pender

In the 1941 and 1947 Atlanta, Georgia, city directory: Huggins Edw (c; Helen) tile str h 713 Greensferry Av SW

In the 1951 Atlanta, Georgia, city directory: Huggins Edw (c; Helen T) tile str Albert W Cook h 657 Greensferry Av SW

Andrew Tate died 16 May 1977 in Wilson. He was born 8 September 1908 to Noah Tate and Hattie Pierce; was married to Helen Whitfield; lived at 506 East Vance; and was buried in Rest Haven cemetery. Informant was Helen Tate Huggins, Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta Constitution, 18 September 1981.

Lane Street Project: two burials in “Rountree” Cemetery.

The “Wilson, N.C.” society column of the 25 June 1927 Norfolk Journal and Guide noted two recent funerals at which the deceased was buried in Rountree Cemetery by the short-lived undertaking firm, Artis and Freeman.

  • Mary Jane Tate

As noted here, though her gravestone has not yet been found, Mary Jane Tate is likely buried in the Noah Tate family plot in Odd Fellows cemetery. We see here how early the name “Rountree” was applied to all the cemeteries on this stretch of Bishop L.N. Forbes Street.

  • Serenda Morgan

Mrs. Serenda Morgan was in fact Sarah Bullock Morgan, wife of Surrender Morgan. The Morgans were married just two months before she died.

On 12 April 1927, Surrender Morgan, 21, of Wilson, son of Calvin and Almeta Morgan, married Sarah Bullock, 18, of Wilson, daughter of Walter and Sarah E. Bullock. Free Will Baptist minister E.H. Cox performed the ceremony in the presence of Ernest Bullock, Grim Bynum, and Author Williams.

Sarah Morgan died 16 June 1927 in childbirth in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 19 years old; was born in Robeson County, N.C., to Walter Bullock Sr. and Emma Clark; was married to Surender Morgan; lived on Atlantic Street; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery.

Surrender Morgan died 19 October 1939 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 27 years old; was born in Wilson to Calvin Morgan and Almeta Morgan (she of the State of “Missippa”); was the widower of Sarah Morgan; worked as a chauffeur; and was buried in Wilson, N.C. [Other records, including her own death certificate, report Almeta Bynum Morgan’s birthplace as Wilson County.]

The Tates settle business back home.

New Hanover County native Hardy Tate arrived in Wilson before 1892, when he purchased a lot on Green Street. After the death of his first wife, Mary Jane Tate, in 1909, the brickmason returned to Wilmington to remarry, and Annie Thomas Tate joined him at his two-story house on East Green Street.

In 1920, Hardy and Annie Tate were among the heirs of Hannah J. Tate, daughter and heir of Samuel C. Nixon, who sold a tract on Pumpkin Kiln Branch in Cape Fear township, New Hanover County.

New Hanover [County, North Carolina] Deeds, http://www.familysearch.org.

Helen Tate appears in dazzling fashion show.

Helen Tate won ten dollars in gold in the busiest “fashion show” ever.

Pittsburgh Courier, 9 May 1925.

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In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Noah Tate, 28; wife Hattie, 24; and children John P., 3, and Helen, 2.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Noah Tate, 42; wife Hattie, 34; boarder Mary Jennings, 28, teacher; and children Helen, 13, Mary Jane, 8, Andrew, 11, and Noah Jr., 3.

In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tate Helen (c) sch tchr h 307 Pender

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 307 North Pender, seamstress Hattie Tate, 44, widow, and children Hellen, 23, insurance agent, and Andrew, 21, hotel bellboy, as well as lodger Lucy Davis, a public school teacher.

In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Tate Helen (c) clk h 307 Pender

Historic Black Business Series, no. 16: Paragon Shaving Parlor.

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 Joshua L. 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, and Tabron sold the shop’s furnishings to another barber, Richard Renfrow, suggesting a complete upgrade of Paragon’s interior.

Tabron died before 1907, and 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.

Lane Street Project: Alice Pierce Maynor.

The Tate family plot lies near the northeast corner of Odd Fellows. Its markers are generally in good shape, but my eyes were often drawn to a small rim of marble barely visible above the soil.

Billy Foster of Foster Stone and Cemetery Care recently prised it up to reveal the handsome little marker of Alice P. Maynor.

Alice P. Maynor Born Apr. 24, 1888 Died Apr. 15, 1915.

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On 6 January 1910, Walter A. Maynor, 19, of Wilson, son of Robert L. and Mary Maynor, married Alice Pearce, 22, of Wilson, daughter of Andrew and Alice Pearce, at Noah Tate‘s residence in Wilson. Levi Jones applied for the license, and Missionary Baptist minister Fred M. Davis performed the ceremony in the presence of F.S. Hargrave, E.P. Reid, and Mrs. M.J. Foster.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Nash Street, Walter Maynor, 19, barber, and wife Alice, 23. [The couple had two children, Harriett V. Maynor Whitfield (1910) and Walter Alfred Maynor Jr. (1912).]

Allice Maynor died 13 April 1915 in Wilson, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 26 years old; was born in Wilson County to Andrew Pierce and Alice Knight. Informant was Hattie Tate. Her cause of death was pulmonary tuberculosis.

Photos courtesy of Billy Foster, April 2023.

The odyssey of Tate’s pool room.

This excerpt from a news account of a commissioners’ meeting caught my eye. Barber Noah Tate‘s application for a pool room license was denied, and Alderman Lewis cried discrimination. What kind of discrimination was being decried by an elected official in Wilson in 1919?

…

Wilson Daily Times, 6 September 1919.

An article published nearly eighteen months before yields context. On 7 May 1918, the Times reported, “The city fathers last night refused to renew the license to the pool rooms and to the bowling alleys of the city, and the remarks regarding the places where cider is sold were also far from complimentary. … The meeting was opened by the reading of a resolution by … business men setting forth the fact that both white and colored frequent these places and thus remove from the busy marts of trade and industry labor that should be employed in producing something other than thriftless habits and viciousness.” Mayor Killette railed against the shiftless and bemoaned the legal victory that allowed a local man to sell cider made from his own apples. “The gist of the argument [against pool rooms] was that the colored pool room was full of men who should be at work producing something for their families and helping to make something rather than being consumers merely and drones upon the body politic. They were corrupting because it was almost impossible to prevent gambling in these places and in addition to shiftlessness it encouraged vice and vagrancy. A number of employers stated that their help could be found in the pool room below the railroad, and the bowling alley came in for equally critical remarks as a place to encourage loafing and bad habits.” The matter was put to vote, and no’s were unanimous. [The “colored pool room,” by the way, may have been Mack Bullock‘s establishment at 417 East Nash. See Sanborn map detail, below.]

In June 1919, Luther A. Barnes, the white proprietor of a pool hall at the New Briggs Hotel, and the subject of intense criticism during the May debate received his license over the objection of the mayor. Perhaps this turn of events sparked Commissioner Lewis’ objection to Tate’s rejection three months later?

Noah Tate finally got his pool room in 1921. 

Wilson Daily Times, 8 July 1921.

“Over the railroad,” specifically, was 105-107 North Pettigrew Street.

The 1922 Sanborn fire insurance map shows that Tate Pool Room was located in a brick building just north of Nash Street on the railroad side of the street. 

A modern aerial view at Google Maps shows that the rear of present-day 419 East Nash Street consists of two extensions. The first, with the striated roof below, sits in the footprint of Tate’s pool room and may even be the same building. 

 

At street level, two bricked-up windows are visible, as well as the original roofline. The building appears to have been cinderblock though, which was not commonly used in Wilson in the era of Tate’s business.

Noah J. Tate did not long enjoy his victory; he died in 1926.

Fire bug activities.

Wilson Daily Times, 16 February 1944.

  • Samuel Randolph Foster 

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 707 Vance, Andrew Pierce, 55, nurse at home (usually barber); wife Lossie, 55, in hospital; daughters Alice, 35, and Hester, 27; sons Boise, 29, cafe [cook?], and Binford, 14; daughter Ruby, 19, “cook school;” and grandchildren Randolph, 9, and Montheal Foster, 7, and Mickey Pierce, 1.

Samuel Randolph Foster registered for the World War II draft in Durham, N.C., in 1945. Per his draft card, he was born 19 February 1927 in Wilson; lived at 403 Henry Street, Durham; was a student at Hillside High School; and his contact was Sam Foster, 403 Henry Street. He was 5’7″, weighed 141 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and a birthmark in the bend of his right arm. [In fact, per his birth record, Foster was born in 1931 in Wilson to Samuel Foster and Hester Pierce, which would make his age consistent with that in the Times article. In other words, Foster was 14 years old when he was inducted into the Army at Fort Bragg in September 1945.]

The death of young Mary Jane Tate.

“Pulmonary T.B. on way home from sanatorium.”

Sixteen year-old Mary Jane Tate succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis in Fayetteville, North Carolina, while traveling home to Wilson. She had likely been confined to the recently opened African-American wing of the state tuberculosis sanitorium near Quewhiffle, Hoke County, North Carolina, west of Fayetteville. 

Though her gravestone has not yet been found, she is likely buried in the Noah Tate family plot in Odd Fellows cemetery.

Lane Street Project: the Tate family.

Two sets of Tates are buried in Odd Fellows cemetery. At the northeastern edge of the cemetery, near a ditch separating it from Rountree cemetery, is barber Noah Tate family’s large and gleaming white marble headstone. It anchors a family plot that contains intact markers for Noah J. Tate and his two year-old son John P. Tate, and a few broken markers. Perhaps 100 feet away are two small markers for Noah’s father and half-sister, Hardy Tate, a brickmason, and Daisy Tate.

  • The Noah Tate family

Noah John Tate was a well-to-do barber whose house at 307 North Pender Street is among the best preserved in East Wilson Historic District.   

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Noh Tate, 23, single, barber.

On 24 November 1904, Noah J. Tate, 28, of Wilson, son of Hardy and Mary Tate, married Hattie B. Pierce, 20, daughter of Andrew and Alice Pearce, in Wilson.

Per his grave marker in Odd Fellows cemetery, John P. Tate was born 6 September 1905 and died 7 November 1907. [His death predated death certificates in Wilson County.]

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: barber Noah Tate, 28; wife Hattie, 24; and children John P., 3, and Helen, 2. [The Tates apparently named a second son after their recently deceased son.]

Noah John Tate registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County in 1918. Per his draft registration card, he was born 6 November 1876; lived at 208 North Pender Street; was a self-employed barber at 213 East Nash Street; and his nearest relative was wife Hattie Tate. He was described as tall, of medium build, with brown eyes, and black hair. He signed his card with his full name.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 208 Pender, barber Noah Tate, 42; wife Hattie, 34; boarder Mary Jennings, 28, a public school teacher; and children Helen, 13, Mary Jane, 8, Andrew, 11, and Noah Jr., 3.

Noah J. Tate’s broken headstone. His footstone is below.

Noah J. Tate died 3 January 1926 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 50 years old; was born in Grimesland, N.C., to Hardy Tate of Wayne County and Mary Jane Dawson of Pitt County; was married to Hattie Tate; worked as a barber; lived at 307 North Pender; and was buried in Rountree [actually, Odd Fellows] Cemetery.

Wilson Daily Times, 5 January 1926.

Noah Tate’s footstone. His broken headstone is at rear, next to the large family marker.

Mary Jane Tate died 11 June 1927 in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, N.C. Per her death certificate, she was 16 years old; was born in Wilson to Noah Tate of Pitt County and Hattie Pierce of Wilson County; was a student; and was buried in Rountree [probably, Odd Fellows] cemetery.

Noah J. Tate Jr. died 26 September 1929, aged 13. Per his death certificate, he was born in Wilson to Noah J. Tate Sr. of Grimesland, N.C., and Hattie Pierce of Wilson; was a student; and was buried in Rountree [probably Odd Fellows] cemetery.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 307 North Pender, seamstress Hattie Tate, 44, widow, and children Hellen, 23, insurance agent, and Andrew, 21, hotel bellboy, as well as lodger Lucy Davis, a public school teacher.

Wilson Daily Times, 17 April 1964.

Andrew Tate died 16 May 1977 in Wilson. He was born 8 September 1908 to Noah Tate and Hattie Pierce; was married to Helen Whitfield; lived at 506 East Vance; and was buried in Rest Haven cemetery. Informant was Helen Tate Huggins, Atlanta, Georgia.

Hardy Tate arrived in Wilson before 1892, when he purchased a lot on Green Street. His two-story home at 611 East Green Street featured a polychrome slate roof. It was demolished in the 1990s.

Hardy Tate’s Odd Fellows grave marker.

In the 1870 census of Union township, New Hanover County, N.C.: Michael Pigford, 45, farm laborer; wife Philis, 35; and children Hardy, 17, Archie, 13, Kinyon, 11, Ella, 6, Charles, 5, Robert, 4, and Ann, 2.

On 6 March 1902, C[harles].B. Gay, 24, of Wilson County, son of Sam and Alice Gay, married Ella Tate, 21, of Wilson County, daughter of Hardy and Mary Tate. A.M.E. Zion minister Nicholas D. King performed the ceremony at Saint John A.M.E. Zion church in the presence of Rev. E.A. Mitchell, J.D. Reid, and S.H. Vick.

Mary Jane Tate died 24 October 1909 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born in 1857 in Pitt County, N.C.; lived in Green Street; and was married. Undertaker Charles Darden was informant, and she was buried in Wilson.

On 10 February 1912, Hardy Tate, 52, of Wilson, son of Michael and Phillis Pigford, formerly of Pender County, married Annie Thomas, 33, of Wilmington, daughter of Henry and Jane Tate, of New Hanover County, in New Hanover County.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 610 Green Street, Hardey Tate, 50, brickmason; wife Annie, 40; children Inez, 8, and Daisy, 6; and lodgers Rome Bagley, 44, and John Boykin, 28.

Annie Beatrice Tate died 20 July 1923 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 44 years old; was born in Wilmington, N.C., to Henry Tate and Catharine Nickson, both of [New] Hanover County, N.C.; was married to Hardy Tate, who was informant.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 612 Green Street, valued at $8000, bricklayer Hardy Tate, 70, widower, and daughters Ines, 17, and Daisy, 15. Renting a space in the home for $20/month, plumber Henry Jones, 48, and wife Jessie, 32. [Henry Jones’ birth place was listed as California, rare for this time and place.]

Ella Gay died 19 November 1933 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 50 years old; was born in Greenville, N.C., to Noah Brown [sic, Hardy Tate] and Mary Jane Brown [sic]; was married to Charlie Gay; and lived at 402 Reid Street.

Daisy Tate died 16 May 1936 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 22 years old; worked as a common laborer; was born in Wilson County to Hardy Tate of New Hanover County and Annie Tate of New Hanover County; and lived at 508 East Green Street.

Hardy Tate died 3 May 1938 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 84 years old; was a brick mason; lived at 611 East Green Street; was a widower; and was born in Duplin County, N.C. Daisy Tate was informant. 

Daisy Tate Dau of Hardy Tate 1914-1936

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, January 2021.