Town of Elm City

Studio shots, no. 11: Winstead, father and son.

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Ned Winstead, a Toisnot township farmer, was introduced here.

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Bryant Joseph Winstead was the youngest child of Ned and Annie Edwards Winstead.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: on State Highway, farmer Ned Winstead, 52, wife Annie, 47, and children Maggie, 18, Lizzie, 14, Daniel, 12, John, 9, Lee, 6, and Bryant, 4.

In the 1920 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: on State Highway, farmer Ned Winstead, 58, wife Annie, 50, and children Maggie, 23, John, 18, and Bryant, 13, plus granddaughter Annie Bell, 9.

On 7 November 1931, in Smithfield, North Carolina, Bryant Winstead, 26, son of Ned and Annie Winstead, resident of Elm City, married Eva Green, 24, daughter of Neverson and Isabella Green, resident of Wilson.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 200 North Pender Street (a large rooming house), tobacco factory worker Bryant Winstead, 35, wife Eva, 32, and daughter Delores, 12.

In 1940, Bryant Joseph Winstead registered in Wilson County for the World War II draft. Per his registration card, he was born 14 January 1905 in Elm City; resided at 305 North Carroll Street; worked for Export Tobacco Company in Wilson; and had a wife named Mrs. Addie Winstead.

Bryant J. Winstead died 31 January 1971 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Per his death certificate, he was born in Elm City, North Carolina, to Ned and Ann Edwards Winstead on 14 January 1905; resided in Portsmouth; was an auto operator at a naval hospital;and was married to Addie Lucas Winstead. He was buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Portsmouth.

Photographs courtesy of Lisa R.W. Sloan. Many thanks.

The last will and testament of Aggie Mercer Williams.

Aggie M. Williams of Elm City dictated her will on 15 July 1914 in the presence of W.G. Britt Jr. and W.F. Cuddington.

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The details:

  • to daughter Mary Eliza Nicholson and her children, 45 acres from her farm located about three miles from Elm City (and, specifically, the 45 acres must come from the middle of the farm, running north and south); remainder of household and kitchen furniture; house and lot on which she lived;
  • to daughter Cora C. Lucas, 20 acres to the north of Mary Eliza’s 45; two pair of bleaching sheets and a portion of her wearing apparel; any other personal property not mentioned to be split with Mary Eliza;
  • to Alice Marie Nicholson, the bedroom suite upstairs in the front room;
  • to Albert Thomas Lucas, the oak suite upstairs in the back room;
  • to Horace Lucas, a single bed;
  • Rev. C[larence] Dillard of Goldsboro, North Carolina, appointed executor.

Toward the end of her life, Williams made a codicil, dated 15 September 1949:

  • To her three grandsons Clarence E. Nicholson, Charles B. Nicholson, and Alonzo G. Nicholson Sr., jointly, with some restrictions, her property on East Main Street opposite the Jesse Wynn store in Elm City, consisting of a lot and two frame structures.

——

Aggy Mercer, 17, married Thos. Williams, 21, on 5 February 1876 at Toisnot township, Wilson County.

In the 1880 census of Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: farmer Thomas Williams, 24, wife Aggie, 21, and daughters Clara, 3, and Mattie, 1.

On 31 May 1899, Thomas H. Nicholson, 24, of Halifax County, son of Zach Nicholson, married Clara Williams, 23, of Wilson County, daughter of Tom and Aggie Williams, at Elm City in Toisnot township.

In the 1900 census of the Town of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: widow Aggie Williams, 41, dress maker; and her children, nurse Cora, 18, and day laborer Burtas, 14.

On 2 January 1901, Haywood Lucas, 22, of Rocky Mount, married Cora Williams, 20, of Toisnot, at 1st Baptist Church in Elm City. Witnesses were J.C. Ellis, Preston Faison and H.W. Hunter.

In 1910 in the Town of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: Aggie Williams, 59, lived alone in a house she owned on Main Street. Also on Main Street: Hayward Lucas, 30, farm laborer, wife Cora, 29, laundress, and children Aggie, 9, Jessie M., 6, Albert Thomas, 4, Elias S., 2, and Hayward C., 6 months. On Wilson Street: tenant farmer Thomas H. Nicholson, 34, wife Clara, 33, and children Alonzo, 7, and Alice M., 4 months.

In 1920 in the Town of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: Aggie Williams, 51, dress maker, lived alone in a house she owned on Main Street.

Thomas Harrison Nicholson died 19 April 1923 in Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 1 May 1876 in Halifax County to Zackerie Nickolson and Nettie Lee, was a farmer, and died of pulmonary tuberculosis. Wife Clarra M. Nickolson was informant.

In the 1930 census of Washington, D.C.: at 1608 – 15th Street, N.W., lodgers Alonzo G. Nicholson, 26, barber, and wife Alice E., 19. Alonzo was born in North Carolina.

In the 1930 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: Cora Lucas, 46, laundress, divorced, with sons Elias T., 20, a filling station repairman, and Horace, 18. Both young men were described as “absent.” Cora owned her house and reported its value at $1500.

In 1940 in the Town of Elm City, Toisnot, Wilson County: Aggie Williams, 81, lived alone in a house she owned on Main Street. Daughter Cora lived next door.

In the 1940 census of Washington, D.C.: at 2603 J Street, N.W., Alonzo G. Nicholson, 36, janitor, wife Alice E., 29, son Alonzo G. Nicholson, 8, and a lodger.

Aggie M. Williams died 21 March 1951 in Elm City. Her death certificate records her birth as 14 February 1859 in Edgecombe County to Jessie and Fannie Mercer. The informant was Cora C. Lucas, her daughter.

On 22 August 1952, Clara M. Nicholson made out her will in the presence of Priscilla M. Gaston and Nannie Gaston of Elm City and Alma L. Guess of Raleigh. She left her “home place” on Branch Street in Elm City to her four children in the noted proportions: Alice Nicholson Spivey (1/2), sons Alonzo, Charles and Clarence (1/2 jointly). She also left Alice her piano. Her three sons were to divide four bedsheets, with Alice to receive the remainder of her linens. Other household furnishings they were to divide equally. In other property was devised to Alice (2/5 share) and her sons (1/5 each). Alice was named executor.

Clara Mary Nicholson died 1 February 1953 at her home on Branch Street in Elm City. Per her death certificate, she was born 25 October 1876 in Wilson County to Thomas Williams and Aggie M. Mercer. Informant was Alice Spivey.

Cora Christine Lucas died 22 March 1963 in Rocky Mount, Nash County. Per her death certificate, she was born 23 September 1880 in Wilson County to Thomas Williams and Aggie Mercer, and was the widow of Haywood Lucas. She was buried in Elm City cemetery.

North Carolina Wills and Estates, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.

In a dying condition.

Found Dead.

Last Sunday Coroner Wm. Harris received a telegram from the railroad agent at Elm City saying that a Negro man had been found there in a dying condition with a wound in his head, and telling the coroner to come over. The coroner went and obtained an affidavit from one John Rice that the body was that of James King, an employee of the Southern Railroad.

A jury was summoned, who, after examination of the body, rendered the following verdict:

That according to the evidence and after viewing the body of James King, (col.) that the deceased came to his death by some unknown cause.

The general supposition is that he was struck on the head by another of the train hands while he was on the top of the moving freight.

— Wilson Daily Times, 10 September 1897.

Cemeteries, no. 5: Elm City Colored Cemetery.
  • Winnie Rice Latham

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On 15 March 1875, Isham Latham, 19, married Winnie Rice, 20, at the home of W.W. Farmer, justice of the peace. Mundy Hardy, Lewis Hardy and Red Winsted witnessed the ceremony.

On 24 May 1890, Winnie Latham, 30, and James Gray Locus, 23, applied for a marriage license in Wilson County. They did not return it.

However, in the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: wagoneer James Locus, 35; wife Winnie, 42, cook; her children Corra, 22, cook, Wiley, 17, carriage driver, Roser, 16, cook, and John, 14, waiting boy; and their son Wiley G., 2. [Though listed as Locuses, Winnie’s children were Lathams.]

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: on East Main Street, widow Winnie Locus, 47, laundress, with sons Johnie, 24, railroad laborer, and Willie, 14.

  • Charlie Armstrong

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In the 1870 census of Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: farm laborer Wright Barnes, 54, Lucinda Armstrong, 31, and Charles, 7, Ann, 5, Shade, 16, and Goddin Armstrong, 7.

In the 1880 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Lizette Armstrong, 51, Lucinda, 41, Charley L., 16, Gray Anna, 13, and Shadrick, 10.

On 24 June 1886, in Toisnot township, Charles Armstrong, 23, married Marie Mitchell, 19, in the presence of Lula Johnson, Hattie Credle, and T. Blackley.

In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: railroad laborer Charles Armstrong, 37, wife Alice, 30, and children Maggie, 14, Lena, 11, William, 5, and Paul, 2.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Elm City Lane, Charlie Armstrong, 45, a laborer at a railroad water station; wife Alice, 43, laundress; children Maggie, 23, Walter, 15, Gaston, 11, Earnest, 8, Harvey, 6, Sissie, 4, Buster, 2, and baby, 3 months, as well as sister-in-law Lina Saunders, 21, and grandson Jasper Armstrong, 8 months.

In the 1920 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Tailor Street, Charlie Armstrong, 68, wife Allice, 50, and children and grandchildren Maggie, 30, Walter, 24, Gaston, 21, Harvey, 18, Annie, 13, Buster, 11, Gray, 8, Fred, 6, Lucie, 5, and Clifton, 3.

In the 1930 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: Charlie Armstrong, 70, wife Alice, 60, children and grandchildren Gaston, 27, Lawrence, 20, Gray, 23, Annie, 18, and Fred Armstrong, 16, and Lucille, 16, and Clifton McFadden, 15.

  • Thomas & Venus Drake

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In late December 1867 or very early January 1868, Thomas Drake, son of Thomas Avent and Lucinda Drake, applied for a marriage in Wilson to marry Venis Armstrong, daughter of Mary Armstrong. The license was not returned.

In the 1880 census of Town of Toisnot, Wilson County: railroad worker Thomas Drake, 34, wife Venus, 28, and children Jane, 9, Isaac, 7, John T., 3, and an unnamed infant, 1 month.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Tom Drake, 65, wife Venus, 62, and  daughter Pearl, 10.

Though her marriage license reported her surname as Armstrong, Venus’ death certificate lists her parents as Amos and Mary Braswell of Edgecombe County.

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  • Fortune Farmer Jones Joyner Bailey

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In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Washington Farmer, 43, wife Wady, 44, children Edith, 14, Fortin, 13, Gimsey, 11, John W., 8, Nancy, 6, and Orgius, 6, and farm laborer Nelson Thomas, 21.

On 3 December 1874, Stephen T. Jones, 21, married Fortune Farmer, 19, at Wash Farmer’s in Wilson County. Witnesses were Alex Jones, John H. Jones, and Eli Mercer.

In the 1880 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: Stephen T. Jones, 25, wife Fortune, 22, and children Susan, 4, and Tempy A., 2.

On 13 April 1884, Henry Joyner, 20, married Fortune Jones, 21, at Washington Farmer’s in Wilson. Witnesses were G.D. Vick, Isial Williamson and Joseph Ricks. (Marriage and death records reveal that Henry and Fortune had at least two children, William Thomas Joyner, about 1884, and Eddie Lee Joyner, born in 1897.)

In 1918, Ed Lee Joyner registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 26 February 1897 in Wilson County; his father’s birth place was Wilson County; he lived at Route 1, Elm City; he worked for G.A. Barnes, Elm City; and his contact was mother Fortney Bailey. He signed the card “Eddie Lee Joyner.”

In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Ed Joyner, 22; [step]father Louis Bailey, 80; mother Fortiny, 56; niece Maggie, 16; and nephews Rogers, 14, and John E., 8.

On 8 January 1921, Eddie Joyner, 22, of Elm City, son of Fortning Bailey, married Annie Pearl Wynn, 19, of Elm City, daughter of Will and Jenny Wynn, in Wilson. A.M.E. Zion minister B.P. Coward performed the ceremony in the presence of Bettie Gaskell, Mattie M. Ford, and Mary Latham.

The death certificate of widow Susie Dawes, who died in Toisnot township, Wilson County, on 26 July 1929, lists Stephen Jones and Fortnea Bailey as her parents. Dawes was born about 1874 in Jones Hill, Nash County. Fortnea Bailey was informant.

  • Isaac Rodgers

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In the 1880 census of Jackson township, Nash County: farmer Isaac Rodgers, 28, wife Alice, 28, and children Mary E., 6, Cinda E., 4, William A., 4, and Della, 1 month.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Gooch and Parkers School House Road, farmer Isaac Rodgers, 53, wife Alice, 50, and children Bettie, 21, Nat, 19, Henry, 16, Willie, 13, and Susie, 13.

Isaac Rodgers died 9 December 1916 in Rocky Mount, Nash County. His death certificate lists his birthplace as Johnston County, and his father as Ace Rogers.

  • Emily Shaffer

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In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: house carpenter Quincey Shaffer, 45, wife Jennie, 43, and mother Emma, 78.

Emily (or Emma) Shaffer’s death certificate lists her birthplace as Edgecombe County and her parents as Abram Mears and Bekie Sharp.

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  • Arch Stallings

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In the 1870 census of Cedar Rock township, Franklin County: Gray Stallings, 28, wife Fanny, 25, children Arch, 19, Cas, 7, Amanda, 5, Sidney, 2, and mother Matilda Stallings, 60.

On 25 February 1875, in Nash County, Arch Stallings, 30, married Phillis Evans, 18, at Lewis Evans’.

In the 1900 census of Cokey township, Edgecombe County: Arch Stallings, 42, wife Phillys, 38, and daughter Fannie, 12.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: tenant farmer Arch Stallings, 59, and wife Phillis, 53.

Arch Stallings died 2 April 1918 in Rocky Mount, Nash County. Informant Dossie Lucas gave Arch’s birthplace as Wayne County.

  • Ned Winstead

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In the 1870 census of Joyners township, Wilson County: domestic servant Anna Oats, 28, and Milly, 18, Ned, 13, and Clara Batts, 12, plus John Batts, 22, a white liquor dealer.

In the 1880 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farm laborer Fannie Parker, 51, her daughter Martha, 28, grandchildren Julius S., 10, and Joseph W., 4, and nephew Ned Winstead, 22.

On 29 December 1889, Ned Winstead, 28, married Ann Edwards, 23, at Jim Chisel’s in Wilson County. W.W. Flowers, justice of the peace, performed the ceremony in the presence of J.M. Joyner and James Chisel.

In the 1900 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: farmer Ned Winstead, 42, wife Annie, 38, and children Hubbard, 12, James H., 10, Maggie N., 8, Lizzie V., 4, and William N.D., 2.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: on State Highway, farmer Ned Winstead, 52, wife Annie, 47, and children Maggie, 18, Lizzie, 14, Daniel, 12, John, 9, Lee, 6, and Bryant, 4.

In the 1920 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: on State Highway, farmer Ned Winstead, 58, wife Annie, 50, and children Maggie, 23, John, 18, and Bryant, 13, plus granddaughter Annie Bell, 9.

In the 1930 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: widowed farmer Ned Winstead, 60, son-in-law Tom Wilcher, 48 (a Georgia-born railroad laborer), daughter Maggie Wilcher, 37, son-in-law Carl Fenner, 23, daughter Lizzie Fenner, 33, and granddaughter Annie B. Fenner, 19.

Ned Winstead’s death certificate lists his parents as Iseley Winstead of Nash County and George Hardy (or Handy).

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  • Rev. Junius R. Rosser   

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On 8 September 1888, in Edgecombe County, Julius Rosser, 22, applied for a license to marry Mary Dunn, 16. The license was not returned.

In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: brick molder Junius Rosser, 35, Mary, 29, children Willie, 10, and Blanch, 3, father Daniel, 70, and [step?]mother Clarry, 40.

On 20 May 1903, Elm City resident Junius R. Rosser, 37, married Toisnot township resident Elizabeth Farmer, 32. Baptist minister Isaac Barnes performed the ceremony in the presence of William T. Armstrong, John R. Barnes and J. Staton.

In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Church Street, servant Junius Roser, 47, second wife Lizzie, 36, and children Danile, 4, Annie, 2, and Bennie, 7 months.

In 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Elm City & Wilson Road, farmer Junius Rosser, 59, Lizzie, 46, and children Daniel, 14, Annie, 12, Bennie, 10, and Lizzie, 8, plus boarder Mary Howard, 19.

In the 1940 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Wilson Street, Bennie Rosser, 30, farmer, wife Cleo, 30, cook, father Junius, 79, mother Elizabeth, 69, and niece Florence A., 7.

——

From the Minutes of the 9 September 2014 Elm City Town Commissioners’ Meeting, item 5:

  • Shirley Robinson, mother of Shelley Knight, presented the Board with her concern over the cemetery located behind Nexans. She is interested in knowing who the property belongs to, and who is the responsible party.  Mayor Smith told Ms. Knight that although the Town mows the property, that it doesn’t belong to the Town. Wilson County has the owners as the Elm City Colored Cemetery Commission; therefore ownership belongs to the heirs of the Commission. He suggested that letters be sent to the heirs of previous Commission owners, in an effort to reform the Commission. He offered help from Admin. Russell regarding genealogical research.

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Rev. Clarence Dillard.

Though he is best known for his religious and educational work in Wayne County — Goldsboro’s African-American high school was named in his honor — Rev. Clarence Dillard pastored black Presbyterian congregations in Elm City and Wilson in Wilson County.

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A.B. Caldwell, ed., History of the American Negro and His Institutions, North Carolina Edition (1921).

Elm City’s Negro community, pt. 3.

Cecil Lloyd Spellman was a professor of rural education at Florida A&M in Tallahassee and former Wilson County Negro agricultural extension agent. In 1947, he published “Elm City, A Negro Community in Action,” a monograph intended to employ sociology to “interpret the Negro in his actual day to day activities and interrelationships with members of his own and other races.”

Early in the work, on page 11, Spellman included this hand-drawn map of the Elm City community and its neighborhoods.

ELm City neighborhood

Below, the same community via Google Maps. Topographically, little has changed in 70 years. The major roads lacing the area — all two-lane except U.S. Highway 301 — remain in place, though now all are paved. The railroad still slices north to south. The small communities marked by one-room schools have largely dissipated in all but name, however.

Google Elm City

Williams Lumber Company’s Negroes.

“In 1914, D. C. Williams, Jr., then 24 years of age, borrowed a hundred and fifty dollars from his mother. Together with a little money he had saved, he purchased a pair of mules and a small portable sawmill which he loaded in one boxcar along with a few bales of hay and two Negro men who had been with the family for a number of years. His intention was to go further south, but when the train arrived in Elm City the mules had eaten about all their hay and the two Negro men were getting restless. He had been watching the timber in the Roanoke River Valley as he rode along. It was a nice balmy day when the train arrived in Elm City and stopped for water. There was not much there, only the station and a little store, but he decided to stop and investigate the timber possibilities. He had the conduc­tor set off his car from which he unloaded the mules and tied them to a tree, he then proceeded to set up a temporary camp. There was a man nearby unloading cross ties. He asked him where his mill was and was told it was out of town just about a half a mile. He asked to ride out to the mill with the man and arriving there he purchased a few slabs and some cull lumber, which they loaded onto the wagon with another load of ties. Back in town he made arrangements with a family living near­by, that owned a little land, to build a temporary shelter for his Negroes. Williams arranged to stay overnight with the family.

“The next day with the help of a cross tie and lumber buyer interested in additional supplies, for fifty dollars he bought a small tract of timber near town for which he paid the cash. While he didn’t really have the finan­cial backing to back up his boast, he told everybody that whatever he bought he would pay cash for it. From that time on, he was known as “Cash” Williams. He set his mill up on the side track, where for fifty dollars he bought an old boiler from a mill that had previously been there. There was some new agricultural activity in the vicinity of Elm City which made it possible to sell most of his lumber locally at a good price and for cash. Within a few months he sent for his mother and father to come and help him, which they did. Within three years war was eminent and the demand for lumber ex­ceeded his ability to produce.

“In 1918 when he sent for his father’s brother, the mill had been enlarged considerably. By 1920 this aggressive outfit had a large steam circular mill in Wilson, North Carolina, and a similar mill in Rocky Mount, North Car­olina. “Cash” Williams’ brother, W. G. Williams, who came down from Delaware, was manager of the Rocky Mount mill and his uncle was manager of the Wilson mill. D. C. Williams, Sr., continued operating the Elm City Mill.”

From History of Williams Lumber Company of North Carolina (“Cypress Specialists”).

Gaston and The Elevator.

Elm City Elevator 2 28 1902 Gaston bicycle stolen

Elm City Elevator, 28 February 1902.

Elm City Elevator 3 21 1902 GA Gaston barber ad

Elm City Elevator, 21 March 1902.

Three weeks apart, the short-lived Elm City Elevator ran two short pieces featuring George A. Gaston. One is straightforward and factual. The second, purportedly authored by Gaston himself, is condescending and replete with stereotypes.

In the 1880 census of Town of Toisnot, Wilson County: George Gaston, 23, barber, is listed by himself.

In the 1900 census of Town of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: on Pender Street, barber and plasterer George W. Gaston, 44, wife Cilla, 44, a cook; and children Rosco, 18, bricklayer; John, 16, common laborer; Georgia, 15, cook; Addar, 12, nurse; Nina, 11, nurse; Mancy, 6; Lacy, 6; Augustas, 6; Boston, 1; and Dewey, 6 months.

In the 1910 census of Town of Elm City, Wilson County: on Wilson Street, barber George Gaston, 55, wife Priscilla, 53; and children Roscoe, 28, barber; John, 26, barber; Georgie, 25; Ada, 23, teacher; Nina, 21; Mancie, 17; Augustus, 16; Flossy, 16; Boisy, 14; Dewey, 9; and Lee J. Gaston, 7.

In the 1920 census of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: widowed farmer George Gaston, 69, and children [and grandchildren] Ada, 33, Nina, 31, August, 27, George J., 6, Lucile, 2, and Ernest, 9 months. (Also, in Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Garfield Perkins, 36; wife Laura, 36; children Ethel, 15, and G. William, 12; and boarder P. Ada Gaston, 34, a teacher.

In the 1930 census of Elm City town, Toisnot township, next door to Dewey Gaston, 30, barber, and family, barbershop proprietor George Gaston, 72, and daughter Ada, a teacher, 43.

Elm City’s Negro Community, pt. 2.

Cecil Lloyd Spellman was a professor of rural education at Florida A&M in Tallahassee and former Wilson County Negro agricultural extension agent. In 1947, he published “Elm City, A Negro Community in Action,” a monograph intended to employ sociology to “interpret the Negro in his actual day to day activities and interrelationships with members of his own and other races.” This is an excerpt:

——

In searching the records, one finds no mention of early Negroes in this area, however, by contacting some of the older living residents, the following information dealing with pioneer Negro residents has been obtained.** All the following people are now dead unless the fact is otherwise indicated.

[Part one here.]

The following people are early settlers of the Turner neighborhood:

Gary Armstrong and his wife Henrietta were among the first to be mentioned in this section. They bought farm land and settled upon it. Nelson Armstrong and his wife Mary, were also mentioned here as landowners. There is no indication as to the existence of relationship between these two Armstrong families; they may, or they may not be related. The Turner area at present has in it a very large number of families of Armstrongs, many of which are not related to each other.

Thomas Hilliard and his wife Forthea came into the area from Edgecombe County, on the north. His wife became a midwife, and was prominent in this activity for a long time. During this formative period of the community, midwives are very important to welfare of families. Doctors were few, and transportations was not very speedy, so the quickest and most certain maternal care was that furnished by the local midwife. The history of the development of the family institution will never by completely satisfactory, until the contribution of the local midwife has been included in its pages.

Jerry Drake and his wife Vince were also here at the time. Vince was also a midwife.

Skipper Dunn was a landowner in the section. The name of his wife was not mentioned, but we know he had a granddaughter, who now lives in Elm City. She is familiarly known by both the white and colored people as “Aunt” Aggie Williams.

Aggie Williams, granddaughter of Skipper Dunn, came to Toisnot, North Carolina (now what is the village of Elm City) in 1882. While we do not know when Skipper Dunn came, the date mentioned fixes him as one of the real old settlers of the area. Nothing was reported concerning Aggie’s husband. It is known, however, that she was married. She owned some farm land, and also a home where she now lives in Elm City. She lives alone in a seven room house in the white residential section of Elm City. She reared a fine family by sewing for people. She is well thought of by her neighbors.

…

——

  • In the 1870 census of Joyners township, Wilson County, Gary Armstrong appears as a 20 year-old farm laborer sharing a household with 20 year-old George Batts. In the 1880 census, Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: farmer Gary Armstrong, 30, wife Henrietta, 25, and children Cherry, 8, William, 6, James, 4, and Gary, 2. In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Garry Armstrong, 56, wife Henreta, 47, and children James H., 22, John H., 21, Moses, 19, Edward, 17, Mammie J., 15, Minnie, 13, and Hattie, 11. In the 1910 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Garey Armstrong, 65, wife Henrietta, 55, James T., 30, Moses, 28, Mamie I., 24, and Minnie J., 22. In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County, on Wilson Rocky Mount Road: farmer Gary Armstrong, 73, wife Henrietta, 65, and daughter Minnie, 28. Garey Armstrong died 1 February 1928. His death certificate lists his age as 82, his birthplace as Edgecombe County, and his parents as Abraham and Cherry Armstrong, both of Edgecombe.
  • Gary and Nelson Armstrong were, in fact, brothers. In the 1870 census of Joyners township, Wilson County: Abraham Armstrong, 52, wife Cherry, 32, and children Nancy, 16, Haywood, 14, Nelson, 12, Joshua, 11, and Burlee, 7. On 10 January 1884, Nelson Armstrong married Mary Ann Bulluck in Edgecombe County. In the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Nelson Armstrong, 45, wife Mary Ann, 40, and children Mamie, 15, Hattie, 13, and Henry, 12. In the 1910 census of Toisnot, Wilson County, on Wells Daws Avenue, Nelson Armstrong, 58, Mary, 45, daughter Hattie Armstrong, 22, son Henry Armstrong, 20, son-in-law Thomas Hilliard, 25 daughter Mamie, 24, and their children Carnelia, 3, and Magnora Hilliard, 2. In the 1920 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: Nelson Armstrong, 60, wife Mary, 50, and boarder Grover Barnes, 19. In the 1930 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: Henry Armstrong, 42, wife Mimia, 33, and children Mary, 11, Fred, 8, Rosa, 6, Clarence, 4, and Nathan, 1, plus widower father Nelson, 75. Nelson Armstrong died 8 December 1934 in Toisnot township.
  • In the 1880 census of Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: Thomas Hilliard, 38, Fortune, 40, William, 13, Mary, 12, Robert, 10, Cornelia, 8, Sealey, 6, Ollis, 4, and Becky, 2. In the 1900 census of Toisnot, Wilson County: farmer Thomas Hilliard, 56, wife Fortino, 58, and children Olive, 24, Becky, 21,  and Thomas, 16, with adopted son, Thadeous Battle, 12. [Thomas Hilliard Jr. married Nelson Armstrong’s daughter Mamie, see above. Thomas’ death certificate, filed in August 1866, identifies his mother as “Fortney Killebrew.”] In the 1910 census of Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County: Thomas Hilliard, 63, wife Forty, 65, and daughter Celia Allen, 45.
  • In the 1880 census, Jackson township, Nash County: farmer Jerry Drake, 43, wife Viney , 39, children Henrietta, 18, George, 17, Bettie, 14, Nancy E., 10, Caroline, 7, Emma, 5, and stepdaughter Jane Westray, 9.
  • In the 1880 census, Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: farmer Skipper Dunn, 60, wife Fannie, 50, and son James, 15.
  • Aggy Mercer, 17, married Thos. Williams, 21, on 5 February 1876 at Toisnot. In the 1880 census of Upper Town Creek township, Edgecombe County: farmer Thomas Williams, 24, wife Aggie, 21, and daughters Clara, 3, and Mattie, 1. In the 1900 census of the Town of Elm City, Toisnot township, Wilson County: widow Aggie Williams, 41, dress maker; and her children nurse Cora, 18, and day laborer Burtas, 14. In 1910 in the Town of Elm City, Toisnot, Wilson County: Aggie Williams, 59, lived alone in a house she owned on Main Street. In 1920 in the Town of Elm City, Toisnot, Wilson County: Aggie Williams, 51, dress maker, lived alone in a house she owned on Main Street. In 1940 in the Town of Elm City, Toisnot, Wilson County: Aggie Williams, 81, lived alone in a house she owned on Main Street. Daughter Cora lived next door. Aggie M. Williams died 21 March 1951 in Elm City. Her death certificate records her birth as 14 February 1859 in Edgecombe County to Jessie and Fannie Mercer. [The informant was Cora C. Lucas, her daughter.]

**This is odd. African-Americans came to the Toisnot area with the earliest white settlers pushing down from southern Virginia. They were the pioneers, not people who moved in after the Civil War. Spellman named black county extension agent C.W. Foster as his source.