Wilson Daily Times, 15 May 1945.
Burial societies are mutual aid organizations that provide funeral expenses and support for members, funded by voluntary subscriptions. Membership in a burial society, with small dues often paid weekly, ensured affordable, dignified burials, especially for families whose incomes were stretched.
Trinity A.M.E. Zion‘s burial society was founded in 1918, when Vick Cemetery was the primary African-American burial ground in Wilson.
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In this series, which will post on occasional Wednesdays, I populate the landscape of Wilson County with imaginary “historical markers” commemorating people, places, and events significant to African-American history or culture.
We been here.
Second oldest active African Methodist Episcopal Zion church in Wilson. Former sanctuary stood here on land purchased in 1909 from Rev. O.L.W. Smith, former consul to Liberia and A.M.E.Z. presiding elder.
On 7 December 1909, Rev. Owen L.W. Smith and his wife Cynthia A. Smith sold the trustees of Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church — Rev. William J. Moore, Rev. Wyatt Studaway, and Morrison Speight — a 50′ by 100′ lot on the south side of Banks Street, 45 feet west of Goldsboro Street in Wilson.
Deed book 86, page 299, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson.
Trinity built its first church on the site and, to my amazement, owned the property until February of this year.
Detail, Wilson County, N.C., GIS Mapping Website.