Wilson Daily Times, 29 April 1942.
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We saw 603 East Green Street here and here.
Below are photos of the Washington Wilkins house taken circa the mid-1980s for the East Wilson Historic District nomination report.
603 East Green today.
N.87-12-360-362, Washington Wilkins House, 603 E. Green Street, East Wilson Historic District, Wilson, Wilson County, Survey and National Register Branch, State Historic Preservation Office; photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, July 2026.
Wilson Daily Times, 27 March 1948.
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In the 1900 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: farmer Spencer Wilkins, 45; wife Martha A., 27; and children Mary J., 18, Silva A., 17, Walter, 14, John, 9, Steller, 7, Annie B., 5, Susia, 3, Alger, 1, and Dianie, 0 months.
On 9 January 1906, John Wilkins, 20, of Oldfields township, son of S.M. and Riney Wilkins, married Rosa Arrington, 21, of Oldfields township, daughter of Tempy Arrington Coley, in Oldfields township, Wilson County. Ed Coley applied for the license.
On 26 July 1920, Johnie Wilkins, 38, of Nash County, N.C., married Effie Allen, 28, of Taylor township, in Wilson,
In the 1930 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: farmer John Wilkins, 53, and wife Effie, 38.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 617 Hines, John Wilkins, 59; wife Effie, 50; daughter Victoria, 28; and grandson David W. Wolf[?], 6.
John W. Wilkins died 22 March 1948 at the County Home, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 20 October 1882 in Wilson County to Spence Wilkins and Ronnie Locus; lived 617 West Hines Street; was married; worked in farming; and was buried in New Vester Cemetery. Walter Wilkins was informant.
In June 1897, Aaron and Estella Washington sold John W. Rodgers a one-quarter acre lot “near the town of Wilson” on or near Reddin S. Wilkins‘ lot on Lodge Street.
Deed book 48, page 166, Wilson County Register of Deeds office, Wilson.
When Redden S. Wilkins contracted Claudius Aycock to build him a house in 1897, Wilkins borrowed $206.50 from J.R. Uzzell and put up his Lodge Street lot as surety. The house was a tiny one, measuring 36 feet long by 21 feet wide with an 18-foot porch and a six-foot-wide passageway. (That seems like a lot of hall for such a narrow house.)
Deed book 45, page 53, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office, Wilson, N.C.
In January 1952, in the midst of the N.A.A.C.P.’s push to integrate Cairo, Illinois, schools, the home of Dr. Urbane F. Bass; his wife, Wilson native Mary Della Wilkins Bass; and their four children was rocked by a dynamite blast. No one was injured, but the rear of the house was heavily damaged. The bombing followed burning crosses set as a warning to Black parents seeking to transfer their children to all-white Cairo schools.
Clinton Daily Journal and Public Record, 30 January 1952.
Within days, the police arrested and charged five white men with the crime. A year later, used car salesman Robert Hogan pleaded guilty and received a one-year suspended sentence. Charges against the rest were dismissed.
A quick chart I drew up.
Among the most rewarding aspects of researching for Black Wide-Awake are discovering, uncovering, and recovering lost family connections, both my own and others’. I was particularly excited to piece together the Taylor family puzzle, which linked three of my childhood friends. Wilson County is small enough that it’s not surprising that many of us share distant common ancestry, but just who those long-lost cousins are can be surprising indeed.
Jesse and Levan Wilkins Handy.
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In the 1900 census of Red Bluff township, Marlboro County, South Carolina: wood cutter George Handy, 36; wife Mary, 30; and children Neill A., 12, George, 8, Simeon, 5, Iola, 2, and Jessee, 2 months.
In the 1910 census of Stewartsville township, Scotland County, North Carolina: farmer George Handy, 55, and children Neill, 20, George, 18, Sim, 15, Iola, 12, Jessie, 9, Mary, 6, and Archie, 4.
Neil Handy registered for the World War I draft in Wilson County in 1918. Per his registration card, he lived at Route 6, Wilson; was born 30 May 1886; was a farmer for Jesse Barnes; and Nellie Handy was his nearest relative.
In the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Black Creek Road, George Handy, 60, and children Douglass, 18, Arch, 12, and Mary Sudie, 14.
In the 1930 census of Jonesboro, Lee County, North Carolina: odd jobs laborer Jesse Handy, 25; wife Janie, 25; and daughter Mary J., 2.
In the 1930 census of Mannings township, Nash County, North Carolina: farmer John Wilkins, 52, widower, and children William C., 20, farm laborer, Levian, 17, and Zollie, 15, farm laborer.
In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Spring Street Alley, brickmason Douglas J. Handy, 40; wife Evan, 28, laundress; and daughter Mary J., 12.
Jessie Dugles Handy registered for the World War II draft in Wilson in 1942. Per his registration card, he was born 14 April 1898 in Marion County, South Carolina; resided at 404 South Spring Street Alley; worked for Jones Brothers Construction on Lodge Street; and his contact was brother, Neal Handy, a brickmason.
In the 1947 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Handley Jesse (c; Levan) brklyr h929 Carolina
Jessie Handy died 19 August 1979 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 14 April 1900 in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to George and Mary Handy; resided at 107 South East Street; worked as a brick mason; and was married to Levan Wilkins Handy.
News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 13 August 2005.
Photo courtesy of Cassandra Handy Horsley. Thank you for sharing!
Iora Wilkins Jones Baines Lucas.
In the 1900 census of Old Field township, Wilson County: Francis Kates, 37, widow, farmer, and children Ora, 16, Jane, 14, Willie, 10, and Earnest, 6.
Iora Lucas, 15, of Old Fields township, daughter of Buck Wilkins and Frances Kates, married James E. Jones, 28, of Old Fields, son of Burt Jones and Susan Jones, on 2 June 1901 at Frances Kates’ in Old Fields. Thomas A. Jones was a witness.
On 19 February 1906, Frank Baines, 26, of Old Fields, son of Simon and D. Baines, married Iora Jones, 21, of Nash County, daughter of Frances Cates, at Frank Baines’ residence. Thomas A. Jones, John R. Jones, and Dorsey Powell were informants.
In the 1910 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: Franklin Baines, 28; wife Ora, 24; and children James V., 8, Elroy, 4, Cornelia, 2, and Mary A. Baines, 7 months.
In the 1920 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: widowed farmer Ora Bains, 33, and children Elroy, 12, Cornelia, 11, Mary E., 10, Rosevelt, 7, Donnie, 5, Armensie, 3, and Josephine, 2.
In the 1930 census of Jackson township, Nash County: widow Ora Lucas, 45, and children Donnie, 16, Armensie, 14, Josephine, 12, Junius, 8, and Monzora, 6. [The latter two by her third husband, June Lucas.]
Iora Lucas migrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com user Jerry Smith.
Three African-American men were tried and convicted, but given only nominal punishment for whipping a white man whose common-law wife was a black woman.
Baltimore Afro-American, 28 January 1921.
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