Deed book 51, page 70, Wilson County Register of Deeds Office.
On 4 February 1899, Alex Williamson entered into an agreement to purchase from J.D. Farrior one back mare mule for $125.00. The purchase was made on credit, due 1 September 1899, and until Williamson paid in full, title to the mule remained with Farrior.
[Sidenote: “Ellick” was the local pronunciation of Alex.]
A fascinating closer look at the life of Annie Jackson “Ann Jack” Williamson, who learned the blacksmith trade at her husband Jack Williamson‘s side.
Wilson Daily Times, 16 August 1922.
Clipping courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III.
Wilson Daily Times, 10 August 1922.
“Ann Jack” was Annie Jackson Williamson. Her death certificate is perplexing, as it lists a death date of August 12 — two days after the newspaper notice above. A closer look reveals this notation by the certifying physician: “I HEREBY CERTIFY that I attended deceased from about Aug 1st, 1922, to one visit only, that I last saw her alive on or about Aug 1st 1922 and that death occurred, on the date above, at 735 am. The CAUSE OF DEATH was as follows: ‘I did not visit her but once, extreme old age and heart dropsy.'” So did she die August 1 or sometime between then and August 12? It’s not clear.
Annie Williamson lived on Daniel Street, was a widow, was born in Wilson County to Allace Rice, and was about 100 years old. Ujennia Williamson was informant.
Annie Williamson was likely closer to 80 years old.
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On 4 February 1868, Jack Williamson, son of Toney Eatmon and Hester Williamson, married Ann Boykin, daughter of John Harper and Alder Ried, at Jack Williamson’s in Wilson.
In the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County: domestic servant Robert Vick, 19, and wife Spicy, 18; Anna Williamson, 25, washerwoman, children Jena, 10, Charles, 5, and Ann I.M., 2, and husband Jackson Williamson, 45, blacksmith.
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Tarboro Street, Jack Williamson, 55, blacksmith; wife Ann, 30; and children Eugina, 20, cook, Charles 16, blacksmith shop worker, Tete, 14, and Lea, 4.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Annie Williamson, 51, and daughters Lugenia, 35, and Susan A., 23, all laundry women.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory, Ann and Lugenia Williamson were listed as laundresses living at West Walnut near Tarboro Street.
In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 604 Daniel Street, Annie Williamson, 85; daughter Lugenia Williamson, 40, laundress; and grandchildren Sylvester, 18, bottling works laborer, and Mittie Williamson, 3.
Booker T. Washington mentioned Mahala J. Williamson in this letter to Warren Logan, treasurer of Tuskegee Institute. Williamson, a Hampton Institute graduate, served in several positions at Tuskegee, including head of the laundry department, principal of the night school, and librarian.
Williamson, born in 1864, was the daughter of Patrick and Spicey Williamson. See here a letter Williamson wrote about her work at Tuskegee.
Excerpt from Harlan, Louis R., Booker T. Washington Papers, Volume 2: 1860-89 (1972).
Shortly after their marriage, Charles and Clara Vick Williamson followed the footsteps of Charles Rountree‘s family to Xenia, Ohio.
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In the 1870 census of Wilson, Wilson County: domestic servant Robert Vick, 19, and wife Spicy, 18; Anna Williamson, 25, washerwoman, children Jena, 10, Charles, 5, and Ann I.M., 2, and husband Jackson Williamson, 45, blacksmith.
In the 1880 census of Wilson, Wilson County: on Tarboro Street, Jack Williamson, 55, blacksmith; wife Ann, 30; and children Eugina, 20, cook, Charles 16, blacksmith shop worker, Tete, 14, and Lea, 4.
On 6 January 1887, Charles Williamson, 21, son of Jack and Ann Williamson, married Clara Vick, 18, daughter of Nelson and Viney Vick, in the Town of Wilson. Amanda Vick applied for the license, and A.M.E. Zion minister H.C. Phillips performed the ceremony in the presence of S.H. Vick, H.C. Rountree and Daniel Vick.
In the 1900 census of Xenia, Greene County: on 128 East Second Street, blacksmith Charles Williamson, 30; wife Clearo, 26; and children Mamie, 10, Charles A., 7, William H., 6, and John, 2. All the children were born in Ohio.
On 27 September 1904, Charles Williamson, 34, of Xenia, Ohio, blacksmith, born in North Carolina to Jack and Ann Williamson, married Lulu B. Anderson, 21, of Xenia, born in North Carolina to George Nelson Anderson and China Brown, in Xenia, Ohio.
In the 1910 census of Xenia, Greene County, Ohio: at 228 Fair Street, ropewalk laborer Charles Williamson, 46, married twice; wife Lula, 29; and children barber Charles Jr., 18, ropewalk laborer William, 16, John, 12, Hugh, 3, and Marcus, 4. Charles and Lula were born in North Carolina; the children in Ohio.
Though described as a ropewalk laborer in the 1910 census, Charles Williamson Sr. apparently continued to do some blacksmithing work as a horseshoer in 1911.
Xenia Daily Gazette, 12 April 1911.
On 8 July 1912, Charles Arnold Williamson Jr., laborer, of Xenia, age 20 on 1 April 1912, born in Xenia to Charles Williamson and Clara Vick, married Marguerite Scott Howard, age 18 on 10 September 1911, born in Xenia to James A. Howard and Mary Lucy Scott, in Xenia.
Xenia Daily Gazette, 27 February 1913.
Xenia Daily Gazette, 20 June 1913. Was this Charles Williamson Sr.’s second wife Lula?
In 1917, Charles Williamson registered for the World War I draft in Xenia, Ohio. Per his registration card, he was born 1 April 1894 in Xenia; resided at 1118 East Main, Xenia; was a laborer at H.& A. Twine Company; was single and had a dependent child.
In the 1920 census of Xenia, Greene County, Ohio: at 31 Orchard Street, Charles Williamson, 27, and wife Lena, 28.
In the 1920 census of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio: factory laborer Charles H. Jennings, 39, and wife Mamie, 26.
In the 1930 census of Xenia, Greene County, Ohio: at 33 Orchard Street, owned and valued at $200, Charles Williamson, 36, mason tender in construction.
In the 1930 census of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio: at 3323 Erie, foundry moulder Charles H. Jennings, 49; wife Mamie E., 29, laundress; and boarder John Williamson, 33, restaurant manager.
In the 1930 census of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio: at 511 Wyandotte, Hugh Williamson, 29; wife Elsie, 27; and children Carmen, 4, Leona, 3, and May, 10 months.
In 1940, Marcus McCampbell Williamson registered for the World War II draft in Xenia County, Ohio. Per his registration card, he was born 1 January 1906 in Zenia, Ohio; lived at Rural Route #5, Xenia; and worked for himself. Contact was aunt Hattie Young, Route 5, Xenia, Ohio.
In 1942, Hugh Theodore Roosevelt Williamson registered for the World War II draft in Lucas County, Ohio. Per his registration card, he was born 14 November 1900 in Zenia, Ohio; lived at 3323 Erie Street, Toledo; and worked for Toledo Smoke Shop. Contact was sister Mamie Jennings, 2332 North Erie, Toledo, Ohio.
In 1942, Charles Williamson registered for the World War II draft in Greene County, Ohio. Per his registration card, he was born 1 April 1896 in Xenia, Ohio; lived at 51 Columbus Road, Xenia; and was unemployed. Contact was Mamie Jennings, 2332 North Erie, Toledo, Ohio.
Charles Williamson died 16 July 1971 in Xenia, Greene County, Ohio.
Xenia Daily Gazette, 16 July 1971.
On 18 May 1985, the Wilson Daily Times printed this remarkable photograph with the caption: “The employees of Wainwright Foundry, located on the north side of Pine Street between Broad and Kenan streets, posed for this photograph in 1894. From left are Jack Williamson, Frank Perry, George Rowland, Ad Holland, proprietor George H. Wainwright, William D. Thomas, Parker Battle and Smith Bennett. (Photo contributed by Hugh B. Johnston, restoration by Claude Anthony).”
Hat tip to Jim Skinner.
I searched unsuccessfully for this cemetery a couple of years ago — it was the wrong time of year. In summer it’s hidden from the street by tobacco or corn or whatever tall crop is growing, but it’s readily visible in December. (The thick growth just behind the graves shelters Cedar Creek, a tributary of Black Creek.)
The oldest marked grave is that of
Moses Bynum 1825-1885 Gone but not forgotten
James Grice Born 1850 Died Sep 23 1925 Gone but not forgotten
In the 1870 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: James Grice, 17, farm apprentice in the household of Thomas Woodard, 38.
In the 1880 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: James Grice, 30; wife Leatha J., 34; and children Mary, 11, Loney W., 8, and Joseph, 4.
In the 1900 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: James Grice, 50, farm laborer; wife Jane L., 49; and children Mary, 35, Lonney, 28, Sarah A., 17, and James L., 12.
In the 1910 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: on West Railroad Street, James Grice, 59, farmer; wife Eliza, 52; daughter Mary,; and granddaughter Hattie,
In the 1920 census of lack Creek township, Wilson County: Eroy A. Grice, 40; wife Clyde, 33; James, 69; Hattie Wood, 40, and Walter Wood, 12.
James Grice died 23 September 1925 in Black Creek township. Per his death certificate, he was born in 1850 in Wilson County to James Grice and Thanney Keen; was a tenant farmer for Johnson Daniel; and was the widower of Litha Grice. Eroy Grice of Black Creek was informant.
Father Tunner Williamson Born Jan. 18. 1860 Died Oct. 22, 1937 Gone but not forgotten.
See here.
Turner Jr., husband of Bessie Mae Williamson May 13, 1902 June 14, 1945 A light from our household is gone
Turner Williamson died 14 June 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Per his death certificate, he was born 13 May 1902 in Wilson to Turner Williamson and Margaret Barnes; was married to Bessie Williamson, age 37; worked as an auto mechanic; lived at 601 North 53rd Street, Philadelphia; and was buried in Wilson.
James White Feb 8, 1877 Apr 4, 1950 At rest
Jim White died 4 April 1950 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 73 years old; was born in Craven County, N.C., to Rennie White; was married; worked as a carpenter; and was buried in Bynum cemetery. Effie White was informant.
Chaney Brooks died Nov, 12, 1941 Age 66 Yrs. Gone But Not Forgotten
Chanie Brooks died 12 December 1940 in Black Creek township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 78 years old; was born in Wilson County to Bryant Barden and Annis Barden; was married to Walter Brooks; and was buried in Bynum’s cemetery near Lucama. Informant was Tom Dawson.
Mother Ollie Braswell Dec. 2, 1870 Mar. 7, 1950 Gone But Not Forgotten
In the 1880 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: farmer Calvin Bynum, 31; wife Pherabe, 28; and children Olive, 9, Fannie, 7, Martha Ann, 5, Joseph, 2, and Benjamin, 3 months.
Luther Braswell, 20, of Wilson County, son of George and Adline Braswell, married Olive Bynum, 21, of Wilson County, daughter of Calvin and Ferebe Bynum, on 10 April 1894 at Calvin Bynum’s in Cross Road township. Witnesses were Gray Newsome, Henry Dudley and [illegible] Newsome.
In the 1900 census of Nahunta township, Wayne County: Luther Braswell, 27, farmer; wife Oliff, 28; Lewis, 5, Frank, 3, and Luther, 10 months.
In the 1910 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: farmer Luther Braswell, 37; wife Olif, 38; and children Lewis, 15, Frank, 12, Luther, 10, Oscar, 8, Gertrude, 6, Victoria, 2, and Calvin, 11 months.
In the 1920 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Luther Braswell, 47; wife Ollie, 48; and children Oscar, 18, Gertrude, 15, and Victoria, 12. Next door: Luther Braswell Jr., 20, and wife Estella, 20. Also, Lewis Braswell, 24, wife Chany, 28, and children James, 2, and Carry, 8 months. Also, Frank Braswell, 22, and wife Etta, 19.
In the 1930 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farmer Luther Braswell, 30; wife Estell, 26; mother Olif, 57; and sister Victoria, 22.
Olie Braswell died 7 March 1950 at 604 Spring Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 2 December 1870 in Wilson County to Calvin Bynum; was widowed; and was buried in Newsome cemetery, WIlson County. Victoria Messick of Wilson was informant.
Father Willie Newsome May 17, 1959 Gone But Not Forgotten
On [illegible] October 1926, Willie Newsom, of Cross Roads, son of Amos and Martha Newsom, married Mittie Taylor, 20, daughter of Frank Taylor and Hattie Joyner. Elder Robert Edwards performed the ceremony in the presence of Jethro Dickerson, Benjamin Bynum and Geo. Sutton.
In the 1940 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: Willie Newsome, 48; wife Mittie, 32; and children Lessie, 11, Hattie, 9, Mattie, 7, and Yvone, 2.
Willie Newsome died 17 May 1959 at 1312 Washington Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 18 April 1895 in Wilson County to Amos Newsome; was married to Mittie Newsome; was a farmer; and was buried in a family cemetery in Lucama.
William L. Barnes June 16, 1889 Feb. 17, 1941
Pittsburgh Courier, 22 December 1923.
Though the Courier reported Cleophus Hinnant’s death (and, apparently, his name) as a mystery, his death certificate was clear about what happened. Hinnant “was murdered. Shot to death by a man named Turner Williamson.”
Turner Williamson was Cleophus Hinnant’s former father-in-law, father of his deceased first wife. I have not been able to discover more about this tragedy.
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In the 1920 census of Cross Roads township, Wilson County: Josiah Hinnant, 47, farmer; wife Mary L., 38; and son Cleophus, 17.
On 11 November 1920, Cleophus Hinnant, 18, of Cross Roads, son of Josiah and Victoria Hinnant, married Montie Williamson, 19, of Cross Roads, daughter of Turner and Margaret Williamson, at Turner Williamson’s. Baptist minister Emerson Hooker performed the ceremony in the presence of Abram Deans, Henry Bynum and David Bynum, all of Lucama.
Montia Hinnant died 27 November 1921 in Cross Roads township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 19 years old; was married to Cleother Hinnant; was born in Wilson County to Turner Williamson and Margarette Barnes; and was a tenant farmer for Josiah Hinnant. Josiah Hinnant was informant.
On 2 January 1923, Cleophus Hinnant and Gessie Bunch received a marriage license.
Josiah Hinnant filed for letters of administration for his son on 4 January 19. His application listed the value of Cleophus Hinnant’s estate as about $500, and his heirs as Gessie Hinnant and an unborn child.
Per Kate Ohno, Wilson County’s Architectural Heritage (1981):
The house as photographed for Ohno’s book.
“Garry Williamson was born in 1817, the son of Thomas and Kasiah Williamson. Williamson inherited part of the land between Contentnea Creek and Marsh Swamp granted to his grandfather, Joseph Williamson, in 1779 by Governor Richard Caswell. Family tradition has it that an earlier plantation house was incorporated into the present house, which Williamson inherited from his father in 1857 and which he is said to have remodelled in the same year. Williamson married Gillie Flowers in 1840. The couple’s daughter Sallie married prominent local physician, Dr. H.F. Freeman, in 1878. Howard Franklin Freeman was born in Franklin County in 1848 and he was educated at Wake Forest University and the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore. Upon graduation from college, Freeman began his medical in the Rock Ridge area. After his marriage to Sallie Freeman the couple resided wit Garry Williamson and his family at the family homeplace. … The Freeman heirs owned the property until 1976. The house shows little indication of its pre-1857 origins, and the bulk of the fabric of the building appears to date from Garry Williamson’s occupancy. The oldest section of the house consists of a two-and-one-half story gable roofed structure with robust exterior end chimneys. These chimneys are notable because of the use of native stone mixed with brick which was stuccoed and gauged to resemble blocks of dressed stone. The mixed stone and brick chimneys are typical of Old Fields township and seldom found in the easten part of the county, but the gauged stucco work is extremely rare. At the rear of the house stands a one-story ell with porches, which was probably added by Dr. Freeman circa 1880 when he build his office on the northwest corner of the house. In recent years Freeman’s office was moved to the Country Doctor Museum in Bailey. Although little remains of Dr. Freeman’s famous garden, the old turn-of-the-century kitchen stands to one side of the main house. Family tradition asserts that the kitchen was moved to its present location so that Garry Williamson and a daughter could occupy the structure. The interior of the main house exhibits a hall-and-parlor plan with an enclosed stair ascending from the rear of the house. The rear ell appears to have consisted of two rooms.”
It is difficult to reconcile this image from Ohno’s book with that above, but this is said to be the Garry Williamson house in 1903, with members of daughter Sallie Williamson Freeman’s family.
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In the 1850 census of Nash County, North Carolina: farmer Garry Williamson, 33; wife Gilly, 26; and children Hinnant, 10, Nancy 7, and Lucinda, 3.
In the 1850 slave schedule of Nash County, North Carolina, Garry Williamson with two enslaved people, a 20 year-old male and a 17 year-old female, both described as mulatto.
In the 1860 census of Old Fields township, Wilson County: farmer Garry Williamson, 44; wife Gilly, 35; and children Lucinda, 13, Nancy, 11, Sidney, 5, and Sarah A., 2.
In the 1860 slave schedule of Old Fields township, Wilson County, having inherited from his father’s estate, Garry Williamson is listed with eight enslaved people, three men aged 23, 28 and 55, and five girls, aged 8 months, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 11.
I have blogged extensively about the extended Williamson family’s slaveholdings (including Garry Williamson’s father, grandparents and brother) and about the lives of African-American Williamsons.
The hier of one Negro man Patrick left in the last Will and Testament of Thomas Williamson Dec’d to Dempsey Williamson (his son) hired out by the Admr’s of said Dec’d for the term of one year on the following conditions said negro is to have the following conditions said negro is to have the following clothing 1 suit of woolen 2 suits of cotton 3 pare of shoes 2 pare of woolen socks 1 hat and 1 Blanket and if said negro is cald for before the Expiration of his hier to be returned and pay in perpotion said negro is not to work on Railrods nether in Ditches
The hire of Patrick To Edwin Fulghum $80.00
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Thomas Williamson’s executors hired out Patrick during the settlement of Williamson’s estate. This document sets remarkably precise terms for Patrick’s hire, including changes of clothing; several pairs of shoes; restrictions on the type of work he would be put to (see here to understand why); and, in effect, a cancellation clause. Edwin Fulghum was a neighboring white farmer whose wife Mary was a Williamson. The document is undated but was probably executed about 1857.
Estate File of Thomas Williamson, North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979, http://www.familysearch.org.