HenrysHistories

 Lucy and Pinkie were sisters. They had been born in Nash County, North Carolina.  Their mother was named Mary Jane Brewer and everyone called her by her middle name of Jane. Jane had been born a free person of color in 1835 to David Wilkins and Penelope Merritt, also free persons of color in Nash County, North Carolina. They had married on Nov. 20, 1833 in Nash County. Jane's mother died young and her father David remarried to another free woman of  color, named Martha. In 1850, Jane and her family are living in Nash County, NC. David Wilkins, her father, was listed as head of the family and 43 years old. He is a free person of color. With him are Martha aged 29, his wife. The following children are listed: William 14, Jane 11, Martha 9, George 6, David 4, Matilda 2 and Louis one month old.  In 1860, Jane is living in Dortches, Nash County, North Carolina. She is listed as 24, mulatto and a housekeeper. She has two children named Isadore aged 3 and William aged 1. Next door to her

  It has been a very busy time for me and I apologize for the delay in getting to the rest of the story. However, I have had time to look over all the documents and also research what became of some of the other people involved in the story. So let us begin.  First, I would like to say thank you to the NC State Archives located on Jones Street in Raleigh, NC for helping me find the NC Supreme Court files for this case. For documentation purposes cite the case as follows: Supreme Court Original Files State v. Calvin & Thomas Coley Case No. 17,772 Franklin County Box #836 1894 In total, 55 pages were copied for me by the NC State Archives. Here are some of the highlights of these 55 pages.  ------------------------------------------------------ Bill of Indictment State of North Carolina, Franklin County Superior Court January Term 1894 The jurors for the State upon their oath Present: That Calvin and Thomas Coley late of the County of Franklin on the 1st day of July in the year of ou