HenrysHistories

 I was 25 years old when the world changed that September morning in 2001. My mother woke me up, telling me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York City. Half-asleep, I remember saying,  That doesn’t make any sense. Pilots can see those buildings.  But when I got out of bed and turned on the TV, I watched in horror as the second plane struck. In that moment, I knew it wasn’t an accident. It was deliberate. The images and sounds from that day are still burned into my memory. But what haunts me just as much is what came after. Instead of drawing us closer, fear and anger caused many to turn on those who looked different, prayed differently, or thought differently. And in the 24 years since, it feels as though the division has only deepened. Instead of uniting, humanity is unraveling. Harsh rhetoric is now commonplace. People are quick to point fingers and label others as the enemy simply because they disagree. Our country is tearing itself apart from within—...

My fourth great-grandmother was a woman named Deborah Simpson. Her maiden name is unknown to me, as is the name of her husband. She had seven children with this husband before he died sometime in the late 1820s.  Her children were Nancy, an unknown male, Anna, an unknown male, an unknown male, Lucinda and William.  The first record I found for Deborah was the 1830 census record. She was found living in Jameston, Martin County, North Carolina. Below is what that census recorded: white males 5 to 9 years old = 2 white males 10 to 14 years old = 2 white females 5 to 9 years old = 1 white females 10 to 14 years old = 1 white females 40 to 49 years old = 1 The next record I found was the 1840 census. She was living in District 1, Martin County, North Carolina. Below is what that census recorded.  white males 10 to 14 years old = 1 white females 15 to 19 years old = 2 white females 30 to 39 years old = 1 white females 50 to 59 years old = 1 The next record I found for Deborah w...

  You can find this book on Amazon or also at books.by/henrydparrishjr  

 So I decided to write a book about the Coley brothers' case that I had been writing about for this blog. I just finished it and self-published it yesterday through Books.by The book can be found at the following link. https://books.by/henrydparrishjr It's titled: Blood, Justice & The Coley Brothers

  What do you think of when I say the word, History? Does it bring to mind memories of dry textbooks, endless dates, and pop quizzes about battles you barely understood?  If it does, you are not the only one.  However, history isn’t just about memorizing who did what in the 1700s or the sequence of ancient empires. It’s about understanding the world we live in today and figuring out how we got here. And, believe it or not, it can be pretty fun—if you give it a chance. Have you ever wondered why certain countries are allies, while others seem perpetually at odds? Or why cities are built where they are? Or even why people celebrate holidays the way they do? History holds these answers. It’s like the ultimate backstory for everything around you and by digging into the past, you start seeing the threads that connect historical events to modern-day issues. That’s how you begin to understand the "why" behind the "what." Another thing I have heard from students is that his...

 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...

  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 ...

I have been able to get my hands on the original trial transcripts. I will be reading through those the next few days and then I will continue the story of the trial and its aftermath.  July 16, 2024: I had to have surgery and recover from it.

 In the last post we left off with Calvin and Pinkey in Norfolk, Virginia and Sheriff Kearney had sent word to the Norfolk police to have them arrested for the murder of Samuel Tucker. They were arrested on December 30, 1893. Sheriff Kearney went to Norfolk to bring them to Louisburg on Tuesday, January 2, 1894. They arrived in Louisburg on Wednesday January 3, 1894 and were promptly taken before Dr OL Ellis for their hearings.  As you remember this is the very jail where Lucy and Thomas are being held. According to trial transcripts, Pinkey was put on the second floor of the jail, while Lucy remained on the first floor of the jail.  They had not seen each other since September of 1892. (This will be important later.) As you may recall, Lucy was arrested on Christmas Eve of 1893. This was a Sunday and courts were closed for Christmas Day, which fell on a Monday that year. Lucy was brought before the Justice of the Peace; Mr. J B Denton on Monday January 1, 1894. She pled ...

 So I have mentioned before how my paternal great great grandmother West Duck Lewis was murdered by Ben Collins around 1877 and how my great grandmother Sarah Jane Lewis was then sent to live with an uncle who then turned her over to Oxford Orphanage.  Now I find that I have two people who committed murder in my family. On my maternal line, I found two first cousins 4 generations removed who committed murder. One of them was also probably responsible for this twin brother's death as well. Their names were Calvin Coley and Thomas Coley. Thomas was the older of the two and he had a twin brother named James.  In 1890, James Coley was murdered. The house he was in was blown up using dynamite. No one was ever charged with this crime but it was believed by a great many people that his twin brother Thomas was the one who had killed him. Incidentally, the house belonged to their father Samuel who was not killed.  Then on June 30, 1892 Thomas and Calvin Coley killed a Jewish ...

Found the marriage record of former slaves Mike and Mary Thigpen. They had been married since 1835. It was recorded in 1866 in Pitt County, North Carolina. 

  I had a new metal sign made for the cemetery. I also added my contact information to it as well. This cemetery is in the Cemetery Books of Nash county as the Thomas Franklin Nobles cemetery but it is actually the Wiley F Nobles and Sarah Elizabeth James cemetery.  The house that was diagonally across from the cemetery has been burned down to the ground. What a waste of history. The farm corporation that owned the property and house decided it wasn't worth saving the house so they let it be burned down by the local fire department. So at least some good came from its destruction since the local fire department got to use it for training purposes. 

 Life has its way of getting in the way and before you know almost a year has passed by since I lsat logged in. I haven't been meaning to be away this long, but it just kind of happened. I had weight loss surgery and have lost 100 pounds. I have been staying more active and I am back in school getting a paralegal diploma to add on to my BA in History.  We are also working hard on our book and documentary and hope to have these done by the end of this year. *fingers crossed on that one* I found even more information that we will be including in the documentary and the book.  Sorry I was away for so long but I will do my best to not be away that long again.  Henry 

 Things that truly make my head and heart hurt when I see them.  I saw this in the 1940 census for Pactolus, Pitt County, North Carolina when I was looking for another family for a client.  I had to stop and do a double take because at first I thought I was reading this wrong. I looked back and realized I did not read that wrong. Alex Ogman was an 89 year old man and his wife Roselle was 17! and they had two children aged 2 and 7 months.  So according to marriage records he married Rosa Lee Cox on Feb 16, 1935 in Beaufort County, North Carolina.  An article appeared in the Daily Reflector on Sep 21, 1940 that states he has had 19 wives and 40 children. That he was a former slave of Calvin Ogman of Johnston County, NC. It further states his oldest child is 67 and his youngest is 3. That his current wife is 18 and he married her when she was 13. He was arrested in 1935 for not sending her to SCHOOL!!!  They had at least 5 kids together.  They divorce som...

  This is a relative of mine who died in 1934 in Pitt County, North Carolina. In this obituary it states that both her parents were from Dublin, Ireland. This is FALSE. Her father was Wiley Franklin Nobles (1798-1861) born in Pitt County, North Carolina to Simon Nobles (1760-1832) who was born in Pitt County, North Carolina and died in Pitt County, North Carolina. As for her mother Clara Elizabeth Brown , she may have been born in Dublin Ireland but I cannot prove this nor disprove this.  Also Mrs Carlos Harris was her DAUGHTER not her sister. I don't know who wrote this obituary but they got stuff wrong. 

  This Deed is a document that is connected to my 3rd great grandmother Lovey Chapman. Born about 1823 and she passed around 1895.  Her parents were Stephen Chapman (1789 - 1832 and Eliza Louisa "Luliza" Adams (1804 - 1891). She was married twice. Her first husband was Richard Laughinghouse (1814-1858) and her second husband was my 3rd great grandfather William Haddock (1822-1885).  She had 8 children with her first husband and two with her second husband. Her daughter Lovie Haddock was my 2nd great grandmother.  I was able to find this deed that she made on June 1, 1889 in Chicod Township, Pitt County, North Carolina. I am not sure who Henry Haddock is that she is selling ALL of her land to but with some more research I should be able to find out. But she is selling this 150 acres to him BUT she is keeping a lifetime estate in it. Which means that he will take care of her and let her continue to live on this land until she passes and then at her death, everything go...

In the tapestry of life, there are moments of unexpected magic, and the reunion of this woman with her lost love after three long decades is a breathtaking testament to the enduring power of true connection. As time wove its intricate threads through the years, fate conspired to bring them back together, like a celestial dance under a starlit sky. When their eyes met again after all those years, a flood of emotions surged through their hearts, as if the years apart melted into the sands of time. In each other's presence, they found a sense of familiarity that transcended the passage of time, as if they had been destined to find each other again. Their reunion was a symphony of laughter and tears, a celebration of the love that had never truly faded but had been patiently awaiting this long-awaited moment. In this extraordinary tale, love proved its resilience, illustrating that even after thirty years, the heart's compass remains steadfast, guiding them back into each other...

 A few years ago, I was working on a research paper about a friend's request to know what had happened to one of her relatives back in the 1870's to 1880's. She had told me, it was like he had vanished and the family tree didn't really mention him. Even today, there are versions of their family tree that do not mention him.  So you may be wondering what he did to be blackballed from the family story.  His name was JC and he was a common thief to start out with. He was married with children at the time as well. But he loved to take things that didn't belong to him. Sheep and hogs mostly. This was in the time period of 1876-1878.  Now his wife, Amelia, her father Ransom got fed up with the stealing. Ransom gave JC an ultimatum to leave town and never return. Before he left however, JC, had to turn over all of his assets to his father in law for the benefit of his wife and children. He did this on March 16, 1877. He left town but after a few months he returned. No one ...

 My grandfather came from a very large family and some of them did not stay very still (in one place for very long).  Particularly difficult though was the fact that his mother Sarah Jane Lewis was orphaned young. She was placed in Oxford Orphanage in 1881 here in North Carolina and adopted out of the orphanage in 1883. The couple she ended up with did not treat her very well. She married my great grandfather George Gilliam Parrish in 1887.  FINDING INFORMATION But it was her mother's family that was an enigma. Over the years I found bits and pieces of information and slowly started building this side of the family tree.  Her mother was called Westduck Lewis and her father was Henry Boss King. Her parents were not married to each other as far as I can tell. Westduck's parents were named Norfleet and Julia Lewis. They lived in Halifax County, North Carolina. They had several other children besides Westduck.  One of these siblings of Westduck, I have chased behind...

 Portsmouth Island, NC is located 6 miles SW of Ocracoke village and is separated from Ocracoke Island by Ocracoke Inlet. At one time this island was a thriving sea port and shipping center.  In the year 1753, the General Assembly of North Carolina, passed legislation on March 27 to lay out a town on Core banks in Carteret County. The town was to be named Portsmouth and it would be fifty acres and divided into half acre lots. The cost for one of these lots was 20 shillings and you had to build a house or warehouse of at least 20 by 16 feet.  By 1758 the town had been laid out and was inhabited. For the next 102 years this island was home to many people. At its height, just before the Civil War, the population was almost 600.  Then the decline started due to the war, storms that ravaged the island over the next century and the inlet closing and a new one forming that offered better shipping lanes. By 1960, three people were left on the island. One man and two women....