Are Edenton’s African American Residents Facing Redevelopment or Expulsion in 2015?

3/30/2015

Two neighborhoods targeted for redevelopment are where African Americans have lived since the eras of Reconstruction and Jim Crow.

Part of the proposed plan is relocation for these residents. Do they want to leave their homes? Where does Edenton’s Town Council plan to relocate them?

I find it alarming that as of November 2014, Edenton’s Town Council drafted a plan to “redevelop” specific neighborhoods in order to “improve the quality of all neighborhoods throughout” the town. On page 1 of the North Oakum Street and Moseley Street Redevelopment Plans, the town council used Article 22 of the NC General Statutes to justify their takeover of these areas.

A brief summary of the council’s justification cites urban blight, which includes, (a) dilapidated housing, (b) vacant housing- which is “ indicative of blighting conditions including: juvenile delinquency and crime, public safety,” and concerns with public welfare, and (c) of course these areas are located within the boundaries of Edenton's Historic District. The town council was supposed to review the plan at their 2015 February or March meeting dates.

Seriously, is the best idea for improving the quality of Edenton’s neighborhoods, the relocation, or removal of African American residents from the area? This reminds me of the historical theme in the documentary, Banished by Marco Williams; the difference is that Edenton is using a state statute instead of a gun.

Once redevelopment is complete, the property value increases, and those residents who are on fixed incomes may not be able to pay the increase in property taxes. What will happen to them? They will have to move, and Edenton will lose more of its rich resident history. What history or future is there for the roots of Edenton?

Folks, what are your thoughts on this issue?

________________________________________________________________________________________

Read about this issue on Edenton’s Official website

http://www.townofedenton.com/

EXCERPT BELOW:

“NEIGHBORHOOD REDEVELOPMENT PLANS”

“The Town Council’s Vision Statement speaks to the Town’s intent to improve the quality of all neighborhoods throughout town by focusing on strategies directly related to housing. One of the strategies recently initiated is the establishment of a Redevelopment Commission. North Carolina State Statutes give commissions authority to acquire, prepare, sell and redevelop properties in areas that qualify as Redevelopment Zones.

The Town has identified two neighborhood redevelopment zones and has prepared redevelopment plans for each neighborhood. The proposed plans for the Moseley Street neighborhood and the N. Oakum Street neighborhood are available for review online below or at the Town Hall.

The Planning Board will review and discuss the plans at their upcoming meeting on Monday, January 5, 2015 at 7:00 pm in Council Chambers. The Town Council will likely consider the plans at their February or March Council meeting.

Contact Planner Sam Barrow at (252) 482-2155 for more information on the proposed redevelopment plans.”

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO MOSELEY STREET PLAN

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO NORTH OAKUM STREET PLAN

37 Comments

Latoya Collins - Brownstein

4/1/2015 08:45:11 am

Gentrification 101.

Audrey Childs

4/2/2015 01:00:02 pm

Friends, I have posted on this website, because I too have roots in Edenton. I shared what they were, and I also shared that I am working on a book that will tell the stories and list the names of African American heads of household, and their life activities and occupations; from 1870 to 1940. I hope that you can begin to find your ancestors' names there. It is a ways from being finished, and probably won't be perfect, but now there is a greater sense of urgency to tell our story. Otherwise we will be completely obliterated from the history of Edenton. I urge you to take pictures of every residence that is being threatened. Get the names of the families who live there, and put them in a safe place. Maybe you can share them with me as I write this, or at the least, be able to match up ancestral names with the people who live there now. Let's do this! I need to hear from you!

Latoya Collins-Brownstein

4/3/2015 02:53:34 am

Hello Audrey. I actually went to the Chowan county property records online and found the names of all of the owners of the homes slated for "redevelopment." This information is public record in NC, as it is in most states. The information provided online includes; name of owner(s) address, land/building values, sale date, sale price if provided, neighborhood, etc.

Latoya Collins-Brownstein

4/3/2015 02:54:57 am

Latoya Collins - Brownstein

4/3/2015 03:15:07 am

Sorry for the duplicate posts. It was giving me an error message and telling me to try again.

Michele

4/3/2015 04:00:15 am

Thanks Audrey and Latoya for your comments. You made excellent points.

It is my hope that this post will make the present and former residents of Edenton aware of what the town council is doing, and the negative effects it will have for next generations who are researching their family histories.

I would like to add to Latoya's recommendation: if you click on the links to the Moseley and N. Oakum street plans, you will find all of the addresses, land values, and repair costs on pages 8-10 of the document, along with maps of the area.

Appendix B shows photos of the dilapidated houses with their addresses.

I wonder why the town council is not choosing to repair and refurbish the houses like they did with the other historic homes in Edenton.

If Somerset Place Plantation (Previously owned by Josiah Collins-former Edenton resident) can restore the slave cabins and other historic buildings on the plantation, why wouldn't Edenton do the same to preserve the history of these buildings?

Another thought: I wonder which Edenton residents and/or business organizations will benefit from the sale or redevelopment of the African American properties.

Audrey Childs

4/4/2015 10:32:58 am

Hi Michele and Latoya,
This has put some fire under me to keep writing. My purpose is to create a book that will tell a little about our ancestors' occupations and how they lived, from 1870 through the 1940 census. I worked at home all last summer, taking the names of African-American residents who were heads of household, and what they did for a living. I plan, for each chapter, to give a little history of work in Edenton back then, and then simply list names of residents. It's my hope that descendants can find their ancestors' names, and then do further research on their own. I feel that we are about to be obliterated from Edenton's history...I don't think I have any more ancestors there. I'm descended from Harry and Priscilla Cox-my gg grandparents. After a while, some of their children left. They moved up to Norfolk, and another branch moved to Philadelphia. The surname Cox has kind of trickled out. There was one cousin, Beatrice Jones-they called her Bob Shorty. She was a member of Providence Baptist Church, and she died in 1994. She didn't have any children. Maybe there are a few Coxes from other relatives still there, though. I hope to find out. But I am working hard on this book. It would be great to be able to incorporate pictures of those that are slated for demolition, before they are gone! If there's anyone down there, who can help me find out where on King Street, Harry Cox lived in 1880-what piece of land (although I know it's either an open field or a store by now), I sure would appreciate it. I don't know how to access land records from that far back. I've been to the courthouse a couple of times when I can visit, but I'm not there during the weekday when I could spend a lot of time. Anyway, I hope we can continue to network. I think I know why they are not choosing to repair. Because it's us....And as far as Somerset, wasn't it a massive effort on the part of Dorothy Spruill Redford to undertake the recognition? I have the book, and it tells of the many long hours and trips she made back and forth to Somerset. It would take the same massive effort of all of us. "They" aren't going to do it for us.

Michele

4/5/2015 06:34:23 am

Audrey,

The reason why I created this website was to inspire writers and researchers into action. It seemed like I was the only person really interested in Edenton beyond my family lines. Just like D. S. Redford, we need to put forth the same effort to reclaim, tell and memorialize the history of our ancestors from this town and others.

I am in agreement that we must continue to network and expand that network so all of us can learn about the experiences of our people. I love the perspective you want to take with your book and certainly look forward to the day it is published.

IN RESPONSE to your call, I have added a SURVEY page to this website to give people a chance to tell their stories or memories. A man named Richard just posted a response to one of my previous blogs, he mentioned being in Edenton when Dr. King spoke there! This is wonderful news and I want his memories posted for all to read and experience. Hopefully, he will be one of the first to complete the survey.

Latoya Collins - Brownstein

4/4/2015 11:39:44 am

Hello again Audrey. Your book idea sounds very interesting and necessary, as it seems the powers that be in Edenton have plans to profiteer at the expense of African American history. I live in NJ and have only been researching my NC roots for about a year or so, because like you, I am also writing a book, but it's a fictionalized version of family lore. I wanted the setting to be Eastern NC so this prompted me to research my maternal grandaddy's roots.

I also have the books about Somerset Place, and i just received "Edenton and Chowan County" which is a pictorial record, with very little documentation of the A A experience I'm afraid. Actually, this website is the first that I've found dedicated to Edenton ' s roots and history, which are very poorly documented where "we" ate involved.

Many of my NC family members also ventured to Norfolk and eventually up to NY and unfortunately granddad did not keep close ties with his family. So here i am 13 years after his death trying to weave the patches of his family's past into a family tree. I even went as far as hiring a genealogist, but they really didn't find anything I couldn't have on Ancestry.com.

I would really love to talk to the elders of Edenton, but because of prior commitments, I won't be able to attend the reunion this year. Because of census records and draft cards etc. I do know the occupation of some of my relatives from Edenton. And I double checked census records and one of my Whitford uncles rented a home near your Cox relatives on W. Cartetet. Your folks loved at 118 and they lived between two Cox households at 102. So our people probably knew one another quite well if they were neighborly. Lol. Actually, my people lived on East and West Cartetet, Albemarle, and Free Mason so we were well represented in town. My Whitford ggg grandad was a fireman, while my Collins ggg grandaddy was a fisherman. It's all so very interesting. Some of my Paxton and Whitford folks worked at the ice plant too.

I will help your research any way that I can, but because I don't live in NC that may be limited.

kristal jordan

4/4/2015 04:44:33 pm

I too am concerned about how edenton pretty much swept african american history under the rug. I was told that the African American sites on the tour were too far apart to b included in the regular tour! My father is from edenton and so am i. I've had trouble tracking down a slaveowner who shares the anthony surname however. But the anthonys were/a large part of edenton or at least the family is large. I want to b part of the reunions and saving our heritage.

Latoya Collins-Brownstein

4/5/2015 03:20:39 am

Hello Krystal.

Too far to be included in the regular tour huh? Wow! I've never been to this part of NC before, however, from the egregious lack of historical documentation of the African American legacy in Edenton, to the planned "redevelopment" of AA homes, I think it's safe to surmise that this AA exclusion from the Edenton annals of history are systematic, and I daresay deliberate. Now, I did read through the "redevelopment" plans, and the very last pages are NC's State Historic Preservation Office's "Standards for Rehabilitation." Does this mean that the historical integrity of these homes is going to be preserved/conserved?

As for tracing your roots back to the plantation, basically what you have to do is start with your dad and work backwards. I did a quick search, and the Anthony family that lived in Edenton actually, originally, hail from Halifax County, NC. They were owned by John Anthony. And per a William Anthony's (who also lived in Edenton and died in 1916) death cert, his father, Burton, was born in Halifax in 1850. Burton was not listed in the 1850/1860 census by name, which was the case for FPOC, as all free people of color had to register in those days, so I'm assuming he was born a slave. Burton's wife was a Mary Jane Gaskins, and she was born in Chowan County in 1853. Her parents were a Valentin Gaskins and Annie Johnson, both also born in Chowan Co. Gaskins is also a surname from Somerset Place, so you may want to do further research there.

So, this is part of the painstaking task of tracing your roots. Now, I don't know how this particular Anthony is related to you, but they were a large family in Edenton, and I got all this info in a few minutes ancestry.com. So you might want to try Halifax, but at some point. like so many others, your people migrated to the Edenton area.

I can trace my Bell line back to the late 1700s in Bertie Co. NC, to my surprise they were FPOC way back then. So, as I keep digging and connecting dots, I'm finding my granddad's family history very fascinating. I do know that my Whitford, Bond, Collins, Paxton, and Bell family all lived in Edenton from the early 1900s on, and I see familial names on the ROE family tree (Paxton, Bond) but I don't have any idea who these folks are, or how I'm related, if at all.

I am also curious about the Norfolk (Portsmouth) connection to this part of NC, as it seems several of my family members lived there at some point in time, even if they ultimately died and were buried back in Edenton.

Michele

4/5/2015 06:41:29 am

Folks,

If you are not attending the 2015 Roots of Edenton Family Reunion, I intend to ask people to share information about the names of relatives you listed in your posts. If you have an photos, please share them with me so I can make them available to people who are in attendance.

The elders of many family lines are ALWAYS in attendance and very knowledgeable about the families that lived there.

Michele link

4/5/2015 11:08:27 am

Here's a 6/8/14 news article on an AA man who was searching for his Great grandparents with the Bond last name. Check it out.

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/06/descendants-slaves-look-back-emancipation

Michele

4/5/2015 08:06:52 am

My Mother and me did the trolley tour back around 2006, and that was the shortest tour we ever experienced. They did not have much to say other than this is where Blacks lived and the Badham father/son team that built many structures in Edenton. At that time, Dr. King's visit to Edenton was still undercover.

Audrey Childs

4/5/2015 08:19:04 am

Wow! It looks like a fire has been lit among us! Keep pushing for every ounce of information you can get. I think I have every book (all four of them and a pamphlet) that has been published on Edenton, and I will list them here. And no, there is little to no comprehensive information on our people. The little folder pamphlet that they give out at the Visitor's Center-"African American Life in Edenton 1700s to the Present, printed the the Chowan Couonty Heritage Development Council. The notes by James Taylor, Chowan County Commissioner, on the back of the pamphlet really incensed me-"one need look no further than the life of Harriet Jacobs, the former Edenton slave, author and abolitionist; and Golden Frinks, one of North Carolina's most important civil rights leaders to understand the importance of Edenton's African American history." Indeed we DO have to look further! That town was built on our backs! There are mentions of others inside the pamphlet, but the point is, well, you know. The farmers, the cooks, the nurses, the doctors, the domestics, the butlers, the carpenters, the laborers in the various mills, the everyday folks who got no mention-that's where we look and give honor to their existence. Well, that has to stop here and now, with us! The other books are Butchko's "Edenton; An Architectural Portrait; Louis Van Camp's Edenton and Chowan County; Blair Currie's Edenton, a Celebration of Life (black folk interviewed and pictures of: Vernon Austin, Nora Bonner, Ruth Frinks, Janet Hines, Rosa P. Joyner, Carrie McFadden, Fanny Parker, Lucy Sharp, Dr. James Slade, Ruth Spencer, James Taylor, Beulah Wadsworth, and Clinton Walker. THIRTEEN African Americans! THAT''S ALL?? A book of us should've been created long ago! and Edenton Historical Commission's Edenton: A Portrait in Words and Pictures. That is it. A couple of years ago, I sent about 100 surveys/questionnaires down there by someone I had met-Delois Hall. I asked her to get them to churches, senior centers, neighbors that she knew, etc. I spent money on stamps, envelopes, etc. I got two replies back. One from Delois and another from Mr. Norman Brinkley. That's all...but I'm going forward with my book idea. I hope I can have it out before too long. Just today, my cousin told me that Edenton is pushing some big upcoming tour of their historic homes. I can pretty much say with certainty, that some of our ancestors were butlers, maids, washerwomen, child care for many of them. I also have a subscription to newspapers.com. You can find the Fisherman and Farmer there. In it, there was a "Colored News" section. I printed out a lot of articles, from 1887 to 1891. I even found my great grandfather in there! So, let's keep the "talk" going. Keep sharing. Michele, you and your mom are doing something wonderful. Don't stop! I still have to get you the pictures of my Cox headstones. Latoya, yes, our ancestors probably knew each other! We know why we share "their" surnames. Let's continue to mark our own place in that town.

Latoya Collins-Brownstein

4/5/2015 12:00:28 pm

I also saw the blog promoting the Edenton "Pilgrimage." But, when I think about the, back-breaking, and certainly, deadly, labor of our ancestors, to clear the swamps and marshes of Eastern NC, making them habitable for these Antebellum homes, I cringe. I know tours of these historic homes are a time to dress up and reminisce about the Old South, but what about the lives of those who toiled and died to make Edenton, and its neighboring towns/cities what they are today?

Even if I can't attend the reunion this year, I plan to visit Edenton some time in the very near future, God willing. I have the death certs of my predecessors, but I want to visit Vine Oak and see their final resting places. Instead of pictures of my Edenton relatives, I have names of household members scribbled on census and other documents, mostly found on ancestry.com. Michelle, this blog has been invaluable, and I appreciate you and your mother's efforts, so please continue the good work. And remember, if there's any way I can contribute to the cause of the African American ascendants/descendants of Edenton, I'm willing and able to do what I can. I believe you have the names of my family members so please pass them on, I would love to connect with surviving relatives, where ever they live.

Audrey I can't wait to read your book. This insight into all of the day-to-day lives of AA residents of Edenton is much needed. And there has to be something we can do to thwart the "redevelopment" plan of historic AA homes in Edenton. I think the more people are aware of these plans, the more difficult it will be for the town to carry out the eradication of these houses--poignant and, historic, structural examples of the AA lifestyle in Edenton.

Michele

4/5/2015 09:21:40 am

Audrey and others,

Don't be alarmed; I am deleting three incomplete repeat posts by Audrey for (3:20 pm), (4:10 pm), and 4:14 pm). These were duplicates of the first post (3:19 pm) and half of the information was missing. This happened earlier today to another person.

Audrey Childs

4/5/2015 09:26:25 am

Oops! I do apologize for the multiple posts of the same thing. It kept saying that there was an error, so I put it in a couple of more times. Let's keep in touch. I want to make sure the names Cox and Blount are added to the tree, also. Michele, you and your mom are doing an awesome job. Don't let go of this! Also, I tried to send you a picture of headstones in Vine Oak. I hope you got one of them. My phone isn't doing what I want it to do. but the next time you go out there, would you look for them? Thanks!

Michele

4/5/2015 10:45:22 am

Audrey,

Are you related to any Blounts by the name of:

1) Nelly & John Henry Blount (m. 1896)

2) Tiny & Whitmil Blount (m. 1864)
-These are their children:
1. Austin Blount (1865)
2. Milly Blount (1869)
3. William Blount (1872)
4. Agustus Blount (1873)
5. Whitmel "Whit" Blount (1876)
6. John Blount (1877)

Nelly & Tiny were daughters of Tamar Murdough-Hathaway (b. 1800)

Audrey Childs

4/6/2015 12:28:17 pm

Hi Michele,
My gg grandmother was Priscilla Blount( 1848-1907). She was the daughter of Mills Blount and Annis/Alice Skinner Blount. Priscilla married Harry Cox, and they were my maternal great grandfather's parents (my mother's grandfather). Priscilla had sisters Annie and Abigail, and brothers Edward and Isaac. I don't know what children either Edward or Isaac may have had, to carry on the Blount surname, but I can play around with it. Annie married a Sapoleon Lyon, and Abigail married an Emelous Halsey. It seems Mills and Alice or either one of the alone with someone else, also had a son named Major Perkins, because I found a death certificate where they were named as his parents. I don't see any of those names you shared in my family lineage. although I haven't done too much work on the Blount side. If I find any, I will let you know!

Carolyn Williams

7/20/2015 02:34:47 pm

I am writing a book on my family who lived in Pasquotank and Chowan counties. My G-G-G-grandmother Hester Littlehohn was born free in Edenton in 1804. She married James Harvey Jr. also free but whose family hailed from Virginia, and they lived in Pasquotank County, then Elizabeth City until his death. Her in-laws also lived in Pasquotank. Bit by bit the family of siblings and in-laws migrated to Pennsylvania--before the Civil War. I found out Hester's birthplace and maiden name two years ago.Hester died at age 93 and she is buried in Eden Cemetery, in Collingdale, near Philadelphia. Shortly after I found ROE.Visiting Edenton was a happy event for me. I understand the issues faced in preserving our heritage. Not easy.

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Regina Liverman

3/23/2017 07:34:12 pm

Hi, I was born and raised in Edenton, NC but moved away when I was 18 years old. Preserving AA sites is very important to us. If you would like meet some families, I'm pretty sure I can help.

Tara link

5/10/2017 11:43:33 am

Looking for information about my great-great grandmother Priscilla Cox born about 1847 in Chowan County, NC. (Black)

Looking for information about my great-great grandfather Henry Cox born about 1847 in Chowan County, NC. (Black)

Looking for information about my great grandfather (Henry and Priscilla's son) Joseph Cox born about 1888 in Chowan County, NC.

Joseph Cox (abt. 1888) married Mary Cox. They moved to Mississippi and had four children: Alice Cox (my grandmother), Olivia Cox, Genie Cox-Male, and Rainy/Raynor Cox-Male.

Audrey Childs

5/11/2017 12:51:27 am

Unbelievable....we are cousins! We share the same great grandparents, through Henry (although I have him as Harry from the 1880 census) Cox and his wife, Priscilla Blount Cox. They had children Mary (although Mary was Priscilla's daughter, not Henry/Harry's), Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth, Providence, John, Quinton, Joseph, and William. My great grandfather was Providence. Providence left Edenton, moved to Norfolk, and married Elnora Jackson. They had 3 children...Arthur, Imogene and Elton(female). Imogene was my grandmother, my mother's mother. Our great grandfathers were brothers! Mississippi...wow...no wonder I couldn't find him... I have learned where some of them lived and died, but not all. Maybe you have some family history about the others! PLEASE get in touch at [email protected]!

Tara

5/15/2017 12:50:36 pm

Cool! I will email you soon with the information that I have collected thus far.

Tara

5/10/2017 11:51:17 am

http://people.com/archive/two-hundred-summers-later-slaverys-descendants-honor-the-ghosts-of-a-plantation-vol-26-no-11/

Are Edenton’s African American Residents Facing Redevelopment or Expulsion in 2015?

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