LATTA, FIDELIA MASON FULLER

We haven’t found a headstone for Fidelia Latta, and her burial in Geer Cemetery is recorded only on her death certificate.¹Fidelia Latta death certificate: “North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-D1XW-K4?cc=1609799&wc=MJ49-7M9%3A1042616201 : 3 May 2019), 004217916 > image 2786 of 3329; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. Similarly, her life was lived largely in the shadows, doing the undervalued work of housekeeping and raising two sets of children.

She was born in Charlotte in 1863 to Bryan “Bry” Mason and an unknown mother.²Fidelia Latta death certificate. She married Robert “Bob” Fuller of William Township, Chatham County, at some point in the 1870s, and the couple had four children: John (1879 – 1900?), James G. (April 1882 – 24 December 1941), Ida (Nov 1885 – 9 Nov 1974), and Cora (3 Jan 1889 – 25 Aug 1978).³Marriage to Bob Fuller: Ida Hickson marriage certificate: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHV-39GR-1?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.

Birth dates for Fuller children: “United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68FD-K3?cc=1325221&wc=9BWW-4WY%3A1030551601%2C1032311101%2C1032348701: 5 August 2014), North Carolina > Durham > ED 30 Durham Township Durham city > image 18 of 48; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Death date for John: Based on negative evidence. He shows up on the 1900 census, but is not included in the land division on the 10 September 1901 deed that splits the land between his three siblings. Since we can find no trace of him after 1900, we assume he died. Durham County Deed Book 45: 574 (https://rodweb.dconc.gov/RealEstate/SearchEntry.aspx).

Death date for James G.: James G. Fuller death certificate: Ancestry.com. “North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976,” [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007 (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_1237-0974 : accessed 13 Dec 2021). Original data: North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Her second husband, Jeremiah “Jerry” Latta, left behind a clearer history. We first see him in the 1870 census, working as a domestic servant for the white William Latta family in Little River, Orange County. Jerry was 18 at the time, thus likely born into slavery.⁴Jerry Latta family tree on FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/G7PH-96H. It’s reasonable to assume he took his family name from his former enslavers, especially given speculation that he was the natural son of William Latta.⁵Jerry Latta family tree on FamilySearch: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/G7PH-96H. (Other sources list his father as Aaron Wilson and mother as Mary Latta.⁶Jerry Latta marriage certificate: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSC1-QT3Q?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.)

On 7 Mar 1872, Jerry married a woman variously known as Lydia, Izia, Lita, Lida, Liddie, and Lillie, maiden name Sneed.⁷Jerry Latta marriage certificate. Variations in Lydia’s name found in daughters’ marriage certificates, census records, etc. They had seven children: Clay (b. 1874), Lee (b. 1876), Allie (b. 1879), Martha (b. 1881), John (b. 1881), Hattie or Hallie (b. Dec 1889), and Sadie (b. Feb 1892).⁸Clay, Lee, and Allie from the 1880 Federal Census. Martha from her marriage certificate, John from his marriage certificate, Hattie and Sadie from 1900 Federal Census. They lived in Little River next door to the white William Latta family.⁹“United States Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBG-1GQ?cc=1417683&wc=XWL3-BZ9%3A1589411027%2C1589395954%2C1589395363%2C1589394969 : 24 December 2015), North Carolina > Orange > Little River > ED 192 > image 10 of 44; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.)

The next we hear of Jerry is his wedding to “Mrs. Fidelia Fuller” on 25 Sep 1896 in Mt. Vernon Baptist church in Durham.¹⁰Fidelia Latta marriage certificate: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939N-ZW9K-G3?cc=1726957&wc=QD8P-DWK%3A1588772876%2C1588772875 : 22 December 2016), Durham > Marriage registers, 1881-1928, vol 1-4 > image 61 of 552; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. We assume that both were widowed; we know for certain that Lydia had died by 1899.¹¹Lee Latta marriage certificate: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHK-43PX-M?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. The blended family lived in central Durham, including Fidelia’s four children from her first marriage, and the two youngest girls from Jerry’s first marriage, Hattie and Sadie.¹²“U. S. Census, 1900,” Durham > ED 30.

Jerry’s occupation seems to have varied from year to year. In a seven-year span between 1905 and 1912 he was listed as a laborer, watch maker, shoemaker, and reverend.¹³Durham city directories from 1905/1906 to 1912. His and Fidelia’s real estate investments included the family home at 605 Willard Street, another property on Chapel Hill Rd, and a lot on Max Street in Fidelia’s name only.¹⁴Willard Street: Durham County Deed Book 45: 574.
Chapel Hill Road: Durham County Deed Book 39: 424.
Max Street: Durham County Deed Book 43: 503. Jerry’s true calling, however, seems to have been the ministry, and by the 1920s “Rev” was his only listed occupation. Because the city directories don’t list him as pastor of any church, we don’t know if he had a congregation that he preached to. He was, however, recognized as a legitimate minister by the State of North Carolina, as we know of at least one wedding he officiated: that of Fidelia’s sister Bedie to John Atwater on 21 Jan 1909.¹⁵Federal requirements for ministers: “The Establishment Clause,” Interactive Constitution (https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-i/interps/264 : accessed 11 Nov 2021).

State requirements for ministers: “Chapter 51: Marriage,” North Carolina General Assembly (https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByChapter/Chapter_51.html : accessed 11 Nov 2021).

Officiant: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHK-4SPZ-C?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. He may also have been an inspiration to Bedie’s younger son Will Mason, who not only became a prominent minister in Rocky Mount, but whose son, Australia Mason, went on to be a pastor and teacher in Columbus, Ohio.¹⁶Rev. W. L. Mason obituary: Rocky Mount Telegram (Rocky Mount, North Carolina) 20 Jun 1970, p 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/340310156/ : accessed 20 Nov 2021.

Fidelia died at age 49 of apoplexy, a ruptured blood vessel in her brain. She was buried two days later in Geer Cemetery.¹⁷Fidelia Latta death certificate. Jerry subsequently married a woman named Jennie, but by 1915 was a widower again, and didn’t marry again after that.¹⁸Jennie: Durham County Deed Book 46: 308.

Widower: Durham County Deed Book 49: 211. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Winston-Salem. His daughter Hattie (married name Farrish), informant on his death certificate, listed “no information” on his parentage. She also made no mention of his religious calling, giving his trade as “Laborer” only.¹⁹Jerry Latta death certificate: “North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95R-NSZD-3?cc=1584959 : 29 June 2015), > image 1 of 1; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. Image 629 in group.

Fidelia’s daughter Ida is a footnote to another story. Ida’s first husband was John R. Hickson, and the couple was living with Jerry and Fidelia at the time of the 1910 federal census. By the next year, Hickson was partners with James Albert Allen, one of the Three Tailors we’ve written about elsewhere on this website.²⁰Census incorrectly shows Hickson’s name as “Hicks”: “United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RVY-XXJ?cc=1727033&wc=QZZ4-6NQ%3A133642301%2C137874101%2C137991701%2C1589088925 : 24 June 2017), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Ward 4 > ED 40 > image 17 of 60; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Correct name for Hickson: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939N-ZW95-9Y?cc=1726957&wc=QD8P-DWK%3A1588772876%2C1588772875 : 22 December 2016), Durham > Marriage registers, 1881-1928, vol 1-4 > image 155 of 552; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. We’ve found a number of connections between the Latta and Allen families, but so far we haven’t been able to pinpoint their source.

The 1910 federal census also shows a 17-year-old nephew, Brian (actually Bryant) Mason, living temporarily with Fidelia and Jerry.²¹“U. S. Census, 1910,” Durham > ED 40. Bryant, the older son of Fidelia’s sister Bedie, ended up being buried in Geer Cemetery and has his own life story—as does his stepfather, John Atwater.

BORN: 1863²³Fidelia Latta death certificate.

DIED: 21 May 1912²⁴Fidelia Latta death certificate.

BIRTH PLACE: Charlotte, NC²⁵Fidelia Latta death certificate.

DEATH PLACE: Durham, NC²⁶Fidelia Latta death certificate.

SPOUSE: Bob Fuller, Jerry Latta²⁷Bob: Ida Hickson marriage certificate.

Jerry: Fidelia Latta marriage certificate.

PARENTS: Bryan “Bry” Mason²⁸Fidelia Latta death certificate.

CHILDREN: John Fuller (1879 – 1900?)
James G. Fuller (Apr 1882 – 1942?)
Ida Fuller (Nov 1885 – 9 Nov 1974)
Cora Fuller (3 Jan 1889 – 25 Aug 1978)²⁹“U. S. Census, 1900,” Durham > ED 30.

OTHER FAMILY: Bedie Mason (sister)³⁰Bedie Mason marriage certificate.

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: Bryant Mason (nephew), John Atwater (brother-in-law)

OCCUPATION: Housekeeping³¹“U. S. Census, 1900,” Durham > ED 30.

CHURCH: Mt. Vernon Baptist³²This, at least, is where she was married. Fidelia Latta marriage certificate.

AFFILIATIONS: N/A

ADDRESS: 605 Willard Street³³“U. S. Census, 1900,” Durham > ED 30.

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A