SHEARIN, WILLIAM HENRY

William Henry Shearin, who went by “Henry,” was born in Sixpound Township, in Warren County, NC.¹Known as Henry: Henry Shearin obituary: “Henry Shearin, Well Known Negro, Succumbs,” Durham Sun (Durham, North Carolina) 24 Feb 1934: 2. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=image/v2%3A162B7317213C66AB%40WHNPX-16A75F50C5F218A9%402427493-16A5CAA4CC327D48%401-16A5CAA4CC327D48%40.

Birthplace: Moneta Howland (Henry’s granddaughter) on Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/42588/person/-2139702535/story: accessed 3 March 2022. Sixpound Township includes the small town of Macon, which was the home of the Shearin plantation that gave his family their name.²“Warren County, North Carolina: Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules,” rootsweb (https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ajac/ncwarren.htm: accessed 1 Mar 2022).

Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432, 1,009 rolls. His parents were Haywood Shearin (b. 1842) and the former Betsy Twitty (b. 1852).³Haywood and Betsy Shearin Marriage License: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSZ2-G9SW-9?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. Haywood’s father was said to be the slaveholder Daniel Shearin, though we have no hard evidence yet to prove it.⁴“Haywood Alex Shearin,” Ancestry. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/116987360/person/342221250667/facts. Henry was the oldest of Haywood’s seven children with Betsy.⁵First four children: “United States Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBZ-SCC?cc=1417683&wc=X4NB-MNL%3A1589411027%2C1589400897%2C1589411756%2C1589396414 : 24 December 2015), North Carolina > Warren > Six Pound > ED 281 > image 31 of 43; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.)

Younger three siblings: “United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-69BQ-BJM?cc=1325221&wc=9B75-C6R%3A1030551601%2C1032989401%2C1034617901 : 5 August 2014), North Carolina > Warren > ED 100 Sixpound Township Macon town > image 13 of 36; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). He moved to Durham between 1880 and 1892.⁶Last mention in Warren County: 1880 Sixpound Federal Census.

First mention in Durham: Ramsey’s Durham Directory 1892 (Durham, N.C: N. A. Ramsey, 1892) p. 208, Shearin surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25120 : accessed 2 Mar 2022). In 1897 he married Augusta “Gussie” Beverly, daughter of Haywood and Amanda Beverly.⁷Henry and Gussie Shearin Marriage License: “Marriage Licenses,” Durham Daily Sun (Durham N.C.) 1 Nov 1897:1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/73373856/: accessed 3 March 2022.

Career as Butler

By the 1900 Federal Census, Henry had begun to list his occupation as butler.⁸“United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68FZ-KM?cc=1325221&wc=9BWW-4WY%3A1030551601%2C1032311101%2C1032348701 : 5 August 2014), North Carolina > Durham > ED 30 Durham Township Durham city > image 13 of 48; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). He seems to have worked for various families until 1910, when he took a position with Durham entrepreneur George W. Watts.⁹Durham, N.C. Directory 1911-1912 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1911-1912) p. 288, Shearin surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25154 : accessed 2 Mar 2022; PDF p. 300). Watts left Henry $1000 upon his death in 1921, as well as, apparently, a strong recommendation.¹⁰“Watts Bequeathed Half Million to Institutions,” Durham Morning Herald (Durham, North Carolina) 12 Mar 1921: 3. (https://www.newspapers.com/image/73453418/?terms=%22Watts%22&match=1: accessed 3 March 2022.) Henry went on to work for the Duke family until 1929, when the death of his employer left Henry without a job.¹¹Personal communications between Nicholas Levy and Lewis Shiner (Friends of Geer Cemetery) and Moneta Howland (granddaughter of Augusta Beverly). By email and  telephone in Jan 2021 and Feb—Mar 2022. (Henry’s employer may have been Benjamin Newton Duke, brother of James Buchanan Duke and friend of George W. Watts. Ben maintained two households—one in Durham and the other in a mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York.¹²“Duke, Benjamin Newton,” NCPedia.org. https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/duke-benjamin-newton: accessed 3 March 2022. Reprinted by permission from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 6 volumes, edited by William S. Powell. Copyright ©1979-1996 by the University of North Carolina Press.)

During his most successful days, Henry made a number of land deals and was able to afford a much-admired home at 1010 Fayetteville Street.¹³Land deals: Durham County Deed Book (https://rodweb.dconc.gov/RealEstate/SearchEntry.aspx).

Home: Oliver B Quick, Milestones Along the Color Line: A Souvenir of Durham, N.C., Showing the Progress of a Race (Durham, N.C., Oliver B Quick, 1922). https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=dul1.ark:/13960/t2h71hz9w&view=1up&seq=1.

Wilberforce University

He and Gussie had seven children. As was typical of the era, Henry’s focus was on his sons, and he was determined to send them to Wilberforce University in Ohio, “the nation’s oldest private, historically black University owned and operated by African Americans.”¹⁵“About Wilberforce University,” Wilberforce University website, https://wilberforce.edu/about-wilberforce/: accessed 14 March 2022.

Henry’s oldest son, Alexander “Alex” Moore Shearin, also known as “Jack,” “never wanted for anything” while at Wilberforce because of his father’s income and connections. His second son, William Jr., was 13 years younger, and by the time he reached college age, the family fortunes had turned. William graduated from Wilberforce by living frugally, but his youngest brother, Haywood Beverly Shearin, never got the chance to attend.¹⁶Moneta Howland, personal communication.

For information about Henry’s daughters, see Gussie’s life story.

Aurelia Lanier

On 3 February 1922, Gussie died of influenza.¹⁸“North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-68LZ-9HB?cc=1609799&wc=MJWB-W38%3A1042599001 : 3 May 2019), 004215996 > image 549 of 3014; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. Henry married Aurelia Lanier of Hillsborough on 17 August of that same year.¹⁹Henry and Aurelia Shearin Marriage License: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHK-4SLS-S?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. Aurelia was born in Washington DC in April of 1898, the daughter of William A. and Aurelia O. Lanier.²⁰Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/33896423:7602: accessed 31 Mar 2022.) Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. According to family history, William Jr. did not get along with Aurelia, resulting in a break between William and his father. At some point, to further distance himself, William Jr. changed his middle name from “Henry” to “Gaston.”²¹Moneta Howland, personal communication. In Aurelia’s defense, she held several prestigious jobs, clerking for Masonic Benefit Mutual, the Royal Knights of King David, and NC Mutual, while raising the three daughters she had with Henry.²²Jobs: Various years of the Durham City Directory, including 1923, 1925, and 1935.

Three children: 1940 Durham Federal Census: “United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MB-T64F?cc=2000219&wc=QZXT-V11%3A790104901%2C793863901%2C793938201%2C793975001 : accessed 20 March 2022), North Carolina > Durham > Durham Township, Durham, Ward 3 > 32-27 Durham Township, Durham City Ward 3 (Area B – part) > image 5 of 16; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012. She died in Durham in 1984.²³Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6803281:8908?ssrc=pt&tid=42588&pid=302054000020 : accessed 1 Apr 2022. Original data: North Carolina Deaths, 1997-2004. North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Death Records, 1968-1996. North Carolina Vital Records, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Archives and Records Section. North Carolina County Records, 1908-1967. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Place in Society

By the mid-1920s Henry’s social standing had peaked. His neighbors included, at one time or another, William Jesse Kennedy Jr., who would later replace C. C. Spaulding as president and chairman of the board of North Carolina Mutual at 1008 Fayetteville Street; Spaulding himself at 1006, and William Gaston Pearson at 808. Pearson was an educator and entrepreneur who was involved with NC Mutual, started the Bankers Fire Insurance company, and, in 1926, started the Southern Fidelity Mutual Insurance Co.²⁴Address: “United States Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RCJ-KTH?cc=1810731&wc=QZF7-FPM%3A648806301%2C649918501%2C648842301%2C1589282323 : 8 December 2015), North Carolina > Durham > Durham > ED 10 > image 63 of 122; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).

Neighbors: Durham, N.C. Directory 1922 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1922) p. 542, Shearin surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25156 : accessed 15 Mar 2022).

Kennedy obituary: “William J. Kennedy Jr., 96; Headed Insurance Company,” The New York Times (NY, NY) 13 July 1985: Section 1, Page 27, https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/13/us/william-j-kennedy-jr-96-headed-insurance-company.html: accessed 8 Mar 2022. Pearson: “808 Fayetteville—W.G. Pearson House,” Open Durham, https://www.opendurham.org/buildings/808-fayetteville-wg-pearson-house: accessed 20 Mar 2022. Also various years of the Durham City Directory. (William Shearin Jr. clearly chose “Gaston” as his new middle name because of William Gaston Pearson.)

Alex Finds Success

In December of 1926, Alex married Margaret Spaulding.²⁵“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHK-435C-L?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. Margaret was the daughter of Durham titan C. C. Spaulding, who lived at nearby 1006 Fayetteville Street. At the time of his marriage, Alex was an agent for Spaulding’s National Negro Finance Corporation.²⁶Hill Directory Co.’s (Incorporated) Durham, N.C. City Directory 1926 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1926) p. 479, Shearin surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25133 : accessed 1 Mar 2022).

“Spaulding, Charles Clinton 1874–1952,” Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/charles-clinton-spaulding: accessed 8 Mar 2022. Alex went on to form a close business and personal relationship with another neighbor, William Gaston Pearson. Among their business ventures were Southern Fidelity Mutual Insurance Co, and Krexine Laboratories, Inc.²⁷Southern Fidelity: Hill’s Durham (N.C.) City Directory 1927 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1927) p. 496, Shearin surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25149 : accessed 15 Mar 2022).

Krexine Labs: Hill’s Durham (N.C.) City Directory 1931 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1931) p. 333, Krexine business name; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25125 : accessed 15 Mar 2022). County Property records show dozens of transactions with Alex as Grantor or Grantee.²⁸Durham County Deed Book (https://rodweb.dconc.gov/RealEstate/SearchEntry.aspx). By the time of his accidental death in 1946, Alex had added Director of Mechanics and Farmers Bank to his accomplishments.²⁹“Deaths and Funerals,” The Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina) 18 Mar 1946: 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/788874458/: accessed 8 Mar 2022.

William Gaston’s Later Life

William graduated from Wilberforce University in the mid-1930s.³¹Moneta Howland, personal communication. The 1940 Federal Census shows him living in a boarding house in Washington, DC, where he worked as a waiter for the railroad.³²“United States Census, 1940,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M1-L4M8?cc=2000219&wc=QZX1-5T8%3A790105901%2C790105902%2C790247701%2C790255501 : accessed 6 March 2022), District of Columbia > District of Columbia > Police Precinct 2, District of Columbia, Tract 33 > 1-29 Police Precinct 2 (Tract 33 – part), District of Columbia > image 1 of 29; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 – 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012. By October of that year he was working in a hotel in Hot Springs, Virginia, though he kept a PO box in Durham as his permanent address.³³Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/173348:2238: accessed 6 Mar 2022.) He served in World War II and remained in the Army until 1947.³⁴Ancestry.com. William G Shearin in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 [database on-line]. (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/9340458:2441: accessed 6 Mar 2022.) He married the former Roberta Brooks on 21 July 1947, and moved back to the greater Washington, DC, area, where he worked for the US Postal Service until retirement.³⁵Moneta Howland, personal communication. He died there on 16 April 1989.³⁶“United States Social Security Death Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JL3V-FX7 : 9 January 2021), William G Shearin, 16 Apr 1989; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

Youngest Son Haywood

Haywood Beverly Shearin was born on 8 October 1917 in Durham, and died on 5 October 1951 in Roanoke, VA.³⁷“Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PY-BQVJ?cc=2377565&wc=H989-T89%3A1505091301%2C1529100502 : 20 August 2018), Roanoke County > 1951 > image 26 of 226; from “Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850,” database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing Virginia Department of Health, Richmond. Like his brother William, he was in the military in World War II.³⁸“North Carolina, Discharge and Statement of Service Records, 1940-1948,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WK-J25H : accessed 17 March 2022), Haywood B Shearin, 15 Nov 1945; citing Fort George G. Meade, Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh; FamilySearch digital folder 007387092. He was working as a waiter in a hotel in Williamsburg at the time of his death. He left a widow, the former Inell Slade Halcomb, and two children: Haywood Beverly Shearin Jr., who died in 2020, and another child, still living.³⁹Haywood Shearin Death Certificate.

Inell Slade Halcomb family tree on Ancestry.com: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/42588/person/302070617288/facts.

Reversal of Fortune

By 1929, nearing age 60, Henry apparently found it increasingly difficult to find or keep work as a butler. In 1933 he was working as a janitor; in 1934 he was working “odd jobs.”⁴¹Durham City Directories 1929–1934. He started his own business, driving a coal wagon, and it was a fall from that wagon that killed him in February of 1934.⁴²“North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95R-X4ZS-M?cc=1584959 : 30 June 2015), > image 1 of 1; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. The fall was symbolic as well as literal; after a lifetime of service to others, he was left struggling to support himself and his family.

BORN: 25 Sep 1870.⁴⁴Moneta Howland on Ancestry.com.

DIED: 22 Feb 1934.⁴⁵Henry Shearin Death Certificate.

BIRTH PLACE: Sixpound Township, Warren County, NC.⁴⁶Moneta Howland on Ancestry.com.

DEATH PLACE: Durham, NC.⁴⁷Henry Shearin Death Certificate.

SPOUSES: Augusta “Gussie” Beverly, Aurelia Lanier.⁴⁸Gussie: Henry and Gussie Shearin Marriage License.

Aurelia: Henry and Aurelia Shearin Marriage License.

PARENTS: Haywood and Betsy Shearin.⁴⁹1900 Sixpound Federal Census.

CHILDREN: (with Gussie):
Elizabeth (1898)
Alexander (1900)
Annie Brown (1905)
Rosetta (1906)
Roseanna (1906)
Wm Henry, Jr. (later Wm Gaston; 1913)
Haywood Beverly (1917)⁵⁰1880 and 1900 Sixpound Federal Census.
(with Aurelia):
Josephine (1923)
Betsy Ann (1927)
Aurelia Lanier (1928)⁵¹1940 Durham Federal Census.

OTHER FAMILY: Sister Mrs. Sally A. Shearin⁵²“Local News about Our Colored People,” Warren Record (Warrenton, North Carolina) 25 Mar 1898: 4. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn86090448/1898-03-25/ed-1/seq-4/ : accessed 1 Mar 2022.

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: Mother-in-law Amanda Beverly, sister-in-law Lizzie Beverly, wife Gussie Beverly Shearin.

OCCUPATION: Butler, houseman⁵³Henry Shearin Death Certificate.

CHURCH: St. Joseph’s AME⁵⁴Henry Shearin obituary.

AFFILIATIONS: N/A

ADDRESSES: 1010 Fayetteville; 407 Pekoe; 209 Thomasson.⁵⁵Fayetteville and Pekoe: Various Durham City Directories, 1903—1932.

Thomasson: Hill’s Durham (Durham County, N.C.) City Directory 1934 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1934) p. 392, under “Shearin Aurelia”; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25119 : accessed 21 Mar 2022).

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A