ALLEN, CANDIS

Candis Curtis Allen was born in 1846 to William Curtis, a free man of color, and the former Mary Christmas, who remained enslaved until Emancipation.¹Birthdate: Candis Allen headstone.

Parents: Candis Allen marriage license: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99VH-MSZT?cc=1726957&wc=QD8P-67C%3A1588773179%2C1588773691 : 19 July 2016), Warren > Marriage licenses, 1861-1870 > image 65 of 605; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.

William Curtis free status: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSZT-4ZWP?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History.

Carpentry: U.S. Census 1870 Warren County: “United States Census, 1870,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DRK9-5TS?cc=1438024&wc=KGV8-7M9%3A518653801%2C519247301%2C518773901 : 14 June 2019), North Carolina > Warren > Township 10 > image 13 of 40; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). We have no idea how this arrangement worked. When their marriage was formally recognized in Warren County in 1866, the record claimed they had lived as husband and wife since 1845.

In 1868 Candis married James Y. “Jim” Allen, then a carpenter.²James Y. Allen marriage license: “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99VH-MSZT?cc=1726957&wc=QD8P-67C%3A1588773179%2C1588773691 : 19 July 2016), Warren > Marriage licenses, 1861-1870 > image 65 of 605; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. They had four children: William (1869), Mary M. (1872), Laura (1876) and John H. (1876) (birthdates approximate).³U.S. Census 1880 Warren County: “United States Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBZ-7Z5?cc=1417683&wc=XHPY-SP8%3A1589411027%2C1589400897%2C1589401240%2C1589397114 : 24 December 2015), North Carolina > Warren > Warrenton > ED 289 > image 58 of 73; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.) By 1880, Jim had left the building trades to set up as a barber.⁴U.S. Census 1880 Warren County. We don’t know why the family moved to Durham, but the larger customer base was likely one of the reasons. By 1892 Jim was employed in a barbershop at 111 N. Mangum downtown.⁵Ramsey’s Durham Directory 1892 (Durham, N.C: N. A. Ramsey, 1892) p. 169, Allen surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25120 : accessed 6 Jan 2022).

Barber shops were a major social hub for African American men of that time, offering news, gossip, humor, and a place where people could let their guard down.⁶Kai Ryssdal, ” A history of the African-American barbershop,” Marketplace. 28 Jan 2014, accessed 6 Jan 2022. https://www.marketplace.org/2014/01/28/history-african-american-barbershop/. The 1892 city directory shows only one other barber working with Allen, so his was definitely a smaller operation, but it was part of a cluster of African American barber shops. The 1897 city directory shows Black barbers at 203, 118, and 117 Mangum.⁷Mangum’s Directory of Durham and Suburbs 1897 (Durham, N.C.: D. C. Mangum, 1897) p. 35; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25139 : accessed 8 Jan 2022).

Jim had disappeared from public records by 1897. At that time death certificates were not required, so we don’t know the exact date of his death. By the 1900 census, Candis was head of her household, living with daughter Laura and son-in-law James Bailey, her son John Hubert Allen, and a couple of lodgers.⁸“United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-68FF-BR?cc=1325221&wc=9BWW-4WG%3A1030551601%2C1032311101%2C1032325101 : 5 August 2014), North Carolina > Durham > ED 26 Durham Township (excl. Durham city) > image 18 of 70; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). For more about John Hubert Allen, see his biography and The Three Tailors.

There is one curious footnote to Jim’s story. On his son John H. Allen’s 1906 wedding certificate, the line for father’s name is marked through.⁹“North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHK-4SCM-Y?cc=1726957 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History. Though James was well known to the family in attendance, including his widow Candis, someone apparently preferred he be left off the record.

Listed as a mother and homemaker most of her life, Candis took employment as a laundress and domestic worker after Jim’s death.¹⁰Mangum’s Directory 1897 p. 49. Name misspelled as “Candor.” Candis Allen death certificate, incorrectly indexed as Cauelis Allen: “North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-62F3-Q5G?cc=1609799&wc=MJWB-6TL%3A1042577501 : 3 May 2019), 004215240 > image 449 of 2848; State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. She lived with her children and grandchildren until her own death from natural causes in 1915.¹¹Candis Allen death certificate. Her solid marker in Geer Cemetery suggests the way her loved ones would remember her—a crown and cross to signal her faith, the word Mother forever tying her to the family she created.¹²Candis Allen headstone.

BORN: 9 Mar 1846¹⁴Candis Allen headstone

DIED: 24 Nov 1915¹⁵Candis Allen headstone

BIRTH PLACE: Warren County, NC¹⁶Candis Allen death certificate.

DEATH PLACE: Apex, NC¹⁷Candis Allen death certificate

SPOUSE: James Y. Allen¹⁸Candis Allen marriage license.

PARENTS: William Curtis, Mary Christmas¹⁹Candis Allen marriage license.

CHILDREN: William (1869?), Mary M. (1872?), Laura (1876?) and John Hubert (1876?) [birth dates are approximate, based on census]²⁰U.S. Census 1880 Warren County.

OTHER FAMILY: Brother Caswell Curtis²¹Family tree on FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/9VMN-LYP: accessed 6 Jan 2022).

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: John Hubert Allen (son)²²John Hubert Allen life story.

OCCUPATION: Domestic²³Candis Allen death certificate.

CHURCH: N/A

AFFILIATIONS: N/A

ADDRESS: 109 Mobile Ave., Durham, NC²⁴Mangum’s Directory 1897 p. 49.

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A