MEEKS, EDNA

From the stone that marks her grave in Geer Cemetery, we learn of Edna Meeks’ date of birth—2 November 1852—and from searching public records, the outline of an interesting and varied life begins to take shape.¹Geer Cemetery (800 Colonial St, Durham, NC), Edna Meeks headstone, photographed by Nicholas Levy, 6 Nov 2020.

The Stagville Connection

Edna’s father was Frank Banks, who was enslaved at the Stagville Plantation near present-day Durham. He was the son of Silva Banks, and the brother of Judy and Abner Banks. In 1857, the family was listed as living in the Stagville quarter, near the present-day historic site.²“Slaves at Stagville March 15th 1857,” Household #6, Folder in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-CH. At the time of emancipation in 1857, Frank was enslaved by Paul C. Cameron. In 1847, Paul had inherited the Banks family from his uncle, Thomas Bennehan. Earlier generations of Frank’s family were enslaved by Thomas’ father, Richard Bennehan.³Thomas Bennehan estate papers, Folder 2166 in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-CH.) Like all of Frank’s siblings, his 1836 birth was recorded by the Bennehan family in their notebook, “Memo: of the birth of Negroe children commencing June 1776.”⁴Folder 3634 in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-CH. Like his siblings, Frank’s birth entry notes his mother’s name, Silva, but includes no father’s name. This likely means his father was an unnamed white man, or an enslaved man not held at Stagville.

Frank’s mother Silva was also born at Stagville to an enslaved mother, Grace, and an unnamed father. Silva was born in October 1808 and her birth is listed in the same Bennehan family notebook. Grace’s partner may have been an enslaved man named Frank, who is listed as the head of household with her, Silva, and Silva’s first children in Thomas Bennehan’s 1830 tax record.⁵Folder 2113 “A list of Thomas D. Bennehan’s slaves in the year 1830 as given to the marshail [sic],” in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-CH. Frank does not consistently appear listed with the family, so we know little about him. Grace was born at Stagville in 1791, the daughter of Esther and Joe. Joe was born in June 1783, son of Carolina and Sall—Carolina and Sall were likely purchased by Richard Bennehan between 1778 and August 1784.⁶1778-1784 tax records, Folder 2107 in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-CH.

Although cohabitation records show Frank married to a woman named Mariah in 1866, plantation records indicate that he was living with someone named Nelly in 1857.⁷Cohabitation records: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3685205:60548: accessed 6 Jul 2022. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.

Plantation records: “Slaves at Stagville March 15th 1857.” Therefore we believe that Nelly was the mother of Edna and the oldest three of her five siblings.⁸1870 US Census: Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/34499392:7163: accessed 9 Jul 2022. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.Minnesota census schedules for 1870. NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. It’s also possible that the four oldest children could have been Mariah’s from another relationship, or a blend of Mariah’s and Frank’s children, but we don’t have the evidence to be sure.

Nelly was the daughter of Mary and Ben Lewis, born at Stagville in 1838.⁹Folder 3634 in the Cameron Family Papers #133, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, UNC-CH. Many women named Nelly and Mary were enslaved at Stagville during this time, but we believe Ben is her correct father because Nelly disappears from Mary’s household after the 1855 list and appears with Frank in 1857.

Nelly’s mother, Mary, was the daughter of another Nelly. Nelly, Mary, and Mary’s siblings were purchased from Dr. John Umstead’s estate by Thomas Bennehan in May 1829, when Mary was only 7 years old.¹⁰“A list of Thomas D. Bennehan’s slaves in the year 1830…” Neither the fate of Frank Banks nor the source of Edna’s married name is clear.

Life in Durham

One somewhat mysterious event was Edna’s 1875 purchase of two and one-fifth acres along the Fayetteville Road at the edge of a new town called Durham.¹¹Register of Deeds – Orange County, NC. Book 45, page 37. https://rod.orangecountync.gov/OrangeNCNW/application.asp. It was unusual at that time for a married woman to be involved in land transactions that did not include her husband. A month later, she had the first of her two children, Walker (or Walter) Andrew (or Anderson) Meeks (4 Dec 1875—15 July 1942), followed by Ernest (or Earnest) Meeks (14 June 1878– 12 Oct 1950).¹²A family tree on Ancestry.com lists five children for Edna: Margaret (b. 1866), Walker (b. 1870), Mariah (b. 1872), William (b. 1874), and Ernest (b. 1878). Unfortunately, no evidence is given for Margaret, Mariah, and William being children of Edna Meeks. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/174801953/person/412274066752/facts.

Walker birth and death: Walker Meeks 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_1246-0481: accessed 9 Jul 2022. 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.

Ernest birth and death: Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1551407:60901: accessed 9 Jul 2022. Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.

By 1887 she was living in Durham on the premises of Eugene Morehead and his wife, the former Lucy Lathrop.¹³Directory of the Business and Citizens of Durham City for 1887 (Durham, N.C.: Levi Branson, 1887) p.92, surname misspelled as Meex; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25123 : accessed 8 Jul 2022). Morehead was the son of former North Carolina governor John Motley Morehead; he was also the founder of Durham’s first bank, the Eugene Morehead Bank.¹⁴“Eugene Morehead House (Second),” Open Durham, https://www.opendurham.org/buildings/eugene-morehead-house-second: accessed 8 Jul 2022. By the time of his death in 1889 he had played a major part in the development of Durham through investment in tobacco, utilities, transportation, and real estate.¹⁵C. Sylvester Green, “Morehead, Eugene Lindsay,” NCpedia.org. https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/morehead-eugene-lindsay: accessed 8 Jul 2022. Edna worked as a nurse and housekeeper for the Morehead family for decades, and after her death, her estate was administered by Eugene’s son J.L. “Lathrop” Morehead.¹⁶Durham Morning Herald (Durham NC), 18 Apr 1919, p. 11.

Edna and her mother ran a multi-generational household at 907 Fayetteville Street in what would become the heart of the Hayti district.¹⁷Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/68133273:7602: accessed 8 Jul 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. It seems likely that the house stood on part of the land she purchased back in 1875. In effect, Edna Meeks raised two families, the Morehead children as well as her own sons, Walker and Ernest, and their extended family.

The Next Generation

Walter and Ernest moved to New York in their 30s and lived together in Harlem for a number of years.¹⁸Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/9768216:6061: accessed 9 Jul 2022. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1539501:6482: accessed 9 Jul 2022. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm. By 1930, Walker had returned to Durham and was living with his wife, Jennie, his daughter Gwendolyn, her husband William Nutall, and the Nutall children.¹⁹Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/77139027:6224: accessed 9 Jul 2022. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Walker died on 15 July 1942.²⁰Walker Meeks death certificate. Ernest remained in New York and died there in 1950.²¹Social Security Claims Index.

Edna Meeks—who was said to have “accumulated right much property”—passed along an inheritance that helped support that next generation, her labor of love laying a foundation for their lives as well as their city.²²“property”: Durham Morning Herald-Sun (Durham, NC), 19 May 1918, p.14.

BORN: 2 November 1852.²³Edna Meeks headstone.

DIED: 30 March 1919.²⁴Edna Meeks headstone.

BIRTH PLACE: Orange County, NC.²⁵Edna Meeks death certificate: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Deaths, 1906-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/975932:60090: accessed 9 Jul 2022. Original data: North Carolina, Deaths, 1906-1930. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

DEATH PLACE: Durham, NC.²⁶Edna Meeks death certificate.

SPOUSE: Unknown.

PARENTS: Frank and Mariah Banks.²⁷1870 US Census.

CHILDREN: Walker and Ernest Meeks.²⁸Walker: Walker Meeks death certificate. Ernest: Social Security Claims Index.

OTHER FAMILY: N/A

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: N/A

OCCUPATION: Domestic.²⁹Edna Meeks death certificate.

CHURCH: N/A

AFFILIATIONS: Red Cross.³⁰Durham Herald-Sun.

ADDRESS: 804 S. Duke (Morehead residence).³¹Durham, N.C. Directory 1917 (Durham, N.C.: Hill Directory Company, 1917) p. 311, Meeks surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25155 : accessed 10 Jul 2022).

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A