UPCHURCH, HUBERT

We do not know much about Hubert Upchurch’s everyday life. There are many gaps that need to be filled and not a big paper trail for him or his family.

Hubert Upchurch, son of Chas. “Pap” Upchurch and Sallie Lee Upchurch, was born in January of 1896 in North Carolina.¹Birthdate: 1900 US Census: Year: 1900; Census Place: Durham, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: 1193; Page: 16; Enumeration District: 0032; FHL microfilm: 1241193. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/68148419:7602 : accessed 22 Feb 2023. 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.

“Pap”: Herbert Upchurch marriage certificate: 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/9795359:60548 : accessed 1 Mar 2023. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. His parents had four children together, Hiram, Berta, Hubert, and Minnie Upchurch.²1900 US Census. Pap died young, leaving Sallie with their four children. Sallie went on to have two more children, father unknown, named Lorie (b. 1903) and Rosa (b.1905).

Hubert and his siblings went to work at early ages. In 1910, Hubert (age 16) was a laborer at a American Tobacco Company, where he worked, on and off, for the rest of his life. His sister Minnie (age 14) worked with him, and Berta (age 19) was a cook for a private family.³1910 US Census: Year: 1910; Census Place: Durham, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1108; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0034; FHL microfilm: 1375121. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/152549096:7884 : accessed 25 Feb 2023. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 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: https://www.archives.gov/research/census.AC

 On 15 July 1918, Hubert was inducted into the Army, along with 85 other African American men from Durham, and sent to Fort Dix in Wrightstown NJ for basic training.⁴85 other men: “Eighty-five Negros Left,” Durham Morning Herald (Durham NC), 18 Jul 1918, p.3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/787341225/ : accessed 14 Mar 2023.

The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty in the District of Columbia; NAI Number: 1159403; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System (World War I), 1917-1939; Record Group Number: 163. Ancestry.com. U.S., Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty, 1917–1918 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/388856:4906 : accessed 1 Mar 2023. War Department, Office of the Provost Marshal General, Selective Service System, 1917– 07/15/1919. Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Service, 1917–1918. NAID: 578684.Textual records. Records of the Selective Service System (World War I), Record Group 163. National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland. War Department, Office of the Provost Marshal General, Selective Service System, 1917– 07/15/1919. Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty in the District of Columbia, 1917–1918. NAID: 1159403.Textual records. Records of the Selective Service System (World War I), Record Group 163. National Archives at Atlanta. Atlanta, Georgia. Hubert married Alice Tilley Upchurch on September 18, 1918. Her deceased father’s name was Dud Tilley and her mother’s name was Pricy Tilley, both of Durham.⁵Ancestry.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/9795359:60548 : accessed 1 Mar 2023. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. There are no records of how long Hubert was in the Army, as he came back from Fort Dix and got married within three months.

Hubert ended up coming back to Durham and returned to his old job at American Tobacco Company, where he was eventually promoted to foreman.⁶Hill Directory Co.’s (Incorporated) Durham, NC City Directory 1924 (Durham, NC: Hill Directory Company, 1924) p. 570, Upchurch surname; digital image, “North Carolina City Directories,” DigitalNC (https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/25137 : accessed 8 Apr 2020). Hubert, Alice, his younger sister Minnie, and his mother, Sallie, all lived together at 818 Glendale Avenue in Durham.⁷Year: 1920; Census Place: Durham Ward 1, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: T625_1292; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 47. Ancestry.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/27174234:6061 : accessed 25 Feb 2023. 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: https://www.archives.gov/research/census. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).

Sallie living with them: Hubert Upchurch 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/1872409:60090 : accessed 22 Feb 2023. Original data: North Carolina, Deaths, 1906-1930. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Alice worked with Hubert at American Tobacco Company, and Minnie was a nurse for a private family.

On 23 February 1928, Minnie died at the age of 27 and was buried at Geer Cemetery.⁸“Minnie Upchurch,” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31682663/minnie-upchurch : accessed 13 Mar 2023. Although we found no death certificate, her death was mentioned in the Durham Morning Herald in connection with that of her brother, Hubert, less than three months later. Minnie, apparently also known as “Babe,” was fatally wounded in an altercation in her apartment.⁹“Negro Is Slain, Two Are Shot in City Last Night,” Durham Morning Herald (Durham NC), 13 May 1928, p.1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/790397101 : accessed 13 Mar 2023.

Hubert died from a gunshot wound on 13 May 1928, at the age of 32. He was shot “as he stepped upon a porch on Haywood Street.” No arrests had been made at the time of the newspaper story, nor was any record of arrests found later.¹⁰“Negro Is Slain.” Hubert was buried at Geer Cemetery on 18 May 1928.

BORN: Jan 1896.¹²1900 US Census.

DIED: 13 May 1928.¹³Hubert Upchurch death certificate.

BIRTH PLACE: North Carolina.¹⁴1900 US Census.

DEATH PLACE: Durham NC.¹⁵Hubert Upchurch death certificate.

SPOUSE: Alice Tilley Upchurch.¹⁶Herbert Upchurch marriage certificate.

PARENTS: Chas. “Pap” Upchurch and Sallie Lee Upchurch.¹⁷Herbert Upchurch marriage certificate.

CHILDREN: None known.

OTHER FAMILY: Sister Minnie.¹⁸1900 US Census.

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: Sister Minnie.

OCCUPATION: Foreman, American Tobacco Company.¹⁹Durham, NC City Directory 1924.

CHURCH: N/A

AFFILIATIONS: N/A

ADDRESS: 818 Glendale Avenue, Durham NC.²⁰Hubert Upchurch death certificate.

MILITARY SERVICE: US Army 1918.²¹National Archives.