Names

Edward Franklin Rollins, born on March 6, 1876, in Holly Springs, North Carolina. Rollins was widely known throughout A. M. E. Zion circles as "the Blind Preacher;" when he was just five years old, Rollins was accidentally shot in the head by another boy, the bullet severely damaging both eyes and resulting in a loss of sight. Despite the injury, Rollins determined at the age of twelve that he would pursue a career in ministry and set a course to achieve his goal. In 1893, he graduated from the Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind and completed his religious training under Bishop Cicero R. Harris in Wilmington, North Carolina. Rollins served as pastor for a variety of Eastern North Carolina circuits, including a five-year assignment at the Metropolitan A. M. E. Zion Church.

He signed a letter of petition to Arthur Dobbs on behalf of William Strother ca. 1763.

Born October 2, 1874, in Marshall County, Mississippi. A Democrat, Crump was mayor of Memphis (1910 to 1915) and later trustee for Shelby County, Tennessee. In 1931, he was elected to the United States Congress.

He signed a petition to Arthur Dobbs on behalf of the Tanners and Merchants in North Carolina.

Born March 18, 1851, in Charleston, South Carolina. Brawley began his education at Howard University in Washington, D.C., but later transferred to Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, becoming Bucknell's first African American student. Upon his graduation in 1875, Brawley became an ordained minister of the Baptist church. From 1912 to 1920, Brawley pastored the White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina.

Born July 31, 1864, in Galesburg, Illinois. Hurley was a manufacturer and financier who served as chairman of the United States Shipping Board and president of the Emergency Fleet Corporation during World War I.

Born on September 14, 1903, in Hickory, North Carolina. An epileptic, Crouch spent several weeks at the state insane asylum in Raleigh for care before being taken back home by his father in October 1919. Subsequent letters from Hickory citizens to Governor Thomas W. Bickett complained about improper treatment of Crouch and demanded an investigation. Blame for the poor conditions at the asylum was placed squarely on a lack of appropriate funding. Crouch died from his condition on January 19, 1920. He was just sixteen.

Edward Robert Bostic, born in South Carolina on September 27, 1883. Bostic was for many years a clerk for the United States Postal Service.

Born March 1, 1871, in Graham, North Carolina. Parker served as mayor of Graham for several terms and later was Alamance County's attorney. During a sexual assault investigation in July 1920, in which three black men stood accused, Parker was the investigating attorney.

Born June 5, 1886, in Asheville, North Carolina. A lifelong resident of Asheville, Miller was a bricklayer and a member of the masons and the Colored Knights of Pythias.

Born September 29, 1867, in Springfield, Ohio. Dinwiddie was a minister who served as legislative superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League. His work was influential in the fight for securing the passage of the 18th amendment to the U. S. Constitution (known generally as the prohibition amendment), which outlawed alcohol throughout the nation.

Born in McDowell County, North Carolina, on February 18, 1866. Cansler was for many decades a prominent and successful attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. During World War I, Cansler served as a member of the draft exemption board for the western district of North Carolina.

Born May 12, 1889, near New Bern, North Carolina. Dunn was a farmer in Pamlico County, North Carolina, who was called for military service during the country's mobilization for World War I. He successfully appealed the call and was exempted from the draft.

He was born 1692 and died January 7, 1750. He was a colonial official who served in a variety of offices during the 1730s-1740s. He was aligned politically with Governor Gabriel Johnston.

Born May 16, 1876, in Alamance County, North Carolina. Henderson was superintendent of the Piedmont E & R Co. power station and later general manager of the Graham Water Co., both in Graham, North Carolina. In 1920, he provided testimony in an investigation into an attempted lynching in Alamance County.

Born December 10, 1896, in South Carolina. Wylie, nee Clayton, married Benjamin T. Wylie in March 1917. They resided in Marion, North Carolina, about the time of World War I.

Born June 14, 1893, in North Carolina. Deans, nee Wright, married Leon Alexander Randolph in August 1917. She later married Kenneth Ives Deans in November 1931.

Born January 16, 1858, in Patriot, Indiana. Mead was an engineer, educator, and civil servant, being variously connected throughout his career with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Colorado State Engineer's Office, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, among others.

Born January 17, 1867, in Wake County, North Carolina. Ernestine was an educator at various public schools in Wake County as well as the State School for the Blind. In January 1920, she was accused of physically assaulting a blind student, fifteen-year-old Annie Gentry. She married James Houston Booker in 1908; he died in 1916. She next married Rev. James Hinton Hutchinson in 1921; he died in 1929.

Born October 16, 1861, in Guilford County, North Carolina. McCulloch served as chief clerk of the prison board during the administration of Governor Thomas W. Bickett (1917-1921) and was tapped by Bickett's successor, Governor Cameron Morrison, to serve as the superintendent of the state prison. He died just a few months in to his term.

Born July 29, 1892, in Iredell County, North Carolina. Ewing Stevenson Millsaps attempted to evade mobilization by claiming exemption on account of occupation. Three weeks after the date of this letter, on August 8, 1917, he instead secured a discharge from the state’s national guard by way of a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability.

Statesville, NC, resident in 1920

Born November 29, 1860, in Faison, North Carolina. Faison was a West Point graduate and career military officer who commanded the 60th Infantry Brigade of the 30th Division during World War I.

A labor group that seems to have been a part of the American Federation of Labor