Ways to Order
The Society offers a variety of publications to help advance your research within Wilson County. Books can be purchased securely online using a PayPal account.
Check or money order purchases can be made via U.S. Postal Service by filling out out an order form (coming soon) and printing it, then mailing the form plus payment to WCGS, P.O. Box 892, Wilson, NC 27894.
The Cemetery and Census books listed below are also available for purchase in person at the Wilson County Public Library.
BOOKS
| Shipping cost is $5.00 per book. State tax will be added for North Carolina residents. |
| Abstracts of Wills, Wilson County, North Carolina, 1855-1899 by J. Robert Boykin, III Perfect or spiral binding, 120 pages, 1992 $28.00  |
| Barnes Narratives by Joan Howell, Editor Paperback, 179 pages, 2011 $12.00 Joan Howell, a Barnes family researcher, was given Hugh B. Johnston’s Barnes family research files before his death. Among those records were typed narratives of those members of the family that he had researched extensively. Ms. Howell has typed and organized these into alphabetical order and fully indexed their names. She also included the extensive study, “Which Edward Barnes was the Son of James, Isle of Wight County, Virginia?” by Margaret Van Ness Nelson, Barbara Barnes Monroe and Carol LaPorte, which was included in the March 2000 issue of Trees of Wilson. This study disputes the previously accepted ancestry of Edward Barnes of Edgecombe County and throws the local Barnes line of descent from Virginia into question. |
| Cemeteries of Wilson County, Volume I by Joan L. Howell and Sue Evans Mitchell, editors Paperback, 257 pages, 1993 $30.00 Volume I contains information on 244 cemeteries and 5,000+ tombstone inscriptions. Includes (by quadrangle) Winstead Crossroads, Elm City, Pinetops, Stancil’s Chapel, Lucama, Wilson (township), Saratoga, Kenly West, Kenly East, Fremont and Stantonsburg. Compiled by Joan L. Howell and edited by Joan L. Howell and Sue Evans Mitchell. |
| Cemeteries of Wilson County, Volume II by Joan L. Howell and Sue Evans Mitchell, editors Paperback, 389 pages, 1993 $30.00 Volume II contains information on 75 cemeteries and 5,900+ tombstone inscriptions. Includes (by quadrangle) Bailey, Winstead Crossroads, Elm City, Stancil’s Chapel, Lucama, Fountain, Kenly East. Compiled by Joan L. Howell and edited by Joan L. Howell and Sue Evans Mitchell. |
| Cemeteries of Wilson County, Volume III by Joan L. Howell and Sue Evans Powell, editors Paperback, 316 pages, 1995 $30.00 Volume III contains information on 121 cemeteries and 8,000+ tombstone inscriptions. Includes (by quadrangle) Bailey, Winstead Crossroads, Elm City, Stancil’s Chapel, Lucama, Wilson Evergreen Gardens, Saratoga, Fountain, Kenly East, Fremont, Stantonsburg. Compiled by Joan L. Howell and edited by Joan L. Howell and Sue Evans Powell. |
| Cemeteries of Wilson County, Volume IV by Joan L. Howell Paperback, 259 pages, 1998 $30.00 Volume IV contains information on Wilson’s Maplewood Cemetery, 13,810 people buried (or intending to be buried), with tombstone inscriptions. |
| Cemeteries of Wilson County, Volume V Compiled and Edited by Joan L. Howell Paperback, 333 pages, 2015 $35.00 The two city-owned African-American cemeteries; 11,472 burials in Rest Haven Cemetery; and 590 burials in Rountree/Vick Cemetery, many without grave markers. |
| Cemetery Finder by Carol Forbes Paper, 32 pages, 2001 $5.00 A guide for locating Wilson County cemeteries as listed in Volumes I-IV of the Wilson County Cemetery series. |
| Census of 1860, Wilson County by Joan L. Howell Paper with perfect or spiral binding, 221 pages, 1993 $30.00 Includes all six schedules and every name index. Abstracted by Joan L. Howell, edited by Reese Ferrell and Joan L. Howell. |
| Census of 1870, Wilson County by Joan L. Howell Paper with perfect or spiral binding, 390 pages, 1993 $25.00 Includes all five schedules and every name index. Abstracted by Joan L. Howell, edited by Reese Ferrell and Joan L. Howell. |
| Census of 1880, Wilson County by J. Robert Boykin, III Paper with perfect or spiral binding, 503 pages, 1984 $45.00 |
| Census of 1900, Wilson County Printed on request, 546 pages $40.00 Population schedule only. Special order, printed on request. Please allow delivery time of up to 6 weeks. |
| Estates Inventory, Wilson County, 1855-1910 Compiled by Grace Williamson Turner Paper, 28 pages, 2000 $5.00 Records of estates of Wilson County residents are kept in the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. There are 65 boxes containing 2,307 individual files. This is a list of all files contained within the boxes and the date of the estate action. Estate details are not included in this list. This is a valuable finding aid for anyone who wants to know if information on the estate of an ancestor is on file at the Archives. |
| Histories of Three Old Baptist Churches by Hugh B. Johnston Printed on request, 181 pages $40.00 Compilation by Wilson County historian Hugh B. Johnston includes Toisnot, Town Creek and Fall of the Tar churches with membership rosters. Special order, printed on request. Please allow delivery time of 3 to 5 weeks. |
| Marriages of Wilson County, North Carolina, 1855-1899 by J. Robert Boykin, III Perfect or spiral binding, 975 pages, 1988 $85.00 Two volumes of marriage abstractions. |
| Thataway: Barnes Individuals Born in North Carolina Who Moved Elsewhere by Joan Howell Spreadsheet, 63 pages, 2011 $6.00 Joan Howell has given the WCGS the results of this census study compilation. Using the census records of all states in 1860, 1870 and 1880, Ms. Howell compiled a list of white Barnes families that included any individual stating their birthplace as North Carolina. Includes index. |
| The Episcopalians of Wilson County by Patrick M. Valentine Hardcover, 496 pages, 1996 $25.00 A history of St. Timothy’s and St. Mark’s Churches in Wilson, North Carolina, 1866-1995. |
| They Moved Away: North Carolinians Who Went to Other States by Hugh B. Johnston Paper with perfect or spiral binding, 59 pages, 1997 $10.00 A manuscript from the files of Hugh B. Johnston, noted Wilson County historian, containing miscellaneous emigration records. Edited and indexed by Grace Williamson Turner. |
| Wilson County’s Architectural Heritage by Kate Ohno Paper with perfect or spiral binding, 173 pages, reprinted 2003 $20.00 Reprinted in 2003 by the WCGS as a high-quality xerographic reproduction. Originally written and published in 1981 by Kate Ohno for the County of Wilson, reprinted by permission. Includes full index addition to this reprint. Listing details and photos of hundreds of old homes in Wilson County, many which are now gone. Historical details on townships and families. |
| Wilson County’s Founding Families by Marion Woodard Moore, Howard Mark Whitley, Sue Evans Powell and Henry Powell Hardcover, 2009 $55.00 A collection of the histories of some 360 families who were proven to present in the county at its founding between 1855 and 1870. Includes historical background, contemporary news articles created at the County’s founding, and research articles regarding the County. Compiled and edited by the WCGS Founding Families Committee. |
| Wilson Historical Properties Inventory by Historic Preservation Planner, City of Wilson $20.00 Originally published in 1980 for the City of Wilson. Lists details about townships, historic properties and families with photos of hundreds of old homes and buildings in the City of Wilson. WCGS is making this book available again as a high-quality xerographic reproduction with enhancements. Corrections, additional information, improved maps, an index by street address and a full index have been added. Reprinted with permission and with the assistance of the city’s Historic Preservation Planner. |
MAPS
| Maps are shipped rolled in a map tube; up to four maps for one shipping fee. The Confederate maps, located in the North Carolina State Arcives, were left behind at the end of the Civil War by the Confederate Field Engineers. We offer these as as service to those who don’t wish to drive to Raleigh to purchase a copy directly from the Archives.
Maps measure approximately 18” x 24”, are black ink on white paper and are suitable for framing. |
| Confederate Field Map #1 Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 North to South, Virginia line to Tarboro, West to East, Whitakers to Murfreesboro. Geographic details, extensive names of residents. From the North Carolina State Archives. |
| Confederate Field Map #2 Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 Continuation of Map #1 above, South to the Neuse River, West to East, Wilmington/Weldon RR to Washington, NC. From the North Carolina State Archives. < |
| Confederate Field Map #3 Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 Enlarged portion of part of area covered by Map #2 above; similar in detail, but other residents named. Includes Black Creek, Stantonsburg, Saratoga, Nahunta, Pikeville, Speight’s Bridge. From the North Carolina State Archives. |
| Confederate Field Map #4 Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 Continuation of Map #3 above; South to Neuse River, includes Goldsboro. From the North Carolina State Archives. |
| Map, Town of Wilson, 1872 Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 Map contains block by block details by Gray. This shows the village of Wilson at the age of 13 years. |
| Map, Town of Wilson, 1882 Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 Map contains block by block details by E. B. Mayo, redrawn by F. T. Green & Associates of Wilson. This shows the village of Wilson at the age of 23 years. |
| Waterways of Wilson County Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 |
| Wilson County Historical Map Xerographic copy, 18”x24” $5.00 Includes the old county lines, waterways, early roads, towns & post offices, and township boundaries. Adapted by Sue E. Powell from a Hugh Johnston map owned by Marion W. Moore. |
ADDITIONAL ITEMS
| Membership to WCGS $20.00 Membership dues received before 1 October include a yearly subscription of 10 issues of Trees of Wilson. Membership dues received after 1 October include the remaining issues from that year plus 10 issues the following year. |
| Gift Certificates Any denomination. Contact Carol Forbes at (252) 243-1660 or Email to inquire. |
| Trees of Wilson Back Issues Spiral bound, includes index $20.00 Available in Annual Volumes only from 1991/92 and 1993 through 2015. Contact Carol Forbes at (252) 243-1660 or Email to inquire. |
| Hugh B. Johnston Files Hugh B. Johnston (1913-1990), honorary historian of Wilson County, published a variety of books on the history and families of the county in addition to writing a regular column in The Wilson Times. A Wilson County native, Johnston was a professor of modern languages at Atlantic Christian College (today Barton College) until 1978 and remained at the school as an archivist and curator until 1984. Johnston’s research notes are available for purchase ONLY to members of the WCGS. These are copies of Johnston’s raw notes and, while difficult to read and use, contain many nuggets of useful information. The files are organized by family surname; please contact the Society for a catalog listing of files available. Price depends on the number of sheets in the file. Contact Carol Forbes at (252) 243-1660 or Email to inquire. |
