The Historic Method Community has been featured twice in the Wake Genealogy Watch, Vol 5.4 - Summer 2022 and in this blog. That article was written by WCGS member, Linda Hames, about her favorite preservation project. I recently found this additional document online that outlines the Method Community, its history, landmarks and arguments for further preservation work. The document features many relevent maps in an attempt to plot the footprint of the community when no original map document exists.
Personal narratives of Bertha Maye Edwards, a granddaughter of Jesse Mason who grew up in Method are also included and capture the essence of the place in a way maps and documents just can not. Those interested in early Freedmen's villlages in Wake County and the history of the Method Community will want to reveiw this document.
"Masonville, Save-Rent, Planktown, and Slab Town: The Origins of Method
The Method neighborhood first developed as a post-Civil War rural settlement initiated by formerly enslaved blacks. In 1872, half-brothers Jesse Mason and Isaac O’Kelly bought sixty-nine mostly wooded acres from Confederate General William Ruffin Cox of Raleigh and Edgecombe County. They began selling smaller parcels to other blacks—particularly to friends and relatives—through the 1880s. 1 A map showing the location of the sixty-nine-acre parcel has not been located and none may exist..." - de Miranda
Bertha Maye Edwards' personal narrative comes from her book that is referenced in the footnotes, The Little Place, and the Little Girl (New York: Carlton Press, 1974). At this time, I have not been able to locate a copy online or in print.
Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website -
Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Publications | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Society Surnames | Digital Resources | History Resources | More Links and Resources | Contact
Comments
Post a Comment