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The Chronic] ::
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Family honors grand patriarch
Peter Oliver, a free black man,
was a prominent resident of
Salem in the late 18th century
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONIC! I
He's the patriarch of his ever-growing family,
but even Henry Thomas Oliver did not know that
his roots grew from the heart of Salem, the 200
year-old community that planted the seeds for the
city we call Winston-Salem.
Oliver learned two years ago that his great
grandfather was Peter Blackburn Oliver, a bira
cial man w ho was a popular member of the Mora
vian religious community in the latter part of the
I Sth century. With the help of Mel White - direc
tor of African-American programs at Old Salem
(which Salem is now known) - the grave of Peter
Oliver was found last year among the thousands
at God's Acre, the breath-taking cemetery where
Moravians have been buried for centuries.
"I was just amazed." 89-year-old Henry Oliv
er said, describing his reaction to learning of his
heritage. "I had no idea for all these years."
Henry Oliver, a resident of Clemmons. joined
many other descendants of Peter Oliver, some of
whom he just met for the first time last year, to
celebrate the replacement of Peter Oliver's old.
barely readable headstone with a new marble one.
"We wanted it replaced because we did not
want to come here 10 years from now and not be
able to read it," said Paulette J. Robinson, a Peter
Oliver descendant of a different branch than
Henry Oliver. There are three known branches of
the family. All stem from Israel Oliver, one of
Peter Oliver's three surviving children (three
other children were stillborn and are buried just
feet away from their father at God's Acre).
White, who has already connected the three
branches of the family, is still searching for other
branches of the family. The lives of Peter Oliver's
other surviving children - Joseph Oliver and
Anna "Nancy" Nickolas - remain a mystery,
including the years they died and possible chil
dren.
Peter Oliver, horn into slavery in Virginia but
a freeman during his years in Salem, died in
1810. He is believed to be the last African-Amer
ican Moravian to be buried alongside whites in
God's Acre The cemetery became segregated in
1820. as did the Moravian Church with the cre
ation of St. Phillips Church in 1827, the oldest
black church in the state.
The headstone to the right of Peter Oliver's
belongs to John Rights, a white Moravian who
died soon after Peter Oliver. Rights' great-great
great-grandson was on hand for the rededication.
Also named John Rights, he came to support
the relatives of Peter Oliver and to celebrate the
rededication of the headstone.
Rights said the fact that blacks and whites are
buried side by side in the cemetery should be seen
as ,a positive.
"I think that's' a beautiful symbol and image to
me." he said.
But the part of Old Salem's past relating to
slavery is not a pleasant topic for some Mora
ss Olivers oh A10
I
Photo by Kevin
Walker
George
Jones Jr.
shows his
children,
Noah and
Leah, the
v new head
jj stone for
j Peter Oliv
.4 er's grave.
The Joneses
are descen
dants of
Oliver, who
is buried in
God's Acre,
a Moravian
cemetery.
?j
?,
A Woman's Touch
\ issm jhhto #&??&&&?&
rholo h> Kevin walker
Local women continued a Labor Day tradition last weekend, partaking in an all-female build for Habitat
for Humanity of Forsyth County. Women from local companies such as RJR, GMAC and Sara Lee gave up
their holiday to haul and hammer at a site in Neil's Place off University Parkway, where people of both
genders were busily working on other homes as well. The all-female house should be completed by year's
end, and a local family will move in soon after it is completed.
Woman celebrates 100 years of life
Photo by Felecia P McMillan
Odessa Hunter Carelock, (center) chats with (left to right) her grand
daughter Trudy Starnes, her daughter Ada Starnes and her grand
daughter Lisa Starnes Carter.
BY FELECIA P. MCMILLAN
( < IMMUNITY CORRESWINDENT
D
CXI ess. i Hunter Carelock is the
matriarch of five generations of the.
Carelock family, the mother of 12
children and the church mother of St.
Paul AME Methodist Church in Lan
caster County, S C. Her grandson
Geoige Carelock II of Texas served as
the guest speaker for this auspicious
occasion.
Bom on Sept. 2, 1901, to the late
George Hunter and Maggie Caroline
Carelock. the centenarian was the
center of attention at her I (Kith birth
day celebration held at her home
church in South Carolina. Carelock
attributes her long life to serving God.
hard work and keeping a sense of
humor."
She still enjoys cracking jokes and
making smart remarks among family
and friends. She loves jewelry of mul
ticolored stones, and her appearance is
still very important to her. She must he
ready to receive her gentlemen callers
at anytime. She said. "I don't have to
* go out on a date now. He comes to see
me. When he comes. I'll act so pretty
you won't even know me." She said.
"I don't allow other women in our
presence when he is around. But even
that doesn't matter because if another
woman is around, he will still be link
ing at me. He wouldn't pay her any
attention because I'm pretty."
Her word cannot be disputed.
Dressed in a gray straw hat and a gray
dress with matching jacket, Carelock
turned heads. Her flawless skin
accented her red lipstick and white
gold earrings. Behind her winsome
smile a a* life experiences that span a
century. Hav ing grown up on a farm,
she followed the traditions of her par
~y
See 100 "n A4
Sunset will not kill
state's payday loan
industry, say many
Legislators could take up issue again this week
and put stricter laws on controversial business
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
Mil CHRONICLE
It was a minute.alter midnight on
Saturday when the sun set on North
Carolina's ________
i..,.?...
luv,a,,,v- r*V
day lending
industry. But
critics of the
controversial
business and
even some leg
islators believe
that the indus
try may still
have legs, even
though it no
longer has the authority of the state
commissioner of banking to operate. N
"They won't just die and disappear
at 12:01." state Rep. Larry Womble
said last Friday, a few hours before the
sunset. 'That simply will not happen."
Sunset is a symbolic term used by
legislators to describe bills that have
expired. That's exactly what happened
to the 1997 legislation passed by the
(i e n e r a I
Assemny mac
made way for
payday
lenders to set
up shop in the
state. There
are more than
I .(XX) payday
leaders (also
known as cash
advance oper
at ions) in the
state. They've made hundreds of mil
lions of dollars in the last four years by
providing short-term loans of up to
See Lenders on A9
I"/ am opposed
to the industry. I
believe it exploits
poor people."
-Pete Oldham
Friends, listeners
coming to aid of
embattled station
FROM STAFF RH PORTS
The smooth, silky soul of
WAAA 980 Triple A radio turned
to dead air earlier this year after
the station experienced financial
trouble.
But the beat may go on. Help
is 011 the way for the popular and
long-running rhythm and blues
station. A fund-raiser has just
been announced for Saturday in
Rupert Bell Park. It is the latest in
a number of grassroots move
ments currently afoot to help get
the station back on the air.
The fund-raiser is actually
being billed as a community rally
for WAAA. during which organiz
ers will attempt to raise money for
the station. The goal is to raise
enough money to purchase a facil
ity for the station as well as a
transmitter so that the station can
again reach city homes.
"I have really been encouraged
and gratified by the outpouring of
support from the large and diverse
number of people who have ral
lied to this cause." said Mutter
Evans, owner of WAAA. "It just
gives me a good reeling to Know
that the people WAAA has served
for more than a half-century care
ahout what happens to their sta
tion."
The station went off the air
early this summer after the owner
of WAAA's building. William
Haubrich, padlocked the station,
saying that rent had not been paid
in more than three years
,S,. WAAA on A3
Evans
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