Day Jno, c, cabinetmaker A F F
Day Thos, c, A F F, res 112 Pearson ave
Day S J Mrs, c, res 112 Pearson ave
Day Berta, c, res 112 Pearson ave
Day Jno, c, carp, res, extension of Atkin
Day Sallie Mrs, c, res extension of Atkin
Day Thos, c. res extension of Atkin
Day Robt, c, res extension of Atkin
c = colored
A F F = Asheville Furniture Factory
carp = carpenter
res = residence
Source: Asheville City Directory, 1887 (Southern Directory Co.)
The 1880 US census shows that Aquilla Wilson Day was around 75 years old when living in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, with her son, Thomas Day, Jr. But, the 1887 Asheville City Directory does not list her. Did she die between the enumeration of the 1880 census and the record gathering for the 1887 Asheville City Directory? That she did so die would be a reasonable assumption for one of that age. If she died in Asheville, where is she buried? Riverside Cemetery in Asheville does indeed have a large African-American section. Perhaps not all those buried there have been documented. And, not all graves are marked. However, Riverside Cemetery is not the only possible burial site.
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| Black Diamond "Fan on the Hill" |
Coroner's Jury Charges Bannister With It.
His Shoes Fit the Tracks.
Strong Circumstantial Evidence Points to Mrs. Day's Paramour as the Murderer.
Coroner Askam, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Morris and Deputy Sheriff McCorey are still at Franklin investigating the murder of Thomas Day and have David Bannister under arrest, charged with the crime. Their proceedings are told in the following special dispatch:
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| San Francisco Chronicle 24 September 1895 |
Tonight at 7 o'clock the preliminary examination will be held before Judge Bailey. The testimony of the state is entirely circumstantial, but points strongly to Bannister. The killing of Day took place at what is known as the fan on top of the hill above Franklin. Tracks were found leading from the fan on a by-path to the north. The best footprints were preserved, and today Mr. Morris and Deputy Sheriff McCorey secured the shoes which were worn by Bannister, and in company with six reliable men measured them and the tracks which were found leading away from where the murder was committed, and the right and left shoes fitted the respective tracks perfectly. A short distance from the tracks was found a heavy club which was newly split. It was identified as Bannister's.
At 11 o'clock on the night of the murder Bannister was seen coming from the direction of the fan by two witnesses, who positively identified him. Mr. Morris expects to finish the preliminary examination some time during the night. It is probable that Bannister will be bound over without bail. Day had no enemies, but had separated from his wife, and Bannister had taken up his abode with her.
Source: Unspecified, but probably The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, California).
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Query how a relatively well-educated and talented craftsman such as Thomas Day, Jr., ended up working as a "night fireman" at a coal mine in King County, Washington. The last known North Carolina address was in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Why did this family travel westward around 2,700 miles in the late 1800s?
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A recent Caswell County quiz involved Thomas Day, Jr. (1835-1895) who was killed in Franklin, King County, Washington, where he worked as a "night fireman." We asked how a relatively well-educated and talented craftsman such as Thomas Day, Jr., ended up working at a coal mine in King County, Washington. The last known North Carolina address was in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Why did this family travel westward around 2,700 miles in the late 1800s?
The answer may be the Franklin Strike
In the fall of 1890, a bitter strike was going on in the Franklin mines. The company officials decided to allow a man named T. B. Corey, who was the mine superintendent of the Franklin mines, to recruit strikebreakers from the East. The following is the handbill that was being distributed amongst the out-of-work miners. They were mostly black:
COLORED WORKINGMEN! NOTICE!
WANTED FOR THE NEW COAL MINES IN THE
State of Washington
(late territory)
500 colored coal miners and laborers for inside and outside work, dump men, track men and helpers. Stablemen, drivers and teamsters. Inside and bottom timbermen, timber cutters and chute builders, carpenters, engineers, blacksmiths and firemen.
Good wages will be paid the above men. Steady work for three years. No strikes or trouble of any kind. The finest country on earth.
Railroad fare with board and sleeping-car accommodations will be furnished to the work place from St. Louis. Ample provision will be provided for the care and comfort of the men en route to the destination.
Ship from St. Louis without fail, Monday, May 11, 1891
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During a strike at the coal mine where Thomas Day, Jr., worked and died, blacks were brought in as scabs during a miners strike. But, he purportedly was killed by another black, not a white. Whether relevant or not, many have stated that the Thomas Day family was light-skinned, with at least one child (Devereux), purportedly "passing" as white in DC.
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| San Francisco Call 15 March 1896 |
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If Sarah and Bannister married, I don't think it lasted because she's listed as Sarah J. DAY of Portland, Oregon, a widow, in the 1900 and 1910 censuses. (in 1900, she's living with daughters Berta and Eliza. In 1910, it's just with Eliza. By 1920, she's still in Portland but in the household of Eliza (now called Elizabeth) and her new husband, Alford Alexander. (Eliza's 1919 marriage certificate in Vancouver, WA, lists her mother as Sarah and her father as "Thomas Day.") I think it has to be the same family because Thomas, Sarah and "Berta" Day were originally listed in the same household in the 1887 Asheville City directory and Thomas and Sarah Day are listed as the sellers of a house on Pearson Street there the following year. That's when they must have left for the West because, according to the 1900 census Eliza was born in California in July 1889. Berta's father was apparently NOT TD JR. because his birthplace is given as Alabama. If Thomas Jr. had four little children with Sarah as Pat Marshall maintained (and I've always heard and is cited in the murder account) but I've only found Eliza. Source: Patricia Dane Rogers Post to the Caswell County Historical Association Facebook Page October 2017.
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Note that the 1860 United States Federal Census shows what apparently are the following children of Thomas Day:
Thos Day (male, 23)
V Day (female, 23)
M Day (female, 25)
M Day (female, 1)
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United States Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules 1850-1880
Year Ending June 1, 1850
Name: Thomas Day
Enumeration Date: 1 Jun 1850
Place: Milton, Caswell, North Carolina, USA
Schedule Type: Manufacturing
OS Page: 301
Line Number: 15
Name of Business, Manufacturer, or Product: Cabinet Maker
Capital Invested in Real and Personal Estate in the Business: $5,800
Raw Material Used, Including Fuel
Quanties, Kinds, Values
7,000 ft, Lumber, $1,000
Unspecified, Mahogany, $2,400
Kind of Motive Power: Hand
Average Number of Hands Employed
Males: 12
Females: 0
Wages
Average Monthly Cost of Male Labor: $87
Average Monthly cost of Female Labor: $0
Annual Product
Quanties, Kinds, Values
Unspecified, Furniture, $5,700
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United States Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules 1850-1880
Year Ending June 1, 1860
Name: Thomas Day
Enumeration Date: 1 Jun 1860
Place: Milton, Caswell, North Carolina, USA
Schedule Type: Manufacturing
OS Page: 6
Line Number: 3
Nature of Business: Cabinet Shop
Capital Invested: $2,500
Raw Materials: 250 feet mahogany, $1,000; 150 yards "Plush," $240; "Other Articles," $700
Kind of Motive Power: 6 horseteams
Wages/Average Monthly: $77
Annual Product: 40 Bureaus, $1,200; 144 Chairs, $720; 12 Sofas, $360; Other Work, $1,200
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1850 United States Federal Census - Slave Schedules
Enumerated: August 25, 1850
Name of Slave Owner: Thomas Day
Home of Slaves in 1850: Caswell County, North Carolina
Number of Slaves Owned: 8
Age Sex Colour
66 M B
30 M B
50 F B
30 M M
26 M B
23 F B
21 M B
20 F M
B = Black
M = Mulatto
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Arraigned for a Franklin Crime.
Seattle, Wash., Dec. 2.--David Bannister, accused of murdering Thomas Day, night engineer in the Oregon Improvement Company's coal mine at Franklin, last September, was placed on trial for his life today in the criminal department of the Superior Court. The evidence against him is circumstantial
Source: The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, California), 3 December 1895, Tuesday, Page 5.
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General Directory of the City of Asheville for 1883-'4
Asheville City Directory-Colored
Day John, carpenter, res Sycamore
Day Thos, cabinetmkr, res College st
Day Ann, cook J R Rich [Rich J R, butcher, s Main, res Haywood]
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Last thoughts. If Sarah and Bannister married, I don't think it lasted because she's listed as Sarah J. DAY of Portland, Oregon, a widow, in the 1900 and 1910 censuses. (in 1900, she's living with daughters Berta and Eliza. In 1910, it's just with Eliza. By 1920, she's still in Portland but in the household of Eliza (now called Elizabeth) and her new husband, Alford Alexander. (Eliza's 1919 marriage certificate in Vancouver, WA, lists her mother as Sarah and her father as Thomas Day.) I think it has to be the same family because Thomas, Sarah and Berta Day were originally listed in the same household in the 1887 Asheville City directory and Thomas and Sarah Day are listed as the sellers of a house on Pearson Street there the following year. That's when they must have left for the West because, according to the 1900 census Eliza was born in California in July 1889. Berta's father was apparently NOT TD JR. because his birthplace is given as Alabama. If Thomas Jr. had four little children with Sarah as Pat Marshall maintained (and I've always heard and is cited in the murder account) but I've only found Eliza. Suggestions welcome.
Source: Patricia Dane Rogers Post to CCHA Facebook Page 7 October 2017.
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Children of Thomas Day, Jr. (with three wives):
1. Mary Virginia Washington (c.1837-1867)
a. Mary Aquilla Day (1858-1921)
b. John W. Day (c.1860-1918)
c. Annie Day (1863-1947)
2. Annie E. Washington (c.1835-1877); married 1871
a. Mabel E. Day (died young)
b. Elizabeth W. Day (died young)
3. Sarah Johnson (1849- ); married 1886
a. Elizabeth M. Day (1889- )
b. Berta Day
c.
d.
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Oregon Improvement Company
http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv02697
https://blackdiamondhistory.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/coal-fields-of-washington-2/#more-7830
https://blackdiamondhistory.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/franklin-strike/
http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/franklin-ghost-town
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The structure is the fan at the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company in King County, Washington (east of Tacoma). The fan provided fresh air to the mine shafts. It was steam-driven and operated continuously. Thus an operator was required 24 hours. Thomas Day, Jr. (1835-1895) was one of these operators. Due to a marital dispute he purportedly was killed by David Bannister. Day was maintaining the fan when bludgeoned. Bannister apparently was acquitted.
Here is how we described it in 2017. We posted the comment to the Black Diamond History Facebook Page:
This is the "fan on the hill" in which Thomas Day, Jr., was killed September 23, 1895. The fan apparently provided ventilation to shafts at the coal mine in Franklin, King County, Washington. The fan may have been powered by a steam engine, as a fireman was on duty at all times to operate the boiler. This was the job of Thomas Day, Jr., when he was killed. As the photograph was taken in 1894, it is possible that Day is one of the men in this image. Day was born c.1837 in Milton, Caswell County, North Carolina, son of famous cabinet maker Thomas Day.
Franklin, Sept. 24.--Special--This afternoon Coroner Askam and J. J. Smith held an autopsy on the body of Thomas Day and found that he came to his death from a fractured skull. The skull was horribly fractured from the right ear to the left across the top of the head. Shortly after the autopsy a coroner's jury was impaneled and Coroner Askam and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Morris conducted the examination. The jury returned a verdict that deceased came to his death from blows willfully and feloniously inflicted by a blunt instrument in the hands of David Bannister. Shortly after the coroner's jury returned its verdict, Day was buried in Franklin cemetery.
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References
Black Diamond History Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BlackDiamondHistory/posts/10154930545432555
Caswell County Genealogy: https://caswellcountync.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I15101&tree=tree1
CCHA Weblog:
https://ncccha.blogspot.com/2017/10/thomas-day-jr-killing.html
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Not only was Berta's father shown as born in Alabama, her birth date is shown as July 1878 in North Carolina. In 1878, Thomas Day, Jr., was recently widowed; and he did not marry Sarah J. Johnson until 1886. Of course, Thomas Day, Jr., could still be the father of Berta Day. I question those who conclude that Thomas Day, Jr., and Sarah J. Johnson had four children. In the 1900 US Federal Census, Sarah J. Day reported that she was the mother of two children, both living. I have found no evidence of additional children.
The 1880 US census shows that Aquilla Wilson Day was around 75 years old when living in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, with her son, Thomas Day, Jr. But, the 1887 Asheville City Directory does not list her. Did she die between the enumeration of the 1880 census and the record gathering for the 1887 Asheville City Directory? That she did so die would be a reasonable assumption for one of that age. If she died in Asheville, where is she buried? Riverside Cemetery in Asheville does indeed have a large African-American section. Perhaps not all those buried there have been documented. And, not all graves are marked. However, Riverside Cemetery is not the only possible burial site. PS: I have many relatives who claim Riverside Cemetery as their final address, and will look around the next time there.
Aquilla is not in the 1883-1884 Asheville City Directory so we thought it reasonable to think she died between the date of the 1880 census and whenever they tallied residents for the directory. (It was published in '83.) The only Days listed are Thomas, a cabinetmaker on College St., John, a carpenter on Sycamore and an Ann Day listed as a cook for a white employer with no address given. (Have to see when Annie married Robinson and moved to Danville to speculate whether this is "Annie" or not.) Source: Patricia Dane Rogers Post to the Caswell County Historical Association Facebook Page October 2017.
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