Record #:

8647

Author(s):

Angell, Lou

Abstract:

In 1874, a white Massachusetts family landed at Hatteras and brought with them a young black boy named Thomas Vince, who was to be their servant and handyman. Nelson Paul Angell, his wife, Inez, their son, Lewis, together with Tom, lived in and manned the Hatteras lighthouse until Nelson died in 1887. Inez and the two boys then moved to the Angells' fifteen-acre retirement estate. Inez died in 1912, and, as sole beneficiary, Tom inherited the estate. Tom became the town's first tax-paying black resident and would remain so until his death. Tom made ice cream and played the parlor piano, which made his home a social center for the town. He was the chief cook for the Gooseville Gun Club, and, after he developed cancer, it was the club who paid all his medical expenses, property taxes, and funeral expenses. Tom died in 1937.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 49 Issue 1, June 1981, p19-21, 35, il, por

Subject(s):

African Americans--Hatteras Island