Charity (Jones) Riddick (abt. 1858 - 1944)

Born about 1858 in Wake, North Carolina, United States

Wife of Weldon Riddick — married 9 Dec 1879 in Wake, North Carolina, United States

Died 3 Apr 1944 at about age 86 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States

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Biography

Charity (Jones) Riddick is a part of US Black heritage.

Charity Jones was born about 1858 in Wake, North Carolina, the daughter of Lewis Jones and Haley Jones. She had three brothers, Washington, William, and Turner, and two sisters Mary and Celia.

She married Weldon Riddick on December 9, 1879 in Wake, North Carolina. They had a son named Ernest Riddick.

Charity died on April 3, 1944 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.

Charity was interviewed as part of North Carolina Slave Narratives: CHARITY RIDDICK 813 E. D. Street. "I am 80 years old, you know after 79 comes 80, dats how old I am. A year ago, a little over a year ago, I wus 79 by de age in de Bible. My son Ernest Riddick tole me dat. He is gone to Greensboro to work. He carried de Bible wid him. If I had de Bible I could tell de story better den I can. My full name is Charity Riddick and my husband wus Weldon Riddick. He is dead. My father wus named Lewis Jones. Mother wus named Haley Jones. I had three brothers, Washington, William and Turner, two sisters Mary and Celia. All my people are dead except my sons. I have three sons livin'.

"I got sick an' I got way down in my taxes. I am payin' a dollar on' em every time I can get it. I ain't able to work much. I chops in de garden to make a little to eat. My sons help me some. Dey have children you know, but dey send me a little. Dey is all married. One has eight chillun, the other five chillun and de third has four chillun. Dey can't help me much.

"I belonged to Madison Pace in slavery time. He dead an' gone long ago do'. My missus wus name Mis' Annie[Pg 205] Pace. Sometimes I got plenty to eat and sometimes I didn't. All I got came through my mother from marster and missus. I was in my mother's care. I wus so young dey didn't have much to do with me. The plantation wus about three miles east o' Raleigh.

"Dis house did belong to me, but I am a long way behind on it. Dey lets me stay here and pay what I kin. I rents a room to an old lady fer 75 cents a week. I buys oil and wood wid it. De lights has been cut off. I uses a oil lamp fur light. Lights done cut off. I can't pay light rent, no sir, I haint been able to pay dat in a long time.

"In slavery time when de people you call de Yankees come, I wus small, but father took us and left the plantation. We lived in Raleigh after that. Father did not stay on de plantation anymore but he farmed around Raleigh as long as he lived. He made corn, peas, potatoes and other things to feed us with. I used to hear 'em talk about de Ku Klux. We wus mighty afraid of dem.

"I used to hear my father say he had a very good master. My min' is not good but I remember we used water from a spring and lived in a little log house out from my master's 'great house'. I remember sein' de slaves but[Pg 206] I do not remember how many dere wus. I never saw a slave whupped. My mother's son wus sold, that wus my brother Washington wus sold away from her before de surrender. Mother cried a lot about it. I remember sein' her cry about my brother bein' sold.

"I remember sein' de Yankees. Dey told us dey were the Blue Jackets dat set us free. I wus afraid o' dem. I am old enough to have been dead long ago. Guess it is the mercy of the Lord dats lets me live.

"All I know about Abraham Lincoln is what I been told. Dey say, I think dey said he set de slaves free. I don't know much good or bad about Mr. Roosevelt. I can't read and write. Dey would not let a nigger have any books. Dey were perticular 'bout dat. When dey tole us 'bout de Bible dey say it say obey your marster. Dis is 'bout all I 'members. Yes, 'bout all I 'members."

N.C. District: No. 2 Worker: T. Pat Matthews No. Words: 638 Subject: CHARITY RIDDICK Story teller: Charity Riddick Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt [TR: Date stamp: JUN 2 (unclear)]

Slave Owners

James Madison Pace-1521 and Annie Pace

Sources

• "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJQ-K6RX : 9 March 2021), Weldon Riddick and Charity Jones, 09 Dec 1879; citing Wake, North Carolina, United States, p. , North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm 2,312,845.

• "United States Census, 1880", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCXB-QSC : Thu Aug 03 01:59:58 UTC 2023), Entry for Weldon Reddeck and Charity Reddeck, 1880.

• "United States Census, 1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML3Q-T5L : Tue Jul 18 20:39:54 UTC 2023), Entry for Weldon Reddick and Charity Reddick, 1910.

• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZV4-NP1 : Sat Aug 12 02:33:29 UTC 2023), Entry for Will Reddeck and Charity Reddeck, 1920.

• "North Carolina Deaths, 1906-1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3Z8-VHP : 20 February 2021), Charity Redie in entry for Weldon Redie, 19 Oct 1921; citing Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, reference fn 650 cn 520, State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 1,892,799

• "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH4S-QQQ : Fri Aug 04 14:57:55 UTC 2023), Entry for Herman Powell and Gruletta Powell, 1930.

• "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WTK-YQN : 3 June 2020), Charity Redic, 1944.

• North Carolina Slave Narratives, Volume XI Part II Library of Congress

• https://northcarolinaslavenarratives.wordpress.com/north-carolina-slave-narratives-2/riddick-charity/

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLK-W41F : 12 December 2022), Charity Jones Redic, ; Burial, Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, United States of America, Mount Hope Cemetery; citing record ID 95453334, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K4K-QZGX : 11 February 2023), Charity Jones in entry for Levi Weldon Redic, .

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/about/G6WQ-NF7