(Native of Wilson/Edgecombe County)
And The Thomas J. Wiggins and Nannie Forbes Story
“I have never been arrested, never been sued, never had a lawsuit except those against my inheritance and I won those.” (Tom Wiggins at 90 years old in an interview with Wilson Daily Times)
Information about Keron Wilkins Pender, second wife of Jack Pender, has been difficult to locate. Of all the pictures left behind in the Joseph John ‘Jack’ Pender home, I have not been able to locate any of Keron Pender and not much information. What I have been able to gather is that she was talented, well-educated, accomplished pianist and vocalist. She traveled abroad and brought her stylish outfits and the latest books back to Pender’s Crossroads. She gave ‘talks’ about books she had read but those sessions were almost all in Tarboro, NC. Her husband, J.J. Pender, died in 1882, so Keron lived on the Plantation at Penders Crossroads in the Pender house for fifteen years after her husband’s death. Keron died in 1897. It seems that traces of Keron Wilkins Pender were removed except some of her collection of books. Tom Wiggins’s fond memories of her and his sharing those memories have kept her in the memories of family even until today. Tom recalled the first time he saw Keron Pender when he was very young. She was sitting on the front porch at the Pender House. Her hair was styled and she was beautifully dressed as she sat in a cushioned rocking chair. Tom often walked through the yard of the Pender house and could hear the piano. Keron played the piano and she gave lessons to Bettie Pender who was a year younger than Tom. Tom and Bettie had been playmates and childhood sweethearts since they were five and six years old. He said he saw his mother and sisters who worked on their farm but he rarely saw them dressed up. Tom said that Keron always made him feel welcome and she was kind and generous to him. He was very fond of her. He talked about how she taught him proper manners and the ways of a gentleman. Tom was treated more like a son of Jack and Keron Pender than an employee.
One of the things Tom Wiggins told about Keron Pender was that she had a specially designed commode in the Pender House. The outhouse (privy) was a short distance from the house down a path lined with hedges and flowers. He said that after Keron Pender died in 1897 and he had possession of the house, he went in the house hoping to see the commode. He said he never saw it but was always curious about what it looked like. It does cause me to wonder if personal items and pictures of Keron were taken by her to the Wilkins Plantation prior to her death.
She is buried in the Pender-Wiggins Cemetery at Penders Crossroads. Mostly what I have been able to find about Keron Wilkins Pender is from stories told by Tom Wiggins to his grandchildren or information from some of the Wilkins family’s history.
Jack Pender and second wife, Keron Lucretia Wilkins, were married in 1855. They had a daughter named Lucretia Ann Pender born in 1861 and died in 1887. Lucretia was disabled from birth and never married.
Tom’s acquaintance with the plantation owner’s wife, Keron Wilkins Pender, would be a life changing experience. Keron Pender was an accomplished musician and educated in some of the best institutions of learning. She traveled abroad where she attended seminars, plays and purchased books she brought back to Pender’s Crossroads. Keron made trips to Tarboro and she gave speeches about her travels and shared information about places she had been and the books she had read. She read aloud from some of her books. Most of these readings were given at the Town Commons or other venues in Tarboro, N.C., and were always well attended. She was applauded and well received by the attendees.
Keron had an extensive library and was an avid reader. She was an accomplished pianist and singer and well versed in social protocol. Keron took Tom under her capable wing. He had some schooling prior to coming to the Pender’s. Tom worked in the fields in the daytime where he learned about growing, harvesting and marketing crops and livestock. In the evenings he was being tutored on reading, writing and math. Keron Pender taught him hygiene, how to dress and she taught him manners and the ways of a gentleman.
Tom Wiggins came to the Pender property about sixteen years after the Civil War. The farm work was done by paid day laborers. Tom was working in the fields and learning and supervising, taking his apprenticeship seriously. Tom was being schooled by Keron on record keeping, and he was learning about profit and loss, supply and demand and marketing. Jack and Keron Pender grew even more fond of Tom, were treating him more like their own son, and were turning over more responsibilities to him. Tom worked closely with Jack Pender until the fall of 1882 (the year of Jack Pender’s death) so he only worked closely with his mentor for about a year and a half.
After her husband’s death Keron Pender managed the farming operation with help from Thad, her stepson, and Tom Wiggins. Thaddeus’s health was failing due to injuries suffered in the War and about 1886 it became more debilitating. At that time Tom was given even more responsibilities and was named Overseer.
During this time in about 1884 (a couple of years after Jack Pender’s death) the price of cotton was declining and the demand was also decreasing. However, tobacco was becoming more in demand and the price was increasing. Keron Pender, Tom and Thad discussed the future of the farming operation. They decided to cut the production of cotton by 50% and to grow the more profitable tobacco. The problem was that the Penders had no experience in growing tobacco. A Mr. Petway (possibly Joe or James Petway) taught Tom about growing tobacco. They also continued to grow wheat, corn, oats, barley and rye and livestock. Another change in the operation was to replace the day laborers with sharecroppers, as it would be more profitable.
In appreciation and compensation for the Petways schooling Tom on the process of growing tobacco, they were deeded approximately 50 acres of farmland and a house. This property was on what is now Town Creek Road and extended toward the creek. At some point in the 1920’s or early 1930’s the Petways experienced financial difficulty and borrowed some money on the property from someone other than Tom Wiggins. They defaulted on the repayment and the farmland was foreclosed on so the Petways lost it. Tom was upset that they didn’t come to him for help but the land was gone.
Tom Wiggins was working and growing into manhood and a gentleman. He met Nancy Ann Forbes and one story he told me when I was a teenager, is that he took Nannie home from church on his buggy. This must have been around 1889 because they were married in 1890. He said there was a thunderstorm while they were in route and Nannie always was afraid of a storm and that she “snuggled up real close to him”. He said that this buggy ride was the beginning of their relationship and after that it wasn’t long before they were married. In this conversation he also added that he reckoned she wouldn’t say “no” because he was “about the best looking man and the richest man in the neighborhood”. He appeared to have no lack of self-confidence.
Tom Wiggins and Nancy Ann Forbes were married in 1890. Keron Pender got permission from Nannie Forbes’ family to plan and direct the wedding. Keron had a daughter (Lucretia) who had died in her youth, so her dream of having a big wedding for her own daughter was lost. She was excited to have this opportunity to direct Tom and Nancy’s wedding. Keron was fond of the Forbes family and had respect for them for the value they placed on education. The wedding was a big event and under the direction of Keron Pender it was quite a social event in the neighborhood. The wedding was held at Moore’s Primitive Baptist Church, which was located across the road from where Gardners School Gymnasium now stands. Tom and Nannie were given 100 plus acres and a fine horse and buggy. He said he was also given some gold.
According to some tax records and court proceedings it appears that sometime between 1892 and 1896 at least a portion of the property had been transferred to Tom Wiggins. (There is a recorded Will executed by Nannie Pender leaving the real estate and equipment to Tom Wiggins. This Will was signed in April about 30 days before Nannie Pender’s death in May of 1915). However the land transfer was made, it is an interesting story about how young Tom Wiggins came to work and live with the Penders in 1881, was treated as a son and inherited the property. Some family stories lead one to believe that it all happened because Tom and Bettie Pender were childhood playmates and childhood sweethearts. Bettie died at the age of 12 years in 1882. That is the story I heard as a child. I heard this story from my great grandparents, my grandmother and from my father. The story has been told for over one hundred years and I accept it as truth.
After the wedding Tom and Nancy moved into a small house on the Pender Plantation where they lived out their lives. They added a room soon after moving in and over the years several rooms and porches were added. The original two rooms remained the same and the uneven hearth in the kitchen was still being used on cold mornings long after the house had other heat sources. There was a slop bucket kept on the large uneven brick hearth for the lifetime of Nannie Wiggins. Nothing was wasted. Vegetable and fruit peelings, leftover food, and even the dishwater went into that five gallon slop bucket. The bucket was taken to the hog pen every morning and every evening and emptied into a trough with other food for the hogs.
The property would soon have stables, corn cribs, storage barns, pack houses, wheat storage bins, tobacco barns and smoke houses, a wash house, garage and the big loud dinner bell. The yard and grounds were always well cared for and trees and bushes were trimmed.
Several pecan trees of different varieties grew on the edges of the large yard and produced an ample supply of pecans. There were two walnut trees as well. The path leading from the yard to the road had fruit trees lining both sides. There were several varieties of apple trees and several peach and pear trees. These trees provided fruit during the growing season and the fruit was picked and dried right there on the yard. They used saw horses and boards to build long tables in the yard and the sliced apples and peaches were placed on a gauze type cloth and covered with a second piece of gauze. These slices of apples and peaches dried in the sun under the gauze covering and provided fruit for apple and peach pies and apple/peach jacks for the rest of the year.
The home of Tom and Nannie Wiggins had several bedrooms added and the front and back porches gave the house character. The large front porch with rocking chairs and swing welcomed family, friends and neighbors. There was always a place for family members who needed a temporary place to live.
Tom and Nancy had two daughters, Mattie Lucinda Wiggins, born in 1891 and Gladys Mae Wiggins, born in 1899.
Mattie Wiggins married Richard Greene and they had seven children:
William (my father), Marvin, Wilbur, Minnie, Russell, Alvis and Atlas
Gladys Mae Wiggins married John Lancaster and they had seven children:
Ishmal, J. C., Clifton, Thomas, Lloyd, Gladys and Nancy
Montress Greene
Email: montressg@gmail.com
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