Elsie M. Wilson, wife of Lawrence E. Wilson, Jr. – patriarch of the oldest African American/Native American family in this part of southeastern New England – passed away peacefully last Saturday evening, December 30, at the Groton Regency Center in Groton. She was a vibrant 101 years of age.
Married to her husband for 59 years prior to his death, Elsie was born in the same cabin her grandparents called “home” as slaves on a cotton plantation at Edisto Island, a sea island, known for its cotton production, 40 miles south of Charleston, SC. Peter’s Point plantation, owned by Jenks Mikell, was one of Charleston’s most prolific plantations at that time.
The daughter of Marie Bailey of Edisto and William Bryant of Charleston, Elsie was raised by her mother’s sister, Georgianna H. Bailey (Georgie) after her mother’s death from hypertension when Elsie was only three years old. Determined to deliver a better life for Elsie from the limitations that abounded on Edisto Island, Georgie took the child to Charleston, convinced that whatever domestic life Georgie might find would afford her greater opportunity for her young niece.
Indeed, Georgie found Julia and Navy Captain Charles Althouse. Charles was a World War One patriot while his wife was an accomplished musician and mentor to several young musicians and actors in New York. The couple had homes in Charleston and on Park Avenue in New York City.
One day, committed to Georgie and “little Elsie,” Mrs. Althouse advised Georgie that one of her musician proteges would be visiting for several weeks as he was a budding composer-pianist working on a project. He would require great concentration, however, so her request to Georgie was to “please keep little Elsie (4 years old) out of his way.”
Despite the woman’s caution, Elsie, in her words, became his special friend. “I showed them! I would sit with him on the piano bench and he showed me little things, like how to play “Happy Birthday!” Elsie’s “special friend” was George Gershwin and his “project” was the opera “Porgy and Bess!”
In becoming part of Mrs. Alhouse’s New York support, Elsie witnessed the migration of Black people from the south in the 1930’s to the opportunities the northern regions could provide. Once in New York and part of those who enjoyed the magic of the Savoy, Cotton Club and the Apollo of Manhattan, Elsie graduated from Textile High School as an accomplished seamstress. Indeed, she made the wedding gown for her daughter, Joyce, and dressed her twin sons – Larry and Ronny – in “original outfits,” whether they liked them or not!
Elsie was part of the audience the afternoon that Ella Fitzgerald won the Apollo Amateur Hour contest and until recent years, rivaled Ella in Elsie’s rendition of “Pennies from Heaven!”
Elsie met her husband Lawrence when the Althouses began renting summer homes in Weekapaug, RI and Stonington and Mystic, CT in the late 1930’s. In marrying Lawrence Wilson, she inherited his rich heritage that stems to ancestral heroes in the Battle of Groton Heights, and a stow-away slave boy who arrived in Mystic on a clipper ship – owned and captained by a devoted Union Baptist. Lawrence’s ancestor eventually wedded a young Pequot woman.
Elsie Marie Bailey Wilson was born on August 17, 2016. Reared on the upper east side of Manhattan, she attended Textile High School, graduating in 1938. Throughout her life, Elsie was an active member of the Union Baptist Church in Mystic, singing in the choir and serving women’s associations and young people’s organizations to ensure her children’s participation.
Mrs. Wilson married Lawrence Wilson on September 28, 1940 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, NY. They were married by the late New York City Congressman, Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Wilson is preceded in death by her daughter, Gloria M. Wilson who died of Lupus in 1966 and her son, Ronald H. Wilson who drowned in 1967 on the Eastern Pequot reservation. She is survived by her daughter Joyce Ann Wilson Wallace of Mystic and her son Lawrence E. Wilson, III of Providence, RI, as well as four grandchildren: Brett Wilson Wallace, Shannon Nicole Wallace, Jillian Gloria Wilson and Lawrence E. Wilson, IV.
The funeral will be held on Epiphany Saturday, January 6, at the Union Baptist Church in Mystic, CT with visitation at the church from 10 to 11:00am immediately followed by a funeral service at 11:00am. There will be a private burial for the family in Elm Grove cemetery on a date to be determined.
Contributions in Elsie Wilson’s name may be made to the Groton Regency Center, 1145 Poquonnock Road, Groton, CT 06340, 860-446-9960.
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