Beulah Stancil Mercer

Born: July 5, 1910 Johnston County, NC

Died: Aug. 21, 1985 Kinston, Lenoir, NC

Buried: Devotional Gardens, Warsaw, NC

Married: Willie Flave Mercer on Jan. 8, 1930

Flave and Beulah Stancil Mercer.
Courtesy Stancil Family Reunion Archive

Beulah, the oldest daughter of Alvin Stancil, was born July 5, 1910. She was a pretty girl with black curly hair and brown eyes.

Responsibilities and School

Beulah was responsible for dressing the children for Sunday School at Center Ridge. Beulah loved her younger siblings and enjoyed helping them get ready for school, too. They all attended Glendale School.

Snuff

Beulah learned to dip snuff at an early age and enjoyed it throughout her life. Among the popular brands were Two Roses, Salty Girl, and Buttercup. Snuff usually cost five cents a box. It could also be purchased in a large tube or bladder. This was more economical. Snuff was often stored in empty tobacco cans. Those that rolled their own tobacco always had empty cans around.

Beulah Stancil Mercer with first cousin Rachel Stancil Renfrow. — Beulah Stancil Mercer with first cousin Rachel Stancil Renfrow at a Stancil Family Reunion.
Renn Stancil Hinton/Courtesy Stancil Family Reunion Archive

Friendship with Rachel

Beulah and her first cousin Rachel, Uncle George's daughter, were close friends. Rachel, born July 3, 1910, was only two days older than Beulah. Alvin and Uncle George's farms were next to each other.

Talents and Skills

Beulah had a beautiful voice and played the piano. Beulah learned early to work in the tobacco fields, hoe and pick cotton, take care of the vegetable garden. Her step-mother Esther taught her to love flowers.

Beulah took her turn at milking the cow with brother Vernard. Beulah could expertly harness and drive a buggy at a young age.

Beulah was smart in school and was on the debate team. Beulah won a gold medal for Public Speaking at Glendale High School. So did Rachel.

Trip to Seven Springs

Beulah, Uncle George, his children Ralph and Rachel, Edgar Boykins, and Clyde Atkinson went to Seven Springs, a resort southwest of Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Marriage and Family

Beulah, 19, married Flave Mercer, 24, on Jan. 8, 1930, in Johnston County. Uncle George, who was a Justice of the Peace in Johnston County, married them. The witnesses were Thomas Emmette Stancil and James Robert Renfrow. Emmette was George's son and Robert was his son-in-law who was married to Effie Irene.

Flave was a plain-speaking man. Ralph overheard him once say, "I never believed in evolution until I met Will Pittman."

Beulah and Flave moved to Duplin County where they farmed. They had six children:

Fannie Jean, born and died March 22, 1931, in Duplin County
Reuben Earl, born March 22, 1932, in Duplin County and died June 17, 2020, in Beulaville
Columbia Ann, born Feb. 8, 1934, in Duplin County and died March 15, 2012, in Smithfield
Albert Ray, born July 30, 1935, in Duplin County and died Feb. 21, 2013, in Beulaville
Margaret Elizabeth
Wanda Lorraine

Passing

Beulah died on Aug. 21, 1985, in Beulaville, North Carolina. She was buried in the Devotional Gardens in Warsaw. The last Stancil Reunion she attended was in 1984 with Flave.

Flave died Jan. 13, 1993, in Duplin County. He is also buried in Devotional Gardens.

— Renn Stancil Hinton, daughter of George Ralph Stancil

Archival Records Gallery

Click on any document or image to view the full-resolution file from the master archive.

Beulah Stancil Mercer Marriage Certificate 1930 — 1930 Marriage Certificate -- Beulah and Flave North Carolina State Board of Health Download

Beulah Stancil Mercer Death Certificate 1985 — 1985 Death Certificate (Beulah) North Carolina State Board of Health Download

Flave Mercer Death Certificate 1993 — 1993 Death Certificate (Flave) North Carolina State Board of Health Download

Reuben's memories

Written by Reuben Mercer

Mother was one of the best cooks that ever existed.

Beulah was a devoted and loving wife and mother. Flave was a farmer and also raised chickens. Beulah was there to work in the fields when needed. She set out and hoed tobacco, hoed corn, planted and tended her garden. Beulah and Flave were frequent churchgoers. They raised their children in a Christian home.

My parents taught us to always worship and give praise to God for everything.

Once mother went on a diet. She used a popular pill called AIDS, a candy to curb her appetite. Sometime later, news of the AIDS epidemic hit the news. Beulah became quite concerned because she had eaten the AIDS candy. She thought she might get AIDS. It took some time, but they finally convinced Beulah she could not get AIDS from eating candy.

Reuben Earl Mercer

Son of Beulah and Flave Mercer.

Memories of Beulah Stancil Mercer

Written by George Ralph Stancil (Sept. 3, 1985)

My cousin, Beulah Stancil Mercer, died recently. I knew Beulah from her beginning. There was one day’s difference in her age and my sister Rachel’s.

Her father, my Uncle Alvin, lived with his family on a farm that adjoined ours. Our homes were a five-minute walk apart, and we Stancils were (and are) a very close family, which made Beulah like a sister.

Beulah and Rachel were playmates and schoolmates, and they double-dated. It was always a pleasure to be in Beulah’s company because she talked of things to make you happy, to build you up and not tear you down. She was always inspiring. As a child I recall how beautiful she was, with black curly hair. She had a good voice and played the piano, always taking an active part in Sunday School and church work. She was quick with her hands. Smart for work, she could pick the most cotton and tie the most tobacco. She could do any chore on the farm, from milking cows to putting harness on a horse to driving a buggy. She was also smart in school. She entered debates and speaking contests and won a medal in a girls’ competition. We were very proud of Beulah.

My mother’s people, the Mercers of Duplin County, planned a picnic at Seven Springs, south of Goldsboro, and we went there to meet them. Beulah rode with Rachel and me in my Model-T Ford Roadster. Flave was about my age and one of my favorite Mercer cousins. He was interested in Beulah, and their courtship began.

Beulah and Flave married, bought land in Duplin County, and built a home: The best and truest love stories are played out after the wedding, not during the courtship, which is only a trial period. Beulah and Flave farmed, prospered, and reared a fine family. They were assets to their community for over 50 years. They had a very happy and successful marriage.

It is sad that Flave’s health is poor, but the light that those two lit in their community and amongst their families will shine down eternity.

Written by George Ralph Stancil Son of George Ira Stancil. Published by The Smithfield (NC) Herald on Sept. 3, 1985.