"This is a picture of my oldest known ancestor, my great-great grandmother on my mother's side -- Winnie Weaver Cain.

From the census it appears that she was born around 1861 in Orange County NC which later became part of Durham County.

I recently found a cancelled deed dated 1866 due to the Emancipation Proclamation which freed her and several others in the household.

She was enslaved on the Cain Plantation then-owned by Dr. James Cain II (called Ole Doc Cain) who was an army surgeon in the Confederate Army.

She bore three children by him after that date, one of whom being my great-grandmother who I was blessed to know and be raised by until her death in 1973.

Grandma Winnie's parents and lineage prior to 1861 are unclear but my mother said that her father was Native American with a last name Weaver.

My mother also said that she was buried by a white funeral home (Howerton Bryant now closed) but no record could be found -- only that she passed in 1933.

The search continues and any information would be welcomed."

By, Mrs. Denise Hester

Source of Family history narrative and photograph credit: Denise Hester - Historic Fayetteville Street Corridor Planning Group