LS - West, Cornelia Theodosia (nee Hairston)

Born February 29th, 1896, Cornelia Theodosia West (née Hairston) was born in Mecklenburg County, NC to mother Esther Adelaide Pharr and Reverend William Hairston, a pastor of Murkland Presbyterian and Ben Salem Presbyterian churches. She had at least 3 brothers that survived until adulthood. Not many records exist of her early life, but it is likely that she lived with her family in Biddleville, NC until her marriage in 1918. Biddleville is a historically Black neighborhood of northwest Charlotte and is home to the Johnson C. Smith University, formerly known as the Henry J. Biddle Institute. By the early 20th century, Biddleville was described to be a culturally rich neighborhood with an “intellectual atmosphere”, with many residents being college students, professors, alumni, public school teachers, and principals.

Growing up in Biddleville as the daughter of a reverend, Cornelia would have likely had a very religious upbringing and would have attended Ben Salem or Murkland Presbyterian. It is noted in a 1940 census that her highest level of education was 4th grade, likely attending one of the local schoolhouses for Black children in the area. By 1912 Cornelia was working as a schoolteacher. It is unknown if she initially started working in Biddleville or another area, but she eventually became a school teacher within the Cleveland County school system for many years until her death in 1955.

On Christmas of 1918, Cornelia married Reverend Lionel Beresford West. Reverend West was born in Barbados in 1885 and worked as a printer before immigrating. After traveling to Jamaica and living there for a while, he took the S.S. Brookline in June of 1910 from Port Antonia to Baltimore, Maryland. By 1917 he was living in Charlotte and working as a pastor of Biddleville Presbyterian Church. Sometime between 1937 and 1941, Rev. West became a pastor of Brooklyn Presbyterian church. Rev. West and Cornelia married at her parents’ home in Biddleville in 1918 and remained married until Cornelia’s death in 1955. They had a daughter named Esther Gertrude West in 1922 and a son named William Lionel West in 1924. Census and directory records suggest that the West family resided at 316 Carmel Street for the majority of their marriage, with earliest records of the address dating to 1927 and the latest record dating to 1955. Some census records suggest that this may have also been the home of Cornelia’s parents at some point, and her mother Esther lived with them as she aged.

On January 16th, 1955 Cornelia Hairston West passed away at Good Samaritan Hospital after a long bout of illness. Her official cause of death was listed as nephritis. She was survived by her husband and both children and was buried at Cedar Grove cemetery after her funeral service at Biddleville Presbyterian.