During the early 1800s for every black who abandoned the south, ten thousand remained there and withstood racism. Among these were former slaves Dina and Henry Stanley, and Liza and Cass Bell. The origin of the “Babe” and Orilla Stanley clan began in 1878, when Henry Adam Stanley, called “Babe” because he was the only boy in the family, was born to Henry and Dina Stanley of Shallotte, and when Orilla Bell was born to Cass and Liza Bell of Winnabow on November 19, 1884.

Aristotle mentions the family in his Politics thus: 

“It is characteristic of man that he alone has any sense of good and evil, or just and unjust, and the like, and the association of living things who have this sense makes a family.”

Grandpa Babe was taking cognizance of this quote when at the age of twenty-five on March 31, 1904, he sought the justice of peace of Winnabow and went to St. Mary's Baptist Church of Town Creek and was joined in holy matrimony with Grandma “Rilla”, who was then nineteen years old. We can be sure that these were hard times, not just because they were a young couple just starting out, but because they were black and poor. Needless to say, survival was very difficult during that time, but Babe was a generous, loving, and hard working man. Orilla was a sweet and loving lady, who stood by him during those trying times.

After God made man in His own image and likeness, 

“God blessed them and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it.’” 

– Genesis 1:28

Indeed, Grandpa Babe and Grandma Rilla did just that, parenting eleven children–six boys and five girls as follows:

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HENRY CASTON STANLEY, Sr., was born February 28, 1905. Although his formal education was limited, his intellectuality, analytical thinking, and God-given talent for conveying his thoughts led many to inquire about which university he had attended. He was quite congenial, jovial, and a renowned Biblical scholar who was noted for his exemplary manner of teaching inspirational, interesting, and explicit Sunday School lessons at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church for 40 years. Everyone benefited from his Biblical knowledge! We shall always reverently acknowledge him for his Biblical eloquence. Uncle Caston married Flossie Simmons December 29, 1929, and they were the proud parents of twelve children.

The second child, another son, MANCY CLARENCE STANLEY, Sr., was born January 31, 1907. He glorified in fervent Biblical discussions and was often referred to as “Preacher” by several of his co-workers who deliberated Biblical teaching with him. For 55 years, he served as a devout deacon in Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. He was an avid, learned Bible reader. He took the hand of Margaret Elizabeth Galloway in wedding vows on January 26, 1930, and they reared eight children.

On the day after Christmas, December 26, 1908, a third son, LEE HEZEKIAH, was Grandma Rilla’s late Christmas gift. Sagacious, and most dedicated to his family–giving valuable advice to all children; to the church–serving on the deacon board for 38 years, and to the community–being of financial and personal assistance to many individuals. He often said, “People should be sincere when praying to God, and always endeavor to use good common sense.” He exchanged marriage vows with Cloxy Grissett on December 29, 1929, and they were blessed with seven children. 

The first girl to the family, CLAUDIE, was born November 3, 1910, and before and since Grandma Rilla's passing, she took on the title of a second mother for her sisters and brothers, as well as a grandmother for the nieces and nephews. We could always depend on Aunt Claudie during our sorrows and our happiness. She was always there to lend a hand and to console us–enduring and smiling all the way. She married Manning Austin Fullwood on January 26, 1930, and they had seven children.

A second daughter, PEARLIE was born on May 8, 1913, and she was often teasingly called “Aunt Coote” by her sisters and brothers because she always did everything in a hurry like her Aunt Phyllis–Grandpa Babe’s sister “Coote.” She commented, “Mama taught me how to keep a house clean, how to sew and wash, and how to do a good job of it. But most of all, I got my start in life by her taking me to church. I gained a lot by going to church. All of this helped me to raise my own family.” During the Yuletide season, December 26, 1937, she shared wedding vows with Henry James Bryant, and they reared five children. 

Following the pattern of which her sons were born, Grandma Rilla, birthed her third daughter, RUDELL, March 27, 1916. Her goal in life was to become a teacher. Humbly easy-going, she quietly stated, “Mama saw to it that we did what she told us to do without delay; we had to do it right then.” Aunt Rudell married Pressie Gause, and they had three children.

A fourth son, JOSEPH EARL was born September 23, 1919. He was always interested in school. He finished the seventh and eighth grades together. He wanted to continue his education, but there were no other schools to attend. An active church member, he served as superintendent of Pleasant Hill’s Sunday School for a decade. Having fought in World War II, he contended, “Mama taught me what to look out for when I left home. I knew what to expect when I was away.” Wedding bells tolled for him and Alma Nora Frink on August 3, 1947. They had four children.

LEWIS ADAM, a fifth son, was born January 30, 1922. He worked diligently in several civic, local, and church affiliations, such as holding the position of financial secretary and president of the Baptist Training Union of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. He laughed and declared, “As a child, I'll always remember Mama's pinch that caught up your loose flesh but quickly straightened you out as she let go; yes, it was that pinch.” Uncle Lewis and Maebelle Bryant were united in holy wedlock on October 15, 1949, and they were blessed with four sons. 

Born June 26th, 1924, and the youngest boy of his other five brothers, BARNEY TOLER remarked, “Mama taught me to be my own man, to be independent, to be somebody, to do things for myself, to build me a house.” He liked to work in the church, having taught the Intermediate Sunday School class for more than 30 years, and having served as choir director of the senior choir for 36 years. He exchanged wedding vows with Rhodia Fullwood on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1955, and they had two daughters. The family cemetery is named after his deceased daughter, Angela Faye. 

RANNY MAZELL, a fourth daughter was born July 17, 1926. She also laughed while relating Grandma Rilla's “noteworthy pinch.” She said, “Mama's pinch would run through your body like an electrical current, and you stopped immediately what you were doing that was wrong.” The patching that Grandma Rilla made mandatory for each of her five daughters, Aunt Mazell did not really fancy because Grandma made them take out the stitches until they were done properly. Little did she know as a child that this, along with numerous other things learned from Grandma Rilla would be highly cherished by all of her children. Aunt Mazell married Alton Lee Hill March 20, 1965 and to this union were given two daughters. 

ANNIE MAE, who was born January 23, 1929, is the youngest child of the “Babe” and Orilla Stanley clan of eleven children. She acclaimed, “God picked up where Mama left off with her teaching and has made my life a success; I certainly thank Mama.” She married Samuel Ragland August 16, 1961, and she resided in Washington D.C. with her two children.

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Yes, Grandpa Babe, and Grandma Rilla were poor farmers who worked hard on their little farm with their children, growing peanuts, tobacco, sweet potatoes and corn in order to provide for the family. Grandpa also did a lot of ditching, ran off tar, chipped boxes, gathered fat lightwood, and butchered his own hogs. Sometimes he did some of the above jobs for other folks. In his elderly years, he operated a little convenience store in his front yard. Although Grandma Rilla helped Grandpa Babe in the fields, it fell her responsibility to teach her children charity while they still were youngsters in the home. Subsequently, she and Grandpa certainly did endeavor according to Proverbs 22:6 to: 

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” 

Grandpa Babe died April 24, 1949, and Grandma Rilla died July 15, 1965. 

In my informal interviews with my uncles and aunts, they sounded somewhat like a broken record when asked to comment on the question, “What in your childhood training had a lasting impression upon your life?” These quotes give us summation of the intrinsic merit of their early teaching and I quote: 

“Although we did not have much upon which to make a livelihood, Papa and Mama taught us not to be afraid of hard work. We had to work hard! We worked in the fields and in the house.”

“We were taught to be truthful, respectful of others, to be honest, and not to take or bother anything that didn't belong to us."

“Going to church became an attraction of our lives, and it greatly reinforced what Mama had taught us.”

“Mama always said that we should be proud of our heritage.”

“Papa stressed the importance of the family working together.”

Papa challenged Lewis, “I want you and the two younger boys to work together like my three older boys have done, and work together in brotherly love as the Babe and Orilla Stanley Clan has done down through the years.”

Family Historian

Kathell Stanley Williams