Biographical Note

Married on the front porch of Bernice Wilcox’s home in the Ludowici, Georgia turpentine quarters in 1940 at the respective ages of nineteen and fourteen, J.F. and Bernice Wilcox were each also born on turpentine camps. J.F. was born on a camp in Tattnall County, Georgia on January 4, 1921, while Bernice entered the world on November 17, 1925 on the Jasper County, South Carolina turpentine camp where her father was employed. Though he spent his early years in the dusty confines of the camp, J.F. moved to Ludowici as a six-year-old and would never live on a camp again. He entered the woods as a turpentiner alongside his father when he was 10 years old, and he would remain a turpentine hand until he turned 17 and became a truck driver. He would eventually return to turpentine, but only for a brief period of time before leaving the industry once and for all.

Bernice moved to Ludowici before she was old enough to recall having lived elsewhere. Her father moved the family to the Ludowici turpentine quarters in 1927, and though only two years old at the time, Bernice was the oldest of all seven of her siblings. When she became old enough, she spent her time watching after her brothers and sisters, cooking, and cleaning while her mother worked in the woods weeding boxes. She only left the turpentine quarters when J.F. took her hand in marriage in 1940.

Today, J.F. and Bernice continue to live in Ludowici and have recently celebrated their 64th year of marriage.

Found in 1 Collection or Record: