josie v. evans treadwell nettles
1922-2007
Life Story
Early Life and Family
Josie (Josey) V. Evans was born on January 16, 1922, in the Lawrence community of Newton County, Mississippi. She was the eldest daughter of Albert Evans and Rosie B. Mitchell Evans, members of one of the area’s well-established farming families.
Raised in Beat 4 of Newton County, Josie spent her childhood on the family farm alongside her brothers and sisters, including Earnest, Maggie Lee, Bernice, Amos, Cora Mae, and James. Like many children growing up in rural Mississippi during the 1920s and 1930s, she balanced school with the responsibilities of farm life. Census records show that she attended school and was raised in a close-knit household where faith, family, and hard work shaped daily life.
The Great Migration
As a young woman, Josie joined the thousands of African Americans who left Mississippi during the Great Migration, seeking broader opportunities in the industrial cities of the North.
She settled in the Detroit metropolitan area, becoming part of the growing community of Southern migrants who helped reshape the city during and after World War II.
Marriage and Tragedy
On December 8, 1945, twenty-three-year-old Josie married Mack Treadwell, Jr. in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.
Their marriage was tragically brief.
Shortly afterward, Mack Treadwell was found dead along Eight Mile Road in Oak Park, Michigan. Contemporary newspaper accounts reported that his wallet had been emptied and that investigators believed he had been robbed before being thrown from a moving vehicle.
Widowed at a young age, Josie faced an unimaginable loss during what should have been the beginning of married life.
By 1950, she was living in Royal Oak, Michigan, where the federal census recorded her as a twenty-eight-year-old widow residing in the household of her sister Bernice Williams and brother-in-law James Williams. Surrounded by family, she began rebuilding her life following her husband’s untimely death.
Later Life
At some point after 1950, Josie remarried and became Josie Nettles.
Social Security records preserve the progression of her legal names throughout her life, documenting her as Josie V. Evans, later Josie Treadwell, and eventually Josie Nettles. These records reflect the changing chapters of a life marked by both loss and renewal.
Although Michigan became her permanent home, Josie maintained close ties to Mississippi.
In 1978, she was named, along with her siblings Earnest Evans, Maggie Lee Sankey, Amos Evans, Bernice Williams, James Evans, and Cora Mae Arrington, as an heir-at-law in legal proceedings involving the estate of Randle Mitchell. The published summons illustrates that, despite decades away from Mississippi, Josie remained connected to her family’s land and inheritance in Newton County.
Later records place her in both Detroit and Redford, Michigan, where she spent the remainder of her life.
Death and Legacy
Josie V. Evans Treadwell Nettles passed away on January 8, 2007, just days before her eighty-fifth birthday.
Her life reflected the experiences of many African American women of her generation—leaving rural Mississippi during the Great Migration, enduring personal tragedy with resilience, and maintaining lifelong ties to the family and community from which they came.
Though much of her adult life was spent in Michigan, her story remained deeply connected to the Lawrence community where she was born. Through family, memory, and shared history, Josie remained part of the enduring legacy of the Evans family of Newton County.
Resting Place
Unknown
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1930 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, Beat 4, population schedule, Albert Evans household; National Archives microfilm publication T626.
- 1940 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, population schedule, Albert Evans household; National Archives microfilm publication T627.
- Michigan Marriage Records, Josie V. Evans and Mack Treadwell, Jr., December 8, 1945, Wayne County, Michigan.
- Contemporary newspaper accounts reporting the death of Mack Treadwell, Jr., Oak Park, Michigan, 1940s.
- 1950 U.S. Census, Royal Oak, Oakland County, Michigan, population schedule, James Williams household; National Archives microfilm publication T628.
- Social Security Administration records documenting the name changes of Josie V. Evans, Josie Treadwell, and Josie Nettles.
- The Newton Record (Newton, Miss.), April 1978, legal notice identifying the heirs-at-law of Randle Mitchell, including Josie V. Treadwell and her siblings.
- Social Security Death Index, Josie Nettles, died January 8, 2007.
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