By Professor William B. Gould IV

WBG's initials in the plaster of the Bellamy Mansion. William B. Gould was a plasterer and mason and worked on such projects as the Bellamy Mansion on Market Street in downtown Wilmington, N.C. This spectacular example of antebellum architecture was built, in large part, by slaves and black artisans between 1859 and 1861. This photo shows William B. Gould's initials, in his handwriting, inscribed in the plaster of the Bellamy Mansion. William B. Gould continued his trade as a plasterer in Dedham, Mass. where he settled at the end of the War of the Rebellion. (Courtesy of Bellamy Mansion Museum, 1998)