May 12, 1913 is a red-letter date in Winston-Salem’s history because it is the official date that Winston and Salem were consolidated. After years of meetings, debates, arguments, and planning, the towns decided that they could accomplish more together than separately, so they embarked on the adventure of joining their governments, finances, and heritages to create a new city, Winston-Salem.
For one Winston-Salem resident, May 12, 1913 was always remembered as a special date, because that was his birthday. In fact, just one hour after the first meeting of the board of aldermen that joined Winston and Salem, Roy Milburn Hinshaw was born. And for that timely arrival, he can claim the title of the first baby born in the new city of Winston-Salem.
Roy Milburn Hinshaw was born to Guy F. Hinshaw and Aileen Milburn Hinshaw. They lived on Pond Street and his father was a city engineer and superintendent of Water Works. They later moved to West Sixth Street and his father worked for the civil engineering firm of Hinshaw and Ziglar. Roy had three brothers and two sisters.
Roy graduated from R. J. Reynolds High School in 1929. It was written about him in his senior yearbook, “By his unselfishness and winning personality Roy has gained for himself a place in the hearts of many. He is one of the many talented musicians of our class.” His extra-curricular activities focused on band and orchestra participation.
He attended the University of North Carolina where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Roy taught mathematics for several years in North Carolina high schools. He was employed in the Forsyth County Tax Department, and then became an account analyst for AT&T. He retired from AT&T in 1974.
Roy was a member of Centenary Methodist Church where he was a founding member of “The Seventy,” a church group that visited prospective members.
Roy was active in the Boy Scouts as an adult volunteer, starting in 1935. He received many awards for his volunteer work with the Boy Scouts, including the Silver Beaver and Order of the Arrow awards, and the Wood badge.
Roy never married, but his sister, Helen Davis, said that he was ” a wonderful uncle and great-uncle to his [23] nieces and nephews.”
When he was asked about how it felt to the the first child born in Winston-Salem, Roy commented that “I don’t take it too seriously because I didn’t have a lot to do with it.”
Roy passed away in 1991 and is buried in Salem Cemetery.
Photographs courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
