~1and 1937	:19()G48	(Stories from ex-.slaves)	~	49

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PERRY LEWIS, Ex~-s lave




Reference:	Personal in‘berview with Perry Lewis, ex-slave, at his home, 1124 E. Lexington St., Baltimore.



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“I was born on Kent Island,~about 86 years ago. My fatherts


name was Henry and mother‘s Louise. I had one brother Joh~i, who was killed in the Civil War at the Deep Bottc~n, one sister as I can remember. My father was a freeman and n~r mother a slave, o~ned by Thomas ToIson, who owned a small farm on which I was born in a log cabin, with two roams, one up and one do~wn. ~

“As you know the mother was the cxwner of the children that she


brought into the world, Mother being a slave made me a slave. She cooked and worked on the farm, ate whatever was in the farmhou se and di d her simre of work to keep and maintain the Toisons. They being poor, not havix~g a large place or a number of slaves to increase their wealth, tnade them little above the free colored people and with no knowledge, they ccruld not teach me or any One else to read. .

“You know the EastemShore of Marylax~d was in the most productive

slave territory and where farniing was done on a large scales and in that

part of Maryland ~vhere there were many poor people and maz~y of whom were employed as overseers, you naturally heard of patrollers and we had them

and ~ ~f them. I have hsa.~‘d that patrol le rs were on Kezxt Island and the colored people would go out in the country on the roads~ create a dis~

~ turbanŒe. . ±0 ~atti‘sot • the tl‘ ‚ . attention. They. won]4 :tie ropes~ a~id grape vines acres s the zoads ‚ so ~vrhen the patroll ers would oœiie to the
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