~) ‚ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~	Misaisaippi. B~d•ra1 Writeri	~
f‘,~ ~ J *J ~ z ~

	Slave Autobiogra~~hi~s





~
~ çt~cte_		 Clara C. Young, ex~-s1ave, Monroe County; is approximate
~
~	ly 95 years old, about five feet two inches tall, and weighs 105
~	pounds.	~he is a treu, dark skinned Negro, with the typical

broad nose and the large mouth of the southern Negro. ~er physi—• cal condition is especially good for a wo~aan of her age. She is

	very talkative at times, but her memory appears to c~»ne and go, I 80 that she has to be prompted at intervals in her story~te11ing


~:	by her daughter or granddaughter, with whom she lives. Fami1iar~
~		~	ly known as “hunt Classie,“ she is very proud of her age and more
~			especially of her long line of~ descendants.
~			         “Law, Miss, I doan know when i was born, but I do know .
~			dat I‘se sebenteen years old when I was tust sol‘. Dey put me an‘
.			my brudder up on de auction block at de same tizue. He brung 4~1400
			but I dis‘members zeotly what dey paid ter me. Wa‘nt dat much,
			tho‘ ‚ fer big strong x~iens brung mo‘ dau~ixnrs~ens an‘ gals.~
	~		         Long pauses accentuated the quavery voice of the old
			Negro, whOse head resembled a nappy patch of cotton, and who w~s
			so enthusiastic over remi~n~soing about the days when she was young
~ .		~	and carefree.
			        “I was born in Huntsville ‚ Alabamy ‚ ‘ my mammy ‘
			pappy wasname Silby an‘ Sharper Conley. Dey tuk de las‘ name
~		‚	£~rum de old lflar8ter dat owned ‘em. I lived dar wid ‘em ‘til de
~ .			ohullun drew dey part8 an‘ us was ‘vided out. While I was wid