^ SLAVE NARRATIVES A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT 1936-1938 ASSEMBLED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Illustrated with Photographs WASHINGTON 1941 VOLUME X MISSOURI NARRATIVES Prepared by the Federal Writers1 Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Missouri INFORMANTS Abbot, James Monroe 1 Abernathy, Betty 6 Allen, Hannah 8,14 Allen, Parson 18 Anderson, Charles Gabriel 20 Baker, Jane Bell, I.:ary A. Black, William Bollinger, George Bridges, Annie Brown, Betty Brown, Steve Bruner, Richard Bryant, Robert Bufford, Alex Casey, Harriet Casey, Joe Chambers, Lula Cope, Emmaline Corn, Peter Craddock, Ed Dant, Henry Davis, Lucy Divine, I/.ary Douthit, Mrs. Charles Estell, John Eulenberg, Smoky Evans, Ann Ulrich Goings, James 120 Goings, Rachal 121 Graves, Sarah Frances Shaw (Aunt Sally) 126,135 Green, Emily Canister 139 Griffin, Lou 143 Hamilton, Louis 145 Hancock, Fil 147 Harper, Dave 162 Harrell, Clara McNeely 169 Head 170 Higgerson, Joe 173 Hill, Delia 179 Hill, Louis Holsell, Rhody Isabelle Johnson, Henry 24 Jones, Hannah 25 32 KniKht, Emma 36,40 44 Lee, Harriet 52 Lee, Mattie 56 Lee, '^es 58 61 f.icGee, Perry 70 McGuire, John Madison, Eliza 73 Martin, Richard and 76 Drueilia 79 Matthews, Hattie 84 Keeks, Letha Taylor 85 Miller, Y/ylie 96 Mundy, Lewis Murphy, Malinda 98 100 Nickens, Margaret 102 107 Overton, Eliza 108 Patterson, Delicia Ann 109 V/iley (Lucinda) 113 Pethy, Marilda Rhodes, Susan Davis Richardson, Charlie Ross, Frederick Sewell, Alice Sheppard, Perry Sides, Frank Sides, Ivlollie Renfro Simpson, Jane Smith, Clay Smith, Gus Stokes, Ann Taylor, Edward 184,186 191,200 203 205 214 218 222 224 227 230 238 241 243,246 249 252 256 258 261 263 266 269 277 283 290 298 301 308 309 310 311 318 321 333 338 Taylor, Tishey 342 Wilson, James 371 Thomas, Louis 348 Wood, Mintie Gilbert 373 Thompson, Jaine (Jane?) 353 Wright, Ellaine 378 Waggoner, Sarah 355 Walker, Minksie (fclinksy) 365 Younger, Sim 379 ILLUSTRATIONS Facing page Sarah Frances Shaw Graves 126 Richard and Drue ilia Ivlartin 243 240184 Federal Writers* Project, District #5, Sikeston, Missouri. -i ~'0T1 240~*~Folklore. - * / Interview with James y Monroe Abbot, ex~slavJ^ Cape Girardeau. I's born on December 25, 1854* My muthuh wuz Allie Ann Lane, Aftuh mancipation I tuk my daddies name Abbot—he wuz Anthony Abbot, an1 belong- ed to Ole* Joe Abbot, a neighbor. Our Mastuh wuz Joe Lane an1 our Missus wuz Jane Knox Lane* Bey had a girl, Barbara Ellenf anf two boys, Tom en* Ed. Latuh years dey had more boys but I nevuh knowd dem. De white folks house wuz big, wid porches, an flowers all aroun*, an sweet locust trees in de do*! yard. Dis wuz up in Perry Countyf'"*t few miles fum Seventy Six Landing. When Ole Mastuh died, dat wuz de fathuh ob young Mastuh Joe—he war sick a long time. Dar he lay fum openin* o* spring, fbout de time flies, cum, ftil wheat-sowin1 time in de fall. An* its de Godfs trufe, all dat time he made me stanf side of his bed—keepin* de flies offen him, I wuz jes seben year ole but dere I had tuh stan, day en night, night en day. Co'se I'd sleep sumtimes wen he wuz sleepin'. Sumtiraes when Ifd doze, my bresh ud fall on hefs face, den he'd take he's stick an1 whack me a few across de haid an1 hefd say, "Now I dare you to cry." I cried, but he did- den see me do it* /*"" But at lasf he died. Jane came in an1 said, "He's daid* You can go j out to play now James." She ustah come in to Ole Mastuh an say, "Why donf \ you let him go out tuh play an1 let someone else stan' here?" But Ole Mastuh sayj, "Not I want Jam$s#" So now I runs outside—I meets ma sister ah I says "By God, he's daid*"fc I didden know I wus eussin', she say"! goona tell ISfatMK on you^* t>tt% I*:s fb gist to *>e out, I rans "till I inset / (T f-4 f ;-&:-''}'¦:{"¦¦'¦'.'¦?''¦¦&* M&iM^MiiMSx -2. m 2 Uncle Rube an* I says, "By God, he*s daid," den I runs an meets ma Muthuji, an' I tells her "By God, he*s daid." She jes kinda turned her back tuh me an* I cud see her shakin. She war laffinl Aftuh de buryin* was over, Young Joe andf Jane stood dar on de porch an* dey call de darkies up one at a time. Fust day calls ma Grawpa an young Joe says, "Yo ole Mastuh*s daid. Now I*s you1 Mastuh, anf Miss Jane here is your Missus. Do you understand dat?" Grampa say "Yessir" an pass on. Nex* he call Lucy, den Aunt Hanna. To each one he says de same, "I*s yore Mastuh and Miss1 Jane here is yore New Missus*—sum ob* em says "Yes- sir", sum ob* em jes kinda bows dey haid an1 pass on* Wen he flail.mah Muthuh up an* say de same tuh her—she look at him a minit den she say. "I knowfd yuh all dese year as Joe an1 her as Jane, an* I aint gonna start now callin* you Mastuh or Missus. 1*11 call you Joe an* Jane like I allus done," an* she walked away* One time *fore dat she puddin near kill young Joe. She wuh hoing corn in de field an he cum ridin*-<~I spect he war jes tryin* to be smaht but he tells her to swallow dat tobbaccy she got in huh mouth. She don* pay him no mind an* he tell her agin# Den she say, "You chewing tobaccy? Whyn*t yuh swaller dat?** Dat make him mad and he take a double rope en whack her cross de sholders. Den she grab huh fingers roun1 his throat t an his face j wuh all black es ray own fore dey pulls her off en him. Den Ole. Mastuh try i I tuh whup her, but he couldn* by hlsself, so he sends fo* three nigger-buy^ ers dat*s close by. When one o* em tells muthuh to put her hanfs togedder so he tie em, she grab him by de c&Ll&r anf de seat o* be*s pants an knQckts his haid agin a post like a battern* ram. Den Ole Mastuh say, "Men yo* bet** ter go on home. I don* want my cullud folks to git hurt." He said it like dat* ' $&*£\St -3- My Muthuh wuz big an' strong* She nevuh worked in de house none but dey warn't nothin on de place dat she eouldn% do# She cud cut down a big tree en chop off a rail length an' use a wedge an' maul an' make rails as good as anybody* Pore Muthuh, she shore did have a hard time. Dey warn't never nuthin for her but work hard all de time she neveh came in fum de feel' 'til dark, den had to feed wid a lantern. George Swan, a neighbor used tuh whup ole Felix with a cat-o-nine tails til we'd hear him holler over at our place* I 'member one time de snow wuz a foot deep an I had tuh gathuh corn. I wuz barefooted an' barehanded. Mah feet hurt so bad an' mah hands got so stiff I couldn' work mah fingers, but ah had tuh keep on breakin' off de corn, Dat night mah feet crack open an' nex' mahnin' when I had tuh make de fires I lef* a track o' blood across de' flo,' Dey shore wuz S mean to us but God Bless you, dey's all daid an' gone an' de Lawd has ^pared me* Wen de war cum, lots o' cullud men went off to fight fo do Government* Young Mastuh Joe nevuh went but whenever de. sojers cum aroun' Mastuh Joe couldn' nevuh be towM* One time a passel a' sojers cum to de place, dey didden go to de big house, but dat night dey spread straw fum de straw pile on de flo ob our ¦cabin—-an* slep dar# We slep in de loft/ Nex' inornin* dey went to de barn an* took de bran' new wagon an1 de b.es* team o' mules an' dey went to de smoke house an1 hep deysefs. Dar wuz one man standin on de wagon cuttin down de hams an' si school, ' ner church anf mighty little merry-makin'• Mosfly, we went barefooted the ^o yeah 'round. f,My muthuh an* some of the othuh women done the wesvin' an* sewin1. I learned q tojspin, I could fill broaches and spin as good as any of 'em; One time f01ef Tom fs|> Johnson, the 'nigger^-buyer* come up frum Little Rock* He was go'in to buy muthuh ;x an1 her family, and t ake us to Arkansas, but 'bout that time they was so much talk 'bout freein* the slaves, he was *fraid to. Cjj "Mostly we had right fair satin1 s. We didn't go into the big house much, jesf v on cleanin1 adays an1 such li^e. "Ole Massa* often hired his cullud folks out to neighbuh farmuh an* he didden* <\J care how they was treated. One time my two brothers was hired out an' in the evenin* — £v' they.came an* tole muthuh they was gain* to run away 'cause they*s treated so mean. j She begged 'em fcot to come there to hide * cause they'd find *em 'shore, an* most J-} likely kill *em right before her eyes. They got away an* *01e Massa' come to the J cabin to search fo* *em* When muthuh tole him she didn't know where they was, he tied a rope * round huh neck, an* tied the other end to the raftuhs* Then he beat ^ • ¦ ' • ¦> .' her to make her tell* | \ f : "Aftuh this we was treated so mean that a neighbor helped us escape* We-all ^ got in a big wagon, *bout ten or twelve of us, an* druv us to the Cape, where theyVs ^ . . .-' , "^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^S^&il^^^^ "^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 111 H~* Cape Girardeau Co. F*ge 2. Folklore^ 7 (Conft Interview with Betty Abernathy Ex-slave*) on the cornuh where Mr. Hecht now lives. Here we lived fof a long time. "Muthuh anf I had no trouble findin* work to do. She hired me out fof twenty-five cents a week an1 I was so proud to be eaanin1 money that I nevuh thought fbout learnin* to re8d or write. 240104 MISSOURI 3ERICKT0TOJ _______ITS STORIES wAONT" HANNAH ALLEN Page 1. 8 OOP GOT A HOED ON HER One of the oldest ex-slaves encountered in Missouri is nAuntw Hannah Allen of Fredaricktown, who blaims. she is 107 years old* According to Madison County records, Aunt Hannah gave her age as 82 when she made application for a marriage license in Prederick- town in 1912. In spite of her extreme age, Aunt Hannah is able to do all of the work around her house and she frequently walks up town and back, a distance of several blocks. Her eyesight is very good and even at her advanced age she does not have to wear glasses.* She claims her grandfather was a white man and she attributes her unusual health to several causes. She was well treated as a slave during her younger years when she was under the ownership of a family named Bollinger. She is childless and has been content to live on the . same spot during the last 71 years. Being a Negro, she naturally does not take life seriously but as she expresses it *jesf lives it like it comes*. In reviewing the incidents which, she was able to recall on the occasion of the writer1s recent visit to her home, she outlined her story as follows: 3*N ; ^L^ *^1^ Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 2. 15 Dey thought nothing of- it. Old man Bollinger sent some colored folks up to his farm in Sabula and Billy cried to go long with dem. He let Billy go. I stayed with old Aunt Betsy on Castor River. ^Before de Civil War broke out we were at Sabula and~a Mr. Schafer and Mr. Bollinger started to take de slaves to Texas. Dey got as far as Rockport, near Hot Springs. A man by de name of John.Higdon from Color- ado married Olive Bollinger and he was injured in de arm in de Battle of Predericktown. Den John Higdon went to Rockport after he was shot and had taken de oath of allegiance. Higdon1 s wife died in Rockport and she had a child two years old., I took de baby to care for* De wife was to be buried back home so dey took de body in. a wagon with just a sheet over it towards Little Rock. I was sitting in de wagon holding de two-year old baby. On de way rbout ten miles out we were captured by Federal soldiers and took back to Rockport. De body was."put in a room for two weeks and den placed in a vault above de ground and stayed dar for bout eight years before Mr. Higdon took it back home to bury. "Higdon took me and his child to 'bout eight miles from Hot Springs to a hotel he had bought. Once he come up to de hotel with two government horses and put me and de child on a horse* and we were on de way to Little Rook. We rode dat way for fbout two weeks and was captured again near Benton. Higdon had on a Union cape. De soldiers asked us all fbout de ^^^^k^^^M^^^MMM^^Mmmi^^^M^^^i Missouri i£x>Slave Story Page 3. 16 horses, guns, child, etc. De soldiers let him keep his gun 'cause dey said it wouldn't kill a flea. But dey cut de buttons off de coat, and took de spurs off of his heels and said he could not go any further. Dey took me and de baby and made us sit on de ground". \ De soldiers tooir Eigdon to de river. It was late in de day. Dey said dey was going to transfer him back to Missouri and sell de horses, liigdon had papers from Col. Lowe and Cham-' bers. De soldiers were masons and after a while dey all come back just a laughing and shaking hands. "UTe were put on a boat at Little Rock going toward St. Louis. De child took de small pox from a lady on de boat. When we got on de boat dey were firing at the wheels of de boat from across de river. * I was feeding de baby and de chamber-maid come out and said, fI would drown him'. I said, TIf you do dat you will have to drown me too1. Dey. had Higdon locked up on de boat and he did not get to see de baby for two weeks when we got to St. Louis. Just as we got to St. Louis, two white ladies saw de baby who was so sick and dey went out and got some clothes for it. De doctor come on de boat and vaccinated me. De sores on.the baby were as big as half dollars. "Ben after we got to St. Louis we went to Whitworth's in Ironton, Mis- souri. Higdon was on de back porch and a soldier shot at him and took him to headquarters dat night, l^itwort to Sabula, 1^nty away ? ^ den took Higdon back to Iroiiton unt 11 So \ ^"H».w«—"*'' h ^SiSl^^^SS^i^ii^SS^i^^^^ Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 4. ' 17 de. war was over. Higdon married three times. "John, the baby, was raised by his grandmother and step-mother in St. Louis. John married the daughter of a county clerk in Luxenburg, Missouri* And he became county clerk for thirty years in dis county. John died Vbout two years ago this July. i nI fmember how dey would treat one slave. Be master took two boards and tied one to de feet and another to de hands and tied her back with ropes and whipped her with a cat-a-nine tails till she bled and den took salt and pepper and put iji,de gashes. I can 'member when I was in Iron County de sol- diers stole de boss1 horse and de boss had to go to Patton to git it* Once de soldiers made me get up in de smoke house and throw down some ham. Be authorities fgaged de soldiers for stealing from de people. I had to carry some stuff out for Sam Hildebrand to eat. "I've been living here since de Civil War* Dis is de third house that I built om dis spot. What I thii|£ ! bout slavery^ Well we is getting long purty well now and I believe its best to not agitate.* ?31§iRvr f^^i^^^^^&^^m moms Missouri Ex-Slave. Story- Page 1. *V Jg "I s born in Earrison County, in 1859 and was raised in Georgetown, Scott County. Yes, I was born a slave. My boss was John McWiggin, a Scotch-Irishman, who raised hogs, sheep, hemp, and darkies. He had fbout 230 darkies on de place. We lived in log cabins. Dey had slip doors for de windows. Man, what you talkin* bout? We never saw a window glass. Had fbout fourteen cabins and dey was placed so dat de old master could sit on his porch and see every one of dem. My mistress was Alice McWig- gin. "I was kep* ,b,usy shooin1 flies off de table with a pea-fowl brush, watching de chickens,- and gettin* de maple sugar from de root of de trees. We made a pocket at de base of de tree and dipped out de sugar water with a bucket. Had Tbout 40 or 50 trees along de road. Had all kinds of ber- ries. We never got no whipping only a little boxin*. In church we sat on one side and de whites on de other. Be white preacher always rea$ a special text to de darkies, and it was this, /Servants, obey your master./ "John McWiggin was a son of a Federal. His brother, Keenie, was a Confederate. When de Confederate army come Keenie took, de.siivar goblets down to de creek and gave de soldiers water to drink. Den when de other soldiers come Johnie wou^ gpm sa|il^ hosses tc Lexington, and .<|e boss had to pay $500*to get de bosses, bac^ of his males back. I)e btxshwackers %>"¦ r - It SifiHWNH ^^^^^^^'mr^^-T'^ 'W^^^^^^W^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^m Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 2. J»: .JQ. riders were here. But de boss got fround it this way. He had de slaves dig trenches fcross de road and tie grape vines over it. Den have de dark- ies go up on de hill and sing corn songs. Den de nightriders come a-rush- ing and sometimes dey would get four or five whites in these raids. It would kill de men and horses too, when dey fell into de trench. On Satur- day night we had a shindig. We would eat chicken and pound cake and of course whiskey made in Kentucky. De jail was called-de watch-house. "After de war de government instituted religious trainin1 fmong de colored people and gave dem white teachers. I was in Lexington, Ky., when I learned my letters. Just ho?; dese latter-day children learn to read without de letters is a mystery to me. *Ifs one of de preachers of de church here and am a deacon," too. I studied at de University of Louisville, where I was a theological student, and was one of de main orators in de school. "I've married a lot of fem, in Poplar Bluff, Kennett, Farmington, and Fredericktown, and have preached quite a few funerals. Have preached some brush arbor sermons and stood under a arbor when we was married. I baptized 42 in Pennsylvania* ¦*I ain't eligible '-'enough to express 'bout slavery. I ain't sayin' nothing.n Interview witii ^ ;:||$er^ \ « w c —' ^H MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVS STORISS CHARLES GABRIEL ANDERSON Page 1, 20 HALE AND HEARTY AT 119 Charles Gabriel Anderson, 119 years old, lives at 1106 Biddle Street in St, Louis alone. He is 5 feet, 3 inches in height, has mixed gray hair and weighs 145 pounds. He is slightly bent, but does not have to wear glasses, and is able to go anywhere in the city without assistance. , He has a good memory, and cheerful attitude. Seated in the church of God in- Christ, a store front church, next door to his home, where he attends because of the convenient location, he tells the writer the following story: "I was born January 5, 1818 in Huntsville, Alabama de son of Sallie McCrea and George Bryant. My owners name was Miss Margaret Tony. She sold me to Edmond Bryant while I was- quite young. I sometimes go by de name of Bryant. T,I was just big enough to carry water and help a bit with farming while Miss Tony had me, but I jedge I was *bout 14 years old when Mr. Bryant got me, fcause I was old enough to plow and help with de cotton and I done a man's size work in his field. I was his slave when de war Tsroke out. I joined de army in 1864. I used to git a pension of #65 a month, now I only git .#56 a month but last month I di,dnft git no check atall. ) I don't know why. Wish I could find out^ h MISSOURI ST. LOUIS K£-SLAVE STOHIiiS CHAHLSS GABRIEL MDSRSCN Page 2. ' p± Tcause I needs it bad to live on. I used to nurse de white folks children when I was a little boy. I made a better nurse dan most girls, so jest kept on at it till I was old enough to be a field hand. "I had a hard time till de war broke out. Soon as I got a chance, I run off and went to de army. I served two years and six months. I come out in 1866. 'Course I was in de hospital till T66. I donft know how long I was in der wounded. But I do know when I got better, I was such a good nurse de doctors kept me in de government hospital to help nurse dem other soldiers and dere sure Tnough was a heap of ,era up dere. Dat was in Madison, Wisconsin. After dey turned me loose from de hospital, I went to work in a bar- ber shop up dere. I worked in it one year to learn de trade. After I learned de barber trade I donft remember how much longer I stayed dere. I left dere and went to Dodgeville, Wisconsin and opened a barber shop of my own and run it about two or three years. Den I waat to Dubuque, Iowa, and stayed about one year and'bartered in a hotel dere. "I come to St. Louis in 1876 and started being a roust-a- bout and firing on boats. I changed from dat after awhile and imaat to driving private carriages and done glass cleaning• MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVE STORIES CP&RL3S 0ABRI3L ANDERSON Page 3/" 22 ffI got what little education I got, tending night school here in St. Louis. I got 'nough to git ordained in de Chamber Street Bap- tist Church for a preacher. Den I come in holiness in Elder Jones, Church of God in Christ on Kermerly Avenue. I pastoredrthe Macedonia Spiritual Church eight years in East St. Louis, 111. I been married twice and am -de father of three children, all dead, and both x^ifes dead. I donft know how long none of 'em been dead. My mother died while I was in de army and my father got drowned before I was born* I only had two sisters and three brothers, and dey is all dead. My brother, Jim Bryant, died in de army. He enlisted one year before I did, but in a different regiment. I has voted many times in my life time, and always voted Republican till dis last election, I decided I better vote de Democrat ticket and I did, and I don't regret it either. "I gits my washing done by de neighbors dat do washing and I eat at de restaurant on de corner. De Ku Klux never bothered me none 1 cause I stayed up north out of dere reach. nI 'member de old slaves used to sing: 'Amazing Grace How Sweet De Sound1; 'I want to be a Soldier, Since de Lord has set me . I Free'; 'Fighting for Liberty*; 'Ifhy Should We Start, and Fear to Die*; 'Death is the Gate to Endless Joy and Yet We Dread to Inter There'*.-.. 'The pain,the groan, the dying strife, rights our approaching souls away'; 'Jesus can make a dying bed, soft as downy pillows are, whilst MISSOURI sr. lquis 3X-SIA"VS STORIES CJ&HLS3 GABRIEL AKDERSCN Page 4. £3 on his breast, I lean ray head and breathe our lives out sweetly there' . "Sister, I just think dis younger generation is gone to- tally. Dey ain't taught right in de home, and de teachers can't do a thing with 'em. If it wasn't for de prayers goin' up to de throne of grace from all us old saints what's got s-ense enough to trust in nothin1 else but Jesus, de whole business would be gone plum to rack# Dey ain't even got sense enough to know dat. De young folks mind is on worldly goods and worldly pleasures and dere ain't no good in none of it, just misery and woe, to all it touches. And still dey don't seem to see, and don't want to see and nobody got any sense, can't make 'em see. God help dis genera- tion is all dat I can say# "I figure I lived dis long 'cause in de first place, I obey God, I never did drink liquor or smoke in rny whole life. I never wore glasses but precious little and dat was when I did what little reading and writing I knowed how to do; cause after ray children went to schoollong enough to read and write for me I just stopped doing dat little bit. Now dey's all dead so I just makes marks, and lets it go at dat. I am a member of The Kennerly Avenue Church of God in Christ." JANE BAKER—SX-SLAYE "Lla muther wuz in a log cabfn east ofi F.aijmington a& when Price's )lders com thru frurn FrederiektQw$,one ob de soldiers climbfd ober de >nce an robbed de hen house ob eggs an he put de e^gs in his boots, Den len he climbrd ober de fence to git back to de road he mashed de eggs k his boots. De soldier tok off his boots an turned dem up-side-down git de broken eggs out an ma muther ran out ta de fence an hallored, Joody, goody.f b "iua muther say dat de worse side ob slavery wuz when de slabes war armed out1. A master or slabe holder wud loan or sub-let slabes ta a an fur so many months at so much money. De master agreed ta supply so ny clothes. De man who rented de slabes wud traat den jus lik animals. "i^a muther wuz sole twice. De furst time she wuz 14 'years ole. She zz takfn 26 miles to de new owner, an hit took all day. She tied all r belongings up in a red bandanna handkerchief an went on horseback, le stream wuz so high dat when dey crossfd hit dey got all wet. Pen s soon as she got to de new owner she wuz ship'd de follin* <34y. ^nc °&> a mutherfs owners wuz so good ta her dat she quz treated as one ob de amily.rl EFEREIICEj - The above information was received from Chas. Baker, who is he brother of Dayse Baker, principal of the colored Douglass School in armingtonj Missouri. Thus these facts are concerned with their mother, rs. Jane Baker, an Ex-^lave, who died at the age of 103. ^\f. in i §M$MkiiMJ^&:MiMM8M 340201 M)619 *>tf Missouri 2x-Slave Stories She Loves Army Man Page 1. jr <<50 She Loves Army Man The subject of this sketch is Mary A. Eell, 85 years old, living in a 4-room frame cottage at 1321 Argus Street, St. Louis County, Missouri• Mary Bell has a very light complexion, light brown eyes, mixed gray hair, very long and straight. She has fine fea- tures. She is quite bent, and shows her years, but is cheer- ful. She is living in the same yard with her daughter who is married and lives next door with her family, Mrs. Virginia V. Miller and six children. Her story follows: "I was born in Missouri, May 1, 1852 and owned by an old maid named Miss Kitty Diggs. I had two sisters and three bro- thers. One of my brothers was killed in de Civil War, and one died here in St* Louis in 1919. His name was Spot. My other brother, four years younger th<£n I, died in October, 1925 in Colorado Springs. "Slavery was a mighty hard life. Kitty Diggs hired me out to a Presbyterian minister when I was seven years old, to Missouri Ex-Slaves She Loves Army Man Page 2. ;/ OCX take care of three children. "I nursed in dat family one year. Den Miss Diggs hired me out to a baker named Henry Tillman to nurse three children. I nursed there two years. Neither family was nice to me. De preacher had a big farm. I was only seven years old so dey put me on a pony at meal time to ride out to de field and call de hands to dinner. After the meals were finished, I helped in de kitchen, gathered the eggs, and kept plenty busy. My father was owned by de Lewis family out in the country, but Miss Diggs owned my mother and all her children. I never at- tended school until I came to St. Louis* when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated I had never been to school. Dat same year I attended school at Benton Barracks and went about six or seven months/ ¥ith de soldierstf there was no Negro schools in St. Louis at dat ti#e. The next school I attended was St. Paul Chapel, 11th and Green Streets. I went dere about six months. De next place I went to school was 18th and Warren. I went there about two years. My next school was 23rd and Morgan, now Delmar Boulevard, in a store building. I went dere between two and three years. I was very apt and learned fast. My father Missouri Ex-Slave Stories She Loves Army Man Page 3. * £0? at de time I was going from school to school, was a nurse in Benton Barracks and my mother taken in washing and ironing* I had to help her in de home with de laundry. nI married at de age of twenty-two and was de mother of seven children, but only have two now living. *fy daughter dat lives next door and in de same yard with me, and a son in the Phillipine Islands. I have eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren. "I so often think of de hard times my parents had in dere slave days, more than I feel my own hard times, because my fa- ther was not allowed to come to see my mother but two nights a week. Dat was Wednesday and Saturday. So often he came home all bloody from beatings his old nigger overseer would give him.. My mother would take those bloody clothes off of him,bathe de sore places and grease them good and wash and iron his clothes, so he could go back clean. "But once he ceme home bloody after a beating he did not deserve and he run away. He scared my mother most to death be- cause he had run away, and she done all in her power to persuade him to go back. He said he would die first, so he hid three Missouri Ex-Slave Stories She Loves Army Man Page 4* . ^O days and three nights, under houses and in the woods, looking for a chance to cross the line but de patrollers were so hot on &is trail he couldn't make it. He could see de riders hunt- ing him, but day didn't see him. After three days and three nights he was so weak and hungry, he came out and gave Mjoself up to a nigger trader dat he knew, and begged de nigger trader to buy him from his owner Mr. Lewis^because Marse Lewis was so mean to him, and de nigger trader knew how valuable he was to his ownerA de nigger trader promised him he would try to make a deal with his owner for him, because de nigger trader wanted him. So when dey brought father back to his owner and asked to buy him, Mr. Lewis said dere wasn't a plantation owner with money enough to pay him for Spot. Dat was my father's name, so of course that put my father back in de hands of Marse Lewis. Lewis owned a large tobacco plantation and my father was de head man on dat plantation. He cured all de tobacco, as it was brought in from the field, made all the twists and plugs of tobacco. His owner's son taught him to read, and dat made his owner so mad, be- cause my father read de emancipation for freedom to de other Missouri Ex-Slave Stories She Loves Army Man Page 5. <2U slaves, and it made dem so happy, dey could not work well, and dey got so* no one could manage dem, when dey found out dey were to be freed in such a short time* "Father told his owner after he found out he wouldn't sell him, dat if he whipped him again, he would run away again, and keep on running away until he made de free state land. So de nigger trader begged my father not to run away from Marse Lewis, because if he did Lewis would be a ruined man, because he did not have another man who could manage de workers as father did. So the owner knew freedom was about to be declared and my father would have de privilege of leaving whether his owner liked it or not. So Lewis knew my father knew it as well as he did, so he sat down and talked with my fafcher about the future and promised my father if he would stay with him and ship his tobacco for him and look after all of his business on his plantation after free- dom was declared, he would give him a nice house and lot for his family right on his plantation. And he had such influence over de other slaves he wanted hiir$ to convince de others dat it would be better to stay with their former owner and work for him for their living dan take a chance on strangers they did not know and who did not know dem. He pleaded so hard with my father, dat Missouri Ex-Slave Stories She Loves Army Man Page 6. R £J0 father told him all right to get rid of him% but Lewis had been so mean to father, dat down in fatherfs heart he felt Lewis did not have a spot of good in him. No place for a black man. ,fSo father stayed just six months after dat promise and taken eleven of de best slaves on de plantation, and went to Kansas City and all of dem joined the U. S. Army. Dey enlisted de very night dey got to Kansas City and de very next morning de Pattie owners were dere on de trail after dem to take dem back home, but de of- ficers said dey were now enlisted U.S. Soldiers and not slaves and could not be touched. "In de county where I was raised de white people W&t to church in de morning and de slaves went in de afternoon. I was converted at the age of fourteen, and married in 1882. My hus- band died May 27, 1896 and I have been a widow every since. I do get a pension nowf I never started buying dis little old 4-room frame dwelling until I was sixty-four years old and paid for it in full in six years and six months. "I am a member of St. Peter1 s A.M.E. Church in North St. Louis. I told you my fatherfs name was Spot, but that was his nickname in slavery. His full name was-Spottwooi Rice*and my Missouri Ex-Slave Stories She Loves Army Man Page 7. o-| sonfs full name is William A. Bell* He is enlisted in de army in de Phillipine Islands. I love army men, my father, brother, husband and son were all army men. I love a man who will fight for his rights, and any person that wants to be something.n (Written by Grace S. White, St. Louis, Missouri.) MISSOURI HANNIBAL EX-SLAVE STORIES WILLIAM BLACK Page 1. I* QQ H5'S qpriT HAVING BIRTHDAYS William Black of 919 South Arch Street, Hannibal, Missouri, is one of the few ex-slaves living in Marion County* He is now about eighty-five years old, and has lived his entire life in Marion, Monroe, and Rails Counties• In chatting about his life and experiences he says: "My mother and father come from Virginia. I don't know how ^ old I is, but I have had one birthday and the rest is aniversities. I think I is about eighty-five? I was born in slavery and when I was eight years old was bonded out to Sam Briggs of Nfew London. Mr* Briggs was a good, master and I didn't have a whole lot to do. My job was to take his children to school and go after dexri of an evening. In the mean time I just piddled around in de fields* " In de evening when de work was done we would sit 'round and play marbles and sing songs. We made our songs up as we went along. Sometimes dere would be a corn ehuckinV and dat is when ^ we had a good time, but we always shucked a lot of dat corn* "I did not go to school any and today I do not even have de sense of writing at all* Unless some one guides my hand I cannot make a mark. I wish I wasnft so old.now so I could go to school and learn how to read and write* MISSOURI HANNIBAL SX-SLATO STORI3S WILLIAM BLACK Page 2. OO "I 'member one day when de master was gone, us darkies thought we would have a party. I guess de master knowed we was going to have one, fcause dat night, when we was all having a good time, my sister said to me, •Bill, over dere is old mas- ter Sam.' He had dressed up to look like us and see what we was up to* Master Sam didn't do anything to us dat time 'cause he had too good a time hisself. "At the- age of thirteen my sister was bonded out to some man who was awful mean, she was a bad girl, too* After we were freed she told me all. about her old master* She said, 'One Christmas my master was drunk and I went to wish him a merry Christmas and get some candy. He hit at me and I ducked and run 'round de house so fast I burnt de grass 'round dat house and I know dere ain't no grass growing dere yetl' "When we was freed our master didn't give us nothing, but some clothes and five dollars. He told us we could stay if we wanted to, but we was so glad to be free dat we all left him. He was a good man though. "Burin' de war we could not leave de master1 s house to go 'to- de neighbors without a pass. If we didn't have a pass de paddyrollers would get us a&d kill us or take us away. l^^f^^^^wPPs^i^pra^pipp MISSOURI HANNIBAL E^SIAITS STORIES WILLIAM BLABK Page 3. > 34 "After de freedom come we could vote, but some of us never done it. To dis day I ainft never voted, De government has been as good to us as dey could. I get ten dollars a month and think I should have more, but I kaow dey is giving us all dey can and some day dey will give us ex-slaves more. "I am glad dat we have 6ur churches and schools. We don*t have no business being with de good white people. Dey is cultured and wa is not, but some day we will be as good and dey will be glad to have us fround*dem more. Just f cause we is black is no sign that we ain't good niggers* ffI donft like de way de younger generation is doinf. As my neighbors say, *the devil is gettin1 dem and it won't be long ffore he will come fctnd get dem all.' When I was young we didn't act like dey do now^a-days. We/didn't get drunk and stay dat way and kill each other. Be good Lord is going to do something to all of dem, mark my word. * •'I Qanrt ^member some of the songs we sung, but when we was fe sang fB|it#r*s Body is Moul&i^ r and I MISSOURI HAMIBAL 3Z-SLAVE STORIES WILLIAM BLACK Page 4. * 35 any kind of work for about five years. He is active in re- ligious affairs and attends church regularly. He is one of the few persons living in Marion County who raises tobacco. His garden plot, five by ten feet, is close to his house. i^SSife* 240(3199 MISSODRI GAEE QIBAHDBAP. EX-SEATS STOSIBS GEORGE BOHJNGER Page 1. 36 HE SAW MANY "BANJOS* George Bollinger is a typical, old-time Negro who lives in Cape Girardeau. In his younger days he was big and powerful and even now at the age of 84 he is above the average in build. He owns his home and his is the last colored family to remain in this neighborhood which is rapidly being built up with modern homes. George has little education, unlike his wife who is much younger and uses fairly good English,, He sits on his porch and thoroughly enjoys talking of the long ago with those who appreci- ate listening to his story. "Benton Hill?* he said. "Sure, its hanted. I seen things and heard things there lots of times. Good gosh amightyt One night we was driving through dere and we heard something dat sound like a woman just a screaming. Old man Ousbery was with me and he wanted to stop and see what it was but I says, 'No you don't. Drive on. You don't know what dat might be.1 Another time we's driving by there, and dey was a great big mule just standing cross de road and he just wouldn't move. I says, fJust drive on and he111 get out of de way.1 But he didn't. When we gets to him, he just parts right in de middle and half stands on one side and r pJ y i i p liili^^ MISSOURI CAPE GIRARDEAU EX-SLAVE STORIES GEORGE BOLLINGER Page 2. &. 3*7 half on de other. We didn't look fround. No, mof— we just made dat hoss go* "I donTt know what makes dem hants round there — lessen its de gold what's buried dere. And you know de spirits always eome back fer gold. Sure deyfs money buried dere. Didn't you all know dat? Lots of folks is dug there, but dey ain't never found it. Why dey is holes 'round dere where men's been digging for dat gold. "Dey was one man had a-what you call it? A 'vinin' rod. That points to where things is hid. But he didn't find it neither. And then out by de Maberry place, close to Gordenville — who-e-e - I's sure enough seen things out dere lots of times. You know where dat clump of peach trees is at de corner of de fence? Dey always seems to come from right there. I worked out there for a long time. We'd get out to work early, sometimes 'twasnft good and day. "One morning I's coming along there, on a hoss I was, and I met a hossman. He looks funny to me and when he asks me something I says, 'Git on. I ain't talking to you!1 But he says, fwait, I wants to talk to you!f As I says, he looks funny to me and I pulls out my pistol. I always carries my gun, and I think if he makes a pass at me I'll git him. But I goes on without looking back. Now just dat one man is all I seen, but when I gets past, dey is lots of talking like dey is six or eight men. But I didnft look back. MISSOURI CAPE GIRARDEAP EX-SLAVE STORIES GEORGE BOLLINGER Page 3. i!: 3Q "One morning Ifd got out there real early, too early to go into de field and I thinks I111 rest awhile under de tree. I had my eyes shut for a while when something bothered me. When I opened up my eyes there was a lot a strange hosses standing fround me in a ring. I jumped up and hollered, fgit out'. Dey turned and ran and dey run right off a steep bank on the other side of de field. "Did you see them down there?" he was asked. "Cose I never, nobody else never neither, dey wasn't dere, datfs why,* he answered. "Lord, when I thinks of de way we used to work. Out in de field before day and work till plumb dark. My boss would say, fGeorge take two men, or maybe three men, and git dat field plow- ed, or dat woods patch cleared'.~ And he knowed if he tell me, de work would be done. "And I worked at anything. One time I steamboated for eight years. But what do dese young folks'know fbout work? NuthinM Look at dat grandson of mine, just crossed de porch~why hefs fourteen and he canft even use a ax. Too young? Go on with you! "I tells you dese young folks just don't know how to work. MISSOURI CAPE GIRARDEAU 3X-SIAV3 STORIES GEORGE BOLLINGBR Page 4. gQ Dey has too much studying up here (pointing to his head and mak- ing motions like wheels going round.) When I's his age I*s work- ing at anything I could find. I worked on a farm and on a steam- boat, I carried cross ties—just anything where I could earn money. And I saved money, too. When we bought dis house I had $2,400 saved up. And men was stronger in dem days and had Detter health. "Dese young folks want too easy living. And dey ainft brung up to show respect to old folks like we is. If I goes down de walk and a bunch young folks is coming along, I knows Ifs got to step out of de way--fcause dey won't give any. And if some lit- tle ones, on roller skates is coming down de sidewalk—you better git off or dey111 run right into you. "I was tellin' you fbout Miss Katie coming to see me, wasn't I? Well just last week her boy come to see me. He's maybe 25 or 30 year old. Somebody told him 'bout me and he come here and' he sit right dar on de porch fer a hour and talk with me. He was a fine young man, he was." * 340005 - '. x ^linger Co. Folklorg. £Q ge. !• An Interview with George Boilinger, (Ex-slave) MWe lived out on de edge of Bollinger County* f01e Massa's'name was fDal Bollinger*. Die Missus,1 we alwaus called, "Aunt Polly"*, Den day wuz young 'Massa Dave,' and young Siissie Katie* . My Pappy1 s name wuz 'Billinger' fen my mammy wuz 'Temple*? Mypappy wuz a smart man. 6 cud read and write* I don't know whar he learned it* An1 he had de power, my daddy id. He cud break a 'Hoodoo' spell, an' he cud tell things dat happened wen he diden see k—If one a' de folks went to town he cud tell'em jes everything dey don dere* / "v Dey wuz 'bout 20; mebby 25* slaves on-de place, 'en we all lived in a big, old; log f L: ouse. My mammy wus a good cook 'en she cud spin en weave. She -made all de clothes we bre* Us chilluns never wore no pants--jes sumpin like a long shirt made o' homespun* \ b didden know nuthin' 'bout learnin* * Dey wuz a church, but we didden go much, 'en we,^ ever had no kind ' er gatherin1 s* Dey wouldn' let de cullered folks congregate—no, shu, > liy; even de man over at de store wouldn't let mo* dan two cullud folks come in at a.time*_ I didden even know what money wuz. Massa' had a chest bout three feet long—up in a ^Jfp Lttle attic* It wuz jes* full o' gold 'en silver money-- no* greenback'* It wuz covered rer wif rugs, 'en I never know'd what wuz in dere—we used to go up der to play sunrtimes a rainy days, an Aunt Polly*d holler, 'Ef you don' cum down fum dere de ghosts *ul git ye' . never seed inside de chest 'till dey bury it—dat wuz in war-time. Dey put a big hand r K< pike under it'^n de men carry it down by de sugar grove de udder side o' de grave yard* ^rw p cud go,right now 'en show you de very spot dey bury it# "Deles' times we-ens had wuz bing fishing, an* manl did we like to fish* Allus we had Saturday atternoon off, 'lessen x ' r* t ^ war wheat harvestfer sumthin' special like. 'En Sunday's we allus fished all day long* f r ®H time day wuz two hundred sojers cum to our place—d*Ty wuz Southerners, an' day 4* |f* nearly starved. Massa'tole 'eta dey cud kill dat big steer. %f shoots him *en 'fore f " ~^-: I . > drops dey wuz on .himj skinnin' him* By dat time udders had a fire built fen de men pull f I d^y knives fea dey cut off hunks; dey puts 'em on a stick 'en hoi's 'e© over de fire Jadnutes—didden give'em time to cook thru fore dey et it* Bollinger Co. Folklore. 41 Page 2. Cont, Interview Geo. Bollinger, (Ex-slave) Dat ole steer didden last long. 'En 'Massa' had ten cribs 'er corn. He tole 'em to ___dey selves. "Bout dat time a deespatch came; dat de "Yankees" wuz commin'. Dey went up to meet 'em, 'an dey had a battle over at Patton. Long 'bout midnight sum of 'em came back, wounded. Aunt Polly helped 'em, but she begged 'em not to stay dere, 'er de "Yankees" cum in. burn de house down. Aunt Polly 'en mammy allus know'd whut to do when a body quz ailin'. Dey allus had a bag o' yarbs hangin' under de porch. When de sojers wuz commin' we allus hid de hosses. Massa' had lots ob 'em, 'en Missie__had de pudttiest black mare. It's name quz 'Kate'. Des one time de hosses musta skered 'er sumpin—de sojers foun' 'em, an' here dey com ridin' up past de house wid ecery on of our hosses. A sojer wuz ridin' 'Black Kate'. Wen 'Missie Katie' dee dat—she holler, and she ran an' grab hoi' de bridles, on nan' on each side 'er his haid. De sojer put suprs to do mare, but she hung on jes a cryin'. I kin jes see her now; de mare a rarin' and 'Missie__haigin on a-cryin'. She hung on 'till dey reach de creek. Den she lose her grip, but she sho' did cry. "One night we had a big corn shukin'. We shuced 'till way late in de nite; den sum de white men stay all nite. Day wuz a pile 'er shucks higher'en dat door, Nex' mornin' a bunch o' "Yankees" cum by. As dey wuz comin' thru' de yard, dey see one man runnin' to hide behin' de barn. Dey say; "Halt", but de man keep runnin'; so dey fire—de bullet thru' his had and he stop. Den dey say; "If day's one man, dey's more a hiddin.' Dey looks roun', den de haid man say: 'Men ride thru' dat pile 'er shucks 'en___in dey hair. Den de sojers ask's 'em things 'en iff'n de answers didden seem good; dey hit 'em over de haid wid dere guns. I wuz standin' right here, an' I saw 'Ole Massa' git hit on de haid once, den anudder time; an' he fell. I sho' thot he wuz daid, but warn't. Aunt Polly fix him up atter de sojers wuz gone, but de bushwackers got him. Bollinger Co. Page 3. 42 (Con't, Interview , Geo. Bollinger (ex-slave) Dey must a heerd about de chest o' money he had buried. Dey try to make him tell, ;but he wouldn't. Den dey put 'er rope 'roun' his neck an' pulls him up. Den dey lets him down; but he wouldn' tell no how—so dey finished him. Yes, de' nigger buyers ust'a cum roun' our place. It was sight to see! Dere 'ud be rebbe five 'er six men a'ridin' fine hosses 'an a-drivin' a whole flock 'er slaves along de rode; jes' like stock, all chained togedder. On time dere wuz Pete Smith, 'Ole Tom' Johnson, an' Fred an' Sam Daughery; all' niggar buyers—dey wuz at our place, an' dey wud all sit dar, an' us slaves had to stan' up in front o' 'em, an' dey'd bid on us. I 'members I wuz full chested an' dey laid a stick across my chest to see how straight I cud stan'. 'Ole Pete' Smith quz gonna' buy me; but my young folks begged 'Massa' not to sell me, cause we'd all played togedder—so he didden' sell me. But dey wuz gonna buy my 'pappy' an take him way off, but, my 'pappy' was smart. He had made baskets at night an' sold 'em when he cud, 'en saved de money—dat night he goes to de fireplace an' lifts up a stone; an' out o' de hole he pulls out a bag a' money an' he runs away. I ain't never seed my 'pappy' since. Las' I hurd a' him he was in "Indiana.' When Mista Lincoln made his Proclamation; (dat wuz 'fore de war wuz over,) young Massa' Dave set us free. He gave us a yoke of oxen an' a wagon' ; full o' everythin' we needed. Der wuz a feather bed 'en quilts an' meat an' purvisions—an' he sent us into de Cape—an we been livin' roun' here ever since. All my white folks is daid 'cept 'Missie Kattie', an' do you know, some year back; she cum to see me. Yessir; her car druv up, right der, to de sidewalk, an' she made all her grandchillun get out an' shake han's wif me. She sho' wuz a fine woman! 'Klu Klux?' Yes, dey quz aroun' sometime', but dey didden bother ef you mind your own bizness. But de darkies better not congregate; buas day shore take 'em out an' flag' em. If dey kotch you at a neighbor's house atter dar, you shore better have a pass fum yo' "Massa' Bollinger Co. Folklore. 43 Page 4. (Con't, Interview of Geo. Bollinger, (ex-slave) NOTE: George Bollinger and his family live in a nice one-and-one-half story house, which they own. They have always been industrious people and their home is nicely kept. George is 84 years old and seems to enjoy life. He was glad to talk over "old times", especially after he recognized me. (The "Me, being Mollie E. Smith) and recalled that he used to work in my grandfather's Tan Yard.) George Bollinger, is living at 320 N. Spriggs St., Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Federal Writers* project / (Following is a speech she gave as a small child); l love the cheerful summertime, With all the birds and flowers, I love the gentle flowing streams, I love the evening breeze, I love to go to schoolt Federal WritersfProject 5 J- /iQ District # 5 Folklore f ™ Sikeston, Missouri* To readt write and spell I love my teacher9s anile again And get my lessons well <.\w / (Following is a speech given as a child) Hear the children gayly shout \\PA -'¦" -*^V" H AT %Sr # Half past four, school is out Merry, merry, playful girls and boys Thinking of games and toys Slates, sleds, dolls and books 01 how happy each one looks •Now for snowballs% Harry cried And to hit hie sister tried Sister Flora full of fun With her little hand making one At her brother Harry threw Swift it flew and hi£ his nose •Have I hurt you brother dear?-* Asked his sister running near •No indeed*t said he •This is $nly sport for m*f* & (Following is a familiar prayer when she was a child) $g/r Savior, tender shepherd hear me Bless the little lambs tonight Through the darkness bs they nearest fetch my sleep ftil morning-light Bless the frimnds I love so well federal Writer8f Project 6 District # 5 folklore * 49 Sikeston, Missouri. Take me when I die to heaven ^ Happy there with thee to dwell (following is a very familiar song)* *fDear mother} said a little fish •Pray, is this naughty fly I am very hungry and I wish You would let me go and try*f •Sweet innocence1, the mother cried) And started from her nook* •The hurried fly is but to hide The sharpness of the hook9* So he thought hefd venture out To see if it was true Abound about the hook he played With many a long look* •Dear aaa1, to himself be said *Ifm sure its not a hook1 So as he fainter, fainter grew With hallowed voice, he cried, •If I had minded you I would not then have died1* fallowing age $2BSL 9±1 riddles* j&SX M^ofao X&2&* Riddle-*I rode over the bridge, and yet I walked* Answer-%fYet I$ *as the name of the dog with fee* Federal Writersf Project 7 k r~f\ District # 5 Folklore OU Sikeston, Missouri* Riddie—fBig at the bottom Little at the top. Something in the middle Goes flippity flop Answer~Ch»ttm Riddle—'Way down yonder in the meadow is a little red heifer. Giwefr her some hajr she will eat it. Givefr her some water she will die* Answer—Fire. Riddle-*I went over Hefil Steeple Then I met a heap of people Some were k«nick Some were k~nack Some were the color of brown tobacco They were neither men, women* abr children Answer—Bees [Notes— Annie Bridges is quite a character. Ihen giving her speeches and singing her songs she dramatizes them while walking across the room* She is hard of hearing and can be heard for quite a distance* She receives an old-age pansion* She is considered by many, a sort of nuisance around town, since she km always begging for something. Some are afraid of her*) (Following is a song of Abraham Lincoln, she sang)t fIf it hadnH been for Uncle Abraham fhat would we afdone ? federal Writers' Project District # 5 Sikeston, Missouri. 8 FoUclsrs 51 KSong of Abraham Liacoln-cont.) •Been down in de cotton field Pickin1 in de sun. Gape Girardeau;.Co. Page !• Folklore. U S3 INTERVIEW ^ITH BETTY BROWN (EX-SLAVE) "In de ole1 days we live in Arkansaw, in Green County. My mammy.:wuz Mary- Ann Millan, an1 we belong to 'Massa* John Nutt, an1 fMiss' Nancy.1 "Our white folks live in a big double house, wid 8 open hall between. It wuz built of hewed logs an1 had a big po1 ch on de wes* side. De house stood on Cash/ rivuh, at the crossroads of three roads; one road go tuh Pocahontas, one tuh Jones- rurg, an* one tuh Pie-Hatten, (Powhatan). "Now whut fof you wanna* know all dem things? Air ye tryin1 to raise de daid? Some of * em, ah donV wanna see no mo1 , anf some o* fem ah wants to stay whar dey is. Pore mammyi Ah shore had one sweet muthuh, an1 ah wants huh to stay at rest. "De wuz jus! us one family of cullud folk3 on de place. You see, •Miss1 Nancy1 hired us fum her fathuh, f01e Massa Hanover. Jes* mah mammy an1 huh chillern. She had five, ffore de war wuz ovuh* Our daddy; he wuz an Irishman, name Millan, an1 he had de biggesV still in all Arkansss. Yes'm , he had a white wife, an1 five chillern at home, but mah mammy say he like huh an1 she like him. You say ah donf look half white? Maybe I's fadin1. "We live in a little olef log house, it wuz so low a big feller had tofltoop to git in. Our folks wus mighty good tuh us, anf we stayed dar wid 'um after wefs freed. "Ah don1 rightly know how old ah is, but deHFriest writ1 it all down fof me, when ah1 s gittin* mah pension. Sho* ahfs a Catholic. Is they anything else? Fof fifteen year ah tended de Catholic church, swept an1 dusted, an1 cleaned, but ah1 s too ole1 fof dat now, anr ahfs pofly in mah back, cain't git f round*like dat no mof . ^We lived 4e ole1-time way of livin*, mammy done de cookin anf we had plenty good ¦^things to eat. Mammy made all de clothes, spinnin1 , an1 weavin* an1 sewin1. Ah larned po spin, wh^n ah wuz too little tuh reach de broach, an( ah could hep her thread de loom. ilil ^ ( :. h P WB. tlllillll^^ ^^^^^^^I^SMv^MW^^i^^^^A yJU ^XJ&M Cape Girardeau Co, Folklore^ t~0 Page 2. OO (Con*t INTSR/LS* *'IfH BiTTY BROWN) An1 de had a tsn hand. Ah uste wade barefooted in dem pit's an' work wid dem hides, but ah wouldn't wanna do it now. "Dey wu2 a grove c' post-oak timber, 'bout five, or six acres, all cleaned out; an* in der, dey rsised bear cubs, Why, dey raised 'em tuh eat. Lawd f. dat's good eat in' . Jes' gimme a' bear meat an' den let me go tuh sleep! K-m-mi ''They wuz fruit trees planted all 'long de road, planted jes'_ like fence-posts for 'bout e mile, an' all de fruit dat fell in de road de hogs got, we'ens could go get any of it, any time, an* travelers, flong de road, was af way's welcome ter hep dey selves. fMassaf nevuh plsnted no shade trees. If fen trees wuz planted dey had to be fruit treea 'Ceptin' de holly bush, he like dat 'cause its green in winter. "They wus some flowers 'round de house. Snow-balls, batchelor-buttons, old-maids; jes* such old-fashion ones, no roses, n'er nuthin' like dat. "Massa' raise some cotton, but *01e Massa' Hanover had sech a big cotton patch yuh couldn't look across it. An1 dey all kind'a fowls yu'd find any where*s, guinie's Ducks, nf geese, nf turkey's, n* peafowl's, an' lotsa chicken's a' 'cose. "Lfy mamma could hunt good ez any man. Us'tuh be a coup'la pedluh men come 'round* wuth they packs. My manrany' d a'ways have a pile o' hides tuh trade with * em fer calico prints n' trinkets, n' sech-like, but raos'ly fof calico prints. She'd have coon hides n' deer nf mink, nf beavers, lawdi I kin still hear dem beavers slashin1 'round' dat dam. Di3 time ' er marning' dey's afway's shore busy. An* folks in cities goes tuh pawks now to see sech animal. Huni Ah seen all 'em things ah wants tuh see. Good Lawdl #e didden' know whut church wuz n'er school nuther, an' the whites nevuh nutthurv Dey wuz a couple o1 men us'ta come by, an' hole a camp-meetinf. Deyfd build a big arbuh, with branches o* leaves over de top, an* build benches; dey5.d come aftuh crops wuz laid by, an1 preach 'til cotton wuz openin'. Ah never knowd whut se#$ dey belong to, n'er whar dey go, n% er what dey come fum f nut her. "Tes'm, we seed sojers, an' we seed lot's o* *em. Bah wuz de'blue-coats'; some Cape Girardeau Go. Folklorfr. KA Page 3. (Con't-INTfiRVIStf wITH BETTY BRCMN) 0' de folks call1 em 'Blue^Jaelly Yank's, dey had fine blue coats an1 the brass buttons all ovuh the front o' f em shinin' like stahs. Dey call us little cullud folks1, cubs', en'; dey burn down Jonesburg. Yes'm we seed Jonesburg down in ashes. Dem •Blue-coat's1 wuz devils, but de 'gray-coats wuz wusser. Dey turn over our bee-guras an' dey kill our steers, an' carry off our provisions, an' whut dey couldn't carry off dey ruint. Den dey go roun' killin' all de cullud men an1 i;ayanettin' de chillern. f,Ko, dat wuzzen' de 'gray-coats' doin' de killin1, dat wuz 'bushwackers' an1 fKu Klux'ers1, dey sho' wuz bad. Dey shot my lit ole sistuh in back o' her neck an* day shot me in de laig. See dat scar, dat whar dey shoot me. An' dey kill ray gran'fathuh; dey sho' did. "Gran!fathuhfs name wuz 'Jim Hanover'. 'Ole Massa Hanover', he wuz a lawyer, an' he educated mah gran'fathuh tuh be a overseuh. He lived wid' 'Massa Hanover for long time. He wuz a good man, mah gran'fathuh wuz, an' he wuz smart too, an' when de war surrenduh, dey make him Mayor of Pie-hatten, an' he made a good mayer too; people all said so, an1 dey wuz gonna' 'lect him fo' foe mo' year, an* de *Ku Klux'ers said dey wuz asen* gonna have no 'nigguh* mayor. 5o dey tuk him out and* killed him. Dey wuz awful times. Now you know dat wuzzen right an' who's de curse fo' such things gonna rest on? e # 11 Ah disamembuh jes' when we come tuh Missouri, but it wuz when 'Hays, 'an • Wheeler1 A wuz 'lected President. Down in Arkansas dey say dey gonna make us all vote Democrat. My step-daddy say he die 'fore he vote Democrat. "Der wuz two white men say dey'd get us to Cape Girdta, Dey had two covered wagons, en1 dey wuz forty-eight o* us cullud folks. We put our belongin's in de wagon. Dey wuz a coupl'a ole' gramma's rode in de wagons, an' some little feller's, but de rest of us walk ever step o' de way. An' it rained on us ever* step o' de way. At night we'd lay down to sleep unduh de wagon so tired we nevuh even know1 d it wuz rainin'. Cape Girardeau Co. Folklore. £)v> Page 4. (Con't-INTERVIEW WITH HBTTY BROWN) "When we got to St. Francis Rivuh dey ferried ue across on a big flat, an* had a rope tied across de rivuh to pull us ovuh. But we had to ford 'White watuh , an Castuh rivuh, an* 'Niggerwool' swamp, When wefd come to de rivuh de white man *ud say: *Ack like sojers*. De hosses *ud swim across, pullin1 de wagon, some o* de big folks fud grab hole* de feed box an* de rest 'ud each grab roun* de one in front an* dat way we ?• V fords de ri^uhs, wid stings a* folk hahgin* out behin* de wagons. / "Hoo-doos*, ghosts*s er signs? No mam*. Ah don* believe in none of dat. Now you is tryin* to eall up de devil. But wait'. Ah kin tell you one sign dat ah knows is trme# If de dog jes* lays outside de do* sleepin* an* has his haid inside de do*, you*s gonna* git a new member in de family befo* de year is out. An1 jes* de othuh way roun* ? Bf de dog lays sleepin* inside de do* an* has his haid hanging out, you*a gtfine a lose a •membuh of yuh family fo' de end a* de yeah. "Dey wuz sumpin' funny happen when ma little girl die sometime ago. She wu2 a sweet chile. She wuz stayin* wuth Miss* English on Henderson Ave., an* she lost her mind. Ah don* know whut*s a matter wuth her, but ah brung her home to take keer o* her, but she don* get no bettuh. One day she's standin*, lookin* out de front do' an* she hollers 'Heah day's comin* aftuh me* • Ah don* know whut she see, but she run to de back room an* stan* right dare. Her daddy an* me look at huh an* dar wuz a big ball o* fire hangin* ovuh her haid. We picked huh up, an* putAhuh to bed. We sent fo* de dociah an' fo1 de driest, an1 we got de nurse «t we had when she fust took sick. I nevuh knowed whut wuz de mattuh *rith heri Do*^ doctuh wouldn't tell me, an* ah guess de nurse fMf ^ gilef *abdtit it ez sdi wufei Some folks tell me she wuz conjured, i^ Igir^ '-^- _ _ . . ¦.".;. ¦;¦;¦¦ $m i|^i# ^ # s* 240173 Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 1# .t ; h 56 "Mlsta Joe Medley and his wife, Miss Addie was my young master and mistress 0 Old master John Medley done brung us from Kentucky when he moved from there to Cape County* I was jest a baby den. I never knowed nothinf n)out my daddy ? "De white folks had a big log-house* It was an awful big house, with a big porch on de north side* They was some cedar trees in de yard and some fruit trees* Bey was a big log barn and split rail fences all around* Us little fellers had to help carry in de wood, and help do de feeding* Day had lots of bosses9 cows, and pigs* \ *Dey was a separate house for de spinning and weaving* Cose all our clothes and shoes toot was made on de place* Massa was mighty good to his cullud folks* He never flowed none of fem to be sold and I donft recollect ever seeing anyone getting wimpped. No, we never had no gather- in fs nor schools, nor nuthing of the kind* "Massa had a fine big carriage and one Sunday hefd take all de white folks to church and de next Sunday, he put de cullud folks in de earriage and send dem to church* Batfs how come us to be Catholics* We cane all de way to Cape, to St* Vincentfs Church, down by de river* We lived away off dere in de backwoods and we didn't see much of sojers—Jesf a few scat- tered, ones come by after de skirmish at de Gape* When de war ended, we {J 1? \ h - ^ > ^^^^^^KI^^^^^Bf^^^^^l^S Missouri Bx-Slave Story Page 2. &ff "When Ifs little de mostest fun we had was going fishing—we spent most of our time down dar by de branch and I guess de big folks was glad to have us out of de way.11 Interview with Steve Brown, Ex-Slave, lives at end of Sim Street f Cape Girardeau, Mo« m 240179 &• t Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 1.& 58 Richard Bruner The subject of this sketch Eichara Bruner,is one of the oldest negroes in Saline County* He claims to be ninety-seven years old and lives in the little town of Nelson. His humble dwelling, a gray and weathered frame building of about four rooms and two porches, sets in a square of yard thick with blue grass, old fashioned flowers like holly hocks, flowering pinks and marigolds making bright spot a of color * Heavily laden fruit trees; apples, peaches, pltims and pears shade every part of the plot. A splen- did walnut tree towers over the smaller fruit trees, the house and the porch;while at the side of the house a garden spot contains a fine vari- ety of vegetables* As the writer approached, the old man was seated on a cot on the little porch, fhe wall back of him was hung with all kinds of tools, a saw, a hammer, bits of wire, a piece of rope, part of a bridle, and a wing, apparently from a big gray goose* His long curling, gray hair is neatly parted and brushed and he wears a mustache and short beard or chin whisk&rsr an unusual thing among negroes in this part of the coua- ttf. His skin is a light brown color and his qyes bright with his see- old ayesigtit 1^1^ him to look on tie i^^ ¦; life is a;#^S-: equipped slap^ifewv.; \ ; 0-: -**wrz!**&^' £ ii^IiinsBgglii^^ i^^ii^iiiiiiil^^^ifc^iSi Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page g. fc 59 to take charge of this workf but the house and equipment is still in good repair. This aged Negro has been for many years a highly respected preac- her of the gospel. His own account of his life and adventures follows: "Yesfm I remembers before de war, I remember being a water-boy to de field feands before I were big enough to work in de fields. I hoed tobaccer when I was about so high, (measuring with his hands about three and one half feet from the floor)* "Yes'm dey thrashed me once, made me hug a tree and whip me, I had a terrible temper, Ifm part Choctaw Indian* We went to de white folks church on Sundays, when we went to camp meeting we all went to de mourn- ersf bench together* De mourners bench stretch clear across de front of de Arbor; de whites and de blacks, we all just fell down at de mourners1 bench and got religion at de same place* Ole Marsa let us jine which- ever church we wanted, either de Methodist or Baptist* "No, I never went to no school, de colonel1 s daughter larnt me to write my name, that was after de wah* *Nofm, dey didn't care if we had dances and frolics* We had de dances down at de quarters and de white folks would come down and look on* Whenever us niggas on one plantation got obstreperous, white folks haims dey blowed* When de neighbors heard dat hawn here dey come to help make dat obstreperous nigga behave* Bey blowed de hawn to call de neighbors if anybody died or were siekJ* Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 3* t 60 In response to the question as to where he joined the Federal Army, Bruner replied: ^ell you see I was a runaway nigga; I run away when I was about grown and went to Kansas. When de war broke out I joined de 18th Uni- ted States Colored Infantry, under Capt. Lucas. I fit three years in de army. My old Marsa's two boys just oldes than me fit for de south. Dey was mighty good boys, I liked dam fine." (B) Bibliography: (B) Richard Bruner, Ex-Slave and Negro preacher, Nelsoa, Missouri* 34008P, MISSOURI IISRCULAKEUM 2L-SIAW STORISS ROBERT BRYANT Page 1, 61 SLLVE MARRIED 4 TIMES "I was born out by Caledonia and is 75 years old. My mother came from another family. My old master bought her from another man. She died when 1 was about eight years old and my father died about forty years ago. His name was George Bryant but he went by de name of BrqcX, I was livin* in Pilot Knob when Price* s raid ^r^ come through. De government gave de old man a team to make it to < St. Louis. Me and my mother and my brother who was deaf and dumb p went with dem but de soldiers captured us and de old man jumped off h? de mule and high tailed it to de woods. My mother got out of de wa- gon and took my brother to de woods too. De soldier rid up to de wagon and said, tl»ittle boy, you don*t need to be afraid, Ifm after your father.1 MI started to get out of de wagon and fell down under de mule ^ and dere I was on de ground. I got up and made for de woods and got in a hole where de hogs was a-wallerinf. I had on a dress and was f* standing in de mud up to my knees. I got lost out in de woods for £. three days* I $aist laid around and slept behind a log at night and ;; durinf de day I played in dat mud-hole. If I seefd somebody comin1 ^ in de woods I would go and hide* \ i ^llir&^:l^^^ u.:t/* "«-\V ? - •'r^v^^i.v," j MISSOURI HSRCUIA3MM EX^SIAVS STORI3S ROBERT BRYANT Page 2. nA colored lady found me after three days and called me and took me along* I stayed x*riLth her three weeks before my mother found me. I like to eat up everything dey had when I first got something to eat after bein1 in de woods so long. We went from one place to another and along about 2 ofclock in de night you would heaf something hit de house like hail. Den we had to come out of dere and hit for de woods. We would go to another house fbout eight or nine miles away and Pll be switched if dere would not be hail Tallin* on dat house about 2 o'clock in de mornin*. It was them bushwhackers again. We kept runnin* for about three weeks. We would go to peoples1 houses for food and some of dem would give us enough food to eat for two or three days. "I'll show you now how my mother happened to find me. One night we was in a old house and we didn't dare talk loud fcause we was afraid de soldiers would hear us. We was afraid to light a light. All at once my mother who was in one side of de room said: fI wish I could find my little boy.* Den de lady I was with said; *'I found a little boy play inf in de hole where de hogs wallowed. Come over here and see if dis is your boyf. So my mother come over and said: fI can1t see him but I sure can tell by putt in1 my hand on his headf. So she put her hand on my haid and said: 'Yes, dat's sure 'nough my boy. 62 MISSOURI EX^SIAVS STORIES ROBERT BRYANT Page 3, "But I wouldn't go with her. I wouldnft leave dat other woman• About 2 ofclock dat night de hail began to hit de house and we had to git out. So I went with de other woman and" it was about two or three days before I would go with my mother. Two or three days later we all met again and my mother said: fDonft you know your mother.1 I knowed it was my mother fcause my brother what was deaf and dumb was with her. Den I went on with her. I would talk to my brother with signs. "Den we went to a little place away, away from Pilot Knob. Den my mother was free and she said,'Robert, we is all free.1 I was too young to know anything 'bout it. After we was free we put in a little stuff in de ground* We had to go to de woods to get some brush and make a brush fence around de garden to keep de cat- tle out. lie got permission from a man dat owned a farm to build our own log house. It took two or three days to build a one room house. We made up some mud with water and made it stiff enough to stick to de chinckin1. Den we cut a big hole in one end of de build- ing and got some flat rocks and made a fireplace. We put mud* on de inside and outside of de chimney. Sometimes de chimney would catch on fire and we had to run to de branch to-get-water and put it out. Sometimes it would catch4on fire twice or three times in one night• 63 -£i MISSOURI EX-SIA7B STORIES ROB3RT BREAST Page 4. P^ ftWe took old gunny sacks and put leaves in dern to make a bed and we slept on de floor and had a old spread and de white folks gave us some old quilts. To make a fire we got some spunk out of a log and then took two flint rocks and to-reckly it would make a spark and catch that spunk. We banked de fire at night. ffWe never had no doctor. My mother would go out in de woods and get herbs and if I had de stomach ache we would put a little bit of turpentine one a piece of sugar. If I had de headache we would put a piece of brown paper and vinegar on horse radish leaves on de head. In two or three hours us kids would be out playin* and kickin1 up our heels. We would go out and get some goose grass and make a little bit of tea and pour it down for de stomach ache. We would get dis black root for constipation. We used a turnip and scraped it and would bind de foot when it was frost bit. •'I'se been married four times and had children by two wifes;- had eight children altogether and all are girls but two. Ain't but one living and dat is Ed McFadden what's livin' in Fredericktown, Mo. He works for Deguire at de lumber mi 1\ and has been workin* dere for about 30 years. Most of my children died young, but three girls lived to get married. Ifse married three times by a preacher and once by de squire. MISSOURI HEBCUIANBOM BX-SM7E STORIES ROBERT BRTAHT Page 5* gj ffI steamboated six years on de Mississippi between St. Paul and New Orleans. I got $1 a day and board, and we sure would pack dem sacks and sing dem songs. De old mate would holler at us: fGive me a song boys1. And den we would start out. It Vpeared like de work went ahead easier when we was singin1. It would take us four weeks to make de rounds before we got back to St. Louis. We hauled potatoes, sheep, wheat, corn, cattle, horses, and cotton. There was 45 ot'xis altogether. I never got hit but one time on de boat. De mate with knveks on hit at another feller for fcause he was loaf inf and hit me and knocked me and my load in de river. I couldn't swim but dey fished me back in de boat and rolled me over and over to run dat water out of me. I run on de fBald Bagle* and de * Spread Eagle1. My mamma got after me to quit and when I got hit she got uneasy about me, but I would hear dat whistle blowin1 my feet'd begin to itch and I could not help but go down to de old boat again. De old mate had my name fdoubled up*. It was Bob Rob. *Den I went to wheelin1 iron ore at Sulphur Springs. All day long I worked with 16 men loading barges with wheel barrows. Every time you took a load it had 800 pounds, and Ifse telling you all£ datfs Borne iron. This iron ore came from dat big frill down in Pilot Knob. We had straps over our shoulders and dey saved our hands and arms. It took about a day and a half to load a barge and we got paid by df ton* I did dat for about a year. m MISSOURI ' EX-SLAVE STORIES ROBiURT BRYANT -Page 6. "I give my wife all ny money and all de time she was givin* it away to another man. So dat was when I left her flat and went down to Charleston, CairoAand Kentucky and stayed three years. I was workinr in de tobacco for three years'. Dere was too much stoop- in1 in dat and I decided to come back to St. Louis. We only got |12 a month in de tobacco fields and worked from 4 ofclock in de morning to 8 or 9 ofclock in de night-time. Dere was 9 or 10 in de tobacco field* *Den I worked in de iron foundry in a St. Louis furnace. I carried iron and hustled in de casting hole, bey paid pretty good and we got $1.50 to #1.75 a day. I worked up dere two years and den come to Sulphur Springs and went on de farm and got $26 a month. I got to be a trusty and dey put it in my hands. I worked here five years for old Mike Green. I was single den. I went down on John Coffmanfs farm in Ste. Genevieve County to work for him. Worked on his farm for fbout 15 years and got #26 a month and board. He had a gang of f era working1 for hiuu He had rows of cabins 'most a mile long. Dat was where I got married a second time. **After I left dere I went down below Predericktown and went on a farm again and stayed right dere for seven years. I lost my wife at dat place and sold my land. I paid #90 for 40 acres dere and : 66 MISSOURI HSRCTPLAMEOM ESC-SIATTIS STORIES ROBERT BRYANT Page 7. 87 had paid !bout half on it. So I sold it back to de man what I bought it from for $45 and went to Bonne Terre and worked for de St. Joe.Lead Co* and worked on de lead v/ell and den went to tap- pin1. I got $1.60 for IS hours. I worked dere until dey moved de works up here and den I followed de works right up here. Den I worked fbout 30 years here doing de same kind of work with the same pay. , , n?*rhen I quit workin' here it was about 13 years ago and I was about 62 years old. De company just laid me off on account of age. Den de supervisor dere got me a job as janitor at de colored school here at #7.00 a month. I've been janitor ever since. Dere is ten colored families in Herculaneum, and about 50 colored people here now but dere used to be mostly all colored but most of 'em done left. I lived here in-dis house a little more dan 5,years without payinr rent. . Den after my son got on the WPA dey begins to-take $3.85 rent a month. We been payinf rent 'bout two years* The St. Joe Company owns all de houses here. We gets our water free. I'se been gettin' a pension about a year now. "I shot a fellow once in de leg. It was de man who rny wife was givin' my money to. I had a tx*ial at Kimmswick before de Justice of Peace and served three months in de county jail at Hillsboro. The white folks come down and got me out and it didn't cost me a, thing* MISSOURI EX-SLATE STORIES ROBERT BRYAITT Page 8. "A man has got more his own say now dan he did have. We can do more what we want to and donft have to go to de other fellow* Slavery might a done de other fellow some.good but I donft"think it ever done de colored people no good* Some of dem after freedom didnft know how to go out and work for demselves. Down at old John Coffman's lots of dem stayed with him right along same as if dey wasn't free* Dey didn't want to leave here 'cause dey didn't think dey could live if dey left him. But when dey got away up here in St. Louis dey know they can make a livin*, without Marse John, but they got to. "go up against it." Dependin1 on somebody else is poor business. When I was workin' I depended on myself. If dey would have freed de slaves and give dem.a piece of ground I think dat would been a heap better dan de way dey did. Look at de Indians! They're all livin'. Irse always been able to eat and sleep. ^1 canIt hardly tell about de younger generation, I can say dat if it was not for de old generation today de young ones would go up 'salt creek*. Dey d0nft want to work. Some of desn is pretty ^aart* B^ dott|t^ Bey dress up an£ st^ MISSOURI HSBCIJL&331IIJM M-SI^TO STQRISS ROBERT BBYANT Page 9. gg If de colored people don!t pick up and see about business dey is going to be behind. Dese young people wonft go to church. You can't get dera in dere. Datfs de place dey ought to go. _Ifse been goi&f to church since I was a boy. Colored folks did not raise me* White folks learned me to go to church. Mrs. Baker, at Cook's Settlement, would read de Bible every night at 9 ofclock and she would fsplain- it to me. If she was not able, her daughter read it • We need a workhouse for de young people* 'De first time I ever cast my vote was for Garfield who got killed. It was in Kiiomswick. Been votin* ever since, and vote all through dein all. Ifse been talked to lots of times, telliii* me how to vote* Dey even give me a ballot and show me how to vote. I would stick dat in my pocket and vote like I pleased. I ainft never sold my vote but Ifse been offered $10 for it« But I say if you is goinf to get beat, I say you is just beat* You ainft no man to go over there and cast your vote* You got to stand for your point* "De first automobile I ever seen had buggy wheels. It made a terrible racket. Mrs. Baker told me dat people was goin1 sometime to be ridinf in automobiles and in de air* Hl1l#::;:t# ^^^p^^is^^^^^^^^^s^p^^^^^ip^^^^tf^^^tt^ 21& /)? Folklor& TO SLAYa & NEGRO LORil The wonderful meteoric display known as the f,star shower" or "the time when the stars f ell," occured in 1833. It: was on the night of the 12th and 13th of November. Many ignorant persons concluded that the Judgement day had come, or that the end of the world was at hand. Negroes especially were very much frightened. A dance was in progress on a Buchanan County farm, attended exclusively by slaves from the neighborhood, iifhen the star shower began the negroes were first made aware of the fact by a messenger who ran frantically into the cabin and shouted, "If you all wants to git to hebin, you'd better 'gin to say yof prafrs mighty sudden, case the Lawd is acomin1 wi'de fire an' de glory an* de wuld'll be burnt up like a cracklin1 ffo mo'nin*" The dancers ran out, fell on their kneew and cried for mercy. Not for many days did they recover from their fright. One old negro declared that if the world and his life were spared he would agree to break eighty pounds of hemp every day instead of fifty, as he had been accustomed to dG* ^ The Negro was a part of the early Buchanan County family. They were black slaves and happy. The negro Mammy had her proper place in the scheme of things. She was no fiction of a later day novelist, but genuine, gentle, untiring, and faithful** The Negro mammy merits a prominent place in the picture an artist might paint, for on her broad should- ers was carried the generation which made the early history of Missouri fascinating and great * When once a week came ,fJohnny Seldom"—as trie hot biscuits made of wheat flour were called in Old Missouri—all other kinds of breed faded into nothingness. Two kinds &f biscuits were,typically Missourian—the large, fluffy, high biscuits-- which looked like an undersized sofa pillow—and beaten biscuits, small, crisp, delicious—the grand- father of all afternoon tea refreshments* No "Po* white trash" can make beaten bisciits* Indeed, much of the finest flavor of all cookery belonged intuitively to the Negro. How the Hegro cook managed to get biscuits steaming hot from the cook-room a quarter of a Buchanan Co. Folklore. *7jL Page* 2. (Con't, SLAVii & NEGRO LCR£. mile distant through the open yard to the dining troom table has always been a mystery• She did it, however, and successfully* (A) Hr. Alex Bufford, an ex-slave, lives at 1823 Seneca street, St. Joseph, Missouri* Mr Bufford, (everyone calls him Uncle Alex) does not know how old he is, but seys he does remember that he was a grown man at the time of the Civil #ar. I heard about Uncle Alex from one of the ladies in the reference room at the Public Library in St. Joseph, Mo* She told ::e I would have to see Uncle Alex right at the noon hour or? in the evening, as he would be at work during working hours. I didn't ask her what kind of work he did but I heeded her advice about seeing him at the noon hour* I arrived at his place about 11:50 A.M. As I got out of my car I happened to look i/p the alley. .An old Negro driving a one-horse wagon was just entering it. I guessed in a minute that this was the old gentlemen I mnted tosee. When he approached I did not tell him at first what I wanted but started t alkingebout the weather. I sew in a minute the old fellow was going to be interesting tot alk to* After we had commented about the weather, I told him what I wanted. Uncle Alex, "Ya sir, 1*11 be bery glad to tell you anything I kin recollect, but I don't remember like I usefd to •" He said, "I don't know how ole I am, but I was a grown man at the time of de war and I guess Ifse de oldest man in de city. I was born in Buchannan County and have libed here all my life. I only been out deiate once in my life and dat wuz ober to filwood seberal years ago. (Elwood, Kansas is only a bout 2 miles west of St. Joseph.) I'se just don't keer to go any place." To my question about his &mily he replied. MYa sir, I hab four daughters and one son libing, but da don't help dis ole man any. Y untill I got de ole age pension seberal months ago, I had a terbil time rraking a libing." Uncle itlex and his brother who is younger than he^ live tog&ther. The brother is an old man more feeble than Uncle Alex. wt«r the war Uncle Alex worked on the farm for the Conetts, near Faucett, Buchanan County. Folklore*. 72 page 3. (Con't, SLAVii & MGRO LORE. in Buchanan County for several years. Then he moved to town and worked for the same people in their brick-yard untill just a few years ago, The house Uncle Alex lives in now belongs to the people he worked for so long. He Lives there rent free. (BC) By Carl B. Boyer ~ 3t ? Joseph, Mo. E35P *- 340165 iiissouri ">f iSx-Slave Story Page 1. & « 73 rtITve lived here *bout 65 years. I was born in slavery on de Hill place in Farmington. My motherf's name was Catherine. Father's name was George. A brother and sistah of mine was sold as slaves ffore I was born. L. I nevah saw them. My father was sold away from my mother. Our home was not pleasant. The mistress was cruel. Her brother would go down in de orchard and cut de sprouts and pile fem up under de house so as de mis- tress could use fem on us. She also used a bed-stick to whip with. "One day we took de cows to pasture and on de way home I stopped to visit Mrs. Walker and she gave me a goose egg. And den \vhen we got home de old mistress kicked me and stomped on us and broke my goose egg. Didfn mind de whipping but sure hated to break my egg. • "Our cabin was one room, one door and one fire place. Our mistress was a rich woman, and she had three husbands. She had a big square smoke house full of hog, beef, deer, all pickled away. She had 12 cows and lots of butter and a spring-house. nTo eat we had corn meal and fried meat dat had been eaten'by bugs* We had some gravy and all ate Tround de pans like pigs eating slop. And we had a tin cup of sour .milk to drink. Sometimes we would have ginger- bread. Bis was fbout twice a year. ^ dat was a slav@ ran off with four or five other boys and n.e¥0r e west anf died in Hon|iula. ^They had a Tnigger- ||p^ ear@ of a@ slates j&o fere hard to P k> \ iim fiiiii Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 2.* • * ff0nce it got so cold dat de chickens froze and fell out of the trees and de mistress gave each of us a chicken to eat. We had no shoes even in winter. I canTt fmember having good clothes. "One of our neighbors, Mr. IvIcMullin, was a poor white but he had a heart and was our mistress1 guardian. I was too little to. do much but I would walk along de furrows and hit de oxen with a stick. Ivly sistah come and got me after freedom and learned me de alphabet. De first thing I ever learned to read was, rI see you Tom. Do you see me?1 I worked for in- telligent people and learned a great deal. After I married I wanted to learn a great deal and how to read. At de camp in Mine La Motte I went to school in a log house for 'bout two months. nDey would whip with a eat-o-nine tails and den mop de sores with salt water to make it sting. De traders would come through and buy up slaves in groups like stock. On de way south dey would have regular stopping places like pens and coops for de slaves to stay in; at each of these stop- pin1 places some of de slaves would be sold. My uncle's father was his mas- ter and de master sold my uncle who was his own son* "When my mother died I did not know what a coffin was or what death was. So I went to my dead mother where she was on de cooling board and brushed my dress and* said, TLook at my pretty dress.1 "There was a tough gang called patrollers. Dey would scare de negroes ,.i"o,rr f.v#?j .^j-ffji; *j^yy»^ '. vw*y rrs ?1??^^1^^^:^ ^^''3^ Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 3. ^ ^5 and would keep dem always afraid. De mistress would take a couple of us young ones to church but when we got home things were different. "And I never seen so many soldiers in my life before or since than when Price come through on his raid. It was apple pickin1 time and de mistress made us gather apples and pack fem to the soldiers and we had to pack water from de spring to fem. De mistress had pickets out in front of de house when de soldiers was in town. MGnce when de Union .soldiers was in town a negro soldier come and got him a turkey off de fence. De next night a white soldier come to get a tur- key and he looked all over de place and come up over de stile. Den de mis- tress goes out on de porch and called de dogs and said, fSic the rogue1. De soldier took out his pistol and laid it on de fence and waited awhile and looked. De dogs were jumping up against de fence. So de soldier shot de dog and then went off and got on his hoss again. "One day a Union officer come up and had a saber and said he would cut off de mistress1 head. De officer was a Dutchman. The mistress then ran to town for help. De soldier came right in de cabin and said, 'Me no hurt you.1 De soldier went in de safe in de house and ate all he w&nted and den went to bed in de house. Finally de law come and moved him out of de bed off de plab6. Be soldiers would come a^ night and rout de slave women out of bed; fc^nd make *em eook de soldiers a square meal.* t&%mrimr with Harriet Casey, fX^laT0l nge# 75* yre&erifr&tom, Mo* : |i$#£Tiewe& by J # feast Miles * H*f, 76 240096 Missouri FESTOS EX-SIA7E STORIES JOE CASEY Page 1, SOID SLATE, ILL LUCK FOLLOWED "I did not get to see my daddy long. He.served in de -first of fie war and come home sick and died at Cadet. I was born at Cadet. I lives here in Festus and am 90 years old. My mother was Arzella Casey and was a slave in Cadet. Tom Casey owned both my mother and father. De master had a pretty good farm and dat was where I worked when I was a boy. Mr. Casey never hit me a lick in my life. He was sure good to us. I had an uncle John and dey had to sell him f cause dey could not do anything with Him. Dey took him to Potosi before dey sold him. He did not want to be drove. Mr. Casey said if he had 100 niggers he would never sell another one. He said he never had any more good luck since he sold Jojm. Losing his Children was his bad luck. "Before freedom we had our own house and stayed here after ^M f» freedom. My master said, TWell, Joe you are your own boss.' I £ said: "How come?' He said: 'I'll help you.' Dey would not turn £ us out without a snow. We stayed dere free and I went out in de digging in de tiff at Valle Mines. Some days I made #5 and den ^4? some days made #2. White folks would come and get ma and she would ^T i /1 *& f^Zfr i MISSOURI ffESTUS . BX-SXAVE STORIES 4 ,,_ JOB CASEY Page 2. ** 77 go to help kill hogs and clean up de lard. Dey paid her good. We must have stayed about 3 years at Casey's after de freedom and den want to Mineral Point and worked for de tiff and mineral. I mar- ried up dare and had about 13 children by 2 wives. I ain't gpt no wife now. Dey is both dead. My children is scattered so I don't know how many is livin*. I got a boy dat went to this last war and I think he is out west somewhere. I got two boys here. Onq is work- in* for de factory-in Crystal City. De other one knows lots about ce- ment. I got another child in New York. They don't write to me. I canft read or write. Dere was no school for niggers dem days. I has to make a cross mark every time I do anything. I went to school one week and my mother had to clean tiff to make a livin1 for dem children and get grub so I had to go to work. I had about seven sis- ters and brothers altogether. I done worked at everything—steam- boating /cutting wheat in Harrisonville, Illinois* I was here when dis was all woods, man. Me and a saloon keeper have been here a long time, morefn 50 years I guess. I pay #5 a month rent or just what I can give f em. My two boys lives here with me now and I get $12 pen- sion. *Bat>fs when my old i&aster run when dem blue jackets come. Dey made me kill chickens and turkeys and cook for fem. De lieutenant MISSOURI ffBSTUS SX-SIAVE STORIES JOS CASEY Page 3. *•. and sergeant would be right dere. De master would go out in de woods and hide and not come out till they rung de bell at de house. ~ "I voted since I been 21. I voted for Roosevelt twice. Some thinks he is goinf to get in again* What's the use of takin' money from a man for votinf a certain way? If I like you and you have treated me good all my life den I'll vote for you. *I don't know what I think about de young Negroes today. Dey is all shined up and goin' 'round. If dey can read and write dey ought to know de difference between right and wrong. I don't think dey will amount to much. Some of 'em ain't got nonsense. lily mother would not let me stay out. Now, dat is all dey doin'. Last night de policeman put a knot on my boy's head; he was drinkin' and got in- to it with a coon. De young colored people is fightin' all de time. I don't get out. Just go to de store and come back home again. Dere is a house right j.,near where dey has a big time every night. De whites and black ones was mixed up here till I stopped it. Right down in dat hollow I'll bet you'll find one-third white women livin' with black men. Most all de colored people around here is workin' in the works here at Crystal City. Dey will get up a war here if they keep on, you just watch, like they did in Illinois when dey burnt up a heap of ebons. It's liable to get worse de way dey is goin* on." 78 340198 Missouri Ex-Slaves Lula Chambers Page 1« *' ^9 HJIA CHAMBERS The subject of this sketch is Lula Chambers who is not cer- tain of her age. However she knows she is past ninety and that she was born in Gelatin County, Kentucky near Virginia. She lives with a granddaughter, Genieve Holden, 2627 Thomas Street A laying ill in a threeuiuarter metal bed in the front hall room of her granadauihter's 4-room brick apartment, the old lady is a very cheerful person, with an exceptionally fair complexion* Her jc Y brown hair is mixed with gray and she wears it quite long* Her \ room is neatly furnished. ^SU. ±i~uJuA>£ . *I was born in Galatin County, Kentucky, more than ninety years ago, slaves-''didn't know dere age in them days when I come along* t do know I was born in July and my mammy1 s name was 3?|at- sy ULllard. I donft know nothing at all about no kind of father • Course, I had one but who he was I never knew* nI ain't never even seen my mother enough to really know her, cause aha was sold As <*¦ ¦¦'' off the plantation where I was raised, when r was too young to re- f member her, and I just growed up in the house with the white folkaa ..-. .V. S"i'<.'V"'ksT - '''tl'*-?' " r • -, '' --£--<• - • '•''¦ " '* Missouri Ex-Slaves Lula Chambers Page 2. ^ QQ dat owned me. Dere names was Dave Lillard. He owned more dan one hundred slaves. He told me dat my mother had seven children and I was de baby of fem all and de onljest one living dat I knows anything about. They sold my mother down de river when I was too young to recollect a mother. I fared right well with my white masters. I done all de sewing in de house, wait on. de ta- ble, clean up de house, knit and pick wool, and my old miss used to carry me to church with her whenever she went* She liked lots of water, and I had to bring her water to her in church. I had so much temper dey never bothered me none about nursing de children. But I did have a heap of nursing to do with de grown ups. I used to get a whipping now and den but nothing like de other slaves got. I used to be scared to death of those old Ku Klux folks with all dem hoods on dere heads and faces. I never will for- get, I saw a real old darkey woman slave down on her knees praying to God for his help. She had ajbible in front of her. Course she couldn't read it, but she did know what it was, and she was prayin1 out of her very heart, until she drawed the attention of them old Ku Klux and one of fem just walked in her babin and lashed her un- Missouri Ex-Slaves Lula Chambers Page 3. %*? 81 merciful* He made her get up off her knees and dance, old as she was. Of course de old soul couldn't dance but he just made her hop around anyhow* De slave owners in de county where I was raised— de well-to- do ones I mean, did not abuse de slaves like de pore trash and oth- er slave holders did. Of course dey whipped fem plenty when dey didnft suit. But dey kind of taken care of fem to sell. Dey had a great slave market dere dat didnft do nothing but sell slaves, and if dey wanted a good price for dem de slave would have to be in a purty good condition. Datfs what saved dere hides. My owners had a stock farm and raised de finest stock in Kentucky* Dey did- n't raise any cotton at all, but dey shore did raise fine wheat, barley and corn, just acres and acres of it. De worse lashing our slaves ever got was when dey got caught away from home without a pass. Dey got whipped hot and heavy den. In Arkansas many of de slave owners would tie dere slaves to a wagon and gallop fem all over town and would dey be banged up. I saw a* strange niggah come to town once and didn't know where he Missouri Ex-Slaves Lula Chambers Page 4. *' 83 was going and stepped in the door of a white hotel. When he saw all white faces, he was scared most to death. He didnft even turn around he just backed out and donft you know dem white folks kilt him for stepping inside a white manfs hotel by mistake, yes they did. "I canft tell you any pleasure I had in my early days honey, cause I didnft have none. If I had my studyin1 cap on, and hadnft just got over dis terrible sick spell, I could think of lots of things to tell you, but I can't now. Eight after de war dey sent colored teachers through de South to teach colored people and child, do you know, dem white folks just crucified most of fem. I donft know how to read or write. Never did know. I am de mother of five children, but dey is all dead now* I have two grandchilren living, and have been in St. Louis seven years. I come here from Helena, Arkansas. My husband was a saloon keeper and a barber. He died in 1880 in Brinkley, Arkansas. I nursed and cooked in Brinkley after he died for fifteen yeajpt.for one family* Missouri Ex-Slaves Lula Chambers Page 5. f OO WI wears glasses sometime. I have been a member of de church over fifty years. My membership is in Prince of Peace Baptist Church now and has been every since I been in St. Louis. God has been so good to me, to let me live all dese years. I x just want to be ready to meet him when he is ready for me. My \ only trouble will be to love white folks, dey have treated my race so bad. My pastor, Rev. Fred McDonald always tells me I will have to forgive them and love dam if I wants to go to hea- ven. But honey, datfsf go in to be a lifetime job. I donft care how long God lets me live, it will still be a hard job* Y nI gets an old age pension. It is very little, but I thank God for dat. I have nothing left to do now in this world but to pray* Thank God for his goodness to me and be ready when He comas* "Dis rhemetis serves me so bad I can't be happy much. Wish I could remember more to tell you but I canH." The old woman is well preserved for her years. (Written by Grace E. White.) SMMALINE COPE Ex-Slave Emma line Cope was born at McMinville, Tenn., on August 20, 1848, and is now 89 years of age. Emma line's slave father was King Myers and her slave mother was Caroline Myers. They were both owned by one Tim Myers a wealthy and prominent planter of McMinville. After peace was declared at the expiration of the Civil War, Smmaline Cope was taken to Lowell, Kansas, and there afterwards, was married to John Cope* Thirty five years ago John Cope died in Kansas and Smmaline Cope then moved to Joplin with one girl child* They have lived in Joplin contin- ously since then. When interviewed Mrs. Cope, slowly recovering from a paralytic stroke, Seemed unable to give any details of the Civil Wa:r activities. 210093 • MISSOURI HBRCTIAKEDM EX-SLAVE STORIES PETER CORN Page 1. PETER TflT.Tfi HOW SLAVERY BEGAN "Pse 83 years old and was born in Ste. Genevieve County and my old slave-time place was in New Tennessee about 14 miles west of de town of Ste* Genevieve* My master had only my mother, my mother1 s brother, and an old lady by de name of Malinda* My mother had six children but only four of us lived to be grown. Father was owned by a Mr* Aubershon right dere at Coffman* Mother come from way south in Kentucky and she was owned by a Master Calvin dere and when him and de mistress died de slaves had to be divided up among de children* Den my motherfs mis- tress left Louisville and brought her here to Missouri* When mother come to Missouri she was only 9 years old* "My old mistress, I can't say a hard word about her. Before I was bomed she was left a widow and she treated us almost like white folks* She took care of us and raised us up* Mother died after she had six children and we was left in de eare of dis old mistress. The Catholic people treated us like as if we was free. Ify mot'her and father was married by de priest and i% was lawful. Bat dese other ones was married by de master, hisself. »hen dey 85 '^#*j&*rv &&.,.'. MISSOURI ' HERCUIANEUM EX-SIATO STORIES FETER CORN Pae;e 2. 86 married de master could pick up any old kind of paper and call it lawfully married. An almanac or anything would do. But what was it? The colored people didnft know A from B and "wasnft allowed to learn to read. If my master or mistress would see me read in* a paper dey would come up and say, r»7hat you know about reading a paper? Throw dat down.1 Dis vras done to keep us from learning to read anything. nA£ter we got free what did we do to get lawfully married to our slave-time wife? Understand good now. Den de squire came around and we had to get married all over again under de new constitution. It would cost |5# When de master first mar- ried us he would say in de ceremony something like dis* "Now, by God, if you ainft treatin1 her right, by God, Ifll take you up and whip you." The girl's mistress would chastise her de same way. I would choose who I wanted to marry but I had to talk to my master about it. Den him and de owner of de girl I wanted would get together and talk it over. "Dere is lots of people right today who canVt tell you how de new constitution come up. In slave time, young man, we was stock, like cattle and hogs. If I killed 50 men nothin* was said about jail, but we got whipped den. Dat was your sufferin* MISSOURI SX^SLA^E STORI5S mum corns page 3* m 87 for what you done done, Man, I never got but one whippin1 from my master. I can tell you just how it come. It was done through takin1 care of an old cow. Now, in dem times, son, dere was not gates like dere is now. You called dem 'slip bars', and would let down a rail fence called bars to let the cattle in. Understand, listen at it good now. Every mornin* I had to go up to de straw stack and drive • de cows to de barn. To milk dem we had to drive, dem down a lane to de house for de old .cook woman to milk. As I &vC Missouri St. Louis County Ex-Slave Stories Mary Divine Page 2. and it was no more dan right when we git free to divide up de plantation so every one of us could make a good livin' on de livinf we done made for dam, and dey still own and have plenty. She was a good old soul. She didn't want a one of us to leave, even after freedom been declared. She said she would never live to see it and she didn't neither. She died ffore we was free, and dem chillun never did carry out her will neither. fCause dey didn't give a one of us nothing no, nothin' at all. Put us out wid just what we had on our backs, and dat was ipost nothin* . At 4 years old I had to nurse old man George's son, Joseph's baby, and de baby was most big as me, but I nursed it just de same, honey. Dey put me in dat fami- ly nursin' dat baby ffore I was four 'cause dey put me dare in January and I wasn't four years old till de incoming May dat same year. I 'member dat right well. I nursed dat ba- by for two years, too, and it sure was crazy 'bout me. I loved it too, yes, I did* Den after two years dey sent me to work for de old manfs oldest son, Jacob. Dey made me do all de cardin' and spinnin1, make ropes and ply lines, two cuts a day, was my task and I stayed dere in dat family until af- ter the Civil War was over# 103 Missouri St* Louis County Ex-Slave Stories Mary Divine Page 3* *f 04 *I heard my father got killed in de Civil War. I never knowed for sure, fcause three months ffore I was born, his owners carried him away to some other part of de country andr we never seen nor heard from him no more. Mother never did know what happened him, no she didnft. "Just ffore war was declared I was still young and small but just de same I had to help pack brick to de moulders where dey would be building brick chimneys, and work in de field, too. I had it mighty hard in dem days, yes I did but den it wasn't hard as some others had it. "I 'member during de war days, my old miss use to boast fbout her littlest darkey, don^pun enough thread to clothe her whole family for de next three years to come. For two years af- ter freedom was declared I worked from farm to farm and de pro- mise we was going to get paid, but we never got no thin* from none of dat work but de old slave cabin to sleep in and food enough just so we could work. "We had noboby down in dat co&ntry i»o make folks keep dere word and pay a nigger, so we just have to keep on traveling After fbout three years later I icooked in de same county for a Bill Green. Got my board and keep and #U00 a week. He kept Missouri St. Louis County Ex-Slave Stories Mary Divine Page 4. if)5 me fbout five months. Dey never did keep us long for pay. Den I went to John Carney's plantation wid my mamma. I card and spun dere for 'bout one year and some weeks. We got #1.00 a week and he was supposed to give us home made cloth to make us some clothes for our work, but he never did do it. After dat we wnt to work on Sub Allen's farm A for #1.00 week. I took sick dere and dey had to call in a doctor. My mamma and me worked for him a long time, but we got ready to go and want our money he said, while I was sick it taken all he owed us to pay my doctor's bill so we didn't git nothin' dere, but a place to stay and we shore did work like slaves in all dem places, from sun up till sun down just like in slave days. Only difference was we didnft git a beatin' when we didn't suit. I couldn't make no money for clothes or nothing so I just up and mar- ried and had eleven children. Den my husband died. I had a child in dis last World War. He was my ninth child and got took in de last draft. I never heard of him no more. Dis one I'm living with named U^jLpsses Divine. He's de only child I got living I know anything about. Missouri St# Louis County Ex-Slave Stories Mary Divine Page 5. i Of J "I been here in St. Louis since Wilson1 s first admin- istration and worked in de nut factory five years. I like to sew and do general housework. I read, write and spell a lit- tle but not enough to speak about. I know dis young genera- tion^ got a mighty fine chance if dey 'cept of it and 'pred- ate it. Course some do and some don't. I prefer living in town dan out here but my son bought dis spot. I can't make my own living no more, so I got to live on it. I git what de relief pretend to call help, tain't nuff for nothin' though. Dey claim I'll git a pension, but I never seen it yet. I'll be dead directly and I won't need it* I can't answer dem other questions 'bout what us slaves expect and voting, I don*t know." Federal Writersf Project, *j ;* ¦, v y^ « Interview with wife of Charles District #5, n" *w'' ' L Douthit, Farmington, Mo* 107 Sikeston, Missouri Note:—While the interviewer was questioning Charles Douthit, Farmington, Missouri, negro, who was bom in 1865, his wife standing in the door looked rather wild-eyed, and unable to stand it any longer, finally broke out with the following:—"Say! What are jthey gittin1 all dis stuf fur anyway? I bet I know. They want ta find out how dey treated de ole slaves sofs deyfll know how to treat the young funs when dey makes dem slaves. I bet they're goin* a try to have slaves again end dere are some people who want slavery back but de people won't stanf fur hit now. I don't know v/hat de government wants to do but de people would have a most turrible war if dey tried to have slaves .- again. But ma muther who worked for John Coffman in Ste. Genevieve County, wuz well treated. She war really owned by the Missus and de Missus would not sell ma mamma. Alien de war wuz ober de missus gave ma muther some land an built her a beautiful home down dare. Ma muther wuz treated so good dat she stayed an worked fur de Missus til de Missus died. I was borned down in dat dare house dat de Missus built fur ma Muthuh and ma son lives dare now. I was down dare las week, an 1 calls hit home.* I'h ] tr \0]$\ SLAVERY, 108 I The slaves had a hard time, sone of them. All the work was done [by hand. The slaves crad&ed the wheat. They raised hemp for clothes. IThe old master had one woman who made clothes the year round for thehands. I we had to get a pass from the master to leave the place. If any of the [slaves got in "trouble they were taken to the whippin' post. If they [had done a big. crime they got 60 or 70 lashed with a whip, for a small [ crime they got about thirty. If their master would not pay their fine the white folks went to singin' school then they would sing one or two songs thats all they knew. They would have big basket meetings. All the slaves had to set in the gallery when we went to church. Most everybody went on hossback. Some of the farmers were good to their men and some bad. When some farm had more slaves than was needed, he would hire them [ out to some body or sell them. New Years day was always sale day or the1 (day they would hire out for the year. When we wanted ito get married we [had to ask the master and the girls' mother and father. All the married i man got Thursday night off to go to see their wives. At Christmas time we got a week off and we got Saturday afternoon off. At Christmas the old boss would fix a big bowl of eggnog for us niggers. The niggers were superstitious. They would not live in a house where a sinner had died. There was an old man and woman lived down the road from our house that fit all the time, and by that house after dark onecmight and saw them walkin' around in the house. lone of us niggers would go by there after dark, we always rode around the place. ?eople are 16ts smarter now than they was then. Related by »%cle John Estell, colored, aged 85. HUffi 240120 AUGI ° 19?? Missouri Ex-Slaves Smoky Eulenberg Page 1. A 09 SMOKY EULENBERG "I was born on October 13, 1854* My master was Henry Walker and we live fbout three mile from Jackson. De house was of logs. One of dose big double kind vrid a open hall in /^ " between. Solomon Eulenberg was my father and he was a big fine looking man* My mother come fum Tennessee when she was ten year old. # "Master had nearly a hundred slaves and day was about (# ten or twelve cabins in de quarters. Dey was a big feeding <::^ ^ barn where wefd hitch up and go to work. De barn was built 1/ of big hewed logs, too. "No1!^ day wasnft none of us ever try to run away. We *3 had a good home and we all stayed till dey declare peace and " lots of us kept on a staying cause we didnft know nothing % else to do. But my father was industrious—he worked hard i and saved his moaey and in a couple of year he bought a team f and we moved to a little place. £ J~"»e^«5t Missouri iiX-S laves Smoky Kulenberg Page 2. 110 ••But lots of de cullud folks had it hard dem days— dey was jest turned loose and didn't know what to do. Some of de white folks was mighty good to fenw If they'd hear of a family being hungry deyfd send food to • eta or have •am come to dey kitchen. "A cose raebbe it don*t sound right but in some ways I often wish wefs back in dem days. We had a fine place. Every year wefd kill seventy or seventy-five hogs—and had plenty of eiterj thing. We ate our meals in our own cabin but every morning at seven, de colored housewoman went to de smoke house to cut meat for de day. Us youngsters all ganged up round her, hoping to get something. Lotsa times missus would ask us if wefs hungry and bring us into de kit- chen and give us what dey had left. Sometime she have de women make up pancakes for us. Us children had de chores to do~~~aifcd any work dat wefs able. "We didnft have no school. A woman come and stay all year round jest to teach little Miss Lucy and she taught Missouri Bx-Slav»s Smoky Sulsaberg Page 3. IJLI some of de cullud children to read and write. Missus would have a preacher come once a month to preach* I reofleet r his name was Rev. IVatts. All of us would come into de big house for meeting. •'Many a time we seen soldiers pass on de road hut dey n&ver molested us none, fcept to Come in and aat everything that was cooked—and sometime have de women cook up some more. One Sunday morning a bunch of *em come by*—dey had been over to Burfordville and burned de mill. Another Sun- day a bunch of Rebs come by and camped fbout a mile from our place. Pat night de Blue Coats ran onto fem. Dey kill- ed about thirty ? Next morning us boys went over there and what we saw didnft suit me none* Some of de cullud men help- ed to bury fem. *W© had lots a good times in dem days. tJs boys played marbles and ball and other games like boys will. On Satur- days from five to nine we all had off—den wefd congregate— and have singing and dancing. At Christmas and such days Missouri iSx-Slaves i i«> n mi a ¦¦ m n,m —mi Smoky Bulenberg Page 4. i_lP wefd have a big time* When deyfs a wedding missus always dressed fem and fixed femup. I recflect one time missus - sold nsj mother and four children but it wasnft no trade* De woBsa^s name was Mrs. Sheppard and she was a sassy old old woman. She come into my anotherfs cabin and grabbed her and told her she &oing to take her home. Mother jesf pushed her out de door and said she wouldnft go—and she tola missus she wouldnft go—so dey had to call it off— it was no trade.* (Staoky Sulenberg lives about three blocks northwest of the Gourthous© in Jackson* The house was all nice and clean, his sheets and pillows all snowy xvhite and freshly ironed* He has been bed-fast for a long time* His wife is an interesting person, but she remembers nothing of slave days*) (Written from F* C. in Sikeston District*) 240102 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLATS STORIES AKN ULRICH EVANS Page 1, WED FOR ECONOMIC REA5QDB5 Although 94 years of living have dimmed her eyes a bit and the burdens she's packed through the years have bent her wiry frame Ann Ulrich Evans, a former slave, is still able to carry on. She lives in a rear apartment of the slum district at 1405 North Eighth Street with her daughter, Eliza Grant. Ann declares shefs had eleven children of her own and that from them have sprung so many grand children and great grand children that she's entirely lost count of them. The story of the incidents that have filled her life but have still left her able to love mankind and smile follows substantially in her own words; ffI was born March 10, 1843 on Dolphin Street, Mobile, Alabama. My mother1 s name was Charlotte Ulrich and my father's was Peter Pedro Ulrich. I am the mother of 11 children and we has over 100 grand- children ? Dere is so many great grandchildren and great great grand- children we jesf quit eountin* when we comes to dem. I has four gen- erations, and dey give me a party three years ago, and so many of my off spring come der wasn't any room for half of 'em and even dat was not de beginning of de lot of fem. I got a gang of fem I never did 113 0 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVS STORIES AMN ULRICH E7ANS Page 2. 114 see, and never will see, I donft reckon. Dey just write and tell us dey got fem. ffMy father was oxvned by a rich old boss named Captain Bullmay. He owned a raft of boats, and my father was a cook on one of dem boats. Mamma only raised two of her children. De Ulriches sold ijie when I was a girj. to Dr. Odem in de same county, and I worked in his field, spun thread to make cloth, pulled fodder, put de spinning in, and after a while, I don't know jiow long, he swapped me off for two boys. My new owner was Gilbert Faulkner. He was a railroad section man. I worked in de field for him until we was sot free. I had some good times and some bad times both. De man I married worked on the rail- road for him. His name was Moses Evans. Dat was in Helena, Arkansas. My husband1 s been dead more dan 30 years now. I got four daughters and three sons living and a host of grand and great grand, and great great grandchildren living. Since my husband died, I just live from one child to the other and some time de grandchildren takes care of me, I havn't done no kind of work since my children got big.enough to work. Dey been pretty good to me all my days. "Bout a year ago de government done started giving me a pension, #11 a month. It helps some, but don't very much, every things so high, honey. When freedom come I asked my old owner to please let me stay MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SIAVE STORIES ME ULHICH WANS Page 3. 115 on wid dem, I didnft have no whar to go no how. So he just up and said fAnn, you can stay here if you want to, but I ainft goin to give you nothing but your victuals and clothes enough to cover your hide, not a penny in money, do no nigger get from me.1 So I up and said, 'why boss, dey tells me dat since freedom we git a little change1, and he cursed me to all de low names he could think of and drove me out like a dog. I didnft know what to do, or where to go, so I sauntered off to a nearby plantation where a colored slave kept house for her bachelor slave owner and she let me stay with her, and her boss drove me off after two days, because I kept company with a nigger who worked for a man he didn't like. I was barefooted,.so I asked Moses Evans, to please buy me some shoes, my feet was so sore and I didn't have no money nor no home neither. So he said for me to wait till Saturday night and hefd buy me some shoes. Sure fnough when Saturday night come, he buyed me some shoes, and handkerchiefs and a pretty string of beads and got an old man neighbor named Rochel to let me stay at his house. Den in a few weeks me and him got married, and I was mighty glad to marry him to git a place to stay. Yes I was. fCause I had said, hard times as I was having if I seed a man walking with two sticks and he wanted me for a wife I'd marry him to git a place to stay. Tes I did and I meant just dat. In all my born days I never knowed of a white man giving a black man nothi&g, no I ain't. MISSOURI ST, LOUIS SX-SL&VE STORIES AM ULRICH EVANS Page 4. 116 MNow child, let me tell you right here, I was always a heap more scared of dem Ku Klux dan I was of anything else. fCause de war was to help my folks. But dem old Ku Klux never did mean us no good. Honey, I used to make pallets on de floor after de war for my children, my- self and husband to sleep on, fcause dem Ku Klux just come all around our house at night time and shoot in de doors and windows. Dey never bothered nobody in de day time. Den some time dey come on in de house, tear up everything on de place, claim dey was looking for somebody, and tell us day hungry fcause dey ainft had nothin1 to eat since de battle of Shiloh. Maybe twenty of fem at a time make us cook up everything we got, and dey had false pockets made in dere shirt, and take up de skillet with de meat and hot grease piping hot and pour it every bit down de front of dem shirts inside de false pockets and drop de hot bread right down dere, behind de meat and go on. "One night dey come to our house after my husband to kill him, and my husband had a dream dey's coming to kill him. So he had a lot of colored men friends to be at our house with guns dat night and time dey seed dem Ku Klux coming over de hill, dey started shooting just up in de air and about, and dem Ku Klux never did bother our house no more* I sure glad of dat. Ifse so tired of dem devils. If it nadnH been for dat dey would have killed everyone of us dat night. I don't know MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SIAVE STORIES AM ULRICH EVANS Page 5. 117 how come dey was so mean to us colored folks. We never did do nothing to dem. "Dey go to some of dem niggers1 house, and dey run up de chimney corner to hide and dem low down founds shoot fem and kill fem in de chimney hole. Dey was terrible. Den de next bad thing happened to us poor niggers after de war was dis. De white folks would pay niggers to lie to de rest of us niggers to git der farming done for nothing. Hefd tell us come on and go with me, a man wants a gang of niggers to do some work and he pay you like money growing on trees. ?/ell we ain't had no money and ain't use to none, so we glad to hear dat good news. We just up and bundle up and go with this lying nigger. Dey carried us by de droves to different parts of Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. After we got to dese places, dey put us all to work allright on dem great big, farms. We all light in and work like old horses, thinking now we making money afad going to git some of it, but we never did git a cent. We never did git out of debt. We always git through with fine big crops and owed de white man more dan we did when we started de crop, and got to stay to pay de debt. It was awful. All over was like':dat. Dem lying niggers caused all dat. Yes dey did. nI donft know what to think of this younger generation. 'Pears to me like dey jest ain't no good. Dey is too trifling. I often times tell MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVE STORIES ANN ULRICH EVANS Page 6. 1 ifi fem dere chances today side of mine in my day. Dey jest say dey wouldn't take what I been through• "But dey is just a hopeless lot, just plain no good. All i can say is as you say, some is some good but so few 'ginst de masses, take so long to find 'em, I just donft bother fbout trying to hunt fem out. "I voted once in my life, but datfs been so long ago I donft Mem- ber who it was for, or where I was living at de time, I never had no friends in politics to my knowing. All I fmember dey told me to put a cross under de elephant, and I did dat. I donft know nothin' more fbout it dan dat. Don't know what it meant or nothing. After all I been through, honest chile, I love everybody in de world, dose dat mistreat me and dose dat didnft. I don't hold nothing in my heart 'ginst nobody, no I don't. God going to righten each wrong some day, so I'se going to wait with love in my heart till dat day come. Den I speck I will feel plenty sorry, for what's going to happen to dem dat mistreated me and my people and all other helpless folks. 'Cause I seen white folks in W day, have 'bout as tough time in a way as black folks, and right now some of 'em fairing just 'bout like me. "I 'member how de old slaves use to be workin' in de field singing 'Am I born to die, And Lay Dis Body Down.' And dey sing, Dark was de night and cold de ground, on which my lord was laid, Great drops of MISSOURI ST. LOUIS BX-SLAVE STORIES AM ULRICH EVANS v Page 7. 11Q blood lifce sweat run down, in agony He prayed. Another song was fWay over in de promised land my Lord calls me and I must gof* And f0n Jordan*s Stormy Banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye. To Canaan1s fair and happy land, where my possessions lie. All ofer those wide extended plains, Shines one eternal day; There God, the son forever reigns, And scatters night away, No chilling winds, nor poisfnous breath, Can reach that healthful shore; Sickness and sorrow, pain and death, Are felt and feared no more. When shall I reach that happy place, And be forever blest? When shall I see my father's face, And ¦in his bosom rest?" I am Bound for the Promised Land.1 "I am a member of the Sanctified Church. I was a Baptist for years." ~> / L ^------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------r I Cape Girardeau Co. Folklore. -iqa page i. J-'W IKPBRVIEri WITH JA1E3 GOINGS (3X-3LAVE) Teresa Cannon wuz my mammy. She belonged to old Dr. Cannon, of Jackson; when I was born. Tom Goings wuz my Daddy*. He lived on a near-by plantation. Mrs. Dunn bought my mammy and me. Den'Massa' Lige Hill got us fum her. I growed up out der near White- water. Dey wuz fbout twenty slaves on de place, f en we wuz all living pretty good— I plenty to eat, an' clothes enuf\ Dey wuzn't no school out dere, an* I didden know nothin* 'bout readin' 'bout writ in'—mostly, I jes1 done 'chores' carrin' in de~wood f en water en1 sech like. I wuz 'bout ten years old wen de war wuz over, so I 'members well-nuf. They wuz a battle over at Whitejvater, I didden see it, but I heard de shooting and seed some o' de wounded men. De Southern soldiers had been round de place for 'boat a week. 'Massa' /^•. had a brist mill 'en he had lots o' corn* Dey wuz takin* our corn en' grindin' it for J- dey own use. Dey wuz killin' our hogs, an' helpin1 der selves to whut we had. Den word J, came dat de 'Yankees' wuz comin'. 'Old George' was sent to take de horses to de woods f 'en hide 'em. Back in de woods he met two neighbor boys, 'Willis*, 'en Columbus Bain', #'. I . • P. en' dey showed him where to hide de hosses, an' de sojers never did fin' 'em. Our young .,.; J 'Jlassa Billie' 'en de two 'Bain' boys got away—but de 'Yanks' druv de army clear to Bloomfield • en furder. De dead wuz laying all long de road an' dey stayed dere,too. In dem days it wuzn't (OU nuthin' to fin* a dead man in de woods* De^Yankees' took /Old Massa' 'en all de udder f > * . f men in to Cape Girardeau 'en made 'um help build de forts• ^-^ We often seed sojers on de roads, but dey didden bother us much, but de bushwackers,1 'de wuz bad. One day, Bill Noeman 'en his step-mother; fum White water Station, cum up ? : 'en tuck him to de Cape. Dere dey hung him on a high gate-post, jest outside * er town. ^ ':$HS •mammy1, Teresa Cannon lived here in dis house wid us for a long time. She died |$e year ago at de age of one hundred Ten fifteen." jederal^Writers4 Project, ^iQA^fi 240—Folklore, ".' ¦District /f5, '**' ^^-^^1 Interview with Rachael mc%Al ¦Sikeston, Missouri. Goings ex-slave, Cap!? JL^Ju My full name wuz Rachal iSxelina Mayberry (Mabrey) an1 my mammy's name was Cynthy Enerva ^ane Logan. You see 1 carried de name Mayberry cause dat wuz my masta1 s name. festa1 Josiah i*iayberry. My mammy carried de name Logan "cause dat wuz de famly she belonged tofo1 Masta4 bought her down in Buckskull, Arkansas. Masta had three sons, i^osh, his iiife wuz Roberta, Alf his wife wuz Malissa and Byrd, his wife wuz Cully. In dem days we called 'em all by dere first name* We honored de ole Masta1, but de younger folks, we didden call Masta1 Dosh, or Masta' Byrd--or Missus Cully. It wuz jes JL)osh, Byrd or Cully, didden1 know de ole Missus. Dey tole me she went crazy and kilt herself shortly after 1 wuz borned 'cause she though I was white. We wuz de only slave famly Masta1 had en wuz good to us. We all liked him, all o1 us but °ynthy, dat's my gammy I allus called her Cynthy till after de war wuz over. Cynthy always called him. "Ole Damn"§-she hated him 'cause he brought her fum Arkansas and left her twins an dey poppy down dere. Cynthy's / daddy was a full Cherrokee. She wuz alwys mad and had a mean look in her eye. When she " got her Indian up de white folks let her alone. She usta run off to de woods till she git over it. One time she tuk me and went to de woods an1 it. was nigh a month fore dey found her—and I wuz nigh dead. Dey kept me at de white folks house till I got strong >, again. Only one time ^asta' whip me. We made lot3 o* molasses on our place. OKI lots of t molasses en* dey wuz allus some barrels standin' up right wid bungs in close to de bottom so de'lasses run out. One day I seed one o' de men fix him some sweetened tobaccy. He his tobaccy in a box about so big, en he push de bung des way, en dat way—den down, tea up den he hoi1 it jes loose enough so de 'lasses trickle out over his tobaccy. I etched him an thought I'd fix me some, too. I got my box fixed en1 I pushed at de bung, 1 pushed dis way, en dat way like I seed him do when all at once dat bung flew out en' kt lasses flew all over de place. De barrel "was full en' it cum out so fast I couldnH 8ft de bung back in. I tried till I wuz wadin1 lasses to my toaees. Den I run call ,; ^sta' and tell him a bung dun bust out. He,say how you do dat? I tell him I jes knock - jsgaio1 'en it flew out. Den he seed my box and he knowed how I done it. Den he laid me ,B.de floor an' he put his foot oa my haid. He took his switch and he gave me one good [Federal Writers' Project, District #5, ISiJceston, Missouri. -2- 240—Folklore. Interview with j Rachal Goings ex- 12S' slave, Cape Gir- ardeau. cut. Den he kept beatin on de floor. I guess dat wuz to make de others think he wuz giving me a big beatin1. But I didden want that big foot on my haid no more. ! De bi/ bouse stood racing de road. It wuz built like lots o' houses wuz in deia days , de kitchen and dinin' room on one side. Masta*s room on de udder with a big open hallway between. ['Across de front was a big porch. We called it a gallery. Across de road, back a piece lays wuz our cabin, ^ynthy did all de cookin, an she wuz a good cook. W.e allus had plenty good things to eat. De white folks would sit down en eat, enwhen dey's through we'd sit down at de same table. I members de first .shoes I ever had. One of de men had got em fV his little girl, en1 dey was too small. 3o he giv' 'em to my step-daddy for me. Dey uz too big but I wore em en wuz prouc^f em. They wuz so big fof me, they went dis way en* dat way en1 den de heels went al^crooked. I wore fem till bout de time de first snow came den I guess I though I'd wore 'em long enuf an* I throwed em away. My step daddy dipped me for dat and made me wear fem all winter. I must a been b out eight year old when de war start. Fust I knowed, one day Masta said to me. "Child go out to de gate an see if anyone comin." I went to de gate like he tole me an1 dere was men comin down de road. Whew! I never seed so many men in all my life. I ^ent back en1 tole him. He didden' say nuthin* but lit out the back way across the fields an we didden see him again fo{ some time. After that we saw lots o* sojers--deyfd stop at our place but dey never bother nuthin. Masta told us allus to have plenty cookin1 an bakin1 ready when de sojers came* Gynthyfd have de kitchen cupboard piled full of light bread and cakes and pies—some- time dey's Rebel sojers an sometimes dey's Republicans--We called de Northerns Republicans* 'e cud allus tell fenu 1'he Rebels wore brown coats and the Northerners wore blue suits *id p^retty gold pieces on dey shoulders. M^l but dey wuz pretty. Masta' ud come home once en awhile --an den one day he come homes— I can see him | jre* asittin by de kitchen Istave . $e stove sat back in de big fireplace far enuf so de ^ipe go up de flue but not too far so you could look in de oven* Dere sat de Masta fwf- /\ aaa?te'-'-''- £M^^&M£&MiM federal Writers' Project, -3- 240—Folklore, istrict #5, Interview with ^no ikeston, Missouri. Rachal Goings ex-Slave, X^ti Cape Girardeau* \ » : If ¦ ookixr* l^6 he kaci sumthin1 to te&l mammy but was skeered to. She had her mad up that tay—I jes foun1 a hen's nest an1 wuz runnin1 in to tell her. I hollered "Cynthy, Cynthy"-- asta' put up his hand en say, slow like—'Stop chile1. You mustin* call her ^ynthy no fere. The war is over and you no more slaves. Now you must call her mammy"• But dat [ill de difference it made—we kep' on livin dere just de same, till Masta1 died two year jitter de war. One day a mule kicked him on de laig what wuz hurt in de war. It got so bad de toctor couldn1 do nuthin for it. Masta' wud holler wii pain—It wuz in de fall of de yar. ne day I came in and sed, ;,Masta' you know dat big yellow apple tree? It's bloomin again, bits got little green apples on it.lf He looked at me an aez-'Chile, youre lyin". bez, "No Masta I aint*" He say "If your lyin' to me, I'll get up and lick you again", 101 runs and gets him a branch wid flowers on, and little green apples, an when he Bees t, he cries. He knows he's gonna die bause de tree is bloomin out of season* But I didden now it. I says *Mastaf if dem apples gits ripe, we'll have good eatins*' cause de big [fellt? mealy ones wen deyf all, day bust wide open." Masta' died en if I'd a know'd what I know now I could have saved him. I'd a took ¦young elder leaves en boiled em to make a tea—den I'd a poured dat in de sore en it ud |a got well, musta Masta' had hundreds a acres—cause he give each o' his boys a bigfkrm-en dey was [M.3 dotter Caroline, by his fust wife—I forgit bout her—he give her a farm, too—D$s |W2 down in Stoddard County, near Advance. Shortly after dat Dosh died, en de rest sold en' went to Texas. We seed Masta' lots a times after he died. I sez it wuz Masta' cause it looked like One day I was standin lookin thru de bars o' de gate wen I seen out in de road de |Ngest dog I ever seed in all my life. He wuz standin' d#r lookin' at me. I seys to my mother, "Look! he's got thick sandy red hair like Masta's, en he's got a nose like rta's, en he's got eyes like Masta's, an he sh0' do like like Masta'—Den I run back federal Writers1 Project, pistrict -f5, Bikeston, Missouri. -4- 240—folklore, Interview with Rachal 4 OA Goings ex-slave. Gape A Girardeau. onto de gallery where de adder folks is. Dat dog stan1 dere lookin at us, de big brush on his tail jes a wavin', den he reach thru de gate wid one paw, en onlatch it, and walked [right in. xhe gate went shut agin but it didien make no noise. Den he cum up de walk en !go rite across de gallery in front of us* He jump over de side fence, en run across fie field, en go inter de woods* We know*d it wuz Masta1, jes cum to look aroun, en it git so he'd cuin every day ' bout noon, jes when Masta' always cum in fo' dinner. We ain't iever seed him cum outer de grave yard, but he always com frum dat way. En one day I wuz , [playing in de doorway of our cabin an I looked across to de big house, and dere sat Masta' (in his big chair on de gallery. I called Mammy en she says—"If youre lyin1 , I'll ¦whup you*'. But she cum en look, en she seed him too, he had his white shirt-sleeve rolled ¦up to his elbow and his red flannel undershit sleeve down to his wrist jes like he uster [tear it, &er he sat en while we wus lookin he got up en walked off around the house* I members one evenin* bout dusk I wuz commiiyfchru de cotton patch, an1 I run plum into [aman crawlin1 along«Dat wuz durin1 de war, en der he wuz crawlin1 on his hands en knees. He had de biggest hands I ever seed on a human, an his feet wasn't ever touchin de groun1 —¦ ey wuz jes floppin1 one over de udder, dis way. ^n his face!—I've seed false faces but dis wuz de worst I ever s eed—dere wuz big red en white stripes all across his face. He I fared up an looked at me like a dog rare on his haunces, and jes1 dat way he wuz taller TO I wuz. I diddenstop to look ag in1 but I lit out en run through dat cotton patch. [tawd ha1 mercyl how I did run. I jes' knocked dat cotton one way er nother—endeydidden pip me for it when I tole em bout it nuther. Wex1 mornin1 we went down der to look, » seed de tracks where his knees had made-thru de cotton patch,cross the road, en enter fle woods. But no body else never did see him. I often studied, wuz he natchel, or jes a When my little brother wuz borned, I members dat day. Mammy and I wuz working out in corn patch. She wuz coverin corn, an she jes had bout three or four more rows to coverr 1 she ran to de house. Bey wuz jes one room en she tried to made de udder children go * l^:ta$ dey wouldn' go, so she ran ouiPside in de chimney coraer, en soon day heard ''»**J.VAw««»*w^ii->iJKis.^s, ftieral Writers1 Project, -5- 240~*olklore. '^ZSTq District jf5, An Interview with \d Sikeston, Missouri. Rachal Goings,ex-slav^ Cape Girardeau* baby holler. Dey called me to cum quick cause liammy found a baby. i>y de s$ing house stood a ole tree—en 1 seed it had blown down an in de branches was a big nest an de nest wuz empty. I sez -"Rite dere's where mammy found her baby—rite outer dat nest". Dey sex, "No suh. She done found it in de chimny corner, caise we heard it dere." No, mammy diflen nobody to help tend to her. Aunt Hannah Erwin was a doctor woman. She could sure cure a woman if she had child-bed fever--but my mammy didden need her." Rachal things,lines at end of Bodean Lane adjoining Community Gardens, Cape Girardeau, Mis- souri, no street number. 240197 MISSOURI NODAWAY COUNTY SKDM)RE EX-SLAVE STORIES SARAH GRATES Page 1. "Sweet are the uses of Adversity, "Which like a toad, ugly and venomous, "Wears yet a Jewel in its head." -----------Shakespeare. % >}! * jjc itf %. £ }fc i(c jfc STILL CARRIES SCARS FROM LASHES Childhood and girlhood memories are vivid to Sarah Frances Siiaw Graves, an 87 year old Negro woman whose indomitable cour- age and steadfast purpose overcame obstacles and made possible the ownership of the 120 acre farm near Skidmore, on R.F.D. #4, where she lives with her bachelor son, Arza Alexander Graves? The frame house which is their home, though small, is com- fortable . It is surrounded by a neatly kept yard, with flower beds and a cement walk which leads from the gate to the front door. The visit had been arranged by telephone, and as the inter- viewer neared the home, Aunt Sally could be seen standing, on the front porch, eagerly watching and waiting. A "close up* showed that her immaculately washed, stiffly starched, print dress and 126 MISSOURI BOBAWAT COUNT? SKIMORE EX-SLA7E STORIES SARAH GRAVES Page 2. 127 apron were unwrinkled. Evidently she had stood up ever since she had put them on. Her white hair was combed back off her fore-head, and held in place by side combs. Although age has lined her hands, and put deep furrows in her brown cheeks, her unquenchable will to over- come handicaps has held her body erect and shoulders undrooped. In spite of her years, most of which were spent in gruelling la- bor, she is rugged and healthy, and meets the world with a smile and ready sympathetic laughter. She was eager to begin her story, and led the way into the house, where at once the unmistakable signs of good housekeeping, cleanliness and tasteful arrangement &&e apparent. The home, though small, is moderately and comfortably furnished. They also enjoy the conveniences and accommodations of the rural telephone, a radio and a daily newspaper. Her life story is one of contrasts; contrasts of thought; contrasts of culture, beneficial inventions and suffrage• Not far from her home the glistening streamlined Zephyr speeds on twin rails beside the Missouri-River, near the route of the slow- moving, creaking wagons on the ox-road of the 1850fs« in."- MISSOURI NODAWAY COUNTY SKUMOHE LIC-SIAViC STORIES SARAH GRAVES Page 3* - 128 "My name is Sarah Frances Shaw Graves, or Aunt Sally as everybody calls me. Yes'm that's a lot of name an1 I come by it like this. My husband was owned by a man named Graves, and I was owned by a man named Shaw, so when we was freed we took the surnames of our masters. "I was born March 23, 1850 in Kentucky, somewhere near Louisville. I am goin* on 88 years right now. (1937). I was brought to Missouri when I was six months old, along with my mama, who was a slave owned by a man named Shaw, who had allot- ted her to a man named Jimmie Graves, who came to Missouri to live with his daughter Emily Graves Crowdes. I always lived with Emily Crowdes.w The matter of allotment was confusing to the interviewer and Aunt Sally endeavored to explain. "Yes'm* Allotted? Yes'm. I'm goinf to explain that," she replied* Tou see there was slave traders in those days, jesf like you got horse and mule an' auto traders now. They bought and sold slaves and hired *em out. Yes'm, rented fem out. Allot- ted means somethin1 like hired out. But the slave never got no wages* That all went to the master. The man they was allotted MISSOURI NODAMAY- COUNTY SKimORB SX-SLAVE STORIES SARAH GRAVES Page 4. 1&9 to paid the master •" "I never was (Sold. My mama was sold only once, but she was hired out many times. Yes'm when a slave was allotted, sombody made a down payment and gave a mortgage for the. rest. A chattel mortgage." A down payment tl "Times don't change, just the merchandise. "Allotments made a lot of grief for the slaves", Aunt Sally asserted. "We left my papa in Kentucky, fcause he was allotted to another man. My papa never knew where my mama went, anf my mama never knew where papa went." Aunt Sally paused a moment, then went on bitterly. "They never wanted mama to know, Tcause they knowed she would never marry so long she knew where he was ? Our master wanted her to marry again and raise more children to be slaves. They never wanted mama to know where papa was, an1 she never did", sighed Aunt Sally*" Only those who have lost their mate, and never know the end of the tale, can understand such heart anguish* "Mama said she would never marry again to have children," continued Aunt Sally, "so she married my step-father, Trattle Barber, Ic^use he was sick an* could never be a father* He was MISSOURI NODAWAY COUNTY SEimOKE EX-SLAV3 STORIES Sarah Graves Page 5* 130 so sick he couldn't work, so me and mama had to work hard. We lived in a kitchen, a room in a log house joined on to the maS^ terfs house. My mama worked in the field, even when I was a lit- tle baby. She would lay me down on a pallet near the fence while she plowed the corn or worked in the field. "Stepfather and mama often tended their own tobacco and grain in the moonlight. This they could sell and have the money. We could go to church which was held in the school house. Sometimes they let us play with the other children after the noon dishes were washed and there wasn't anything else to do. "There was most always something to do. Master never allow- ed nobody to be idle. Mama worked in the house and the fields too. At night after she come home from the field, she had to grate corn for the family next day. We didnft have many grist mills them days, anT we would punch holes in a piece of tin, and rub the ear of corn across it and make meal for our use. "Nowadays, when you all want a nice wool dress, all you got to do is go to the store and get it*1, Aunt Sally commented, xtfhen asked to tell about their clothing. "When I was growin* up an1 wanted a nice wool dress, we would shear the sheep, wash the wool, card it, spin it and weave MISSOURI NOMKAY COUNTS" SKimOHE BX-SLATO STORIES SARAH GRAVES Page 6. -| Q^f it. If we wanted it striped, we used two threads. We would color one by using herbs or barks. Sometimes we had it card- ed at a Biill, an1 sometimes we carded it ourselves. But when we did it, the threads were short, which caused us to have to tie the thread often, makinf too many knots in- the dress. I have gathered the wool off the fences where it had been caught off the sheep, anf washed it, anf used it to make mittens. wYesfm. I worked in the fields, and I worked hard too. Plantin1 and harvestin1 in those days was really work. ?hey used oxen to break up the ground for corn, an1 for plowin* it too. They hoed the corn with a hoe, and cut the stalks with a hoe and shocked fem. They cut the grain with the cradle and and bound it with their hands, and shocked it. They threshed the grain with a. hickory stick. Beating it out. *I carried water for the field hands. Ifve carried three big buckets of water from one field to another, from one place to another; one in each hand and one balanced on m^ head. "Yes'm. Some masters was good an1 some was bad. My mama's master whipped his slaves for pastime. My master was not so bad as some was to their slaves. I've had many a whipping some I MISSOURI NODAWAY COUNTY SKUMOHS EX-SLAffE STORIES Sarah Graves Page 7'. 13£J deserved, an1 some I got for being blamed for doin1 things the master's children did. My master whipped his slaves with a cat- o-nine tails. He'd say to me, fYou ainft had a curryinf down for some time. Come hereinf Then he whipped me with the cat. The cat was made of nine strips of leather fastened onto the end of a whip. Lots of times when he hit me, the cat left nine stripes of blood on my back. Yes matam.ff Aunt Sally brooded over the whipping memories, then under the influence of a brighter thought continued;- "I belong to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, an1 I ain't never cussed but once in my life, anf that was one time I nearly got two whipping for somethin' I didn't do. Some of mas- ter's kin folks had a weddin1, an' we walked to the church, an' somebody kicked dust on the bride's clothes, an' I got blamed but I ain't never kicked it. The master's daughter Puss, she kicked it. Ole mistress she whipped me. Yes'm, she whipped me. It was the worst whippin' I ever got. The worst whippin' in my whole life, an' I still got the marks on my body. Yes'm. I got 'em yet. *When the master come home, he was goin' to whip me again, an' I got mad, an' told him it was a lie, an' if Puss said I kicked dust on the white folks she was a D^^^ He took the switch an' gave Puss a whippin' for tellin' a lie. Yes'm* That's MISSOURI NODAWAY COUNTY SKUMORE EX-SLAEE STORIES SARAH GRAVES Page 8. A OO the only time I ever cussed in my life. "Yes'm, an1 thatfs about all I knows about slavery and folks ways hereabouts. I can tell you about after we was freed. When we was freed all the money my mama had was 50 cents. I never went to school till after I was freed. I went two. winters and a little more to school near Burlington Junction. I never went a full term 1 cause I had to work. "I knowed my husband all my life. He was brought here by that man Jimmie Graves, that mama was allotted to. My husband took that name. His full name was Joseph H. Graves. We had one child, a boy. His name is Arza Alexander Graves. He lives here with me. Its our farm. WI have lived on this place ever since I was married. That was in the same year that Burlington Junction was started. ¥/e first bought 40 acres for $10.00, then two years later we bought the back 80 aeres for #15.00. Things is changed. We workin* for ourself now, an1 what we get is our'n, anf no more whippinfs. I worked in the fields and helped pay for this land. I belong to the African Metho- dist Episcopal Church in Maryville.,f The day her family was freed, they had 50 cents. Today these children of a transplanted race, once enslaved, have through years MISSOURI NODAWAY COUMY SKimiORS EX-SLA7E STORIES Sarah Graves Page 9# -f «>j[ of steadfast courage overcome the handicap of race and poverty. They threshed grain with a hickory stick, and made their corn meal^by grat- ing the ears across a strip of tin with holes punched in it. With all her handicaps, this Negro woman has lived to an honora- ble old age, is self-supporting and has the respect of her neighbors. All this she has accomplished despite the fact she was once a chattel and was frequently "curried down* with a "cat-'o-nine tails.ft SLAVE AND NEGRO LORE 135 Sarah Frances Shaw Graves (Aunt Sally) whose address is R.F.Di#4 Skidmore, Missouri is eighty-seven years of age. She lives with her bachelor son on their one-hundred-twenty acre farm* The home though small is moderately furnished and she enjoys the comforts of the rural telephone and radio and daily newspapers in her home* The house is surrounded by a nice yard containing many flowers and is enclosed with an iron fence, a cement walk leading from the front gate to the house* Aunt Sally had been informed that the reporte* v*as intending to call on her the following day and she was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the visitor* The reporter was greatly impressed by the arrangement and cleanliness of Aunt Sally1 s modest home* Aunt Sally was immaculately dressed in a stiffly starched print dress and a fresh white apron. Her white hair was combed straight back off her fore- head and held back with side combs* She was in a very excited talkative mood, and talked freely, and laughbd heartily when the reporter explained the purpose of the interview and asked the privilege of taking her picture. Actual interview follows: HIy name is Sarah Frances Shaw Graves or Aunt Sally as everybody calls me. I am eighty-seven (87) years old and I was born torch 23, 1850 in Kentucky somewhere near Louisville. I was brought to Uissouri when I was six months old with my Mamma who was a slave owned by a man named Shaw who had alotted her to a man named Jimmie Graves who came to Missouri to live with his daughter. Emily Graves Growdes. I always lived with Emily Crowdes. We left my Papa in Kentucly as he belonged to an- other man* My Papa never knew where my Mamma and me went and my Mama and >ne never knew where my Papa went. They never wanted Mama to know where my Papa was because they knew Mama would never marry as long as she knew where he was. Our Master wanted Mama to marry again and r$ise more children for slaves but Mama said she would never marry a man and have children so she married my step-father, Trattle Barber, because she knew he had a disease and could not be a father. He was sick and not able to work so me and Mama had to work hard. We lived in a kitchen, a *j> room in a log house joined on to the Masters house. All I knew about that part was what they told me. The Crowdes family who we came here with, settled near ^ Page 2. 136 (Con't Slave Negro Lore) possum Walk which is near the place that is now called Burlington Jet., Missouri. tfe were freed in 1863 but we heard so much about slavery coming back that we stayed with the Crowdes* two years longer or untill 1865 when we was sure that we was freed. When we was freed we took the same name as our Masters. We then lived about two miles north of them and worked for some of the neighbors who was poor and had children and we lived on Lowell Livengood's grandiather*s place for about two years. Mamma had fifty (500) cents coming to her and that is all the money we had. My Mama did a washing for that money for a lady and the Mistress told her that when the lady called for her washing that the fifty cents belonged to us. This was after we was freed. I went to school near 8urlington Jet., Missouri and my teachers name was Rachel Libbey. I went to school two winters a little while, I never went a full term any time. I had to work and when the busiest time was over I would go to school when I didn't work. I knew my husband all my life. He was owned by this man Jimmie Frawes who Mama was alotted to, but was brought here by the man he was allot ed to, named Nicholas. My husband*s full name was Joe H. Graves. We had one child, a boy, whose name is Arza Alexander Graves. I have lived on this .place I am on now every since I was married, that was the same year Burlington Jet., Missouri, started. We first bought forty (40) acres and paid twenty ($20.00) dollars for that, then about two years later we bought the back eighty (80) acres and I think we paid fifteen ($15.00) dollars for that. I worked in the fields and helped pay for this land. I belong to the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Maryville, Missouri. When I was growing up and wanted a nice wool dress we would shear the sheep, wash the wool, card it, spin it, and weave it. If we wanted it striped we used two threads, we would color one by using herbs and barks. life sometimes had it carded at a mill and sometimes we carded it ourselves but when we did it the threads were short which caused us to have to tie the thread often making more knots in the dress. In planting corn in them days they broke up the ground, one layed off the rows, one would go along and drop the corn or grain and if they wanted to plant beans in with the Corn one would go along and droP the 8eed« Page 3. 137 (Conft Slave & Negro Lore) They covered it over with a hoe and they cut the stalks with the hoe and stacked up the stalks* They way they raised the corn after it came up they took one horse and werrt on each side of & row and in the middle of every row to .plow the corn* It took three rounds on every row to get it plowed. They used oxen sometimes to plow and nearly always used oxen to plow up the ground. They cut the grain «ith the cradle and bound it with their hands and shocked it up. They thrashed the grain with a hickory stick by beating it out* Many times I have carried three big buckets of water from one place to another, one in each hand and one balanced on my head* My Master was not as bad as some Masters was to their slaves* One time when I had over worked my Master said, "You have not had a currying down for a long time, come over here, and he whipped mw with a cat-of-nine-tails* This cat was made of nine small pieces of leather fastened on to the end of the whip* Lots of times when they hit with the cat it left nine stripes of blood* Mamafs Master whipped his slaves for past-time* I have got many whippings for being blamed for doing things the Master1 s children did and I was blamed for it* One time when a couple was married, me and other members of the family were walking down the road and I was very careful not to kick up any dirt and to be very nice to the couple but when we got hoiue one of the Master's daughters told that I was mean and that I kicked up dirt ,^o that dust would get on the lady's dress and I got the worst whipping I ever got in my life by the Mistress and I still have the marks on my body, and when the Master came I was carrying the vitales from the kitchen to the dining room which was the living and bed room and when I went in I took the bread and when I came back he was standing in the door and he told me what they told him about me and I said I did not do it and If "Puss" said I did she is a "Damned lying devil" and he dropped the switch and went and talked to his daughter and g^ve her a whipping for telling the untruth. That was the only tiitod I *wer swore. In a few days the bride came over visiting and told them they had the sweetest little colored girl she was so lovely *&<* kind* We were never allowed to be idle, always doing something and my work often Page 4. loo (Con't Slave & Negro Lore) was choreing around to say I was doing something. I have gathered the wool off the fences where it had been caught off the sheep and washed it and used it to make mittens. I never was sold and my Mama was sold only once but she was hired out many times, rfe slept on what they called a bed, a tick filled with straw on the bed. My Mama's Master had a child near my age and my Mama always left me at the house with the Mistress and I nursed the Mistress, Mrs. Crowdes, as well as her own child until one day the curtain, which was used as a partition around a bed oa.which I lay near, caught on fire and then my Mama always took me to the field with her and would lay me on a pallet near the fence while she plowed the corn or worked in the field. Step- father and Mama often tended to their own tobacco and grain in the moonlight which they could sell and have the money. One thing we could go to church which was held in the school house. Sometimes they would let me go out and play with the other children after the noon dishes were washed and there wasn't anything else to do then. I often sewed strips of cloth togather to make carpet rags, there was always some- thing to do. Mama worked in the field and in the house too# They nearly always kept a girl in the house. We did not have many mills and sometimes we could not get to the mill and we would punch holes in a piece of tin and rub the ear of corn across it to grate it for our use. Many times Mama woulc} work in the field all day and in the evening she would grate enough corn for the family use the next day. The Masters had stores and you had to go to that store and get your needs and when the month was up you had nothing as it took all you earned to pay your bill. ,f (A) Gunsultantj Sarah Frances Shaw Graves, R*F.D.#4. Skidmore, Missouri. 240193 Federal Writers1 Project'* District #5f Sikeston, Missouri. 240—Folklore, . r>Q Interview with Emily xOi? Camster G£§jgnf ex-slave* Lives at S*E* comer of Frederick and Bellevue Streetst Cape Girardeau* Mo* My mammy wuz Celie Camster en my daddy wuz Jack McGuire* We lived out in Bollinger County an* belonged to Massa George Camster* De white folks had a big house* made o? logs, wid chinkins in Hween en fnen dobhed over. Us cullud folks had little cabins anr we had good livinf dar. Ole fMassa an1 Missus Patsy wuz mighty good to us. Satin*s? Lawd we had everthin*--- not de mess we has to make out wid now* I fell to youngMissie Janie an1 wuz her maid an1 when Missie Janie married Mista Bradley I went with * em down to Charleston in Mississippi Coun^ ty* Missie Janie an* her Mista Bradley rode in a buggy an* I sits behind* { I member de fust time I seed de big ribber. Bar wuz a boat on it* I aint \ nebber seed a boat befo* an* I says, "Oh! Miss Janie dat house gonna sink*« j She laf at me an* say dat ifeboat. Pore Miss Janie-**dat Mista Bradley made \ her believe he had a big plantation an lots o* money an when we gits dar ! he waie*** i&thin*';"-l^'-tt;^^seer-:on'- de Joe Moore place, Pore Missie Janiet / / she %uz so purty anr she had lotsa beaux***she coulda* married rich but she |l jea ttik de wrong one* Iffe had good tiii^s fo£& we lef*¦ de ole pla&% fore Ole Massa died* We $: usts^P llll^ ¦&m®^&£^ **fr ^S^^^^Bi^^^^SSSil^ -a- women ud put in a quilt an* some ud git to cookin' an* bakin M ram! de las- sus cakes we used to have! An' den wen de quilt wuz finished an de eat in done dey'd clean out de room an dance. Dem sho wuz good times. But I 'members de las' dance we had. Ole Massa wuz sick. He's habbin1 de dance an' Aunt Mary wuz dar. She wuz a spiritualis' woman—-you knows whut a spiritualis is, donf you? Well, everybody wuz dancinr an' habbin' a good time—Aunt Mary say, "Hush! Ifs gonna ask is Ole Massa gonna git well". Den she say—"If Ole Massa gonna die, rap three times," Den in a minnit comes a loud blam! blam! blam! right across de house. Den we all cry an' go home cause we knows Ole Mass&'s gonna die! Bout dat time my daddy die too an my mammy marry Levi Wilson. He be- long to Nelson Ellis an' when Ole Massa Ellis's daughter married Beverly Parrot dey went to Texas anf tuk my step-daddj' along. Cose he never 'spect- ed to see my mammy again an1 he married a young woman down dar. Atter de war, dey comes back up dar an' he seed my mammy but she says, f,Go way. I libbed wid you sebben year an' nebber had no fihillun by you. Now you got a young woman an' she got chillun. You stay with her. I won't bother you none.* My mammy allus stayed wid Ole Missus Patsy* Ole Tom Johnson, de nigger, trader tuk her two brothers an' sent urn to New Orleans- He usta libe in dat big house dat wuz war de postoffice is nowf an' he usta keep de slaves he buy dar at he's house till he can send um down de ribber on. de boat. One time a slave at a neighbor farm was workin' in de f,eel' an when he comes inf in de ebenin's he's wife wuz gone an' de cradle wuz emty* He's Massa done sold 'em# De ole man fell down on he's knees an' he begin prayin' an he pray an' he holler "Ohl nobody know but Jesus I Nobody know 140 -3- 141 but Jesust" An* he kept dat up a prayin1 an a hollerin like dat. His ole Massa hear him, an* it made him feel bad. De ole darky keep on a prayin1 an a hollerin, "Nobody know but Jesus." Ole Massa keep on a hear- in' it, till atter awhile, he git right down der on de flof wid de darky an! hef fess religion. After Ole Massa George died, Ole Missus Patsy iparried Woodson Parrot and went to his place in Scott County. Dey had a nice big home dar an he were a good man. When he lay yin he wuz sick a long time an* dey wuz allus seme lodge men roun* him an my mammy wuz skeered of de men. De nite he died, Ole Missus Patsy had been up wid him so much she wuz sleep in—* an he call out, "Oh! Patsy! Oh! Patsy! Oh! Patsy!" three times jes like dat. Mammy wuz skeered o* dem men an she wouldn't go in an wake Ole Missus Pat- sy. Den ole Massa Parrot sayf "Oh! Patsy, I aint nebber made a prayer in my life an1 hfere I*se dyin." Ole Missus Patsy nebber* did forgive my mammy for not wakin* her till de day she died. Miss Janie allus had to live on rented places. Mista Bradley warn1t smart anf he didnft have nuthin but she stayed with him an1 done de besf she could* We seed lotsa sojers cum by durlnf de war, but dey nebber bothered us much. De Ku Kluxers cum roun* sometimes but mostly to see dat darkies stay whar dey belong* When de war wuz over I wanted to stay wif Missie Janie but my mammy ctman1 got me ? We worked f or a German family livin on Jack- son Hill/ I cud. a b^ «i3^; aee thing b^ Mat day mean* -When : | -4— .#.. 142 My mammy* s daid noW a. lon^ tin© bujfc'pshef ftffkti cones to see me. One night I seed her carry in a brighiHTgHt. . 3h$ allus comes to see me when Ifse in trouble but I ainft seen her nov/ for a long time. 210173 Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 1# ^^ Mrs. Lou Griffin, a daughter of Minnie and William Gibson, is some- thing over ninety years old. She does not know her exact age. She tells the writer she is one of a family of thirteen children and that her grand- mother had twenty-one children* She lives with a great nephew at 2935 Easton Avenue, St. Louis. She tells her story as follows: "People tells me not to tell nothing fbout myself to folks like you what asks me, cause you ainft going to give me nothing for it nohow, but somebody somewhere pays you to gather up this stuff. So Ifs just gonna tell you dis much sister. Sure fnough I was slave born. fPore I was big enough to do nothing us chillun used to run about in de woods while de old folks was working on de plantation. We git stole away by white folks what wasnft our owners and sold I reckon, nobody knowed where de chillun gone nor *fao got fem. We know dis much, we didn't never see fem any more. "We just be out in de woods picking fruit and flowers. I know this though sister, after while, de lebels got a heap of us. I heard fem say dey some times get fifty dollars for some of de black folks dey sold and some big healthy ones brought one-hundred dollars. Course I donft know how much money dey brought, I just know fbout it. We use to go to de church house. If we suited de overseer he let us go. If we didnft we got lashed plenty. Dey lash you till you was forced to pray den dey whip you like anything for prayin1. But God done stopped all that now. Dis heah Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 2. ^44 old Abe Lincoln come through our town. I guess you done heard fbout him, is youf honey? If you ainft, I'll tell you. He just come fround to see how de Rebs do de slaves. I gets so full thinkin1 how de good ]RiES LOUIS HAMILTON Page 1. 145 mrm sold his vote tfI is 90 years old and was born right dere in Fhittenburg, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, across de creek. We was stayin* with Greenville/lfe den. % father was named Nathan and my mother was Mary* She died right after de war was over. My grandmother was born in West Virginia and I had three brothers and three sis- ters. Dey is all dead but me. My father drove an old ox team around dere hauling coal* He fought in de war and come back and went right to work and den bought him a farm back of Whittenburg and lived dere until he died. "De first work I dene was on de farm. Ben I worked at Mine la Motte, and Buck Eye. Was a tie inspector and also worked in de car shop at Madison, Illinois. On de farm I got #1 a day. In de mines I got |1E a week. In de car shop I made about 40 cents a hour. I bought dis property here with my money and have been on it for 18 years. I give $450 for dis property. Ifve paid fll taxes for eight or nine years and now pay |5 a year. De mas- ter had a big farm of two or three hundred acres and had four or five slaves. Sometimes my father would take me down dere in de woods to. a white picnic* After my fatherfs first wife died he did tiot; let us; run arouad rsuch. We used to fight with de white kids s 7\ K**ii''' v£] iiSHii ilSSlillill mm .. .mm MISSOURI FEEDmicTsmm BX-SIAVE STORIES LOUIS HAMILTON ' Page 2. but had no trouble with de old folks. At Christmas time, man dey treated us with fun; eats of all kinds, dat you could pack home. "When de war was over we moved across de creek to ourselves and my father bought 25 or 30 acres. I felt like a new man wjjen de war was over. I stayed with my grandfather until I was 21 and got married in Perry County when I was 32. I had 4 children and dey is all dead. My wife has been dead about 14 years. I*ve lived 25 years in Fredericktown. De young Negroes ainft no account as compared to when I was a boy. De parents nowadays donft make dam work hard enough. Dey can sleep all day if dey want to. Some of de young Negroes around here work in de shoe factory. Some load ties. - "Once when I was a baby, my sister was sitting by de. fire- place rocking me and she fell asleep and let me fall in de fire- place and I was burned on de hand. Tour of my fingers was burned and have never come out straight. When I was a boy I did not know what a stove looked like. We had dese old corded beds. Dere used to be a lot of wild hogs around dere and dey would eat anything dey got hold of • We would put up ice from de Mississippi River. It was over a foot thick. We wore home-made clothes and did not buy no clothes. We wore copper-toed shoes called brogans. De first time I voted was for Teddy Roosevelt. I been voting ever since. Lots of dem have told me how to vote but I never sold my vote." 146 210192 MISSOURI EX-SIAVE STORY Page 1. 14 V* "Uncle" m Hancock The following interview, bristling with facts and vivid recol- lections covering more than three quarters of a century was obtain- ed recently by a worker employed by the Federal Writers1 Project in Missouri from "Uncle" Fil Hancock, eighty-six year old Negro, liv- ing at Rolla, Missouri. The old man's story, told as nearly as pos- sible in his own dialect runs thus: "I was born 1851, de 28th day of February. My granny come here with her missus-Hancock— when dey brung de Cherokee Indian tribe here from middlin1 Tennessee, de time dey moved de Missouri Indians back to Oklahoma, what dey called Indian Territory way back fbout 135 or 140 years ago. Our old missus maiden name was Riggs. My old master was Scotch-Irish. A big, red faced man wid sandy hfiir, mostly baldheaded. Us little niggers was scairt of him and run and hid when we see him coming. He weren't flowed to whip us, fcause he didnft own us. Our old missus had eleven of us and he had twenty-one niggers of his own. And our old missus wouldn't let him tech us. "We had to mind him though. But she done de whipping. My own mammy whipped us good and proper—She used a razor strop, and shore poured it on us* She was puny and sick most all de time. Dey said she had consumption, now-days dey calls it T* B* But it was plain MISSOURI EX-SIAVE STORY Page 8. 1 Jfi old consumption in dem days* I fmember, she were so sick dat she were not able to hold us an1 whip us* and she made one of us lit- tle niggers push de other one up to her bed while she whipped us. We took our turns in gittin1 a whipping. Poor old mammy, she lov- ed us and wanted us to do right. We never got a whipping fceptinf we needed it* Old granny, my mammy1 s mother and old missus whipped us a little, an only wid buckbresh, jesf a little frounf de ankles. All us little niggers was jes* like stair-steps, one after de other. I got whipped plenty, but I needed it. "My olf missus Hancock named me herself - called me Filmore Taylor Hancock, after two presidents who took der seats in 1850. 01f Colonel Hancock was our master an1 he was de richest man in Greene County, Missouri, and owned more slaves than any man in Mi- ssouri* His wife, old missus was born in 1804. My own granny on my mammyfs side was born in 1805* My granny was given to missus, as her own de day she was born. Coarse old missus was only a year old den. Der was thirty-two of us slaves on our old missus place, and eleven of us sprung from old granny. / "We had five young missus. My young missus names were Winnie, ) Elizabeth, Luncinda, Luella, and Tennessee. Dey was so rich and I ) MISSOURI EX-SIAVE STORY Page 3« proud, dey wouldnft look at any body to marry. Only two of ?em ever married. Dey was fine ladies, but dey shore had me plumb spilt. Some of dean whipped me three or four times, but I fmember how-dey jesf breshed me a little rounf de legs, and turn away and laugh a little. I can see now I needed morefn I got. If I told a lie I got whipped for it, and old missus poured it on if we lied. "I and de other two gals, my sisters and a brudder of mine— well, when our mammy died, old missus took us down to her house, away from our cabin, so she could look after us. Our old granny was de white folk's cook. She helped look after us. We got to eat what de white folk did* Up to de cabins where de other niggers was, had salt meat, cabbage, ftaters, and shortnin1 bread three times a day. We all had plenty vegetables we raised ourselves. Every Sun- day morninf our missus sent us up a big tray fbout three feet long, made of sycamore—and it full of flour. Once a week we had hot bis- cuits. But me and Squire, my brudder and my sisses, Mary and Margot had it a little better, we had what our old missus had. I was ten years an1 six months old when de war come up# "In f61, I see General Lyons, when he passed right by our house. All de Union sojers had to pass by our house time of de war. We liv- ed on the main wagon road from Rolla to Springfield* Well child, 149 MISSOURI 5X-SIAVS STORY Page 4. 150 Lordy met datfs funny for me to tell you how General Lyon look. It was a sight to see him with them 'purtiest And we asked old missus what dat was, them fpurtiest he had on hi3 shoulders. She says to us chillun: fHe is de general#A11 dem odder men got to mind himf. He was killed in dat battle of Wilson Creek. Dey kept him in an ice- house in a spring, owned by a man named Phelps. He lived west of Springfield. Dey keep General Lyon two weeks, 'fore they brung him down dis-a-way. Dey shipped him out of Holla to Connecticut— dat:s what I hear de ol folks says. Dat man Phelps was our neighbor and later he got to be governor of Missouri in 1876. Crittenden was first de Democratic governor in *73. "Old missus called us little darkies all up—and carried us down to de wagon, General Lyon's body was in, when dey was bringin* him back here. And we looked at him and asked what was' de matter. Old missus said fHe was killed*. He was packed in ice in de wagon and de wagon had four mules hitched to it. I wanted to know if he was de man who had dem fpurtiesf on his shoulders. She said fYesf. "I said, fDid marse Bill and marse George and marse Jeff Hancock hep kill him?1 She said: fYesf. Marse Bill, marse George an1 marse MISSOURI EX-SLAVE STORY Page 5. JL5JL Jeff was my young bosses, my old master's sons. Old missus didn't seem glad or anything, jesf looked kinda sad. We asked her would he ever fight again. She said, 'No'. I won't ever forget how General Lyon looked. He rode a kinda gray-white horse when I first see him and looked so tall and proud like. "De rebels held Springfield from 1861 till 1862, when General Freemont come in and took it. Mannaduke and Price had de biggest ar- mies of de southerners, Freemont come sneaking in, wrapped his wagon wheels with old blankets so dey wouldn't hear him coming, and he had a body guard of three hundred. Mannaduke and Price was den in Spring- field. Freemont come 'bout daybreak, and started shooting de town up. He got de town and held it. "Mannaduke and Price drifted 'round to de Southeast part of de State and went into Arkansas. Later dey had a three hour scrummage at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Either 62 or 63, I kaint 'member much, I was too little and scairt to know. Being only ten or eleven years old. Dey was a man named Finis MeCrae, a rebel in de Mannaduke and Price Array, in de infantry. He took sick some place in Arkansas. Dey brung him to us, we being rebels, and keep him two weeks in our up-stairs, not letting any one know he was dere. We kept him till he MISSOURI EX-SLA.VB STORY Page 6* lv>2 got better and he went back into de army and fit some more* ffI seen Marmaduke in person, when he was making his campaign for governor, down in Cuba, Missouri* All de Union sojers stopped at our house to get water. V/e had a runnin1 stream that never did go dry. They filled their canteens there. All us chillun fussed fbout fem takin1 our milk and butter outen de spring-house. Old missus keep all her milk and butter and cheese in dere to keep it cool. When de Union sojers come by our house to Rolla dey took so much of de water to fill dere canteens it nearly took our spring dry* Took every thing we had in de spring-house—milk, butter-- everything. WI don't 'member how dey was dressed, but dey all had on sum- pin1 blue. Uniforms I gue3S. Me and four more little darkies was one-half mile of fen de big road when dey passed, and got scared and run back to old missus house and hid in de old barn loft all dat night. Old missus asked us what we did for sumpin* to eat. We told her we bent de rye down in de field and rubbed de grain out wid our hands and eat dat. She took us to de house and give us sompin1 to eat. De sojers was still passing de house den. MISSOURI EX-SLATO STORY Page 7. ^Q "In time of de Civil War we wouldnft come down to Holla, we went south to do our trading* We wasnft Union and Rolla was Union Head- quarters* Old Master was getting old den, he had been a colonel in some army or other way ffore de Civil V/ar. nLincoln issued "green backsn flong fbout f61 or '62, after Ste- phen A. Douglas goes up to Washington and tell Lincoln, after he got de fnomination dat if he didn't get Jeff Davis and some of de leaders and prosecute 'em, he was going to have v;ar on his hands* Lincoln tells Douglas to go back and tell Jeff Davis to lay dem guns down, dat in 90 days he would flow dem so much a head for dere niggers. Dat if dey would free dem dey could be paid for so much a head, by taxa- tion* But ""incoln told dem dey would all have to come back together again same as before like dey was. You see dese folks in de south had done got $8,000,000, all dat ammunition and guns and things from Eng- land. Jeff Davis and dem leaders wouldn't give it up. "De first issue of greenbacks was $175,000,000 and de next issue was #250,000,000. V/e had been told all dis and I ask old missus if she reckon we could whip dem 'blue bellied yankees'* I says: 'dey ain't got no money'. "We called de Union sojers—'Yankees* and our side was called de MISSOURI EX-SLA.VE STORY Page 8. A 54 Gray or de Rebels. It's 75 years, the 10th day of August, 1937, that / General Lyon was killed. "My boss - Hancock was de biggest slave holder in Missouri when de war first come up. He settled four miles east of Springfield, Mi- ssouri. He owned close to 1200 or 1500 acres of ground. From Spring- field to Strafford - east. We had 375 acres in cultivation- corn, oats, wheat, rye, and clover was our main crops. "My daddy belonged to a man named Lou Langston. There is a rail- road station named for this same Langston. What was known as the "Gulf Road". I took my mammy's white folk's name. They were as fine and good as anybody. The first child old missus had was a boy, Bill Han- cock* The first child my old granny had (on ray mammy's side) was a boy, named Joe. Old missus gave granny's boy Joe, to her boy Bill, as a slave. You see my old missus and my old granny was born a year apart demselves# "One time my old master Hancock, got mad at my uncle, who was a growed up nigger. Old marse wanted to whip him. He tried to make my uncle put his head twixt his (old marser's) knees. My uncle didn't offer to fight him, but twisted him roun' and roun' trying to get MISSOURI EX-SLAVS STORY Page 9. 155 his head out* He gave one twist dat throwed old marse down to de ground* My uncle jumped and run and jumped over de fence. My un- cle did not belong to old marse but to his son, Bill* But old marse sure got mad when my uncle run* So he sold him to a man named Dokes- a nigger trader of dat neighborhood. Dokes bought niggers and sold dem on de block in St. Louis. When Dokes took my uncle away, one of our neighbors by de name of Fisher— up near Strafford, gits on his horse and goes to Springfield and tells my young bocs, Bill, dat old man Hancock had sold Joe and Jane. Jane belonged to Marse Hancock. Mister Fisher had only one colored man, and he told my young boss, Bill, dat if he would buy both them niggers back, dat he would buy Jane for his (Fisher's) colored man. He didnft have no woman for him. "Old Doke was on his way den to St. Louis with fem. Bill and Fisher started out, rode and caught up with deam near what is now known as Knob View, Missouri. When dey come in sight of Dokes, Bill stopped and dropped back. Fisher goes up to de wagon, stopped Dokes and asked him what he wou^d take for Joe and Jane. They was settin1 up in the wagon handcuffed together. I think it was a thousand dol- MISSOURI BX-SLAVS STORY Page 10- £5ft lars or fifteen hundred dollars he asked for both* Den Fisher beckoned to Bill Hancock to come on. Bill come up and paid Dokes what he asked* Dokes was to take fem back, hisself, to dere own neighborhood. "When marse Bill rode up, my uncle said, fTake these handcuffs off me1* Mr. Dokes took them off. My uncle jumped out of de wagon and run up to de big mule my young boss was settin* on, he reached up an* took Bill, his marster off dat mule so quick and lay him down on de ground* He commenced to love and kiss him on side of his head. He picked him up and sat marse Bi*5B on his mule again and said, fI know marse Bill wasnft goinf to let me be sold.1 He takes him off his mule again and lay him down two times more and keep lovinf and kissin* him, he was dat happy. "But old marse Hancock, jes1 wouldn't let Joe live on his place again, no more. He was dat mad. It made him so mad to think Joe had turn him over when he had his legs twixt his knees. But young marse Bill took Joe to Springfield and hired him out to a blacksmith by de name of Lehr. He got forty dollars a month for him. Joe stayed dere till de Civil War. Old master let Joe come to de house to see his mother, my old granny, once in a while, but never to live. "Old man Fisher bought de colored woman from marse Bill, for his colored man, and paid him as he could. Our white folks had plenty of MISSOURI SX-SIAVS STORT Page 11. 157 money to get any thing they wanted. "I first come to Rolla in 1869 and stayed till 1870. Then dere was only one brick house in Rolla, standinf where the iidwin long Ho- tel now stands. Den I left and went to Cu"ba and stayed dere and at Salem tilf 1882. I come back to Rolla when de Crandel House * was built, where de Rolla Hospital now is located. I started a barber shop here under the Crandel House basement. I have been here and at Salem ever since 1882, Rolla my headquarters. "If I can leave enough when I dief I want to be buried at the Union Graveyard in Greene County, Missouri, where my mammy is buried. since three years before the Civil War. My daddy was buried there in 1863. "When I was young, we didnft know nuthin1 fbout churches. Us kids never got to go no place fless de old niggers took us. And dey wouldn*t take us* De older ones had church out in de brash, under de shade trees. "I kin fmember one of my cousins carryin* me pick-a-back, one time, three miles to church. Dey only had church in de summer time, or meeting dey called it. It was allus in de woods. We dassenft be ketched wid a book to read or to try to be educated. Course every one wasnft treated dat-a-way. Sometimes de niggers would have daaein1 ? MISSOURI EX-SIAVB STOHT Page IS. 158 if de bosses or masters gave dem passes. \De passes read sumpin* like dis: fLet my nigger file pass and repass to such and such a place1 ? "I fmember once, my jgassus bought me a pair of high top red boots. My! I was proud. In dem days, we went bare-foot most all year, round. But my missus tried to make us happy on Christmas. I put dem boots on and I pranced round and round jesf to hear dem squeak.. I done thought dat was de purtiest noise I ever heard. I asked old missus, could I go to old Massy1 s house. He were our neighbor, bout half mile—but it were dark. Old missus said, 'Hain't you scared to go?1 I say, fnof. I went up de road, my boots squeaking and squeaking. Didn't have time to be scared—listenin1 to dem boots* "Aunt Rachel, my own aunt, lived at Massy*s house. .You see Masseys was dere name and dey was white folks but we say Massy*s house. I want- ed my old aunt to see my new boots. When I got dere I called my aunt to come see my boots. She come and say, fHainft you scared to come here all flonef. I say, 'no*. I twisted and turn, round and round so she could hear fem squeak. But when it come time to go home, I got plum1 scared. Aunt Rachel had to take me. She took me where I could see our house. My! How old missus laughed when she found I had to be brung home. She say, fI told you, you be scared to &&&§ alone1. MISSOURI EX-SIAVE STOBY Page 13. 159 "In dem days no nigger got boots till he was big and able to work for fem. I was old missus pet and she plum1 spilt me. I al- lus got more'n de odder niggers got. Boys had cotton shirts and de gals had cotton dresses. "You know its a funny thing, de white folks took everything from us niggers, even try to take our old songs and have dem on de J radio. We niggers say fde white folks take everything,#is, dat, an1 ftother, but what we got is jes1 natural borned to us.1 j ^—* "I knocks a tamborine jes1 like de Georgia niggers played a tambourine, ffore de Civil War. Dem Georgia minstrels was taken over to England to perform ffore de Q,ueen-Yictoria, way ffore Civil War. Folks from way up East got *etm and took fem. Dey ainft many plays like dem no more." "Uncle" Fil, as he was familiarly known in Rolla, played for the Folk Festival in Rolla and received so much applause, fee had to be helped off the stage. He is exceedingly active. He plays the old tambourine, (he owned so many years) under and over his legs, behind his head, bouncing it and catching it, never losing the rhythm an in- stant. He is tall and erect, and has a remarkable memory, especially for dates, named and places. He loves children, and usually has a pocket MISSOURI EX-SIAVE STORY Page 14. full of pennies for the babies. His home is a one-room hut (plain shed building) back of the Post Office on Ninth Street, Rolla, Mi- ssouri. He lives alonjg and has no living relatives. The people of Rolla aid him with gifts. Uncle "Fil's" favorite old spiritual is below. He saysf "Dis song, I'm a tellin' you, is de truf.w "~ PIS IS m BUKYIN* GROUN* Ask my Lord for mercy, Good Lord, gimme religion, Good Lord, gimme me a heart to bflieve, Dis is de buryin1 groun1. , Amen, Hallelujah. Dis is de buryin1 groun1. Tell your mother, Tell your father, Dis is de buryin1 groun1, Tell all your neighbors, Tell all your neighbors chillun, Dis is de buryinf grounf. Uncle Fil says, "Niggers jes* makes oey own verses, jes* nat- urally comes to us, and we make our own rhyme as we go." One of the humorous songs, a favorite of his goes: You, by word, now all we go, In fact we spoke both high and low, In the house and out of doors, Ebening in the baby's nose. When I was young an1 in my prime, Ifse a countin1 courtin1 them gals, Most all de time. Now Ifm old and you will see, Ifm not as young as I used to be* 160 MISSOURI EX-SLAVE STORY Page 15. 161 Now when the elephant moves aroun* The music begins to play, Oh, the boys aroun1 dat monkeyfs cage Ifd better keep away. Rock, the cradle John, Rock, the cradle John, Many a man is rockin* another manfs son When he thinks hefs rockin' his own* ^f:?J^:^^^;«sWi»aJi; MISSOURI MONT(X)M£EY CCTT BX-SIAVS STORIES DAV3 HARPER Page 1. 162 £> pf DAVE IS CARDINAL FAK I Dave Harper,a former slave, had just tuned in on the base- ball game when the interviewer arrived for he is an ardent Cardi- nal fan and, although he was extremely courteous, he never missed a play in that game. He was not at all reticent about telling of his life though plainly curious to know the purpose of the inter- view and just a bit skeptical as to its final use* Dave, who now lives in Montgomery City, Mo*, has been a gardener for years, al- ways having the earliest and finest vegetables as well as supply- ing others with plants for resetting* "I'll be glad to tell you anything I remember; Dave said in reply to the request for something of his life story. n0ol. Harper was my master. We lived northwest of town (Montgomery City). I was born in Montgomery County and lived dere all my life. Col. Harper had 25 or 30 slaves; dere was lots of money wrapped up in dem." Here Dave reflected for a moment and shook his head sadly at the amount of cash invested in humans and then continued* "He bought me when I was six years old? I was born eighty- seven years ago next January, down on Clear Fork, southwest of Danville, near Mineola, fbout half mile from Capt. Callaway's grave. If r v_ ¦ ^ 1 K i- % > M^^Si^^MMWi^l^^^iim^^^§wMM^^^EmMi§l MISSOURI IvflNTGOMSKY CITY 2X-SLAVS STCRISS PaTTS HARPER Page 2. 1 C9 No'm, it don't seem like dey could have found enough dirt dere to cover his body. It sure is rocky dere. Did you ever read Hat Sharp's history? It says dat one of Capt. Callaway's men was bur- ied down dere across de field. "I've seen slaves go through Danville in droves like cattle. Dey was chained together and dey v/alked 'em to St. Louis to de nig- ger yard. One mother give out* De;iaan in charge made her give her baby away, she couldn't carry it no further. Sorieone near Danville raised de baby. nI was sold when I was six years old to Clark Whitesides's father to nurse Clark. My mother was sold down on de Missouri River. I'll tell you 'bout dat. De Fords moved to Danville from Virginia. Dere was several brothers in together in de nigger business. Dey brought my mother to wait on Mrs. Ford and carry her her coffee. She married and had three children. De nigger traders from Virginia run an attachment to get possession of my mother. Den on de way back he took cholera and died. De case was in court when de war come up. Mr. Bern Sharp had de money, he died and dat ended it. I was sold by Thos. J. Powellf de sheriff. Mother was to be sold. Kit Talbot bid on her and.de baby. She cried so hard 'cause she wanted to live with me dat Dr. Sharp paid de bid and got her. I used to go to see her real often. MISSOURI MONTGOMBCT CITY" m~SIAYE STORISS mm HARPER page 3. Ig4 "We was fed just moderate. Dere was fifteen hands. When day come in at noon, dey ate from de big old kettle where de old colored woman had cooked de food. De next morning after he bought me, de boss carried me to de old woman and told her to take care of me. Dat morning de kettle was full of spare ribs and de people fished dem out with sticks. I didnft see no knives or forks. When dey asked me why I didn't get something to eat, I asked 'bout dem and a table where I could eat. De overseer just cried. "De old lady took care of de children while de mothers worked. De oldest one never went to de field. She just looked after de lit- tle ones. One overseer was colored. He was an uncle of fBig Nig' dat works at de hotel. We was fanning out wheat and one of de chil- dren was raking out de wheat. He talked back to de overseer who struck him. Dere was a single tree under de edge of de cloth. De master picked up de singletree but didn't strike de overseer, he backed off. Col. Harper raised oodles of tobacco• Dere were 16 to 17 Jtundred pounds to de hogshead. He raised 15 to 20 hogsheads* "My mother-in-law was from Memphis* One day dey went to church and de Ku KLux Klan came in and beat de people over deir heads with pistols. De people went out de doors and windows. Dey could just blow a horn and de Ku Klux Klan would come from all di- rections* MISSOURI MONTGOMERY CITY SX-SIA7E STORIES DAVE HARPER Page 4. . 185 "I was sold for $715. When de freedom come, I said, 'Give me $715 and I'll go back.' Col. Harper just gave me a quarter to buy my dinner. After de freedom, I worked in wheat harvest all season for ^.75 a day. I worked for a week and my mammy told me to bring her some bacon. When de man paid me, I spent it all for a side of bacon. I felt mighty proud to take dat to her. Bacon was |.50 a pound. I stayed at Dr. Sharp's where mother worked and done chores. Later I made rails. Dey paid me $14 a month for cut- ting rail timber. I was paid at de postoffice and took de money home and gave it to mammy. "Col. Harper's wife was Gen. Price's niece and Col. Harper was a recruiting officer for Gen. Price. Young men came dere to join de southern army. Dey could always get a horse. De women stayed dere all de time to make de suits for de soldiers. De Union soldiers tried deir best to kill Col. Harper. "One time I saved his life. Dey was going to kill hira, 'bout 75 or 100 men on horses. I warned de Colonel two hours before dey got dere. Dis is how it happened. Col. Harper gave me de first day •of Christmas to go to see my mother. Us children went out in de woods playing and when we come back de yard was all cut up with horses hoofs. Dr. Sharp put me on my horse and told me to tell Col. Harper dis message, dat 'dere was socmany soldiers dat you might get hurt, you can come again some other time.' I told Col. MISSOURI MONTGOMERY CITY EX-SIAVS STORIES DATE HARPER Page 5. 166 Harper and he left. I didnft see him again until I was cutting wheat. "My mistress lived dere for some time without any menfolks Jround fcept de slaves. Dere was a horse kept dere on purpose so I could come to town every day for de mail. After a while, my mistress and her daughter went to Jarod Harris's to stay. Den I went to Harrisfs every morning for de mistress orders and to Montgomery each afternoon for de mail. I took de mail to de camp at night. Dat was Bill Anderson*s camp over in Callaway County. Dey moved dat camp pretty often but I found it. One time de bush- whackers came to burn de depot but Col. Harper had it full of to- bacco and wheat so dey didn't burn it. "Young Billy Mathis was a lieutenant. He used to come to see mistress almost every day and bring her messages. Once a gang of blue coats.was coming down de road. He got on one of mis- tress1 horses and she told me to go 'long and bring de horse back. We went down through de woods with de bullets whistling through de air and cutting off de limbs of de trees." Dave had apparently studied about the voodoo doctors and their wiles for a question as to conjure doctors brought a quick response: ^^^^MSmMMM^MB ^MMMMrM'^M MISSOURI MONTGOMERY CITY EX-SLAVE STORIES DATE HARPER Page 6j 167 "We call dem ftwo headed Negroes1. You know dat if he could do anytricks he would keep dem from whipping him or selling him and dey couldn't do dat or dey would have done it long time ago* Tear open a pillow and sometimes dere is a mat of feathers • Some- times dey puts things under de door step but I donft pay no Men- tion to it. Dey is some dat thinks dere is something to it. Mother used to tell a tale 'bout when whe was a little girl. Her mother went to frolics but her father went to bed, he was always tired after his dayTs work. One night my mother saw a woman come to her fatherfs bed and rub her hand over his head. It didn't wake him up. De next day he took sick and soon died. I don't believe in hoodoo doctors but it is like de blood hounds can run and tree a man but if you can't find de goods it don't count. "I worked in de hay harvest for $*50 a day. Common domestic for shirts was #.50 a yard. It took six yards to make one shirt, dat was a week's work. We lived on chickens. My mother raised a whole campmeeting of chickens. Dere never was a better white man dan Dr. Sharp. When I married I had four head of horses and three mules. I owed for one team of horses. I took typhoid fever in Au- gust and was in bed until November. Dr. Sharp and Dr. Bodine knew sometMng was da matter but dey didn't know what it was. When de MSmMM&h Missouri Montgomery City Ex-Slave Stories Dave Harper -n « 1CO --------1--- Page 7. Ibo note come due, I got on a horse and rode to Dr. Sharp1 s. He wanted to know what I was doing on dat horse. I told him fbout de note and he said, fHum, datfs whatfs been bothering you. Don't you get off dat horseI I help you den you get back home and go to bed and stay derel1 He just wrote a check for $90, I had already paid $300. After I got well, I sold a span of mules to Joe McCleary and put de check in de bank for Dr. Sharp. Dat was to pa;^ him for de note and taking care of ne dat summer and fall. tfI was in de railroad home guards during de war. We had to keep de people from tearing up de railroads-* -........I.......fought Bill Ander- son1 s men many a time. Seems sort' of queer when I used to take dem de mail but we kept dem from burning de railroad bridges. I served for fbout six months near Kacon.11 Cape Girardeau Co. Folklore. 16^ fcge 1. An interview with Clara McNeely Harrell, Ex-slave, Cape Girardeau, Mo. .,"e libbed way off 'en de backwoods, six mile tuther side o' Jackson, near Fruit- land, and Ah's feared dey aint much Ah ken tell yuh. My ole Massa wuz John McNeely, Ah don' rightly member rnah ole Missus McNeely but when she die, ole Wa.^sa marry young liissie Harries fum down tow'ds de ribber. De white folks has 8 fine big white house an we1 ens had a little log house. Dey wuz lot's a nut trees roun' dere an in de fall of de year we'ens usta gather lotsa nuts—hicker1 nuts, walnuts, ano' dey wu2 hazel nuts too. ILy Lammy's name ?--les' see now—dey calls her Iv.innie—yes dats it Minnie. Youh see raah mind aint so clear but when Ah talks 'bout em dey kir.da comes back tuh me. Hah pappy's name wuz John {.litchell and he belong to s neighbor. I'se little and didn't hab much work to do. Jes chores, like heppin* to carry in wood and sech like, but mos'ly Ifse jes' playin* an' tom-boyin' aroun'. Ole kassa had three boys at went off to war—Dey wuz Ab, an' Bob' an' Jack. tfe nebber seed no fight in' roun1 our way but sometime we heerd de cannon fum Cape. One time dey wuz lotsa sojers cum pass our place an dey had lotsa wagons an' things. Ah aint nebber seed so many men an' I'se plum scared to death, but dey nebber bother none. ./e had big fields of wheat an cahn an sich, but mah mammy didden work in de fiel' she spin an she weave. Ah could spin too. Ah's fill de quills and Ah I'd hep her i ? thread de loom. De loom stood out on de big porch and Ah kin jes see her sittin dar. She'd push de thread through tuh me an1 den Ah* d ketch it and pull it torough an han it back tuh her. i/hen de war wuz over, Ole Massa call tuh me an1 he say1' Clara you know de war is over"---an Ah say "Whar wuz it?1' Ah nebber know'd nuthin 'bout de war. Nofm, Ah don1 know nuthin fbout ghosts an sich like, but when Ah dies Ah specks to go to Hebbin an* LawdiAhfs gonna sit all day an* shout an' sing, and clap mah ban's II an1 stomp mah feet i OhlLawd'. Dat's gonna be a happy time. Clara McNeely Harrell, probably 80 or 82 years old lives in hollow—no street number west from Washington School, Cape Girardeau, Mo. Madison Co, V Jy" Folk) ore- jf^O Page 1. • iSX-SLA/iS STORY "My mother was a slave in Franklin Parish, Louisana, % bout 200 miles from New- Orleans, I was bom in 1862, My mother's name was Caroline Head by marriage, She was born in slavery. Her home was in Mississippi first and she emigrated to Louisiana 'cause de land was worn out, I had seven brothers ana sisters and all are gone but me, ;y mother was separated from my father two times, hy mother v/as married three times due to being moved around. tiy brother's father was sent into a free state under some . consideration. Bush Baker was my mother1 s boss. De boss had two plantations, De morning I was going to be born de overseer began to fight my mother and a colored man took a hoe and said if the man hit her again he would kneck his,, brains out. The over- seer had been at this place for four years and had not been paid. Mother was confined in de field and dey got her to de house. If Baker had been thar he would have killed de overseer. Three men came up to kill de overseer with guns for beatinf my mother and de overseer iiad to leave, ILy mother never did get over her troubles dat morning. L:rs. Baker said it would be better for mother to work in de field fcause mother could then take better care of her children, "Mrs Baker was kind ana tended de children when dey was sick, Mrs Baker took us to Texas durin^ de war fcause she was afraid the Union soldiers would take her slaves away from her. After peace was declared de soldiers came and told de white people dat \J de slaves was free. But we never did leave Mrs. Baker1s place. After de war was over Mrs, Baker took us back to Louisana, He traveled with a t earn of oxen and three teams of mules with wagons. Some of Mrs, Bakers slaves staid in Texas and never did come > f back from Texas, Dis was in 1865. f,I can 'member de home place, De county road went close to de front gate. Mrs. i Sliza Baker had a beautiful yard and after de war she would have us come and stay in de_ yard to be protected from de jay«?hawkers. De high water would come past de fence and v we would play in de water. One time a jay-hawker come and git one of de children in a o f: ekif£ and 4en we yelled and de mastah come out with his pistol and hit de jay-hawker |* d* **>'• So a. .,a,-to.*.r turned d. .M" °'8r ' "^ Madison Co. fc 171 ifix-Slave Story) So we did not play down in de water no more. "De mistress had a long table out in de frojit yard under de smokehouse shed and here all us children had our food. It was good food* Mrs. Baker.had a fig nursery in de front yard and we would go a>;d pick washtubs of figs* Some were dried and others were put up. Mrs. Baker had a plantation of 1,800 acres. On week ends we would dance and they would always be getting married. We had a colored man on de place who could read and he did de marrying. De only school I ever ;/ent to was to a night school h$re fer a short time. Day would tell me a story 'bout fde bear an de Grand-»ma* an*bout 'little Ridenf Hoodf\ Dey use to tell us some awful, yarns. Dey would kill over 100 head of hogs every year and cure it, and I can?t get used to buy6d meat today. Mrs. Baker would take anyone in de wagon to church dat wanted to go. My aunt went to church but would not be baptized. !,I 'member when de Ku Klux Klan started out when dey would dress up in white and dey had a noise like 'O-O' • 0-0f • But we were not * fraid of dem 'cause we knew dey would be killed if dey come on de place. I think a lot of Abe Lincoln. I have often thought how hard it was to give up his life, fer ds United States. But Christ died for to save de world and Lincoln died to save de United States. And Lincoln died more Christ like den any other man dat ever lived. "Dara was an old colored man on de place and he would drive Jeff Davis 'round and would keep Davis in his house and feed him. This was when Jeff Davis was a boy, and a orphan* Jeff Davis gave dis colored man, Montgomery, a lot of land. It's a good thing dat slavery is over. Anything wants a privilege outside and not in a coop. Slaves could not be natural when theyv was dis way. Everybody wants to do somethin' with demselves. tfI staid in Louisana till 1875 and got cad and left and went to Madison Parish, Louis- iana. It was not de white people dat made, me leave here but it was my father. Den I went to Vicksburg for seven months, den to St. Louis on a aail boat. It cost me $8»50 to come i ;from Vicksburg to St. Louis, I found work in St. Louis in a little while. Never did have h WOrry 'bout where I was going to sleep. I left Madison Parish cause we had a flo^d ie broke. , *, v *.-r .-,.< .,,-«.;$i*\'t v ..i , .^-^v, * .."i - ¦ --"-' ¦ -' !" <** "' V Page 3. Madison Co 172 (Con* t-Ex-Slave Story) ••I came to St. Louis in 1883 and did all kinds of house work. I got a dollar a day. D9„ I came to Fredericktown 'cause I wanted to own a home. You were never sure dat you could have a sure claim to lend in St. Louis It was a 'quick Claim'. rfe lived one mile above Fredericktown and had seven or eight acres. I married in Fredericktown and have no chil- dren/ My husband has been dead since 1908. I made my way fine by washin' and ironing an made $18. a week since my husband died. I jkid $985. for dis house." HSI^SiiiliSii^^^S ?+0tob Pul'Qtt! MISSOURI SX-SIAVES JOE HIGGERSGN AU«l2|937 page 1^ 173 HOW DID UNCLE JOE GST HOME? Living at 410 West Pettis Street, Sedalia, is Joseph Higgerson, a pensioned Negro soldier of the Civil War, who can look back through the long vista of years and visualize slave life in Missouri, when the institution of slavery was at its most thriving aadrpotential period. He was born a slave on a farm near Boonville, Missouri, in 1845 if his claim of being 92 years old in the summer of 1937, is correct* He is somewhat bent and withered and his appearance of great age is accentuated by white patriarchial whiskers below the chin, while his cheeks are clean shaven; a style much in vogue during the life time of Horace Greeley. (B) His home, a little, for room, frame cottage, with its tiny front porch set close against the picket fence enclosing the lot, mirrors somewhat the deterioration age has placed upon its occupant. Both house and fence are weather beaten, gray from age and lack of paint? _ "Could you and would you tell about slavery days?* he was asked. "Yes Mafam," he courteously and smiling replied, the smile revealing bigf strong teeth. "Yes, indeed. Would you all step in the house and set? I am so happy to have company.* He selected the dining room, which is also the comfortably fur- nished living room, as the place to nset and talk*. In this room is an oak diiing table, chairs and a china closet, through the glass doors of which may be seen attractively decorated dishes, some of themi of very old pattern. There is also an old fashioned combination desk and book - .^f§^ y-n- §£!£# MISSOURI Page 2. 174 BX-SIAVES JOE HIGGKRSON case, and a chest of drawers* The windows are adorned with curtains and drapes of good quality. The clean condition of the interior was a revelation of a 92 year old Negro manfs desire and ability to keep house, and keep it clean* He lives alone, his wife having died many years ago. There is in the appearance of this ancient Negro with shoulders now bowed; the dark brown skin, extending across the bald head; the large nose; immense teeth; shaven cheeks below which a mat of white whiskers encircle the throat, like the ruff on a condorfs neck; there i3 in his appearance that which stamps him at once as the living bridge between the present dayfs civilization and a dim past; the knowledge of which exists today in the memories of but few persons. As he talked, strange sights, scenes and cultures were told, sometimes with words that have changed much in meaning. As his mind pictured the scenes of those old days, this primi- tive blending of both Indian and Negro races, at times unconsciously reverted to the primitive sing song recitative chant of his ancestors, particularly when narrating his outstanding pleasant memories. This is his story: "Old man Higgerson was my mastar. We lived on a farm and dere was a big family of us. I is the only one left. The farm laid just below the Lamine and Missouri Rivers, and I canft tell exactly where it was. Everybody called us ffree niggahs" — cause Higgsrson slaves MISSOURI EX-SLAVES JOE HIGGERSON Page 3. 175 was treated so good. Yesf mafam* My mammy lived to be 80 years old - and didnft have a gray hair in her haid* She was part Black Hawk Indian, - and I show it in ma too." Then as his thoughts raced back to slavery days, the pictures of youth crowded thick and fast, and he burst forth into*a half chanted description of the panorama of his memories* *Ifve seen hundreds of Indians pass thru the country, on foot* Boss man let fem have a shack overnight* Next mawnin dey set out on foot, and take up de road, one behind the othar. Yes, suhj Just wrapped in a blanket one behind the othar. Winter and summer, and barefoot tool" Then he told of game and game ways, "Yes suh! I done seen wild deer hop ovar fences, and hundreds of wild turkeys. We used to build turkey pens and dig a trench, put feed in dere and covar it ovar wid bresh and de turkeys would come to feed, and we would trap fem* Yes, mafaml an I done seen 100 to 150 wild turkeys in a flock* I has dat! Lots of wild pigeons, too* I has seen a thousand geese flyinf over in the early mominf. Then Ifve trapped quail too* in rail pens, built ten feet square* Yes, suhj "But listen! — slaves couldnft shoot; was a law agin it in slaves times; no slave could own or shoot a gun. We couldn't shoot game* Anf dat come dis way* President Jackson say, 'Keep books and guns outa slaves hands if you want to keep fem slaves1 .* Joe Higgerson chucjtled a little with a glint of humor in his eyes MISSOURI Page 4. i 7f} JOS HIGGERSON and changed the subject. "Everybody made whiskey in dem days, had little 'stilleries all over the country, made apple and peach brandy. Good too. One day I was sent to a neighbors for brandy. I took a little taste and walked on. Den I took anoder little taste, and walked on. Den I took anoder little taste and sot down de jug. Den I took anoder little taste, and so on and so on. Pretty soon I looked up, &nd I nevar did kno~y how I got to whar Ifse gwinter. Nobody ever say anything about it or tell me nuffini I guess somebody carry me whar Ifse gwinter." He was asked if he ever remembered seeing slaves sold at Boon- ville. baby was put up to be sold, and de buyer he want de woman, but he donft want de babyt so they separated fem, and was get tin1 ready to put fem on de boat for Noo Orleans, and ship fem down de river, and de woman she ran back to kiss de baby goodbye, and de tradar picked up a whip and cracked it and shouts, "A bellerin cow will soon forget its calf !? She was sold down de river and nevar saw de baby again. Now dat was sad*. He paused and then resumed. "One tradar, name of Henry Moore, he used to handcuff all the niggahs together till time to put fem on de boat for Noo Orleans. Dey always carried whips and theyfd crack dem to see how far de dark- A "Yes, raafam! "he exlaimed* "Why down at Boonville, woman and a \ ¦\ \ MISSOURI EX-SIAVES JOE HIGGERSON Page 5. ^77 ies could jump. Yes, Suh!J Yes, SuhJIi Deed they didJH This reminescenee tickled him mightily and he laughed heartily at thoughts of the capers the negroes cut when the whip cracked. "iui I remembers one boat load. Boat load got as far as Cairo, Illinois, and lots of de darkies jumped overboard and was drowned.n "Were the overseers on the plantations Negroes or Whites?" "Overseahs, white,"Higgerson replied, "Overseahs white." A darky was the niggah driver. Darkies didn't ever get to go to the big house where the planter lived. De niggah driver reported to the cvahseah, and the ovahseah reported to the lioss." "Now this is the way with me," Higgerson continued. ffMy father, who was also my boss, he kept a store, and I went to de store to take care of de children, cause de Efoss done send for me. Well, one time when the wah was on, some Federal soldiers come and done scared me so bad I forgot all about de chile and run home, and de soldiers burned de bridge, you had to cross befo1 you got to de store. So after dat de ole man run a boat across." Hoping to get some idea of how Christmas was celebrated among the Negroes on the farms and plantations the aged man was asked what he remembered of Christmas, in slavery times. "One Christmas I never goin* to forget", he replied. "Jes before Christmas lots of people came to de store to buy and de groun* was all covered wid snow. An de man what run de store MISSCUBI Page6. 1 ?« SX-SIAVBS A ^ JOE HIGGERSON was getting ready to close up, cause it was getting dark, and close at dark a man come and wanted in and de store keeper wouldnft let him in. An it got later and later, and by an by Joseph, dats me, was sent to de store to find why de storekeeper ain't come home yet and Joseph v/ent to de store, and looked in and saw de old man on his back, his throat cut wid de blood runnin1 all over de floor* and $1,400 dey knowed he had — gone. Dere was whiskey and blood runninf all over de floor. */hiskey was cheap dem days; good whiskey, too. "tVhen they set the nlggahs free, the boss man come out and read de papers to fem sayin* dey was free. And I went to Boonville and joined de Union Army, November 23, 1863. I served in de 25th Corps, Second Division under General iftiitsell. I was in de last battle of de war at Palmetto Ranch, Texas, on de Rio Grande, just 36 miles from de Gulf. When I was discharged from de army to go home, I thought - why I have no home, where shall I go? Den I decided to go back to Boonville* All my family was scattered. "But I was lucky. Someone had started to build a shack, and had not finished it. I got permission to finish it and picked up building material here and dere, and made it into a home. I never been without a home since. My wife and I lived together 61 years. She is gone now.* (B-D) (Written by Geo# K. Bartlett, Kansas City from F. C. of Kathleen Williams) 240119 nibG 131927 Ms sour 1 Ex-Slaves Smoked yBm Upside jjpwn Page li 1 ^^ SMOKED 'KM UPSIDE DOM The subject of this sketch is Delia xiill over 90 years old. She lives at 1358 -argus Street, St. Louis County, Mis- souri • Delia Hill is a good natared, well preserved old lady. She is quite tall, medium in size, dark complexion and her hair is almost entirely white. She is very neat in her quaint, frame three room cottage. She shares her home with a widowed companion who appears to be well in her 50* s but is able to work. Delia iiillfs story follows: "I was born in Gold water, Mississippi more dan 90 years ago but don't know jesf how old I is. Lay first owners name was Marse John Hawkins and he had a big mill. He had me and my mother with 14 other chillen, Aunt Sllen and her 8 chillen, and Aunt Tilda with all her chillen. I don't know how many vO Aunt Tilda had* i-uiyhow Marse John owned every one of us. La- ter on he sold me to Marse Dave Stafford, a circus rider. I r got a scar on my eye today whar de ole overseer throwed a fork at me cross de table, fcause I went to sleepf I was so tired Missouri Bx-Slaves Smoked fEm Upside Down Page 2. 180 while fanning flies off him while hefs eatin*. I had to fan flies every meal time with a fly brush. rrhey worked me so hard, I'd just go on to sleep standin* up. Dat old overseer was a mean old devil any how. Well when old Marse come home from de circus ridin1 I told him fbout it, and he fired dat overseer right then and told him if my eye went out, he would look him up and kill him. I never se3d him anymore. wDey sold us niggahs so bad dovm dere where I come from, dat when I was little I got sold tftrom my mother and she never found me till after de war in 1871. was we glad to see each other? I say we wa3. I was raised up hard, honey. I can count de winters I ever even had shoes on my poor feet. When Marse Dave bought my mother he only bought her and 6 us chil- lun. He was fairly nice to niggahs, but he didnft have as big a drove of fem as de other plantation owners, but child we could hear niggahs hollen every night on different plantations all around us.from lashings dey gittin* from dere old overseers and masters too, for dat matter? Missouri Ex-Slaves Smoked fBm Upside Down Page 3# w "My owner raised mostly cotton and corn, my mother wove all de clothes we wore, she even done all de spinning. Dur- ing de Civil War, my old Miss use to hide us niggahs in de woods to keep de Yankees from seein1 us. Dey pass through our place and got most all our stock just de same and all dey want- ed to eat besides, but dey never found a one of us. After dey pass by we all go on back home. wDey sent us to church reglar and de preacher say to us, any you all see anybody stealin1 old Miss chickens or eggs, go straight to old Miss and tell her who 'tis and all about it. Any one steal old Marse hogs or anything belong to old Marse, go straight to him and tell him all about it. Den he ask us, what your daddy bring home to you when he come, and what he feed you chillun at night. We scared to death to tell anything 1 cause, honey, if we did de ni^gah get a killin, and our mammy tie up our feet and hang us upside down by our feet, build a fire under us and smoke us, scare us plum to death./ We swear \ ' \ mammy go in1 to burn us up. Lord, child, dat was an awful scare. Yes, mam, it was. De old preacher told us go on work hard, tell old Miss and old Master de truth and when we die God going let 181 Missouri Page 4. 182 us in heavenfs kitchen and sit down and rest from all dis work we doinf down here. "We believe dat den. we didn't know no better, honest we didnft, honey. Our old Miss used to tell us, I want .all my niggers to always tell de truth. If dey kill you, die tell- ing de truth. But bless your soul, our mammy done smoked fnough of us up side down, to not tell dem white folks nothin*, a lie, nor the truth, juo sir'ree. Who want to get smoked up likely to burn up hanging there as not. Now ainft dat so? No, sir, tell dam white folks, dey find out anything, they jesf find out by themselves, dat's it. I never did read or write. I been married three times. My last husband I married October 31, 1901 and moved right out here in dis house November 6, 1901, been here ever since. My husband been dead now 18 years. My children all died while dey was babies. I had six children. I wear glasses sometimes, but I praise God I can see good without glasses. *De government gives me a pension and I git along fairly middlin'. Since peace been declared I made my living doing laun- dry work and cooking. I nursed right smart in Memphis. My mother died in 1893 here in St. Louis. Her name was Eliza Mullin, but I never did know how old she was. She didnft neither. I am a Baptist and go to church reglar as I kin, but I suffer so hard Missouri Ex-Slaves Smoked fEm Upside Down Page 5. 1S3 with indigestion. I canft go no place much. Guess datfs fbout all I can remember worth 'membering, hope it helps de book out." (V/ritten by Grace E. White, St. Louis, Mo.}. jeral Writers' Project, [strict ,r5» Iceston, Missouri. 2 •10064 242—Folklore, * a f&i An Interview with Louil- Hill, age 78, *efct Idberty Street, Farmington, Ifa. ¦«--;¦<%*<&$!&''>' :!«•**¦«*** " I's borned on October 13, 1858 on the southeast side of Farmington, Missouri, My |thuh, *ose hill, was borned in Virginia. /She kum ta Missouri as a girl an frum dat ae on she wuz a slabe fur John Mill, our boss. She worked thar till our freedom. Qirig/ iily had three boys, Peter, William, and/me an two girlb, Gallie and Malinda. We Inked up in a cabin with one room. All up kids ate on da flo frum da sameplate an da iggest dog got da mos. #e generally woref a straight si if? like a nightgown an hit I Istened round the neck. (In the old Soujbh boys were dressed in this fashion until sfcout In years old and were called "shirttail/boys".) Tak dis off an we war naked. I The ole f \ Ldy, the wife ob da Boss was da devil1 af sister. Heyfoame was "Whip*. She beat da le folks nor'n tha kids. ^he used thai cowhide an we got a lickin1 whether we did any r 1 I jan1 or not* we had ta git up early dn after given supper we war put ta bed an did fct •pilfer" round. We had ta go on Sunday ta the Boss1 Church, tha Camelite or Qiris- |lan Church, Ma muthuh wuz no han ta/t ell big yarns an so I know no ghost stories• wuz raised very sensible . Tha white folks did not help us ta read an write. I rned that after we war free. I nfever did go t a school. Our games was *Wolf on tha I I fdge*, an ¦*King-Kong-fco.*' "tfe always had ta be doin1 somethin1, even if it war pickin* kindlin1. . _,..... l ..¦•• •¦¦'''" ¦ * * I •.¦*sff*'**" \ I member when*Price's army kum thro here in 264 or f 65,ion their way ta Pilot Knob. wuz bout six or seben years ole. I an ma sisther had bin down ta the white childr'n chool ta take them dinner. We had ta bring tha basket bak an we sat down in tha corner b da graveyard ta eat whut wuz left/ in da basket. Da graveyard was nex to da Fredreick- own road and jus across frum our house. AH at onc't I heard the mos* turrible noise- saw soldiers kum up da road. We war sure scared. We jumped uo, ran cross da road, over da fence an begun ta tak out fur da house* Da soldiers laughed aja:*s aid'"'s4m§\ ri 4 I M*' Y' jT^\ am: One soldier on a horse kum up ta de fence, tore off da top rail, ^/wiwMi^^fse;:;\;' ober da fence, an took out after us, but he nebber cud catch us. pfe-.fuf m^ 7 ¦.'-.. \,4: ^.^,\../..r^ solemnmrrmk UlMMMebMaHtr^mm* it down we wsulsfe s&WiJk&U'VLi'.VU ?&* ' eSeral Writers1 Project, District ?f5, Sikeston, Missouri. -2- 242~Folklore, AQR An Interview with Louis jLoO Hill, age 78, West Liberty . Street, Farmington, Mo# to da Missus* She say dat d6y was only havin' a good time an would not hurt us* We stood at da house an looked, an it took bout all afternoon fvt da soldiers to pass* Thar war horses, wagons and cannons* Da soldiers durin1 da war took all da Xoss* horses away an he had only a yoke ob oxen lef. j' After da freedom we all had ta get out an work* V»"e had a big family. I worB'd at da lead smelter at Mine La Motte in 1872 an work1d thar fur six years. 1 made $2.50 a day an dat was good wages then* I batched thar. I larned ta read at Mine La Motte when a white man taught me in leveniwfe at da mine between shifts. After- wards I v/ork'd in Bonne 'ferre at da smelter but got lead colic an quit thar. *'I think slavery wuz a curse on human nature. 1 believe in nobody bein' in bondage ob no kind. Da Almighty wuz not a goin1 ta let slavery las1 much longer. You know fhut Ke did about da people in Sgypt. /Note—Louis Hill lives in a very nice home. Ke is a quiet negro, and escept for a short time, has spent his entire life in Farmington. He receives an Old Age Pension. I did not inquire about his marriage, for, from knowledge I have gained, he lives with a colored woman to whom he is not married.J **>«!£%. r-~i „ . ' « «l" -•> '"" ' ¦ .* \ ¦ \:. "¦„¦ .,; ••>-.$ .., . ^ _^ -^ ¦ ,., • [- ~\ •' r*" 7-n?s iis...... !¦ \p :* skf _¦-?*} Per ,/"•* / jdPWvJt V\tf- ', "v". .•,/ zmmwmm 2,10082 MISSOURI M5MINGT0N 2I-SMVE STORES LOUIS HILL Page 1, ;r§? 3w 186 HE SWAPPED LiqUOR ffOR LESSONS Kow he traded liquor for lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic is one of the interesting facts of his 3^ "..' MISSOURI FARMINGTON KSHSLME STGHIiiiS LOUIS HILS, Page 2# 187 was two sisters, two brothers and myself what left dat night with my mother* We all had some bundles, and when we left de old mis- trass in de dark we went to some neighbors several blocks axvay. We didn't have to go far away fcause dey could not force you to go back after we was free* But my mother did go back and work for de mistress a good while but she got paid den. We stayed here for quite awhile and den'went up to falls Mines. ffI piddlefd around and hired out for first one and den another and did what a kid could do. When you earned any money dem days you had to give it to your mother and didn't know what she done done with it. About de first work I done was for Mr. Eoyer, a Frenchman, up in Valle Mines in de diggin's. I dug mineral, zinc, etc. I got 50 cents a.day. He did all de dig&ln and I * coached1 it from de head of the drift to de shaft. I had a little car on wheels dat run on a wooden track. I reckon I worked for him 'bout two years. My mother would go out to de big dirt pile called 'scrappin* and would pick out de zinc and lead chunks and little pieces. wPurt near every Saturday we would take de ore down to Fur- nace Town and get it weighed and get a check for it. Den we come back to Farmington after several years and lived with my sister's husband and worked around at a little Jbtit of everything. I was ^iM^'-^^Ci4^M,'^t: MISSOURI m*sikm STORIES LOUIS HILL Page 3. 188 gettin' -to be a pretty good sized boy and went to Mine La Motte and worked on de furnace. My first ?/ork at dat place was at |8 s> a day and later on I became a fcharger1 and got |2.50 a day. I stayed with dem six or seven 3'ears. After I left dere I went to Bonne Terre and got married and got mine sickness or lead colic from workinf in de furnace and had to quit. I come back to Farniing- ton and is been here ever since. Den I worked at sawing wood, chop- ping wood, and at a soda factory and beer depot and peddled ice and delivered soda and beer to Knob Lick, Synite, Graniteville and Bonne Terre. I worked here for a long time. f,ITse had four children and two is livin. De boy is in Los Angeles, California and the girl is in Seattle, Washington. My boy is a chauffeur for an old, rich feller by de name of Clark and he has been in de same job for 16 years. He gets flOO a month, room and board. Hefs been wanting to quit but de old man won't let him. My son's daughter does de cooking for dis rich guy. My son is 56 years old now. ¦""My daughter is 54 and is married. What whe does is more dan I can tell you. Her husband was a soldier in de regular army, in de 10th Calvary, and was in de ffetiip|yiS§S, and Cuba and so my daughter is been around some. She been away from here for about 23 or 84 years. iiliili-iiiiiil llllilSil^^ MISSOURI gARMINGTOM EX-SIAVE STORISS LOUIS HILL Page 4. % 183 "I think de young Negroes need settling down and have more education and not so much good time. I didnft have much of a chance. We was turned loose barefooted and had no schools den and when dey had schools I had to work. But in Mine La Motte a Mr. Mc.Farland would come over to our cabin and teach me readin', writin' and 'rithmetic. He was an awful drinker but was smart. I would give him a little something to drink for teachin* me. I took lessons for 'bout a year. I sure do like to read de news- papers now and can write letters. The young generation things too much about goinf and having a good time. A little 'task masterf wouldn't hurt de young people. I wasn't in de slavery long enough for it to hurt me none. I was fr%ii;when I was 8 years old* My mother, however, was worked like an old horse and de best part of her life was spent in bondage* "I believe de government should have made some provision for de slaves when dey turned dem loose* De government could have com- pelled slave-holders to give slaves a little track of land, a cow and a horse and give fem a start. De slave had made what de white man had. I actually believe de Negroes would be better off today if they had done dis. My old mistress just had oodles of land. Of course de white folks was not used to work and dere was plenty for de Negroes to do if dey wanted to work. MISSOURI FAHMINGTON EX'-SLgTO STOEIES LOUIS HILL Page 5. 190 *I voted as soon as I got a chance. De first time I voted was in 1880. Ifse had fem try to pay me to vote but T told dem my vote* was not for sale. You know you ainft dictated to un- less you is fwishy washy*. Once, a feller asked me how I voted. I said, fJust to suit myself.1 I generally look over de field and vote for what I think is de best timber. Dey is goin1 to have a hot time in 1940, for dem that lives to see it. Itfs a free country and a man should not have to own property in order to vote. Dey ought not to pppress anyone.n ^^^^^^^^^^^Stt^^fi^S^ftl&Sli 191 MISSOURI FRSDSRICKT01N EX-SLAVE STORIES "AUNT" RHODY HOLSELL' Page 1. - SLAVES HAPPY TO BE ERSS - "Aunt" Rhody Holsell, 89 years old, of Fredericktown, is one of the interesting ex-slaves in Missouri. According to her story she was 17 years old when the Civil War ended. Her mother and fatlier...... were slaves and both of them had died before the beginning of the con- flict. She believes that she is part Indian as her great grandmother is believed to have been an Indian squaw. The following is her own version of events which played a part in her life during her slave days and since that time: "When dey turned me loose I was naked, barefoot, and didnft have nothin1 to start out on. They turned us loose without a thing and we had to kinda pick ourselves up* We would go out of a Sunday and dig ginseng and let it dry for a week and sell it to de store. We would make about a dollar every Sunday dat way, and den weTd get our goods at de store. The master and all de boys was killed in de war and de mistress married some fhostle jostle* who helped to kill the boss. I ~A was jus1 not goin1 to stand dat so dis was when I left home. %, "Abraham Lincoln done put a piece in de paper saying dat all de ^ slaves was free and if dey whipped any of de slaves after dey was set ^ free dey would prosecute them. Me and another little old woman done ^ j some shout in1 and holler in1 when we heard fbout de freedom. We tore ^ up some corn down in de field. De old missus was right there on de , I V 'Sw. 1 MISSOURI FASDSRICKTOIN BX-SIAVB STORIES "AUNT" RHODY HOL5ELL Page Z. 19S^^W^^^^^^^i^ MISSOURI gREDJSRICKTOTO Mr&LM STORIES "AUNT" RHODY HQIiSSLL 9# not minding their parents? Dey is just hard-headed* Its caused by de way de old folks acted and is beinf put on dis present generation. I tell 'em, you donft think dat you can walk these streets and fall dead and never said nothin1 to God to move this gulf of sin and den expect to go to Heaven, I'm tryin' to serve God and fightin' all de time against de devil to keep him from knockin* me over. I'm not a person to go on with a lot of nonsense. I talk to de young people all de .tJLjiie around de stores and tell fem dey is got to get up from there to make it across de river. Dey all talk about me preachin' a sermon around de stores. But de devil's already got de fbill of sale1 on dem. Ifm talkin' to de Lord all de time cause my stay is going to be mighty short now.n 199 Missouri 2^00^0 ^ Page 1. 200 Ex-Slave Story jA "ITve lived in Fredericktown ever since de war and onlv two or taree % times I've been out of hollering distance of town. I was seventeen years old when de war was over* My boss was Thos. McGee in ITayne County* My mother and father were slaves* My great-grandmother was a Indian squaw* My mother was dead four years 'fore de war and my father was dead three years-• "I sure can 'member 'bout de war. De funniest thing was some soldiers camped at our house. Man, I would ptHl weeds in de cotton patch, and when I got a little elder I was a-carding and spinning and dat wheel was a-singing. A;--., I spun all de chain all through de Civil War and I spun all de warp* De }?¦> • " .. . £p boss treated us very good. De boss would Iokw every row of corn we would I <::- v.' hoe; sometimes we would break de corn off and den we got a whipping with a weed* tTDe boss lost all three of his boys with their shoes on in de war, but dey did not join de army* De boss was also killed. De boss had a race horse and de soldiers found dis out an de boss tried to get de boss out of de state to New Orleans until after de war* My brother got de race h©ss / / down there all right. My brother got ©n Knight and r©de clear to Cape and * h his closes were torn off* He got to Cape just as de boat was pulling out* S> Dey killed de boss when he got on another h©ss an he was shot 'cause de soldiers thought he was en de race h©ss# Dey killed de boss in August ©n ff and she had to lay with dat snag in her side till de doctor twenty miles away come* It was in August and she died with poison* Her § coffin was made right out on de workbench* Dey didnft have anything in de 1; coffin but a winding sheat scellepeql nicely and a shroud for de body. It was II a miracle to me when I came up here to see Mw dey dre ssed up de dead people. p ^ in a clean sheets That was what 2^7 fore~parents had, B; Its ;fe 201 *!p::jp;:::>-;; Mj Missouri Ex-Slave Stery Page 3* "De Bass said one roan was treated mean and they could not do anything with him* The old fellow would play his gourd and de snakes would-come 'round* Finally dey sent him down to New Orleans and sold him on de bleck* "If yeu move on Saturday you won't stay long. If de boss decides about you on Tuesday or Friday these are hanging days. I can't read or write but I have a little mother sense* We have three spirits, evil spirit in de grave, another spirit which is wandering* and a spirit in heaven. "I think slavery is g©od for dem dat understands it. W© are all slaves now. We have a rough and tumble business* Slavery was cruel but it's about as bad new. Them days they didn't hang anybody for doing bad things. I may be wreng. I been voting ever since de mess got up* My husband said he wanted to be in heaven when d® women would be rnessin' 'round among de men and voting• I wish we had a whole lot of Abraham Lincolns now. He did a great deed when he to©k de yoke off us colored people. We will get a little rest anyway. An Interview with "Aunt Rhody* Holsell! Ex-Slave^.Frederickt^wn, Missouri* Interviewed by J* Tern Miles* $;$&^!$Mk<-yM$^ ?$:f 1:1 i&$$M$£%& ^^i^ill^li^K^^^^^I^^^^^I ¦m iiiiliat WSfa Saline County Page 8 ^ Q Dist. 2 t4{h> \ ,c. >>.3 F. C# #240 Mrs* Sli Daniel Marshall, Mo. F. C. #240 Slave and Negro Lore July 12, 1937 An aged negress answered the door when I knocked and asked if this was Isabella, she invited me into her parlor, a tiny room vith a rather good* looking brussels rug upon the floor, and panel lace curtains hung at the windows. The walls were hung with enlarged crayon pictures of Isabellefs husband and their sons and daughters; no other pictures adorn the walls. '^The center a£ ha*-the old family Bible occupying the place of honor; all the births, deaths, and marriages of the family have been carefully recorded in this book. An album holds next place and contains many old fashioned pictures of her "white folks* and friends of her younger days* The outside of this little four room house is quite attractive, it was formerly painted white, but not much paint clings to it now, old fashioned green shutters still hang at the windows, a tiny little portico shelters the front doorf There is room at one end for a small porch swing to be hung. At the other end an old weather-beaten chair affords a resting place for the caller. The yard is entirely enclosed by a fancy wire fence, and a concrete wak leads to the porch. This old woman lives entirely alone in this little cottage which was pro- vided for her many years ago by the will of her old master. She says she is 87 years old, but circumstances seem to indicate that she is at least 90, she said she was married and had a child about a year old when the war closed in 1865. Her work as a slave was almost all in the house; she was taught to sew/ and had to help make the clothes for the other slaves. She also was a nurse- maid for her mistress little children and at one time was hired out to the methodist preacher's family to take care of till children when his wife was ill. She remembered joining the ^white folks" methodist church in old Cambridge I Page 3 Dist. 2 F. C. #240 204 Mrs. Eli Daniel Marshall, Mb. July 12, 1937 F# c. #240 Slave and Negro Lore ! and going to church on Sundays and sitting in the Gallery, which was the i I place reserved for the colored people in that particular place. On Sunday morning Aunt Cindy got "happy" at the services and began to throw herself about and shout, the white folks on the seats below hurried to get out from under the edge of the balcony for fear Aunt Cindy would lose her balance and fall over the railing to the floor below. Isabelle is a Firm Believer in "Hants". When she was a girl the adjoining plantation was owned by her master's brother-in-law, and on this plantation was the big old tobacco factory where the tobacco raised on several neighboring plantations was priced and hung. The negroes on her masters place said this factory was "hanted*. None of them would go near this factory after nightfall for when the nights were still and the moon was full, you could hear the ting, ting, ting, of the lever all night long and voices of the slaves crying out and complaining, and you knew there wasn't anybody there at all, jest Hants. Isabelle was a mid-wife by profession after the war and tells this as one of her experiences. She was caring for a lady that had just had her second child; they lived in a cottage with a full basement under it. The father was to take full ekre of the other child, a little boy, at night, and they were to sleep in the basement. The father and little son tried to sleep in the basement for two or three nights, but the father could not sleep. Something bothered him as if restless spirits were abroad. One morning Isabelle said she was standing by the door when she heard a voice, low and vibrant, saying, "No sleep here. Canft sleep here." No one was there but her and the mother and the two little children, so, of course, she knew it was "hants". This was proved to her satisfaction a few months later. The skeleton of a man was found ^uader the basement floor* 240199 Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 1. £QO HEKHY JOHNSON The subject of this sketch is Henry Johnson, over ninety years of age, living at 1526 Hanley Koad, Lincoln Terrace, St. Louis, Missouri. Henry is of dark complexion and has a wealth of long white hair and feminine features. His eyesight is good. He is in excellent health for his age. The old man admits that his main weakness is chewing to- bacco. He was seated in the living room of his 4-room, old fas- hioned frame cottage which is poorly furnished, but clean where he lives with his wife, at least twenty-five years younger than himself. His story follows: "My name is Henry Johnson. I was born in Patrick County, Virginia and was raised all over de state. I was only so^d twice. My father1 s name was Bill Alexander and my mother1 s name was Fannie, but I didn't know nothinf fbo\vt my parents till I was past eighteen years old or about that. I never knowned my real age. My ownerfs name was Billy Johnson in Patrick County so I always carried his name. When I vms a little bit a fellow. Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 2. 20C) I used to pack water to twenty-five and thirty men in one field, den go back to de house and bring enough water for breakfast de next morning. When I got a little bigger, I had to take a lit- tle hoe and dig weeds out of de crop* If our white boss see a little grass we overlooked he would handcuff our feet to a dip- ping post, den chain the slave around de stomach to de post and strap de chin over de top of de post and place your hands in front of you. In de start de slave has been stripped naked, and lashed, of- ten to death? Dey would be left strapped after from twenty-five to fifty lashes every two or three hours to stand dere all night. De next day, de overseer would be back with a heavy paddle full of holes that had been dipped in boiling water and beat until de whole body was full of blisters. Den hefd take a cat and nine tails dipped in hot salt water to draw out de bruised blood and would open everyone of dem blisters with dat. If de slave did not die from dat torture, he would be unfastened from de whipping post, and made go to de field just as he was. Often times he Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 3. would die shortly after* Dey did the women de same.11 Here he showed the writer scars on his head and shoulders which he said were from those beatings. flI never knowed what a shirt was until I was past twenty. When ray young master went three miles to school, he rode on a horsef I had to walk along side de horse to carry his books, den go home and fetch him a hot dinner for noon and go back after him at night to carry dem books. "My boss had eleven children. He had one hundred and twenty- five slaves on one of de plantations, two hundred on another. On all his plantations he owned betterTn 1500 slaves. He was one of de richest land owners in de state of Virginia. He often told me I was born just one hour before his youngest son. I stayed with dat family until way after de war was fought9 "Dey would take a great string of slaves in de road on Sunday and make us walk to church. Buggies with de white folks in would be in front of us, in de midst of us, and all betwixt and behind us. When we got dat four or five miles we had to sit on a log in de broiling sun, while a white man preached to us. All dey evah 207 Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 4. 208 would say would be niggers obey your masters and mistess and donft steal from fem« And lo and behold, honey, de masters would make us slaves steal from each of the slave owners. Our master would make us surround a herd of his neighbor's cattle, round dem up at night, and make us slaves stay up all night long and kill and skin every one of dem critters, salt the skins down in layers in de mas- ter's cellar, and put de cattle piled ceilin' high in de smoke house so nobody could identify skinned cattle* "Den when de sheriff would come around lookin1 for all dem stolen critters, our boss would say, 'Sheriff just go right on down to dem niggahs1 cabins and search dem good, I know my nig- gers1 don't steal.' Course de sheriff come to our babins and search, sure we didn't have nothin' didn't belong to us, but de boss had plenty. After de sheriff's search, we had to salt and smoke all dat stolen meat and hang it in old marse smoke house for him. Den ddy tell us, don't steal• Dey raised turkeys in de 500 lots and never did give us one. So we wanted one so bad once, I put corn underneath de cabin and a turkey, a great big one, would come under our cabin to eat dat corn* One day when I got a chance Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 5. 209 I caught dat old gobbler by de neck and him and me went round and round under dat old cabin house. He was de biggest strongest bird I ever see, I was only a boy but finally I beat. I twisted his neck til}, he died* Den I iook out up to de big house, fast as any- thing, to tell my old miss one of our finest turkeys dead. She said stop cry in1 Henry and throw him under de hill* I was satisfied. I run back, picked dat ole bird, taken all his feathers to de river and throwed dem in. Dat night we cooked him, and didn't we eat some thin1 good. I had to tell her 'bout dat missin1 bird cause when day check up it all had to tally so dat fixed dat. "My old master told me when de war was being fought and the Yankees was on de way coming through Franklin County, Virginia, fMy little niggah do you know how old you is?1 I said: fNo sah, boss. He said: 'You are seventeen years old1. I never even saw my mo- ther and father until I was in my twenty's. A white man taken me to Dansville, Virginia to drive his carriage for him. After I was dere a spell a colored man kept watching me so much I got plum Scared. Dis was after de war was over. Den one day, lo and behold, he jumped at me and he grabbed me and asked me where was I staying. Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson page 6. I did not know whether to tell him or not, I was so scared. Den he said I am your father and I am goin* to take you to your mo- ther and sisters and brothers down in Greenhill, Virginia* When he got me dere, I found tw sisters and four brothers. Dey was all so glad to see me dey shouted and cried and carried on so I was so scared I tried to run away, cause I didnft know nothin1 'bout none of them. And I thought dat white man what brought me down flere ought to have saved me from all dis. I just thought a white man was my God, I didn't know no better. "Well, when my folks finally stopped rejoicing, my mother only had two chickens. She killed and cooked dem for me* My father and brothers would go to work every day and leave me at home with my mother for over a year. They would not trust me to work, feared I would run off cause I didn't no nothin1 fbout them. Hadn't even heard of a mother and father. My brother and father would work all day and only get one peck of corn or one pound of meat or one quart of molasses for a whole day*s work from sun up till sun down. We had to grind dat corn for our flour, and got biscuits once a year at Christmas and den only one biscuit 210 Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 7. 211 apiece. nAfter a little better1 n a year after I come, the white man told my father to bring his family and move from Greenhill, Vir- ginia to Patrick County, Virginia to his big farm, and farm dere for him and he would give him one half pf all he raised for his share, v/e went, and did we raise a big crop. He kep1 his word all right and we stayed dere till de white man died five years la- ter. Den we went to another farm. We had cleared enough in the five years to buy us a fine pair of oxen and had money besides. So we went to another farm and went to work giving the owner of the farm one third of the crop and kep1 two thirds ourselves. We stayed there two years. Then father sold de oxen and went to Sweetville, Virginia and bought $200 worth of land and stayed a- bout five years. We made our crop with a hoe and made good. Den I left home and run about all over, learned how to play a violin and made my livin1 with it for a long time* "I quit dat and railroaded about eight years working on sec- tions and new grading. Den went to Decata, Alabama and worked with a land company putting down pipings about three months. I quit dat and married Anna Johnson and come to Jiles County, Tennessee* Missouri ax-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 8* .ve had one son. "I came to St. Louis from Tennessee more dan forty years ago. I got work right away at Cycle & Harris Steel Plant on 18th Street and worked dere about six months, when I got scald- ed almost to death on the job. I got a new nose and a new ear from dat accident. All de flesh of my right arm was off to de bone. I was in de hospital eight months from it and I got #500 out of de damage suit. I bought me a horse and wagon out of it and done light hauling, and moved out here in Lincoln Terrace and been out here ever since* "I landscaped out here for sixteen years until I was dis- abled to work hard any more. I got a garden but I canH make any money from it, cause all de other folks out here got gar- dens too. I am a deacon in Mt» Zion Baptist Church right here at de corner. Rev.. Thomas is my pastor. ttI only went to school three days in my whole life but a col- ored friend taught me how to spell out of a blue back spelling book. His name was Charlie Snowball. I was learning fine until I got burned? Den my eye sight was poor for a long time, but I see nov/ very good. I only need glasses for to read what little 212 Missouri Ex-Slaves Henry Johnson Page 9# 213 I can read. I can't write at all. My grandfather was 135 years old when he died, and ray father lived to be 135. wDe white people in Missouri sure have been mighty good to me since I been here. I have as nice clothes as any man in St. Louis, good clothes what I mean. All been given1 to me by white people able to give somethin'. I have not had to buy a hat, shoes or suit of clothes for over twenty-five years, and got far more good clothes dan I can ever wear out till my dying day. I think these 20th century white folks dat have principle are trying to make amends to Negroes to make up for the meanness there forepar- ents done to us, so I try to forgive fem all in my heart for the s^e of a few good ones now. Ifve buried two wifes from dis very house. I am now giving with my third wife and she is a mighty fine woman. We have been together about sixteen years•" (Written by Orace B. White*) 240205 >r\<7 Missouri Ex-Slave Story Bred Slaves Like Stock Page 1. 214 Bred Slaves Like Stock Hannah Jones was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri,-August 3, about 1850, the daughter of Lottie Oil and Noah Thompson. Her story follows: "The niggers had three or four wifes before de war, as many as dey could bear chillun by. But after de war dey had to take one woman and marry her. My mother had three chillun by him and de odder wifes had three and four chillun too. Old man, Ben Oil raised m^ mother. He was an old bachelor but his brothers were all married. "Ben Oil had 100 niggers. He just raised niggers on his plantation. His brother-in-law, John Cross raised niggers, too. He had 125 niggers. He had a nigger farm. His other brother-in- law we call old man English, had 100 niggers. Dey all jesf had nothinf else but niggers. Before de warfcbroke out, Tom Oil and John Oil come up dah and taken all us niggers but eight and eight acres of land he left for Ben Oil's housekeeper. 014 Marse Ben died and after dat Tom carried us all back down der to New Orleans Missouri 2x-Slave Story Bred Slaves Like Stock Page 2. 215 wid him and opened up a nigger pen. }jatfs a place like a stock yard where dey auction us off. De old ones was de ones dey was anxious to get shet of. We only know our ages by known* we is born in corn plantin* and cotton pickin' time. We never even knowed de days of de week. 111 had three aunts to die in all dat huddle of niggers. De doctors make us go walking every day cause dat was de only exercise we git. One of dem aunts dropped dead on de street while walking. De other two died in de slave pen. My grandmo- ther was a fine seamstress* She sewed all de sewing for de white folks. Three days after her first baby was born dey xaade her git up and make twelve stiff-from,, tucked white shirts for her old mistress1 boy who be goin1 off to college and she was so sick and weak, some of de stitches was crooked. Old Miss ordered de over- seer to take her out and beat her fbout it. Before he did de doc- tor looked at her and said tainft no use beatin1 her she wonft do you no more good. She's stone blind, but she can have chiliun right on. So dey kept her for dat and she bore twelve more head of chiliun after dat. Missouri Ex-Slave Story Bred Slaves Like Stock Page 3. £wjLG "My mother was black as a crow and her hair was so long she could sit on it. Dey brought a huddle of niggers over amongst de Indians from all over de south and Maryland and intermarried fem wid dere own sisterst brothers, cousins, nieces and de like. De niggers didnft know for years dey was any kin. When dey want to raise certain kind a breed of chillun or certain color, dey just mixed us up to suit dat taste, and tell de nigger dis is your wife or dis is your husband and dey take each other and not know no bet- ter and raise big families to de white folks liking. "I never can forget one Sunday morning de rebels come into Cape Girardeau. De old Miss what raised me had just killed two hogs and put fem in de smoke house. I got up bright and early dat Sunday morning. I looked out toward de smoke house and seed two white men out dere dressed in blue clothers and dey just went in Old iaiss smoke house and help dem selves. I run right fast and told old Miss what was going on out der in her smoke house. But dere wasn't no men folks around so we couldn't help ourselves. Dey told us dey was 300 strong and just den some others come over de hill and told fem come on, &urry up so dey climbed de hill in a hurry leaving dere. They had three gun boats and dey turned one of dem things loose up Missouri Bx-Slave Story Bred Slaves Like Stock Page 4. O-f * der as dey was goin1 and Lawd child dat thing destroyed property for miles around. "Some of dem rebels had ball bats, some had sticks~ some rid- ing and some walking. Dey killed three of us niggers in our camp' dat morning. All de nigger men been taken away just leaving us nig- ger women and chillun. Dey burned down frame and log huts just de same. My mother lived to be 115 years old, two uncles lived to be 100, one sister over 60. I use glasses when I read but am blind in one eye. My husband has been dead 37 years. He was an old soldier so Uncle Sam gives me a pension. MI had 15 head of chillun. I have now seven grandchillun and four great grandchillun. I has been in St. Louis 17 years and lives with ray daughter Nancy McDonald, 2804 Dayton Street." (Written by Grace E. White, St. Louis, Mo.) 240090 ^^W^WWW^^W^^mi MISSOURI H&flMBAL EX-SL&7B STORIES EMMA., KNIGHT Page 1. 218 SMMfiu WAS 1RALU ROUGH Emma Knight, living at 924 North Street, Hannibal, Missouri, was born in slavery on the farm of Will and Emily Ely, near Florida, Monroe County. The following is her story as she told it: f,¥/e lived on a Creek near Florida. We belonged to Will Ely. He had only five slaves^ my father and mother and three of us girls. I was only eight or nine years old. De Elys had eight children. Dere was Paula, Ann, Sarah, Becky, Emily, Lizzie, Will, Ike, and Frank* Lizzie was de oldest girl and I was to belong to her when she was married. "Be master of de house was better to us dan de mistress. We didn't have to work none too hard, 'cause we was so young, I guess. We cut weeds along de fences, pulled weeds in de garden and helped de mistress with de hoeing. We had to feed de stock, sheep, hogs, and calves, because de young masters wouldn't do de work. In de evenings we was made to knit a finger width and if we missed a sijitch.je would have to pull all the yarn out and do it oirer^ De no ^'^^^M/^i most of ^ was just rags. We ^^ iiiiiiiiif^ :^ai MISSOURI HAMIBAL EX-SLA.V1 STORIES EMMA. KNIGHT Page 2. 219 made moccasins for our feet from old pants. Late in de fall mas- ter would go to Hannibal or Palmyra and bring us shoes and clothes. We got derri things only once a year. I had to wear de young master's overalls for underwear and linseys for a dress. *My father was took away. My mother said he was put on a block and sold f cause de master wanted money to buy something for de house. My mother told me she come from Virginia or down south some plac2. Dey brought her in a box car with lots of other colored peo- ple. Dere was several cars full, with men in one car, women in ano- ther, and de younger ones in another, and de babies in another with some of the women to care for dem. Dey brought dem to palmyra and sold dem. Master Ely bought my mother. I donft know where icy father come from. "Mistress always told us dat if we run away somebody would catch us and kill us. We was always scared when somebody strange come. De first we knew dere was a war was when some soldiers come through. We was sure scared den. Once a man come and we thought he was a patrol- ler but he asked for something to eat. Mother took him to de mistress. Slfte gave him southing to eat wrapped in a paper and told him to get Off ^ ......ll'iSIISlslllliii^MS illiitiiili MISSOURI HANNIBAL m-sum stories EMMA. KNIGHP Page 3. J2Pf) "Some Union soldiers come and told us that we was free like dey was and told us not to be afraid, dey wouldn't hurt us* Dey told us de war was over* De master told mother not to go away, dat if she stayed a while he would give her a couple hundre&~dollars. We stayed a while but she never got no money. "We come to Hannibal in an ox wagon. We put up at de barracks and den mother went to live with Hiram Titchner. He lived right where de postoffice is now. I hired out to Mrs. James across de street for my clothes and schooling. Mrs. James had two girls. One of dem learned me not to be such a tomboy and not to be so rough. I tell you I was a bad girl when I was.young. I could climb every tree on de master's farm and iny clothes was always in rags from being so rough. My mother used to whip me most every day with a broom stick and even hit me with chairs. I guess I was bad. If I had a dollar for every broom handle that was laid across my back I would have lots of money. I tell you we was raised plenty tuff dem days. ^De young folks can't stand such raising dese days* Dey just couldnft go through what we was through. The young folks now just couldn't do it at all. We never was flowed on the street after nine o'clock. We sure run for home when the church bell done rung on de jiill at nine ofclock* Now-a-days de young folks stays out half de night and dey steal and even kill each other over triflin' things* ma--. , MISSOURI HANNIBAL EX-SLATS STORIES emma MIGHT Page 4. 221 I know it 'cause I see them do dese things. I fspose dere parents are a lot to blame. "I was married when I was young, less dan twenty I reckon. I had one girl but she is dead now. Her boy lives with me. I gets a pension, seven dollars a month, for about a year now. This little old shack belongs to me* I go to de Baptist Church over on Center Street when ever I can. We used to go to church on de corner fcross from de postoffice. Dere is a big store dere now** piral Writers' Project, Jiatrict #5, [ikeston, Missouri. 340063 Interview with Harriet '*' - Lee—ex~slave, (tfapeT) ~V^J^rardequ.) Lj^g^a 322 Hunze Farm South of Cape* ^Mah mammy tole me ah wuz jes fo1 year ole wen de war end, $o ah don1 Imember much bout fo1 de war. Ole Massa wuz Buckner Caldwell an1 ole'Missus, we a'ways call Miss toon, dat de only name ah knows huh by, jes Miss Goon. He war a fine ole man but she rar a hard one. Ah wuz name aftuh young Missie Harriet. ^ De white folks had a fine house, a very lawge house standin1 high up on a bluff tout a mile an three y^uawterhs fum, Gumbuhlain1 Rivuh. Dat wuz in Smith County, Ten- lessee. Ah don rightly 'member 'bout how many slaves dey hed, bux dere war sev'ral cabins hut us cullud folks live in. fah mammy and daddy wuz Sarah an Bob Tadwell. Mammy wuz raised in Vuhginyuh an* # hen she wuz sixteen yeah pie she wuz put on de block an* sold in Nashville. V; " Mah mammy wuz a seamstress. She nevuh work in de fiel1, an1 she don1 know nuthin1 bout cookin1, but she do fine sewifa1. ^hen dey put her on de block dey has some o* ~-f uh work dar tuh show what fine dewin1 she kin do. Yuh know all de sewin war done by v->_ in* an mah mammy1 d sew sometime till huh finguhs nearly drap off. She sew de fines* icks an1 she make all dem fine tuck bosom shurts &o% de men. jl0ne time a man come an1 wunna buy mammy an me. Miss Goon wuz gonna sell us un- beknownst to ole Massa* Ole Massa wouldn1 sell none o1 his people, but Miss Goon iways try to put things ovuh on him an1 he couldn1 do nuthin 'iDOut it but go j;it f rak. Ole Miss Goon put de price onus a way up high-cause mammy sech a fine seamstress fv i1 ah wuz.ahWays a buxum chile, nevuh sick er nuthin. #ut he say dat too much an* he t> on home! Aftuh while wen dey so much taik bout freein1 de niggers Miss Coon sont > i word dat she come way down on de price but he sont back word dat*. he got ez much sense ^ (she got. ' ' ' ,/^v:-u'-'-^ /v v ;r?- 3 ¦ fe lef thar when we lus free. My mammy ahways got work a sewing. iJk^i^faitofa £* » white woman fifteen year. if-/ ^%'i^ ........ 4e\Ku:;HwW" cum aroun1 right smaht. Be woman ah stayed Bdlral Writers1 Project, -2- 240—Folklore, _ ¦District #5, Interview with Harriet /323 feikeston, Missouri* , Lee—ex-slave, Cape &irardeau» Lives on Hunze Farm South of Cape. foolishness roun* her place an1 dey nevuh bothuh huh none, but dey beat up some o* de neighbors. One ole man dey beat till he die. '/ ¦¦*,.' tr* 3 '^fl^^^PiH^li^^^^^^i :• 1, Misseuri Ex-Slave Story "My mother was a slave in Franklin Parish, L©uisiana, »b©ut 200 miles from New Orleans. I was bern in 1862. My mother's name was Caroline Head by marriage* She was bern in slavery• Her home was in Mississippi first and she ©migrated to Louisiana 'cause d© land was w©rn ©ut* I had seven brothers and sisters and all are gone but me. My mother was separated frem ipy father two times« My mother was married three times due t@ being meved around. My bretherfs father was sent into a free state under seme consider- ation* Bush Baker was my mother*s bess* De boss had two plantations* De morning I was going to be bern de overseer began t© fight my mother and a colored man to©k a hee and said if the man hit her again he would kneck his brains out* The overseer had been at this place fer feur years and had net' been paid* Mother was confined in de field and deygot her to de house* / If Baker had been thar he would have killed de overseer* Three men came up t© kill de overseer with guns for beatin1 my mether and de ©verseer had te leave* My mother never did get ever her troubles dat morning* Mrs. Baker said it would be better for mother to werk in de field fcause mother, could then take better care of her childrenf "Mrs* Baker was kind and tended de children when dey was sick* Mrs* Baker took us te Texas duriag de war f cause she was afraid the Union soldiers weuld take her slaves away fromher* After peace was declared de seldiers came and told de white people dat de slaves was free* But w* never did l*s#^ was over\Wet* Baker took us back to I#jig£ ^tieo^l^ of oxen and three tepis ef mules ^$^1 ;||i^t|;|^ WM M fa- $&. y •.. f fillliiffliiifttSSi^^iiilSi llliili^^^^^^^^^M ^wwj-^P'y^fS;?^ Missouri Page 2. Ex-Slave Story from Texas* Dis was in 1865* WI can fmember de home place* De county read went close to de front gate* Mrs •'Eliza Baker had a beautiful yard and after de war she w©uld have us c©me and stay in de yard t® be protected from de jay-hawkers. De high water weuld c©me past de fence and we would play in de water* One time a jay-hawker ceme and git one ©f de children in a skiff and den we yelled and de mastah com© ©ut with his.pistol and hit de jay-hawker ever de head. S© de jay*-hawker turned de child ever again. S© we did net play down in de water n© m©re. "De-mistress had a leng table ©ut in de front yard under de smoke house shed and here all us children had ©ur feed. It was good feed* Mrs. Baker had a fig nursery in de front yard and we weuld go and pick wash-* tubs of figs* Seme were dried and ethers were put up. Mrs. Baker had a plantation- of 1^800 acres* On week ends we would dance and they would always be getting married. We had a c©bred man on de plaice who c©uld read and he did de marrying. De only school I ever went te was to a night school here for a shert time* Dey would tell me a story fb©ut fDo-Bear'an de Grand^ma* an :tT>out .-.f lit tie Ridin1 Heed*1 Dey use t© toll us seme awful yarns. Dey would kill ever 100 head of-begs every year and cure it * and I canft ^ifupe t^ Mrs. Baker would take anyone in to wagon to ^ to g#* ||y aunt wont to church but w©uld n©t bo \bapii!^<^ ¦ ;.:;:v:-^ :;.v,:;;;.. g;4?|^!»^!S^P^^^^ Missouri Ex-Slav® St - ^Mi^^MM^'^&^MP^MiM^^^^^i'MMiC 'dW MISSOURI .ffBSTUS SX-SIAVS STORIES PERRY MCGSE. Page 2. 231 President* A man by de name of Grigsby was a slave buyer* It was like you would want a hog or cow and dey would put slaves on de block and *cry them offf . You have got to make profit on de deal.. A good strong man would sell for |300 and some for $100 w A hous^ slave was worth more dan a field slave* wDey wouldnft sell my mother. De old mistress would not allow my mother to be sold. I had only one sister rand two brothers. One brother died when I was a baby. De Kebel soldiers taken me. I was a waiter. When Price1 s raid come they took me off de farm. After dey left Pilot Knob dey come up through Missouri and fired on Glasgow and only 900 militia and regular soldiers could no*t fight 80,000 reb- els. So dese 900 ran and blew up de powder magazine and it sounded just like thunder and looked like a black cloud. De rebels went on across de river and said dey was going to make de niggers smell hell. De soldier said, 'Hey, little nigger, we want you to go with us and wait on de Captain.1 I was light as a feather almost and dey boosted me up on a horse behind one of de soldiers and took me to Glasgow tfc> a eatin1 place* Dey had hard tack made without any salt or any short- nin^ about- em-, fjiere was plenty springs up there. I had to clean off de^lorse^ arid placed marbles and turned handsprings and dey had me for #|$^^ dey would chip in Missouri SX^SMVl STORIES PERRY MSGSE Page 3. ' 232 and pay me a little* When I left and was free I had $18 in nickels and dimes and had only one piece as big as a quarter. I was as 'fraid of a Union soldier as of a rattle snake* Horace Swiney come to town and begged de soldiers to let me come back so he brought me back on his horse. I was in Glasgow about three days. "One day young Swiney come out and told us we was free and for us to call him Mr. Swiney and not master. Dere was only one colored family who left the farm here of 800 acres. All de rest of us stayed right dere. He had about 70 slaves. De old man made a talk and said deauf was plenty of land dere and we could all stay and work as we had been. After de freedom dey paid me 10 cents a day or |3 a month and . board. Man, I done everything. I carried water on my head. Seel my head is flat and I ainft got no sense. I had to carry water in fpiggins,f something like a well bucket with one handle so you could catch it with one hand and set it up on your head* Dese buckets was made out of wood on de place dere by a good carpenter. D^piggias would hold 2 gallons of water* ^I've had 12 Children and I was married 55 years when my wife died. I only got 6 children livin* now, 4 boys and 2 girls. One of my girls, Alice, is a teacher in de college in St. Louis. She. went "^^^iSiifi , % ¦ \ . -' ?^^^v^$^^ MISSOURI FSSTUS BX-SIAVE STORIES ESRKI MCGSE Page 4. 233 to four colleges, at Champaign, Illinois; Lincoln University, Jefferson City; University of Chicago and at Honolulu Universi- ty where she is dis summer. She has been teaching about 5 or 6 years. She teaches geography and mathematics. I went naked, barefooted, and hungry and send my daughter to school. She went to grade school right here in Festus. Alice is 42 now ana she wants to marry and'have four children. Bessie is my other daugh- ter, and she has taught school for 18 years* She is a graduate of Lincoln University and taught at Cape Girardeau 4 yearst at Lost Creek in Washington County 2 years, in Festus for 6 years, and in Appleton, Missouri, too. Bessie is married now and she . donft have any children. I stays right here with her. "My son, Granvllle McGee, lives in,St. Paul, Minnesota, and works on de Northern Pacific Railroad and is a waiter between Chi- cago and Seattle. He's been with dem 17 years. His is a six day ran and ha has 6 children. Another son, W* C. Mc&ee, lives in Lansing, Michiga^^i Ha is a Democrat, 'than da Democrats is in p©wer £ is a lamoo3Sat and when de Kepublicans is iii power I'se a Bepufciieaa* Da%fis de,*% it generally ^oea; 1% son up in Lansing is editor of the Lansing Sya Opened, and has been adit or for sever** &L y|a3*s» \\W^-.:i9-:'^^^ one who had a pretty good aitt^tion #^ is M^W0$B^$Mif& MISSOURI E3STOS h STORIES —-' 234 SX-SLATTE STORIES Pii&KY MSSBB Page 5. a graduate of Lincoln University t too. He was a porter for a railroad before he was a editor. You got to have a pretty fair education to be a porter now* My oldest son, 61, lives in Rock- ford, Illinois. He was born in Crystal City and when Ire was here he was an inspector in de sand mines. He is a furnace man over at Rockford in a glass factory. He has been working for de glass com- pany ever since he was big enough to walk. He is married and has one child. My son, Oscar, is a railroader and lives in St. Louis and is a porter on a train what runs between St. Louis and down in Mexico. He is married and has no children and never will have none. His wife had a accident.. "After I was free I come to St. Louis and done a little of everything and worked for my step-father and worked harder for him dan for my master. I sawed wood and drove a cart. We had a coal and wood yard. I did not get paid but could eat. I worked for him until one day I met rny father*s sister on de street and she asked me some questions on Morgan Street in St. Louis. "Den I went with Uncle Jim MeGee to live and he took me down to Greenville, Mississippi and picked cotton and worked as a porter at de hotel Bere* I got #12 a month and board* I didn't stay down dere yjssouRi F33T0S 3X-SIAVE STORIES P5RRY IdCCBE Page & very long and come back to St. Louis and worked at Billing's Bank dat was a saloon and was paid ^18 a month and made extra about ^25 on tips. I worked for him for about two years plumb 'till I come down in Jefferson County. I worked 30 years over in the plate glass factory in Crystal City and had to quit dere on account of my eyes. I was firing in de furnace. I sometimes made .$4 a day and board at de factory. Den I worked for 27 years for de Festus Mercantile Company and done a little bit of every- thing. I gets $11, a month now as an old age pension. "I was 21 or 2 when I first voted. lly first vote was for U. S. Grant for President at Hematite, Missouri. My last vote was for F. D. Roosevelt. Lots of dem wanted to pay me to vote a certain way but I nerev paid any attention to dem. I'm a Democrat now. I don't think a man ought to be allowed to vote' unless dey know what dey doin.' tfIfse went to school only three days in my life. "De missus learned me my A, B, C*s and all de rest I learned myself. I paid $1.50 a month to go to night school in St. Louis for three months and learned to read and spell, but I just can't write• If I had de chance dat de young folks have now I would go as high as you could go. I can talk some German cause I worked for a Dutchman once. De young generation of colored people ain't goin' 235 MISSOURI ffSSTCJS BX-SIAVB STORIES „ PERRY MOGSB Page \. I 236 to amount to nothinf • Dey donft want to work, but one out of a thousand might do something. Dey all think dey know too much and don't want to learn no more. My other boys will never know what my son knows. Be young ones donft appreciate their advan- tages. Booker T. Washington had a hard time. We will never have no more like him. Some of de slave holders -treated de slavesv better than dey is today. . De young generation is about at their best now. Dey think too much about their pleasure. Dey don*t have enough work to do. I u;sed to work 16 hours a day. Now dey is got it down to 6 hours a day. I think it was good for some of de colored people to be slaves. nI think it would be better if some of the ones now were slaves and it would teach dem to work. My young mistress treated me good and I went with her right behind a horse called Andrew* She thought a heap of me and 'I thought a heap of her. ftDere ain't but two classes of people, good and bad, and dey been tryin1 to separate de black people from de white people but de line has. already been cut. Colored women is bavin1 white children. I think dat is wrong. Dey ought not to mix dem up, but I ainft goinf to try to separate fem. Dat is de reason I voted for de Lincoln Bill. If people do wrong let*fem be pun- ished accordin1 to law no matter what color* MISSOURI ESSTCJS ex-seaye stories perry mjgee Page t .< 23 h** "Slavery hurt de men who owned de slaves. De Negro was only de shade tree. De master would set back in de shade and tell de Negro what to do. I hear so many say, fIfm free! But fchere is only one person who is free and he or she is de one dat God has set! free. God set forth in de heart of Abraham Lincoln dat every man should earn his bread by de sweat of his brow. Man is his own "free agent. De masters measured out bad measure and dey got worser in de end dan de slaves. "What is ruinin' dis country is de love for money. God is go in* to rule dis world.w ^h^l&^yn^&i^; '/&'&¦} '".¦ r-#- 240098 MISSOURI EX-SLAVE STORIES jam McGUIRE / Page 1. • 238 3QMDAGE WAS GREAT BURDEN |rI was born in Valle Iviines in the northern part of St. Francois County. My mother's name was Sophie KcGuire. She was a slave of Henry Bisch and my father was named Philip KcGuire and was owned by John McGuire. I lives here in Herculaneum and am 74 years old. My father worked in de mines and my mother worked in and around de house and cooked. She was more of a house girl. I had three brothers and seven sisters. All my sisters is dead Tcept two. One of dem lives in De Soto and de other in St. Louis? One of my brothers lives Company here at Herculaneum. ffIfse heard my mother and father talk about what a hard time dey had when dey was set free and went to housekeeping. First dey moved in a house dat was already built and: den dey built a log cabin. My father dug de zinc and lead ore to make a living at Valle Mines. He would get so much a ton and would sometirn.es make |2 a day and den sometimes he would not make anything. I lived at Valle Mines till I come of age and den moved to St. Louis where I worked for 30 years. I worked in a boiler room, in de steel works, and drove a team. I hauled sana, cinders, lumber, dirt, etc. I got about $1.50 a day when t worked in St. Louis. I was married for about 35 years and jO <>' i at Crystal City and one has worked for over 20 years for de St. Joe;- ^ r F ^'V'"' MISSOURI 2X-SI&VS STORIES JOHNMcGUIRE Page 2. 233 my wife is dead and didnft have any children. When I left St. Louis I worked in de mines at Fletcher and den came over here and have been fscalawagginT around since I been here. nI f member ed how my mother used, to tell about an old~eolored man who ground her scissors and he ground dem on both sides and dey would not cut anything. Dat sure made her mad. I used to have to turn de old grindstone for my father to get his ax sharp. He like to wore me out. I feel like I growed up with more freedom now since we has no slavery. I believe if de colored people had never been brought to dis country dey would be further developed dan dey is this way. Our people has been under bondage in dis country for over 200 years* Being in de bondage has been a great hardship on our race. Dis condition might have some effect today with some people* Dey might say, fWellf dis fellow will never amount to nothin' 'cause his parents was slaves .f "I can read and write and went to school in Valle Mines at night and paid for it# It cost $1 a month and I went a part of two terms. I learned to read and write from my father. My father1s master would not allow him to have any books, but de master1 s son would steal a book and when dey was in de mines working I had some free time* My father and de master's son would go off in one side of de mine and MISSOURI EERCULAMEDM EX- SUm STORIES JOHN WGUIBE Page 3. . 240 dere learn to read and write. "In some ways I think de young generation is much better off dan I am or was. But, on de other haMf it seems to me like dey is more rude but as de younger ones grows up maybe dey will be better. De younger generation has a greater opportunity, but dey is behind in doing things against the law. You all knows such like as stealing, killin*, robbing and swindling is going on now more dan when I Was a boy. We have some mighty rude colored children. Dere is several reasons for dis rudeness. Itfs fiaused by letting children go as dey wants to go. De parents gets so dey feels dat their child is too good to correct. Another reason is a whole lot de breeding of de children. I think dat since slavery de Negro would have been better off if he had been put on a reservation to hisself • It would have come more natural to civilize de Negro dat way dan de .way it is now. Dere is a lot of white men get Negro women and a lot of white women get Negro men* Dat would never have happened if de races had* been separated. I'se been down in Southeast Missouri and de colored race is treated pretty bad down dere#w ^!lSftliKS>':^ • Missouri 2x~Slave Story Page 1. 241 "I was born in Stoddard County, Missouri. My mother belonged to John Sitzes and my father belonged to Lark Abernathy. I can jes remember how afraid us chillun was of de soldiers. De boss had a big plantation and raised every- thing dey ate and wore. We had a cabin d-t joined on to the house. My mother was jus1 like a man and worked in de fiel' and made rails. y$ aunt wove. I picked up chips. My mother was the type dat they had to treat good. De master had eight children. There was a white school of three months. -I did not go to SChOOl. "-ifter de war was over we all worked for twenty-five cents a day but didn't get raid in money but in food. Mother was sold twice, and my father was sold avray from my mother. I don't 'member anything fbout my father. I was 'bout four years old when de war ended. fBout all we did on Sunday was to dig ginseng and fish. One of de slaves would go out to a dance and get in in de momin1 and lie would get a whippin1 . "After de war some Ku Klux come through our place and de white folks said they could tell who dey were by de walk. After de war was over de soldiers were going to take some of de colored women south, so we hid under de stairway. De soldiers fought to get de slaves to go and my mother had a scar on her shoulder dat dey made. De soldiers took some of de slaves south and sold them somewhar' and we never heard from them again. "Black root was a purgative medicine as well as goose grease. For whooping- cough dey would use honey and alum. "At Christinas we'd get candy or a new dress. On one Christmas old Christine or Santa Clause would wrap up in a blanket and this is how we got our presents. Down thar de hickory nuts grew big and it was a funny thing when we found out dat old Christine was giving us our own hickorj' nuts. Missouri ix-Slave Story Page 2. 242 "I canft •member fbout any hoodoo business but cnce a Negro man bor- rowed a pair of boots from another man and when he returned them thar was a snakefs tooth sticking up through de sole of one of de boots. Interview with Eliza Madison, ex-slave, aged 75, Fredericktown, Mo Interviewed by J. Tom Miles. * Butler Co. Folklore. ""** I Dftr.ft i a An Interview with Drucilla page i • r, f ( Martin, age 102, and Richard! : C ., . Martin, age 92. End of Davis! St., Poplar Bluff, Missouri,\ "I'se half Indian and I look it too, and if I wo1 gold rings in my ears and nose I would look just like my mammy did 'cause she was full blooded Indian* I don' know what kind, but she was big and tall and had black hair, she could sit on it and it was es cou'se as a mule's tail. She carried a torn-hawk and eve'y one stepped to one side when they met her on the turn-pike. She wus from Giles County, Tennessee. Giles County, Hear Mel And her name was 'Mirar-Lu Ellen* ? My father's name was Spencer Johr.son, don't guess I seed much ob him 'cause mammy and him wasn't married. "7/e stayed on, for Mars Pinter, (Mr. Pointer), from the time I 'member 'till the war closed, and we wus free; and you had better never let Liars hear you call us slaves. He'd not stand for it; hear me'. Vire didn't farm, 'xactly; Mars Pinter owned the iron works and most of his people worked in there* Best I 'member v/e did raise our eats and that wus all 'cause the nearest treding post wus Nashville, Tennessee., and that wus a long way, them days. "I had nine brothers and sisters, and they wus: Monroe Henderson; he wus the House servant, Jefferson, Ida, Felia, Laura, Izora, and I don' fmember the other two; guess they died when they wus babies, but all we was named the same names as Mars Pinter kids; and we played with them, hear me', we played with them. "Then when I wus big 'nuf I wus put to cardin* wool and cotton. \Ve wusn't paid no money for our v/ork we didn* need r.one; we had ever*thin' we needed, and plenty of good stuff to 3*rat, and good warm cloths to ware. "Them 'nigger* boys wus so proud to 'long to Mars Pinter that they would break up white rocks and scatter them on the turn-pike, and make nice, white shiny walks for Misses. When the carriage was ordered out for a drive, first mammy walk out with a white cloth, rub it over the carriage—huh; better not find a speck of dirt on the carriage. "Maijimy allus taoght all her white and dark children, when interin' the pre- sence of elders, to make your' obedience', (bow), and then, sit quite. 1 Butler Co. Folklore. £>44 Page 2. "Men, them days wore long hair too, but sometime they cut it off, if it got too long and hot* They woulc turn a milk crock down over their haid and even it off some. ••rfe didn1 know nothin1 much about the war, we dicta1 want to leave Marse, and that wus all the difference it made us. I do 'member '01f Jeff Davis, come to 'Marse' and say: 'Gib me then; niggers' and I will carry them down to Fort Pillow and hide them in the cave until/ this is over'; then 'Marse* run them off, and said: 'better not put any of my people in a cave, they worked for me and made sll my money: I gwine to do rightby these people.1 11 .-/here we lived we never heard tell of a 'form school, never needed nothin'lake that; didn't know what one wus. "Cne thing I does' member well, and would like to know if anyone else was there and 'members it. I went with my 'Misse Pinterf to ase them hang John Brown, he was a f/Vhigf; they brought him from the Culpepper County Court House, in Virginia, and hung him to a beech-wood tree, at Harper's Ferry; on the baxjk of the James River. How they sing fHung him to a sour-apple tree*, but that ain't right. I saw it and I know. f,I said a while ago we wusn't paid no money, but I did know what it wus 'cause 'liarse* never put lock or key on his eellar-door, and he kept food and his money in small barrels down there and we could play wif it and never once did anyone try and take any of it. r,I learned to iron too, and there wu£ two women stood thereironing every day, they sho' could make them purty lace 'broidery underskirts stand alone. "My mammy was in full charge of the house, and all the 'Marse' children, and when they pass her, she say: *Lif yo' dress, then if*n she see little spot dirt or wrinkle, make dem take off all de cloths and change. Den she say 'take off you shoe, smell their feet, $uh*. she call 'lisa, bring that foot tub', then she would wash and dry their feet and put on clean stockings. Mammy wus clean as a new pin. "When I got any size to notice I wus dunr^confounded to hear my mammy talk up to the white boys comin1 to court 'Missie Pinter's1 girls. Mammy meet them at de Butler Co Folklore 0 ~ Page 3. ^W door and say: f What you want?' They S8y: fI come to call on Mis-----I She say, J^A,* V%";Blfe^ x As v! i ^ v j Egnl Writers' Project, ; > - .m -- ' /^40~*olklore, ''' f*"vv~ ~ ''WjIg^W liBtrict #5, W c«HJIOO \Af An Interview with %s. *%?tie /J jikeston, Missouri, ~ ' iwiiwi«Miffl>Hi ' v* Matthews, aged 58, McG0rmick, y ^ Street, Farmington, Missouri. *l&„mti^jmzJ^ouialaxi& Autjjptfy an she married an liv'd in idbertyville, Missouri, lin/SfC Francois CQLU*try\. S^r^aredead now, but ud be bout 78 if she war living QSheT 'born^into slavery* yMa grandmuther wuz Harriet Smith, &n she wuz born in 'bout 1820 an she war bout 40 years ole wen de War begun* She wuz a slabe near New Madrid, Missouri, an died wen she wuz bout 90 yars ole. Ma grandmuthuh had 14 children an wen de war ended, her master, ohap Phillips, tak one obhsr feirls named Phebe an put her on a hoss an took her away with him an we neber heard from her agin. I »^e think she wuz taken south ta work fur som'body. When ij-a grandmuthuh got free she ;~:n my grandfather, who worked fur another master, brought a small farm near j£nob Lick, in St. Francois County, Missouri. Dey bilt ^ dem a house an bought only 20 acres at a time an finally had 120 acres. u I used to lay wake nights a-lis'ren ta stories dat muthuh an grandmuthuh ud tel^about J/T Islabery ..ays. I know a lot ob stories but hab furgot many ob dem. My, how she cud tell^ ? E /•/"' • f [bout dose times, an dey ware true too. Wen ma grandmuthuh got married dey jus jumped V T ober a broomstick an dey ware consider'd man an wife. Dis //are de custom den. De master fv ud hole de broomstick. I ask grandmuthuh wat she ud a-done had she fall1 n ober de broom- T 1 t stick, ^he say,. #Well, I didnH fall,, but jumpfd clear ober hit.1* I member dis cause hit \ j seemed so funny. Brogan s hoes war wore then. Dey war ob rough leather and de shoes had brass toes. All de clos wuz wove an de only fancy clos ma grandmuthuh had ware giv?n ta her by de Missus. ' , *! Shap Phillips had a good many slabes an grandmuthuh wuz de cook. She wuz very rv*!* strong an cook*d in kettles bigg'r dan dey habe now. Whenever a negro slabe had a baby f .* she had t& work rite on. If she work'd in de fiel she ud take de baby long and lay hit • » -. "¦ i doim in de rail fence corn'r in de sun. De baby had on,only a slip. De master ud ride his hoss in de fiel an had a horse whip dat wuz platted, an he ud cut de slabes with dis ^ whip wen de slabes slack'd hup. If de babies curled de muthuh had ta ge^VdV-ajas^r/s.. t | »mishun fore she.Qud pick up their babyjr W^.O ^"^ V "x *&- lille scraps freii-de white folk's table war all thrown into a ketil^. & i&tfpdb^ iifa "**' «,..-., ,.,stk ''iishelM grab in de kettle with both bans an "eatwhateber ,shV^y|^;-ife^^et./¦ .*l* • '^^:^IMiillSSl .jtral Writers* Project, district #5, Sikeston, Missouri. -2- ;. T* v*y?p.: &*f*i^^^^^^y^W,, w-fiSpfs. "240—folklore, • v^pf) An Interview with Mrs* Hattie Matthews, aged 58, McCormick, Street, Farmington, Mo« glide grovan slabes did dis, d ey wud call *Pot liquor time* an de childr'n ud run to de kettle an drink wat wuz . in de bott'm ob de kettle. Bis wus generally de juice or water. frumg'eens. Sometime de childr'n got a piece ob cornbread. Dis wuz all* de childrlit got ta dat an of course dey war always hungry. s[ De master had a polly-parrot an dese parrots ud be placfd ta hear an watch wat de slabes did. Dey war not always seen by de slbes an wen de master wuz away de parrots wud member wat had happ'n'd an report it. One of de slabes wuz bakin' bread an she tok a pan full ob biscuits an hid it under de cushion of de chair. De ole Missus come in an wuz sick an she started ta sit down in de chair. De pax^rot wuz sittin1 up dar an say, 'Missi bissi / burn you/# The Missus lifted up de cushion an f oun de pan o bread. She wuz sick and couldn't whip de slabe so she wuz goin1 to habe de master do it wen he came in. De slabe wuz mad so she tok de parrot an wrung its neck and threw it out hind de house thinkin1 she had kil'd de parrot. * De Missus had to go out dare fur somethin* an de parrot say,*#oor polly, layin* in de sun.** De master den%really beat de slabe wen he came in. Ma grandmuthuh knew de lady dat dis happ'n'd to in New &adrid. Ma grandmuthuh got whipp'd only oncft an de master wuz sorry cause she fought back. She wuz strong an a good work'r. Ma grandmuthuh wuz up fur sale on de block once an dey offer'd several thousand dollars fur her but she wuz r®bel a good worker an she wuz aot sold. Wen de ,soldiers come de slabes ud hide but wen de A ^nion soldiers com de slabes ud run to dem. ^ Wen de master had company he udxtak meat skins an grease de mouths ob all de slabe i childr'n. Den wen de com any cam de master ud call* all de slabe children in an say, *You little rascals have been eating.# He wanted to create de, impression dat he wuz feedin his slabes better dan de other masters round dare. F->' «: ^ Grandmuthuh said dey had lots ob hoodoo business. I ask her wh^de»^n*^|o«d6© \ M white folks ta get dem out oh de way. She said de negroes couldnVSjvhof&Q, &Mj&*&9i i ¦ '::¦'¦¦¦¦.'¦.'¦'•-• ¦ ¦' ¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦•¦¦'.¦¦ ¦ ¦¦"'¦ - ¦¦. ;\^1 :^sM MB^ J* /> / 1?k®&)ei'xdeyhad BtTait-..hai^*^-:.i^:;;';-|ft»* somethin' bout de oil in dm lliii^^^ negr0e^:ha^fv-.ta;.;':iHa* CsiJSSfehKt-iv^*' [federal Writers' Project, District /f5, Sikeston, Missouri. -3- 240—Folklore, 251 An Interview with Mrs. hattie Matthews, eged 58, McCormick^ Street, Farm- ington, %ssouri» But do slabes sure could hoodoo each other. Somebody who wanted ta hoodoo somebody else ffud tak snakej an frogs an pulverize urn an put de stuff in a bottle. Dey den dug a hole in de groun under de step a^turied de bottle in d e hole. When de person (for whom the hoodoo was intended; took a step ober dis spot dey wud habe pains in deir legs. Ma grandzsuthuh cud see de sr akes come up inside deir legs an dey had to cut a hole in deir legs ta let cie snakes out* Sometimes dey ud get a person ta take de sakes an frogs frum a person, and den de person who put de hoodoo under de step or^.proch ud lose deir charm and die. &a grandmuther say she L-aw many a frog an snake come out ob a person's mouth. tie slabes were turrible ta each other. All such as dis went on in de dose days. 'This here hoodoo business still goes on down in Mississippi. I'm shure glad I don't liva down thar. *&a cousin got into an argument with'a negro girl down thar an itey coiMen't settle hit. So she (my cousin) wrote to somebody who wrote back an t ole ma cou3in all bout this here other girl such as her amount of insurance, etc. *> • \ >*¦ -^ *v Federal Writers1 Project, O.lfUhX/% 240—Folklore, 252 • District #5, **vWt>$ Interview with Letha Taylor Meeks, Sikeston, Missouri. ex-slave Cape Girardeau, Mo*, | Lives in Smelterville* 1 lfMy full name is Letha Taylor Meeks, an1 I'se bahn down in Panola County, Missis- \ sippi close to de Tallahatchie *Vibbah. Mah f at huh an1 mothuh wuz Andy and1 Susan I * -Xaylub. "^e belonged to Ole Mass a Billie Weiborn an1 our Misses wuz 01 e Miss1 Cloe. ,!Dey had'a fine big house, we call it de mansion. Dey had po'ches an1 galleries bof. Der wuz trees all aroun', pine trees en1 cedahs, an1 oak trees. An1 de yawd wuz full a flower bushes.—big snowballs an1 lilacs, an1 rows of flags, an honey- suckle vines, wid de mockin1 birds an1 doves a singin1 roun1—an dey wuz jay birds too. % der wuz big vegitable gahdens an fruit trees. In de st'o1' room in de fall der wuz a'w&ys bags full er dried apples an1 peaches, an' pumpkin an cahn-rstrings ofonions a hanging up, an heaps . o turnips an1 sweet 'taters, an bins fulla ftaters. An* they wuz lotsa cabbages an1 collards in shelters in de gahden. MioS f Oloe dress mighty fine. She wear calico prints roun1 home, but when she I dress up she w ear silks an1 satins' with hoop skirts an a rare-back hat tied unduh P l her chin. when de white &>Iks go tuh church at Fredonia us cullud folks go too but we sits up in de gallery. We didden hab no school but sometime de preacher an his wife fud come to stay wid de white folks an dey'd a'ways hab classes fo' us chillern. One time dey stayed dar nearly a yeah. '"'• Us chillern ustajplay hide en seek, honey on de bee ball, frog in de meadow, an' / .,y lot. eberthing playable. Ah learned tuh spin an ahd fill'quills till ah had a whole ff\ basket full an1 I'd windrde broches. Mah. ^othaw hepped with de weavin. Dgpmade ) all our clothes—'member one time dey made sech fine gray homespun for de menfs w pants. Ole Bb'thuhi Riet. was seamstress for de white folks—we called her Mothuh &et- jc { her name was Henrietta. De looms an* spinning wheels was in a big rpem,\dpwii in de ,-v-. ™;j u . s ''** S N 1 ? U'S?' / Ife ¦ZiJ '¦) '? L Girafdeau Co. Folklore. <*wOt> fee I- • r~ INTERS Ijffllf WITH WYLIS MILLAR. 5X-3LAV£ I'se gonna be 83 cum nex* Nobember. Mah mammy's name wuz faster. ;Ve belong to Ole i^ssa Henry Miller so we goes by de name 0' Miller. Mah daddy1 s name wuz Israel an be belong to a neighbor name Brown so he go by de name o' Brown. Ole Missus name wuz 'Frohnia an day had three boys whut went off tuh war. Dey live in a two-story frame house—dat down close to Bloomfiel' . De fust time we ever seed sojers, dey wuz a big crowd of 'em cum up to our place. ,;hen us chillern seed 'em we crawl unner de house—white and black/all o' us. De Blue Goats look unner dere an' dey say, tfCome out o' der, you, or we kill all o1 you". 7* Page 2. '^on't Interview with*Wylie Miller, 3x-slave.) I ain't had no drink sence de battle of Shilo. I had to carry water for him bout ez fur as fum here to cross de street and dat man drink five big buckets full an say he want mo'. My young Massa ^e3, he step ups an' tell urn to leave here an he say "tfylie, don't you carry no mo water1'. Dey donf wanta go-~dey had on white gowns button' up de front wici black buttons an' masks on dey faces. Young ,/es, he had a pistol? He call it a Remington an' he jes es soon soot 'em as to say "Hodey-do1." 80 he tell 'em again, "Grit out fum here, I know you." Den dey goes but dey say to me, "Boy, we donf wanna ketch you out at night"-- an' didcien." r -,. . ,-j. .'¦:..,£.5,4. &I0097 MISSOURI HANNIBAL SX-SIAVS STORIES ' LSffIS MJM3T~ Page 1. 258 MSN GROWING WEAKER,AKD WISER Lewis Mundy, now living on West Center Street, Hannibal, Missouri, was born in slavery on the farm of John Wright, five miles north of La Belle, Lewis County, Missouri* He has lived in Hannibal more than thirty years, and has a wide acquaintance among both whites and colored people. The followinc is his story of his life. "Mr. Wright had eleven slaves, my mother and ten of us children* Mr. Wright had eight children. My father was owned by Billy Graves, whose farm was joined to de master1s farm. I donft know where he come from, but mother was brought here by de Wrights from Virginia. Our master and mistress was good to us, but of course jay own mother had to whip me often. She used a whip made from twisted buckbrush twigs and :did It stingt "I worked in de fields most generally. Ihen I was small I rode one of de oxen and harrowed de fields. When I was about ten or eleven I plowed with oxen* ITse plowed many times with a moldboard plow with an iron share on it* "We never wanted for clothes very bad. We wore long shirts 2ka& reached to de knees until we was twelve or fourteen years old, Bern wool shirts sure was Harm, We had one pair of shoes a. year. w^^^w^'^^^w^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l^m^g^^^^^ MISSOURI HANNIBAL EX-SLA.TO STORIES LEWIS MONBY Page 2. Many times I done went after de cows barefoot when dere was more dan a foot of* snow on de ground. It didn't seem to hurt me. I was toughened to it. "After we was freed mother stayed with master for .about a year, den she moved over toward Newark &nd worked out till she got straightened out so she could keep house for herself. I stay- ed dere for a while lonrer until I got work on a farm at fity cents a day. After a while dey paid me seventy-five cents a day. We didn't get nothin* from our master after de war. I fmember de Bowans, though, give dere slaves eighty acres of land. "I 'members dere was a Ku Klux Klan in de county, but dey never bothered me none. I tended to my own business and never bothered nobody. I never was arrested in my life and I never gives de policemen no trouble. "I got married when I was about twenty and settled in Jetto in Enox County and worked on a farm. We had two children. One of dem died years ago, and 1 am living here with my other daughter. After a while we moved to"Palmyra. I worked fround on farms until about 1905, den we moved here to Hannibal. I worked in de Burling- ton shops for seventeen years, till dey told me I was too old to woik b&? more* I is getting a pension now n for more dan a year. • i^tt&i^MlMii MISSOURI MrSIAYE STORIES iawis mdhdt page 3. 111 has voted ever since I was old enough. Dey used to tell me how to vote. I always belonged to de Baptist Church and belongs to de Helping Hand Baptist now. Ivly mistress belonged to de old time Christian Church and. I used to drive her to churcFwitK a bay mare she had. ( nWe used to sing, 'I Am Bound for the Promised Land1, and 'Heart (Hark) From The Tombs Loumful SoundT f My mother used to sing, fYou All Ought To Have Been There,* 'Roll, Jordan, Roll*, and fDo, LoMf Do Remember Me.f Dey donft sing them old songs no more* "Mankind! Be' young folks now days ain't' like we used to be. Why, in Monticello dey used to have a log jail, but now dey is got one made of stone and iron. Dey just can't hold 'em no more. I guess it1 s right Eat dis world is growing weaker and wiser. But de young fol&s has a better chance. Look at de big fine schools dey has now. Dey omght to get along better dan dey do.* ;*S;ffrf;::i§-;i ^||g,;-V^Ur ;•.;,'. £40177 Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page lm gQj[ . ^ MALBTOA. MDBFHY w "I was born right here and was about four years old at de time of de war. We was owned by the hill's at Farmington. My mother plowed in the f ields, and hauled wood in de snow. We had no shoes and made tracks . of blood in de snow. Us little tots had to go all over de field and pick up feathers. De mistress would go along with a stick and say, fHere is another feather to pick up.1 "When de soldiers came we had a good meal. De soldiers had on blue coats, and when dey came we would be switching off de flies with a long pole with paper on the end. De soldiers would then say ,We don1 need that, come on and eat with usT. "We wore linsie dresses and all slept together and were bound to keep warm. When demr was over we was free to go but de only thing we had was a few rags. So we walked to Valle Mines, twenty-four miles north in Jefferson County. We walked it twice fcause we would carry a few rags a little piece and den go back after de rest. "At Valle Mines we fcould make a little money digging ore and sell- ing it to de store. De mines were on de surface and mother dug in de mines. After we had gone to Valle Mines, Overt on Hill, de son of de Hillfs, came up dere and asked mother where she had hid de money and silver during de war. She told him but after three weeks he came back Missoar! Slave Story Page 2« 262 in a buggy and took mother with him to de plantation and she showed Overton where to dig close to a cedar tree to find de money and sil- ver." Interview with Malinda Murphy, Ex-Slavef Farmington, Mo. Sent in by J. Tom Miles, Faim- ington, Mo. MISSOURI HANNIBAL EX-SL&EB STORIgS Page 1. 2(1*1 MARGARET NIGKENS "K*^ "MAG* PREACHES THRIFT Margaret Nlckens, now living at 1644 Broadway, Hannibal , Mlssourit was born in slavery on the farm of Pleasant McCann about six miles from Paris in Monroe Countyf Missouri* She was a daughter of George Morrison and wife, slaves 6t Pleasant McCann* The following is her story as she told its "Mr* McCann was a rich slave holder * His daughter, Georgia Ann, was married to a Mr* Dawson and lived in Liberty, Clay County* When I was fbout eight years old de Dawsons come back to Paris to visit. Dey had two children den so dey took ma as a nurse for de children* Mr* Dawson didnft believe in slaves and he dldnvt own none* My mistress had only on© slave to do de cooking and she took me for to be de nurse• "De baggage and slaves and other things dey hauled in a covered wagon and de white folks rode in a rockaway* When we was fixing to leave, dere was lots of people standing f round• My mother had to stand dere like I wasnft herfs and all she could say was, fBe a good girl, Margaret#f "When we was at Liberty de first soldiers we seen was General Pricefs men and later we seen lots of Union soldiers* * "De day dat de slaves was freed Mr* Dawson told me dat I was as free as he was and dat he brought me here and he would take me back if I wanted to go* I said, 9If I still haw a mother and father I wants to go to dam*9 MISSOURI HANNIBAL fflC-SLATO STORIES Pago 2* <2(\<1 MARGARBT NICEKS ^^^ "When we got back to Paris my mistress Georgia Ann said9 'Oh* that black good-for-nothing lazy gal, I should have left her at Liberty, but Mr* Dawsen would bring her*9 I didnft like her fcause she wasnft very good to me and now I donft want to meet my mistress in either hall or heaven* "I was about eleven years old den* We moved from dere to Palmyra* My father split rails and built fences (they dldnft have wire fence in those days,) and shucked corn and worked on farms or whatever kind of job he could get to do* My father didnft get no land nor money like some of do folks did* Most of de white folks was good to de slaves and didn9t whip dam unless dey was sure 'nough bad* "My father come from Virginia and my mother from Kentucky when dey was little* Dey never seen dere parents no more* Dey watched for a long time among de colored people and asked who dey was when dey thought same body looked like dere parents, but never could find dem* Dey was so small when dey left, dey didn't even remember dere names* "I have bean working for de Col* Dan Dulany and do Mahan families here in Hannibal for three generations, more'n sixty years* I'm not working nowhere now since Mr* Mahan died about two years ago* "I em saving my money, what little I has, but de younger folks now days don't save anything* Dey just want a good time* I tell dam to save for a rainy day even if its only an umbrella, because it will rain some day*" MISSOURI HANKIBAL TtX-SULYE STORIES Page 3* MAHGAHBT NICKERS Margaret Niekons is called "Mag" by her friends* She is about eighty-five years old and lives alone in a home that she owns* She reared and educated one daughter who taught school ever a period of forty years in the negro public school in Hannibal• The daughter died eight years ago* 265 f,d«srnl writers* project district # 5 Silceston, Missouri. 24E—Folklore 266 Stories of ex-slave, Eliza overton, age 88* (Note: Since[Eliza Overton, an ex«slave ia now with her daughter, Mrs. Mamie* Robinson, in Detroit, the following information was gained from interviews with lira. Over ton's children now living in Farmiagton. They are; Mrs. Maggie Kennedy, age 66; John Franks, age 56; and Mrs. Qaraa Body, gge 71. The oldest of trie three children e&n recall life during these days and tue others recall stories told them by their parents. ) "Our muthuhj Eliza, was born a slave in 1849, on da farm of her boss; Mr. Jsiaddent in New Tennessee, ste. Genevieve County, Missouri. Eliza's nut huh wuz also a slave. Muthuh wuz aol« with our grandmuthuh to John • Coffman of near Coffraan, Missouri, in Ste. Genevieve County. Mr. Coffman had vhousends of acres. He had three plantations an' one wuz at Liberty- ville, Missouri. He had 'bout two hundred slaves. The negroes war I tak'n frum oi;e plantashun ta the othertand our grandmuthuh work'd at all three places. .'Ole man Coffraan1 wuz a mean ole* slave hal'er* He war afraid of his slaves an' had aome one else ta do da whlppin'* They Wftr rougher on ma aunt; Eleanor, cuase she war stubborn. They wud punish da sieves severely fur 'membranes. They whoop'd with a rawhide whop an' trace chains* Wilson Harris wue wuooptd at a tree onc't an' when dey got ttiro' fee say he wud fight. They whop him some raor' .'til he was wtak en' bleedin'. The other slaves had to srease his shirt ta take it off his back ta keep frum tearin' off de flesh, we can go down thar now and pick out trees whar the slaves war tied an' whipped. The trees died on de side wuar de slaves war tied. There are three trees on de Coffman farm that I seen dead on m* side, an* sum' war in the yard. Thar is one cloa' to the Houek lailroad Station that. "When John coffaan wus aiek he say he wuz goin' ta ride »Jap'f a J^aa aoas, into hs&ben. So he ask us ta take good oare of Van'. ¦—SBMM——--------------:----------;'.J..ifi..-J..:..'.../ ' - : . . ...... - ...... •..... •, ¦ .- • , +________ radar 1 .vriters* Project 8 oar* iiatrict # 5 ralklora «>' 3iKeato^» *iisaouri* X Rruw Coffman didn't go ta haaban 'cause he died an* lef• *Jap' here* "Mr, Coffaan had a v?hole row of slave cabins. Our cabins war small an' we hau a -ordad bed, trundla bed ta slip unda* ttaa big bed ta save room, uo.18 iaadfl split bottom chairs, tin plates, !othe war and when my baby was 2 weeks old they taken my husband in the army. He died in the army. I worked for the Millers about 11 months. One day Mrs. Miller misplaced her silver thimble and she accused me of stealing it. She did not tell me that but she told the white nurse girl, and the nurse told me. I got so mad at her for that, fcause I never sole anything in my whole life and never been accused of steal- ing, so I quit. They begged me to stay and offered to raise my salary, I told them I would not work for anyone who felt I would steal. The very next day she found her thimble in the nur- sery where she remembered she put it herself, but forgot about it at the time. She thought it was lost. "I don't know what the ex-slaves expected, but I do know they didn't get anything. After the war we just wandered from place to place, working for food and a place to stay. Now and then we got a little money, but a very little. I only voted once in xfly life and that was when working for Mr. Gerhart. He was a real estate dealer and he taken me to the polls and showed me how to vote for a Republican president. It has been so long ago I donft even remember who the president was, but I do know 274 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS SP-SIAVM STORES PSLICIA PATTERSON Page 6. &75 lie got elected. I think the time will soon be when people won't be looked on as regards to whether you or black or white, but all on the same equality. I may not live to see it but it is on the way. Many donTt believe it, but I know it. "My father's owner's children use to take my father in their basement and teach him to read in a blue back spelling book. I never got any education. My English is good because I boarded all the first Negro school teachers and Negro principals St. Louis ever had for years. Charlie Brown, the late Hutchinson Inge, Clarice Hubbard, Wm. Turner and Chas. Newtonf the old pioneer Negro teachars had their meals in my home. I had a lovely home, and have lived well in my time right here in St. Louis* I am a member of Central Baptist Church and been there for years* I think this young gener- ation should advance much faster than they do. Their advantages are very good, but they don't seem to be appreciative of them* If I would of had their chance in my day, I really would make good use of it and improve every moment of my life. "Charlie Brown started me to attending night school, but I couldnft keep my mind on my studies, I was always thinking of home and my business. I was afraid the girl that helped would forget to grind the coffee for breakfast or fail to put everything on the ta~ MISSOURI ST, LOUIS SX-SLATTS STORIES DSLICIA PATTERSON Page 7. &76 ble for breakfast next morning. Many of the teachers had a great ways to go and had to have an early start, and I could not afford to be using the time in the morning doing the things that should be done at night. I always believed in doing things as they should be done, on time. "That's why my services were valuable, any place I worked, whether as a slave or free, and I still stand by that idea. I have done laundry work so satisfactory that I got ;#5#00 for do- ing up one white dress, 50# each for ernbrodiery skirts and 25# a piece for vests. I never did work for nothing but wealthy white people." mssouEi______ MOHTGCMBRT CITT ei-sla?b araSSEs Page i* £77 MABILDAPETST SOU) AT 6 WEEKS OLD Marilda Pethy, a former slave new living in Montgemry City, Me* is a coal black woman with distinctly negroid features* Bar voice and tanner ef speaking are vividly reminiscent of the negro ef .the "Old South* # She lives with her daughter, Felly9 and numerous grandchildren whom she tries to rule with an iron hand* This does not work so well with the younger generation which largely disregards the irate old woman* All this lends quite an air of belligerency to the tumble-down building that houses then* v Polly and Marilda sat in the shade of a mulberry tree where the former was ostensibly doing her washing not far from the big iron kettle where she heated her waiter* "las*sum, I sure .remembers dem days", Marilda replied as the question- ing began* "Why, I seen people handcuffed together and driv 'long de Williamsburg road like cattle* Day was bought to be took south* I had two brothers and two sisters sold and we never did see dem no more* I was bom in 1857* April first, on a farm two miles south of Williamsburg, on a farm dat belonged to William Hayes* tip mother was Louisa Hayes from Memphis* She never seen her mother or father and didn9t know her name, so she just went by de white folks9 name* You know datfs how day done in dem days with names* She never had no brothers or sisters here* She was sold when she was six weeks old* Father, he belonged to Billy Martin and MISSOURI MOKTSOMERf CITY KX-3IAVE STORIES Page 2* *>^£! MARILDAFSTHT ~'° he was Sam Martin* He ran off to de war fcause he was tired of beinf whipped and slashed* So ha jes9 run off and joined de army* "I was sold with mother when I was six weeks old* We went back to see de old place after we was free* Dat place has been sold and torn down* It had a tall white double log house* Dere was three cabins* it was a large place* De John Bain placet dey calls it de Jeff Jones place, ten miles north of Williamsburg* had de same kind of a house but dey had just two cabins* De Bain place mras not so large but dey had a right smart of land* "We done right well* Dey give us cornbread and buttermilk in a tin can* We crumbled de cornbread up In de buttermilk and dat9a all we ever had to eat* Yasfsum9 we generally had *fnough* Well, on Sunday . mornings we had biscuits made ^ foil jueb, *#&e - * &$ * $%$'¦¦ Wmm^mi ;mm [strict #5, Sikeston, Missouri, W^i^^^itf^^f^Tf W^W^I^^'^t^ri Max Irii ferei^ Ro^^Jbc-slavjB, Commerce, Miasouri# 399 fill ouah cups an1 that was ouah lunch twice evah day. ll As a boy ah tended thuh cows ani seek like, an1 built the fires in the fireplaces, later they let me plow an1 ah thought ah sure hed a big job. Ah wux so proud at h" didden \ anna stop for dinnah. "High Buck, Low Don was one o1 the games us boys usta play* /; My gran'fathuh was mos'ly, Indian an he usta go out into the woods an1 stay for days at a time. Ole Mastuh always called'him Ole Yaller Abe—But one time he ran away—crossed the rivuh ovah heah an1 went up tuh Canada. He usta write tuh Ole Mastuh an1 hefd read the lettuhs tuh us. Mah fathuh was thershoe-maker, made all the shoes—for the white folks an* us too. .We bought the leathuh from the tan- r. yawd at the edge o town an •: M4d sell them tan-bark. Mah Mothuh was one o* the weavers. The loam an spimiin wheels was in a separate house—Ah usta watch the big warpin1 bar go ^oun1 an1 wish ah could ride on ut but ah nevuh did. f: We had church foh the cullud folks an1 lotsa white folks ud a'ways come an* lissen to the preachin1. " We raised lotsa cattle an1 howses, an mules—an in them days wheat was nevah less 'en $2.00 a bushel* . -1 The niggah buyahs usta come roun1 ouahplace but ah don1 recollect any of ouah niggahs bein sold, they'd have slave sales ovah at Benton. One tim^oung Mastuc.ii bought horae a thirteen yeah ole boy he paid a thousg^n1 dollahs an1 fifty cents £&h—* [, We didden have no school fof the cullud folks but young Mastuh William went to school an1 in the evenin's he'd teach some o<*us. In fat way* ah got as far as the fo'th ¦grade. Il} When the wah came on', fcose we hea-hed lots about it an sometime we*d see a5jers* Ix^ie time Gen Veal Grant come thru Commerce with about 40,000 men., They cmie-'iibovia, £>>.¦¦. ... .' v;)>^-:-0^x ©the rivuh in boats* an1 camped here. The sojers fud come foragin1 rcM*&& fph^lacfiV'\ Iff&t they ttevah /bothered touch, they'd grind they swords an etA•^iz&lriN|¦OuL, Mm^"\ ||t:liow'ah^^''-ih«yriKBUB,.:T>y>-cutti8'^^^,.i5alm'stalks. \"A &*&M'$¥v'W &i-'; m$ '¦¦: nlg^fiii;,; #£t&y<**fejy&p^ raa - away -;afcv;W§M; : ¦** ^;iftis|! Jlral Writers1 Project, -3- 240—folklore district #5> Interview with %dison Btfeston, Missouri* Frederick Ross, Ex-slave Commerce, Missouri. <*r\r% [in the -Battle of Big Creek, Arkansas an in several skirmishes* Ah learned tuh play in [the band, played second B. flat cahnet* lie suah learned our do, re's* n Ouah Captain, Ole George Free was a preacher an he'd have prayun meetin's in his [tent. All the ole women from aroun' would come—an' we'd have big times on sunday mahniiis. [Onetime one of the boys Ed Johnson, got drunk an1 the provost guahd put 'm in jail. ^Texf mabnin, Capin Free go down theah to git him an' he raise so much racket 01 Cunnel say 4tyurn im loose, Ole Gap'm go crazy bout his niggers.*^ *) We was stationed down in Helena, Arkansas, aftuh the fightin w&s ovah an' the officers sent up no'th fo' some teachers, to have school fo* us, They call it the Norman Institute an we each paid fifty cents a month to go* The teachers was Quakers an they never [laughed or smiled* xhey a'ways seemed tuh be thinkingseemed tuh think it was a sin to have fun. Ah kin still heah em—how they usta say, *Thou shall get 1fchy/ lessons ovah1 .m was mustered out in St. Louis in 1866. *f Aftuh ah come back heah tuh* Commerce Ah started a school, Ah called it "°elect School*1 an1 they each paid fifty cents a month—grown folks come tuh mah school some o' em fifty an sixty year old an ah had all ah cud take caah of—Latuh, Ah taught school out in the country. Why do they call me doctuh? See that diploma on the wall! I got that fum a school of Hypnotism. # Yes'm a correspondence course* N8fm, .1 nevuh practised it much, jes a litti now an then for fun* " One time the Ku Klux come aroun. They knock on the doah, then they s ay *Please give ;?ea drink, JTh aint had a drink since the battle o' Shilo.* What fo1 they say t hat? ||y> you see,, they wants us tuhihink they's the spirits a1 the sojers killed at Shilo Ifjthey been in hell so long they drinks all the water they kin git. '1'his ^ne^man &^ke §|icarry him five buckets of water, an1 it look like he drink em but nex.mal^inf* tjheys-:Ja 9mg mud puddle side thu doah* ivr^C'"' '« 'y'-.i-¦•¦•'¦"-: ,.'i Sffc: * ' ' • :. ' !; *», ' ,T'-;' '* 'V s' '*'" I ¦ WB*<' " ¦ ' s v ?c /<¦, ."- '-•'' . v ••-. * mt.m -.-.¦•. . • i.A (T'% . "v! »;. -•?.* v . \- • 1 # QAt&M* £V^Ote> t4n?^vH^" MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLA.'VE STORIES ALICE SEWELL Page 1. 30l SHE NEVER ATTENDED SCHOOL Never having attended school a day in her 86 years of life has not cramped the style of Alice Sewell, one of St. Louis* for- mer Negro slaves. Alice lives with a married daughter, Mattie Hill, and a grandson, Henry Morse, at 329 South Ewing Avenue. Spotlessly dressed, much after the fashion of a nurse, and weighing less than 100 pounds, Alice presents a pleasing picture as she chats interestingly with visitors. Her mind is keenly alive to what is going on in the world. She is much annoyed by the roistering younger folks, as she outlines in her observations in the following chat: "I was born in Montgomery, Alabama, November 13, 1851, the daughter of Rhoda and Edmond Carey. I have three brothers and two sisters dead. I am the only child living. I ain't never been in a school house in my life and I never did learn how to read or write. I recollect three of my overseers. The first one's name Elik Clayton, the second one named Mofield and the third one named Pierson. I was 13 years old time de third one got me and de war had started, so we had to pack all de cotton up in bales, and in sun face houses and sun face cribs to be out of the weather. The MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SIAVE STORIES ALICE SEWELL Page 2. seed cotton was kept in de gin house, 'cause dey didn't had no time to fool wid dat. Deji dey up and bought spinning wheels and cards, so us women could spin it to make cloth, and make clothes at hone, and would not have to go to de factory to buy clothes. ftDey had to keep de i^oney to care for de families de soldiers left behind, and send corn by de loads to de battlefield to feed de horses, Dey stopped raising cotton after de war started, and just raised food stuff cause dey had to send food to de battlefield for de soldiers. De poor white folks what lived up in de hilly country, too poor to ovm slaves, while de war was going on, had to come down out of de hilly country. Dey lived on government land and dey had to have food for dem and der children. Der men folks was taken away from dem to war. Dey was called counterscript soldiers, and if dey refused to go to war dey got shot down like a dog. So de most of fem rather go on and take chances of de war missing Tem dan get shot widout a doubt* Dey use to say dey had to go and fight a rich man's war but dey couldnft help demselves no betterfn us slaves could* "My owner was very rich* He owned four plantations of slaves. He had two plantations on de Calopoosa River, one named JedMns upper ferry plantation and de other Jedkins Mill Place and the third plantation was called The Bradshaw Place. It was out from de river and de fourth one was called De High Log Plantation. He was 302 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SIATTE STORIES ALICE SSWBLL page 3# always fairly kind to his slaves. He didn't believe in abusing dem less he couldn't help it, and when he'd find out de overseers beat 'em widout a cause, he'd fire fem right away, and git some- body else. Dat's why he so prosperous, cause he was fair. He never even 'lowed overseers on his plantation what had grown boys, to be runnin' round fmongst his slaves neither, no he didn't. He didn't believe.in dat intermingling, 'deed he didn't. Dey didn't 'low us to sing on our plantation 'cause if we did we just sing ourselves happy and git to'shouting and dat would settle de work, yes mam. "Dey did 'low us to go to church on Sunday about two miles down de public road, and dey hired a white preacher to preach to us. He never did tell us nothing but be good servants, pick up old marse and old misses' things about de place, and don't steal no chickens or pigs and don't lie 'bout nothing. Den dey baptize you and call dat, you got religion. Never did say nothing 'bout a slave dying and going to heaven? When we die, dey bury us next day and you is just like any of de other cattle dying on de place. Datfs all 'tis to it and all His of you. You is jest dead dat's all. De old lady dat raised ray mother, she was a black mammy. She done all de burying of de niggers, said de funeral sayings by herself. She knew it by heart* Dey swapped my grandmother away 303 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLA.VE STORES ALICE SEETELL Page 4# 'cause she didnft bear children like dey wanted her to, so de man dey swapped her off to come back two months later and told our own- er dat grandmamma was heavy with child. Den he wanted to buy her back fcause she was a good worker, but her new owner would not let him have her back and she had thirteen children after dat. Our old owner surely was sick-crf dat swap. My mother was only three years old when dey sold her mother to another master and she never saw her agin ftill she had all dem thirteen children. f!Dis is how mother found grandmother. Our owner bought a slave what come off of a plantation dat my grandmother was on. She was turned over to dis slave owner to satisfy a gambling debt left unpaid by de dead husband. So she told my mother all about de deaL and all de children mother had never seen. My mother had three children of her own, at dat time. De slave dat brought de news name was Elsie. So Elsie had lots of relatives on dis plantation she was sold off of. Well she had to have a pass every time she want to go visit her folks. So she tells my mother next time I git a pass to go see my people, you ask old boss for you one too so you can.go see you mamma and sisters and brothers you never seen. Mamma did and when mamma got to old John Beasley's plantation on Lime Creek mother didnft know grandmother Sallie and grandmother Sallie didnft know her daughter Rhoda till Slsie introduced fem to 304 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SIAT7S STORIES ALICE SEWELL Page 5* each other. Dey was so glad dey just hugged and kissed plenty. De war was going on den and dey fought four years and two months. ,fDe first year after de war ray father and mother kept us chil- dren and stayed right on with our old owner and done share cropping till fathsr was able to buy stock of his own, but he did not buy no property. When I got 18 years old I married, but I stayed right on with my mother and father just de same and my children buried both my mother and father. My mother lived to be 100 years old and my father was between 80 and 90-when he died. "I left Montgomery, Alabama de last of 1902 when Louis was only 11 years old and came to Morouse, Alabama and stayed five years after dat. I moved to Arkansas, stayed quite a while, don't know how long. All dat time I made my living washing and ironing and picking cotton from farm to farm. My husband died 28 years ago last March? I been in St. Louis now between 12 and IS years. nWe used to slip off in de woods in de old slave days on Sun- day evening way down in de swamps to sing and pray to our own lik- ing. We prayed for dis day of freedom. We come from four and five miles away to pray together to God dat if we donft live to see it, do please let our chillun live to see a better day and be free, so dat dey can give honest and fair service to de Lord and all mankind 305 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS BX-SLA.TA STORIES- ALICE SMELL Page 6. everywhere. And we'd sing fOur little meetins'bout to break, chil- lun we must part. We got to part in body, but hope not in raind. Our little meetinfs bound to break.1 Den we used to sing 'We walk about and shake hands, fare you well my sisters I am going home.1 TtI never did hear nothing 'bout what de niggers specked from de white folks. We was so glad to get loose, we didnft speck noth- ing but git out of bondage. Dey didn't even give us time off to wash our clothes. Vie had to wash 'em at night when we ought to been resting our old backs what was so tired. VJe liked to go to de field clean in de mornings. Dat's de only way we had of doing it* I never been on relief in my life. I got my first pension last month* It was $17.50 old age pension. I sure was proud of dat. nI never had no interest in politics till last year, dey come and got me and told me to vote de Republican ticket. I did what dey said do, but dey didn't git it after all. My oldest grandson works at a bakery where he been working nine years and takes care of me, Ms mother and brother. I think de biggest run of this late generation is ignorant. 'Course dey goes to school alright, but dey don't make no good of it. De people wid de bible and God education is.much better folks dan dis ignorant book learned fools* Dat's all aey is honey. Dey don't respect derself, God nor de devil* Dey jes' act like something wild raised, turned loose in de swamps. Dere schooling makes me wish I could walk de streets 306 lr :isscuri ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVS STORIES ALICS SSSTSLL pace 7. ^XflFs wid my ears stopped up and eyes blindfolded so I couldn't even hear nor see dis educated generation* Bless your soul honey, I donft care a scrap fbout schooling dat donft teach decency or common re- spect • De knee way is all de education dat mounts to nothing no way. Godfs vfay is de only way.* It makes you treat everybody in de world like you v;ant to be treated by other folks and datTs right, and everything else's wrong by dat. "But de timefs on de way here, daughter, when we all be one people like God intended black and white de sane. Course de end will be at hand when dat happens bat its sure coming* Den God will bless us all alike and everything we put our hands to will prosper. God's will is fast fullftiling and He is true to His word. ?Je will walk with God sorae day, I wonft be here I don't speck. But I am walking with God myself right now. I an a mem- ber of Southern Mission Church. "I owned a nice home in Warren, Arkansas. I sold it to come up here, De folks down dere said dey would sure miss seeing me walking around down der wid my white apron on but I believed in • immigration like de bible said. So I just immigrated from de South up here to de North. God said de plantations would grow up and de hoot owls would have 'em and dey is doin it* Growinr up into wil- derness. God planned dem slave prayers to free us like he did de Israelites, and dey did." Missouri Sx~Slav® Story Pag® 1* 308 '•I'm hard of hearin1, I know I'm 94 y*ars *ia; was b&m ia Cape ^ Oounty. I was a slave till I was 20 years ©Id, I was a house bay. $ V ¦9 De boss had a number of black men who did de work in de field* In warm weather we wore flax, an jeans, in de winter I had plenty of meat to eat* I can't read or write* 7/ish I could. My old mistress told me I was free when I was 20• Ben 1 stayed there a while and worked ©n shares* De militia come an took a'horse away from me on de road ten jiilQS away from home and I had to walk horn®* But ha fetched de hoss ticvjLG after a while* I think slavery was a good thing. I never suffered for nothin1• Lincoln wanted every man to work for himself* An Interview with Perry Sheppard, Ex-Slav®, Aged 94, Frederick town, Interviewed by J* Tom Miles* i V T*f jape Girardeau Co • Folklore. 3()9 page 1# INTER'/IiM WITH FRANK SIBBS« SX-SUWfi "Ah's jest a little feller when de war1 s over, jes' 'bout six year ole, ah wuz, an* rti don1 rec'lect much fbout dem days* Aaron an1 Lucy Sides wuz mah daddy an1 mammy, an1 e belong to Mastuh Cato* Dey live near Fredericktown, ah don1 membuh young 'Missus* 3, an* dey neveh had no chillum. Dey had a big house, an' seams like we live in jaht o'de white folks house. De sojers come 'round sometime, but dey didden1 bathuh aone, jea1 ask fo' a drink er suthin* to eat, an1 go on* "But de *Bushwackers*, wuz bad, dey go shootin' anybody, en1 doin* devilment* I C lon» rec'lect nuthin* dey done roun' our place but one day a little bun$h o' fem, stop ere fo* a drink. Ahfs scared of *um, but ah gives * em all a drink, an1 de las* man akes his drink and t'rows de dippuh on de flo* . rtWe didden1 hab no school but ah learned to read anf write, but ahf s not much of a cholar at dat. "When de war1 s ovuh we move to 'Gape1, an* we live fust one place, * en fnuther, doin' whut we could. "One time ah* s workin' wid a gang on a railroad bridge. Dey wuz a big gang of us* h, mebbe three or fo* hundred. De sleepin1 cah wuz fbout half mile down de track. Gome h time tuh* turn in*, ah starts down de track. It wuz bright moonlight an1 ah's tired jnf sleepy. Jes* as ah comes along whar de cattle gahd is, dere standin* in de middle * de track is a big, tall man, all in black.. He don1 move, an* he's tall ag'in as ah is. Ms so light ah kin see him plain. Ah stan's an* looks at him an* ah thinks: * shall ah ^n pastj-?f No, if ah does he* 11 git me sho* . Den ah says, * Shall ah climb dat bobwire snce an1 go through de fielf, but ah says, 'No, Mo** spose amah pants gits hung on de bob- (Lret den whut happen? Ah looks at him again an* he's twice as big ez he wuz befo*, but jes* stanfi dej\T So ah goes jes1 ez close to de fence ez ah could an* goes sideways A ^s1 him, keepin* mah eye on him, but he don' move, jes* keep standin' aere. Nex' day ah »8s tuh look at de place but don' see no sign o* him. Ah don' know why fo» he stan* »• 'till folks tell me dat,'Bout a year ^elo', a man wuz killed right derf. ¦¦ 2-10022 . Cape Girardeau Co. Folklore. oja page 1. °1U INTERVIEW WITH MOLLIE RENFRO SIDES tfMah mammy wuz, Rosie Renfro, an' we* un' s blong to 'Massa fTom B. English, an' Miss Sarah. We live neah Jackson. My daddy Spencer Renfro, he blong to 'Massa' Jack Renfro, en' de Cape Road. "Massa" English wouldn't sell us, an1 '~assa' Renfro woun1 sell mah daddy, so dey jes* let mah daddy come tuh see us on Satudays. "Our white folks, dey wuz a%\ mighty nice people. Dey live in a big white house, an1 dey has lotsa nice things. Mah mammy done de cookin' an1 Itwen time whe hefp weave on de loom, an* spin anf knit. ¦ i> "Dey wuz jes' two o' us families. We livedin little ole log houses an' in tuther house dey wuz Ann, an1 Nancy an* "Aunt Dinah". ffDen seems like dey wuz a "nuddah house whar a bunch o' men iay 'at works in de fiel' • Dey wuz some field 'roun' de house, an' dey wuz a 'nudder/fiel' dey call •mile fiel'• It were a mile big, amh way. Dey rai3e lot'sa wheat en' cahn an* sich- like, an1 chickens an' cows, an' fruit, apples, an1 peaches. "Some o' de womans worked in de file' an1 when tey comes in dey has tuh set down an' peal apples an' peaches fof fryin' an' put'em on big racks out in de sun an* when dey's dry, put 'em in bags, an' hang 'em up fo' wintuh. "Ah wuzn\ very big at dat time, jes' 'bout fo' yeah ole, but ah rec'lect how ^ scared we is when de sojers come by. De men folks all hide out an' so de Missus, when we wants tuh hide too, she say, "Run on out, run on out, and tell 'em nobody home1'. Sometime dey hide unner de bed, 'hind de trunnel bed. "An' ah 'membuh 'Miss Betty' died. She had ^neumonya. Dar she wuz all pretty in huh coffin, an1 dey had all de cullud folks come through de house tuh see her. Pore 'lil' Missis* • Dey buried huh in Jackson. h I "When a 'body's sick, if yuh hears a hoot owl near de house, er a whipperwill j> dat's bad luck, Ah a* way's goes out an' tries tuh chase 'em off. But ah guess ef \ dey's gonna bring bad luck, dey's alweady brung it". MISSOORI ST* LOUIS EX-SLA7E STORIES JANE SIMPSON Page 1. 311 she; WAS SOLD 6 TIMES The subject of this sketch is Jane Simpson, familiarly known . in her neighborhood as Aunt Jane* She is more than 90 years old but her exact age is not certain* She lives at 2712-|- Clark Avenue with her niece and family. In a very poorly furnished old 3^room brick apartment, seated in the front bed room, was Jane Simpson, frail and slender, very light complexion with beautiful long white hair, well combed and neatly dressed* . Owing to a recent illness, she was not able to do any housework. Jane very feebly tells the following story of her life: tfI was born more than 90 years ago down in Burkersville, Kentucky;." My memory^ not so good, * cause I been sick more than 20 years, and just got up less than a week ago from a very bad spell. But I might tell my story scatterin' like. I'll do the best I can. I been sold six times in my life, first to Chris Ellis, second, to John Emerson and my third owner was Jessie Cook* '7 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVE STORIBS JANE SIMPSON Page 2. 0>« Q WI wasn't oia enough to be much help, till I 'come the pro- perty of Marse Cook. Den I was big anough to pick up chunks in de field, set brush heap afire, burn up rubbish, pull weeds and de like. He sold me to Dr. Hart around de age of ten to be his house girl. De doctor kept me till de Civil V/ar was in de air" and dey started running de slaves to Texas fcause dey thought de Yankees couldnft make it plum to Texas, but dey did. By de time we got as far as Crowlers Ridge, peace was declared. My father*s owner was old Bill Cuington, de meanest slave owner in de county. Dey made him go to war, so when he come back, he told my papa dat he was as free as him now, and he could go if he wanted to, or stay, he didn't care which, but if he stayed he wouldn't git noth- ing for his work. So a white neighbor friend heard Marse Bill say it. He told my father to come to his place with him down de road apiece where he was clearing up land, but if he got caught, don't ever tell he helped him get away f cause some of the land he was clearing up was owned by Cuington, and Cuington would fire him-if he knowed he helped one of his ex-slaves in anyway. "So papa taken my mother and us 4 children de route dis white friend helped him to go, to Clarington, Arkansas. He got us a job on a farm owned by his friend, Jerry Diles. Our whole family went '?£:¦&<¦• MISSOURI ST- LOUIS EX-SIAVE STORIES JANE SIMPSON Page 3. to work on Mr. Diles farm and we made a good crop. Mama milked, I cooked, de rest of de family farmed and we stayed there morefn 4 years. When we left we had money enough to buy us a farm and stock of our own. I fmember well when I was a child how dey wouldn't flow us chillun- nothin1 to eat but pumpkin and mush. We didnft own no clocks dem days. We just told de time by de sun in de day and de stars at night. If it was clouded we didnft know what time it was. De white folks didnft want to let de slaves have no time for der self, so de old folks used to let us chillun run and play at night, while de white folks sleep and dey watch de stars to tell about what time to call us in and put us to bed, *fore de white folks know we was out. WI beea sold six times in my life, but, I never got more dan three or four whippings, but dey cut de blood out of me every one of dem times. If old miss got mad about something, just anything atall, shefd have you whipped, when maybe you had not done a thing, just to satisfy her spite feeling. I never can forget, I was sit- ting upstairs in old miss house quilting when de first Yankee army boat went to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Old miss made me git right up and go"g#%er children out of school and'Wing fam right home. 313 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SL&VE STORIES JAN3 SIMPSON Page 4. 314 She's scared to death most, but de boat .went right on.. It didn't even stop. I had to take her children back and forth to school every day. Dey was mighty nice children. Bern very white children taught me to read and write, but I been sick so bad and so long I done forgot every bit of it. My first old master never was married and he only bought 2 slaves in his whole life and had between 50 and 100 slaves, all kin folks. Dey raised children on his planta- tion worse dan flies. I never had a child in my life but I raised a host of other folksf chillun. "Old master was a drunkard. He got drunk one night and fell off a rock and broke his hip. He died from dat fall. Before lie died he told papa, he knew he was go in1 to die, and he had been so mean to his old slaves dat he wanted to do somethin' for 'era, and no one never knew where he kept his money. My grandpapa, Meridie and grandmother, Juda, was de only 2 slaves he ever bought and all de rest come from dam 2. Old inarse Chris told grandfather before he died, there was a keg buried at de foot of de cliff with all his money in it, for he was very rich. My o^d grandfather told de over- seer fbout it. Bey wouldn't dare to dig and find anything on de owner's plantation without de overseer let em, specially when de boss is dead, and de overseer of course said he looked for de Iceg and didn't find nothing. fes/, MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVE STORIES JiUflE SIMPSON Page 5. o^^ "I had an uncle who was buying his freedom from marse Chris and was almost paid out when marse Chris died, but he didn't know nothing 'bout keeping receipts so he was put on the auction block and sold again. My mama and daddy had 13 children and they is everyone dead but me. My papa's name was Dave Bedford. He was 103 years old when he died in Holly Grove, Arkansas* My sister died and left 9 children and I raised everyone of dem. One boy is deaf and dumb, and lives in Little Rock, Arkansas and is one of the best paper hangers down there. My husband was a farmer. He has been dead so long, I can't tell when he died. My grand niece said he been dead 22 years, I donft know. My children I raised and my friends have been taking care of me, ever since my husband died, 'cause I can't take care of myself. "While my husband lived we farmed all de time and lived well. When he died I had $4000 in de bank at Mi. Byou, Mississippi. De bank went down and I been a beggar every since. Never did get one penny of dat money. I been here in St. Louis so long, I don't know how long I been here. "A Democrat offered my husband 80 acres of land if he would vote a Democrat ticket and get his friends to change from Republicans to Democrats and my husband told him he would suffer his right arm to be cut off before he would do that, and he didn't change either. I only MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SL£VE STORIES Page 6. 3|() JME SIMPSON /' voted once in my life dat was for a Renublican^ President, I don't remember which one. De niggers didn't 'spect nothing from de white folks when dey got set free- Dey was so glad to get set free dey just glad to be loose. "I never even heerd of white folks giving niggers nothing* Most of de time dey didn't even give 'em what dey 'spose to give fem after dey was free. Dey was so mad fcause dey had to set 'em free, dey just stayed mean as dey would flow fem to be anyhow, and is yet most of fem. I used to hear old slaves pray and ask God when would de bottom rail be de top rail, and I wondered what on earth dey talk- in* fbout. Dey was talkin' 'bout when dey go in' to git from under bondage. Course I know now. I donft hardly know what to say 'bout dis new generation• Dey ainft nothing like when I come along, nor nothing like when you Some along. "You can just look at a person and tell whether dey is late day folks or not. Dey is de worse, ill mannered, biggody generation I ever heard of* Dey donft care for folks' feelings and jest as lazy and good for nothing as dey can be. Instead of being better 'cause der opportunities is better, dey is worse, and I feel so sorry about it. De old folks wanted to be free so bad dey use to sing a song MISSOURI ST, LOUIS EX-SLAYiS STORIES JANE SIMPSON Page 7. 'VI f named 'Free, Free My Lord, March, on De Heavenly ?/ay.f I canft re- meraber none de other sonps. I been sick so much. I wish I could go back to de Arkansas country where my mama and papa died* Dere is 11 children down dere right now v/hat I raised and lot of my rel- atives, too. Dey would take care of me if I could get there, I would not have to live like I living here. I see better without glasses dan I do with dem, I donft read any way. I belong to de St. Paul A.M#E. Church, but havn*t been able to go for six years but twice. I don.ft git no help from de relief and we need help de worst way. My grandniece tries to work when she can get it, but she is sick, too. /•V :& vA ^'O? MISSOURI HAMIBAL BX-SLAVE STORIES CLAY SMITH Page 1. olo CLAY HAS VIVID KSMDBY Clay (Carrie) Smith, now living at 612 Butler Street, Hannibal, Missouri, was born in slavery shortly before the Civil*War on the farm of Joe Maupin about five miles west of Hannibal. Her present residence on 'Butler Street is part of the way up the hill overlooking Mark Twain Avenue (formerly Palinyra Avenue) and facing Cardiff Hill. Her mother1 s home was on Palmyra Avenue. Her mother's name was Luckett. Following is Clayfs story as she told it: "I was borned right here in Marion County. Dere was ten of us < children in de family. We belonged to Joe Maupin and Sarah Ann Maupin. £ We called Mrs. Maupin 'Miss Spatsie'. Mother was brought here by de j^p Maupins from Virginia. Father was born near New London in Rails Coun- ty. He belonged to de preacher priest. He was one of dose hardshelled, ironsides" Baptists. Father run away to Illinois during de war and we ain't never saw him again. ?•Three of my sisters was bound out to de Maupin children when dey was married and dey done moved somewhere in Monroe County. I knowed of only one slave in our family dat was sold, and dat was my Aunt Harriet. She was sold on de block down on Fourth Street right here in Hannibal. I wav only five or six years old den. , ^ MISSOURI HAMvTIBAL SX-SIAVE STORIES CLAY SMITH Page 2. "After de war my mother worked for Mr. Maupin for three years. Mother bought a house on Palmyra Avenue here in Hannibal den, and &r. Maupin would help mother to make de payments by giving her work. "Dere was only a few houses down on Palmyra Avenue den. Old Krs. Vail had a hotel, or tavern dey called it in dem days, over across de street. Beyond de hill (Cardiff Hill) was all woods and we could see bears and deers and tigers over dere. (Of courseithis is untrue. That was Mark Twain1s playground years before.) "Dey didn't raise children den like dey does now. Dey don't mind at all now. When we was across de street and &idnft mind we got a whippin' so dat we would fall over in de -brush and when we come home we got another whippin',—- we always got two vxhippins. Nowadays de youngsters runs 'round all over de town and dey donft pay no mind to nobody. "Over on dat hill was a pesf house where dey took people with smallpox. Dey died thick and dey hauled 'em away at night. Dey carried torches and hauled ' em in wagons. When dey took someone by to the pes' iiouse, Old Man Cogner would go ahead and holler, 'Small- pox1. We would all run and hide 'cause we was scared. Dat was five or six years after we moved here. 319 MISSOURI HAHNIBAL EX-SIAVB STORIES CLAY SMITH Page 3. 320 "Dere was no houses Tround here den, but now I look out and see what de Lord has done* De bible say de new would take place of de old and things would be changed. WI worked in-de old hotel down dere f cross from de depot* It was de Ketrens Hotel den, for about fourteen years, and den I worked for de Claytons for about thirteen years. I canTt do nothin* now, fcause I is too old. I gets a small pension. Dis is my house, but dey is a mortgage on it and dey might come and take it wway from me. I belongs to de Baptist Church on Center Street, but I donft go very often &o*niore. My brother lives with me* He is dat one-legged man you sees in de City Park most of de time. He gets a pension, too. My oldest brother died last week. Ha was blind." HCLIA tTzlAY& STORIES ^:" SMITHS Page 1. 321 SLAVES WERil W3LL FiD "I was born in LS45, on de fourth of July, near Rich Fountain, Osage County, Mo., not far from Jefferson City. My father's name was Jim Messer- smith, and ray mother's maiden name was Martha Williams. I was^called August Messersmith until I was old enough to vote, den I changed it to plain 'Gus Sr:ith'. My friends nick-named me 'Chinie' and I am called dat today. "My master's name was Bill Messersmith and he called hisself a Pennsyl- vania Dutchman* His father settled in Missouri, near Jefferson City many years before de war. He owned 1,500 acres of land. The old man, my master's father, had a good many slaves but de chillun didn't have so many after de old man died, Rufus, the old man's son and my master's brother took one of de Negro boys; his sister, Manisee, took a Negro girl. These two, Rufus and Manisee never married and lived with my master. Zennie, another sister, took a girl and a boy. She married a man by de name of Goodman and my master took my father and my mother. "My master's father, before he died, told his chillun, dat at his death he wanted each child to put their slaves out to work until d3y earned $800 a piece, to earn their own freedom, in dat way each slave paid it dem selves. He did not believe it was right to keep dem in slavery all their lives. But , de war came and dey were free without having to work it out. "We all wore home-spun clothes, made of wool mostly. Mother carded, $pun and wove all our clothes. My master let us come and go pretty much as we pleased. In fact we had much more freedom dan de most of de slaves had in those days. He let us go to other places to work when we had nothing to do at home and we kept our money we earned, and spent it to suit ourselves* We had MISSOURI ROLLA EC-SLAVE STORIES "GUS SMITH" Page 2. 322 it so much better dan other slaves dat our neighbors would not let their slaves associate with us, for fear we would put devilment in their heads, for we had too much freedom. My father and mother had their own cabin to live in, with their family, but de rest of de slaves stayed with our mistress* My father's relation lived within ten miles of us. Dey came to see us but dat was about all de company we had. "We used to sing all the old plantation songs, but my father and mother were not such good singers* We all had good times along with de work. During Christmas time, and de whole month of January, it was de rulin* to give de slaves a holiday in our part of de country. A whole month, to go and come as much as we pleased and go for miles as far as we wanted to, but we had better be back by de first of February. If we wanted to go through a territory where it was hard to travel, or get by, we got a pass from our master. "We had quiltins dancin1 , makin1 rails, for days at a time. My goodnessl itfe donft have nothin1 to eat now like we did then. All kinds of game, wild ducks, geese, squirrels, rabbits, fpossum, pigeons and fried chicken. My! women in those days could cook. Great big 'pound cakes1 a foot and a half high. You donft see such things, now-a-days. f,I remember my father shooting so many pigeons at once that my mother just fed dem to de hogs. Just shoot the game from our back yard. I have seen de 00 wild pigeons so thick dey looked like storm clouds coming. I've seen dem so thick dey broke tfcee limbs down. Ducks and geese de same way. We could kill dem by tow sacks full, with clubs. White folks and colored folks came to these gatherings, from miles around, sat up all night dancin*, eatin1, and drinkinf. People kept whiskey by de barrel in those days. You see, Miss, in those days MISSOURI . ROLLA EfrfflAVE STORIES ^GUS SMITHS Page 3. 323 dey just loaded up ten or twelve bushel of corn, took it to de fstill-house1 and traded it for a barrel of whiskey. Not much selling in those days, every- thing was traded, even to labor. Our folks v/ould tell us to go and help so-and- so and we done it. "Mother was de cook in those days at our place. De hewed*log house we lived in was very big, about five or six rooms. In.times of our holidays, we always had our own musicians. Sometimes we sent ten or twelve miles for a fiddler. He'd stay a week or so in one place and den he would go on to de next farm, maybe four or five miles away, and dey had a good time for a week. When we didnft have much work, we would get up about five o'clock every morning, but in busy season we had to be up and ready to work at daybreak. There was plenty of work for every one den, even to de little darkles, if only to pull weeds. Vie raised wheat, corn, cotton, tobacco, cabbage, potatoes, sheep, hogs and cattle. Had plenty of everything to eat. "Our closest neighbors was de Thorntons. 01* man Thornton did not allow his slaves to go no place. He was a rough man, a low heavy set fellow«r weigh- ed about one hundred and sixty pounds. He was mean to his slaves. He whupped dem all de time. I've seen their clothes sticking to their backs, from blood and scabs, being cut up with de cowhide. He just whupped dem because he could. He use to say he allus give his niggers a 'breakfast spell ever' mornin'I Dat is he whupped dem every morning. I remember he had a nigger woman about seventy years old on his place. Be Thorntons did not feed their slaves ^ey.;was nearly c i . starved. One night that ol' woman was so hungry she stole a chiken from her master, olf Thornton, and was cooking it in her cabin. He found it out some way and started to her cabin, and caught her, while she had it on boiling. He g-SLiVE STORIES ^GQS SKm» Page 4. 324 was so mad, he tolc her to get a s^oon and eat every bite before she stopped. It was scalding hot but he made her do it. She died right away; her insides were burned. "Shy, ol! Thronton was dat mean dat he killed his own son. He just beat him to death with de v;hip-stock of dat cowhide, a whip made of buckskin. It was like dis. De boy had a girl he was courtinf in another town. He started to see her on Saturday noon. Eis daddy tolc him to be back by Sunday night* But de boy did net feet back before Monday morning, ten o'clock. His father was in de field v/orking and saw him coming down de road. He went to meet him and met him at de gate. He asked why he did not get back sooner and lit into beat- ing him with de whip stock, de part dat should be de whip handle. He beat him so hard dat de boy died in about ten hours. It aroused de neighborhood and dey began to plan a lynching party. * He got wind of it some "way and got all his slaves together and pulled out. He left dat place and no one ever knowed where he went. Dat happened before de end of de war. "There was a lot of run-a-way slaves in those days. I never saw any of dem but I heard de folks talk about deiu. Many passed through our part of de country. In time of slavery, people were sold like cattle or hogs. There was no sale bills dat we seen, because folks in dem days was usually honest and did not have a lot of red tape in buying and selling. Our master would not sell any of us. He did not believe in separating us, and tried to keep us together. He didn't have any trouble with his slaves at all. He was as good a man as ever lived and we did pretty much as we pleased. "He married before de war, but his first wife died a few months later. He married a year after hiw wife died. He went to Pennsylvania and came back and MISSOURI HOLLA g^VE STORIES »ffPS SMITHS Page 5* 3&5 want to California for about a year. Before he left he made my father boss* My father stayed on de place and took care of everything. He was boes all during de war* "When the battle of V/ilson Creek was fought up near Springfield, most all de soldiers passed by our house. After dey passed den came de bushwhackers. Bey stole all de niggers dey could, running dem down south to sell. Dey came to our place in de morning; it must have been about 1862-63. De whole family of colored folks was home, cepting my father* "Dey looked across de road and seen another house and asked us whose house it was. V/e told dem it was our masterfs house. Dey saw we had a mare in de yard and told us to saddle her up. And told my oldest brother to be ready to go with dem when dey come back. Dey went half way to my master1 s house and for some reason wheeled and came back. My mother looked out de door and seen them coming and said: 'Here they come.1 She said to my oldest brother, fGet under dat puncheon floor, maybe dey wonft take August,1 meaning me. I was about 12 or 13 years old den. We had a great big hearthf de rocks and puncheon came right up to it. My mother raised de one end of a puncheon and my brother hid there under de floor. De bushwhackers came back to de house and searched everyplace, failed to find him, even raised de floor and looked under, but my brother had crawled so far up in de corner dey did not see him. Dey asked my mother where he was and said, ?By God! We want to know.1 Mother answered and said she sent him down to de field to get some corn for de hogs and told me to run down there and look for him* "Well I did. I run down in dat field and am going yet. I stayed out in MISSOURI ROLLA EX-SLAVE STORIES ffis SMITH" Page 6. 326 dat woods for four days and nights with nothing to eat but what wild grapes and hazel nuts I could find. I knew better dan to go back deref but I did not know where to go* I fell on a plan to go to my young missus, Zennie* Bey lived off de main road, two miles from where we lived. When I got to her home, it was in de evening about four ofclock. I saw my cousin, Melie, fifteen or sixteen years old, but was afraid to speak to her. I saw her out a piece from de barn, but I wouldnft let her see me. I stayed all night in de barn, but I wouldnlt let her see me. I stayed all night in de barn and next morning I peeped out de window and saw her again. She was picking beans. I hollered and she recognized me and asked me if I wasn't August. I said yes* She told me to come on out and go with her, dat my mother and all of dem was at their house den. My oldest brother, Jim, was there too. He was four years older dan me. *Den I went down to de house and dey soon fixed me something to eat. But only a little because dey were afraid it might make me sick* My mother told me to stay with Miss Zennie. Miss Zennie had married de second time to a man by de name of George McGee. Her first husband, Dave Goodman, was killed right at de start of de war by a gang of robbers something ltkeadd bushwhackers, who went in gangs of ten and fifteen, stealing niggers or anything else dey could get their hands on* "George McGee and my brother Jim hid out in de bluffs at Rollinfs Ferry, a place where ferry boats ran* George McGee hid because he did.not want to go in de army. Steahe takes my brother and hides in de bluffs. Dey both came to de house for provisions about twelve o*clock dat night and took me with dem* We camped out dat night and next morning dey said to me: 'You stay here* Dey MISSOURI ROULA "GUS SMITH* Page 7. *>^ • Dey is out of meat at ae house.1 So dey went back to de house and killed and dressed a young heifer and came back at night to get me. We had a good time, eating supper and playing. Along in de night I heard something like horses hoofs hitting de ground. I told my mother and she said, fYou donH hear nothin1«! "George McGee, de young master said, fWait, he is right. I hears some- ting, tool1 "We jumped up and went out and down a steep holler and made it back to our camp dat night yet. Next morning we wondered who it could have been dat we heard. Dat night we vent back to see hovf de folks was getting an and found out it was my own father and our own master who had come a hunting for us. If we had known, we would not have run* *My master told his sister, Miss Sennie to keep us hid out of de way, that we were doing all right. I stayed in dat bluff about two years, until de close1 of de warf I never saw my father and master for over a year. I saw my mother every time I went to de house for something to eat, about twelve o'clock at night. My father had to hide out, too. He kept de stock out in de bushes, watching after de masterfs affairs while he was away. "We stayed hid until dey took General Lee. Den we went back to olf masterfs house and it was not long until peace was declared. Our house was about a quarter of a mile from de master's, on a farm he had bought from an old Dutch- man, about one hundred and sixty acres? One morning, olf master come over ear- ly and said: ?Jim, by God! You are a free man dis morning, as free as I am. I can't hold you any longer. Now take your family and go over on dat hundred and sixty acres I bought and *o to work*1 He was giving us all a chance to pay MISSOURI ROLLA EX-SLAVE STORISS "CUS SMITH" Page 8. O^O out de farm for ourselves a home. My father said: fThere's nothing to go with it to help clear it and live.1 To which olf master answered: fTheref6 de smoke-house, take all you want and Ifll furnish you with everything else you need for a year, until youget a start.1 He allowed us to u£e anything to work with, he had on his place. "Den we went to work. 01f master said, fIfve got all de land ray heart could wish but none of it is cleared off. Go down dere with your boys and I111 send tow men, both white (Irishmen, Jim and Tom Norman) and all of you clear off dat land. I111 give you five years lease to clear all you can. All you clear, you can have half." Well, we cleared fifty acres dat winter. We made rails, fenced it and put it all in corn dat fi'rst year. There was six of us to do dis, my cousin joined my father, brother, and myself/ and de two white men. "We had it cleared by the first of March—all ready to plow in 1865. My father raised his own sheep and cotton, and from dis my mother l&ade our clothes. Father cleared thirty acres on his place de semeTyear and sowed it all in wheat. De first year we got 817 bushel of wheat and 1500 bushel of corn, it was all new land. Corn really growed in dem days. We hoed it by hand. You donft see corn like dat now. We worked out every little weed. Every little darkey worked in dem days. "My grandad, Godfry, owned a place called de old Potter's place, near Vichey Springs, Vichey, Missouri, not far from where we lived. He bought it from a man who used to make pottery. Grandfather made his own mill to grind grain for bread. In dose days there was no steam operated mills and few irater mills. Sometimes we had to go as uawb as twenty miles to grind corn MISSOURI HOLLA jj%-SLAVii STORIES »GOS SMITH* page 9. a bushel of corn. So grandfather made his own burr to grind corn and wheat. It was as big as any burr in de large mills, but it was turned by hand power. It was made of limestone rock, a great big stone about two and a half foot across. Be top burr would probably weigh about three or four hundred pounds. De bottom case would weigh a thousand pounds or more. There was a hole in de top stone, where de grain flowed freely to de bottom and ground out on the big thick stone below. I ground many a bushel of meal on it myself. I don't know how grandfather got de large stones in place, for it was there as long as I could remember. I just wonder if it isnft some place there yet. I would love to go and find out and see do old burr again. People call these hard times, shucks, they donft know what hard times is. Those.were hard days, when folks had to go on foot twenty miles to mill. I remember in my early days, we used cattle for teams to haul, start at four o'clock in de morning, drive all day, stay over night and grind de next day. Sometimes de crowd ahead of us was so big we had to stay over for three or four days. Sometimes we would be until eleven or twelve at night getting home. Gone at least two days and one night. I had to make tripe like die many times. ftSometimes we could take a couple of bushel of corn and go horseback, but twice a year, Spring and Fall, we would take eight or ten bushel of wheat, six and eight bushel of corn or according to what we needed and take de cattle and ? a old wooden axle wagon, walking and driving de cattle all de way there and back. We drove or led dem with only a rope around dem. "De last trip I made milling I drove for Bill Fannins^a yoke of young three^year.old cattle. Wasnft even broke. Went twenty-five miles, drove all de way, walking, while he sat up in de wagon. Sometimes de wagon dragged in 329 MISSOURI . ROLLA jX-SLAVE STORIES wgOS SMITH* ¦ Page 10. 330 de mud, de old wooden axle burying so deep we couldn't hardly get it out, going through timber and dodging brush. Some folks went even further dan dat. Sometimes a mill might be four or five miles from you but dey got out of fix and you would have to go to another one. Maybe twenty-five miles or more. "There was not many good doctors in those days, but my grandfather was an old fashioned herb doctor. I remember hijn well* I was about twenty-five years old when he died. Everybody knew him in dat country and he doctored among de wMte people, one of de best doctors of his kind. He went over thirty miles around to people who sent for him. He was seldom at home* Lots of cases dat other doctors gave up, he went and raised them. He could cure anything* "When I was sick one time, I was den about eighteen or nineteen years old, my folks had Dr. Boles, from Lane's Prairie'and Dr. Mayweather from Vichey, to come and tend me. Dey both gave me up. 1^ had. typhoid and pneumonia. Dese doctors were de best to be found but dey could do nothing and said I was as good as dead, My grandfather was gone, had come to Rolla, doctoring Charley Strobackfs child whose clothes had caught fire and he was burned badly. Grandfather could 'blow out1 fire. nHe got home about four of clock in de morning after de doctors had done give me up* He felt my pulse and said he didn't know whether I was dead or alive. No pulse but he said I felt warm. He asked my grandmother if she had any light bread baked. She said yes and got it for him* He told her to butter it and lay the butter side down over my mouth and if it melted I was still living* She did this and soon she said, fYes, he is still alive. Now go to work and get a little whiskey and butter and beat it together good and drop MISSOURI ROLLA K-SLAVE STORIES »GOS, SMITH1* . Page 11. 3Sl just two drops in his mouth, and in four hours drop two more.1 "He sat beside me, layed his hands on my breast and about ten ofclock de next day I began to come around. I realized lie was there and he asked me if I knew him which I did. "In fblowing fire1, my grandfather simply blew on de burn and de fire and pain was gone. It was a secret charm, handed down from generation to generation. He said only one could be told, He told ray Aunt Harriet and she could fblow fire1 de same as my grandfather. "I remember one good old doctor in dis part of de country. Old Dr. Stark. He was as good a doctor, de finest we had in those days. He could chew tobacco and spit enough to drown a hog. A lot of de old herb remedies ray grandfather used, I can still remember. He used one called ^hite root*. It is a bush dat grows here. In de spring of de year, when its leaves bloom out, in de morning hours, when de sun shines on it, it looks just like bright tine. It has an awful bitter taste. It was used for mighty near/ any ailment* ^e had another herb, he used, called 'remedy weed!. It is a bright green looking weed dat grows around springs• It is also used for many ailments. Another one was sarsaparilla root. lt grows here, lots of it. He went to de woods and gathered it all hisself getting wild cherry bark, ditney, penny royal, and camomile root. Others he gathered and dried some to make teas and others to put in whiskey* ffDogwbod buds, some kind of a medicine used as a laxative. Ginseng was another remedy. I do not know what it was used for, but it was powerful good, and one remedy he used was called 'spicewood1. It was also a healthful drink, like store-tea. You gather it in de fall, using de stem or stocky part, break MISSOURI HOLLA jgHBIAVE STORIES "GUS SMITHS Page 12. 332 it up and dry it. I used it all de time while I worked 6n de river, at de tourist camps. It has a fine flavor and its good for you* *Indian turnip grows by de thousands in de woods here. Great places of it, looks like turnips, grows in big bunches and bright red. Colored folks used to use de Indian turnip in slave times. Dey would take dis and dyy it pulverize it and tie it in big quantities around their feet to keep off de trail of bloodhounds. No bloodhound could trail a bit further after smelling it. It was strong like red pepper, burns like everything and colored folks running away use it all de time. "Grandfather also used fbutter nut root1, some call it white walnut. You take one dose of dis and it will cure de worst case of chills, no matter how bad. Take two tablespoons for a dose. It is as severe as croton oil. By golly, it wonft leave a thing in you, clears you out and one dose does de work. Oh, man, but it is bitter. "He used golden seal, a medicine found in places here, very costly, worth |7 to #8 a pound now. I donft know what he used dem all for, but I do pemember of him getting dem in their proper season, and kept dam always on hand. "For sore throat or quinzy, he had some sort of tea. He used onion tea, too. He took an onion, roasted it in its hull in ashes, squeezed out de juice and added a little sugar and gave it to de patient. For rheumatism, he used poke root, dried it and put it in whiskey. De only thing dat is good for rheumatics. There were many more remedies, but I can't recall them now,* Federal Writers1 Project, < ' " ' *^__ b79-Folklore, 333 District #5, "'""-¦ m Peniscot County Sikeston, Missouri. <.rr 0 O \ '\0 Reference: *Annt* Ann Stokest 91 years ola negro, Caruthersville, Mo* One ox the most Interesting characters ox all Pamiscot County toaay is an ola negro called "Aunt" Ann Stokes, She was born a slave *out hyar at Cotton- wooa Pint in Itivk, a year od high water*. Nineteen thirty-six brings her to her ninety thira year; all ox which have been spent in Pemiscot County, except for tua occasional visit to relatives* In the early years or her lire she was known as "a gooa hara workin* nigger** Now she takes things more quietly, especially since she has lost her eyesight ana can only hear wnen you shout very loudly* All day long she does very little, just ••sits ana rocks#* For a very old woman she is certainly fine looking* Most ola people are usually wrinkled* Aunt Ann looks to be only in her sixties* A sort or creepy reeling comes to one in the presence or this old negro* She always leans close to you as she speaks, lays her hana on your ana, now and tnen pointing her ringer* Once ana awhile sne smiles snowing her few re- ? / maining teeth in grain rashion* She speaks slowly in a high voice not at all shaky* Every story she tells is glorixiea ana exaggerated. She is anxious to talk ana likes to have visitors* Never does sne fail to mention her first "scnoolin9"; she tells, *I learnt my alpnabet in de midale ob a field unner- ^ neath a f Simmon tree* My cousin teacned me, you know we werenft floweu to hafr books in aem days* They dion't want us to know notfcin9"* When you mention the War between the Spates, you have hit a ravorite subject ox hers* Especially, does sne priae herselx on her war stories* At Cottonwooa Point sne remembers standing on tne bank ox tne river to "see transpose goin1 south*- Done bustea tnrough up north here* Fom de steam od de boats we was uz wet us ix wefz a-stanain* in a shower ob rain* Sa many soldiers dat day wuz all stanain aroun de pilot houses* Dey wuz goinf tu Fort Pillar on a hill in Tennessee* Seeh a shoo tin1 as day was when dey turn dem cannons loose* Ize tol dai fur three mile down ae ri?er you coulanft t&ll ir it's blooa or water* Federal Writers1 Project, -2- 67S--Folklore, 334 District #5f Pen&scot County Sikeston, Missouri* «An olf solai^r toi1 me how aey capture Vicksburg. Dey put a man on a ol1 skint-up mule an senu him to ae fort to spy* When he got thar he say hefs a-runninf way ioni ae Yankees. Hefs so pitiiul lookin1 an1 so nakea he coulanft hideohis nakeaness: so dey took him in* He stay aroun1 de rort rur three aaye lookin1 at everthlng. He seen bow i* wuz ail nxeu. Ten one morninf he come up missin1 and dey try to git on ae track ob him* But it warn't no use f cause one morn in1 de man who'd been on ue ol* skint-up mule come back wia sum Yanks an took de tort.1* *You cua alias hyar ae Yankees at Kennett or Homersville wen aayfs aroun1. One day Ize over to see Melinay ana I say: fMelinuyf does you all hyar sompin? Soun1 like ae Yankeesf look out ae winaer ana see ir you sees anything*1 She say, fI don1 see nothing Dey ain't no Yankees aroun1 hyar*1 Wellf I jest six thar ftill I caint stanf it no more. I gets up and looks out de winaer myseli. Thar dey come down ae roaa ana I knows theys Yanks f cause I see de blue ob ae coats* Pretty soon dey riae up to cte house* Dey yell out: fYou all got any Gurrilers aroun1 hyar?1 Me an* Melinuy stan* in de aoah I say, •Melinay you go out aar an tell fem*f Melindy start across de yaru wen de leaaer yell, fI don1 want youl De trur ain't in your yalier boay.f (Melinay was a mulatto girl) •Hey! you, you other girl, come hyar If fYes suh,f I say an walk out de doah in de yaru. fGot any Gurrillers aroun1 hyar?1, he yell. fNo suhl fsez I, fTaint none aroun1 hyar.1 'Know Mr. Douglass?1, he say pointin* his ringer to a house fcross ae prairie* ?Yes suh,f siz I, fI knows him wen I sees him.1 ?Has he got any Gurrilers thar?1 Federal Writers1 Project, District #5, Sikeston, Missouri -3- 679—Folklore, 335 Pemiscot County fI don't know, suh.* •Wal, thars a collau girl thar ainft they?1 •Yes suh, but I don1 go round her no mo. We aihf.t speakin1 ;. Reckon I ainft been on Mr. Douglasses place foah six month. I donft know nothin1 bout it. You all better go see rur youahsevs.1 He leab aen an riae ovah to Douglasses place. I seen Bud come out in ae yara. He call Bua ovah to de fence ana talk to him. Bout dat time I see men comin1 out ae b«$&> ob de house an cliargin1 ovah ae rence into ae thicket whar warnft nothin1 but lots ob trees, tare bianKet, an Diackberry bushes. Right aen ana dare aey hau a scrummage. De Yanks set lire to ever1 builain9 on de place. De blaze wuz a~goinf up to de elements! Not a thing dia they take out ob ae house ceptin1 feather beet ior a wou&aea Yankee. Mr. Douglass, he hear about ae shootin1. He tuk to ae wooas an stay rur a spell. "I ainft had nothin* scare me so baa as one time I went aown to de lot to feeu. A big olf black cat run right in ront ob me ana jump up on de corn* Dar he sat, sech a big cat, goou big twice! Wal, it scairt me so I started to bleeain1 at de nose. I come back home as ias as I coula. The olf Doc he coulan9t stop it, I coulanft stop it, seem like nobouy can suop it. My blooa blea/^/much it look ae color ob sassirass tea* De secona aay Emma, she my daughter say, fDe black cat aone gone. I cain't fin1 it nowhere.1 Den mp nose stop bleeain!'* ftWhatts a cure iur Rheumitize you say? Theyfs jus one cure ror dat, I knowsI Ainft I haa it so baa I coulanft raise up to step ovah a fence ralr Hake a raw irish potato ana pack it in your pocket* One day Ize walkin1 down de street an I meets Mr. Bufnnan. I say, fMr. Hufrman, nowfs your Rheumatize?1 yederad Writers* Project, District #5,, Slkeston, Missouri -4- t>79~Folklore, Pea is cot County 836 He sayf f Ain't Annf 'taint no better. I thinks I go aown to Hot Springs iur a spell*f •Humph/ says I, fDonf you go way down aar to git well* You donft hab to qo aat. You git you a raw Irish potato ana carry it wia you all ae time* Wen you change yoah pants, change aat potato o&er to de clean pants* Wen ae potato git ary clean tmough, you won't hev no more Rheumatize*1 Nexf time I see him he say hez line. Now ainft dat proor enough dat potatoes cure RheumitiaIfl?l, "One mawnin* I gets up to make a fiah in de stobe. Itfs fearful cola an de moon is still a-shinin1. I put on my coat an start to work* While ae stove am heatin1 up I looks out; de winaer. I see sompin1 queer lookin1 out in de garaenf sompin* stanain1 fbout knee high all bright ana shiny. I wonaer what kin1 ob a ghost has got loose now* I takes a oroom aa sneaks out ae aoah* Kinaa hai slists may eyes kaze Ize scairt to ueath* Wham! I hits aat ting an scatters it all ovan ae place. Warnft nothin1 but an olf cabbage, a po rrozea cabbage I11 •*•»• ••Does I know 01f Mexico Cole? Yessuia, I reckon I ao. He us a aawk man, a tolable aawk man, wia black hair an aawk eyes. He us what you say a meaium built man. Yessah, 01f Mexico Cole! He wuz a aoctah. I member ae night he wuz on his way home wen ae storm cum up. De lighten lightenea an ae thunaer thunaereal Shof wuz a powrul storm! Hefz a-riainf along on his hoss wen all ob a suauen a big limf done rail on a tree an smsh him ilat. Dat*s mighty baa, I tell yo, mighty baa. Yessuh, 01f Mexico Cole, I members him.* "One time he walk on a traain* boat an he see a bottle lull od sompin1 he donft fciow what. He picks it up an smell a deep brear. Dat really irowea him out rur a spell* Dey haa to give *em a hair a bottle ob meltea grease! Yessum, I members Olf Mexico Cole." Two 01 Aunt Ann's ravorite songs are: "By'm by aon1 you griebe atter me (This line repeateo xour Limes) II Wen Ifm gone don you griebe atter me ft It H»H ft * ft ft ft If ft It ft ft ft By'm by aon you grieoe ax,ter me. Ill De Lawa has prepareu ae way an has carrieu my soul away (This line repeatea three times) Byfm by aon you griebe u^ter me. IV Wen Ifm aeau aon1 you griebe avter me (This line repeateu three times) By'm by don1 you griebe atter me* The secona song is sung by a "mighty clevah woman" to her lover. The negro woman is at home rocking her baby, her husbanu is sitting not Tar away. A weira little wnistle is hearu. The negro soman sings to warn her lover or danger. "Oh, de win's in de wes1, An1 de cuckoo's in ae nes1, No loagin* hyar ioah you, By you baby by yoo. Ohf ae aevilfs in ae man, Cainft you unnerstan1, No lougin1 hyar foah you, By you baDy by yoo. (Repetition or the rirst verse.) 240113 ^181937 Missouri Ex-Slaves Born "Around 1812" Page 1. 338 V,' *. Bom "Around 1812" The subject of this sketch is Edward Taylor, exact age not known, but he is positive he is over 115 years old. He lives in a two Sroom frame cottage in the rear of 8013 Dale Avenue, St. Louis County, Missouri, with his wife of less than twelve months and says she is in her SO13. Taylor is a tall, slender, almost erect old man, looks well for his ag;fc, very hard of hearing, his hair well mingled with gray. He believes God has called him to preach holiness to the world, and it is a hard matter to keep his mind on an interview for his ex-slave experiences instead of preaching to his interviewer. His story follows: "I was born in Chaineyville, Louisiana. I guess around 1812. But I donft know. I do know, I was owned by Marse William Chaney. He was a rich old slave owner. I thought v in dem days white folks was God, didnft know no better. "I 'member well when de stars fell, I saw fem twixt midnight and day and tried to ketch some of fem. I was grown. too, most. I wasn't scared ? cause I thought long as I staid Missouri Ex-Slaves Born "Around 1812" Page 2. 33C) where de white folks was, dey would protect me from all harm, even de stars in de elements, storms, or what not, just stay near de white folks and I had nothing to worry about. I thought white folks made de stars, sun and everything on de earth. I knowed nothing but to be driven and beat all de time. I seed em take de bottom rail out of de rail fences and stick de nigger1s head in de hole den jam de balance of de fence down on his neck, and beat him till hefs stiff. Den I seed fem put 40 or 50 slaves in stock and as high as 300 at a time and punish fem, till some of 'em died. It was terrible. Chaney done his slaves so bad when he taken down sick, he just suffered till de skin dropped off his bones. Nobody do any thing for him but me, everybody, even his own folks was scared of him, didn't want to touch him he looked and smelt so bad. But I just stuck hard by hiir. till he died. I took care of Jeff Davis for years, long fore he ever got president of des United States. Yes sir, I did. When de stars fell people all runin1 and hollerinf judgment done come. I didn't see no need in all dat citement, as long as de white folks livin* I thought they could keep us niggers livin1. Missouri Ex-Slaves Born "Around 1B12" page 3. 'l/in WI used to hear de white folks readin' de paper fbout de war, and readin' de Yankaes beaten femf and I wondered what de world is Yankees. I thought dey talking 'bout birds of de air or sumpin1. After while Essex Gun Boat got all de South to Vickburg. I found out den what Yankees was. Yes, sir, I did. My slave owners would make de blacksmith make buck horns and fasten 'em like a crown on de slave women's heads and brad fem on dere so dey would know fem by dat mark. Dey was so tight and heavy for dem women to carry around dey often times swell up dere head so dey couldn't hardly see out dere eyes. I worked naked most my time I didn't know nothing 'bout pride. Dey had looms some places tc make hemp coats and jack- ets. I had to make rails, drive wagons, and make cross tires in a blacksmith shop. We had to have a pass to go any place. De patrollers would git us and make us show our pass, and we got to be in our cabin "by 9 o'clock. I got one pound of fat meat a week. If you got sick de doctor tell you to not lie to the old Marse or old Miss and you gtt all right. After de^ war was over I had to cut two cords of wood at night and work all day for one penny, and we could buy a ginger cake long as Missouri Ex-Slaves Born "Around 1812* page 4. 'X/Ll I was tall nearly and it last us all week. You could git it for a penny and we called it a stage plank. It was long and thin. I never kin forgit when old Marse William Chaney died. We fell to his brother Marse George Chaney. De wife I married belonged to de same people owned me. Marse George chained a host of dem niggers together and sold femf and bought some more. , le bought four wid my wife at one time but he sold ,em in droves. Marse William owned us by de hundreds. I 'member I was 30 years old when I married. Liy wife had two chillin but dey dead long ago. I donft know how old my wife was when I married her though. I know dis here wife 1 got now since she was a baby. We jes1 been married less dan a year. I am de first colored man to own a piece a ground in Lincoln Terrace, and de oldest man, white or black, to ever apply for a marriage license in the State of Missouri. I owns dis whole block from Dale to Harter Avenue and am taking care of four families living on my property, dat don't pay me a penny, and haven1t for years. I never been to school a day in rny life. Just trustin1 God for my gittin along, and my understanding An automobile run over me two years ago and I had another accident in Jefferson City, Missouri one year ago, but am still able to go and preach the word of God. (Written by Grace £. White, St. Louis, Mo.). Federal Writers* Project, District # 5 Sifcestonf Missouri. 840—Folklore. 342 An Interview wit*- ^ Mrs. Tiahey Taylor, ago 77* Corner Davis and Botins cm Streets, Poplar Bluff, Missouri. " I wusn't very old during slave timo but I worked, y#s sir, I did, and ray por'marnmy chile1, it wus from daylight ta' dark, and on good light nights it wus way up in the night. Hah mammy's name was'Katie'; Katie - Cherry, an raa father wus William Walturf, er somethln' like *at,never did know good 'cause he never stayed wif us in our cabin no how and wo never knowed him much* "Snap Phillips wus our raarster and he brought my parents •fore I wus bawn, frum Frank Parker,(we Jus said *01 Parker',) and brought us from Woofalton to New Madrid County, »01 Man Shap',(*na* what we ©all Mb,) had two sons, one name;'Amos' and one name 'Little Murry1. I took oaro 'Little Murry' fer ma; 'Task* and I warn't much biggner him but did I let him git hurt? Not me chilot n'01e Man Snap1 owned 'bout two, three hundred us slaves and he had cabins built all over and around his plantation. This house is per #uf' hut then we jes had one little room and'irt floos and no windas,sometime jus holes out. "Some them slaves cooks in their oabln, not what they wanted but what 'Marse1 gibd 'em, most times wus beans anMtators and oorn bred and silk, and some times 'round hog killin' timo he pass out the1 jowl moat'. " I Jest don1 member hut it seems we did eat three times a day. I wus allays so glad to hear dat bell ring 'else a horn blow. Youse seed that kind of shell like ealded 'Konfc horn*—and oould that 'nigger' blow lewdi "Mammy oooked in the Mg house for 'Marso*, and then som« time whoa *•* work was dono in tnofe ska was took to the fields and lot1 m#, and my ftdaral ffrittra* Projast g Dietrist I * . Folkisrs 343 Slkeston, Missouri brother and slater by our itlfi1 'till aha ooa* and torn* tlae when aho did coa* she would run in acared-like and look da door and notion aa quite and aay9*Djqr will think 'as slssp*. I Didn't underatand all th*t •tuff aon but fora long I did,under*tan' wh t X'ss toll in yu. " 'Nothsr thing oar bads wua poor stuff, but aaaoy said cha wua allays •dog tirad' and oould 'a alep on the ground. Thay wua straw ticks and hard* Law no* chila, wo didn't knoim what apringo was* "One day X aoaber bad, '01 Kan 3hap1 sol* granaa, eho waa nasnsS's * aa&aqr and all wo over hoar, aho waa sol' down aouf. W« knowed not to do 00 takin' on for If *n wo did the hldo would got too lean off ua. "Manay used to aard wool am cot1 on and spin, thon aha would weave goods. Z 'aenber ono time, I wua little, I ployed »rat under do loom* • 1 \o.l6 orawl up aud grab aaiaa^r and aay ••-o-o-k', and pinch her* She aay, •I'll puts a atop to th it'rot'bothering no whan 1 got work to dot That didn' stop as but oho aho1 a ike ma wish it had the nex' time X do It* "X neger knowod Sunday from Monday,1 copt on Sunday &ne white nan ooao and we ars sailed out under the brush arbor, dldn' have no work In the flel* at day, and he stand up*fore ua and preach out a little green-back book; I didn't know what it was then, but X knows now it waa a Bible. I •asembtr ovary*preach day'he say ,'Mind y u not to stsal from Mlasls or Maroter' . Ms was plenty strong on that part* " Wall do X 'aeraber d&t 'nigger' overseer, big.'smart alsok'j ho wms called do 'nigger driver'. Ho aay •hurry up there, you got the hide split on you las/ back*. X wusn't hardly big onouf but the bigger onos when they wuo gib a task to do, thoy better do it in a hurry else they would get the'hide split 9and some tins salt put on* "X never hod no book lamln* 'oopt two, three tiass when Miss Fanny * £•* Forgo, aha wua the whits aohool toaoher, and eho triad to lam as, rfd«ral writers' Project f 344 JJ.triot # • folklore 0£** Sites ion* Missouri. the didn' have ouch tine and oouldn' do much with it. But 2 allays says, •give me good ol» common horse sense*, and not braggln, Hiss, but I have got chat; always did have* Mas' these edaaated ones are smarty, big home, smarty, and I never did want to be that way 'tall. "If they wus jails then fo us slaves I never seed one, Jes whippin' fo' punishin', sons one wus gittin' it all the time. "*01e Parker' like mammy and all her people and he tol' '01 Han Shad' if'n he lashed ray mammy and her family he would 00a' and take us bask, •cause we wus good and didn't need no punishment but that was the only reason that we wusn't lashed like the rest of them. " I was tellln' you about Sunday meetin', none of us had a Bible •cept the whit* nan, and I don't know where he got it from. I never did have one 'cept ones and it burned up in my house in Advance. I liked to look through it but I didn't know a word it said. "Times it ***** I can hear them sing, I didn't sing muoh at the meetin* causa I was to little, but the ethers sang,'Hark From the Tomb', and 'I aet up and walk. He have us wear a dime around our ntoks fo» aomethin'; don* know what tho*. I was alius sueh a fool 'bout money.,I just liked to near it and didn' care. "When 8o::ie one died we didn't know what wus den' with 'em but sometime they wus took out in the night and I heard some wus hauled off in a little push-thing and throwed in the river and some wus put In a hole with their clothes en. "'Bout that time we begin to hear stories of bein' set free. The slaves •ang at their work all day. fteeral Writer* • Prsjtat • 0/ir> Di»triet # i Folklore o4U gikeston,Mlssourl* • (Thank (fed Alalty, Z«l be free sons day',(ther« are bout all the words I ean 'neaber). They sang this ever and ever and made a pretty •*&£ tee* ' Mtarer tigs for us to be freed, the owners get aeaner all the tias* Some took their slaves down in the eane brakes and hid thea; others wus kept working* '01 Man 8aap' tell soae,'Wh*n you get free X five you hoae and pay you for your work* • X guess he would too if'n he had stayed there* "Then 'Blue Ceate';(Northern Soldiers), wus lots aeaner than the • Brown Coats;(drey), in the South* Thea*Blue Coats' eons in and steal your chiokens and oook then over your fIrs-plaea and eat them right •for* your eyes* X 'member one time the 'Bpown Coats1 some and wanted sister* I squalled like a panther* During and after the war, then 'Guerillas' wae a Right, dey steal, kill, and tear up,everywhere* The 'K.K.K.* was a powerful, mean, bunoh and day would eon* ater night and take people out ar.d whip then; ah didn't know what for* "I wall 'aeaber the day we wus freed, every one sang,»Thank Ood Alalty, I'm free at last, free st last, free at last, thank Sod alraithtr. I'a free at last, X'a free at last*' "'01 Man 8 hap' was aad and he whipped some of his slaves and de took him to de town jail, last X seed of him he wus slttln* in the town jail winder, aaybe died there, X don' know*; After we wus free there wus plenty of work, they couldn't whip nobody and had to pay us for the work* Maany cooked for Mr* Hunter and'Riley'and'Daltonl She kept ae with her 'till I got 'eld *nouf to eook and then X let' and got a job away from der soaewhere< "I got aarrisd 'bout 40-50 years ago to 'Baltimore' hers* He Is 109 years old now* He tells as his old Mis' thought he was an'Angle' and he was alaoet 35 years old when the war broke out* He wus fron Lotterville • County, Tennessee* He tell as people just thought bountiful of hia and *&sy seened to be a welcome all over the world for hia. Ftdaral writers* Brojeot $ Q/1^ plstriet # 5 Felklere &±* Sikeston,Missouri. •He says he was called one of the finest barbers in the world, all was a natural gift and1man out of sight} he barbered thousands and thousands* Hi8 mother wus from Georgia and her name was 'Liza1 and she married Ji* - Taylor. Me and 'Baltimore1 had eleven children since we been married. They was Charlie; he ded,Martha; liming, and not got any kids, and Tony; dead, and Louisa and Gussie; dead. How many that—five?. Resie dead, and left six children; part of them a re here, 'little Baltimore' and Henry are dead, Roeeevelt is living and here at home and Robert is In a C.C.Carap, but Daivd works in a fins hotel in St .Louis'; don' know what one the name is. "•01 Man Abe Linooln' was a fine ol' man, and I liked him, he never freed us; but tol' us how. But'Booker', and Jefferson Davis wusn't no friend to the colored man that I knowed anything 'bout. "It is best to be free if you carry your self right you'll be free all you days* I belongs to the Saints Church, faint the 'Holy Roller' and I allys wus 'ligious but I don1 know much 'bout stuff, never put no study on it. * "Ise just a poor old 'nigger' slave that is waitin" for the Good Lord to come and take me home and it wontbe long chile; no,'Granny1 ain't got long*. 3405300 Missouri St. Louis Ex-Slave Stories Louis Thomas Page 1# 348 Slave Hitched to Plow The subject of this sketch is Louis Thomas, 93 years of age who lives at 5007 Clark avenue with his oldest daugh- ter, Laura Richardson and family* In the middle room of a 3-room brick apartment laid Louis Thomas, confined to his bed, with a severe cold, but kind enough to be interviewed by the writer. The o^d man was clean and quite composed and said he had been interviewed so often it was a common thing to him. He was 6 feet tall and weighed 174 when taken sick. The home was very poorly furnish- ed but clean. He is of dark complexion with white hair, H© said: "I was born in Pickens County, Alabama May 9, 1844. My mother1 s name was Tama and my father's was Thomas Windom. Our owner was Levy Windom. I had 2 sisters and 2 brothers. I mar- ried Caroline Windom. She was owned by the same folks I was, we had 11 children but only 2 is living. The oldest one, Laura Richardson, I am living with. The other daughter's name is Evergreen Richardson, living at 3100 Clark Avenue. Dey are both Missouri St. Louis Ex-Slave Stories q/iQ Louis Thomas Page 2. O^JV/ Richardson1s but dere husbands are not related. "I been living in St. Louis since 1923. When I was a slave, I had to plow barefooted, hooked to a double horse plow, i'or 8 or 10 years of dat time we had a white overseer in de summer. I did not only plow barefooted but naked as well. In de winter dey allowed me a few clothes but not many. I worked from daylight until dark, I didn't know nothing 'bout time. "Making and gathering crop was my biggest task. We made 500 bales of cotton a year, besides growing wheat, pota- toes and other vegetables for the hands. I stayed on de plan- tation till way after de Civil VJar was fought. If de slaves could get as near as East St. Louis and Ohio with out getting caught, dey would join de Yankees and help fight for freedom. But the Rebs wouldn't think of giving slaves any guns, as mean as they had been to us. "Dey knew too well, we would shoot dem first thing. I remember well I was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and dere was a speech made dere by General Forest on a Sunday. He said, fdere ain't a Yankee in 500 miles of Tuscaloosa, Alabama." So de Rebs was so happy 'bout dat, dey started early de very next morning putting de flooring back in de bridge dey done took out Missouri St«_ louis Ex-Slave Stories Louis Thomas page 3. 350 so de Yankees couldn't cross and get to them* "The following Tuesday night de very next day I mean, donft you know, dam Yankees come in our town cross dat very bridge. That same night old Marse made us hitch up all his horses and git up all de flour, meat and everything we done raised, and carry it up Tom Bilby River. It was a swamp, to hide it from de Yankees. But, honey, dat didnft do a bit of good, dem Yankees got all our stuff and us, too, and destroy- ed everything he had. Us slaves was so mad at Old Marse, we helped fem git rid of everything, den went on back home, we had no where else to go, and de war wasnft over and we hadnft nary a penny of money , child. No we didn't. "I made my last crop in 1867 on dat very plantation where I lived all* my days. Of course we was free den or sup- posed to be free. Dey promised to pay us, but we never got nothinf, least not yet, Marse ainft paid me, and he's dead now. In March 1868 dey sent to de field for all us hands to come up to de house to sign a contract. We all went. We was so used to minding old Marse when he sent for us we just mind right on like it was still slavery. So I had always been mighty handy fbout most things so he wanted me fbove de others, so he took my hand, put it on his pen and held it right dere Missouri St. Louis Ex-Slave Stories $ Louis Thomas Page 4. OOJL and signed my name hisself. I got mad as a wet hen fbout dat agreement he read to me* So he tried to make me feel good saying he was goin1 to give me half. I knowed bett'er. "I felt dere was going to be some trouble up to de house, so I had a pistol in ray pocket, that had been dropped by the Yan- kees on purpose to help us slaves shoot our way out. So I Just told my old boss I ainft goin1 to do it, and when he raised up at me I just whipped out dat pistol and everything in sight got out of ray way. I was mad a plenty, and I already always had plenty of temper. So while I had everybody scared and excited I left and never did go back. I went to Columbus, Mississippi, and stayed until 1923. All dat time I done share cropping farming and made good. When I left dere I came to St. Louis and have not worked since. I was too old for a job, but sister, I worked many a day for two bits a day and churned all day to get milk to drink fcause I couldnft get no other food. I cut grass ' .... mowed after share cropping days were over. "I never had any schooling. What learning I got I pick- ed up hearing the children. I have 22 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren. The first 3 years in St. Louis I lived with my Missouri St* louig Ex-Slave Stories Louis Th6mas Page 5, daughter Evergreen Richardson at 5100 Clark Avenue. I am a member of The Church of God in Christ, on Leffingwell and Bernard Street?" 352 :i4004U :.Slave Story) iiiX-SLAViiiS n gets a pension from de Civil War. Wilson Thompson, my husband, fought for sevsn years. He fought de Indians in de west. I gets $40.00 a month. I have 21 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. I was de mother of 6. ••My first boss sold my mother and I can remember her climbin' upon de stile block made from de trunk of a gum tree. Dis was down in Zuca, Mississippi,and de trees grew big down there. !-y boss was my father, they claim. De boss was purty cruel. Our second boss did not believe in slavery but his wife did. One of de daughters of de boss married ana I went with her as a slave. Then my boss, Burgess, was a Baptist preacher and he would travel 'round. I would pick cotton, den I did de house work. f _J I ,.......* * . -.. 111 had two uncles dat ran off and nebber came back. Dey joined de war. De Ku Klux Kl&n^ would come and claim dey could arink a bucket of water. That was done so dey could get us to- icome out to dem. They would be four or five in a gang. I 'member de soldiers comin!. and i r killing chickens and throwing them in de kitchen an having us to cook dem. :; "I 'member how de freedom come but we wer^ taught fer a long time not to know anything v 'tout slavery. De only thing I knew 'bout it was bad times. Even de boss would not let me stay in de house when he had family prayers. At nxght before bedtime I would have to seed \ ~ , [cotton and I would nod from getting sleepy and den de boss would knock me over de head. But /.--^ Ifm so glad de good Lord let me stay here to do something. I've raised about 30 children. Most of my work as a slave was spent helping de mistress, picking up her hankerchief, clean- ing up de house, etc* Sometimes I think slavery way a test dat de lord has us to go through. : !t was through God dat Lincoln was given de brains and de talent. I would find different / risnds to take, me in after de war. Sometimes I would havs. only two dresses. WI tell de old folks dat we is having slavery again. But de depression is not as hard slavery cause de government is helping de people now. After de war we had parched wheat or coffee and corn meal with de husks in it. Old Burgess' children helped me to learn to . De Boss would make me spell words backwards. I remember a song, "Let's go down to de f|§fr an be baptized", and 'Bound fer de promised land' • My Uncle would play his guitar in |abin at night. At Christman dey would have a dance on de plantation* We used to hang page 2. Kadison Go, (Conft-iSx-Slave Lore) t3£)4 „ our sticking, and get « little candy at Shristnas Tine. ta.ult.rt, Kra. Jama Thompson, ^x-Slave, Fredericktown, Miasouri. 24C11J •file 1-1937 Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 1. AUNT SARAH WAGGONER A familiar figure in Savannah, Missouri is that of an aged, bent and withered Negro woman with a little patch of white whiskers on her chin, a cap on her head winter and summer; who is seen almost daily pulling a little red wag- on along the streets* "Aunt Sarah Waggoner", as she is called, lives alone in a small unpainted house, almost a hut, near the right- of-way of the Chicago Great Western Railroad; about three blocks southeast of the courthouse• The yard as well as the house is cluttered with all kinds of junk, odds aiid ends which Aunt Sarah has picked up as she meanders through the town. She has been a fix- ture in Savannah for many years and has the friendship of the white people, whb commend her faithfulness and relig- ious fervor* "How be you?" she asked pleasantly when answeriug my knock at her door* When it was explained that her recol- 355 Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah page 2. 35G lections about slave life before the war were wanted, she beamed delightedly, "Yes1!^ Come on in an1 set, an1 soon's I fix the fire I'll tell you everything about slave times* Everything I kin remember." She wiped off a chair for her visitor, then busied herself at the old wood and coal cook stove, where some vegetables were simmering in an antiquated iron kettle, and "fat meat" was frying in the skillet. "I was a slave/* she stated. "I was born in Kentucky. In grayson or Hardin County. I donft know which fzactly, ?cause we lived in both counties; an1 I never did think to ask ole Miss Howard vdtio raised me; and I forgot to ask my mother if she knowed, and I don't think she knowed*" Sarah paused for a moment then continued plaintively. "I wish I knowed for sure." "Who was old Miss Howard?" Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 3. 357 "She was white folks. I was raised by de Howards. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Howard. They owned me. We called him Pap, and her old Miss. My mother1 s name was Waggoner. She belonged to Mr. Howard too. My father he belonged to another man and lived on a farm near us. No mam, nofm, we was never solde I'll tell you how ftwas. You see Mr. Howardfs father - he came over from England. He called all his sons to his bed- side at de last and gave each of them some of de colored people and told them to take good care of them and never to let them be sold. I had a cousin, June, who was sold here at de courthouse door in Savannah. Him and another boy was sold down South. "The Howards brought me from Kentucky to Missouri. That was befo1 de war. I've been here a long time. I¥m 93 years old* "Sure I know how old I is", she remonstrated. nVs 93 years old right now, (1937} And I knows my birthday too. I knows it for sure. It come on February 17th. Ifse sure about datt for it comes so close to dat of Abe Lin- coln. His birthday is February 12th." Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 4# uOo Memories of the past surged through Aunt Sarah1 s mind and awakened emotions• She rose to her feet, and speaking with the enraptured ecsiacy of her race when roused by re- ligious fervor, testified* "I knowed about Abe Lincoln, fcause his cousin Cap Lincoln; Yes, Cap Lincoln, lived right nigh us in Kentucky* And he sure was a fine man!11 "I knowed about Abe Lincoln befo1 he ever run for president. Long befof he was 'sasinated. You see, I liv- ed neighbor to some of his kin folks. Yes ma'am! Oh, yes, raafaml Long befo* de war!" "Yes, Oh Lord! Yes, mafa&! MAbe Lincoln was jesf next to Jesus Christ. "Yes, Oh Lord! Yes! Dat he was! "Jes1 next to Jesus Christ! *I remember when I was freed! The exaltation of Aunt Sarah, dimmed and faded, and with a quavering subdued voice she whispered. "I wish I knowed. I wish I knowed. Abe Lincoln was born in Hardin County;* in the same month I was; almost the ?(Abraham Lincoln was born in Larue County, Kentucky, February 12, 1809.) Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 5. 359 the same day. I wish * knowed was I born in the same county he was, but I ainft never go in1 to know* Yes ma'am, I was moved with the Howards from Kentucky," she continued, "right up to the Nodaway River, about ten miles from Savannah. It took us about six weeks to come with oxen. I saw the emigrant trains goin* through to Californy. "That was befo1 de war. I'se been here a long time. I'm 93 years old. Ifse been here since de woods burned, and Ifm go in1 to be here a long time yet, 'cause my mother was a hun- dred and fifteen ffore she died. "My, but the Indians was thick when I fust come here. And there was buffalo; and there was deer; and there was quail jes' thick. I wasn't skeered none of de Indians, and I ain't skeered of nothin' now. No, ma'am. Cause why? Cause de # white folks put de fust clothes on me, and fed me; and they been do in' it ever since. "You want's to know what kind of clothes did we wear in them days? I'm gwine to tell yer. I jes' had two dresses. De best one was made out of plain, white muslin. I went out Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 6. in de woods and got walnut bark to color it brown. "I allus had to wash it on Saturday, 'cause we all had to go to church on Sunday. Yes'm, I went to de white folks church, and part of de time I was de only nigger gal there. Then I had another dress and a shirt. I made them j-es' like old Miss taught me. Dat was my work dress. It was made with a cord 'round de bottom, a cord as big as my little finger, so's I couldn't tear it; cause I went over fences like a deer. "De shirt was made like a long petticoat* In de win- ter old Miss made us stockings out of yarn, and we had bro- gan shoes. Didn't you never see any brogan shoes?" queried Aunt Sarah. "Don't you know what dey looked like? Huh. Dey was neither lined or bound; and we used a peggin' awl to make holes for the laces. Some of 'em had copper toes." "Didn't they hurt your feet?" "Yes'm, but if dey did hurt; we had to wear 'em any- way. Dem old brogans; I'm sure glad they're gone* "Durin* de war, old Miss keep tellin1 me I had to help her put new cloth in de loom and when little Jane; 360 Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 7. 361 thafs her little girl, wanted me to play, her mother would say. "Sarey has to work fast now, fcause she goin1 to be free1.* "Oh Lord, Miss, Sarey will never be free. But I was freed. Now I am goin1 to tell you about de home life. "I worked in de house for old Miss, and we had plenty to do and plenty to eat. When de white folks was through eatin*, I got a pan and got de grub, and set on de floor and et it. Oh Lordee, but I worked hard since I was twelve years old. But not in de fields. Old Miss she say dere was plenty for me to do in de houset and dere was, sure'nough. "I washed and cooked for all of us. And ironed too. I het de ironsf great big old irons, in de fireplace. I ironed on a quilt spread out on de floor, and I ironed jesf as nice as anybody. I lived right in de house with de white folks. In summer we slept, my brother Henry and me, in a trundle bed in the kitchen; and in de winter made a pallet beside de fire- place. "Old Pap was good to us. He £ept up a fire all night when it was cold. I never saw a cookinf stove or a lace shoe until I was freed, we jesf had to burn our faces eookim* Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 8. J362 over de fireplace. I milked eight cows and den put de milk away, Dat took a long time* They didn't have no horses then, much. They had a yoke of oxen. Sometimes some of us was hired out to work but we didnft get no money -for dat ourselves. Dey drawed de wages. "No ma'am, dey didn't have no beauty parlors den. Huh. Old Miss never had hor hair curled, or anything like that. We didn't know nothin' about face powder and primp inf up in dem days. Huh. Old Miss never used anything on her face 'ceptin1 soap and water. "Yes indeed. We sure did have good times, too\. There was dances, and I liked to dance. Uh-huh. I was a regular king ruler at de dances. Many a time I danced till broad daylight, and den when I worked I was so sleepy I'd nod, and nod. Then old Pap he say! 'Go out dere and make barey go to bed'. Yes, indeedy, we had good times, too. "Did I ever get whopped? I never was whopped—-much. Old Miss never whopped me? cause Pap did all de whopping. He said if dere was any whopping to be done he'd do it. Anywhy dey Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 9. never whopped me--very often, - 'cause I done my work de bes1 I could, nI remember once, when Old Pap started off for St. Joseph, he rode back into de yard and said to Old Miss. 'Don't whop Sarey, or let anybody else whop her, or ill cut the hide off their backs when I gets back. nYes,m, we allus called 'em Pap and Old Miss. Pap wouldn't let me take his name 'cause he was a Republican and believed dat de colored people ought to have their own laws and doctors and all. He was afraid folks would think he was a rebel and de soldiera might kill him. We didn't dare take his name so I took my father's name of Waggoner. He belonged to one of the neighbors in Kentucky and didn't come to Missouri when we did. Yes'm, I had two chilun during de war, a boy Bob and a girl Mary and later a girl Minnie. Mar- ried? No'm, I never married. I never was married. "Well, no'm, I didnft have a very hard time after I was freed. Slaves wasn't hardly ever allowed to look in de door of de school house, so we couldn't learn to read and write. 363 Missouri iilx-Slaves Aunt Sarah Page 10. Alien I was freed Pap tried to learn me eveninfs to count my fingers. He made me sit by the fireplace and learn to count and learn about money so's de white folks couldn't cheat me after I was free. After I was free one 6f Mr. Howard's boys taught me my letters and helped me learn to read some. "After I was freed I went to St. Joseph and did house- work. Den 1 was a chambermaid. After while I came back to Savannah to work for de Price family. Dey was mighty rich and had a big home. Place is still here. I had a fine time there. I remember Mr. iid. v. Price. He was just a boy when I went there to work, and he did plague me terrible some times. Hefd run into the kitchen, grab a handful of cake dough and run outside laughin1. "ThenI got so I couldn't work no more, and he was a rich man, and he always helped me. And he left me in his will ten dollars every month for de resf of my life. Oh yes'm Ifm to get my state pension every month. Itfs goia* to be twelve dollars. I ain't got it yet, but I will fore long. I ain't Missouri Ex-Slaves Aunt Saraii Page 11. o(>* skeared. 'Cause de white folks put de fust clotaes on me, and fed me; and dey been doin1 it ever since." With a weary, dimming of her eyes, old Sarali settled back in her chair, sighed and murmured! MI been here a long time. Ifm 93 years old." (Written by G. K. Bartlett of Kansas City Office from FC by Dovie Rose.) 240178 Missouri J5x-Slave Story page i. - 365 The following interview pertaining to former slaves and the conditions under which they lived was obtained from Minksie ( or Minksy) Walker, seventy-eight years old who lives at the end of Davis Street in a subdivision called New World, Poplar Bluff, Mi- ssouri* 111 was one year old when de war broke out and six years old when it closed. I donft remember the day or month I was born, but you can figure out how old I am. My mammy1 s name was Blanch Walker, de name Walker come from her belonging to Cannon Walker. He had two brothers, Sam and Jimmie, and all their ground run together. I well remembers dem boys and so does every one else. Dey was de best masters in all de south. Put all their slaves to-gether, dey owned about two or three hundred. I donft know how much land dey had but it took a lot to keep all dat many niggers busy* "I donft know where my parents was born, Old Virginia, I guess, but I was born in seven miles of Diasberg (Dyersburg), Tennessee* Tfiy father was Nat Parker and his master was fLittle Dan1 Parker. He was kept on de Parker place but mammy got to see him every Sunday morning. Dey lived about five miles from us. Dey didn't get to talk in de evening fcause de white folks preached for us then. We was called to-gether in de brush arbor by a big bell dey rung. De Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 2# ^^ arbor was as big as a square block here in town, but dey was so many of us dat we filled it up pretty quick. De meeting was about like it is now 'cept we didn't kaow half de time what dey was talking about, we couldn't read and learn; had to listen to learn* , / "I well remember after meeting mammy would stox> and talk with \ J women and she said, 'Minksy, dis is your aunt, my sister. You can walk along home with her1 * I was little and I would catch hold her | dress tail to keep up. She would meet other women and dey would start I talking about de meetin** First thing I would know dey would be jumpin1 up and dancin1 around and pattin* their hands until all de grass was \ wore off slick* "I didn't have no chance to go to school, but I was a little tad and did not have to work very hard either* I wasnft big enough to hitch up de team of oxen but some big person would and then I sure could drive them, drove all day, and I can remember hauling tobacco to de barns all day. We had several barns tall as dat tree, yonder* (tree about 75 feet high.) About all we raised was tobacco. Dat sure 'nough was tobacco country, a little corn for de stock and we raised what we eat* "De only fighting I remember of during the war was on de farm of Dan Parker. De soldiers met right in de middle of his corn and tobac- co field and when dey got through de tobacco was tramped in de ground Missouri \(W Ex-Slave Story Page 3# ^6 and you couldn't find a double handful of de corn. "I have always said I was like a shingle, not like a barrel of snakes. You never saw a crooked shingle and you will never see a straight snake. I have always practiced one thing and dat is telling de truth about all things. Dat is why I can say I donft know much about de slavery times, I wasn't old enough. I was just a slave and •dat is all. I said when I was a small boy, 'Lord, just give me de ipower to read da bible, old blue back speller and the hymn book'. He done dis and I know de bible by heart. I could preach for six years, and never tell all I know. I canft write a word or read anything but dese books. For a while I did preach> I traveled by mission. Didn't own a church of my own and didn't belong to any special one. I guess I must have preached about five years. "I have been married twice, both my wives are dead. I don't know how old I was when I first married but I had been free many a day. I went to Dyersburg and bought de license. I got drunk and didn' get to Newbarn, Tennessee, where my girl lived until de next day. We had two children, a boy and a girl. Dere names was George Earl and George Ella. Dere mother lived nine years and when she died I give them to their grandmother. I told her she could have dam and I would never bother around and I have never seen dem since. Guess they are grown Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 4. by dis time if dey lived and are still alive, day are the only kin- folks I have. "I went to Clinton, Kentucky, and married again* Dat wife just lived a short time and then I moved to Arkansas and lived until thir- ty years ago when I moved to Butler County and Poplar Bluff. I have lived on dis hill all dat time and sometimes it gets lonesome but when it does I just gets my bible and reads* I spend lots of time since my mule died, under the shade of dis tree, because I havnft any- thing to do anymore. I was just thinking de other day in slave times you never seed an old nigger man or woman allowed to rest in the shade. There was some work for dem. De old woman took care of de kids and de old men kept clean around the master's door and barn yard. "Where I was we fared ertra fine during slave times. Our master, Cannon Walker, was a Union man. We had plenty pork meat to eat and fared fine. He bought us good clothes and paid all the doctor bills when we got sick. We had good houses too. We had to get up preety soon in de morning but we didnft know nothing then. Our old mistress wanted me to call her boy dat was de same age as me, fMarster Tillie. I saidf fNo, Mam, when he call me Marster Minksy then I call him Marster Tillie1. Master Cannon Walker did not allow any patrollars to boss his slaves when any of dem was stopped on de pike and ask who dey belonged to all dey had to say was Cannon, Sam or Jim Walker and dey never bothered them* 368 Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 5# 369 "My father and oldest brother run away with de Yankees during de war and we never heard of dem anymore • Our master give all de old- er men a place to raise chickens. He give others poplar trees to make charcoal and dey was allowed to make a little money on de side dis way. I remember hearing mammy tell dat one year he give air his men twenty bushels of corn a piece and dey took it to de still and had whiskey made out of it. They put de barrel in de field and she said there was- nft very much raised that year. wDe slaves did not have to fight in de war but sometimes one would go in to look after his young master• After de war and we was free, mammy hired out to our old master and we stayed on there two years. Den she married and we started moving from place to place. My step-father was a mean man. I coulcba!t have been more den ten years old when he started hiring me out by de day. I was hungry all de time because I had been used to plenty of pork meat and all he would let me eat was parched corn. One day I was working for Archie Dickerson, I was sick and he ask me what the matter with me. I told him I had been used to meat and my step-father would not let me have any. He called his wife and told her to feed me meat every day, I never will forget him. "I didn't get any education but I donft care. Lawsy, dis is a free country nowf you can either wear shoes or go barefooted. Slave Missouri Ex-Slave Story Page 6. 370 times was alright before de war because we didnft know nothiu1 betterf but I sho* wouldn't like it now# I am an old man now and I get de old age pension, so all I have to do is rest hare under the tree and read my bible• MISSOURI ST. LOUIS jgX-SLAVE STORTES JAMLSS WILSON Page 1. 37l JAMES LIVES ALONE AT 87 Living alone at the age of 87 probably is not a mode of existence that would appeal to many. However, James Wilson, a former slave living in a single room in the rear of 917 0*Fallen Street seemingly takes this little matter of a lonely existence in his stride. James stands quite erect, considering his years and his eyesight is good. His hair is white and he is about six feet tall. When the writer called to interview him, both he and his room were spotlessly clean. Sitting outside the door of his quarters James' mind wondered back and forth through the years he has lived since he was born on Christmas day, 1850t and, piecing together the bits of information that he could recall, he told the following story: ¦i "I was born in Charles town, South Carolina, December S5, 1850. John Wilson was my ovmer. He ovmed more than 700 slaves and a terrible big plantation where he raised cotton, rice, corn, and cattle. Bless your soul, daughter, he was a hard task master, yes he was. He owned big ships, both kinds, for freight and passengers. He kept me running on dem boats from de time I was 10 years old till I was 16* We sailed everywhere. From New York to Rome, Jerusalem, Sweden, France and everywhere under de sun transporting passengers, clothing, cotton, and everything from one country to another. I handled de sails. It certainly 'v was hard work for me because I was so young, but I was an expert wid dem sails just de same* Yes, I was. \ *But old President Abraham Lincoln taken me off dat boat, and I fought in ! de Civil War. I lacked two months of fighting five years. I never even married until 15 years ago, I married a woman 45 years old* After we was married, she decided I was too old for her, so she just went on off with a younger man. I MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SUVS STORIES JAMES WILSON never been de father of a child in my whole life. I git a $13 a month old age pension to live on* Since I been free, I made my living railroading, brakesman and steamboating. ,fI voted many times in my life and just canft feel right to vote nothin1 but a Republican ticket whether they ever get back in power again. I never did have a political job nor had no friends had any that I know of. I just aan't exolain how I feel fbout this generation. Dey jesf ainft doing right, datfs all. Dey jesf doing everything dey is big enough to do. Donft regard nobody, don't care what dey say nor how dey act to their own parents nor nobody else's folks. Dey just sets me to worrying terrible sometimes, wonderin1 what on dis earth gonna become of dis here sin-racked generation. "Dem old Ku Klux was a bad lot of mongrels. Dey catch you out widout a pass dey cut you 100 lashes, and you feel like you ain't able to go nowhere again wid a pass or widout one. After de war was fought, I do know some of dem old slave owners to be nice enough to start der slaves off in freedom wid somethin* to live on till day get on der feet, but dey wasnft in droves, I tell you dat now, just a mighty precious few. Den der was some others dat kept der slaves in bondage after de war, just like before de war and de slaves, never Icnow till der dying day dat dey was free folks. Far as dat goes, down dere just below Sunflower, Mississippi, and lots of other countryside places in de deep South, dey got slavery right now. De only song I can tjilnk of we use to sing so much was: "0, Lord Remember Me,f. WI can't remember none de other songs. I been all over de world, seen how different races are in dere own lands, and I often sits and wonder if maybe dese little fellows here now running about ;will see de equal rights dat gits talked about now and den. But, daughter, you and me will never see it. No we won*t. I am a member of the Paradise Baptist Church.?t 240207 MISSOURI ST, LOUIS 2X-SIAVE STORIES MINTIB WOOD page 1. 373 EX-SIAVE BLIND HJT HAPPY The subject of this sketch is Mintie Gilbert Wood, 90 years old. She lives at 4321 West Belle Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, with her widowed daughter, Emma Swift, 69 years old. In the living room of a 10 room brick residence located in the better class section of the Negro district of the city^ Mintie lives with her oldest daughter and two granddaughters. The old woman has been blind for 8 years. She is quite bent and shows the burden of her years. She is hard of hearing and her mind is no longer keen and alert. Her daughter claims a recent illness has caused the latter trouble. However, the ex- slave very feebly tells the following story. "I was born down in Bethel, Giles County, Tennessee, Septem-V ber 9, 1847. Marse Carey Gilbert was my owner and I lived on his farm until 1892, when I moved to little Rock, Arkansas. Marse Carey was mighty nice to his slaves and he had a ho^t of femu / Can't begin to say how many. My old uncle was de overseer of us younguns, about 50 young darkies, and he trained us up till we get a certain age, then they turn us over to the grown up lot, c:> r \ MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SIAVE STORIES MINTIS WOOD Page z. 3?4 where the white overseer took charge of us. I don't fmember every thing so good, but I do de best I can. I fmember when Marse Gil- bert's daughter Miss Rebecca married Marse Maples they lived 'bout 8 or 10 miles from her daddy's farm, and she use to-some home ever so often to visit. She looked so fine de slaves working in de field see her coming dey all stop and rest on der hoe to look at her pass by on her way to see her mamma, and she would tell 'em, you niggers better pray my father never die. Cause if he died, I wouldn't flow none you niggers to lift your heads from de time you go to work till you quit, llj nirgers work and never stop. Marse Gilbert gave her 4 slaves as a wedding present, and they had a hard time, but her parents was mighty fine. Dey owned so much land, cattle, corn, sorgum, tobacco, millet, barley and everything the very finest kind and the wealth was hand- ed down from one generation of the Gilberts to the other. Dey was so rich dey didn't know how much dey was worth themselves, but dey was altogether different than most of dem slave owners. Dey was prosperous fcause dey was better folks* When peace was declared everyone of Marse Gilbert's slaves dat had sense enough and did stay wid h'im, got half of everything they earned turned in on land MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SIAY5 STORIES MINTIE WOOD Page 3. o75 and stock to be independent right der on de same spot where we had been a slave. And he had so many of his family and darkies, too, he has his own graveyard where everyone of us black or white dat ever been in de Gilbert family can be buried without costing us a penny. He owned so much I canft begin to tell it, and nobody else I don't expect. Right now a gang of his old slaves1 children is livinf right there owning and working property their parents slaved onf de old Gilbert estate and his folks der wid fem, yes mam. None of us never cared for Miss Rebecca. She made her slaves eat wid de hogs, even poured der milk in the hog trough and de hogs and slaves ate and drink together. She was worse dan de whole family of Gilberts. I get a blind pension. *I never did learn to read or write, but my husband was a school teacher and he never was a slave* He was a soldier in the Rebel army. I had 6 children, 6 grandchildren, 3 great grand children and 3 great,great grandchildren. I liked to sew, knit and make quilts fore I was blind. I never used snuff or tobacco in my whole life. I have 2 sisters living, one 82 years old, one 84 years old and a brother 87 years old. Dey all live in Prospect Tennessee, where they were born and raised. My husband died in r%____ MISSOURI ST, LOUIS EX-SLAVE STORIBS MINTIE WOOD Page 4. 1914. Den I went back to Tennessee to live with my father until 1916 when I came to St. Louis to live with my younger daughter Lydia King Davidson until 1920. tfDen I was called back home on account of the death of my father. After the funeral I went to Loneoak, Arkansas, to live with my oldest daughter, 2mma Swift and been with her often and on ever since. I only eat 2 meals a day, thatfs breakfast around 7 ofclock and dinner between 1 and 2 o'clock, the rest of the time I drink plenty water all day and all through the night. "We moved to St. Louis in the year 1922. I just can't get used to this younger generation. Dey sure is a reckless lot* Cause my life had plenty work 'tached to it. When I was coming along I sp4.it rails, hauled wood, raised de white folks family den turned right around and raised my own family. "I believe in regular hours doing things, work, rest and everything else it takes to make up life. I worked as hard after freedom as I did in slavery. After all we got to work for a liv- inf. I don't believe in all dis galivantin1 around at night. You ain't fit for no work in de day when you don't rest at night. And I always believe in helping de fellow who needs help and can't help hisself, much as I can. I even ask my neighbors to save me all the 376 MISSOURI ST. LOUIS EX-SLAVS STORIES MINTIE WOOD Page 5. 3? 7 old tags and bottles, anything they don't want no more so as I can sell it and git ijrhole of a little somethin' to help some- body, v/hat ain't got some help like I got. I don't lose nothin' for that, and I get joy out of it. I always keeps my little old pocket book pinned in my pocket to put that little extra change in, and I got it here right how and some change in it, too. I never did vote, and never lived in Virginia nor know nothing about it. I do know de slaves fspected a salary for der work when dey got free. Some of 'em got part of de promise, but most of 'em got nothinf but de promise. My owners was exceptions. Dere might of. been some more like fem but not many. At least I never heard of em. All ray old favorite songs us slaves use to sing, I can't separate 'em anymore. I try to think of 'em, so I can sing 'em, but I jest find myself mixin' 'em up, and can't tell one from the other* Just singing* But the songs I like best dis day and time is 'Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad', 'God Will Take Care Of You', and "I maybe blind, and I can not see, I may be crippled and I can not walk. But I'll meet you at the Station when the train eomes along." Ellaine Wright 378 Ex-Slave* Ellaine Wright was born March 1, 1840 and is 97 years of age. Was born of slave parents just outside of Springfield, Missouri, and lived there at the beginning of the Civil War* Her father and mothers name was Svansen taken after "Iferse Tom Evanson who owned both Sllainfs mother and father and sixty other slaves. Tom Evanson was a wealthy farmer and ran a big hog and cattle stock ranch. Ellaine Wright, whose name was Evanson in slavery waa married after the war in 1866 to efcs Pete Wright. She remembers the tfWilsonf s Creek", fight between the Union and Confederacy and only a short time after that she,with all the other Evanson slaves, was hurriedly taken south• The Evanson slaves with many other of the district were shipped as far south as possible to hide them from the Unionists. Ellaine Wright told of a heartbreaking meetings between ehe and her slave mother when Ellaine was just four years of age. Her mother had been sold to a slave trader and was to be taken to another state. They permitted the slaves to say good-bye to their children and Sllaine said she would never forget the few words her mother spoke to her just before they were separ- ated. "Ellaine, honey mamma1 s gpran way off and ain't never goin to see her baby agin". "An I can see myself holdin onto my mamma and both of us crying—and then, she was gone and I never seed her since. I hopes I goin to see my good mamma some day, I do. Yes1, rfse goin to do it son, I sure is, yes indeed." Ellaine doesn't seem to remember anything concerning the Civil War, Juat this one important thing clings to her memory~her parting with her mammy. v 4 i % ¦ "' f > Pa«e 2 • V^Q '* v '" ' DEC #840—Folklore °' ^ Kansas City, Mo., Dist. #2 Bartlett, Geo. K. July 28, 1937 FgLAVE AND NEGRO LORE Interview with Sim Younger The two-story frame house, very plain in appearance, almost square in shape, located at 400 North Moniteau Street, Sedalia, is the home of Sim Younger, an interesting product of Negro slavery. He was born May 17, 1850, at Independ- ence, Missouri; at the dawn of the "Golden Age of Steamboating on the Missouri River" and is a pensioned soldier of the Civil War. Traditions and customs of the Old South have stamped their influence on the modest home. A porch extends across the front of the house and steps lead to the front door, but neither the porch nor front door are used much. They are for formal occasions. However, home life begins with the smaller porch on the south side where bright flowered morning glory vines climb twine strings, their large green leaves bringing sheltering shadows to Simfs favorite resting place. Here is placed an old-fashioned hickory chair with woven cane seat which is his haven of peace and comfort* The yard on this side of the house affords plenty of space for exercise and a large catalpa tree spreads grateful shade. It was here, under the catalpa tree that Sim Younger wanted his picture taken while seated in his favorite chair. There is a quiet, soldierly dignity about the old Negro that is striking and impressive* He is well preserved for all of his 87 years and his keen eyes require no glasses. The impress of his college education and soldierly training are evidenced by his conversation, bearing and the lack of Negro dialect in his speech. He courteously expressed pleasure at the request for an interview on slavery and invitea me into the house. The living room where we talked is large, the floor is covered with linoleum and a leather covered couch stands against the Page 3 „„ DEC #240~Folklore 0«U Kansas City, Mo.f Dist. #2 Bartlett, Geo* K. July 28, 1937 wall. In the center of the room is a large oak table* Other furniture consists of two plain oak chairs, but ao rocking chairs. Sim lives alone, and while we were talking a Negro brought in his breakfast; a pint of milk, an egg and two slices of toast. Although urged, Sim would not violate his code by eating in my presence. "Ivty father/ he replied in answer to my question, "was Charles Younger, the originator of the Younger family in Missouri, and grand father of Cole, Bob, and Jim Younger. My father was my motherfs master. .She was a Simpson. I knew Cole Younger well.*' Cole, Bob, and Jim Younger, known as "The Younger Brothers'*, were notor- ious outlaws. It is recorded that Sim's father was the Younger who operated a canoe ferry across the Missouri River from Randolph Bluffs, in 1821, to what is now Kansas City, then known as Chouteau's Landing. (E) "My father died when I was five years old, and left mother a farm on which my brothers and sisters are still living? Father arranged for my education and by the terms of his will I was sent to Otoerlin, Ohio, where I was reared by Delia Sheppard, in whose care I was placed." Sim Younger related that he attended Oberlin College, and graduated from there in 1870. He did not see his mother from the time he was five years old until he was the age of 21. ?#ien comment was made that he did not use Negro dialect, Sim explained, saying: "That is due to my early training. Delia Sheppard gave me excellent train- ing, and I remember everything she told me, even when I was a very little boy. "I will always remember one thing she told me," he continued, fondly retain- escantf "I was just a little boy and she said, fSim, if, when visiting, you find a pin on the floor, put it up and call attention to it. It does not belong to you.1 Page 4 oQ^ DEC #240~Folklore °Ox Kansas City, Mb., Dist. #2 Bartlett, Geo* K. July 28, 1937 "Yes, l^am," he continued, "I was born in slavery and I enlisted in the Union Army, January 1, 1864, at Oberlin, Ohio, and according to the National Tribune, I was one of the youngest soldiers in the ranks. "I was present at the battle of Petersburg, Virginia, July 80, 1864; one of the disasters to the Northern forces of the war, and present on June 15, 1864, at the initiatory battle of Deep Bottom, and also at Cold Harbor, 111 was in the Ninth Array Corps, under Burnside, and was transferred around, in front of Richmond, Virginia. "General Butler went down to Fort Fisher and failed, which was the last open port of the Confederacy. Another expedition was organized and General Terry given command. We embarked on the night of December 31, 1864; landed the morning of January 13, 1865, on the peninsula. On the night of January 15, 1865, we captured Fort Fisher. "We had a terrible, terrible time landing! There was an awful storm! I was told to jump overboard, and oh my! I swallowed a good deal of the Atlantic!* He sat still a moment, living over in memory the thrilling events of that night at Fort Fisher, then, saddened by the pageant of the past evoked from memoryfs storehouse, he said: WI want to tell you of one of the tragic things that happened during the war, and I was there and saw it. MIt was at the Southside railroad, at Petersburg, on September 27, 1865. I was put on picket duty. The •Rebs* had built a fire and the wind was driving it toward us* They began to holler and cheer, very happy over the fact* "All at once we could hear someone coming toward us. The pickets opened fire on what they thought were •Rebs*, and found out to their distress that it was a bunch of recruits from our own lines. Many were killed.* The shadow of this past grief faded from his countenance and in a brighter Page 5 382 BEG #240—Folklore Kansas city, Mo., Dist. #2 Bartlett, Geo. K- July 28, 1337 mood he exclaimed: "If I could choose ray weapons for the''next war, 1 would choose doughnuts, to be thrown at each other across the Atlantic* (A-D) PETTIS COUNTY 383 Page 1 DEC #240~Folklore Kansas City, Mb., Dist. §2 Bartlett, Geo. K. July 28, 1937 SUBJECT: SLAVE AND NEGRO LORE REFERENCE::FC by Kathleen Williams BIBLIOGRAPHY: S. Miller, W. H.f "History of Jackson County, Mo.1?, Kansas City, Mo., Union Hist. Co., 1881. 1006 pp., illus., map. CONSULTANTS: k. Sim Younger, 400 North Moniteau Street, Sedalia, Mo. B. Joseph Higgerson, 410 W. Pettis Street, Sedalia, Mo. Pearly Smith English, Service Officer, American Legion, (colored), Nineteenth and Missouri Street, Sedalia, Mo. 3275 AEW