K.O;th1~er	~34(M)2O	. 4UG i ~ ~	242-Folic],ore
Authcr			District Nin~1
			Lucas Couirby ~T f~L~
		~ . .	Toledo, Ohio
           -			Stories from Ex-‘Slves

TItEf~ STORY OF I~S . E&1~H DAVIDSON
	‚


-	Mrs • Hannah Davids on oc oupie s two rooms in a home at ~33 Woodland Avenue ‚ Toledo,

Ohio. Born on a plantation in Ballard County, Kentucky, in 18S2, she is today a little, white-haired old lady. Dark, flashing eyes peer through her spectacles. Always quick to learn, she h~s taught herself to read. She says, “I could always spell almost everything.“ She has eagerly sought education. Much of her ability to read bÄ~e heen gained from attendance in recent years in 1t~, “opportunity classes hi the city. Today, this warm-hearted, quiet little Negro woman e~1~ out a bare existence on an old age pens ion of ~23 .00 a month. It is with regret that she recalls the shadows and sufferings of the past. She says, “It is best not to talk about them. The things that my sister LI~r and I suffered were so terrible that people would not believe them. It is best not to haire such things in our niemory.“.

	“My father and mother were Isaac and Nancy Meriwether „ she stated . ~‘All the slaves went under the naine of ny Ùt~ster and mistress, Eimnett and Susan Menwether. I had four s isters and t wo brothers • There w~s • Adeline ‚ Dorah, Alice ‚ and Lizzie. 1~r brothers were Major and George Meriwether. Vie lived in a log cabin made of sticks and dirt, you know, logs and dirt stuck in the cracks. We slept on beds made of boards nailed up.

	“i don~t remember anything about my grandparents. My folks were sold around and I couldn‘t keep track of them. ~

	“The first won k I did out from hone was with my mistres ‘ s brothe r ‚ Dr • Jim Taylor, in ~ntucky, tgking care of his children. I was an awful tiny little somethin‘ abouteight or nine years old. I used to turn the reel for the old folks who was spinning . hat ~ all I ‘ye ever 1~ow~. - work.

	n ~ never got a penny • My master kept me ard my s is ter Mary twenty-two long years after we were supposed tô be free. Work,work, work. I don‘t think my ~sterai±d I evér wêùt tà bèd béfôre iw~lve o‘clock at night. We never gol a