—~ „~ ~
3Œ)30.
			~
	WPA in Ohio		~efferson County	6G
	Ped.eral Writers‘ Project		District #5
	Bishop & .1 sleinan	~	Topic : Ex-Slaves.
	Reporter: Bishop		3u1y 7, 193?
	/	Thomas MoMillan, Ex-Slave
		  (Does not know age.)


	.	I was borned. in Monroe County, Alabam. I do not know de date. My father‘s name was Dave MoMillan and my mothers nente was Minda. Dey ctlIn from Old. Virginny and he was sold from der. We lived in a log house. De beds hed ropes instead of slats and de chillun slept on de floor.

	Dey put us out In de garden to pick out weeds from de potatoes. We did not get any . We eat ‚ syrup and. potatoes . It wiiz cooked in pots and some was made in fire, like ash cakes. We hod possum lots of times and rabbit and squirrel. When dey go fishin‘ we hed. fish to eat. I liked most anything they gave us to eat.

	In de summer we wore white shirt and pant s and de same in de winter. We wore brogans in de winter too.

-	De Massa name wuz J‘ohn and his wife died before I know her. He hed a boy named ;rohn. 11e lived in a big house. He done de overseeing hiniséif.

	He hed. lots of acres in his plantation and he hed a big gang of slaves. He hed a man to go and call de slaves up at 4 o‘clock every morning. He was good to his slaves and did not work them so late at iiight . I hearc~ some of de slaves on other plantations being punished, but our boss take good care of us.

~	~ Our Massa learn some of us to read and write, but some of de udder massas did not.

We hod church under a arbor. De preacher read de bible and he told