420065
	~L~.SLAV~ STOBI3$	Pate O~e ‚
(Texas)


JAMES ~ARPIN, 31]. Dawson St., San
Antonio~ Texai, i~ 90 yeari old..
Hiß parents were Preston and L1z~ie
kartth and h. wae born in Alexand.ria,
Ta. Uses little dialect.




UI waa born in Virginia in 1847. My mother wae a elaYs

and my grandfather w~ One of the early settlers in Virginia. Re was born in J~aica and. his master took him to ~ngland., When the ~igl~sh caiie to Virginia3 they brought us along a. ser‘ient., but when they got her.~ everybody had slaYsi, so we wae slaves, too. My mother wa. ‘born in the Weet ndies.

‘IA men n~ined Martin brought my grandfather here and we took

bis nase. And ehen marster was ready to die, he n~a&e a will axid it ~ai~I the youngest child in the slaves ~st be rnade free ‚ so that was my father end he was ~td.e free when he was 16. That left me and my brothers and sisters all free, but ai]. the rest of the f~iily was slates,

~My mother was born a slate near Alexandr ta. The aars ter ‚ s

dau~ghter, Miss Lisa, read. to ay mothers so ~he got sc*ue learning.

When my mother ~ e owner died. he left her t o M iss Li gO ‚ and then i~y father met 517 mother and told. her they should get married. My mother said to Miss Lisa: “I‘d. like fine to marry Preston Marttn.~ Miss Liza says, ‘You canot do that, ~cause he‘s a. free nigger and your children would be fres. You gotta marry one of the slaves. ~

Then Miss Liza lines xp 10 or 15 of the slate men for my mother to pick from, but mother sa~îs she don‘ like any of ‘es, she wants to