450014	~ ~	Duplicate - Copy # 1 D—4

Interview of Mrs. &eorgina Giwba, Ex~s1a~re‘~ . / ~ ~	S
~3y ~- Thelma Dunston	i-J: :	~ ~ ‚
portsnouth~j~iflia		 ~:	~ ~ ~ ~
~ 1937	.	\r~	  ~‚ ~
	;~5	~
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Mrs. Georgina Giwba, an ex-.slave, rùId~s ~t 707 Lind~sey Avent~e, Portamouth,

Virginia. The old lady marveled at the great change that has been made in the clothings, habita and living conditions of the Negro since she was a child. She described the clothing of the slaves in. a calm manner, “All of de cloth during slavery time was made on de loom. My inastah had three slaves who w~rked in de loom house. After de cloth was made, inastah sent hit over town to a white woman who made hit in clothes. We had to knit all our stockings and glovea. VIe‘d plait blades of wheat to make us bonnets. We had to wear wooden bottom shoes. Dere won‘ t no stores, so we growed everything ~e et, an‘ we‘ d make everything we ‚ d wear. ‚

	“We had a washing house. Dere w~az five women who done de washing an‘ ironing. Dey had to make de soap. Dat wuz done by letting water drip over oak ashes. Dis made oak ash lye ‚ and di. s wuz used in ~ making soap • After de~ ‚ çl,othea had soaked in dis lye—soap and water, dey put de clothes on tables and. beat ‘em ‘till dey wuz white. ~

“Mastah give us huts to live in. De beds iuz ixiade of long boards dat wuz

nailed to de wall. De mattress wuz stuffed wif straw and pine tags. De only light

we had wuz from de fire~place. We didn‘t use no matches, stead we‘d strick a

rock on a piece of steel. We‘d let the sparks~fall on some cotthn. „	S “My ma stah had ‚ bout five hundred slaves • ~ d never sell none of hi s s laves,

but he ‚ d always buy more . Dat keeps de slave s from marrying in dere famblies. Then yer married, yer had to jump over a broom three times. Oat wuz de licence. Ef mastah seen two slaves together too much he would marry them. Hit didn‘t make no difference ef yer won‘t but fourteen years old.“ S

“Work began at sun rise and last ~ sun down. When I wuz eight years old,

I started working in de field wif two paddles to keep de crows from eatin‘ de crops..