Slave narratives, a folk history of slavery in the United States from interviews with former slaves. South Carolina Narratives, Volume XIV, Part 1: a machine-readable transcription.

Untitled Section 001

s United States 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 SLAVE NARRATIVE A Folk History of Slavery in the From Interviews with Former Slaves TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL WRITERS PROJECT

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VOLUME XIV soum CAROLINA NARRATIVES PART 1 Prepared by the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Mministration for the State of South Carolina

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INFORMANTS Abraxns, M. E. Adams, Ezra Adams, Mary Adams, Victoria Adamson, Frank Andrews, Frances Arthur, Pete Bacehus, Josephine Ballard, William Barber, Charley Barber, Ed Barber, Millie Bates, Anderson Bates, Millie Bees, Welcome Bell, Anne B~vis, Caroline Black, Maggie Bluford, Fordon Boulwar~, Samuel Boyd, John Bradley, Jane Brice, Andy Briggs, George Bristow, Josephine Broome, Anne Brown, Hagar Brown Henry Brown, John C. Brown, Mary Frances Brown, Sara Bryant, Margaret Burrell, Savilla Burton, C. B. Butler, George Ann Butler, Isaiah Butler, Solbert 1 5 9 10 13 17,18 19 Cain, Granny Caldwell, Laura Caldwell, Solomon Cameron, Nelson Campbell, Thomas Cannon, Sylvia Caroline, Albert Chisoim, Silvia Chisoim, Toni Cleland, Maria Clifton, Peter Coleman, Henry Coleman, Rev. Tuft Collier, Louisa Collins, John Corry, Bouregard Craig, Caleb Cunningham, Dinah 166,168 169 170 172 176 180,187 197 199 201 2Q4 205 210 216 218 224 227 229 234 238 240 244 245 250 254 ~ 260 263 26 ? 288,293 299 304,306 308 313 20 26 29 34 38 42 46 48 51 55 57 62 65 70 74 75 80,89 93 98 104 107 112,115 118,122 127 131,134 14~ 149 152 153 15~ 161 Daniels, Lucy Davenport, John N. Davenport, Moses Davis, Charlie Davis, Charlie Davis, Heddie Davis, Henry Davis, Jesse Davis, Lizzie Davis, Louisa Davis, Wallace Davis, William Henry Dawkins, Elias fin, Will 319 Dixon, Thomas 324 Dorroh, Isabella 326 Downing, Laurence 329 Dozier~ Washington 330 Duke, Alice 336 Durant Silva (Sylvia) 337,342

Folk lore: folk tales (Negro). 004 001

Project 1885 ~ 1 ~ T ~ ~ Prom Pleld Notes, ~ Editedby: ~ ~ District No. 4. ~ Eimer ~urna~e ~pri1 27, 1937 . POLK LORE: FOLK TALES (Negro). ~ Marse Glenn had ~4 slave$ . On Sat day nicht ~ de darkies would have a little fun on de side. way oL~ from de bi~ house, ~ dovvri in de pa$tUr dar wuz about de~bi~es ~u11~~what I i$ ebber seed. Dat wuz de place whar us collected moe ev ry Sa day night ~er~ our lii mite o fun frum de white ~o1ks hearin. Sometime ~tWUz . ~ so dark dat you could not see de in~ers on yo han when you would raise it fo your face. Dem wuz sho scheech~ nigkit~ .. &e .~ sbhreech.. . ~ .~. ~ ~ ~ ~ lest what I is ever witnessed. in all o my born riatu al days. Den of cose, dar wuz de moon.~light rii~hts when a. darky could see; den he see too much. De pastur wuz big ami de trees made dark spots in it on de brightest nights. All kind o varmints tuck and hollered at ye as ye being ~wirie alori~ to rea~h dat gully. Cose us would ~o in droves sometime, and den us wouldgo alone to de gully sometime. When us started together, look like us would ~it parted fo we reach de gully all together. One of us see som tin and take to run.~ nin .Maybe de other darkies in de drove, de ~iouldN t see riothin . jss den. Dats zactly how it is wid de spirits. De mout (might) sho de self to you and not to me. De acts raal queerall de way round. Dey can take a notionto scare de daylights outtin you when you is wid a gang; or dey kin scare de whol6gan~ den, on de~other hand, dey kin sho de ~eLf off to jes two or three. It ain t never no knowin as to how and when d m thin~s is gwine to come in you~,.. path ri.g~it Th your ve~ yes; Ipeciallywhen you is partakin in some raal dark secret w1~ar you is planned to act raal sof and ~Viiet like all de way thrott~b.

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POLK LORE : POLK TALES ( Negr o) Page 2 2 Dem things bees 11~ht on dark nights ; de shiri s de -~ self jes like dese lectric Ii~hts does out dar in dat street ever night, cept dey is a scaird waary light dat dey shines wid. On 1i~ht nights, I is seed dein l k, furs dark like a tree shad er; den dey gits raal scairy white. T aint no use Ler white folks to low dat it ain t no haints, an grieveinents dat follows ye all around, kaise I is done had to many spriences wid dem. Den dare is dese young ni ~ers what ain t fit to be called darkies, dat tries to ac eddicated, and says dat &t ain t &) spe rits dat walks de earth. When dey lows dat to me, I rolls ray old eyes at dem an axes dem how comes dey runs so Las through de ~voods at rii~ht. Yes sirree, dein fool niggers sees dem jes as I does. Raaly de white folks doesn t have eyes fer sech as we darkies does; b~it dey bees dare jes de same. t, Never mindin all o dat, we n us d to steal our ho~ ev er sa day night and take off to de gully what us d ~it him dressed and barbecued. Niggers has de mos es ~un at a barbecue dat dare is to be had. As none o our ~an~ didn t have no li~iori, us never felt rio scruples bout no~ gettin de cue ready ito Sunday. TJs d ~it back to de bi~ house along in, de evenin o Sunday. Den Marse, he come out in de yard~an low whar wuz you nig~ers dis inornin . How come de chilluris had to do de work round here. Us would tell some lie bout gwine to a church siety meetin . But we ot raal scairt and mose cided dat de best plan wu~ to do away wid de barbecue in de holler. Conjin 9)oc. say dat he done put a spell on oie lvlarse so dat he wuz blevin ev y. think dat us tole him bout Sa day ni~ht nd Sunday morning. Dat give our minds lier; but it turned outdat in a ~ew weeksde Marse come out rom uader de 8peii.

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POLK LORE: Polk Tales (Negro) Page3 3 ~r Doc never even knowed riothin bout it. Marse had done got to countin his hogs ever? week. When he cotch us, us wuz all punished wi.d a hard. long task. Dat cured me o believing in any conjuring an ch arid n b ut I s t il 1 k.no s dat dar e j s h a s ; ka is e ev e r t irne you goes to dat gully at night, up to dis very day, you ken hear hogs still ~runtin in it, but ~ou can t see nothing. .&fter Marse Glenn tuck and died, all o de white ftlks went off and lee de plantation. Some mo folks dat wuz not o quality, come to live dare an run de plantation. it wuz done free.dom den. Wo nt long fo dem folks pull up and lef raal onexpected like. I doesn t recollect what dey went by fat is done slipped my mind; but I must ai knowed. But dey lowed dat de house wuz to draffy arid dat dey couldn t keep de smoke in de chimney an dat de doo s would not stay shet. Also dey lowed dat folks prowled aroun in de yard inde night time a keepin dem awake. Den Marse Gleen s boys put Mammy in de house to keep it fer ern. But Lawd God. Mammy said dat de furs night she stayed dare de hainta nebber let her git not narr y mite o sleep. Us all had lowed. dat wuz de raaJ. reason dem wh ite folks lef out so Las . When Mammy could not live in dat big house whar she had stayed fer years, it won t no use fer nobody else to try. Mammy low dat it de Marse a lookin fer his money what he done tuck and burned and de boys couldn t find no sign o it. Atter dat, de sons tuck an tacked. a sian on de front gate, offering ~2OO.OO to de man, white or black, dat would stay dar and fin out whar dat money wuz bur ried. Our preacher, the Rev. Wallace, lowed dat he would stay da~ and find out whar dat money wuz from de spirits. He kriowed dat dey wuz tryin to sho de spot What dat money wuz..

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POLK LORE: POLK TALES (Negro) ~ . Page 4 He went to bed. A do~ began running down dein steps; and a black cat run across de room dat turned to white befo it run into de wall. Den a pait o~ white horses corne down de stair... way a rattling chains fer harness. Next a woman dressed in white c ~come in dat room. Brother Wallace upand lit out dat hause and he never went back no mo . . t ~riother preacher tried stayin dar. He said he swine to keep his head kivered plum up. Some tin unkivered lit and he seed a white goat a grinnin at him. But as he wuz a brave man and trus de Lawd, he lowed, What you want wid me nohow ? The coat said, what is you dom here. Raise, I knows dat you ain t sleep. De preacher say, I wants you to tell me what oie Marse don tuck and hid dat money? Dc goat grin and low, ~ come you don look under your pillar, sometime? Den he run away. De preach-. er hopped up and looked under de pillar, arid dar wuz de money sho niuf. Peers like it wuz de one on de lef end o de back porch, but I jes remembers bout dat. SOURCE: Mrs. LE. Abrarns, Whitmire, S.C.; told her by old uncle Mad Griffin, ~Thitmire, (Col. 62 yrs. ) Interviewer: Caidwell Sims, Union, S.C. 2/25/37.

Reflections of Ezra Adams - Ex-slave 85 years old. 008 005

i~,o:jeeb #1655 ~enry . Grand; Columbia, S C, 390400 .. ~ ~ REFLLECTIONS OF EZR~& ~ADAI~. EX SL~&VE 83 TEARS OW Ezra Adama is incapable of self-Support owix~g to ill health. He is ~ very well taken care of by a nieoe, who lives on the Caughman land just off ~ s. C. ~6, and near Swansea, S. C. ~ - -.- ~ ~My maxnrt~ and pappy b long to Marster Lawrence Adams ho had a big : plax~ation in de eastern part of Lancaster County. He died four years after ~ de Civil War end is buried right dore on de old plantation, in de Adams family ~ burying grounds I was de oldest of de five ohillun in our family. I members : I was a right sme.rt size plow)oy, when freed m oome. I think I zmiat of been ~ bout ten or eleven years old, then. Dere s one thing I does know; de Yaxilcees ;~. . didn t tech our plaxxbation, when they come through South Carolina. . Up in do ~ no x theru part of de county they did destroy ~ et al I what folks had. ~ You ain t gwine to believe dat de slaves on our plantation didn t stop ~ workin for old marster, even ~wh p~ they was told dat the~ was free. Us didn t : want no ~re freedom than us wae gittin ou our plantationalready. Us knowed ~ too well dat us was well took care of, wid a plenty of vittles to eat and tight log and board houses to live in. De slaves where I lived, knowed after dO~ war ~ ~ dat they had abundance of dat somethin called freedom1 what they could ~ t sat, . ~ . wear, aM sleep in. Yes sir, they soon found out dal freedom ain t nothin , ~ less you is got somethin to live ou and a place to call home. Di livin on liberty is lak young folks Iivin on love after they gite i~rried. It just don ~ t work. No, sir, it las so long and not a bit ~ longer. Don t tell ~ ae& It sho O ~ ~ don t hold good ehen you ha. t w rk, ox when you gite b ngry. You )~e dat ~ pCor i~: te folks and niggerS kias got to work to live, regardis ~s of Ubex:, love, ~ ~ O ~ ~ ~

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;. 2. P and all them things. I believes a person loves n~re better, when they feels good. 3: biows from experienoe dat poor folks feels better when they has food in. deir frame and a few dimes to jingle in deir pockets. I 1a~owe what it means to be a nigger wid nothin Many times I ~md to turn every way I l owed to git a bite to eat. I didn t care much *bott~.. clothes. Ithat I needed in sieh t~mee was food to keep my blood warm and gwine long. Bo~~, I don t want to think, and I knows I ain t gwine4o say~ a word, riot a wor~of evil against deir dust lyin Over yonder in deir grave . I was old enough to kn~ what de passin way of old marster and missus meant to me. De very stream of lifeblood in me was dryin up, it peared laic. When merster died, dat was !~r fu t real sorrow. Three years later, missus passed way, dat was de time of my second sorrow. Then, I minded xi~rself of a little tree out dere in de woods in November. Wid erery sharp and cold wind of trouble dat blowed, n~re leaves of dat tree turnt loose and went to de ground, suet lak they was tryin to follow her. It seem lek, when she was gone, I was just lak dat tree wid all de leaves gone, naked and friendles s It took me a long time to g t over all dat ; same way wid. de little tree, it had to pass through winter and wait on spring to see life again. I has faV~d nxst all n~r life and, if I was not s o old, I would be dom dat same thing now. If a poor man wants to enjoy a little freedom, let him go on de farm anhW~t for hisself~. It is eho worbh somethin to be boa and, on de farm yOu can be bois all you want to, less de men low his wife to hold dat po~t~~nt post. A ~ wid a good wife, one dat pulls witi him, can see and feel some pleasure and f~eDienOe some independence. But, bless yoi~r soul, if he gits a woman ~what wants to be both husband and wife, fare-yc~u- well-end~g odbye, too, to . . . all ~ ~Love, pleasure, and iud.ependen e3 cause you sho is gwine to ketch h~l here and ?~ ~1O mild climate whenever you ~oes way~. ~ A bad man is worse, b~xt a bad women

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3.. is alnvst terribl . White ~n, d re is too many peoples lu dese big towns and cities. Dere is more of them than dere is jobs to i~.1ce a 11V1n wid. When some of th i find out dat they can t make a livin they turns to mischief, de easy way they thinks, takin? wiciout pay or wrk, dat which b longs to other people. If I understands right, de tust sin dat was oon~aitted in de world was de ta Cin of somethin dat didn t b long to de one what took it. De gentleman what done dis was dat n~n Adam, back yonder in de garden. If what Adam done back yonder would happen now, he would be guilty of crime. Dat s how ciety names sin. W011, what I got to say is dis : If de courts now~ would give out justice and punishment . as quick as dat what de Good Master give to Adam, dere would be less crime in de land I believe s . But I ~ spose de courts would be better if they had. de same jurisdiction as de Master has. Yes, sir, they would be gwine some then. ni tells you, dis gittin what don t b long to you i~a de main cause of dese wars and troubles bout over dis world now. I hears de white folks say dat them . Japanese is dom dis very thing today in fightin them Chinamene. Japan say dat China has done a terrible crime against them end de rest of de world, when it alut t nothin but dat they wants somethint what don t belong to them, end dat somethin is to git nxre country. I mey be wrong, anyhow, dat is what I has heard. What does I think.de colored people need most? If you pIe~.s sir, I want to say dis I alu t got ~mz~h learnint ~ t oause dare was no schools hardly round~ where :i: was brung t~p~ but I thinks dat good teachers an&~Wonk is what de, colored . race needs worser than anything else. If they has arum, they will be ~nore . asheas to coniait crime n~ et of them will be ; and, if they has *rk to do they aintt t~fl. 1~o hat. ti~ to do so ~aoh wrong. Course dere is swine to be black sheepe~~~ in ~ flocks,. ~ it is gwine to tak. patience to git them out, but they Will oo~ OUt,. .j~34t as $110 as 70U 18 born.

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4. 8~ t Is de colored people superstitious ? Listen at dat You makes me laugh. All dat foolishness fust started wid de ~aok nan. De reason they is superstitious comes from nothin but stomp~dowu ignorance. De white ohillun has been nursed by colored women end they has told them stories bout hauts and sich lak. So de white ohillun has growed up believin song of dat stuff tu they natohally pass it on from generation to generat ion. Here we is both white and colored, still believin some of them 11es started back when de whites fst come to have de tie ~ks round them. t, If you wants to 1a~ow what I ~ thinks Is de best vittles s gwine to be obliged to omit (admit) dat it is cabbage sprouts In de spring, and It is collard greens after frost has struck them. After de best vittles, dere cone some more what is mighty tasty, and they Is hoghoad and chlttling s wid tatoes end turnips. Did ~ou see dat? Here I is talkln bout de joys of de appetite and water drapping from n~ mouth. I nust be gittin hongry. I lsk to eat I has been a good eater all n~r life, but now I is gittin so old dat eordin to de scriptures, De grinders cease cause they are few , and too, Those dat look out de windows be thirkened My old eyes end teeth is bout on, and 1f they does go soon. t1~y ain t gwine to beat dIs old frame long, cause I is gwlne to soon follow, I feels I ~Dpe w~n I does go I can be able to say what dat great General Stonewall Jackson say w1~n he got kIlt In de Civil War I Is gwiae to cross de rIver and re at under de shade of de trees . ~ ~ ~ (c~bc~~* ~C~~i~i ~M~1 ~ C~t~(ri ~

Ex-slave 90 years old. 013 010

Project #1655 Everett R. Pierce Columbia, S. C. - VICTORIA ADA ~S ~ EX~SLAVE 90 YEARS OLD. You ask me to tell you something bout n~r8e1f and de slaves iii slavery times? Well Missy, I was borned a slave, nigh on to ninety years ago, right dawn here at Cedar Creek, in Fairfield County. it~T massa s name was Sann~iel Black and xn~ssus was named Marttha. She used to be Nartha Kirkland befo she marrie4. There was five ohullun in de family; they was : Ah oe Maiming Sally Kirkland and de baby, &igene. De white folks live in a great big ~house up on a hill; it was right pretty, too. You wants to know how large de plantation was I lived on? Well, I don t know zackly but it was mighty large. There was forty of us slaves in all and it took all of us to keep de plantation goin De most of de niggers work in de field. They went to work as soon as it git light enough to 8 ee h~ to git round; then when twelve o clock come they all stops for dinner and don t go back to work t~J, two. All ofthem work on til it git almost dark ~o raa am, they am t do niich work at night after they git s home. Massa Samuel aintt had no overseer, he look after his ow~ plantation. My old granddaddy he1p him a whole heap though. He was a good nigger and massa trust him. . After de crops was all gathered, de slaves still had plenty of work to do. I stayed in de house wid de white folks.. De most I had to do was to keep de house clean up and nurse do ohillun. I had a heap of pretty clothes to wear, ~ cause n~ mie sus give me de old clothes and shoes dat Missy Sally throw way. De meWs sa and niiesua was good to me but sometime I was so bad.

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2. 1.1 they had to whip me. I titi~mbers she used to whip me every time she tell me to do something and I take too long to move long and do it. One time ~ XDJ.88U8 went off on a visit aiid left me at home. ~Vhen she come back, ~a1ly told her that I put on a pair of Bubber s pants and scrub de floor wid them on. Missus told me it was a sin for me to put on a man s pants, and she whip me pretty bad. She say it s in de Bible .. .. dat: A man shall not put on a woman s clothes, nor a woman put on a man s clothe s . I am ~ t never see that in de Bible though but from then tu now, I ain t put ou no more pants. De grawn-up slaves was punished sometime too. When they didntt feel like taking a whippin they went off in de woods and stay tu ~ssa s hounds track them d own; then d bring them out and whip them. They might as well not run away Some of them never come back a-tall don t know what become of them. We aintt had no jail for slaves; never ain t see none iii chains neither. There was a guard-house right in de town but us niggers never was carried to i~. You ask me if I ever see e. slave auction ed off? Yes ina am, one time. I see a little girl bout ten years old sold to a soldier imn. Dis soldier man was married and didn t had no chillun and he buy dis little girl to be company for his wife and to help her wid de house work. White folks never teach us to read nor write much. They learn ed us our ~ B, C s, and teach us to read some in de testament. De reason they wouldn t teach us to read and white was ~ cause they was afraid de slaves would write their own pass and go over to a free county. One old nigger did learn enough to write his pass and got way wid it and went up North.

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3. 12 tt~iiS US Martha shot did look after de slaves good when they was sick. Us had medicine made from herbs, leaves and roots; some of them was cat nip, garlic root, tansy, and roots of burdock. De roots of burdock soaked in whiskey was mighty good medicine. We dipped asafetida in turpentine and hung it ~ round our necks to keep off disease. Befo de Yankees come thru, our peoples had let loose a lot of our hosses and de hosses strayed over to de Yankee side, and de Yankee men rode de hosses back over to our plantation. De Yankees sked us if we want to be free. I never say I did; I tel . them I want to stay wid ir~r mis su~ and they went on and. let me alone They stroyed most everything we had cept a little vittles; took all de stock and take them wid them. They lurned all de buildings cept de one de mas sa and mis sus was 1 ii~ in. It wasn t long after de Yankees went thru dat our missus told us dat we don t b long to her and de massa no more. None of us left dat season, I got married de next year and left her. I like being free more better. Any niggers what like slavery time better, is lazy people dat dont t want to do nothing. UI married Fredrick Adams; he used to b long to Qss Teeny Graddick but after he was freed he had to take another name. 1~r. Jess Adams a good fiddler dat xi~ husband like to hang round, told him he ~ could take his name if he wanted to and dats how he got de name of Adams. Us had four chillun; only one livint ~ dat Lula. She married John Entzxninger and got several ohillun. ~ gra&chillun a heap of comfort to me.~ Home Address: Colonial ~eights, %olumbia, S. C.

Ex-slave 82 years old. 016 013

Projeot#1655 390315 ~ . 13:~ H ~ W.W.D~zon Winnaboro, s. c. . FE~NK ADA~Q~ ~YA ~ I 1me~ber$ when you was barefoot at de bottom; now I see you a settin dere, gittin bare at de top, a~ bare as d. palm of ne, hand. ~ n ~ t5 been possum uni wid your pappy, when he lived on de /7 Wateree, just de war. One night us got into tribulation, I tells you& Twas bout midnight when de dogs make a tree. Your pappy climb up de tree, ~it bout halfw~y up, heard eumpin dat once you~hears it you never forgits and data de rattlin of de rattles ou a rattle snake s tail Us both ~ stinotly hear dat sounds What us do ? Me on de ground, him up de tree, but where de snake? Dat vas de misery, U$ didn t know. Dat snake give us fair warum though$ Marater Sea (date your pa) t low: Frank, ease down on de grounds I ll just stay up here for a while.t I lay on them bares, skeex~ed to make a rusele. Your pa up de tree skeered to go up or dOWn& Broad daylight didn t move us Sun oo~ up he look all round from his vantage up de tree then come down, not ttil then, do 3: gits n n~r foots. Then I lauch and laugh and laugh, and ask Marster Sam how he felt. Marster Sam kinda frown and say: D~i I feels like hehl Git up dat tree& Don t yOu ee &5~t tpossUfl~ up dire? I say: But ithere de snake, Marster? Re 8a7: Dat rattler done gone home where me and you end dat possum gorma be pretty 50Qfl~t ~ III b longs to de Peays. De father of them all was, Kershaw Peay. My mareter was his eon, Nicholas ; he was a fine ~an to just look at. My mistress was always tellin him bout how fine and handsoae~s~like he was . 11e ~m~st of got use to i~ howsoii~ver, mareter grin every time she talk like dat.

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~My pappy was bought from de Adameon peoples; they say they got him off de ship from Afrioa. He sho was a ~.n; he run all de other niggers Iray from my mamn~ az~d took up wid her widout aekin de marster. Her nati~ was Larinia~ When us got free he ~ sisted on Adamson was de uaiae us would go by. He name was William Adamzon. Yes sirs ~i~j brothers was : Justua liii lyard, and Donald and ~ sisters was Martha and ij~ t t Deed I did work be1~o freedom. What I do Z Hoed cotton, piok cotton, t tend to calves and. slop de pigs under de vision of de overseer ~ho he was ? Pirat one naine Mr Cary, he a good ~n. Another one Mr Tim Gladden, burn you up whenever he just take a notion to pop his whip. Us boys run tro~d iii our shirt tails. Ue lek to see if he could lift de shirt tail widout teohint de skin. Just as often as not gli, he tech de skin. Little boy holler andI~.rster Tim laugh. Us lire in quarters. Our beds was nailed to de sides of de house. Most of de chillun slept on pallets on de floor. Got water from a big spring. IDe white folks ttend to you all right. Us had t~o doctors, Doctor Carlisle and Doctor James. ~i see some money, but never own any then. Bad plenty to eat: Meat, bread, milk, lye hoininy, horse apples, turnips, coUards, pumpkins, and dat kind of truck. ~ Was marster rioh? E~v come he wasn t? He brag his land was ten miles square ad he had e. thousand slaves. Them poor white folks look ed up to hi~a l~k d Ali~ighty; they sho did. ~ They would have stuck their hands inj de Ztr. if h. had of asked them to do it. He had a fish pond on top of~ de house end terraoes ~td at.rarberries, all over de plaoe.

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15 See them big rock columns dawn dore now? D~.ts aI . dats left of his grandness end greatness. They done more de whippin post dat was in de backyard. Yes sah, it was a cessity vrid them niggers. It stood up and out to mind them dat if they didn t please de master and de overseer they d. hug dat post and de lend of dat whip lash gwine to flip to de hide of dat back of their s. . I ain t a oomplainin . He was a good n~.ster, best st in de land but he just have to have a whippin post cause 11 find a whole passle of bad niggers when you gits a thousand of them in one flock. Screech ow . holler? Women and men turn socks and stockth~s wrong side out quick, dat they did, do it ~w, u~yself. I s black as a cro~* but l a got a white folks heart. Didn t ketch me f oolin round wid niggers in radical times. I s as close to white folks thon as peas in a pod. Wore de red shirt and drunk a heap of brandy in Columbia, dat time us went dawn to General Uaapton into power. I dare I hollered so loud goin long in de procession, dat a nice idiite lady run out one of de houses dom dere in Columbia, give ~ two biscuits and. a drum stick of chicken, patted me on di shoulder, end say: Thai~k God for all de big black men dat can holler for Governor Hampton as loud as dis one does . Then I hollers some more for to please dat Lady, though I had to take de half chaired chicken out dis old mouth, and she laugh bout dat tU she ~ cried. She didi Well, I 11 be rookin long balance of de~e days~ e. hollerin for Mr. Roosevelt, juat as loua as I holler then for IIan~pton.

019 016

4. 1G My young marsters was : Austin, Tom, and Nicholas ; they was al 1 right cept they tease you too hard maybe some time and ~t to mix in wid. de fairs of slave muaements. Now what make pou ask dat? Did me ever do any courtixi ? You knows I did. Every he thing from a he king down to a bunty rooster gits kited t bout she hing 1 s lay wake many nights bout sich things s de nature of a he, to take after de she. They do say dat a h~ angel ain t got dis to worry bout. I fust courted Martha Harrison. Usinarry and jine de church. Us had nine chillun; seven of them livin A woman can t stand ~avin chillun, lek a man. Carryin sucklin ~ and ~ tending to them wore her down, da, wid. de malaria of de Wateree brung her to her grave. Il ~ sorrow over her for weeks maybe five months then I got to think Ing how I d pair up wid dis one and dat one and de other ones Took to ahavin again and g~ine to Winxisboro every Saturday, end different churches every Sunday. I hear a voice from de choir one unay, dat makes me s it up and take notice of de gal on de off side in front. Well sin a spasm of fright fuet hit me dat I might not git her, dat I was too old for de likes of her, and dat some no count nigger might be in de way. In a few minutes I come to m~ri lf. I nsa right up, walked into dat choir, stand by her side, and wid dis voice of mine, dat always !braots tention, jined in de hyimi and out sung them all It was easy from dat t line on. I marry Kate at de close of .at. revival. De day after de weddint, what you teokon? Don t know? Well, after gittin akt she we~it to de field, poke round her neck, basket on. her head and picked two hundred pounds of ootton. Date de kind of wo~ she is . ~

Ex-slave, 75-80 years. 023 020

Code No. NO. W~Pd~f . Project, 1~5~(i) Reduced f~om~words ( Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis Rewritten by Place, Marion, S.C. ___ --- -- Date, January L, 193e ~ Pige i. -- ~ ~ 20 JOS~~PHINE BACOHUS . Ex-Slave, 75.40 Years 39O41~ No, my mercy od, I don know not one thought to speak t o you bout 8e ems 1. 1 ke I doe s know your face but I be en so siok all de year dat I can hardly remember nothin. Yes, sweetheart, I sho oaught on to what you want. bh, I wishes I did know somethin bout dat old time war cause I tell you, if I been know anything, I would sho pour it out to you. I got burn out here de other day en I am got near a thing left nie, but a pair of stockings en dat old coat dere on de bed. Dat hoW-~Oome I stayin here wid Mise Celia. My husband, he dead en she took nie in over here for de present. t uni, I haven t never had a nine months child. Reckon dat what aiim me now. Bein dat I never had no mother to care for me en give me a good attention like, I caught so much of cold dat I am never been safe in de family way. Yes,mam, I bad my leg broke plenty times, but I aine never been able to jump de time. Lord, I got a misery in ray back dere. I hope it alu de ~meumonias. ~ ~ ~ Well, you see, I couldn tell you ~thin bout my mother cause I never didn know nothin bout my mother. My Jesus, my brother tell bout when dey had my mother layin out on de coolin board, I went in de room whe she was en axed her for somethin to eat en pushed her head dat way. You know, I wouldnt touch ni y hand to do no thin I ike dat but I neye r know Dat t t de

024 021

Oode No. No. WOrds______ Projeot, i~5-.(i) Reduced. fr in ~words Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis Rewritten by Place, Marion, B.C. ~ -..--- ~-.-- -~- Date, January ~ 193e Page 2. - C O olin board dat what dey used to have to lay all de dead. people on, but dis day en time, de undertaker takes dem en fixes dem up right nice, I say. I tellin you, I am had no sense since I lost my people. Sometimes, I axes de Lord what he keepin rue here for anyhow. Yes,rnarn, dat does come to me often times in de night. Oh, it don loQ~k like I gwine ever get no better in dis life en if I don , I just prays to God to be saved. Yes, Lord, I prays to be lifted to a restful home, ~ Just like as I been hear talk, some of de people fare good in slavery time en some of dem fare rough. Dat been acoordin to de kind of task boss dey come up under. Now de poor colored people in slavery time, dey give dem very little rest en would whip some of dem most to death. Wouldn none of dem daresen to go from one plantation to another widout dey had a furlough from dey boss. Yee,mam, if dey be n catch youoomin back widout dat walkin paper de boss had give you, great Jeruseleum, you would sho catch de devil next mornin. Myblessed a mercy, hear talk dey spill de poor uigg~r s bio od awful much in slave r y t ime Hear ~ heap of dem was fre e long time fore dey been know it cause de white folks, dey want ed to keep . dein in bondage . 0h my Lord, dey would cut dem so hard till dey just slash de flesh right off dent. Yes,niam, dey C a . 1 dat t hing dey be en whip dem wid de cat o nine tail No, darlin, I hear talk it been made out of pretty leather plaited.

025 022

o ode No . . ~ ~ No Wo rds________ Project 1~85-~(i) Reduced from,__~word8 Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis Rewritten by Place, Marion, S.C. ____________________ Date, January 14., 193e pige J ~ ~ j 22 most all de way en den all dat part down to de bottom, dey just left it loose to do de cuttinwid. Ye8, honey, dem kind of whips was made out of pretty leather like one of dese horse whips. Yes,mam, dat been how it was in slavery t ime Yankeesi Oh, I hear folks speak bout de ~ankees plunder-. in through de country plenty times. Hear bout de Yankees gwine all bout stealin white people silver. Say, everywhe dey went en found white folks wid silver, dey would just clean de place up. Dat de blessed truth, too, cause dat e xactly what I hear bout dem. ~ Lord, pray Jesus, de white people sho been mighty proud to see dey niggers spreadin out in dem day3, SO dey tell me. Yes,mam, dey was glad. to have a heap of colored people bout dem cause white folks couldn work den no more den dCy can work c3.ese days like de colored people can. Reckon dey love to have dey niggers back yonder just like dey loves to bave . dem dese days to do what dey am been cut out to do. You see, dey would have two or three women on de plantation dat was good breeders en dey would bave obillun pretty regular fore freedom come here. You know, some people does be right fast in . catchin ohullun. Yes um, . dey must been bless wid a pile of dem, I say, en every colored person used to follow up de same name as dey white folks been hear to.

026 023

Oode No. ~ No. Words~_~ Project, i~5- (I) Reduced from words Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis Rewritten by Place, Marion, S.C. ~ Date, January II~, 193e page 1h ~ . ~ 2~ ~ No urn, I never didn go to none of dem coinshuckin en fodder pullin en all dem kind. of thing. Reckon while dey was at de oornshuckin, I must been somewhe huritin sornethin to eat. Den dem kind of task Was left to de men folks de was most of de time cause it been so hot, dey/force to strip to do dat sort of a job. LOrd, I sho reniembers dat earth shake good as anything. When it come on me I was settin . down wid my foots in a tub of water. Yes, my Lord, I been had a age on me in de shake. I remember, dere been such a shakin dat evenin, it made all de people feel mighty queer like. It just come in a tremble en first thing I know, I felt de difference in de crack of de house. I run to my sister Jessie cause she had been live in New York en she was well acquainted wid dat kind. of gi~ine on. She say, Josie, dis am nothin but dem shake I been tellin you bout, but dis de first time it com here en you better be a prayin. ~n, honey, everything white en colored was emptied out of doors dat night. Lord, dey was scared. Great Jeruseleun~ De people was scared everywhe . Didn nobody know what to make of it. I tellin you, I betcha I was 30 years old in de shake. I Now I gue s s t ime you get done ge t t in up all dem ~ memo.~ ranclum s you gwine bay e a p ile I tell you if you ke ep on, you sho gwine have a bale cause dere a lot of slavery people is spring up till now. I ought to could fetch back more to speak to you bout, but just like I been tell you, I waan never

027 024

Code ~o. No. Words_____ Project, 1~5 (1) Reduced from____words Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis Rewritten by~ Place, Marion, 8.0. _____________________ Date, January 14rn, 393e Pag 5.. . 24 cared for by a mother en I is caught on to a heap of rough ness just on account dat I ain~ never had. a mother to bave a care for me. Oh, de people never didn put much faith to de doctors in dem days. Mostly, dey would use de herbs in de fields for dey medicine. Dere two herbs, I hear talk .of. Dey was black snake root en 8a~pson snake root. Say, if a person never had a good appetite, dey would boil some of dat stuU en mix it wid a little whiskey en rock candy en dat would sho give dem a sharp appetite. See, it natural cause if you take a tablespoon of dat bitter medicine three times a day like a person tell you, it bound to swell your appetite. Yes,rnarn, I know dat a might y go od mixture ~ uOh, my Lord, child, de people was aho wiser in olden times den what dey be now. ~ey been have all kind of signs to forecast de times wid en dey been mightytrue to de word, too. Say, when you hear a Cow low en cry so mournful like, it am gwine be long fore youhear tell of a death. Den dere one bout de rain. Say, sometimes de old rain crow stays in de air en hollers en if you don look right sharp, it gwtne rain soon. Call hirn de rain crow. He hollers mostly like dis, Goo- oop, goo oop. Like dat. De people used to have a bird for cold weather, too. Folks say, Don you hear dat cold bird? Look out, it gwine be cold tomorrow. De cold bird, he a brown bird. If you can see him,

028 025

Code No. . No. Words_____ ~ Project, i~5 (1) Reduced f~ji words Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis ~ Rewritten by Place, Marion, S.C. - ~ ~ - Date, January 4~, l93~ Page 6. 25 he a fine lookiri bird, too. . ye~ u~, right large en strong lookin, but don nobody hardly ever see him dese days. En I reckon you hear talk bout dis one. Say, not to wash on de first day of de New Year cause if you do, you will wash some of your family out de pot. Say, somebody will sho die. ~at right, too. Den if posBible, nius~b boilsome old peas on de first day of de New Year en must cook some hog jowl in de pot wid dein. Must eat some of it, but don be obliged to eat it all. ~2n ought to have everything clean up nicely so as to keep clean all de year. ~ Say, must ali~ays put de wash out on de line to be sure de day fore New Years en have all your garments clean. 9fliat my ideas bout de young folks dese days? Well, dey young folks en dey am young folks, I say. Cose I don bother up wid. dem none, but I think wid my o~mi weak judgment, dey quite different from when I corne along. Folks is awful funny dis day en time to my notion. Don care what people see dem do no time. I sho think dey worser den what dey used to be De way I say dey worser, I used to have to be back at such en such a time, if I Went off, but now dey go anytime dey want to en dey comes back anytime dey want to. I sho think dey worser. De fact of it, I know dey worser. Source : Jo sephine Bac chus color ed, age 75 SO Mar ion S, ~ Personal tnt erv iew by Annie Ruth Davis Dec . 1937.

Stories from ex-slaves. 029 026

Project 18854 POL~ORE ~a~ir-~ ~d~ted by: Spartanburg i. 4 h ~J U .LO~) ~mer ~ June 14, 1937 . . STORI~$ FROM ~J~SLAVES I was born near Winnaboro, S.C., Pairfield County. I was twelve years old the year the Confederate war started. My father was John Ballard and my mother was Salue Ballard. I had several brothers and sisters. We belonged to Jim Aiken, a large land. owner at Winrisboro. He owned land on which the town was built. He had seven plantations. He was good to us and. give us plenty to eat, and good quarters to live in. His mistress was good, too; but one of his sons, Dr. Liken, whipped some of de niggers, lots. One time he whipped a slave for stealing. Some of his land was around four churches in Wiririsboro. ?tWe was allowed three pounds o~ meat, one quart o mola8-. ses, grits and other things each week ~ plenty for us to eat. Whenfreedom come, he told us we was free, and if we wanted to stay on with him, he would do the best he could for us. Most of us stayed, and after a few months, he paid wages. After eight months, some went to other places to work. The master s wife died. and he married a daughter of Robert Gillarn and moved to Greenville, S.C. The master always had a very big garden with plenty of vegetables. He had fifty hogs, and I helped mind the hoes. He didn t raise much cotton, but raised lots of wheat and corn. He made his own meal and flour from the mill on the creek; made home-.made, clothes with cards and spinning wheels. (- ~Tkiey cooked in wide chimneys in a kitchen which was away off from the bi~ house. They used pots and skillets: to cook with.

030 027

Polkiore: $tories Prom ~Ex-~S1aves Page 8 27 The hands ~ot their rations every Monday night. They got their clothes to wear which they made on old spinriltig wheels, and wove them themselves. The master had his ~ tan~rard and tariiaed his leather and. made shoes for his hands. He had several overseers, white men, and some negro f ore.. men. They sometimes whipped the slaves, that is the overseers. Once a nigger whipped the overseer and had to run .away in the woods and live so he wouldn t ~et caught. The ni ~er foremen look-. ed after a set of slaves on any special work. They never worked at night unle8s lt was to brine in fodder or hay when it looked like rain was coming. On rainy days, we shucked corn and cleaned up around the place. We had old brick ovens, lots of em. Some was used to make molasses from our own sugar cane we raised. The master had a sick..house where he took sick slaves for treatment, and kept a drug store there. They didn t use old... time cures much, like her~bs and barks, except sassafras root tea for the blood. We didn t learn to read. and write, but some learned after the war. My father run the blacksmith shop for the master on the place. I worked around the place. The patrollers were there and we had to have a pass to get out any. The ni ~er children som times played out in the road and were ch sed by patrollers. The children would run into the master s place and the patrollers couldn t get them cause the master wouldn t let them. We had. no churches for 8laves, bt t went to the white charch and set in the gallery. AXter freedom, ni~gers J~uilt brushharbors on the place.

031 028

~o1k1ore: $torie8 Prom Ex..Slaves Page .3 28 3laves carried news from one plantation to another by ~ -iding mules or horses. They had to be in quarters at night. I remember 11W mother rode side...saddle one Saturday ni8ht. I reckon she had a pass to go; she come back without beine bothered. Some cames children played was, hiding switches, marbles, and maybe others. Later on, some of de nigger boys started playing cards and got to gambling; some went to de woods to ~amble. The old cotton gins on de farms were made o ~ wooden screws, and it took all day to gin four bales o cotton. I was one of the first trustees that helped build the first colored folks church in the town of Greenwood. I am the only one now living. I ~married Alice Robinson, and had five sons and one daughter, and have five or s ix grandchildren. . braham Lincoln, I think, was a good man; had a big rep~ utation. Couldn t tell m4ch about Jefferson Davig. Booker T. Wash-.~ ington ~Everybody thinks he is a great man for the colored race. of course I think slavery was bad. We is free now and better off to work. I think anybody who is any count can work and live by himself. ~I joined de church when I was 17 years old, because a big preaching was going on after freedom for the colored people. I think everybody should join the church and do right; can t get anywhere without it, and do good. Source: William Ballard (88), Greenwood, s.C. Interviewed by: G.L.Summer, Newberry, S.C. (6/~O/37)

Ex-slave 81 years old. 032 029

~oject ~I655 w. w. Dixon 390284 Wi~sboro, S. C. p. CE~B1ZY BI~RB~R ~ EX~.sIAVE 81 Yi~kRS OLD. Charley Barber ives in a shanty kind of ho se, situated on a pl t of grOufl~1 containing two acres all his o~aa. It is a mile arid a half southeast of Wmnxtsboro, S. C. He lives v .th an anaemic daughter, i~!aggie, vthose chief interests are a number of cats, abowb the prern ses~ and~ a brind1c~, crurnple.~h0rfled co~r that she ties out to graze every morning and milks at evefl~flg. Charley is quat of figure, short neck, popeyed, and has ~thite ha5.r. EIe tIllS the two acres and produces garden truck that he finds a sale for among the employees of the j~isboro mi1l~, just aorOss the railroad from his home. He likes to talk, and pricks up his ears,( so to speak ) when~ ever anything is related as having ocourred in the past. 11e will importune those present to hear his version of the event un~al. Well sah, dis is a pleasure to have yQu call pou me, howsOme!er it be unexpected dis morni& Shoot ( driving the chickens out of the house) Shoo ~ ~Git out of here and go scratch . a livin for them chickens. ~ ~ fol~ losqin you. yet and you won t wean aiid git to layin again. Fust thing you .~ know ~rou ll be $pOilifl de floor, when us is got company dis ~ ery minute. Seat L ~ag~te git them cats out de chairs . long ~ nough~ for Mr. Wood to set in oue i~hj1st ~& .8 come to see me dis morniflt . ~ . ~!Azia~ dat1 s jt1~ ~You ~wants me to talk oirer de days dat am cone? how dis caine ~out and how dst~ come bouts from de . d~ty Iwa~ bo~rL, to di~ very : h~c~*~ Lees Ug~u1~ up~,GUr2~m0k68ta0k8 be~o ~ begin.. ~ you wants a .~ . ~ ~owater~~4: . : ~ ~ ~ . I ~ s~xtr~ft~t )~y gooth~eSS~ Do you hear

033 030

. 2~ dat ~a~ie? (Rubbing his hands; his eyes shining with pleasure) Take another look end make another guess. Seventy-five? You is growint warm but you ll have to come again L ~31ess your soul Marse Wood, you know what old ~dder Shifton say? She low dat: In de year 1881, de world to ~i end will surely come . I was twenty five years old~ when all de niggers and most of de white folks was be~ lievin dat old lady and iooldnt for de world to come to an e~.d in 1881. Dat was de year dat I j med de ~ caus e I wanted to make sure dat if de end d~d come, I d be c~ght up in dat rapture dat de white I~ethodist preacher was ~ ~ preachin bout and explainin to my rnarster an~i mistress at deir house on de ~iazza dat year. Iti j~ eighty -one years old. I was born up on de ~ateree River, close to Great Falls. My marster was Ozmond Barber. i~ mistress was name M~.ss ~ Elizabeth; her de vrife of I~arse Ozmond. i~r pappy was name Jacob. i~r n~~j went by de name of Jemima. They both come from Africa where they was born. They was tice~. ~n a ship, fetch cross de ocean to Virginny, fetchto Winzis boro by a slave drover and s old to n~r mar s father ~ Dat what they Stell me. When they was saili& over, dere was five or six hundI ed.others all to~ gether down under de first deck of de ship, where they was locked un. They never did talk lak de other slaves, could just~ say a few words, use deir hands, and make signs . They want deir couards tu nips and de ir t~ators raw. They ~ sweet milk so much they steal it . ~ / ~Pappy care nothint bo~t~i~.es.. and wouldn t wear shoes in de winter ti~ne or any -birne. It wa~ tgjflst ~ law to bring them over I~ere when they did, I learn ~ince* But what -is de law no~w~ and what ~s do law then, ~when bright shmy rn~ey was ~u sight Money make de ~~toir~bile go. Money make de train ~ MGUe7 make de mare go, and at dat lzi.me t ~ speet money xnake~ de slaips gQ.

034 031

~! ~ . ~ Yes sir, they, my pappy and ma~nrny, was just smuggled in dis part of de world, I bet yOut ~ . War cQme On, my inarster went out as a captain of de Horse ~arines. A tune was rm~ch sung by de white folks on de place and. took wid de ~ niggers. It wert lak dis: ~ .~ tI m Captain Jenks of do torse Marines I feed ~fC~j horse on cor~n and beans. Oht Itrn Captain Jenk~ of de Horse Marines _ . And captain in de army ~ ~ ~ tty~hefl de Yankees corne they seem to have special vengeance for nry white folks . They t ok everything they could carry off and burnt e~ery~hing they couldn t carry off. ~ Mistress and de ohillun have to go to Chester to git a place to sleep and eat, wid ~ De niggers just lay troiii~.d de place tu master rode in, after de war on. a hor se ; him have. money and fr iends and git things goint agin. I stay on dore tu 76 Then I come to Wiruisboro :and git a job as : section hand laborer on de railroad. Out of d~e Lust r~ioriey,~(I git paid off ~ de pay train then; company run a special pay train out of Columbia to~CharlOtte. : They stop at every~ station and. pay de hands o~f at de rear end of de train in cash) Well as I was a sayin ~ Out de Lust money, I bu.ys me a red shirt arid dat 1~1ovember I votes and de Lust vote I put in de bo~ was for Governor Wade HamptOn . Dat was de Lust big thing I doxie a. ~ .. ~De uext big thing I done WB.S fall in lov~e w~d IVlary Wylie. ~ Pat come tbout on ~e ~eOOitd pay day. De other nigger gals say her ~narry me~ for my monel bu~t I never ha~fe be1~ie~d ~.t. White ~&1.GS do dat ~ ~ ~ ~ a bLueg~U~ ~i~er ~a1, aU vrool ~m de top of Iter he~ ~ .~ ~ ~ . . ~ ~ ~ ~I i

035 032

I gonna have money in de b ck of her head when her pick out a man bo marry. ! lier gonna want a man wid muscles on his arms and back and I had them. U~in dat pick end shovel on de railroad just give me what it took to gi-b Mary. Us had teu chillu.n. Some dead, &ome marry arid leave. iv~r wi e die year befo last. i~aggie is puny, as you see, and us gits long wid de goodness of de Lord and de white folks. 1 btlongs to de St. John Methodist Church in Middleslx, part of Winns.~ boro. They was havin a rival (revival) ineetint de night of de earthquake, last day of August, in 1886. Folks had hardly got over de scare of 1881, bout de w rld commt to an end. It was on Tuesday nig,ht, if I don t disremember, t bout 9 o clock. De preacher was prayin just after de fust sermon, but him never got to de amen part of dat prayer Dere come a noise or rumblin lak ~ far off thunder, seem lak it come from de northwest, then . de church begin to ~ ~ rock lak a baby!s cradle. Dere was greatexcitenent. Old J~u4 Melvina holler: ~ tDe world comint to de end . De preacher say: Oh, Lord.y , and run out of de .~ pulpit Everbody rein out de church in de i V~hen de second quake cox~, bout a minute after de fust, somebody started i~p de cry: De devil under de .. churchL De devil under de churohL ~ De devil gwine to take de church on his back :: and run away wid de churohL People never stop runnin tu they got to de I; : court house in town. Dere bhey, dare de devil done take St. John s Church on his back and fly away to hell wid it. Marse H~nry Gailiard xn~kea speech and tell them -what it was and beg them to go home . Dat Mr. Skj~ner, de telegraph manat de depol, say de main part of it was way down bout Charleston, too far away for any~body to git hurt ~here,, less a brick from a chinmey fall oxi sonie. body!~ head. .De fljg er:S~~ 3tly belie~res what a fine man,, lak Mars~ Henry,:~ell~ them. De crowd git qiueb. Some of them go home but many of them, down in de

036 033

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .~ ~ ~ ... ~ : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~:: ~ : ~ ~ ~ ~ .. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~. ~! ~ low part of town, set ou de railroad track in de moonlight, all night. I wcts mighty sleepy de nex mornin but I work on de railroad track just de same ~ Dat night folks come back to St John s Church Lind it still dere, and such a ~o~pourin of de spirit was had. as never was had befo or since. UJ~St thir~kL Oat has been fifty-one years ago. rfhem was de glorious horse and buggy days. Dere was no air-~ships, no autos and no radi~s~ ~Nhite folks had horses to driTe. Niggers had mu~les to ride to a base~a11 game, to see vthite folks run lak de patarollers (patrollers) wa~ after them and they holler lak de world was on fire.~ ~. .~ ~ ~: : ~.? ~ - ~: ~ ~ ~ ~ .~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ : ~ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~ -~ -~ ~

Ex-slave 77 years old. 037 034

Project ~~1655 ~: ~ Dixon $~innsboro, b 3~ 390341 -~ ~ ) p .n ~ ~ j~Jj_J D$~t~JM~ EX-SiJ~)E 77 YEARS OtiD. Ed Barber lives in a small one~room house in the thdst of a cotton field on the plantation of Lir. A. Li. Owens, ten ~ailes southeast of V~innsboro, ~. C. he lives alone and does his o~inoooking and housekeeping. Ileisabrigitmulatto, lias an erect carriace and postu~~e, appears younger than his age, is intelligent and enjoys recounting the taies of his lifetime. His oven race doesn t cive him rauch countenance. 1~ijs friends in the old days of roconstruetion were white peo pie. He presumes on such past affiliation and considers himself bettor than the full -blooded Negro. n ~ t ~ been a long t ime s iaice I see you. Liaybe you has forgot but I ain t forgot de Lust -birne I put dose lookers on you, in ~ 7~3~ Does you tmenbers dat day? It was in a piece of pines beyond de Presbyterian Church, in Winnsboro, S. C. Us both had red shirts. You was a ridint a gray pony and I was andin a red. mule, sorrel like. You say dat vrasn t 76? ~ie1l, hovi come it wasn t? Ouillah Harrison, another nigger, was dere, though he was a man. Both of us got to arguin . He low he could vote for H~pton and I couldn t, cause I wasn t 21. You say it was t 78 t stead of ~ 76 dat day in de pine s when you was dere ? ~el1 I Well I I sho been thinkin all dis time it was 76. n Member de fight dat day v~hexi Mr. Pole ~arnadore 1~iook Mr. Blanchard down, while de apeakin was a gwine on? You does? bell, us come to common gree ment on dat, bless GOdS ~ Thern was s c~ary times I i~a1e bein just half nigger and lia)! ~thite nan, I lmow ed which side de butter was on de bread. Who I see dere? Well, dero was a string of red shirts a mile long, dat c me into Winnsboro from White Oak. ~nd another

038 035

2. 35 from Flint Hill, over de Pea Ferry road, a mile long. De barrooms of de town did a big business dat day. Seem lak it was de fashion to git drunk all long them days. ttThem red shirts was de monkey ~ rrench in de cotton-gin of de carpet bag party. I s here to ~e1l ~jou. If a nigger git hungry, all he have to do is go to de white folk s house, bog for a red shirt, and explain hisseif a derriocra~. ~e might not ~it de sIiirt right then but he git his belly full of everything de ~7hite folks sot, and de privilege of corain to dat trough sometixnQ a~in. You vrants me to tell you tbout ~ ho I is, where horn, and how old I is? ~ell, just cross exanine me and I ll tell you de ~Cacts as best I knows how. tu was born twelve miles east of Winnsboro, ~. G. j~T ~~~.rster say it was de 18th of January, 18Q0. tti~r ricther name Ann. lier b long ~o my inarster, James x~iarber. Dat s not a fair question when you ask me ~iho ~ry daddy was Well just say he was a white man and dat irty mother never did marry nobody, while he lived. I was de onliest child ii~~ mother ever had. ~ ttj~f~~~ freedom niy mothor raised me on de Larse Adam iiar1~er place, up by Rocky Liount and. Mitford. I stayed derc ttil all de ~ cite ~ent of politics die dovm. 1~r help was not wanted so much at de lee-bion boxes, so I got to roarnin round to Lust one place end then another. But wheresomever I go, I kept a thiz c in bout ~osa and de ripe may-pops in de field in cotton pickin time. I landed back to de y~arber place and after a skir aish or t~ o wid. de old folks, marry de gal de Lord always tended for me to rr~.rry. Her name was ~osa Ford. You ask me if s he was pr etty? s a strange thing Do you ever hear a white pers on. say a colored woman is pretty ? I never have but befo God when I was tr~npin round Charleston, dere was a church dere called St. Mark, dat all de society folks of

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3. 36 iTE~ color went to. No black nigger welcor~e dore, they told me. Thinkin as how I was bright tnough to git in, up and coos dere one sunday. ~h, how they did carry on, bow and scrape and ape de white folks. I see some pretty feathers, pretty fans, and. pretty women dores was uncomfortable all de ti~!ne though, tcause they was too thifalootint in de ways, in de singin , and all sorts of carryin ons. tiGlad you fetch me back to Rosa. Us marry andhad ten ohillun. Francis, Thornpkins, ~1illiarn, Jim, Levi, Ab and Oz is dead. Katie marry a ~oykin cuad is livin in New York, ~r wife, dosa, die ondis plp~oe of J~ir. U~rens. ni lives in a house by n~rself. I hoes a little cotton, picks plums and blackberries but dewberries bout played out. u;kyr inarstor, Jainc;s Darber, went through de Civil ~1ar and died. I begs you, in de naine of do good ~ thite folks uf 76 a~~d Wade Ilampton, not to forget rae in dis old age pension business. 11What I think of Abe Lincoln? I think he was a poor buekra white man, to de likes of me. Although, I tspects i~1r. Linooln meant well but I can t help but wish him had continued spi itt it them f once rail s whi oh they s ay he Imowed ;~~ll ~ bout and never took a hand in runnin do government of whi eh ho mowed nothin tbout. Marse Jeff Davis was all right, but hirn oughta got out and foughf some., lak General Lee, General Jackson and t~0j80~ Bonaparte. Us might have won de de war if he had turned up at some o~/big battles lak Gettysburg, Chickonmarogert, and Appleinattox %Vhat you thix& bout dat? Yes sah, I has knowed a whole lot of good white men. Marco General Bratton, Marse Ed ~.. ~bley, Marco Will Durham, dat owrted dis house us now settin in, and Dr. Henry Gibson. Does I know any good colored men? I shot doos& Derets Profes-

040 037

~ -~ sor Benjamin Russell at 3lackstock. You Imows him. Then dere was Ouil .ah ~arriSOfl, dat o~wr~ a four hoss team and a saddle hoss, in red shirt days. One time de brass band at Winnsboro, S. C. vranted to ~o to Umuden, ~. C~ to play at de s peakin of ffaiipton. He took de ~rhole band from Wixinsboro to Camden, dat day, free of charge. ith& Deway dat band did play all de ~ay to Ridgevray, dc~y~n cth road to LonE;to~n, cross de Camden Ferry, and ri~ ht into de town. Dere vra~ horns a blowin drums a beatin and people a shoutin : li~r~d~ for Hamp~ tonL ~ Sou~ :ras a sin~in : Hang Dan Cha~berlain on a Sour Apple Tree . Ouillah come home and found his wife had done had a boy baby. ~Vha~ you reckon? Ii~ name dat boy bab~~ Wade Hampton. When he corae.home to aie, he lay his hand on dat boy s head and say: Wade, member who you name for and always vote a straight out democrat ticket . which dat boy did &~

Ex-slave 82 years old. 041 038

Project #1655 w. W.Dixon 4) Wixmsthro, s. C. 390217 MILLIB BARBER ~ B~SLkVE 82 YEARS OLD. tiHope you sind yourself well dis rROI UiII , white folks. I s just cou~non; speet I eats too rm~ioh yesterday. You know us celebrated yesterday, tcause it was de Fourth of July. Us had a good dinner on dis 2,000 acre farm of 1~r. Y~ rens. God ble8s dat ~white boss maul Y~hat would us old no count niggers do widout him? Dere s six or seven, maybe eight of us out here over eighty years old. Most of them is like me, not able to hit a lick of work, yet he take care of us; he shot does. ~Tr. O~rens not a meiaber of de church but he allowed dat he done found out dat it more blessed to give than to receive, in case like us. You wants to know ail bout de slavery time, de war, de Ku Kiuxes and everything ? My tongue too short to tell you all dat I know. However, if it was as long as my stockin s, I could tell you a trunk full of good and easy, bad and hard, dat dis old life-stream have run over in eightytwo~ years. I s hoping to reach at last them green fields of Eden of de Promise Laud. Scuse me ramblin ~round, now just ask me questions~ I bet I can answer all you ask. ~~4r pa name, Tom McCullough; him was a slave of old 1~.rster John McCullough,whose big two-story house is de oldest in Fairfield County. It stands today on a high hill, just above de banks of Dutchman Creek. Big road run right by dat house. My n~xnrr~ name, Nicie. Her btlong to de Weir family; de head of de faniily die dunn de war of freedom. l a not supposed to know all he so I Il pass over dat My mistress name, Eliza; good mistress. Have you got down dere dat old n~rater just

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2.39 took sick and die, cause he wasn t touched wid a bullet nor de life slashed out of him wici a sword? Well, my pa b longin to one man and nty rnanu~ty b longin to another, four or five miles apart, caused some confusion, mix-up, and heartaches. # I~r pa have to git a pass to corne to see my mammy. He come sometimes widout de pass. Patrollers catch him way up de chimney hidin one night; they stripped him right befo mammy and give him thirty-nine lashes, wid her cryin and a hollerin louder than he did.. Us lived in a log house; handmade bedstead, wheat straw n~attres~, cotton pillows pi enty coverin and pi enty tp eats ~ ich as it was Us never git butter or sweet railk or coffee. Dat was for de vthite folks but in de surr~ner time, I minds de flies off de table wid the peafowl feather brush and eat in de kitchen just what de white folks eat; them was very good eatin s I s here for to tell you. Ail de old slaves end them dat worked in de fiela,got ratio~is and de ehillun were fed at de kitchen out house. what did they git? I members they got peas, hog meat, corn bread, lasses, and butternilik on Sunday, then they got greens, turnips, taters, shallots, couards, and beans through de week. They were kept fat on them kind of rations. ttDe fact is I can t tmember us ever had a doctor on de place; just a granny was enough at child birth. ~~iave women have a baby one day, up and gwine round de next day, singin at her work lak nothin unusual had happened. Did I ever git a whippin ? Dat I did. How many times? More than I can count,~ifingers and toes. what I git a whippin for? Oh, just one thing, then another. One !time I bre~c a plate while washin dishes

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O 3.4() and another time I spilt de milk on de dini& room floor. It was always for sornethint, sir. I needed de whippin . Yes sir, I had two brothers older than me; one sister older than me and one brother younger than me. ~,T young marster was killed in de war. Their names was Robert, Smith, and Jimmie. M~T young mistress, Sarah, married a Sutton and moved to Texas Nancy marry Mr Wade Rawl s Mis s Janie marry Mr . Hugh Melving. At this marriage my mammy was g~e to Miss Janie and she was took to Texas wid her young baby, Isaiah, in her arms. I have never seen or.heard tell of them from dat day to dis. De Yankees come and burn de gin house and barns. Upen de smoke~ hous e, take de meat give de s lave s some shoot de chickens and as de mistress and girls beg so hard, they left widout burnin de dwellin house. My oldest child, Alice, is livin and is fifty one years old de 10th of dis last May gone ~r first husband was Levi Young ; us lived wid Mr. Knox Picket some years after freedom. We moved to Mr. Rubin bumpkin s plantation, then to George Bouiwares. Well, u~r hu~band die s~id,l took a foal notion, lak most widows and got into s lavery again. I marry Prince Barber; Mr. John Hollis, Trial Justice, tied de knot. I loved dat young nigger more than you can put down dere on paper, I did. He was black and shiny as a crow s wing . Him was white as snow to dese old eyes Ah, the joy, de fusses, de ructions, de beati&s, and de makin ups us had on de Ed Shannon place where us lived. Us stay dere seven long years. Then de Klu Kiuxes corned and lak to seared de life out of me. They ask where Prince was, searched de house and go away. Prince come home bout daylight . Us took fright went to Marster Will Durham s and

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asked for advice and protection. 1~ rster Will Durham fixed it up. Next year us moved to dis place, he ovin it then but ~arster JLrthur Owens owtis it flow. Dere is 2 000 acres ~ in dis place and another I 000 acres in de Rubin bumpkin . place j 0mm it. ~Prince die on dis place and I is left on de mercy of Iviarster Arthurj livin in a house wid two grandchillun, James twelve years, and John Roosevelt Barber, eight years old. Dese boys can work a little. They can pick cotton and tote water in de field for de hands a~d rnarster say: ~very little help . ~My liirin chillun am t no he~.p to me . Dere s Willie, . I don t know where he is. Prince is wid L~1r. Freeman on de river. Na~gie is here on de place but she no good to me. II spect when I gits to drawin dov~n dat say is comm1 then dere will be more folks playi& is. today. pension de white folks in my backyard than dere ~p 41

Ex-slave 87 years old. 045 042

Pro3ect 1655 ~ 3 w. w. Dixon 390253 ~ : ho ~ Winnsboro, S. C. ~ . 2 c~ ANDERSOI ~ BATBS . EX-51411E 87 YEARS OLD. . Mderson Bates I lires with hi s son- in- law and daughter Ed and Dora Owens, in a three- room frame house, on lands of Mr. Dan Heyward, near the ~ ~ranite Company, Winnsboro, S. C. Anderson and his wife occupy one of the rooms and his rent is free. His son -in- law has re~ia~ employment at the Wirinsboro Co-tton Mills. His wife, Carrie, looks after the house. And-. erson and his daughter, Dora, are day laborers on the neightbor1~od farms, but he is able to do very little work. (tI was born on d~ old Dr. Furman place, near Jenkinsville, S. C., in de year 1650 . My pappy was name Nat and mamy name Winnie . They was slaves of old Dr. Furman, dat have a big plantation, one hundred slaves, and a -whole :~ ~ of little slave chillun, dat him wouldnt 4~ let work. They run ~ round in de plum thickets, blackberry bushes, hunt wild. strawberries, blow can vthistles, and have a pod. time. . . ~ ~ ... ~ ~De~old Dr. Furman house is ramshackle but it is still standin out ~ . dere and is used as a. shelter for sawmill hands dat is ~ittin do~wn de big pines and sawin them on de place.. ~ ~. ~Where did. niy pappy and mammy come from? Maxx~rny was born a slave in de Furman family in Charleston, but pappy ~w as bought out of e~ drove dat a Balti- more speculator fetch from Maryland 1on~ befo de war. Doctor practice all round and tbout Mont~eello, happen long one day, see my ppppy and cive a thou sand dollars for him, to dat speculator. I thank God for dat~ Dr. !urman, 12W old xnarster, haire a brudder called Jini, dat run de ~I~: School, fus~b uearWixuisboro, then it xw~e to Greenville, 8. C. ~ ~

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2. 43 tIM21 mistress name Nancy. lier was of de quality. E er voice was soft and quiet to de slaves. lier teach us to sin~: Dere is a happy land, far, far way, where brig1~t angels stand, far, far way, OhL How them angels singL Oh t How them bells ring L ifl dat happy land, far, far wayL Dere -~~ra~ over a thousand acres, inayb two thousand in dat old Fur~ man place. Them sawmill folks ~iire ~3O,OOO.OO for it, la3t year~ tti~y pappy arid inararny was field hands. L~y brudders and ~isters was: Liddie, Millie, Ria, ~lla, Harriet, Thomas, Smith, and Liarshall. All dead bu-t me and Liarshall. lt ~ was fifteen when de Yankees come thru. They took off everything, ho&S~3s, mules, cows, sheep, goats, turkeys, geese, and chickens. ~Iocs? Yes sah, they kill hogs end take ofV what parts they want and leave other parts bleedin on de yard. Vflien they left, old marster have to go up into Union County for rations. tt~at ~ funny, you wants to set dovm dere tbout riry courtship and weddin ? ~ Well, sir, I stay on de old plantation, work for n~r old marster, de do&~or, and fell head over heels in love wid Carrie. Dere was seven more ni :gers a flyin round dat sugar lump of a gal in de night time when I breezes in and takes charge t of de fireside cheer. I knocks one down one night, kick another dut de next night, ~-- and choke de stuffin out of one de nex night. 1 landed de three leg stool n de head of de foiu th one de last time. Then de others carry deir fections to some other place than Carrie s house. Us have some hard words bout rr~r bad manners, btvt I told her dat I couldn t tro . my feelin s wid them fools a settin

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3. E 44~ ~ . round dere giggl& wid her. I go clean crazyL Then us gi-b married and go to de ten~i~aore quarry ~rid Mr. ~.riderson. I w ork dere a while and then go to Captain Macfie then to his son, Wade and then to Marse Rice Macfie. Then I go 1~iack to de quarry, drill and g t out stone. They pay me ~3.5O a day ttil de Parr Shoals Power come in wid lectric power drills and I was cut down to eighty cents a day. Then I say: Old grey hossl Damn leotric toolin , l s gwine to leave. I went to Elopewell, Virginia, and work wid de DuPonts for five years. War come on and they ask me to work On de acid. area. Dc atmosphere dere tear all de skin off xrry face and ar~ns, but I stuck it out to de end of de big war, for $7.20 ~ day. I drunk a good deal of liquor then, but I sent money to Carrie all de time and fetch her a roll every fourth of July and on Christmas. After de war they dismantle de plant and I come ba.ck to work for Wir. ~leazer, on de ~aluda River for ~2.OO a day, for five years. ~ tiCarrie have chillun by me. Dere w~s ~nderson, ~ son, ai&t see him in forty years. Essie, my daughter, marry Herbert Perrin. Dora, another daughter, marry Ed Ovrens Ed makes good xn~ney int at de faott~y in Winnsboro. ~ They have seven ohillun. Us tries to keep them ohillun &ii scho l but they d ntt have de good times I had when a child, a eatin cracklin bread and buttermilk, liver, pig- tails, hog ears and tuniip greens. ~tDoes I tmember anything boul de K .u Kiuxes? Jesus, yesi My old marster, de doctor, in goin ro~d, say out loud to people dat Klu 1~iuxes was . doixi some thi igs they ough~not to do, by .storti~ moitey out of niggers just T cause :tbey could. ~ . - tiW~en: 1~ was gone . to Unio~i one clay, a low~dowa: ~iL of white ~ men come ~ ~ wid false faoes, to de house and ask where Dick Bell was. Miss Ne.nc~r say her . ~ .~ ~ ~.

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4. I 45 don t know. They go hunt for him. Dick rn~.de a bee~iine for de house. They pull out hoss pistols, fust time, tpow Dick run on, secon time, pow . Dick run on, third time, pow and as Dick reach de front yard de ball from de third shot keel him over lai: a hit rabLit. Old miss run out but they g t him. Her say: I give you five dollars to let him lone. They say: Not nough. lier say: tI give you ten dollars. They say: Not nough. lier say: I *jve you fifteen dollars. They say: Not nough. Her say: I cive you twenty- five dollars. They take de money ~id say: ~s ll be back tomorrow for de other Dick. They mean Dick James. ~ Nex day, us see them a comin again. Dick James done load up de shotgu~~~ wid buckshot. When they was comin up de ~ro~~t steps, Uncle Dick say to us all in de big house: Gjt out de wayL De names of de men us find out afterwards was 3ishop and Fitz~erald. They come up de s-~eps, wid Bishop in de front. Uncle Dick open de door, slap dat ~un to his shoulder, and pull de trigger. Dat man 1~ishop hollers: Oh Lordy. He drop dead and lay dere tu de coroner come. Fitzgerald leap way. They bring Lick to jail, try him right in dat court house over yonder. *~.that did they dowid him? Well, when Marse iJill Stanton, Marse ~iisha Ragsdale and Lliss Nancy tell bout it all from de beginnin to de end, de judge tell de jury men dat D1~k had a right to protect his home, and hisseif, and to kill dat white man and to turn him loose. Dat was de end of de Klu Kluges in Fairfield. *

Folk lore: folk tales (Negro). 049 046

~ ~ ~ ~ C~J/v\d&.4~~ ) Project 185 1 ~ ~ ~ ~ Prom Field ~otes 3~r ~~r ~ ~ ~S edited by: Spartanburg, Dist.4 ~ \J . Elmer Turnage ~ April 2.. 193? . FOLK LORE: FOLK TALES (n~egro) ni sho members when de soldiers corne home from de war. All de women o ks, both black as well as shite wuz so glad to see em back dat we jus jumpec. up arid hollered Oh, Lawdy, God bless you. When you would look around a little, you would see some wid out an arm or maybe dey would be a waltin wid a cruch or a stick. Den you would cry some wii~ut lettin your white folkasee you. But Jane,de worseet time o~ all fer us d.arkies wuz when de Ku Klux killed Dan Black. We wuz little chilluns a playin in Dans house. We didn t know he had done riothin ~inst de white folks. Us wuz a playiri by de fire jus as nice when something hit on de wall. Dan, he jump up and try to ~it outten de winder. A white spooky thing had done come in de ~ right by me. I was so scairt dat I could not git up. I had done fell straight out on de flo . When Dan. stick his head uutten dat winder something say bans and he ~el1 right down in de Lb . I crawles under de bed. 7~hen I ~ot dar, all de other chilluns wuz dar to,lookin a~ white as ashec. dough frol hickory wood. Us peeped out and den us duck under de bed a~in. Ain t no bed ebber done as much good. as dat one. Den. a whole lot of dem some in de house. De wuz all white and scairy lookin . It still makes de shivvers run down my spine and here I is ole and you all a settin around wid me and two mo wars done cone since dat awful time. Dan Black, he wo tit no mo kaise de took dat nigger arid hung him to a simmon tree. Dey would not let his folks take hirn down either. He jus stayed ar till he fell to pieces.

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POLK LORE: POLK TALES (Negro) Page 2 Lfter dat when us chilluns seed de Ku Klux a cornin , us would take aa run breadneck speed to de nearest wood. Dar we would stay till dey wuz plum out o sig~it and you could not even hear de horses feet. Dem days wuz wors n de war. Yes Lawd, dey wuz worse n any war I is ebber heard o1~. Was not long after dat l ore de spooks wuz a gwine round ebber whar. When you would ~o out atter dark, sornethin would start to a haintin ye. You would ~it so scairt dat you would mighty ni run every time you went out atter dark; even iffin you didn t see nothin . Chile, don t axe me what I seed. Atter all dat kuhn and. a burnin you know you wuz bliged to see things wid all dein spirits in distress a swine all over de land. You see, it is like dis~ when a man gits killed beTh he is done what de good Lawd intended fer him to do, he cornes back here arid tries to find who done him wrthn~. I mean be don come back hisseif, but de spirit, it is what comes and wanders around. Course, it can t do nothin , so it jus scares folks and haints dem. SOURCE: Aunt Millie Bates, 25 Hamlet street, Union, SC. Interviewer: Caldwell Sims, Union, S.C.

Visit with Uncle Welcome Bees--age 104 years. 051 048

330207 project #1655 ~ FOLKLORE : 48 Mrs. Genevieve W. Chandler ~irrells Inlet, s. ~. Georgetown County VISIT WITH UNCLE VVELCOME BEES ~ - ~ A~E 104 YEARS The road is perfectly oamouflaged from the King s Eigh~way by wild plums that lap overhead. On~y those who hav e traveled this way before could locate the turn in to Uncle Welcoinets house. When you have turned in and come suds denly out from the plum thicket you find your roadwinding along *ith cultivated patches on the left -- corn and peas -~ a fenoed- in gaHeza, the palings riven out by hand, and thick dark woods on the left. A lonesome, untenanted cabin is seemingly in the way but your car swings to the left instead ot climbing the door-step and suddenly you find you are faoir~g a bog. The car may get through; it n~y not. So you switch off and just sit a minute, seeing how the land lies. A great si iging and chopping of wood off to the left have kept the izm~.tes from hearing the approach of a car. ~Ihen you rap therefore you hear, Come in . A narrow hall runs through to the back porch and off this hail on your right opens a door from beyond which comes a very musical squeaking -~ you know a rocking chair is going hard ~ even before you see it in motion with e. fuzzy little head that reste on someone s shoulder sticking over the top. And the fuzzy head which in size is like a s~ll five cent ooooamrt~, belongs to Uncle Welcorne s: :great grand. On seeing a visitor the grand, the mother of the infant, rises and smiles greeting, and, learning your errand, points back to the kitchen to show where Uncle Weloon~ sits. You step doi~n one step and ask h~m if you xi~ay come in and he pats a chair by his side. The old man isn t so 6~27

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~ U.i z2 ~ . FOLKLORE WojeO .~ .ir.&uu~# ( Mrs. Genevieve W.. Chandler i~&irre118 liilet, S. C. Pa~ge 2 GeorgetOwfl County VISIT WITH tJNCL~ WELCOME BEES ~--AGE 104 YEARS as he ~wae when you saw him in the fall; the winter has been hard. But here it is warm again and at most four in the April afternoon, he site over his plate of hopping John ~ he and innumerable flies. At his feet, fairly un~ der the front of a sn~ll iron stove, sits another great-grand with a plate of peas between her lege. Peas and. nos, hopping John . (Someone says peas and hominy cooked together n~kes liniping Lizzie in the Low-Country. But that is another story. ) ~ *Unole Welcome, isn t Unols Jeemes Stuart the oldest liver on Sandy Island? Welcome z Jeemes Stuart? I was n*rried n~.n when he born. Jeeniea rioe field . (Worker in rice-field) posed himself. In all kinds of weather. Cut you down, down, down Jeemes second wife gal been n~rried before but he husband dead. I couldn t tell the date or tii~ I born. Your ~uasa (~.ster) take it down. When I been n*rry, Dr. Ward Fadder (Father) amt been ~rry yet. ~r mother had twelve head born oatland. He bought n~r mother frein Virginia. Dolly. Sam he husband naine. Sain oome from sa~ course. When n~r mother been bought, he been youflg wox~,n. Work in rice. RLow right now (Meaning April is time to plow rice fields ). I do carpenter work and mind horse for plantation. Come from Georg.town in boat. Have you own oarri~ge. Go anywhere you want to go. Oatland church build for colored people and po~buokra. I helped build that church. The

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Project #1655 . FOLKLORE Mrs. Genevieve W. Chandler Murrells Inl.t, S, C. Page 3 Georgetown County VISIT WITH TINGLE WELCOME BEZS --- AGE 104 Y ARS boss n~.n, Mr. Bett~n. ~r son Isaac sixty-nine. If him sixty nine, I one hundred four. That s m~r record. I~ueea didntt low you to n~rry t5~1 you twenty two. Ben A .lston own Turkey Hill. When him dead,~. 1 was twelve years old. Mei (Knocking his chest) Welcome Bees P~rkersvi11e, S. C. (Near Waverl Mills, S. C.) Age 1.04.

Ex-slave 83 years old. 054 051

Project ~1655 v~. w. Dixon . Winnsboro, ~. C. 390258 ~ . A1~Th~E BELL EX SlAVE 83 YEARS OLD. C he~i wt.:~i1t~4ziz,c~ I ~.0 ~ Anne Bell lives with her niece, in a one~room annex to a two~ room frame house, on the plantation of ~Jir. Lake Howze, six miles west of Wirnisboro, S. C. Her niece s husband, Golden Byrd, is a ahare~cropper on ~r. Howze s place. The old lady is still spry and energetic about the cares of housekeeping and attention to the small children of her niece. She is a delightful old lady and well worth her keep in the srr~.ll chores she undertakes and performs in the household. tidy marster was John Glazier Rabb; us call him i~iarse Glazier. ~v~r mistress was ~ancy Kincaid ~atts; us call her Miss i~ancy. They lived on a big plantation 5ia Fairfield County and dere I come into dis world, eightythree years ago, 10th day of April past. tt ~r pappy name just Andy but after de freedom, he took de name of Andrew Watts. ~r old mammy was Harriett but she come to you if you calls her Hattie. My brudders was Jake and Rafe. ~r sister name Charity. They all dead and cone to glory long time ago; left me here tione Dy i~rself and I s settin here tellin you bout them. t1~:~~ ~ was de cook at de Big House for marster, Miss Nancy, and de chillun. Let inc see if I can call them over in my mind. Dere was Marse John, wentoff to de war, color bearer at Seven Pines, Yes sir, him was killed wid de colors a flyin in his hand. Heard tell of it many times. He lies right now in de old Buck Church graveyard. De pine trees, seven of them, cry and sob tro~d him every August 6th; datts de day he was killed. Oh, nxy Godi .

055 052

z 52 Marse James went wid. oi~ Colonel Rion. They say he ~ot shot but No, bless Godi Narse Clarence. He went wid Captain Jim I~Iacfie, went through it all and didn t get a scratch. Next was ~ss Jesse. Then come Marse Horace, and Miss Nina. Us ohillun. all played together. ~iarse Horace is livin yet and is a fine A. R. P. preacher of de Word. Miss Nina a rich lady, ~ot plantation but live InonC de big bugs in Winnsboro. Sh married Mr. Castles; ~he is a widow now. He was a good miii, but he dead n~vr. De one I minds next, is Charlie. I nussed him. He married Colonel Province s daughter . Dat s all I can eall to mind right now. Itgourse de white folks I b longs to, had more slaves than I got fingers and toes; whole families of t~~em. De carp nter and de blacksmith on de place made de bedsteads. Us had good wheat straw mattresses to sleep on~ cotton quilts, spreads, and cotton pillows. No trouble to sleep but it was hard to hear dat white overseer say at day break : Let me hear them foots hit de floor and dat befo I go~ Be livelyL Hear me? A~d you had to answer, Yas sah he d move on to de nex house I does member de parts of de bed, was held together by wooden pins. I sho members datL fla!rn13:y :~arriett was de cook. I didn t done no work but tend to de chillun and tote water. tl~oney? Go way from here~ bo s s ~ Lord no s ir I never s aw no money. What I want wid it anyhow? How did. they feed us? Had better things to eat then, than now and more different kind of somethin s. lis had pears, lasses, shorts, middlings of de ~Sst, corn bread, and all kinds of milk and vegetables. bullets couldn t kill hirn. Hirn corned back. Then come

056 053

. 53 t, Got a whuppin once They want ed me to go after de turkeys and I didn t want to go past de graveyard, where de turkeys was. I shot Id t want to go by them grave s s s oared iiow to go by a graveyard in de dark I took de i and somebody eis e n~ist have got de turkeys. Sho I didn t drive them up~ Slaves spun de thread, loomed de cloth, and made de clothes for de plantation. Don t believe I had any shoee I was just a small gal anyhow then, didn t need them and didn t want them. Yes, I~s seen nigger women plow Church? I wouldn t fool you, all do slaves big enough and not sick, had to go to church on de Sabbath. They give us a half Saturday, to do as we like. it1 was bout ten years old when de Yankees come. They was full to de brixawid mischief. They took de frocks out de presses and put thorn on and laugh and carry on powerful. Befo they went they took everything. They took de meat and Visions out de sm ke-houso~,and de tiasses, sugar, flour, and meal out de house. Killed de pigs and cows, burnt de gin- house and cotton, and t ok off de live stock, geese, chickens and turkeys. ttAfter de freedom, I stayed.. onwid manmty right dere, tu I married Levi Bu s had two ohillun. Dis my granddaughter . I vis itin . I never speot s to have as good a home as I had in slavery t u, t il I gits n~T title to dat mansion in de sky. Date de reason Ilikes to sing dat old. plantation spiritual t Swing Low Sweet Chariot Jesus Gwinter Carry ne Home Does I believe in ~ ligion? ~That else good for colored folks? I ask you if dere ain t a heaven, what!s colored folks got to look forward to? They can t git anywhere down here. De only joy they can have here, ~ ~ ~ IT~::. : ~ ~ S ~ ~ S ~ ~ ~ ~ S S

057 054

40 54 is servi& and lovin ; us ~an ~it dat in 1i~ion but dere is a limit to de nigger in everything else. Course I knows ray place in dis world; I umbles myself here to be zalted up yonder.

Slavery reminiscences. 058 055

Project 1885-.1 POLKLORE Spartanburg, Dist .4 July 26, 1937 Edi~ed by: Elmer Turna~e 390242 55 SLAVERY R~Ifl ~ IS OEI~I CES tu was raised in the wood across the road about 200 yards from here. I was very mischievous. My parents were honest and ~ were Christians. I loved them very much. My father was William Bevis, who died at the a~e of eighty. Miss Zelia Hames of Pea Ridge was my mother. My parents are buried at Bethlehem Meth.. odist Church. I was brought up in Methodism and f do not know anything else. I had two brothers arid four sisters. wiy twin sister died last April 1937. She was Fannie Holcombe. I was in bed with pneumonia at the time of her death and of course I could riot go to the i~uneral. For a month, I was unconscious. When I was a little girl I played Andy~.over with a ball, in the moonlight. Later I went to parties and dances. Calico, chambric and gingham were the materials which our party dresses were made o~. ?$My grandmother, Mrs. Phoebe Bevis used to tell Revolution.. ary stories and sing songs that were sung during that period. Grandmother knew some Tories. She always told me that old Nat Gist was a Tory ... that is the way he got rich. Hampton was elected governor the morning my Pather went in his carriage to Joriesville to vote We all thought that H~impton was fine. When I was a school girl I used the blue back speller. My sweetheart s name was Ben Harris. We went to Bethlehem to school. Jeff and Bill Harris were our teachers. I was thirteen. mother died. for Hampton.

059 056

Slavery Reminiscences . Pace 2 We went together for six years. The Confederate War commenced. He was very handsome. He had. black eyes and black hair. I had seven curls on one side of my head and seven on the other. He was twenty~four when he joined the ?~Boys of Sixteen1. 11e wanted to marry me then, but f ther would not let us marry. He kissed me good bye and went o~ to Virginia. He was a picket and was killed. while on duty at M&rs Hill. Bill Harris was in a tent near-by and heard the shot. Le brought Ben home. went to the funeral. I have never been much in~love since then. I hardly ever eel sad. I did not reel especially sad during the war. I made socks, gloves and sweaters for the Con. ederate soldierB and aleo knitted i~or the Norld ~Var soldiers. During the war, there were three looms and three shuttles in our house. I went often to the muster grounds at Kelton to see the soldiers drill and to flirt my curls at them. Pa always went with me to the muster field. On e he invited four recruits to dine with us. We had a delicious supper. That was before the Confederacy was paralyzed. Two darkies waited on our table that night, Dorcas and Charlotte. A fire burned in our big f ire~ place arid a lamp hung over the table. After supper was over, we all sat around the fire in its flickering lieht. ttMy next lover was Jess Holt and he was drowned in the Mississippi River. He was a carpenter and was building a warf on the river. He fell in and was drowned in a whirlpool. Source: Miss Caroline Bevis (W. 96), County Home, Union, S.C. Interviewer: Caidwell Sims, Union, S.C. (7/13/3?)

Ex-slave, 79 years. 060 057

OodeNo. }1o.~e~Th___~ Project, i86 (1) Re&ueed~ fi m ~rd.a Prepared. by Lnnle Ruth Davis Rewritten by Place, Mirion, 8.0. ___________________ 57 Date Jane ~ . I 937 Page 1. ~ ~ MLGGIE BLACK ~ Ex-Slave, 79 years . 3902.87 Honey, i: d,Oflt know wha to tell yuh bout d.ein times baok dere. ~!uh aee I waz jea uh young oh11~ when d.e free war 0108e en I alu know nnzoh to tell yuh. I born oter d.e river ere to Massa Jim Wilkereon plantation. Don know wha come uv my oie MaE~sa ohullun a ter dey head. been gone. Yuh e, honey, Mas sa Jim Wilkerson hab uh heap uv~ slave en he hire my nmd.der out to Colonel Durant place rlghl down d.e road. dere whey Mies Durant .ib now. Coase I been back o er d.e river to visit mongest de peoples d.ere a ter freedom ~ o .are, but I am ne er lib d.ere no more. Gawd. been good. to me, honey. I been heah uh long oie time en I eau see macha d.ese days, but I gettin iong aorta 80 - 80. I Witz train up to be uh nu se oman en I betoha I got ohilinn :more den any ~O year oie bout heah now d.at I nufee when &ey wuz fast come heah. No, honey, am got no ohillun uv me own. Aw my ohil .un white lak yu.h. Ho, no mam, dey wear long oie frock den en uh girl oomin on d.ere when d.ey ge to be any kind. uv uh girl, d~ey Pu t dat fr ook down Oh my ohi id. d.ey ein short z~ough dese days. Am hab zntthinbut ~h string on dese d.ay en time. Dey izse er wear dem big oie hoop skirt dat sit out broad. lak from d.e ankle en d~en dey wear little panty d.~t: show down twixt dey ikirt en d.ey atkle. 3es tie em rund. dey kneea wid. some. aorta string en le em show dat way bout

061 058

Ood~e No. 1go. woris ~ Projeot, .~85~.(1) Reduced. ~ ~~rd,e Prepared. by Annie Ruth Davi8 Rewritten by ~ Place, Marion, 8.0. Date JLine 2 . 1 937 PageL ~ d~ey ankle. I member w black ohullun ud. go in d~e WoOd.8 en get wild. grape vine en bend. em rouiid. en put ein und.er us skirt en make lt stand. out big lak. Hadder hab ith big oie ring fa de bottom uv de skirt en den one uh little bit smaller eve y time dey ge closer to de waist. Ne er hab none tall in de waist cause d.at wz e ppoee to be little bitty t ing. Dey weave aw d.e cloth d~ey use d~en right ere on de plantation. Wear cotton en woolens aw de time den. Coaee de Madam, ehe coa .d. go en ge de finest kind. uv silk cause moe uv her t ing come from broad. Ohi .d, I o n see my oie mammy how ehe look workin dat apinning wheel jee uz good uz of dat day waz dis day right heah. She set d.ere at d.atole spinning wheel en take one ehettle en t row it one way en den anrmder de udder way en pull dat t Ing en make it tighter en tighter. Sumptin say zum, znm~ zum, en den ytih hadder work yah feet d.ere too. Dat waz de ~y dey make dey cloth dat clay en time. ~ I, Honey p e oplee hadde r work dey band. fa e ye yt Ix3g dey hab moe den. Dey grow dey own rice right dere on de plantation tri dem days. Eadder plant It on e~e uv de land wha ~nz water den de u&d~r~. ~and ivus. Dy hadder le ~ ge good en ripe en den dey~ud eut it en hab one uv dem bI~ rioe whippIng days. Heap nv people come from plantation aw

062 059

Cod.. iso. ~o. Wordi ~ ~ ~ Projeot, 188541) . Rethiced. ~ ~~____ Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis Rewritten bf ~ Plaoe, Marion, 8.0. _____________________ Date, Jane 21, 193 ? pige . ~ . bout en help whip dat rice. Dey jee take d.e rice en beat it ~eroas eame hose dat d~ey hab fix up somewhey dere on d~e plantati on. Honey d.ey hab hos s je~ .ak d~ee e hoe s ytth se e oarpente r use b out heah dese d.aye . Dey !iid. hab lmnd.re de uv bushels uv dat rice dere. Den when dey ge t r~mgh, ~ey hab big supper dere fa aw d.em whaT whip rice. Gi!e ein aw de rice en hog head. d~ey te er wan . Man, d~ey ud. hab &e nicest kind. 11V iflUSiC dere. Knock d.em bones togedder en slap en pat d~ey hand.e t aw kind uv pretty tim. Dee d.ey hab rice mortare right d.ere on de plantation wha dey fix d.e rice in joe uz nice. Now dey hab to take it to d.e mill. Ytth see dey hab uh big block outer in d.e yard. wid. nu big hole in it d.at dey put d.e rice in en take dese t ing cal . pestles en beat down onit en d.at wha knock de shaft offen it. Coase dey ne er hab no nice pretty rice lak yah ee d.ese days cause it waan t uz white uz de rice dat dey hab bout heah die day en time, but it waz mighty sweet rice, honey, mighty sweet rice. J~TO Ifl~1fl, d.id.n t hab no schools tall den. Ne er gi e de colored peoples no l arnin no whey fore free&oii o .are. Tha 1 it tie 1 ~T ~ orne my way wttz ha I whe n I stay wid Mise Martha Leggett &own dere to Legg.tt e Mill Pond.. 1L ter freedom dare uh lady from de north come dere en }tiss Legg tt send. we ohillun to school to dat lad~y up ou de hill dore in de woo&e. No, honey, yuh am n~ er see no bresh tent

063 060

Code iTo. Isro. Werde________ Project, l885~(l) . Reduced fr6m~ ~rde Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis Rewritten by~~ . Place, Marion, S.O. t) Date, Jane 21, 1937 Pag 4. ~ . boat heah dis day en time. Dis jes de way it waz make. Dey dig four big holes en put poetee in aw four corner boat lak uh room. Den dey lay log cross de top uv dat en kiver it aw o er wid. bresh (brash) d.at dey break cater de woo de Ne e r hab none uv de e I de e he t up ~n &ey haul log dere en roll em under dat bresh tent fa we ohillun to set on . Oh, de teacher ~ hab uh big box ta her stand jee 1 ek uh preache r yb ody dat go to e ohoo 3. de re hab one UT dem t ing eaU elate dat yuh ne er hadder do nuthin but jee Wash it offen. ~n dey hab deee oie l arum book wba yuh call Webetere. My white folke al aye waz good. to me honey. ~e ter do didn t hab to/no field work in aw me life. When I etay dere lid. Mise Leggett I hadde r pick up 1 itt .. chip th ~t de yard when I Lust come home from school en den I had&er e go way up in de big field en drib de turkey/up. We didn t find. dat no hard. t ing to do lak de peoples talk lak it aumptin hard. to do dese days. Te wuz l arxit to work en didn t mind it neither. Altaye minded to ue own bueineae ~ Oh, gourde wizz de ing in dem d.aye Dey waz ha ~.s peoples hab to drink cater en wash dey hominy en rice in aw de time . ~ Dey wi~ de besteet kind uv bowl ta we ohillun to eatoorn bread en clabber oater. Peoples die day en time don hab no aech aroekery lak de people ue.Ter hab. Reney, dey hab de prettiest little clay boWLe den.

064 061

Ood.e No. 1go. ~rord.e Project, 1886 (l) Reduced fr ~1viord Prepared by Annie Ruth De~vis Rewritten by . ~ Place, Marion, 8.0. ~ . Date, June 21, 1937 Fige 6. 1Lnnu&er t ing de peoprea do den d~at yah aLu ne er hear baut nobody doing tisse days, dey alTaya boil suniptin fa dey oewe to eat lak peas en corn in uh big ole black pot somewhey dere i~i de back lot. Cosse it vaz jee half oookd, but dey sho done dat. ~Iobody ne er t oug ht bout not oook1n ~ fa dey cow den. Dat wtt~ sho uh difterent day from die, hoxiey. De little ohillun wu~ 3es uz foolish den caus de peoples ne er tell dem bout nathin tall in dat day en time, Lw d.ese little chillun bout heah dese days don hab no shame 1b~iit ein no whey. Dey hab head. fui . uv eve yt ing, honey, aw aorta grown people knowings. 8ou~: Maggie Black, ex slave, age 79, MarIon, 8.0. Personal interview, ktne 1937.

Folk-lore : ex-slaves. 065 062

Project 1885 1rn. District #~ ~ Spartanburg, S.C. i90120 June 7, 1937 ~ FOLK-LORE : EX SLAVES II was born In Laurens Qounty, S. C., at the brick house , which Is close to Newberry County line, and ray master was Dr. Felix Ca j~es. The old brick house is still there. My daddy was Joe Grazier and my mammy, Nellie Grazier. We had a pretty good house to live i~i in slavery time, and some fair things to eat, but never was paid any money. We had plenty to eat like fat meat, turnips, cabbages, corn bread, milk and pot-liquor. Master sent his corn and apples, and his peaches to old man Scruggs at Helena, near Newberry, to have him make his whiskey, brandy, and wine for him. Old man Scruggs was good at that business. The men hunted some, squirrels, rabbits, possums,and birds. ?fIfl the winter time I didn t have much clothes, and no shoes. At nights I carded and spinned on the mistress s wheels, helping mymaxnmy. Then we got old woman Wilson to weave for us. t Master had a b ig plantation of several farms, near about 1,000 acres or more . It was said he had once 250 slaves on his places, counting children and all. His overseers had to whip the slaves, master told them to, and told them to whip them hard. Master Calms was most always mean to us. He got in~ad spells and ~ihip like the mischief. He all the time whipping me cause I wouldn t work like he wanted I worked in the big house, washed, ironed, cleaned up, and was nurse in the house when war was going on.

066 063

-2- . 63 - ?tWe didntt have a chance to learn to read and write, and master said if he caugh~b any of his slaves trying to learn he would skin them alive . There was a church in the neighborhood on Dr. Blackburn s place, but we didn t get to go to it much. I was 17 years old when I joined the church. I joined because the rest of the girls joined. I think everybody ought to join the church. On Saturday afternoons the slaves had to work, and all day Sunday, too, if master wanted them. On Christmas Day we was give liquor to get drunk on, but didn t have no dinner. tt~j~en I was sick old Dr. P. B. Ruff attended me. Old Dr. Calm s, I member, traveled on a horse, with saddle-bag behind him, and made~ his own medicines. He made pills from cornbread. I saw riiariy slaves sold on the block saw mammy with little i~fant taken away from her baby and sent away. I saw .faniilies separated from each other, some going to one white master and some to another. I iiarried at 14 years old to Arthur Bluford. ~e had 10 children. I now have about 8 grandchildren and about 7 or 8 great grandchildren. I was married in the town of Newberry at the white fo J~ s Methodist church, by a colored preacher named Rev. Geo. De Walt. ~hen freedom come, they left and hired out to other people, but I stayed and was hired out to a man who tried to whip me, but I ran away. Dat was after I married and had little baby. I told my rnaimny to look after my little baby ~ ~ was gone.

067 064

3-, I stayed away tw~o years till after Dr. Calmes and his family moved to Mississippi. SOTSRCE: Gordon Bluford (92), ~Tewberry, S. C. Interviewer G. Leland Summer, 1707 4ndsey St., . Newberry, S. C.

Ex-slave 82 years old. 068 065

Project f1655 Henry Grant Columbia, S. C~ 330218 SAMtJEL BOULWARE EX~SI V~ 82 YE~RS OLD. Sanuel Boulware s only home is one basement room, in the home of colored friends, for which no rent charges are made. He is old and feeble and has poor eyesight, yet, he is self supporting by doing light odd jobs, mostly for white people. He has never married, hence no dependents whatever. One of the members of the house, in which Samuel lives, told him someone on the front porch wanted to talk with him. From his dingy basement room he slowly imunted the steps and came toward the front door with an irregular shamble. One seeing his approach would naturally be of the opinion, that this old darkey was certainly nearing the hundred year mark. Apparently Father T~e had aimost caught up with him; he had been caught in the winds of a~t1~lict ion and now he was tottering along with a bent and twisted frame, which for many years in the past, housed a veritable physical giant. The winds of 82 years had blown over him and now he was calmly and hwnbiy approaching the end of his days. Humility was his attitude, a characteristic purely attributable to the genuine end old-fashion southern Negro. He slid into a nearby chair and began talking in a plain conversational way. Dis is a mighty hot day white folks but you knows dis is July and us gits de hot days in dis month. De older I gits de more I feels de t hot and de cold I has been a strong hard working man mo et ail ir~r life and if it wasn t for dis rheumatism I has in my right leg, I could work hard every day now. Does I ~~,er nich bout slavery times? Well, dere is no ~y for me to disremember, unless I die. 1~y mammy and me b long to Doctor

069 066

2 . 66 Hunter, some called him Major Hunter. When I was a small boy, I lived wid my mammy on de Hunter plantation. 1~.fter freedom, I took de name of my daddy, who was a Bouiware. He b long to Reuben Bouiware, who had a plantation twcr and one~ha1f miles from Ridgeway, S. C., on de road dat leads to Long-town. N~y mistress name was b ffie. She and marster had foth sons, no girls a tall. George, Abram, ~i11ie, and Henry, was their names. They was fine boys, cause they was raised by Mistress Effie s o~vn hands She was a good woma~i and done things ~ zackly right round de plantation. Us slaves loved her, cause she said kind and soft words to us. N~.ny times l s seen her pat de little niggers on de head, smile and say nice words to them. Boss, kind treatment done good then and it shot does good dis present day; don t you think I ~s right bout dat? W~rster had a bad temper. ~4hen he git mad, he walk fast, dis way and dat way, and when he stop, would say terrible cuss viords. Ythen de mis~ tress heard them bad words, she would bow her pretty head and walk l~r~y kinda sad lek. It hurt us slaves to see de mistress sad, cause us wanted to see her srnilin and happy all de time. ~ fl~fl~T work d hard in de field every day and as I was just a snall boy, I toted water to de han4~~ in de field and fetched wood into de kitchen to cook wid, i~jnn~r was de mother of twelve chillun; three of them die when they was babies. Ps de oldest of de twelve and has done more hard work than de rest. I had five brothers and all Of them is dead, cept one dat I ive s in Savannah Georgia I has four s isters one 1 lying in Charleston, one in New York City, one in Ith~ca, i~. Y., and one in Fairfield County, dis State. Does n~c folks help me along any? I ~o sir, they shot don t. I

070 067

gits nothin from them, and I don t expect nothin neither. Boas, a nigger s kinfolks is woree than a stranger to them; they thinks and acts for theirselves and no one else I knows I ~ a nigger and I tries to know my place. If white folks had drapped us long time ago, us would now be next to de roviri beasts of de woods. blavery was hard I knows but it had to be., it seem lok. They tells me they eats each other in Africa. Us don t do dat and you knows dat is a heap to na. ttUs had plenty to eat in slavery time. It.wasn t de best but it filled us ~p and give us strength nough to work. Marster would buy a years rations on de first of every year and ~when he git it, he would havo some cooked and woul l set down and eat a meal of it. He would tell us it di&n t hurt him, so it wontt hurt us. Dats de kind of food us slaves had to eat all de year. Of course, us got a heap of vegetables and fruits in de sunimer season, but sich as dat didn t do to work on, j_n de long summer days. Marster was good, in a way, to his slaves but dat overseer of his name John Parker, was mean to us sometimes. He was good to some and bad to others He strung us up when he done de whippin ~ got many whippints on. count of her short temper. 1~~hen she got mad, she would talk back to de overseer, and dat would make him madder than anything else she could do. t1Marster had over twenty grown slaves all de time. He bought and sold them whenever he wanted to It was sad times to see mother and chillun separated. I s seen de slave speculator out de little nigger ehillim with keen leather whips, cause they d cry and ran after de wagon dat was takin their inaniinies away after they was sold. De overseer was poor white folks, if date what you is ~

071 068

4. t 68 1bout, and dat is one thing dat made him so hard on de slaves of de plantation. Jul de overseers I knowed bout wa~ poor white folks; they was white folks in de neighborhood dat was&t able to ovin slaves. All dis class of people was called by us ni~gers, poor white folks. tiUs slaves had no schoolin , cause dere was no teac~her and school nigh ~ plantation. I has learnt to read a little since I got grown. spelling come to nie xiatural. I can spell tost any word I hears, old as I is. ~&rster and mistress was Baptist in ligious faith, ~.nd b long to Concord Baptist Church. Us slaves was allowed to tend dat church, too. Us set up in de gallery and j med in de s ingin~ every Sunday . Us slaves could jine Concord Church but Doctor Durham, who wa~ de preacher, would take de slaves in another room from de white folks, and git their fessions, then he would j ins then~ to de church. ~ t My daddy was a slave on Reuben Bouiware s plantat ion bout two miles from Marster Hunter s place. He would git a pass to come to see rnaxwxty once every week. If he come more than dat ho would have to skeedaddle through de woods and fields from de patrollers. If they ketched him ~idout a pass, he was in for a skin crackin whippin He knowed all dat but he would slip to see xnanmiy anyhow, whippin or not. Most them there patrollers was poor white folks, I believes. Rich folks stay in their house at night, less they has some sort of big frolic amongst theirselves. Poor white foThs had to hustle round to make a living, so, they hired out theirselves~to slave owners and rode de roads at night and whipped niggers if they ketohed. any off their plantation widout

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5. G9 a pass. I haL found dat if you gives to some poor folks, white or blaok, something a little better than they ils used to, they is sho gwine to think too high of theirselves soon, dats right. I sho believes dat, as much as I believes I s setting in dis chair talkin to you. 111 members lak yesterday,de Yankees commt 1on~. Marster tried to hide the best stuff on de plantation but some of de slaves dat helped him hide it, showed de Yankee soldiers just where it was1 when they come dore They say : Here is de stuff, hid here cause us put it Then de soldiers went straight to de place where de valuables was hid. and dug them out and took them, it sho set old raarster down. Us slaves was sorry dat day for marster and mistress. They was gittin old, and now they had lost all they had, and more that dat, they knowed their slaves was set free. De soldiers took all de good hosses, fat cattle, chickens, de meat in de smoke house, and then burnt a1~ empty houses. They left de ones dat folks lived in. De Yankees pear to ins, to be lookin for things to eat, more than anything else. Does I believe in ligion? Dat is all us has in dis world to live by and it s gviine to be de onliest thing to die wid. l3elief in God and a umble spirit is how I s tryin to live these days. I was chrIstened Lust a ~iethodist, but when I crowed up, I jine de Presbyterian Church and has mained a member of dat church every since. Thank God ~ s had ~ nough son e not to believe in haunts and sich things I has ~ p~ sum hunt at night by myself in graveyards and I ain t seen one yet. My maum~r say she see haunts pass her wid no heads but these old eyes has never seen anything lak dat. If you has lone somebody a terrible wrong, then I believes dat person whe~i they die, will t pear to you on c~unt of dat .~

Reminiscences: the Red Shirts. 073 070

g project 1885...1 . polkiore Edited b : . Spart aribur ~ Dist . 4 Elmer Turnage Feb. 7, 1938 . RB~NIINISCE~CES: TIlE BED SHIRTS ~ 39C027 ttThe Red Shirts had a big parade and barbecue in Spartanburg~ They met at the courthouse. There were about 500 Red Shirts, besides others who made up a bi~g crowd. I remember Lour leaders who came from Union County. One of the companies vvas lea by Squire Gilliam Jeter, arid one by Squire Bill Lyles. The company from the city was led by Capt. James Douglass~ arid Buck Ke1J.ey from Pea Rid ewas there with his company. Everything drilled in Spartanburg that day. The speakers of the day from Unior~ were Squire Jeter and~~~~Douglass. While they were speaking, old Squire George Tucker from lower Pish Darn came with his company. Mr. Harrison Sartor, father of Will Sartor, was one of the captains. We saw Gen. Wade Hampton arid old man Ben Tillmari there. A~bout this time I was bound out to Mr. Jim Gregory, a black.. -~\ smith. The wealtny landlords bought ne&oes. Mr. Jim Gregory was the blacksmith Thr old Johnny i~eador and~ nt Polly, his wife. He told me that Wncie Johnny bought a man, Heath, for 3,500. He also bought Heath s wife, L~iorrow, or4int Polly, but I don t know what he paid. The i~.eador house is just this side o~ Simstown. Aunt Polly s father, Triplett Meador, built that mansion. The brick were made in. a home kiln which was near the house. aunt Polly was a little girl when the house was built. While the brick for the sitting.~room fireplace were still wet, he made little Polly step on each one of them to make the impression of her feet. So those foot prints in that fireplace are A ~ Polly s when she was five years old. She grew up there and married, and lived ther until her death. ~

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Remiflis cences 1 ttMiss Ida Knight s house (formerly the Sims house) was built riot later than 1840. ~Thornpson lived there first. Dr. Billy Sims married Dr. Thompson s sister, Miss Patsy, and that is how the house got into the Sims family. The old post oflice was known as Sixnstown, arid I believe it was up near the Nat Gist mansion. Simstown was the naine Lor the river community or years, because the Sirns ~~ettled there and they were equally or more prominent than the Thompsons and Gists in that community. All the Sims men were country doctors. To this coni~unity at the close of the Confederate war, came old man Ogle Tate, his wise, a~ Ben Shell, as refuge~s, fleeing.from the Yankees. When they came into the community9 Nat Gist gave them a nice house to live in on his plantation. ttivlr Gregory got all the.sheet iron used on the Meador and Gist plantations, and. also on the Sims and Thompson plantations. Plows were made in his blacksmith shop from 10 inch sheet iron. The sheet was heated and. beaten into shape with his hammer. After cooling, the tools could be sha~peried. Horse and mule shoes were made from slender iron rods, bought i~or that purpose. They were called slats , and this grade of iron was itno~vn as slat iron . The shoe was moulded while hot, and beaten into the correct shape to fit the animal s foot. Those old shoes fit much better than the store~bought ones of more recent days. The horseshoe nails were made there, too. In fact, every farm implement of Iron w~s made from flat or sheet iron. I spun the first pants that ~: wore. Ma sewed them ~or me, and wove and finished them with her hands. She made the thread that they were sewed with by hand on the loom. I made cloth for all m~ shirt8. I wore homeS-made cotton underwear in summer and winter, for we were poor. Of course my winter clothes were heavier.

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Rernirlis cences ~?2. We raised some sheep, and the winter woolens were made from the wool sheared rrom the sheep every May. Wool was taken to the fac-. tory at Bivensville and there made into yarn. Often, cotton was swap-. ped for yarn to warp at home. Then ma ran it off on spools for her loom. Sleigh hammers were made from cane ~otteri oft the creek banks and bottoms. A~unt Polly Meador had no patrollers on her place. She would not allow one there, for she did. her own patrolling with her own whip and two bull dogs. She never had an overseer on her place, either. ~ Teither id she let Uncle Johnny do the whipping. Those two dogs held them arid she did her own whipping. une hi~ht she vvent to the quarter and found old Bill Pea Legs there after one o her negro women. He crawled under the bed when he heard~unt Polly coming. Those dogs pulled old Pea Legs out and she gave him a whipping that he never forgot. She whipped the woman, also. ~ Morg was Morrow s nickname. Morg used to sit on the meat block and cut the meat ior~Unt Folly to give out. Morg would eat her three pounds of raw meat right there. Uncle Johnny asked her what she would do all the week without any meat. She said. that she would take the skin and grease her mouth every morning; then ~o on to the field or house and do her work, and wait until the next Saturday for more. ~tl do not know how old am, but I well remember when ~hee1er s men came to the plantation. They tore up everything. We heard that they were cumiri~, so we dug holes and buried the meat ana everything we could. ~ie hid them so well that we could never find some of them ourselves. Wheeler and ~6 men stopped on the Dick Jeter place. I think that was in 1864. The Jeter place touched Miss Polly s planta-. tion. The Jeter place was right near Neal Shoals on Broad River. M~. Jeter had the biggest gin house in the eutire township. Old Mr. Dick

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73~ was at home because he ~as too old to go to the war. pa was still in the war then, of course. Ma and I arid one of the other children and a ~ew darkies were at o~r home. We saw ~ hee1er and. his men when they stopped at that gin. house. They began to ransack immediately. Wheeler gave some orders to his men and ~al1oped o~f towards our house. The negroes ran but ma and I stayed in the house. Wheeler rode up in front oe the door and sooke to my mother. He s i . that he had to feed his men and horses and asked her where the corn was. She told him that the gin house and the crib which contained the corn did not belong to her, so she could not give him the keys. At that he ordered his men to remove a log from the crib. By this means they broke into the crib arid got all the corn. They then ransacked the house arid took everything there was to eat. They tore out the bi~ cog wheel in the gin and camped in it for the night. Next morning they set Lire to the gin and then galipped away. Soon Mr. Jeter s big gin had gone up in Lianies. They took all of our corn and all o:f the fodder, 200 bundles that we had in the barn, away with t hem. Source: Mr. John Boyd, County Home, Union, R.P.D. Interviewer ~ Caidwell Sims, Union,S. C. 1/26/38 Rerniflis ceri ces