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The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway)
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Product&Description&When&she's&not&digging&up&bones&or&other&ancient&objects,&quirky,&tart-tongued&archaeologist&Ruth&Galloway&lives&happily&alone&in&a&remote&area&called&Saltmarsh&near&Norfolk,&land&that&was&sacred&to&its&Iron&Age&inhabitants--not&quite&earth,&not&quite&sea.&When&a&child's&bones&are&found&on&a&desolate&beach&nearby,&Detective&Chief&Inspector&Harry&Nelson&calls&Galloway&for&help.&Nelson&thinks&he&has&found&the&remains&of&Lucy&Downey,&a&little&girl&who&went&missing&ten&years&ago.&Since&her&disappearance&he&has&been&receiving&bizarre&letters&about&her,&letters&with&references&to&ritual&and&sacrifice.&The&bones&actually&turn&out&to&be&two&thousand&years&old,&but&Ruth&is&soon&drawn&into&the&Lucy&Downey&case&and&into&the&mind&of&the&letter&writer,&who&seems&to&have&both&archaeological&knowledge&and&eerie&psychic&powers.&Then&another&child&goes&missing&and&the&hunt&is&on&to&find&her.&As&the&letter&writer&moves&closer&and&the&windswept&Norfolk&landscape&exerts&its&power,&Ruth&finds&herself&in&completely&new&territory--and&in&serious&danger.&The&Crossing&Places&marks&the&beginning&of&a&captivating&new&crime&series&featuring&an&irresistible&heroine.&Amazon&Exclusive&Essay:&"A&Bridge&to&the&Afterlife"&by&Elly&Griffiths,&Author&of&The&Crossing&Places&The&Crossing&Places&is&set&on&desolate&marshland&in&Norfolk.&It&is&thought&that&prehistoric&people&saw&marshland&as&sacred.&Because&it&is&neither&land&nor&sea&but&a&mixture&of&both,&they&saw&it&as&a&kind&of&bridge&to&the&afterlife--neither&land&nor&sea,&neither&life&nor&death.&This&is&why&they&often&buried&treasure,&or&even&bodies,&at&the&edge&of&marshland.&There&have&been&several&discoveries&of&so-called&bog&bodies,&prehistoric&bodies&preserved&in&peaty&marshland&soil.&The&most&famous&of&these&is&probably&Tollund&Man,&discovered&in&Denmark&in&1950.&Tollund&Man,&who&dates&from&the&Iron&Age,&was&hanged&before&being&thrown&into&a&peat&bog.&Was&he&a&sacrifice&to&the&gods,&an&offering&in&return&for&safe&passage&across&the&treacherous&ground?&No&one&really&knows.&Norfolk&is&on&the&east&coast&of&England.&Less&than&ten&thousand&years&ago,&this&land&would&have&been&part&of&the&European&landmass,&now&Scandinavia.&It's&no&wonder,&then,&that&Norse&belief&was&strong&in&the&area.&My&story&is&fictional&but&there&have&been&many&real-life&archaeological&discoveries&on&the&Norfolk&coast.&At&Holme-next-the-Sea,&a&wooden&henge&was&discovered,&believed&to&date&from&the&Bronze&Age.&At&the&center&of&the&henge&circle&was&a&tree,&planted&upside&down.&Was&this&Yggdrasil,&the&world&tree&of&Norse&legend?&The&tree&on&which&Odin&was&sacrificed&for&the&good&of&mankind?&Again,&no&one&knows.&As&Ruth,&the&forensic&archaeologist&in&my&book,&says,&"the&questions&are&more&important&than&the&answers."&(Photo&?&Jerry&Bauer)&--This&text&refers&to&an&out&of&print&or&unavailable&edition&of&this&title.&The&Saltmarsh,&a&mystical&place,&provides&the&stunning&backdrop&for&a&new&mystery&series.Ruth&Galloway&is&an&overweight&40-ish&forensic&archaeologist&living&happily&and&quietly&with&her&two&cats&in&a&Saltmarsh&cottage&when&DCI&Harry&Nelson&calls&on&her&to&establish&the&age&of&some&bones&found&on&a&lonely&beach.&Nelson&has&never&given&up&the&search&for&Lucy&Downey,&taken&from&her&parents’&home&10&years&ago&and&presumed&dead.&But&these&bones,&to&Ruth’s&delight,&are&those&of&an&Iron&Age&child&ritually&buried.&Despite&their&disparate&backgrounds,&the&tough&cop&is&sufficiently&impressed&by&Ruth’s&calm&professionalism&to&show&her&a&series&of&taunting&letters&he’s&received&over&the&years,&presumably&from&the&killer.&She’s&struck&by&the&use&of&biblical&and&literary&quotations&and&some&arcane&archaeological&knowledge.&The&Iron&Age&find&brings&interest&from&both&the&university&where&Ruth&teaches&and&her&former&mentor&Erik&Anderssen.&The&dig&they&worked&together&at&the&Saltmarsh&now&provides&a&shoal&of&suspects&for&Nelson.&Reputed&magician&Cathbad,&Ruth’s&former&lover&Peter,&her&friend&Shona&and&Erik&were&all&around&at&the&time.&When&one&of&Ruth’s&cats&is&killed&and&left&on&her&doorstep&and&another&child&goes&missing,&she’s&sucked&eve
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iframe(src='///ns.html?id=GTM-T947SH', height='0', width='0', style='display: visibility:')<!doctype tei2 public "-//Library of Congress - Historical Collections (American Memory)//DTD ammem.dtd//EN" [ %]>
Slave narratives, a folk history of slavery in the United States from interviews with former slaves. South Carolina Narratives, Volume XIV, Part 4: a machine-readable transcription.
Born In Slavery: Ex-Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Projectmesn
Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
Washington, DC, 2000.
Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
For more information about this text and this American Memory collection, refer to accompanying matter.
General Collections, Library of Congress.
Copyright s refer to accompanying matter.
The National Digital Library Program at the Library of Congress makes digitized historical materials available for education and scholarship.
This transcription captured with optical character recognition technology is not intended to reproduce the appearance of the original work. The accompanying images provide a facsimile of this work and represent the appearance of the original.
Untitled Section
A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves
TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL WRITERS
ASSEMBLED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPONSORED BY TIlE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Illustrated with. Photographs WASII!NGTON 1941 SLAVE NARRATIVES
V VOLU~ XIV
saum CAROLINA NARRATIVES
Prepared by
the FederalWriters
Project of
the Works Progress Administration
for the State of South Carolina
INFORMANTS Raines, Mary Range, Frank Rawis, Sam Renwick, Ellen Rica, Anne Rice, Jessie Rice, Ph~tllip Richardson, Martha Riley, Mamie Riser, Susie Roberts, Isom Robe rt son
Alexande r Robinson
Charlie Rosboro, Al Rosboro, Tom Rosborou~h, Reuben Rose, William Russell, Benjamin Rutherford, Joe RutherThrd, Lila Rutledge, Sabe Ryan, Henry
Satterwhite, Emoline Scaife, Alexander Scantling, Eliza Scott, Mary Scott, Nina Scurry, Morgan Simmons, Ransom Sligh, Alfred Smith, Dan Smith, Hector ~nith, Jane Smith, Mary Smith, Prince Smith, Silas Sparrow, Jessie i36,l4 . Starke, Rosa Stewart
~Tosephine Suber,~ Bettie Swindler, Ellen 121,125,130
147 151 155 156
157 160 163
170 174 181 184 188 191,194 196 199 202 206 208 213,215 216 218 227,232
247 253 257 260 266
270 273 Taylor, Mack Thonipson, Delia Toatley, Robert
Veals, Mai~r
Walker, Manda Walker, Med Waring, Daniel Washington, Nancy Watson, Charley White, Dave White, Tena Williams, Bill Williams, Jesse Williams, Mary Williams, Willis Wilson, ~noline Wilson, ~Tane Woodberry, Genia Woodberry, Tulia 237,242 Woods, George Woodward, Aleck Woodward, Mary Worth, Pauline Wright, Daphney
Young, Bill Young, Bob 1 3 5,7 9 10 12 17 19 23 25 26 31 35 38 42 45 48 51 55 57 59,65 71,74 ~75 76 78 81 88 89 91 92 95 100,105 110 112 116 119
Mary Raines. Ex-slave 99 years old.
Project #1655 w. W. Dixon
jo Wjmieboro
J ~J ~J J ~ .~ I
MARY RAINES
EX SLA~VE 99 YEARS OLD
Mary Rainee ia the oldect living person, white or black, in Fair.
field County. If ehe survivee until next Decexi~ber, she will have attained her century of years. She lives with her widciwed daughter, Fannie MoCollough, fifty-seven years old
and a ~ on, Joe Raines
aged 76 years
They rent a ~y~j. room frame house, on lands of Mrs. Saille Wylie, Chester Couxity, S. C.
Joe, the son, is a day laborer on nearby farms. Fannie cooks for Mrs. W. T, Raines. Old Mcther Mary, has been receiving a county pension of $5.00 per month for e everal years.
How old would blar~e William Woodw~u d be if he hadn t died befot I gwine to die? A hundred and twenty, you 8ay? Well, dat s
bout de way I figured ire
age. Hi~i was a nephew of blarse Ed, de Lust Marse Ed P. blobley.
llu~L 8&~T d*t when him
come twenty. one, old marster give him a birthday dinner and ~vite folk8 to it. Marne Riley Mc~etor, from Winn boro, S. C., wae dore
round my young mietrees
Mie e Jiariett
Mar~o Riley wae a young doctor, ridin
round wid eaddlebage. While they wae all settin
down to dinner, de young doctor have to git up in a hurry to go see fl~T XJ~JTtt~T
his plate piled up wid turkey, nice dreasint, rice and gravy, candy
tatoes, and. apple n~rma1ade and cake
canter was a settin
sideboard. All dis him leave to go see n~.imny, who was a squafli& lak a passle of patarollers (patrollers) was a layin
de lash on her. When de
young doctor go and come back, hiu~ say as how ~
n*i~ny done got all right and her have a gal baby. Then him saydat Marse E~, his uncle, took him to de quarter where maim~r was, look me all over and say:
Ain t her a good one? ~&zst weig~t ten pounds
a gwine to na~ dia baby for your ~ma
s Tell her I name her, ~ry, for her, but I ispects ao~ folks ll call her t Polly
just lak they cal . your i~ma,
I was a strong gal, went to de field when I s twelve years old,
of cotton,
long wid de grown ones
and pick my 150 pounds of
t scared of de cows
they s et me to milkin
and ChUrniU .
Dat took me out of de field. House servants
bove de field ser-
days. If you didn t git better rations and things to eat in de
house, it was your o~n fault, I tells yoni You just have to help de chiflun to take thin~a and while you dom
dat for thema, you take thii~s for yourself.
I never eaU. it atealin . I just call it takin
de jams, de jellies, de b18cuits, de butter and de
lasses dat I heve to reach up and steal for them c~hil~lun to hide
way in deir little atommtchea, and me, in my big belly.
When Joe drive de youw~ Marse Riley, out to see Mise Harriett,
while ~rse Riley dein
his courtin
in de pe.r~or, Joe was dciii
his courtin
in de kitchen. Joe was as sm~rt as de nex
one, Us n~de faster time th us beat them to de mr~rriage. ~.rse Riley call it de altar, but Joe always laugh and say it was de halter. Many is de time I have been home
them sixteen chillun, when him was a gallavantin
round, ami I wished I
a got a real halter on dat husband of mine.
t, I t 1on~s to de Gladden
e Grove African Ma~,thodist
Piscopal Church. Too old to shout but de great day is oomin
vthen Pli shout and sing to de music of dat harp of 10,000 strIngs up yonder. ~i& Wo&t dat be a joyful day, when dose old aiim
bones gonna rise again. (Then the old darkey became auf-
fused in tears, lapsed into a sileuoe and apathy, from which she couldn t be aroused, Finally ehe slumbered and snored. It would have beex~. UX~kind to ques-
tion her further.)# hoe n~
cotton. As Bless G~d& vanta, them irid had
Frank Range. Civil War servant and hero.
Project ~35 Hattie )~ob1ey Richiand County
FRANK H NGE
CIVIL WAH ~I~ RV.ANT and HERO
At the a~e of one hundred and tFu~ee,. 1~rank Range Is a ramiliar figure on the streete of Greenville, talking freely of pre.Cival and Civi~t1 ?~ar days, and the part ki~ played tri the wiu .
. !rank, tki~e oldest of
nine ch11drer~, w~a born of ~1ave parent3, Lenurd and Elizabeth Herbert, on th~e plantation of Mr.
Jim Baler, Newberry Sauth
az olina, }Le wae eold several times, arid te known by tkie naine of one of his owners, John gangs.
Durifl8 .t~e~Civa1
~ar kils nu~ater, Mr. Jim }~erbert, carried nlrn to the war as a cook, and when nOC ~S~ry,. ~e was pressed into service, throwing up brsast~ and while he was engaged in ttiis ~iork, at Richmond va. a t x ~it1c boabardmer~t of their lines was made, arid a part of their breast-works was crushed in, and his master buried beneath It. Frantic with fear for the aarety. of ~i1a rn&~ter, Frank be~ gan to r~o ve t~e~dt~ finally h~e was able to drag k~tm to safety. Though etiot and st~e11 were falling all around htn~, he came out un~ scathed.
Frank i~~ang. returned to ) ewberry at the close of the war, after which hi moved to Greenvtils County in 1901, and into the city in ~ I9~.
a. i~ n ver happier than when, in the center of a group of wtUi~g hesr rs, he Is rectting ir~ a slngusong tons the different p rtods ot kits 11f..
a. attributes bis longevity to tt~e t~ot that bi has nov~er
~ Wb~SkS7i;~~ nev.r 9~,*ed ~.. ~tob&ccoj n~~ ~r had a ~ toott~*c~s
rld headach the $ervice of a puiy$ician h~s
IA~3 he does not know one playing card from another.
Ele c~r1 walk five or ~orc miles with seern~.. is jo~ia1 and
He receives a atate pension of twenty five dollarA &rinually. Fils ~iace of residenee is 101 Hudson St. Greenville, S. C.
tAr. Guy A. chillick,
Probate Judge, Greenville County. Frank ~ange ( information given concerning hlrnsolf) loi ~iud~on St.
reenvllle s. C,
Stories from ex-slaves.
project 1865.-1 . POLKLORE ~
Editei by : ~
5 spartarib~irg Dist.4 ~ Elmer Turna~
June 1~, 1937
STORL~S FROM EX.SLAVES
I ~as born :1.n 1835 in Lexington County, ~s.O. I ktaovv I ~vas 12 years old. ~e last year of de war. I belonged to John Hiller in Lexirx~ton County, near Columbia, ~.O. Old Marse Hiller was strict to his slaves, wasn t mean, but o ~ten vvhipped
em. I thought it was all right then. ;Then de Yankees come through burning, killing and stealing stock, I was in marse s yard. Dey come up whar de boss was standing, told him dere was going to be a battle, grabbe
him and hit hirn. Dey burned his house, stole de stock, and one larikee stuck his sword to my breast at~d said ~er me to corne wid him or he ~vvould kill me. O
course I lNerit along. Dey took me as fer as Broad River, on t other side o
C then turned me loose and. told me to run fast or they would shoot me. I ~vent fast and found my way back home by watching de sun. Dey told ine to not ~o back to dat old mari.
ttDe slaves never learnt to read and write. I ~ any o
dem was caught trying to learn to read or write, dey was ~Iiipped bad. I kotched on to what de white chilluns said, and learnt by myself to say de alphabet.
We went to de white churches atter de war, and set in de gallery. Den de niggers set up a
brush harbor
church fer ~ selves. We went to school at de church, and atter school was out in de atternoori, we had preaching.
freedom come, de patrollers v~as strong dere, and whipped. any niggers dey kotched. vvouldn t let dem go to church without a pass.
Folklore: Stories Prom Ex~-.S1aves . ~ Page 2 ~ ; (3
Lots o:f hunting round dere, dey hunted rabbit~, squirrels, foxes arid
possums. Dey fished like d.ey do novv.
De white folks had old brick ovens away from de house, arid wide fireplaces in de kitchens. Dey cooked many t~uings on Satur-~ days, to last several days. Saturday afternoons, we had. off to catch up on washing arid other things we wanted to do.
member de ~u Klux arid de Red Shirts, but don t
member anything dey did dere.
We had corn-~shuckin~s and cotton pick~.ngs, when de white people ~ould have everybody to come and. help. us niggers vvould help. Dey had big suppers afterwards.
We had plenty to eat from de garden of deboss, a big gar.. den dat furnished all de slaves. Den de boss ~i1led hogs arid had other things to eat. Mo~t o
de thia~s raised in de garden, was potatoes, turnips, collards and peas.
Some of us had witches. One old woman was a witch, and she rode me one night. I couldn t get up one night, had a ketching of my breath and couldn t rise up. She held me down. in dem days, was lots o
fevers with de
blks. Dey cured..
em and other sickness wid teas from root herbs arid barks.
lbr&harn Lincoln was a good man. He s .id you folks ought to let dem niggers loose and let dem go to work. He come wid his two men, Grant and Sherman, and captured d
slave bosses. Jeff Davis was one o
de forerunners of de war. Don t know much about him. Booker T. Washington is a good man. Think he is in office fer a good purpose. I been married four times, Was young man when I mar~ ned first time. Gussie Gallman, my last wife, is living wid me.
Source: Sam Rails (84), Newberry, S.C. Interviewer: G.L. S~mer, Newberry, S.C. (6/9/37)
Stories from ex-slaves
project 1885...1 Polkiore 39038C Edited b~ spartariburg, Dist.4 . Elmer Tuf~a~e Oct. ~ 7
STORIES PROM EX..~SLAVES
vt1 live wid ray fourth wife arid she is much younger dart me. I am unable to work ami have to stay in bed lots o ~ de time. My ~iie vs~orks at odd. jobs, like washing, ironing arid cooking. We rent a two-.room house from Miss Arm Ruff.
I belonged to John Hiller. He ~as a goou ni~ster but he worked his slaves hard. Dat ~vas in L xir~ton County.
II heard dat Gen. Grant said de slaves ought to ~et 40 acres of land. and a mule so dey could ~ but dey never got any dat I knows oi~. Atter Preedom dey worked as wage earners and sharecroppers. Some went to other farms to ~et jobs. Dat s about what dey do noi~, but some ofdem saved a little money and bou~ht
arcns and some started little businesses o~ deir own.
De Ku Klux didn t have ~nuch iri luence v~id deslaves or ex~ slaves. As soon as de war broke, dey went ridiri~ up atid down de pub-.lic roads to catch and beat niggers. My brother run or ~ when dey got atter him. He went to Orarigeburg County and stayed dov~n dere.
J: voted twice den, once at Prosperity and again at New~ berry. I was a Republican, of course. Some 0
de Niggers of dis state was elected to office, but dey was not my kirifoiks nor special friends. I think niggers ought to vote so dey could vote
and dey ought to run fer office ii dey could be elected by good white folks.
I was sixteen years old when de Yankees conic tftrough dis country. Dey caught me in de road arid made me go iivid dem to Broad
$tories Prom ~x~51aves Page~ s River where dey camped one night. Den dey turned me loose arid. told. me to git. I run as fast as I could. I followed de setting suri, de road runnin~ towards de sun all de time, and 8ot home about night.
~$ince freedom is corne de niggers have worked mostly on
farms as share-~ some as renters vvid deir own crops to raise.
De present generation of niggers ain t got much sense. Dey work when dey want to, and have deir own way about it. De old nig~ ers was learned to work v~hen dey was litt~1e.
I don t knoi~ nothing about de Nat Turner Rebellion. I never know d but one old nigger dat come from Virginia, old Ellen
Abner. She lived below Prosperity fer a long time, in de Stoney Hills.
Yes sir, I tries to live right arid git along wid every~ body.
S urce: S~j~ls (83), Newberry, S.C. ~ Interviev~er: G.L. Summer, Newberry, S.C. 8/23/37.
Folk-lore: ex-slaves.
Project 18(35 -4.
~ ~ ~.. . ~ Spartanburg, S.C. ~ u.iO~ Edited by: ~
District ~4
Martha Ritter ~ 9 May 31, 1937
~OU~-LORE : EX-S LAVES
nI was born on Capt. Jc1~n P. Kinard s
place. My marav:iy and pa was Lucy and Eph Kinard who belonged to Marse Kinard, Marse Kinard was good to his slaves
didn t whip them much. He whipped me a little. Vthen~I was a little girl I slept in the big house in the room with my mistress snd her husband, and. waited on them. I worked v 1~en I got old enough, in the field, and ariy~here around. ~hen I wouldn t work good, ray m~imy ~hipped me most.
merither the folks cooked in skillets
over an old fireplace.
After the war was over and freedom come we stayed on wit1~
Capt . Kinard,
till I married and then vient over to Dock Renwick s place where my husband worked. I married Tom ~enwick. ~e vrent to the church of the colored folks after the war, and he.d preachings in mornings and evenings and at night, too. Vie didn t have no nigger schools, and we didn t learn to read and write.
The white folks had orn shuckings, cotton
pickings at night, when the mistress would fix a big dinner for all working.
SOURCE: Ellen Renwick (79), RFD, Newberry, S. C. Interviewer: Mr. ~. Leland Sunner, 1707 L~.ndsey St., Newberry, S. C.
Folk-lore: ex-slaves.
Project 1885
District ~7~4
3S01 ~ Spartanburg, S.C.
1) June 7, 1937
FOLK~LOR ~ : f ~I SLAVES
ttI was born in Spartanhur~ County, S.C., near
Glenn Springs. I can t
member slavery or de war, but my ma who and pa/was Green i?oster and his wife, Mary Posey Foster, always
said I.was a big gal when the war stopped, when freedom come. ttwe belonged to Seth P farm
there. He was a good man, but sure made us work. I worked in the fields when I was small, hoed and picked cotton, hoed corn. They didn t give us no money for it. All we got was a place to sleep and a little to~t. The big man had a c~ood garden and give us something from it. He raised loads of hogs, to eat and to sell, 11e sold lots of them. The young fellows hunted rabbits, possums, squirrels, wild turkeys, partridges, doves, and went fishing. The Master s wife, MISS i\Iancy, was good to us. She had one son, WI 1 hem.
member my ma telling us tbOut ~he padder-.
rollers. They would ride around, whipping niggers. ItMy ma said her step mother sold her. Sonietiines
they would take crowds of slaves to Mississippi, taking away mothers from their infant babies, leaving the babies on the floor.
Ne always shuck corn and shell it at night, on moon-.light nights we pick cotton. On Saturday afternoons we had frolics, sometimes frolics
till Sunday daylight, then sleep all day Sunday.
t~~~hen we g~ot sick all the medicine we took was
turpentine ~ dat would cure aLmost any ailment. Some of the niggers used Ssrnpson snake weed or peach leaves boIled and tea drunk.
I joined the church when I was 12 years old
cause the other girls joined. I think everybody ought to join a church to get the~* so
t I rriarried Chancy Rice in Spartanburg County, at a colored man
s house, named Henry ~ by a colored preacher named
Bill Rice. I had four children, and have five grand children. I have been living in Newberry about 35 years or more. I worked as a wasli woman many years.
tWhen freedom corne
my folks s t ayed on with Capt. Posey, and I washed and ironed with then later ~then I was big enough. I done some cooking, too. I could card and spin and make homespun dresse s . My nia learned ~ne.
I don t know much about Abraham Lincoln end Jeff Davis but reckon dey was good men. I never learned to read and write. Booker Washington, I reckon, is a good man.
SOURCE: Anne Rice (75), Newberry, ~. C. Interviewer: G. Lela.nd Summer, 1707 Lindsey St., Newberry, S. C.
Stories from ex-slaves.
project i8a5~..1
polkiore Edited ~by: 12
3part~nbur8, Dis~.4 Elmer Turna&~e Jan. 1?, 193?
STORIES FROM EX~.SUVES
t?My Deo~1e tells me a lot about when I wa~ a lii
wee boy. I has a clear mind and I allus has had one. ~y ~o1ks did not talk up people s age like Loiks do dese d~-qs. Every place dat I be now,
specially round dese ~overnment folks, rirst thin~
dat dey wants to know is your naine. Well, dat i~ quite natu al, ~rut de very next questiori is how old you is . I don
t know why it is
but dey sho do dat. As my folks never talked age, it never worried me till jes
here of late. So dey says to nie dat last v~eek I give one a~e to de man, and
flO~N I gives another. Soon I see d dat arid I had to rest my mind. on
dat as well as de mind of de ~overnment folks. So I settled it at
~o years old. Dat ~~ives me resect from everybody dat I sees. Den it is de truth, too, kaise I come along wid everybody dat is done
~one and died now. De few white Loiks what I was coritemperment (con..~ terr~porary) wid,
lows dat I is
O arid dey is dat, too.
tfYou know dat I does
member when dat Sherman man went t~iroL~h here wid dem awful mens he had. Dey
lowed dat dey was gwine to Charlotte to git back to Columbia. I never is beard of sech befot or since. ~e lived at old man Jerry i~oss
s in Yorkville, way back den. Yes sir, everyone said Yorkville, den, ~ but dey ain t never called Gaffney like dat. Stories goes round
bout Sherman shooting yolks. Some say dat he shot a bi
rock off n de State House in Col..~ umI~1a. My Ma and my Pa, Henry an~t Charity Rice, hid me wi-d dem when Sherman come along. Us never see d him, Lawd God no, us never wanted to see him.
5tories Prom Ex..Slaves -~ 2~-.. 13
Po1~ allus crying iaard tunes dese days, ain t no hard. times flow 1ii~e it was atter Sherman went through yorkville. My ma arid oa give me ash cake arid
simrnon beer to eat ~or days atter dat. White folks never had. no mo , not till a new crop was ~row d. Dat year de
~ ~ easoris was good arid gardens done well. Till den us nearly starved
~ :~rid v~e never had. rio easy time ~ittiri~ garden seed to plant, neither. AYes sir, if l s handy to locust I makes 1o~ den
~ ii I s h~ridy to
sinunons, why ciet i I makes
simmon beer. Now it s jes
~ ~or to pass de time dat us does dat. But
~ v~as for necessity. Dese young uns now don t know what hard times is.
~ Dey all has bread and meat anu co
wee, no matter bow poor dey is. I~
. dey had to live :~or days arid weeks on ash cake and
sirrLmorl beer, as us did den, arid work and wait on a crop vvid nothin~ but dat in deir
~ den dey could grumble hard times. I ailus tells
em to shut
~ up when dey starts anything like dat around me.
When dat crop come along, we sho did ~al1 in and save ~ ~ . all us could for de next year. Every kind of seed and pod dat grow d
:~f~ saved and dried for next spring or tall planting. Atter folks is once had. deir belly aching and gro~1ing Lor victuals, dey ain t never ~wine to throw no rations anL things away no mo . Young
olks is power
ul wasteful, but if sornett ing come along to break up deir good time like it did to us when dat man Sherman held everything up, dey
. sho will take heed, ana. dey won~t grumble
bout it neither, cause dey won t have no time to grumble.
tThings passes over cjuicker sometimes dan we figures out
~ dat dey will. Everything, rio matter how good it be or how hard, pass-.
- es over. Dey jes ~does lIke dat. So dem Yankees went on somewhars, I never kriow d whar, and. everything round Yorkville was powerThl relieved.
Stories Prom EX~S1aves ~- 3-.. :14 Den ~e Comfederate soldiers startec coming across ~Broad River. BeTh
dey got home, word had done got round dat our f but dem Yankees never rit (fought ) us out ..-.. dey starved us out. If thinf~s had been equal us would a-been
ightiri~ dem till ais day, dat us sho would. I can still see dem soldiers oi ours coming across Broad River, all dirty, filthy,~ and lousy. Dey was most starved, and so poor aria lanky. And deir hosses was in de same fix. lvien and hosses had ~uiovt
d plenty till dat Sherman come along, but most o~ dem never kriow d plenty no more, De men got over it better
dan de hosses. ~Tomen folks cared for de men. Dey brewed tea from sage leaves, sassafras root and other herb~teas-~ Nobody never had no money to tetch no medici~ from de towns ~id, so dey made liniments and salves from de things dat
grow d. around about in de woods and ~ardens.
I told you
bout how small I was, but my brotner, Jim Rice, went to Charleston and helped to make dem breastworks down dar. I has never see d dem, but dem dat has says dat dey is still standing in good conditions. Cose de Yankees tore up all dat dey could when dey got dar.
Lots of rail fences ~as made back in dem days. Folks had. a
dat meant dat everybody fenced in deir fields and let de stock run free. Hogs got wild and turkeys was already wild. Sometimes bulls had t~o be shot to keep dem from tearing up everything. But folks never fenced in no panture den. Dey put a rail fence all around ae fields, arid. in dem days de fields was never bigger dan ten or fifteen acres. Logs was plentiful, and some nig~-;ers, called
rail splitters , never done nothing else but split rails to mate fences.
If I recollects right, Wade Hampton brthke down fence laws in dis country. I sho heard him talk in Yorkville. Dey writ
gtories Fron
Ex.-Slaves 4~-~ about 1-ijilh in de Yorkvillelnquirer at~c
dey still has dat paper over dar t il 1 ri ow . De Re a Sh ir t s e orne al o n~ a rici g ot Wade Hampt on in . He scared de Yankees anc~ Carpetbaggers aric~ all sech Loiks as dein away ~ rorn our country. Dey went back whar dey come rrom, I reckon.
De Ku Klux was de terriblest folks dat ever crossed my cath. ~ho dey was I ain t never know d, but dey took Alex Leech to Black s Ford on Bullet Creek and killeci him for being a radical. it was three weeks beTh
his folks got hold of his body.
Dr. Bell s calves got out arid d1~. ri6t come back
or a 1on~ time. I~i1TS. Bell
~ear d dat dey vvas ~itting wild, so she sent de milk ~iri down on de creek to ~it dem calves. Dat girl had a ti~ne, but she found
em arid drove
em back to de lot. De calves give her a big criase arid jumpe~ raft ot logs dat had done washed up from freshets. ~~U1 over dein logs she saw possums, ~i~usrats arid buzzards a~setting arounci1 She took her stick ana ctrove dem all ciW!ai, vvid dem buzzards puking at her. ~Jhen dey had. left, she see d uncle ~Uex laying up dar halt e t up by all dem varmints.
She know d dat it must be him. When she left, dem buz.~ zards went back to deir perch. First thing dey done was to lap up dejr own puke beTh
dey started on uncle Alex again. Yes sir, dat s de way turkey buzzards does. Dey pukes on folks to keep dem away, and you can t go near ka but dem buzzards don t waste nothing. Little youni~ buzzards looks like down till dey gits over three days old. You can ~o to a buzz~rd roost and see for your~ self, but you skiD better stay out ri de way o ~ de old buzzara s puke. Dey sets around de little ones and keeps everything off by puking.
Pacolet use~ to be called Buzzard Roost, aaise in de old. days dey had. a rail outside de bar~room dat de drunks used~to nang
5torieS Prom. Ex~.S1aves 5rn.... 16 over arid puke in a gully. De buzzards would stay in dat gully and. lap up dem drunkards
puke. One rii8ht a old man went in a drunkard s sleep In de bar-room. De bar tender s~oved him out when he got ready to close, and he rolled up against dis here rail dat I am te1lin~ you about. He
lowed dat next morning when he woke up, two buzzarde was settin~g on his shirt front eating up his puke. He said,
You is too soon , and grabbed one by de le~ and wrung his head off. But beTh
he could git its head Wrung off it had done puked his own puke back on him. He said dat was de nastiest thing he evei~ ~ot into, arid dat he never drunk no more liquor. Dem days is done past arid gone, arid it ain t nobody hardly knows Pacolet used to be called Buzzard Roost.
Lawd have mercy, white folks ~ Here I is done drapped plu butaoldman s mind will jes
run waa ry at
tirnes.Me and Jo , Alex s son, went to see de of~icer
bout gitting Joe s pa buried. He
low d dat ~tlex s b dy was s we tookhim and put his bones arid a little rotten flesh dat dem buzzards had left, in de box ~ve made, arid fetched it to de sIte and buried him. Nobody ever seed Alex but me, Joe, and dat gal dat went atter dem calves. Us took shovels and throw d his bones in de box. When we got de top nailed on, we was both sick. Nor, things like dat don t come to pass. I still thinks of de avvful days and creeps runs all over me~~yet. ~
MAll thy brothers, sisters, mother and Lather is done gone. And I is looking to leave beTh
a great while. I is trying every da~ to git ready, Lawd. I been making ready for years. Smart mens tries to make you live on, but dey can t git above daath. Tain t no use.
Source: Jesse Rice (8Q),-~Littlejohn, St., Gaffriey, S.C.
IntervIewer: Caidwell Sims, tJiaion, S.C. 1/8/38
Stories from ex-slaves.
project 1885~-.1 . PoL:~ ~oRE
~Ofl1f~A Edited by: Spartanburg Dist.4 ~~VLQ~t Elmer Turria~e June 15, 1937
STORIES PROM EX-~SLAVB~S
I m living on Mr.
Bu ael Emrnitt s place. I never did nothing but drive cows when I was a little boy growing up. ~iiss Own and Miss Lizzie Rice was Mar$e Alex s sisters. arse Alex done died, arid dey was my mistre8s. Dey tuck arid sold de plan-. ~tation a~o dey died, here
bout twenty years~a~o. Dat whar my ma found me and den she died,
My ~randparerits, Jane and Peter Stevens, brung nie up. I was a little farm boy and driv cows fer de overseer, Jim Blalock. lvliss Oum was really Miss Ann. Miss Ann had a hundred niggers, herself, and Miss Lizzie had might nigh dat many, asides dem what Marse Alex done left
em. De overseer try to act rough out o? Miss Ann s sight, and she find it out and set him down a peg.
Miss Jane have our shirts made on de looms. She let us
vvear long shirts and go in our shirt tails, an~ us had to keep
em clean, too,
cause Miss Jane never like no dirt around her. Miss Jane have
charge of de whole house and e~erything along wid it.
Us had three hundred hogs to tend to, two hundred yellings and. heiiers, and Lawdy knows how many sheep arid goats. Lis fed dem things and kept
em fat. ~Vhen butchering time come, us stewed out the mostest lard arid. we had enough sid.e-.meat to supply the plantation the year round. Our wheat land ~vas ferti-~ lized wid load aster load o~ cotton seed. De vvheat us raised was de talk of de country~side.
Sides dat, dare was rye, oats
Folklore: Stories Prom Ex...Slaves Page 2 18.
arid barley, and I ain t said n~othing
bout de bottom corn dat laid in de cribs from year to year.
tOur saokehouse was allus full o
things to eat, riot only fer de white folks but ~er de darkies as well. And our barns carried feed fer de cattle from harvest to harvest.
De fattest of all de hosses, was Miss Ann s black saddle hoss called,
Beauty . ~1iss Ann wo
de 1onges~ side.saddle dress dat hung way down below her ~eets. Somebody allus had to help her on and off Beauty, but n ary one oi~ her brothers could out-S ride Miss Ann.tt
Source : Phillip Rice (75 )
Kelton, S. C. RPD Interviewed by: Caidwell Sims, Union, 5.0. (5/7/37)
The pot of gold.
Project #1655 Stiles M. Scruggs Co1U~gIbia, S. C. ~ 390352
i~~HE POT OF GOLD.
Martha Riohardsou, ~ho tells this story, liTes at 924 Senate Street, Co1um~bia, S. C. lier father was an Indian and her mother a niilatto. 8h~ was born in Columbia, tn 1860 and was live years old, when General W. T. Sher~an s i~ederal troops captured ahud burned the city ~ in 1865.
When I gits big
nough to pick up chips for de ooolc stove
we was livin
In de rear of Da~iiel Gardner
on Main Street
and n~ n~mi~ was workin
as oxie of de oooks at de Columbia Botel. De hotel was run by ~ster Lowx anee, where de Loriok & Lowrdoe store is nov.
~My dadd~y, like de general run of Indians, love to hunt but de ga~~ not bring ~ioh cash in. My mai~ often give him some change (money) and he riot work imioh but he always good to i~i~ and she lore him and not fuss at him, nnoh. I soon learn dat it it had not been for nmnun~, we wouldn
t a had ~ch to eat and wear. We go
lone lak dat for a good while and i~ n~iai~ have friends
nough dat ehe seldom had to ask for a job.
~De game ~as SO soaroe dat z~j daddy sometimes n~ke a little ~ney a show
people how to ~1ce I~n&tan medicine
dat w~a good for many oomplaiiits
how to coirer deir houses, and how to kill deir hogs,
to de x~on. fie tell us many tiiaes
bO~It de great Catawba Indians, who i~ke all deir own medicines and kill bears and dress in deir skins, after feastin
on deir flesh. H. was
a good. talker.
RYOU kflOW~, I sois so iaioh
ekinxpin , to make ends meet at home, as we go
tlo~ dia way, dat I has never ~rried. My m~iw~ tell mes
&noy, you a pretty
child. You grow ~ip and ~rry a fine, lovin
man 1e3c your daddy ~ and be happy.
I ICiMa eiii :e b~ I thinks a lot. If ~j d&ddy had worked and saved lek i~y ~
we would be
way head of what we ja, and i~ brudders ~ay so, too. But we fond
of o~ir daddy, he so good lOOlciri
*tWhat do flOat
thing I ever see? Well, I think de Red Shirt ca~
paign wa8 . You neyer ~ee so nach talkin
and fussin
a~ dat. You know de Yankees was still here and they not
fraid, and de Hampton folka wa8 not
fraid, so it was a case of knock down and drag out moat of de time, it seem to i~ie. Long at de end, dore wa~ one was in de Wallace House and one in de Capitol. Men went
bout town wid deir guns.
MaIIW keep busy cooki&, nu38in , and washin , and us chillun help. You know I had two brudders older than me and a little baby brudder
bout a year old, when. fly nsim~ rent a small farm froxa Master Greenfielci, down at de end f Calhoun Street, near de Broad River. We plant cotton. I was then eleven years old and
IV brudders was twelve and thirteen. My ~ai~ help us plant it befo
she go to work at de hotel.
Shi was home washin
one day, when n~r brudders and 31
was ohoppin~ cotton.
bout eleven o
c .o ok dat mornin
and we say :
When we gits out de rows to de big oak tree we ll sit down and rest.
We ohillun lak each other and wo joke and work fast
tu we conies to de end of de r~s and in de shade of de big oak. Then we sets down, dat is, n~j oldest brudder and me,
cause n~r young brudder was a little behind us in hi s ohoppin
As he near de fini sh, his hoe hit somethin
hard and it ring. Re rake de dirt
way and keep diggin
light lak.
~ Rhat you dom
I say. He s ay s
to find out ~hat dis is. It seem to be a pot lid.
Th n we jump up and go to him and all of us grabble dirt
way and sho
nough it was a pot lid and it was on a pot. We digs it out, thinkin
it would be a good thing to take hone. It was 80 heaV. it t.k~ us all to lift it out.
It was no sooner out than we takes off de lid and we is sho
s prised at what we see. Big silver dollars la~, ai . over de top. We takes two of them and drops them together and they ring just lak we hear them ring on de counters. Then we grabble in de pot for ~re. De silver went d~n
bout two inches deep. Twenty dollar gold pieces rim down
bout four inches or ~o and de whole bottom was full of big bundles of twenty dollar greenbacks.
WW0 walks up to de house feelin
pretty big and i~ oldest bruddor was sing
Ea~k amd b~zzard went to law,
Hawk come back wid a broken j ~. t
MaIW say widout lookin
What you ail 00~j~~ to dinner so soon. for? t Then ehe looked up and s es de pot ~d say : ~ ~ ~ ~ what you all
Th~ we puts de big pot down tn de ~iiddle of de floor and takes off do lid, and meiw~ say:
Ohi Let s see what we hasi
8h. begin to empty de pot
and to count de ~rney. She tell us to watch de door and see dat nobody got in,
cause she not at home I
t, She say de ~ney ~ to $5
700, and she swear us not to say nothint
bout findin
it. She would see what she could find o~tt
bout it. Weeks atter dat, shs tell us a big white friend t.ll her he hoar a friend of his buried some i~ney end went to war widout teflin
anybody ~here it was. Maybe he was
. killed and dat all we ever hear.
Mit meawiiy~ kept it and we all work on just do same and she buy these two lots on Senate Street. She buila d
two-story house here at 924, where you sittizi
now, and de cottage nez
door. She always had rent ~ney oomin
in ever since. By and by ah. die
aftsr x~j Indian pappy go
~y end nver come bad~::. Then .11 de ohillun dis,
I am so happy dat I is able to spend i~ old days in a sort of ease,
4. 22 after atrugglin
~et ot n~r young life and gttttn
no loarnin
at school, dat I sometimes e ing n~r meaz~y
e old ng, runnin
Poeeum up de sininon tree
Sparrow on de ground
Poesum throw de
e~mrne down Sparrow ehalCe thorn
Mamie Riley. Ex-slave.
* ~j~J ~ Pro ject #4655 ~Approx. 416 word~ 23 P1ioebe Faucette
~ampton County
MAMIE RILEY
Aunt Mainie s
hair is entirely white. She lives in a neat duplex brick house with one of her husband s relatives, a younger woman who is a cook for a well established fsmily in Estill, S. C. When questioned about the times~.before the war, she replied:
Yes m, I kin tel . you tbout slav ry time, tcause I is one
myself. I don
remember how old I is. But I remember when de Yankees come through I bin
bout so high. (She put her hand out about 3~ feet from the floor. ) We lived on Mr. Henry Sol~ onions
place - a big place. Mr. Henry Solornons had a plenty of people - three rows of house, or four.
when de Yanke es corne through Mr
pla ce I wuz right dere. ~de wuz at our house in de street. I see it all. M but I ain t think they d hurt me. I see tem come down de street
em on horses. Oo - h, dey wuz a heap of
emt I couldn t count
em. My daddy run to de woods - he an
de other men. Dey ran right to de graveyard. Too mucha bush been dere. You couldn t see
em. Stay in de woods three days.
Dey went to my daddy s house an
take all. My daddy ran. My mother an
my older sister wuz dere. My ma grab a quilt off de bed an
coverherseif all over wid it - head an
all. And set in a chair dere by de fire. She tell us to git in de bed but I am
t git in. An~ she yell out when she hear
Project. #~1655 Page 2 Phoebe Faucette
iampton County
s de fever In heaht t 3j~ of but dey say dey ain t goin
j~ dey ll catch de fever ~ Den some more come along . Dey say dey gwine In. Dey a 1n~ t gwine to take no fever. Fill two sacI~ of
tatoes. ~th1 te man a sk t o s ear eh al 1 t runk . Dey take two of me Ma
s good dresses out. Say to wrap ~ In. I start to cryin
Wen, git us some sacks den.~ I knowed where some sacks wuz. I git
em de sacks. Dey do
em right. Dey bld
em goodbye, an
ax teni where de man wL1z. Dey give me
leven or twelve dollars. ~I ~z little an
ain t kr~ow. My mother never give it to me.
I stay right on d.ere after freedom, until after I married.
Source: Mamie Riley, Negro about 80 years old, Est!.11, S.C.
Stories from ex-slaves.
Project. 1885-.~1 ~ OLKLORE 3 9 0 3 8 0 Edi t e d by :
25 spartanburg Diat . 4
Elmer Tur nage May 24, ~L93?
STORIES PROM EX-~SL4VES
~I was born near Broad River in de Dutch Pork of Newberry County. I was a slave of Cage Suber. He was a fair master, but nothing to brag about. I was small at slavery time and had to work inde white folks
house or around the hquse until I was big enough to go to de field arid work.
Old Marse Cage always made me fan flies o~ of him when he lay down to take a nap. The ~an was made out of bru~ies.
9De white ftlks had cottori-~pickings, corn-.shuckings and quiltings. Dey allus had something to eat at the frolics and I had to help wid
tI married John Riser. I moved to town several years ago.
Source: Susie Riser (80), Newberry, S.C. Interviewer: G.L. Summer, Newberry, S.C., May 17, 1937.
Isom Roberts. Ex-slave 80 years old.
project #1655
HenrY Grant
3 9 0 3 5 4
Columbia, ~. C.
180M RO~3ERTS
:~x-5LAvE 80 YEARS OLD ~ ~
Isom Roberts rents one room at 1226 W~averly Street, Colunibia, S. C., arid livez alone. However frail he appears, he is able to support himself by
~vorking in the yards about the city. .
s, ~li,~sir, white folks, I is eighty yearsold, or leastwise I is s~
close to it, dat it don t make much difference. But even if I is dat old, it don t seem so long since I was a little boy. Years flies by mighty fas
to old folks
cause deir
memberonce is shorter
v~kiile young folks
members everything, and in dat way months and years drags
long slower to them.
t, I was a very small boy when de Civil ~Var was gwine on. It seems like I knows all
bout Sherman s army comnin
through dis State, a burnin
Colum bis. and d~stroyi~i
away everything what folks had. I has heard so much
bout slavery and all them times, from my mammy and daddy, dat it
pears to me dat I
sperienced it all. I
spects knowin
bout things is just
bout as good a~id true as seem
them. Don t you?
t, My daddy ~md mamnniy b long to Marster SamL~ouie, who had a big pl&n-
tati on over in Calhoun Cotuity . ~ had
bo ut fifty
r more grown si ayes,
sides me.ny chillun of de slaves~ Old marst raised big crops end saved what he made. He shoe was a fine business r~n but he was mighty hard on everybody he had anything to do wid
He to Id his slaves to work hard and make him a heap of money and that he would keep it, in case of hard times. Times i~rns all de time hard wid old marstef but de nig
gera never got no money. When news spread
round dat de Yankees was cornin
to free de niggers, he called ai . de slaves up in de yard and showed them
2. 2~ a big sack of money, what they had made for him, arid told th~i dat he was gwine to kill all of them beTh
de Yankees set them free and that they wo~1thi t riGed no money after they was done dead. All de slaves was mighty sad and tro ubled
all dat day
when old marst er made dat speech to them. But 3otflethifl
happened . It most make s nie tremble to talk to you
bo ut it now. Providence,or some kind of mercy spirit,was sho
round dat plantation dat night. 3ometin~ in de night it was whisperod
round amongst de slaves dat o id rnarster done took de smallpoxes and was mighty cick. Manm~y said he mu3t have been terrible sick,
cause they buried him two days after ciat.
n After old r:~rster flew away, everything was different on de plantation. Miss Nancy, dat was old nAarster s wife, told de slaves dat when de Yankees freed them, they could stay right there and work on shares or by the day,which ever v~ay they wanted. Many stayed on de plantation after freedom ihile others went away. Me and my folks 8tayed on wid Miss I~ancy until she die. Then us moved on another plantation in de lower side of de county. I stayed dare untu my wife died, seventeen years ago.
member anything
bout how de slaves was treated in slavery time? Well, I members a little myself and a heap of what others bcld riio~ Wid dis I has done told you, I believes I want to stop right dere. A low fence is
easier to git over then a high one . Say little and you ain t gwine to have s. heap to .. splain hereafter. Dere is a plenty of persons dat has lost deir heads by not lettin
deir tongues rest. Marster Sam Loule is dead flOWo H6 can t dis-
turb nobody in his grave. H5 had his faults and done many th inge wrong but show me dat person what don t mis-stop sometimes. A .l of us, both white and
black, is prone to step asic1~ i~cr arid then. To tell de truth, old marster nover knowed what SUflday was. ~verybbdy on de plantation worked on dat day as
saine as any other day.
t, ~3ut Boss
1f my old mar ter wa~ rough and hard and break de Sabbath
E~nd all d~t
he was no worser then what young white folks and niggers is de~ days. You cari see them any time, floppin
bout in dese automobiles, a drinkin
and a carryin
on. Sich stuff is abomination in de sight of a
decent person, much less dat One ~ip yonder.(He pointed upward).
t, I s gwine to tell you boss, dat slavery tin~e was beiter forde avor~
age nigger thcri what they i~ gittin
now. Folks say dat slavery was wrong ~nd I
spose it was, but to be poor like a heap of nig~ers is now, is de worse thing dat ha~ ever come upon them
something wrong, ain t right. De North had iio business sollin
niggers to de South
anti de South ~ hc.d business i
them from de North and rnakin
slaves of them. Everything went on pretty nice for awhile, then de North got jealous of deSouth and do South got
spicious of de North. I believes dat if you can t go over and you can t go under, then you should try to g~
round. If de Uig men up North and here in de South had been good
nough and s~nart
nough, they night could a gone
round dat terrible Civil War. I believes
t, I !1c~rry Lucy Nelson when I was
bout thirty years old. ~he was a bright skin nigger, much brighter than I is. She was hi~i tempered end high spirited, too. She was sho
smart, and de best cook I has ever seen. Just plain corn bread, dat oho cooked in do hot ashes of de fireplace, teste sweeter and better than de cake you buy now. But de least thing wou .d git her temper
roused. I has knowed her to complain wid de old hound dog us had,
Cause he didn t run some rabbits out de woods for me to shoot. Fusa wid de cats,
cause they didn t ketch de mouses in .de house. Quarrel wid de hens,
cause they oet, cackled, scratched and wailowed holes in de yard and wouldn t lay. told d3 old rooster many tin~es dat she was gwine to chop his he~.d off if he didn t crow sooner and louder of mornin s and wake me up so I could go tO Work
All dis sounds foolish I knows but yo u see how bent my back iso ~ie1l, I
spects it Was bent from totin
so many buckets of water from de spring for her to wash ~id soon of mornin s, so ~ could then do a day s work.
My ~vife thought she ~ as dom
right by workin
like she did. She thought dat she was helpin
me rnokc e. livin
for our big family of eight chillUfl. Yes ~iir
I knows now ~he was right
but hard work broke her health and brought her to her bed where she lingered
bout one year and then she went away froni me. All dis took place seventeen years ago and, from then to dis, I aiii t seen no woman I would have for a wife,
cause I ain t gwine to find no woman Lucy s equalo ~ll i~y chillun are dead,~
cept two, and I don t know where they is0
t Does poor folks have any blessings and pleasure? ~Jel1, yes sir, in a way. You see they don t have no worrirnents over what they has
like rich folks. ~hey can sleep as hot as they want to in do summer time and r~tise as big families as anybody. Sho , poor folks, and especially iiiggers, has a
good time on hog~kilLL~
days. In early summer corne them juiby brierberries dat they enjoy so much. They last until watermelon season. Then they has
possuni and
tators i~ c~e fall. Most all livin
beings ha3 deir own way of dom
ti~ings and deir way of existin . De hog roots for his, de squirrel climbs for his, de chickens scratcnes for deirs, and de nigger, well, if dere ein
t nobody lookin
I reckon they could slip doirc right handy.
has enjoyed talkin
to you dis evening and now, if you will
8CU~~ me, I s gwine home and cook me a pot of turnips. I can almost taste
5. them flOWs I is so hungry.
Alexander Robertson. Ex-slave 84 years old.
project 1/:1655
1~f~ w. Dixon 390244 ~ Wuinsooro,
ALE~ ~1~1)ER ROBERT ~ ON
EX-SLAVE 84 Y~ARS OLD.
~lexander Robertson lives as a member of the household of his son, Charley, on the General Bratton plantation, four miles southeast of
~hite Oak, S. C. It is a box-like house, chimney in the center, four rooms, a porch in front and morning g)~ory vines, in bloom at this season, climbing around the sides and supports. DQes Alexander si-b here in.-the autum.n sun.~ shine and while th
hours away? Nay. ~ ... ~o~b he. is still one of the active, working membersof the family, ever~in the fields with his ~rahdchildren, poke around his neck, extracting fleecy cotton from the boils and putting it deftly into the poke. He can carry his row equally as well as any of the six grand~ children. He has a good appetite at meal time, digestive organs good, sleeps well, and is th
early riser inthe mornings. He says the Negro half of his nature objects to working on Saturday afternoon, and at suc1i times his tall figure, with a green patohcloth over the left eye, which is sightless, may be seen stro1lin~ to and fro on the streets of Winneboro. ~ .
ttWell, weliL If it ain t deyoungun datuse to selirne sugar, coffee,
fat backand meal,, when he clerk for Calvin Brice& Company, at Woodward, in / t 84 and
long dere . ~ ~ ~
: - UI hopes you is well dis mornin ~. I s told to come- t~ Wirmsboro an~d gits blazilce for a pension. Andy Foster, man I knows, d rect me up dese steps and bless God. I finds you. You waxma ask me some questions? Well
here I is,
~ mor if I can.. IVhere I born? Strange as it seems, I born
. right here in Wiimsboro
My name set down in a book :
Alexander - boy~ bother,
~:; ~ iIanzsa~, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ de way it was read to me by Dr. i3eaty, dat
~ ~ ~ : ~ ~
a~~d ~ 1iTe in R ~c1~ Ri1l ~. If slavery had never been done t~y
nid, dat would be rr~r master today,
cause him lak hound dogs and I lak a hound doc. flat kind of breed got a good nose and make good
possum dog.
Marster Jim t~e l me one time, dat de first dog sprung from a wolf, and ~
fust dog was a. hound dog. Dat out dat fust clog, (must to a been a bitch, don t you reckon?) come all iogs. I follow his talk wid belief,
bout de setters, pointers, and blood hounds, -even to de Lices, but it strain dat belief ~vi~en It git to de little useless hairy pupde ladiesrlead
rot~d vrid a silver collar and a shit chain~ Well, you don t care to hear anymore
bout dat? V~hat is de question?
ttMy master at de fust, was L~arster Jim ~3tewart and my mistress was
his wife, Utistress Clara. They have two chillun. I tmember Marster Jim and Lass L they live in a fine house b~fo
de war, trcund yonder dos
~ Zj~~ College. ~y mother was de cook end I was de house boy. They~ had a big plantation
bout two miles out, sorta southwest of Boro, I mean Winnsboro, of course, but de co~ntry people still callit Iioro.
l on dat plantation was r~any two room houses, brick chimneys in de middle, for de p1 ~ntation slaves. In de growint season I gowid marster ever~r~day, not tQ drive, too small for dat, just to hold de hoss, when him git out and then I run errands for him,
rounc3 de house and in de fields.
My mother had another child, Willie Finch. A colored man name of
Finch is his father but her and de white folks never tell me who my father was. I have to find out dat for i~ aeif, after freedom, when I was lookin
ro~d for a name.
From all I hear atid
pear in de lookin
blass, I see I
was he~lfwhite for sure, and from de things I hear, I conclude I was a Rob~ ertsox~ which have never been denied.
~&aybe it best just to give no front
: fl~*~S . Though half a ni~er, I have tried to I ive up to dat name
never took
~ :~. ~ ~ ~ : ~ ~
it in dat court house over yond r, never took j-b in dat jail or dat cala-
boose. i~S paid my debts doflar for dollar and owe no man nothin
but good w~.1l.
~hat de Yax~kees do when they come? Let other people tell dat, but seem lak they lay de whole town in ashes,
cept de college and our house close to it, dat they use for de officers whilethey was in ~oro. ~hy they hear sumpint bout de Davis name techint de St. John tpiscopai Cht~rch and they march t round dere
one cold February Sunday ~0~j~t ~ set it afire
snd burn it up.
- I~other and ne went to de plantation and stayed dere
tu they left. ttT~hen freedom come, I was twelve years old. Mother marry a F
~Bi1i ij ras de name of him. Our nex
move was to Dr. Madden
~ place, just~no~ th
- of ~oro. Us farm up dore and I do de hoein
I live der
thirteen years. I ~t to feelin ~ my oats and tired of workin
for a~ plum black nigger, I did. i~Iaybe I- oug1~t~ to been more humble but I wasn t.
I ask myself one night :
~hat yo - gonna do, stay here forever
for your vittles and clothes?
Then come over rr~r mind I old
nough for to marry. ~Tho I gwine to marry? It pop right in dis hea4, Sarah was de gal for me. I rode old Book down dore de next S dat was in December. 1 come right to de point wid her end de old folks. They tiow they have no ~jections if I could take care of her
I say I try to .~ They say :
Dat am ~ t
nough, t range yourself for another year and. then come and g t her
0De Lord directs me. l s down here payin
my poll~too. Mars-ter Tom Shanty Brice come in as us come out. I ask him if he need a hand for nex
11e took me up from top to bottom and say : ~hs your naine ?
I show him n~r
.tax receipt. lie hire me than and dore. I ~o right straight to Sarah and us
~ ~I; de old f lke. Rev. Gordon marry us de 29th of January, 1879. Us has
~~ 4. .. ~ ~ ~ ~
seven chillun. Alex, dat s de one name for me, is in Tampa, Florida. Carrie marry a Coleman and is in Charlotte, N~ C. Jimmie is dead. Thomas
V ~ ~ Charleston, S. C. Emma rparry a Belton and lives wid her husband in
~fld~eway, S. C. I stay wid nty son, Chancy, up de country.
ttI voted one time :i~n 1876, for Goy. Chamberlain, but when I moved
to Larster Tom ~ I thought so much of him, I just quit voting. I
-. ~ou1d lak to vote one more time to say: ~I have vote one time wid de black part of ~v nature, dis taie I votes\wid de white side of ri~r nature.
V~hat you laughin1
bout? If it was de call of dark blood de fust time, nmybe~itts de call of de white blooddis time. You have no idea de worry azid de pain a mulatto have to carry all his eighty-four years. Forced to
sociate wid one side, proud to be related to de other side. Neither side lak de color of your skin. I jine de Methodist church here in i~oro and
tend often as I can I ~ dat - ~
~ and. as I hear my preacher Owens ~preach,/dere will be no sex in hebben, I ~hopes and prays dat d.ere ll be xio sich thing as a color line in hebben.
Who de best white men I ever know? ~:Ir. Tom i3rice,Mr. W. L.Ros
borough, ~. Watt Sinonton, and Mr. August Nicholson. i~asterBill ~3eaty, dat
- marry my young mistress
Elizabeth, was a fine n~.n.
What I ththk of Abe Lincoln? What I think of Mr. Roosevelt? Dere de color come up again. De black say 1k . Lintoln de best Pi e de white s ay - us never have had and never will have a Pre s ident equal of
Mr. Roosevelt.
~ 4 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~g ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Charlie Robinson. Ex-slave 87 years old.
Project #1655
~.W,Djxon 390353
~j~~sboro, S. C.
CHARLIE ROBINSON
EX SlAVE 87 YEARS OLD.
Charlie RobinBon lives nine m le
northwest of Wiimsboro, S. C.,, o~ lands of Mr. R. W. Lenino~. There is one other ocoupant in the four room house, John Giles, a share cropper. The hou8e has two fireplace6, the brick chinniey being oou8triioted in the center of the two main roo~. The other two rooxnz are shed rooms. Charlie ekes out a 1iviti~ as a day laborer oIl the farm,
~They been tellin
me to come to de social circle and see
bout n~ pen
sion but I never is got dore. It been so hot, I hate to hotfoot it nine miles
to Wimisboro and huff dat same distanoe back on a hot summer day.
Glad you come ou-b here but sorry of de ~y,
ca~.ise it is a Friday and all de jay-bird8 go to see de devil dat day of de week.
s a bad day to be
~1n a garment
or quilt or starb de lye hopper or
sinvnon beer keg or just anything important to yourself on dat day. Dere is just one good Friday in de year and de others is given over to de devil
his im, and de jay-birds
Does I believe all dat? I believes it
nou~,h not to patch dose old breeches
tu t~omorrow and not start i~r
siimi~n beer, when de frost fall on them dis fall, on a ~ riday
You wants n~ to set down so you can ask me suinpin ? I ll do dati Of course I Willi (He proceeded to do so
wiping his nose on his sleeve and
~ sprawling down on the dooreill), 1~~r pappy name George, black George they caLl.
~ him in slavery time,
cause dere was a six~ll YalIOW slave on de place, named
~ George . ~ meiw name Ca
My pappy t long to de MoNeals and n~r niaii~
~ ~ long to Marse Joe Beard. His wife ias n~ mistress. lier name Mies Gracie.
1 Dat sumpin
not i~ ~ lingo
B08 s . You want to know what n~ pappy
s old inarster imn~? Seem to ~: they oa .l him ~rse Gene, though it been so long i: done forgot * When n~r inarster went to de war him got a ball through his leg. Bad treatment of dat leg give him a limp for de balance of his ~days. White fo1k~ call him
and sometime
Marster and mistress have two ohillun. I play marbles wid them and make
m~id pies. Deir names was Marse Wjllia and Miss Rhoda.
My brudders and sistere was Jeff, Roland, Jane and. Fannie. All dead
t cept Fannie
Her marry a big
long nigger name Sa~il Griffin. Last I heard of them, they was livin
in Columbia, S. C.
t I start workin
in de field de s econd year of de war, 1862
~de me hungry. I
members now, how I
git a big tin oupful of pot liquor froia de greens, crumble oor~i bread in it at dinner time and
joy it as de beetest part of de dinner. Us no suffer for swapin
to eat. I go all s~ner in u~r shirt~tail and in de winter I have to do de best I can, widout any shoes
Ever s moe then, I just lak to go barefooted as you sees ~ now.
~ pappy ~it a pass and come to see manii~j every Saturday night. My mars~
~ ter had jtzst four slave houses on de place.
Spect him have
bout eig1~t women,
~ dat n~n come from other places to see and ~rry them and have ohillun. I doesn t
member nary one of de women havin
a hu3band livin
wid her every night. ItWhO do de plowin
I Women end boys~ do de plowin
nough houses,
though they was made of logs,
cup and saddle~i
and covered wid white oak board shingle8
Had stick and mud ohinnaeya.
U1~e Yankees made a clean sweep of everything, hoeses,
~~le8, cows, hogs,
lasses. GUt SO
D~.d WhOfl thy couldn t find any seltz they lxtrn up everything. Ikzll Maree Joe
B beard, just
oauae hint fl&tfl~ Be.H. De one dat do
just a smart aieok and de ca
~ or i. crowd shame him and m~ him
way, out de house.
When freedom oo~, Maree Joe stay one year
then leave
Sell out and
~ move to Waihalla and us i~ve to ~appy on de McNeal plaoe. Dat year tis ail j med de church, Union Church. I ~ b
longe to New Hope Methodist Church.
Dove to Mr. Bill Cra~rtord
a place. Mr. Cra~ford got to be school oommiasioner on de
publican ticket and white folks call him ~scaiawag. Him have pappy and all de colored folks go to do
leotion box and vote. Ku Kiuz come dore
fle night end whip every nigger ~n they could lay deir haflda on.
Things quiet down then but us no ~re go to de
Ileotion box and vote.
Bout dis tinE thoughts of de gals got in u~r bead and feets at de ean~ time. I was buyin
a biled shirt and oelhtloid collar, in Nr. Sailing Wolf s store, one Saturday, and in walked Ce~ly Johnson. I conmience to court her right then and dore, befo
I over git inside dat shirt and collar. Her have dark skin
~s good to look at
I tell you . . I d.-saeh-shay
bout dat gal
lok a chicken rooster spread his wing
round a pretty black puUot,
tU I wear out her in
difference and her ~ke me happy by u*rryin
me. fier was too good lookin
and too bad dom
though, for ~. ~ 3h. left by de light of de ~on when us was livin
on do Cuimninga place,
bove town. Excuse me n~, dat s still a fresh subject of torm.xzb to ~
bout chances of gittin
dot pension, when I can git another clean white shirt,. lay
round de white folks again, and git dis belly tall of pot liquor.* . ~
Al Rosboro. Ex-slave 90 years old.
390281 AL ROSBORO
EX~ SLkVE 90 YEARS OLD. Project #1655 w. w. Dixon Winnsboro, s. C. .38
A . Rosboro, with his second wife, Julia, a daughter, and six small grandchildren, lives in a three~room frame house, three hundred yards east of
a~id - the Southern Railway tracVj,~S ~ about two miles south of Woodward, S. C., in Fairfield county. Mr. Brice cives the plot of ground, four acres with the house, to Al, rent free. A white man, Liz . W. L. Harvey doea the ploughing of the patches for him. Al has cataracts on his eyes and can do no work. since this story was written he has received his first old age pension check of eight dollars from the Social %-~elfare L~oard in Columbia, b. C.
Does I know what a nonecenarian is? No sah, what dat? Old folks? Well
dats a mighty lone name and I been here a m (~ hty long time
Glad you say it
s a ~ honor and a privilege by de mercy of de Lord. I
s thankfult You wants to know where I was born snd who my white folks then?
tu was bornjust one end a half mile b!low Vthite Oak, S. e ,0~ de
old 1J)arse Billie Brice plaoe. ~r pap~y b longto old i~1 ss Jennie ~ but rnaE)lny b lon~ to Marse William Brice. Her name Axm
~y old mistress name Liary,
daughter of de Sirriontons, on Du~pers Creek. S tIYOU wants de fust thing I
members, then travel t10~ de years
rig5ht here in dis chair. \~ell, reckon us git through today?
Take a power1~u1 si~ht of dat pencil to put it all dcvwn
Let me see. F~st thing I
members well, was a big crowd wid. picks
~ ,. ~ and shovels, a buildin
de-railroad track right out de other side of de bi~
road in froat of old mar~terts.,house. De ~same ~ ailroad dat is dere today. When defust eugine come ti irougii, pui~f~in
am~ tootin , lak to soare ~ everybody to
- ~ - ~ -- -~ -. ~ - ~ : ~ ~ ~ -~ -~
: ~ death. People got use to it but de mules and hosses of old marster seem !
lak they never did. A train of cars a movin
tlong is still de gr&ndest
sight to my eyes in de world
Excite me more now than greyhound busses, ~or airplanes in de sky ever do. -
members my young misses end young xnarsters. Dore was-
Marse J he was kilt in de war. L~arse Jim, dat went to de wars come back, marry, and live right here in Winnsboro. Marse Jim got a grandson dat am in
de army a saum
air ships. Then dore was i&raeVJ he moved off. One j of de gals marry a Robertson, I can t
member her name, tho
I help her to
make mud pies m~my a day and put}