| Summary: | Folder contains 27 pages of former slave narratives compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.Y. Fowler, 0
Fort Payne, labama
De Kalb Cour. ty
CL~SSI rtn/''';
.<I II $'t." Mil
Ex- lave Stories-
" I e sure I lTust ha' been aro
O~cial Project,265-6903_
-0: Project,No. ,30II(I)
Type of tork Symbol, 1885( I)
rJ
then the 1ar sta.ted;as grown as
I ever h s been. You say , s i x t een or seven t een,'_~Imust ha' been -but I can't
rightly make that conjuration-but I could plow as well as any fiel'-han'
01' Messa had,en put the harness on,besides-
" 01' ssa,an' my istis had twelve chillen-one bOY,en' leben
girls-an' fi~ty of us cullid folks. fe all lived in Etowah county-
"Ireckelect well when oung Yarster went off to the ar- 01'
Mistis had been a laughin , kind of person,but it wes a long time before
she lau hed anymore. Folks cried,E.nd hollered,an fell down like they 'vas
dead,when their men-folks marched aw~y to War. e all plowed,an' hoed,an
made tl.ings some-/ay, to eat .nd to wear,an' 'e /':0+ along very "ell-
" But the best tire of my life,was before the 'Var Come on-Ol' lias
treated us like "'e was all one big family;we had plenty to eat,en' all 'Ve
needed to wear-Ol' istis done the, sewing for us all,white an cUllid_ But
her an' assa believed in teaching folks to work,an' all the chillen had
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to learn how +0 do everything-even to worK in the field- 01' Yassa knew
what was comin',an' he'al eys say'You better learn to "/ork,for you gwine
ha va it to do.' "
" As I say, we li ved plen tiful-Every Saturday we killed a pig, or a
calf-or some kind of fresh meat-an' it never spoiled-they was always
plenty of folks to eat it up. But a white man who had nearly a hundred
slaves,on a plantation not far from uS,wouldn't give his culled folks
enough to eat-they even went hungry;an every once in n 'vhile,Ol' 'assa 'ud
make us cook up a lot of Vittles-long tables pilin' fUll,an' ax them all
over to e:: t.
2 Ex-sla ve Story_ !!. F.
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n.An' "!hen "ie at +'h"ou~h ",ith our ol'm work,'.e could hire out to
other .hite families to hoe,or pick cotton-an' have some money for our _
selves;but l'e always saved that,for we had pl"nty of everything,an' that
would be somethin' to have on hand.
"Our nBig hO'lse" was up on a kind of a little hill;it ",as Just
as !hi te-an' allan one flour-an' the kitchen , dinin'-room was off to
their-selves,with a little walk-way,with a shelter,leadin' to the big
house• .An out to one side,was a big room where the white folks entertain_
ed their friends-they c.lled it a 'v11iom~aB' such dances as they had
there_
"The white fol s 'ud come for miles awaY,in their kerridges,an'
surreys ,an , bug~ies- an' some come on horse-back. The women 'ud oome ridin'
road in front. We didn't ha VB many flo···ers. bu t 10 ts of trees,
up to the horse-blook in them fUll,long ridin'-habits they wore in them
days,an' they would Slip they foot out of the stirrup,into the han' of the
man 'vho was ridin' with them ,an ' step dotm onto the horse-blook,an' down
to the groun'-an' sometimes th'y would hold their head so high, they would
look like the groun' wasn't good enough to put they foot on-n.
An' then a little blac. boy would take the horse an' hitoh him,
an she would 0 to the guess-room,an put on her dress with all them rUf_
fles an' laoes,over her lide hoops,an' a little curl would be peepin' over
her s oUlder,' ith maybe a rose tucked in it,ad her little foot 'ud
peep out fro~ under ~he . ide hoopS,with its strap slipper,an clock stooki
'-an she would stand,an' look in the glass at herself,an' then she would
go out to the 'Viliom,where the fiddles was makin' lonesome music,that
Just took your heart out,an' they auld dance there till long after the
roosters orowed for midni ht.n
"fe had a big yard that stretohed out all around the house,an'
down to the
and 0001, reen grass; an' down across the road,was the houses for the oulled
fOlks_
3 Ex-slave Stories-M.F.
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They had two big rooms, lith " c imtley at each end, an' a hall be t"'een, an'
two f .i11es Ii ved in every house,one i" each room-
"l.:y UIOt,my ma's sister,was the cook up at the bi house-an' my
Wa was the overseer of the hands-Sometimes , they would ax Pa what to do
next,an' he say, 'Ax the Boss-that her over yondah"-
"01' essa never lived to see the S'render.He died e year before"
the War w s over. 'Did 'e drape the mirrors,an' the pictures when he lay
dead?'-Yessum,we alwFys do. Some folks say the breath of the dyin, ~ll
make he ouicksilver all come off the back of the lookin'-~lass_but that
aint the real reason- Sometimes 'hen the spirit's gain' out the body,it
roams 'roun' in the house,an' if it sees itself in the glass-there will
shore be another death in the house.
" rite man come do rn from the Nawth to vi si t on a plan tation,
that was a ~ood ways off from uS,an he shot himself,huntin' ,an' died-an'
his mistis 'Iouldn't let 'em hang things over the glass in the house,said
there wa'nt no sense in it,an' one mornin' right after he lay a corpse,
she was found lyin' on her floor,dead. They said it was her heart,but we
knowed Ihat it was.
, o'm,1 don't believe in conjurin'_but same folks does_1 heard of
a loman ·.ho always chewed the bark of a tree, when she 'ven t along a walk
under the trees ,an' when she at si ck, she ,vas conjursd, an' the flyin'. an ts
come out of the pores of her skin. They said that sure was 30. Why , when
they conjure,they ~its to-gether all kinds of herbs and roots,and boils
them to-gether with so e k~d o~ out-landish stuff,an' waves the hands over
them,an mumbles somethin'_but we doan have no truck with t .. in~s like that." -
the Drug_ s to re,
D1 dn 't do no thin'
New Orleans_an' he cured he~ in three days.
prescription,an' we bourht the medicine from
"When ~y ma got sick,an fell off till she was like skin an' bone
,
my si s ter son t "or hsr to come to Bilmminham an h h d
there fran. '-- , sea a fine doctor up
but "i va a
4 Ex-sla ve Stories-M. F.
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it was &11 just ~ o\vln l ho "-
"I hear " song on th Rad.io that took me back to them d.ays- "In
tho EV'J"in' nv tho oon11 ..ht"-an' I thouP'ht of them d."ys,before 01' Massa
died.,an before the lar come on,ho"1 on moon-li ht ni1;hts,E.fter all the sup!
er things was done,Ne 'ould all it out in front of the ouse-Ol' assa,
an' istis,an' Young rter,an' 11 +he little i"siles,-",ould sit on the
rorch,an' on the 'ong, hite steps,an' young Lerster 'ould play he iddlean'
some o:! h o culled folks 'Iould pick the banjers-an' "e '1Ould all sing.
The culled 'olks 'olld sin..S~1ng Lo ,Sweet Chariot,Comin' fo to C&rry me
Home-" an' I:O'~ ~h t I ""'J1t remeC"ber now.
"After th~ 1ar,Ol' llistis -as struck by lightenin' an' kilt.An'
then my :Fa died,an' La r'nted a far!" f,.ryr: a -'f i te fan:ily on the shares.
They urnished. the house,an' the land,e.r' the stock-an' "re dono the ork.
Tha t vear "Ie made t",el VB b 1 s 0'" cotton ,ex' one hundred an~ fifty bushels
of corn. No,the "rite f'olks didJ"'t have to stand for ou» livin' ,until 've
ma de our crop; .~ h-d the n oney we had been savin '-Anough to li ve on unti
til the C,.op we.s gatlered.
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"Yes,Vle "'O"~' hard;rut "Ie had a ood time too.1!aybe on onday ,
we "ould get a card for a dance on ,Iednesday ni te- ra \"ould say, "If you
get our work done,vou can '0-' No,,~ didnt take nothin'-They had long
tables et the side,covered "'ith fried chicken,biscuits,pies an cakes,='
when 've danced o"'f a set,'/e'd have to "Salute' er pardner" to the table,
an' he "ould ruy you eLy-thing yo saw that you wanted, to eat."
"I have lived e. lor.g +ime,and have seen a 10t.But now I cant remember
",uch,I hts "'ol""'"d so hvrd.I s w ;' ung • rster f.O off to the var, an ,
sa 1 t.iIT, Cor t ck,an I" 0 ' h,. has '0 a s+;ore 111 towah coun ty ,n ear Gadsden,
An I s w my o III boy o off to this las' war,}1e was in the R inbo, di vision
but I cen t ~ee n:uch more. I 9Jl' blind in one eye,and can't see much out of
the other-Six years avo,I trou ht I lould
street ri-ht out there ,on'
a across the strset,th&t
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• • • • Fowler,
Fruit urst,Alabama-
Ex Slave StoriesCF..,'"...
/... 1/D w '""-lj
assa lilliam Shepherd an' Miss Georgiana,his wife,coce fro IT. Virginia-
...' t /vJoa &1> I_
an' his plantation w' s in Lowndes oountY,between Mac's Switch ,an , },loll'gans
ville. They had two little girls,Nellie an' Maggie-Kaggie was ths younges'
an' her an I ~~s about ths same age.1 was the only light nigger in the fam
ilY,en ' I was brou~ht up in the house with the chillen. I slep' with 'em,
lived with 'em- iWice every week I went to my Kammy's cabin,Dn took a bath
an' I had my own sof' shoes,an' my own night-gown an jackst,an' lived, an
slep' an' played with my Yassa's chillun-
Every mornin' before breakfas' it was my place to sweep the long back
porch,~a+ reached clear across the back of the house,an' sweep roun' jn
the yard,an then I cleaned up,an' put on a clean dress,an' played the
res' of the day with the chillun-'ceptin ever' other day I churned.
We pla yed hop-scotch,an' ring-a roun'-+'hs-posy,an' played house, an'lotsa
things I can't remember now-1 must'a been about seven years old then-
I j'u" can't tell au much about my brothers and sisters-In dem days "ve:r;'1
white family wha~ have servants, givs each chile that got mahried a pussonel
servantTan' I never saw my oldss' sister- shs was give away befo'
the family lef' Virginia.I remember sist' Celie,an' sist' Harriet,an' sist
Li za - she help' un t Evelina in ths ki tchen- •
One song we sung den,dat always made me cry; it was,' ammY,is OJ I Yassa
gwine .sell us tomorrow?" "Yes,my chile". "Whah he gain sell us?" "Way
down outh in Georgl.!1."
l'Let me see if c remembsr how many ssrvants we had- Edie was the laun
dress; rrie,she was the weaver;then there was Becky ,an' slia,en' Aunt
a rY,an' Ed,an' John ,an , Uncle Pete,an' Uncle GeorgeThe was the house-man
an' "as mahried to un t Evelina, the cook- An' Jake-he was the 0 ver-lookea.(
oversser)_he was a great,big,strong culled man- thsre was more,but I
cant remember_1 was jus' a little birl thsn.
Our bil" house 'vas whits,en' allan one floor-There was the big parlor, en ,
ths guess-room,where the vis'tors stayed_an the other sleepin'-rooms.
• • • 2 Ex-sla ve Sto ry-
The front porch was jus' a little porch,but it had columns in front-but
the back porch was big an'w1de an'reach all across the back of the houseThe
kitchen an' dinin'-room was off from the house a little way,but was
joined by a long covered entry-so they could go back an' forth in all kin'
of weather.
"Flowers? Dh,we had every kin' of flowers-Lotsa magnolia trees-I can Jus'
an' the birds dartin' in an' out-
Eee the big lhite blooms against the slick,shinin' leaves now~' we had
cape Jassamines,ar' that purple flower with so s~eet a sce.t-oh,yes,the
lila c-an' the crepe-myrtle,we had both pink an' white. 'roses _jus'
rosew ever' where. 111e "~uarters" was about a hundred an' fifty or two
hundred yards from the house-We went along a path behin' the house about
a hundred yards,an' the turned to the right an' went across to the
qua rters-The servants houses an' gardens had plank fences-but the big
house hed a picket fence. "
The well at the house,what we used,had a pump;but down in the back,not fa
far frOM the kitchen was a bie well we used for the deiry an' the laundry.
There was a t~oueh from this well to the dairy,so we always had plenty of
water,an' there was a stove there too,to heat plenty of water for the milk
things-ve.sels an~ strainers an' oloths- Massa had a lot of cows,an' we c
churned two big churns of milk every other dey. 111e dairy was big an' cool
a n' we strained up the milk an' churned an' worked Up the butter here,
bu t we jl:ep' it in the spring-house.
There was a spring at the foot of a little hill,with a wide,spreadin'tree
shad1n'it,ar' asss had a trench dug from the spring, an , walled with
rock,a n' lined along the bottom with rock,an' pieces of plank was put
a cross,a little ways apart,to hold the vessels steady,an' that was where
we kep' the milk an' butter cool an' sweet,as with ice.
Down close to the -ell,not far from the deirY,waw the laundry_It had t 10
rooms,an Arrie,lived in one of them- Arrie was the weaver,an' she could
wea VB stripes,as ,ell as plein,an' they was as pretty as anything we
could buy.
, • :3 Ex- sla ve sto r, -
Louisa cleaned the par1or, an kep ' Idissis'room nice ,an' then she didn't d
do any thing else but sew-an' sistI Liza helped her lith it- After the
wea'Yin \~S done,then come the se 'in-an' it took a lot of sewin' for the
family- Everybody had two Sunday dresses,Clr suitsTSllmmer an' 'Vinter- an'
then cloes for everyday- Fbr the men's suits the wool had to be took off
an carded an rot ready to make- but we had plenty of wool from our own
sheep,an had ducks an' geese-chickens,turkeys,guineaS, __no we didn't have
pea -fowls. But they had 'em on a plantation not far from us- an' the .my
they strut,an hold the heads so high,an their tails all spread out like
a fan,my they was pretty-an' I can still hear 'em hollerin'-
When they killed the hogs for the winter' mea t_ ,they took some of the han'
out of the fiel' or what ever they was doin' an let them help_an' we had
a smoke-house full of hams an' middlins, an , when a rainy spell 'ud come,
us chillen 'ud rake up chips an' leaves,an' make a smudge of s~oke to keep
the meat sweet-
Eva lina done the cookin' ,with sistI Liza to help-but when we had comp'ny
rrie'd help too-You say' rrie ~eem'd in demand?' Yessum,she las.Arrie
was fine about everything-an she was so nice,an' helt herself so proud-lik
she was almos' like the ,uality-"
~assa Shepherd an' kiss Geor iana was both i hty kin'-heartsd,and treated
their servants vood- I remember once when Idiss Georgina lay down to
ta ke a nap , sr. , -ive me bresh to min the flies offen her,an I 'ot hot a:..
3leepy 'lay doVID by her,ani,Rent to sleep too,an when she woke Up,an'I
was a lyin' there by her,fas' asleep,she called Louisa an' laughed,an
sa y, "Look ho she keeps the fliee o~f me"-
An' once, when assa Shepard sent us chillen down to the Station with a
note,an' he say,' ow ou go fas' ,an' get back'- But we played along the
wa y,an' pick d flowers , s.n, h t
IV en Ie ""me S eppin' baek,hs say,"I tol' yon
to hurrv'-an I elt "+ the flowers,an sey'We ';"n .. brou h+ "oe Mme flol"e>-.
an he lJ 't
1,le off a little keen switch f:.-om a bush,an' picked me "P,M'
switched ne allover my hare feet an' legs-an' when he put me down,I say,
,
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"I'm goin' tell my mammy on you.
a n he throwed back his head,an'
Ex-sla" StoriesShe
don't 'low nobody to whip me but her'
j llS ' laughed, an' sai d to iss Geo rgiana,
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"ilia t little devil don't l<:now I'm her aster' an' lol1ss Geor'iana,she say,
'No,l 'toni. I-"'ose she does"-
There wasn't but two thjngs caus~d Massa Shepherd to whip any of his serVli
very one of the married fFlmili"s he.d their own house an' garden an'
chi ckens-an' every family had to ...ai se a pig, so the. t when Christmas come
they could kill it,an' have a 'ig time. He always give them plenty of
evero;thing,an' on Friday,after dit:ner,they had to etop 'Iork -.n' wash ,an ,
nn Sa t. they ironed and cle ned for Sunday. An' on Sunday momin', ssa
had give 'em dishes,an knives an' forks ,an , even tablecloths,on Sunday
he vlent Flr""11' ",,' pat s m~uthful' in every house I.n +hA ~"arteI'- That
wa s to see that every thing vas done up,right-an if they wasn't,they
~ot a whippin' the nex' day. The other reason ,v~s,if ,~y-body started
~o the fiel' on 1londav momin' vrlthout bein clean,an' ready to start
out the veek right,whv they got whipped.
No, a ssa didn'.t do the w>ippin'.He set on his horse :n' see it done-but
Ja ke,the ever-looker ,he done the Ihippin'-but he wasn't allowed to
gi ve more than a certain number of licks.
"Yessum,there was places,we heard ofit,where they treated their servants b
bad. The nex plantation to Us,.Govemor ,Iatts,he owned it- th-" -ay'd "e
ha d his servants whipped till the bldod run-They had a white man for eve
looker, 'How did we feel atout a white man that would hold a place like
tha t?' 'Me called him 'po'white tre.sh'-He was so big an' strong,an he diJ.
n't show no mercy to the black people,en' his master didn't care if he did
n't- One of his servants stayed at the Station where they shipped off all
the tlings for the soldiers-com,an' meat,an' sich like-that the white
folks give out of their own cellars an' bams,an' srroke-houses,for the soldiers-
He stayed down at the Station,an' his master 'louldn't let him have
a ny shoee,en' the hot cinders,sn' sll "U~t his feet-an' he boun' rags
aroun' 'em, an' his master bumed the rags off his feAt-lany's the time,
•
• 5 ET~sla ve Stories-
Bible to him-down
'h~"'e \/i th liss
'y God,kindness an
I has -on~
an' she 'Iould read the
~istreated- He'd say,'
Gear ~ i ana t an , the t ..,o li ttle Missi es,
~assa Sheperd hated to see servant
poli teness don't co st a red
cent.' f1
1ent to church-to Hopehull Baptist church
Sheperd,an' iss Georgiana,an' us three chill~
of kerria~e,shaped mos' like a bowlat
the back,there was a broad
Every meetin '-day, everybody
about six miles eway- 'assa
rode in the rock-a- ay. Thet a kin'
The dri vers "eat Was high ,<n ""ront, then
deep seat,an on at the back was a little seat,with its back to the c~r~~
kerriage,an' a stoop let ""own from it. That was where the l'ttle black
boy set,who ot down an opened en shut the gates. Then he jumped back up,
an set there,with his feet on the little stoop-
The kerriage vms pulled by ~1~ bi" horses,one a baY,an' one a grey- The
coach~an 'hat set up on that hiqh seAt,had on a long double-breasted
bla ck coat,shiny hieh boots,an' a tall silk hat- a-sa had on a silk
hat,too,but a tight waisted coat-But iSfl Georgiana,she looked like a __ ~
boka y. She didn't like to \ ea r hoops,because she had sprained her
ankle ones_an' walked with a limp. But she liked to wear thin,cool,flowe~
dy dresses-dimity an' lawn-white with little flowers of blue an' pink ,an ,
yellow scattered over it-an' lotsa rUffles an' lace,an' a sccop_they call_
ed the onnets-made of soft, 1hite straw,comin' close over the ears,an'
fla rin hi h an' spreadin' over the face,an' .filled in With flowers ,an ,
tied ifi th long streamers of ribbon.
The little missies,with their white ruffled p~ntalets,comin do~m nearly to
their shoe-tops,under the full skirted r"ssps 'i th the li ttle ti ht _
waists_an' the little snoop bonnets,an ~lat-heeled shoes__ an' back behin
was the ga·e-b'y,an behin him,was the two vmgons filled ith the black
servants_ We'll never see nothin like that again_
When tho ,lar was 0 v-er ,all the Shepard ser'~-ts co"'d
could 'vri teo .~ ..... read,an' most of the
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€I Ex-slave Stories-
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An' all o~ them had enouvh money to buy a little home for themselves.
;(hy loIassa Sheperd had made every family have their oWll, garden ,an ' pig,
a n' erickens-an' whoever went to town,even asss,hiMself,would take the e
eggs,an' c.ickens,or hatever thsy had to sell,an' they ~ot the money
for the things they'd sell ,an , put it away,an'they had it when they needed
it.
When assa Sheperd died the second year of the War,it was whispered aroun'
that he had been slow-poisoned. By the people who t. ou~ht he was too
good to hiS servants-They called us'them damn free niggers of Shepherds'-
fter a .nile ,~ust before the War closed, iss Georgiana IDahried r.
Sla ter,a Government man-who p;ot the supplies for the soldiers. Folks
didn't think iss Geor'."iana oU<7ht to have mArried him, (assa had left
her so .ell off-a n' I don't think she was very happy long,for he run
through .11 th what she had-an' finally the m~ved al<SY to Texas-
~r Slater had a place here in ont~omery,they called the 'fruit-farm' ,
a n' they come here an canned fruit,an spent a little while every summer,
for a good while.
We ha d al' ays been so well treated that when the servants was made free,
even a fter the S'render,we jus' stayed on,an' took care of everything,
jus' as 'Ie always had.
But after awhile,they moved off to Texas, an' the black people settled do
down "'or theilllselves, an I las took as cook by a rich South Carolina fam;l.
ily,Yar ch1el,in 'ontuomery,an' they treated me like I was their own daU&h
ter-I vms allowed to a out three nights in a wee' ,an' no more. No matter
how much I cried,c:y tisses said, "I rouldn' t 1st mv own dau"hter 1"0 out,an'
I lion t let vou- , • I had to el tays be at home by eleven o'clo~k-We had a
long pla nk walk rom the front gate,up to the house,and around to the
kitchen an' dinin'-room_ Sometimes in the momin',Ol' :assa say,' .did
you come in las' night when I say come?'an I say, 'Yessir'-an' he saY,'I
hea rd you goin'roun the house,your shoes tappin' en the walk-better not
be late'-
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.. .....a.r. ~t. 'he '1a1& hra.ee ... !Iap M4 whiM
1I1\h a beaut.U1ll pUleii' a4 p ••t. n.-. .hare \he 1'101.... were
_t.ert.a1Ae4. GlpaUo 1Ib1... 001_. ro.. sa rr-t. of \ho lMlU... U4
ol1l.t.ezo. of 1IIIP011a. 8IU'1'OWl4e4 1t.. !he lila" lMlU........ looat.ocl
about. 200 7~ baok or \he lMlU...
...... IIIepIIer4 M4 na\ll8 QoOlS1aM ... N\h po4 u l
veat.ocl 4e M""t.. kSa4o. II1II& 8&14••1 • .-1la'. clat. 1 ulO4 t.o
bop .. flU. orr .1.w. Qo~ w14 a b1& r-. .1 _ 1 _to
too .leop... J..t. laasbe4 __ .. fOllllI .. eloopsal dar be.1U
bor.
ealle4. QM \IWIg ... u \IWIg• .-'t. 4aDe up Je.t. 1'1&bt. ., ...
kUlla' u.. .' .. o\ber ... U • alg&l" __'t. o1.e. m- be
'p0rt.e4 rOl" 1IOI"k OIl _CID4q UJ'ILta' .. 01' ..... cUcIa" .... IIIa1ppSa'.
la1aMl1'. Jue cU4 1~ _to 11& eat. c1lIr OIl hi. hone too ..e 4at.
0Bl,y • 0&I"t0a1a or 11-' si-
.... cUd .. r.el. bOIlt. wb1te lIaP lIbo would be on~
lookel't We oalle4 b1a 'po' wb1te tl"aeI:&o' Be ne't. t.bou6Ilt. _all
or _ ..,~••
..... ea14 t.bato OY8Z7 CIllO _to t.o obu:roh OIl 1UDdq.. ...
'Ut. ebe l1ke4 t.o .1JIS \be oU ret1&10ll. b;J&le. r nedlllll _
all \he lbephel"lt .eJOrute had. been tausht t.o 1"8&4 and 111"1te, eM
bad
.Ud, MIl eaGh r~/era~ 1I0118J' t.o ~ a 11'\1e
luae ot thell" OG. S1e ea14 ... 1I&I"et.ert' wou1d aalte uoh r_1l7 bop
pig.. hen• .ul 8Il~ t.bato be ItOIlld lUl"ltet. the p1"Od1l0t.. _d p1_ \be
aOl1ey aa1de tOl" ~.
• lllephel"lt died two 7e&l". att&l" \be W1' et.arte4, AII4 JII"••
8beph&I"4 -.rr1ed aga1D 8D4 r1nallT aoTed to 'fqq.
tI1t'heIl .......... oT.r,· Faa. ea14, ·all uto. Jen
.\e,T04 .... loag .. 1I1et.ll. Qeozog1aa -\qed, be_eo abe ..
&004 t.o n..-
1.&10&1" 1a lUe ... • oook rOl" • 8llIlt.h 0aI"0l1na rea11T
wbo ...04 too __~. II» aaI"I"1e4 • oaJ'POIltG' whlle wl'-ll \rend
..t.tle4 40.. rOl" bel"eelt. .. 1. Upn ... ad uplala••
·De I"U'" I baa .t.qe4 eo well 1. 4ato peop1e baa al..,.
be••0 &004 \II _ ••
H
• Fowler,
Fr~it ur t,Alab n-
1
Ex SlaTS Storieo-
Kassa 1111 Shephe an' Kiss Georgiana,his fe,oo e fro ll.rgini
an' his plQlltation e in 1.ll dee county,between Jlao's Switch,an' J(a1rgBJ1S
ville. !bey had t '0 little ~ir~s,.ellie 'Jla&gie-Jlaggis was the younges'
an' her I s acout the saae 86e.I wae the only light nigger in the l'
ily,an' I s brou ht up in the house with the chillen. I slsp' with 'ea,
li ftd wi th '8m- ios e ry wsell: I went to my 1I!1l1lIlY'8 oabin,en took a ba
an' I d my 0 sof' shoes,an' lIy 0 night-go 8J1 Jaoket,an' liwd , en
slep' an' played with my KaSBa'S ohillun-
Every momin' before realtfas' it s my place to seep he long baok
porch, +~ at reached olenr aoross the baolt of the house,M' sweep roun' in
the yard, then I cle ed up,en' put on a cleM dress,an' pla1ed the
res' of ths d y th the chillun-'oeptin ever' cther dey I churned.
We pla yed hop-scotch,an' ring-a roun'. h~-»osy.an' played hcuse, an'letsa
things I can't remember now-I must'a been about seYen years old th _
I J fI' can't tell 00. much about my brothers and sisters-In delll day8" r
whi te 1'811111 wh haw ser ta, gift each ch11e that got mahried a pus-onel
serwn1;yan' I ne r saw lIy oldee' 8i8ter- e was gi away befo'
the family lef' ll.rginia. I r ber 8i8t' Celie,an' si8t' Harriet,an' sist
Liza -she help' Aunt EliDa in the tchen-
ODe eng e Bung den,d 10 al ys made e ory; it was, 1,18 01 Kassa
gwine seU us to o,rrow'· "Yss,my chile".
down South in eorn. "
"Wbah he oin seU us," "Wa1
Let me Bee if I c reme ber how many BSrYUDts e h 4- ie was he laun
dress ;J.rrie, she B the weaver;th n there as Becky, ')(elia,an' J.unt
s more,but I
)(a r1,an' Ed,an' lchn,an' Uncle Pete,an' Uncle Georseyhe
an's mahr1ed to J.nn 10 E lina, the cook- J.n' lake-he waB the 0 wl'-look
(0 rseerl-he was a gre t,big,strong c~led man- the
cant rem ber-I was Jus' a little girl then.
Our big house was hite,an' all on one flcor-~ere was the big parlor, '
the guess-room,~here the visItors
stayed-an the other sleepin'_~nnM.
2 h-sla"" story-
Th. ~ n~ porch was Jns' a li~~le poroh,bnt it had oolumna in ~ron~bnt
the baok !,oroh was big an' d. an'reach all aoro.a the baolc o~ the house-
Th. tchen 'dinin' -rooa waa o~~ ~roa the hons. a 11ttle wa;V,but waa
Joined b;V a long 00'18 entry-ao the;v oould go baolc an' torth in all ldn'
o~ "eather.
o fio".rs? Oh,". had .""ry kin' o~ ~lo".rs-Lo~ aagnolia tre....I oan In.'
, the Mrda dar~1n' in an' out-ae
th bi, hite blooma againa~ the sliok,ah.1n1n' laa"". now '". had
oape Jaassmines,M' at purple flower th so sweet a so at-oh,;vas,the
lila 0- 'th orepe- ;vrtle,we d both pink 'white. All' ro ea -Jua'
roaew e r' e • e • nart rs· s abont a handred an' t1~t;v or o
hand yards tre h honss-We went along a path behin' the honse a-bout
a hundr.d ;V rds,an' tha tnrned to the ri t an' went aoroas to tha
~na rters-!he aer nts honses 'gardens had plank ~enoee-bnt the big
honse h d a picket tono.. •
The well t the honsa,what e used,had a pump;bnt do in the baolc ,no t ~
~ar ~ro the ki tohan waa a big well we nsed ~o r tha d.nir;v an' the lnundry.
There s a tro h ~rom this well to the dairy,ao "a alws;va d plant;v ot
wa tar,an' the a a ston there too, to haat pl t,y o~ water ~or the 1111
things-Vllllse1B an str inera an' oloths- Kassa d a lot o~ oowe,an' e
ohnrned 0 big crums o~ milk e'l81'1' other dB;V. !he dair,y a b1g an' 0001
a n' we str ined np the milk 'chnrned an' :o:wrke i: e butter hers,
but we .ep' it in the spring- onse.
There was a spring at the ~oot ot a little hill,with a wide,apreadin'tree
shadiD' 1t,M' Jlaa had a trenoh dug fro the spring,an' walled with
rook,a n' lined along tha otto with rook,an' p1eoes ot pl waa pnt
a oross,a little ,ys apart,to hold tha Yassels sta d.J,an' t t waa ha
we kep' tha ailk 'bntter 0001 an' aweet,as th 10e.
Down close to the "sll,not 1'ar ~ a the 1r,y,ws tha laundr;v-It had 0
rooaa,an .lrrie,l1Vlld in one o~ th 11- .ln1e waa tha wea'l8r,an' ahe oould
wea Ya atripes,as well as plein,an' they a aa prett;v a8 an;vthing e
oould bn,y.
•
•
• - • 3
Loll1s" oleanod the par1or,an ke"~' .u1ss1s'room n10e ,an' then she didn't ~
do any th1lU' else bllt se -an' s1st' L1za helped her th 1t- .In&r the
wea v1n B done,then oolle the se'nn-an' 1t took a lot o~ se n' ~or the
~am1ly- Everybody had two Sunday dresses,ew sll1ts"Snmmer 'Winte~ an'
then oloes for 8'9llryday- For the 8n' s sll1 ts the 001 d to be took o~~
an oarded an ot read,y to make- but we h"d plenty o~ wool ~II 0111' 0
sheep,an had duoks an' geese-ch1ckens, turkels,gu1neas,--no we d1dn' t haft
pea -~owls.But t ey had 'e t10n not far ~roll us- an' the way
thel strut,an hold the heada 0 bigh,an their 1ls &11 spread out l1ke
a ~ ,117 they s pretty-an' I oan sUll hear '811 holler1n'-
When thel killed the hogs ~or th ....... ter' meatl, they took SOlie o~ the han'
out o~ the ~1el' or wh"t e r thel was doin' an let them help-an' ws had
, leaT8s,an' make a smudge o~ smoke to keep
a smoke-house ~l of hams
us oh11len 'ud r e up oh1ps
the msat Bwset-
, m1dd11ns, an , hen a 1nl spell 'ud come,
Eva lina dons the cook1n',w1th s1st' L1za to holp-but hen we had comp'nl
.lrrie'd help too-You sal'.lrr1e se8lll'd in demand?' YessUII,she ·'as.urie
was ~ine about 0 ryth1ng-an she
she was almos' 11ko tile ual1tl-"
s so n10s,an' helt horsel~ so proUd-11
Kassa Shepherd an' ss Goor 1ana was both 1 tl ldn'-hsarhd,and tre
ted their ser'lallts ood- I rem ber onoe when Kiss Goor ina lay do to
tIL ke a nap ,an ' 1 T8 me a brash to min the ~l1es oUe her,an I got hot
sleepy , 1 down b7. her, an ' ••111\ t to Bleep too,an when she woke up ,an' I
was a llin' the by her,fas' asleep, she oalled Lou1sa an' la hed,an
sa 1,"Look ho she keeps the ~1es o~~ me"-
.In' ono.,when )lassa Shepard sent us OO1ll.n do to the Stat10n with a
note,an' he Bal,'Iow you go fas',an' get baok'_ But we played along ths •
wa l,an' p1ck ~lowers,an' when we no e ateppin' balk, e Ba7,"I tol' loa
to hurrl'-an I helt out the ~lowers,an Bal'.e one brought ou o.e ~lo e
an he pl1lled o~~ a 11 ttle keen sri too ~rom a bUllh,an' p10ked lie up ,11I1'
sri tohed me 1111 0 '9llr ml bare feet 11I1' legs-an' en he put me down. I naT.
• •
Elr,oods'9Il Ito ri e8She
don't 'low nobo47 to whlp me bllt her'
jaB ' la\16hed,an' lIald to Kl88 Geor&1ana,
, Kill II Geo r.">' ....a, lIhe sa;"
bleolo thll,on SlII14a;r
'nta t 11tUe devil n' t lInow I'm her Kaster'
'.0,1 1o1l't 'spose llho doos"-
ntllre wallD' t blIt 0 things oaus Kassa Shepherd to "hlp an;, 01' his sllr
liln17 onll 01' the llarr1ed tutl11 II had th01r 0 house 'garden '
oh10kens-an' en17 taal1;, had to Sll a p1g,so th t wh8ft Christllall ooae
tha, col11d kill It,an' ha a big timll. He alwa;,s g1'fll thea plent, 01'
en~th1ng,an' on lPr14a;r,attllr flIler, tho, had to lltop ork SIl' wallh,an'
on t. they 1ronlld d 1 nad tor SWl4a;r. An' on San ;, 110min' ,Kall.
had gl'V11 ,_ d1shes,an lin1 'IllS
he went Protm' PIl' e t II moathtlll' in e'fll17 house \n the wQuarWII- !!hat
wa s to sell that S'fll17 thing wos done up,right-an 11' tho, wasn't,the;r
got a whippin' the nex' da;r. ntll other reason ,wos,1t I\n;r-bod;r s rt-ed
t.o the tlel' on Ko~day momin' thout bein ole ,an' read3' to II rt
•
Ollt the week r h why thllY got whippe
Bo ,Ka saa d1dn' t do tho 1ppin '.He set on h1s horse 'seo 1t done-but
ia ke,the O'fllr-looker ,he done the whlppin'-but he wasn't allowad to
g1n more than a 0 rt in number at l10ks.
·YasllUll, there was plaoes,we ha 01'1 t.where thsy treated the1r Berwmts 11
bad,!hll nex plantation to usyGonmor atts,ho a ed 1t- the;r sa,'d he
ha d his serwmts whlpped till thll bllod ~!hey had a whlte Ilsn tor O'fll
looker, 'How d we telll about a lte Ilan that uld hold a plaoe l1~e
tha U' Ife oalled h11l 'po 'wb1 til trallh'-He was so b1g 'strong.an he di
n't lIhow no merc;r to the blaok people ,an , his lIaster didn't oare 11' he dj
n't- One at hls lIer'tBJ1ts sta;red at the StatiOIl e the, IIhlpped ott s·
the things tor ths soldiers-oom.an' llee.t,an' lI10h 1 e-that the wI11te
talks g1'fll out at thelr own oellars an' bams,an' lIIIIok -hous.s,tor the "o~diers-
He s 1ed down at the St t10n,an' his II ster wol11dn
'
t let hill T
any lIhoell,an' the hot oind.ra,an' 1 umt hia teet-an' he boan' rags
, hiD msoter bumed ths raCs ott his teet-Kan;" s the
,_.an
tilDe
,
•
6 ~sla~ Stodeo-
An' all ot th III had eno money to buy a 11 ttle hOllle tor th IIIsel ~s.
Why ssa Shsperd had made o~ry tamily haw their 0 garde,an' plg,
an' ohiokens-an' e~r went to town,e'Aln )las_,hil'lsslt,woud take the e
eggs,an' ohiokens,or whate'9llr theY had to sell an' they cot the IIOney
tor the things they'd sell,an' Pllt it away,an'thoy had it en they needed
1 t.
'II1en KaSll8. Sheperd died the seoond year ot the war,i t was whispered. a-ro
un' that he had been slow-poisoned. lIy the people who tholl&h t he was too
good to his aervants-!bey oallod lls'thelll hoee niggera ot Shepherds'-
.1tter a whlle,lllSt betore the war olosed,lIiss Geor 1 a makr1ed )(r.
Sla t r.a Oo'9tll'rllllent -who got tho sllppl.1es tor tho. soldiers. J'o1lts
didn't th1nlt 1110.0. Geor iana ollght to have 1II1'rried him,Kassa had lett
her 0 well ott_a 0.' In't th1nk she was very happy long, tor he run
through with what she had..an' tinally the mOVlld away to teDo-
IIr Slater had a plaoe h re in 1100. omery, they oalled the 'trll1 t-tIll'II' ,
a 0.' they oome here an oanned trllit,an spent 0. little while e~ry Slllllmer.
tor a good while.
We ha d always been so well treated that when the servants was aade tree,
e'Aln a tter the S'render,we JllS' stayed on,an' took oare ot e~rything,
Jus' as e 0.1 yo. had.
lIut after awhile,they mo~d ott to !'eDS. an' the blaok people settled do
dOIm tor the8Bel~s, an I was took as cook by a doh Sollth
il1,)larchiel,in 1100. "omery,an' they treated illS lilts I was their 0
tel'-I 0. lowod to go ,'ut three nights in a oek,an' no 1I0re. No matter
how much I oded,my II1sses said."I "oudn't 1st lIy 0 daughter 60 out,an'
I wont let you-' I had to ways bo at hOlle by e!e'Aln o'olook-We had a
long pIa nlt wall trom the tront gate,llP to ths hOllss,and around to the
ki tchoo. an' dinin '-room- Sollletimes in the momin' ,01' KaIlP 7, ' ••did
you oOlle in las' night when I say cOlle"an I Ba7,'Yellllir'-an' he lIay,'I
hea rd yOll g01n' roun the hOllSO,YOllr IIhoes tappin' on the walk.-better no t
bo lo.te'-
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