N. C. District: No. 2 [320243]
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 585
Subject: ADELINE CRUMP
Story Teller: Adeline Crump
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt
ADELINE CRUMP
526 Cannon Street
My name is Adeline Crump, and I am 73 years old. My husband's name wus
James Crump. My mother's wus Marie Cotton and my father's name wus
Cotton. My mother belonged to the Faucetts; Rich Faucett wus her
marster. Father belonged to the Cottons; Wright Cotton wus his marster.
My maiden name wus Cotton. Mother and father said they were treated all
right and that they loved their white folks. They gave them patches,
clothed them tolerably well, and seed that they got plenty to eat. The
hours of work wus long. Nearbout everybody worked long hours then, but
they said they wus not mistreated 'bout nothing. When they got sick
marster got a doctor, if they wus bad off sick.
They wus allowed holidays Christmas and at lay-by time, an' they wus
'lowed to hunt possums an' coons at night an' ketch rabbits in gums.
They also caught birds in traps made of splinters split from pine wood.
Mother and father had no learnin'. They would not allow them to learn
to read and write. Marster wus keerful 'bout that. I cannot read an'
write. My mother and father told me many stories 'bout the patterollers
and Ku Klux. A nigger better have a pass when he went visitin' or if
they caught him they tore up his back. The Ku Klux made the niggers
think they could drink a well full of water. They carried rubber things
under their clothes and a rubber pipe leadin' to a bucket o' water. The
water bag helt the water they did not drink it. Guess you have heard
people tell 'bout they drinking so much water.
Marster didn't have no overseers to look after his slaves. He done that
hisself with the help o' some o' his men slaves. Sometimes he made 'em
foreman and my mother and father said they all got along mighty fine.
The colored folks went to the white folk's church and had prayer meeting
in their homes.
Mother lived in the edge o' marster's yard. When the surrender come
after the war they stayed on the plantation right on and lived on
marster's land. They built log houses after de war cause marster let all
his slaves stay right on his plantation. My mother had twenty-one
chillun. She had twins five times. I was a twin and Emaline wus my
sister. She died 'bout thirty years ago. She left 11 chillun when she
died. I never had but four chillun. All my people are dead, I is de only
one left.
Marster's plantation was 'bout six miles from Merry Oaks in Chatham
County. We moved to Merry Oaks when I wus fourteen years old. I married
at seventeen. I have lived in North Carolina all my life. We moved to
Raleigh from Merry Oaks long time ago. My husband died here seventeen
years ago. I worked after my husband died, washin' and ironin' for
white folks till I am not able to work no more. Hain't worked any in fo'
years. Charity don't help me none. My chillun gives me what I gits.
Slavery wus a bad thing, cause from what mother and father tole me all
slaves didn't fare alike. Some fared good an' some bad. I don't know
enough 'bout Abraham Lincoln an' Mr. Roosevelt to talk about 'em. No, I
don't know just what to say. I sho' hopes you will quit axin' me so many
things cause I forgot a lot mother and father tole me.
N. C. District: No. 2 [320232]
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 844
Subject: BILL CRUMP
Person Interviewed: Bill Crump
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt
[TR: No Date Stamp]
[HW: "photo"]
BILL CRUMP
Ex-Slave Story
An interview with Bill Crump, 82 of State prison, Raleigh North
Carolina.
I reckon dat I wus borned in Davidson County on de plantation of Mr.
Whitman Smith, my mammy's marster.
My daddy wus named Tom an' he 'longed ter Mr. Ben Murry fust an' later
ter Mr. Jimmy Crump. Daddy wus named atter his young marster. Dey lived
in Randolph, de county next ter Davidson whar me mammy an' de rest of de
chilluns, Alt, George, Harriet, Sarah, Mary an' de baby libed.
Both of de marsters wus good ter us, an' dar wus plenty ter eat an'
w'ar, an' right many jubilees. We ain't none of de dozen er so of us
eber got a whuppin', case we ain't desarved no whuppin'; why, dar wusn't
eben a cowhide whup anywhar on de place. We wucked in de fie'ls from
sunup ter sundown mos' o' de time, but we had a couple of hours at
dinner time ter swim or lay on de banks uv de little crick an' sleep.
Ober 'bout sundown marster let us go swim ag'in iff'en we wanted ter do
it.
De marster let us have some chickens, a shoat an' a gyarden, an' 'tater
patch, an' we had time off ter wuck 'em. In season we preserved our own
fruits fer de winter an' so we larned not ter be so heaby on de
marster's han's.
My daddy wus a fiddler, an' he sometimes played fer de dances at de
Cross Roads, a little village near de marster's place. All what ain't
been mean could go, but de mean ones can't, an' de rest o' us has ter
habe a pass ter keep de patterollers from gittin us.
Yes mam, we had our fun at de dances, co'n chuckin's, candy pullin's,
an' de gatherin's an' we sarbed de marster better by habin' our fun.
I'se seed a bunch o' slaves sold a heap of times an' I neber seed no
chains on nobody. Dey jist stood dem on de table front of de post office
at Cross Roads an' sol' 'em ter de one what bids de highes'.
We hyard a whisper 'bout some slaves bein' beat ter death, but I ain't
neber seed a slave git a lick of no kin', course atter de war I seed de
Ku Klux runnin' mean niggers.
Dar wus no marryin' on de plantation, iffen a nigger wants a 'oman he
has got ter buy her or git her marster's permit, den dey am married.
When one o' de slaves wus sick he had a doctor fast as lightnin', an'
when de died he wus set up wid one night. De marster would gibe de
mourners a drink o' wine mebbe, an' dey'd mo'n, an' shout, an' sing all
de night long, while de cop'se laid out on de coolin' board, which
'minds me of a tale.
Onct we wus settin' up wid a nigger, 'fore de war an' hit bein' a hot
night de wine wus drunk an' de mo'ners wus settin' front o' de do'
eatin' watermillons while de daid man laid on de coolin' board. Suddenly
one of de niggers looks back in at de do', an' de daid man am settin' up
on de coolin' board lookin right at him. De man what sees hit hollers,
an' all de rest what has been wishin 'dat de daid man can enjoy de wine
an' de watermillons am sorry dat he has comed back.
Dey doan take time ter say hit do', case dey am gone ter de big house.
De marster am brave so he comes ter see, an' he says dat hit am only
restrictions o' de muscles.
De nex' mornin', as am de way, dey puts de man in a pine box made by
'nother slave an' dey totes him from de cabin ter de marster's buryin'
groun' at de cedars; an' de slaves bury's him while de marster an' his
fambly looks on.
I doan know much 'bout de Yankees case de warn't none 'cept de skirtin'
parties comed our way.
Atter de war we stays on fer four or five years mebbe, an' I goes ter
school two weeks. De teacher wus Mr. Edmund Knights from de No'th.
I'se sarbed four years an' ten months of a eight ter twelve stretch fer
killin' a man. Dis man an' a whole gang o' us wus at his house gamblin'.
I had done quit drinkin' er mont' er so 'fore dat, but dey 'sists on
hit, but I 'fuses. Atter 'while he pours some on me an' I cusses him,
den he cusses me, an' he says dat he am gwine ter kill me, an' he
follers me down de road. I turns roun' an' shoots him.
Dat am all of my story 'cept dat I has seen a powerful heap of ghostes
an' I knows dat dey comes in white an' black, an' dat dey am in de shape
er dogs, mens, an' eber'thing dat you can have a mind to.