N. C. District: No. 2 [320257]
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 429
Subject: JERRY DAVIS
Story Teller: Jerry Davis
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt
[TR: Date Stamp "JUN 26 1937"]
JERRY DAVIS
Ex-Slave Story
and
Folk Tale
An interview with Jerry Davis 74 of 228 E. South Street, Raleigh, North
Carolina.
I wus borned in Warren County ter Mataldia an' Jordan Davis. Dere wus
twenty-two o' us chilluns, an' natu'ally Marster Sam Davis laked my
mammy an' daddy. He owned two hundert an' sebenty slaves, an' three,
four, or five scopes o' lan'.
Marster wus good ter us, he gibe us plenty ter eat, an' w'ar, an' he
wus good an' kind in his talkin'. I warn't big 'nuff ter do much 'sides
min' de chickens, an' sich lak.
I doan 'member so much 'bout de Yankees comin' 'cept sein' dem, an' dat
dey gibe my pappy a new blue overcoat an' dat I slep' on it onct er
twict. I knows dat de Yankees wus good ter de niggers but dey warn't so
good ter de ole Issues. Dey did 'stroy most eber'thing do'.
I can't 'member, but I'se hyard my mammy tell o' dances, co'n
shuckin's, wrestlin' matches, candy pullin's an' sich things dat wus had
by de slaves dem days.
My pappy tol' me 'bout de cock fights in de big pits at Warrenton an'
how dat when de roosters got killed de owner often gibe de dead bird ter
him. I'se also hyard him tell 'bout de hoss races an' 'bout Marster
Sam's fine hosses.
I knows dat de marster an' missus wus good case my mammy an' daddy
'sisted on stayin' right on atter de war, an' so dey died an' was buried
dar on Marster Sam's place.
I wucked in de Dupont Powder plant durin' de World War but I wus
discharged case I had acid injury.
Yessum, I'll tell you de only rale ole tale dat I knows an' dat am de
story' bout----Jack.