*Jerry Moore, a native of Harrison County, Texas, was born May 28, 1848,
a slave of Mrs. Isaac Van Zandt, who was a pioneer civic leader of the
county. Jerry has always lived in Marshall. For fifty years after he was
freed he worked as a brick mason. He now lives alone on the Port Caddo
road, and is supported by a $15.OO per month pension from the
government.*
"My name is J.M. Moore, but all the white and cullud folks calls me
Uncle Jerry, 'cause I has lived here mos' since Marshall started. I was
born on the 28th of May, in 1848, up on the hill where the College of
Marshall is now, and I belonged to the Van Zandts. That was their old
home place.
"I never did see Col. Isaac Van Zandt, my mistresses' husband, but has
heared her and the older folks talk lots o' him. They say he was the one
who helped set up Marshall and name it. They say he run for Governor and
had a good chance, but was never honorated as Governor, 'cause he died
'fore election.
"My mistress was named Fanny and was one sweet soul. She had five
children and they lived here in town but have a purty big farm east of
town. My mother sewed for Mistress Fanny, so we lived in town. There
were lots of niggers on the farm and everybody round these parts called
us 'Van Zandt's free niggers,' 'cause our white folks shared with their
darkies and larned 'em all to read and write. The other owners wouldn't
have none of Van Zandt's niggers.
"My mother was Amy Van Zandt Moore and was a Tennessian. My father was
Henry Moore and he belonged to a old bachelor named Moore, in Alabama.
Moore freed all his niggers 'fore 'mancipation except three. They was to
pay a debt and my father was Moore's choice man and was one of the
three. He bought hisself. He had saved up some money and when they went
to sell him he bid $800.00. The auctioneer cries 'round to git a raise,
but wouldn't nobody bid on my father 'cause he was one of Moore's 'free
niggers'. My father done say after the war he could have buyed hisself
for $1.50. So he was a free man 'fore the 'mancipation and he couldn't
live 'mong the slaves and he had to have a guardian who was 'sponsible
for his conduct till after surrender. They was lots of niggers here from
the free states 'fore the war, but they wasn't 'lowed to mix with the
slaves.
"Mistress Fanny allus give the children a candy pullin' on Saturday
night and the big folks danced and had parties. She allus gave the
children twenty-five cents apiece when the circus come to town. The
patterrollers wasn't 'lowed 'bout our place and her darkies went mos'
anywhere and wasn't ever bothered. I never seed a slave whipped on our
place. She give her darkies money along for doin' odd jobs and they
could spend it for what they wanted. She was a Christian woman and read
the Bible mos' all the time. She give my mother two acres of land at
'mancipation.
"The first thing I seed of the war was them musterin' and drillin'
sojers here in Marshall, back in Buchanan's time. Politics was hot in
'59 and '60. I 'member 'em havin' a big dinner and barbecue and speakin'
on our place. They had a railroad to Swanson's Landing on Caddo Lake and
the train crew brung news from boats from Shreveport and New Orleans.
Soon as the train pulled into town it signaled. Three long, mournful
whistles meant bad news. Three short, quick whistles meant good news. I
went to town for the mail with my sister durin' the war. She'd say to
me, 'Jerry, the sooner the war is over, the sooner we'll be free. All
the Van Zandt Negroes wanted to be free.' They didn't understand how
well they was bein' treated till after they had to make their own
livin'.
"I rec'lect the time the cullud folks registered here after the war.
They outnumbered the whites a long way. Davis was governor and all the
white folks had to take the Iron Clad oath to vote. Carpetbaggers and
Negroes run the government. In the early days they held the election
four days. They didn't vote in precints but at the court house. The
Democratic Party had no chance to 'timidate the darkies. The 'publican
party had a 'Loyal League' for to protect the cullud folks. First the
Negroes went to the league house to get 'structions and ballots and then
marched to the court house, double file, to vote. My father was a member
of the 11th and 12th legislature from this county. He was 'lected just
after the Constitutional Convention, when Davis was elected governor.
Two darkies, Mitch Kennel and Wiley Johnson, was 'lected from this
county to be members of that Convention.
"Durin' the Reconstruction the Negroes gathered in Harrison County. The
Yankee sojers and 'Progoe' law made thousands of darkies flock here for
protection. The Ku Klux wasn't as strong here and this place was
headquarters for the 'Freedman'. What the 'Progoe' Marshal said was
Gospel. They broke up all that business in Governor Hogg's time. They
divided the county into precints and the devilment was done in the
precints, just like it is now.
[Illustration: _Jerry Moore_]
"My father told me about old Col. Alford and his Kluxers takin' Anderson
Wright out to the bayou. They told him, 'You'd better pray.' Wright got
down on his knees and acted like he was prayin' till he crawled to the
bank and jumped off in the bayou. The Klux shot at him fifty or sixty
times, but he got away. The Loyal League give him money to leave on and
he stayed away a long time. He came back to appear against Alford at his
trial and when the jury gave Alford ninety-nine years, Anderson was
glad, of course.
"I left the Van Zandts two years after I was freed and worked in hotels
and on the railroad and saved up money and went in business, helping
people ship cotton. I've seen a thousand cotton wagons in town at one
time. I stayed in business till I was burnt out. I came back to Marshall
and took up the brick mason trade and worked at it till I got too old to
hold out.
"I've sat on the jury in the county, justice and federal courts. I know
enough to vote or set on a jury but I think the restriction on colored
folks votin' is all right in this State. The white folks has a good
government system. Our leaders ain't hard-hearted people and the cullud
folks is well off or better as if they voted. I've lived here in
Marshall most all the time since I was born and ain't had no trouble. As
long as the Negroes treat the white folks right, the white folks will
treat them right."