*Interview with Delicia Patterson,*
*St. Louis, Missouri.*
_Delicia Had Some Temper_
The subject of this sketch is Delicia Ann Wiley Patterson, better known
as Lucinda Patterson, 92 years of age and lives in a 3 room kitchenette
apartment at 2847 Delmar Boulevard, apartment 103.
The old woman is a very neat little brown skinned, white haired person.
She lives alone in her neatly furnished snug little quarters. When the
writer introduced herself and asked for an interview, Lucinda seemed
rather peeved and she said:
"I'm hot, and mad because the landlord sent the paper hanger here and
started to clean up my apartment, then come and taken him away before he
finished, because I am old.
"I got plenty temper and I been sick, and when I get mad I get sick all
over again. I turned off the radio, 'cause I don't want nobody talkin'
to me and I don't want to talk to nobody, I've told my history enough. I
don't want to tell it no more anyhow, and especially today the way I
feel."
But she seemed too good a subject to let go on with a merely perturbed
mood, so I visited with her until she was in good humor, and very
willingly gave me the following story:
"I was born in Boonville, Missouri, January 2, 1845. My mother's name
was Maria and my father's was Jack Wiley. Mother had five children but
raised only two of us. I was owned by Charles Mitchell until I was 15
years old. They were fairly nice to all of their slaves and they had
several of us. I only got whipped once in the whole 15 years there, and
that was because I was working in the garden with one of my owner's
daughters and I pulled up something that she did not want pulled up, so
she up and slapped me for it.
"I got so mad at her, I taken up a hoe and run her all the way in the
big house, and of course I got whipped for that. I did not even have to
sleep in the cabins. I slept on a pallet in the bedroom with old marse's
children. I was a pet anywhere I worked, because I was always very neat
and clean, and a good worker.
"When I was 15 years old, I was brought to the courthouse, put up on the
auction block to be sold. Old Judge Miller from my county was there. I
knew him well because he was one of the wealthiest slave owners in the
county, and the meanest one. He was so cruel all the slaves and many
owners hated him because of it. He saw me on the block for sale, and he
knew I was a good worker so when he bid for me, I spoke right out on the
auction block and told him: 'Old Judge Miller don't you bid for me,
'cause if you do, I would not live on your plantation, I will take a
knife and cut my own throat from ear to ear before I would be owned by
you.'
"So he stepped back and let someone else bid for me. My own father knew
I was to be for sale, so he brought his owner to the sale for him to buy
me, so we could be together. But when father's owner heard what I said
to Judge Miller, he told my father he would not buy me, because I was
sassy, and he never owned a sassy niggah and did not want one that was
sassy. That broke my father's heart, but I couldn't help that. Another
nigger trader standing right beside my father's owner said, I wouldn't
own a nigger that didn't have some spunk. So I was sold to a Southern
Englishman named Thomas B. Steele for $1500. He had an old slave he had
in his home for years as their housekeeper, and his wife did not like
her, and he had to sell her to keep peace at home so he put me in his
buggy and taken me home to his wife and told her, 'I bought you another
girl, Susianna, but I don't want you to lay the weight of your finger on
her when she disobeys. Let me know and I will punish her myself.'
"I lived in that family until after the Civil War was over. Mr. Steele's
wife's people had a big family and they visited the Steeles a great
deal. Mr. Tom didn't like them because they were Yankees and the Steeles
were Union. So one time Mr. Tom was going away on a trip and he knew
when he was gone, his wife would have all of her folks in the home
visiting, and that was against his wishes. He told me to keep tab on
every time her relatives come to the house and how long they stayed, and
tell him when he come back home, and that he would leave orders in the
home to let me work in the field, so I would not have to bother with
that great big family. When he left all his wife's folks come right down
on our plantation, so I had to work in the house for them so hard, I did
not have time to even look at the field.
"When old boss come home I told him, I had not worked in the field and
why. Him and his wife had a big fight about that, and she hated me for a
long time, and said, the idea of her husband taking a nigger's word to
hers and mistreat her on account of it. But he did not let her bother me
about nothing, so I stayed on with them until one day, while I had a fly
brush in my hand fanning flies while they ate, she told him something I
done she didn't like. Just to please her, he taken the fly brush out of
my hand and just tapped me with it. It didn't hurt me a bit, but it made
me so mad I just went straight to the kitchen, left all the dishes, put
on my sunbonnet and run away. I stayed two weeks. He sent everybody he
thought knew where I was after me, and told them to tell me if I would
only come on back home, no one would ever bother me anymore. I hid in
the woods that whole two weeks and was not afraid. I would be afraid out
in those woods now, but I wasn't then. At night I would come up to some
of the slave cabins who were my friends and eat and stay all night. So I
went back home after my 2 weeks off as a runaway nigger and no one ever
bothered me any more either. I came to St. Louis with them, during the
Civil War.
"When freedom was declared Mr. Steele told me that I was as free as he
was. He said I could leave them if I please, or could stay, that they
wanted me and would be glad to have me if I would stay and his wife
said, course she is our nigger. She is as much our nigger now as she was
the day you bought her 2 years ago and paid $1500 for her. That made me
mad so I left right then. Since she was so smart. Her husband told her,
now Sue you might as well face it. There are no more slaves and won't
ever be any more, regardless of how much we paid for them. So just quiet
yourself down, she don't have to stay here if she don't want to, but
till this day some of their children come to visit me, but they never
give me anything ever.
"I hired myself out to a family named Miller's at $3.00 a week, and
lived on the place. I had a baby about 3 years old. I married before the
war and when my baby was 2 weeks old they taken my husband in the army.
He died in the army. I worked for the Millers about 11 months. One day
Mrs. Miller misplaced her silver thimble and she accused me of stealing
it. She did not tell me that but she told the white nurse girl, and the
nurse told me. I got so mad at her for that, 'cause I never stole
anything in my whole life and never been accused of stealing, so I quit.
They begged me to stay and offered to raise my salary, I told them I
would not work for anyone who felt I would steal. The very next day she
found her thimble in the nursery where she remembered she put it
herself, but forgot about it at the time. She thought it was lost.
"I don't know what the ex-slaves expected, but I do know they didn't get
anything. After the war we just wandered from place to place, working
for food and a place to stay. Now and then we got a little money, but a
very little. I only voted once in my life and that was when working for
Mr. Gerhart. He was a real estate dealer and he taken me to the polls
and showed me how to vote for a Republican president. It has been so
long ago I don't even remember who the president was, but I do know he
got elected. I think the time will soon be when people won't be looked
on as regards to whether you are black or white, but all on the same
equality. I may not live to see it but it is on the way. Many don't
believe it, but I know it.
"My father's owner's children use to take my father in their basement
and teach him to read in a blue back spelling book. I never got any
education. My English is good because I boarded all the first Negro
school teachers and Negro principals St. Louis ever had for years.
Charlie Brown, the late Hutchinson Inge, Clarice Hubbard, Wm. Turner and
Chas. Newton, the old pioneer Negro teachers had their meals in my home.
I had a lovely home, and have lived well in my time right here in St.
Louis. I am a member of Central Baptist Church and been there for years.
I think this young generation should advance much faster than they do.
Their advantages are very good, but they don't seem to be appreciative
of them. If I would of had their chance in my day, I really would make
good use of it and improve every moment of my life.
"Charlie Brown started me to attending night school, but I couldn't keep
my mind on my studies, I was always thinking of home and my business. I
was afraid the girl that helped would forget to grind the coffee for
breakfast or fail to put everything on the table for breakfast next
morning. Many of the teachers had a great ways to go and had to have an
early start, and I could not afford to be using the time in the morning
doing the things that should be done at night. I always believed in
doing things as they should be done, on time.
"That's why my services were valuable, any place I worked, whether as a
slave or free, and I still stand by that idea. I have done laundry work
so satisfactory that I got $5.00 for doing up one white dress, 50c each
for embroidery skirts and 25c a piece for vests. I never did work for
nothing but wealthy white people."