PLANTATION LIFE as viewed by ex-slave
ALICE HUTCHESON
165 Rockspring Street
Athens, Georgia
Written by: Grace McCune
Athens --
Edited by: Sarah H. Hall
Athens
and
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Project
Augusta, Georgia.
ALICE HUTCHESON Ex-Slave--Age 76
As the interviewer approached the house she could hear Alice singing,
"Good mornin' to you! Howdy you do?" and through the open window the old
woman could be seen busily engaged in household duties. Her broom,
moving in rhythm with the song, did not miss a stroke when the tune
changed to, "Lord I'se a comin' Home."
At the first sound of rapping, the singing ceased and Alice promptly
opened the door. "Good mornin' Missy," she said. "How is you?" Asked for
the story of her early life as a slave, she smiled and urged the visitor
to "have a seat in dis here rockin' cheer out here on de porch in de
sunshine."
"My Ma and Pa was named Har'iet Bell and William Hanson, and dey
b'longed to Marse Cal Robinson down in Monroe County. Ma was married two
times, and de fus' man was named Bell. He was de Pa of my half brother.
Only one of my three sisters is livin' now. I was born in June 1862
durin' de war. Ma's two brothers, Taylor and Bob Smith, b'longed to de
Robinson's in Morgan County. Dem Robinsons was kin to our white folkses,
and us was still all Robinson Niggers. Ma's four sisters is all done
died out long years ago.
"I jus' kin 'member one time de Yankees come to our plantation. Dey
ramsacked de place, tuk all de victuals f'um de white folkses and give
'em to de slaves. Us chillun sho' hid out whilst dey was dar, 'cause dem
was skeery times, and dem sojers sung old songs I heared lots of times
atter I got bigger. De captain would start de song. 'Member 1866, boys,
de rebels in hell of fixes, but we'll drink and eat deir bones yit.'
Atter de Yankees lef' de Niggers brung back de white folkses victuals
'cause dey was our own white folkses and dey had allus done give us
plenty of evvything.
"Us chillun didn't have to do no hard wuk, jus' played 'round de yards
wid de white chillun mos' of de time. One of our little jobs was to git
in plenty of wood for de fires. Chestnut and hick'ry wood made de bes'
fires and dere was allus plenty of good kindlin' to git 'em started. Oak
and pine bark was good to make de pot bile in a hurry. Dem ovens would
bake lak evvything wid heaps of hot coals piled 'round 'em.
"Dere warn't no Nigger schools den, but Miss Jane larnt us 'long wid de
white chillun, and us sho' had to mind dem lessons or she'd tear us up.
"De slave quarters was jus' log cabins, and dey cooked on fireplaces
jus' lak at de big house. Marster didn't have many Niggers, but us had
plenty somepin' t'eat. He had a big gyarden whar he raised mos'
evvything: corn, 'taters, cabbages, peas, onions, collard greens, and
lots of pun'kins. When de mens plowed up de 'taters us chillun had to go
'long and put 'em in baskets. De bestes' times was hog killin' times. Us
chillun wukked den. Dey hung up de hogs all night and nex' day us cut
'em, put 'em down in salt, and cooked up de lard. Us chillun got some of
dem good old skin cracklin's when dey got brown.
"Atter Marster tuk de meat out of de salt, he put brown sugar and
'lasses on de hams and shoulders, sacked 'em up, and hanged 'em in de
smokehouse. Den he say for us to git de fire ready. Us made a fire wid
cottonseed to smoke de meat. Dat kep' it good, and it didn't git old
tastin'. It was sho' good eatin' when you got some of dat meat.
"When de time come 'round to gather in de corn us wukked mighty peart
lak, 'cause us couldn't hardly wait for de cornshuckin's dat Marster was
gwine to let us have atter dat corn was hauled in f'um de fields.
Marster 'vited all de other white folkses and dey brung deir Niggers
'long. Shucks would jus' fly off of dat corn while dem Niggers was
a-singin' 'Old Liza Jane' and 'Susan Jane'. When de cornshuckin' was all
done, us had a big supper--chicken pies, barbecue, and plenty of
evvything good wid lots of liquor too. Atter supper dey started up
playin' dem fiddles and banjoes, and de dancin' begun. White folkses
danced da twistification up at de big house, but us had reg'lar old
breakdowns in a house what Marstar let us have to dance in. Wid all dat
toddy helpin' 'em 'long, sometimes dey danced all night, and some of 'em
fell out and had to be dragged off de dance flo'.
"Marse had log rollin's and 'vited evvybody. Dey all come and brung deir
Niggers. Marster had big dinners for 'em, and atter dey done rolled dem
logs all day dem Niggers evermore did eat. When dey was wukkin' dey sung
somethin' lak dis:
'I'se wukkin' on de buildin'
And hits a sho' foundation,
And when I git done
I'se goin' home to Heb'en.'
"All de neighbors comed to de quiltin's, and when de quilts was
finished, dey throwed it over de head of de house. Dat brung good luck.
"Us had to cyard, spin and reel cotton. Missy give us chillun six cuts
of thread for a days wuk and if us wukked hard and fas' us got done in
time to go chestnut and chinquapin huntin'. Us th'owed rocks 'ginst de
limbs to shake de nuts down, and us had jus' de bestes' time a-gittin'
'em out of de burrs and eatin' 'em. Us used to string chinquapins and
hang 'em 'round our necks.
"Marster had dese big car'iages wid de high front seats whar de driver
sot. Us had buggies den too, but attar de War us jus' had two-wheeled
carts and dey was pulled," the old Negress modestly explained, "by male
cows."
"Niggers all laked thrashin' time. Marstar, he growed lots of wheat and
de thrashin' machine tuk turn about gwine f'um one plantation to
another. Dey had big dinners on thrashin' days and plenty of toddy for
de thrashin' hands atter dey done de wuk. Dey blowed de bugle to let 'em
know when dey done finished up at one place and got ready to go on to de
nex' one.
"Missy lef' us to look atter de house when she went off to Morgan County
to see de other Robinsons, and she mos' allus fetched us a new dress
apiece when she come home. One time dey was Dolly Vardens, and dey was
so pretty us kep' 'em for our Sunday bes' dresses. Dem Dolly Vardens was
made wid overskirts what was cotched up in puffs. Evvyday dresses was
jus' plain skirts and waistes sowed together. Gal chilluns wore jus'
plain chemises made long, and boys didn't wear nothin' 'cep' long shirts
widout no britches 'til dey was 'bout twelve or fo'teen. Dem was
summertime clothes. Cold weather us had flannel petticoats and drawers.
Our bonnets had staves in de brim to make 'em stand out and had ruffles
'round de front.
"Ma done de cookin' and house wuk at de big house for Mist'ess Jane
Robinson. White folkses had lots of comp'ny, and dey had de cook fix de
mostes' good things for 'em. Dey kilt heaps of chickens and cooked whole
hams and lots of 'tater puddin's and sich lak. When Ma steamed pun'kin
'til it was done and den fried it, hit sho' would make your mouf water.
Missy's folkses was crazy 'bout de 'tater puddin's what Ma made, and
when she went off to visit 'em she allus had Ma bake one for her to take
'long to 'em.
"White folkses and Niggers all went to de same church and listened to de
same white preacher. Church day was second Sunday of evvy mont'. White
folkses went in de mornin' and Niggers atter dinner. Dem Niggers had
better behave and listen to de preacher, 'cause if dey didn't Marster
would give 'em a rakin' over sho'. Us went to Mount Zion Church in
Monroe County, and de Baptists and Meferdists both used de same church
house.
"When anybody died, dey laid 'em out on de coolin' board 'til dey got de
coffin made up. A white man lived nigh us what made all de coffins. He
charged 50 cents to make one for a chile and a dollar for grown folkses.
Dey had de same kind of coffins for evvybody, white and black, buried
'em all in de same graveyard, and built a fence 'round it. White mens
preached all de fun'rals. When dey buried a Nigger dey mos'ly had
prayer, a little talkin' and some songs. Parts of de songs went lak dis:
"Death has been here and
Tore away a sister from our side,
Jus' in de mornin' of 'er day
As young as us, she had to die.
"Not long ago she filled 'er place
And sot wid us to larn,
But she done run 'er mortal race
And nevermore can she return.
"Us can't tell who nex' may fall
Underneath de chasen' rod,
One maybe fus', but let us all
Prepare to meet our God.
"And needful help is thine to give
For Grace our souls to Thee apply,
To larn us how to serve and live,
And make us fit at las' to die."
"Part of another one was:
"Oh, come angel band
Come and 'round me stand,
And bear me away
On your snowy wings,
To my immortal home."
"Seems lak I can mos' hear de preacher read de Scripture for his tex',
'Buy de truf and sell it not.'
"Sometimes our white folkses tuk us all to old Smyrna Church, and den Ma
allus cooked a fine dinner to take 'long, 'cause dey had church all day
and dinner on de grounds. I ain't never gwine forgit a sermon I heared
at Smyrna, onct. De tex' was, 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will
give you a crown of life.'
"One day Marster called all his Niggers together and said us was all
free, and dat us could go whar us pleased anytime us got ready, but he
said too, dat us could stay on wid him if us wanted to. Charlie Martin
was de onlies' Nigger what didn't stay. Charlie said he wanted to go
somewhars else and Marster give him a good hoss and saddle and some
money when he lef', but I don't know how much dat money was.
"'Twarn't long 'fore dere was plenty of Ku Kluxers 'round 'bout. Dey
had on doughfaces and long white robes what come down over de hosses dey
was a-ridin'. Ma allus tole us dat if one of dem Kluxers tetched a
Nigger, dat Nigger was gwine to die, and us was so skeered us stayed out
of deir way so day didn't ketch none of us, but dey sho' did wuk on de
hides of some of dem other Niggers what dey did git a holt of.
"I wukked for Miss Sally Yervin a while and den us moved here to Athens.
My gran'pa come atter us, and Mr. Mote Robinson moved us in one of dem
big, high up waggons." An ice truck passed the cabin door and Alice
said: "Now jus' look, Honey, us didn't have nothin' lak dat den. Our
milk and butter and sich lak was kep' in de spring house. Folkses what
had wells used to put milk in buckets and let 'em down in de well wid
ropes, and dat milk would keep good and cool down dar.
"I got married atter us come to Athens. Us didn't have no big weddin',
jus' went to de preacher man's house to git married. De onlies' child us
had is done been daid for years, and my old man died 'way over 16 years
ago."
The old Negress [HW: woman] was reluctant to end the interview. "Goodbye
Missy, I hopes you come back sometime, 'cause old Alice has had a mighty
good time a-talkin' to you. Atter us gits too old to do any wuk dere
ain't many folkses takes up no time a-listenin' to old Niggers."
[HW: Ex-Slave Interview: Mrs. Amanda Jackson]
Mrs. Amanda Jackson was born a slave. She is unable to give her age but
she can tell of some of the conditions, etc. on the plantation where she
lived. Following are the things that she remembers most vividly:
"I wuz born in Glasscock county 'bout twelve miles fum Davisboro, Ga. My
marster's name wuz Lowry Calhoun--he did'nt have no chillun--jes' him
an' his wife an' her mother. He wus a rich man an' he had a big
plantation an' 'bout fifty slaves or more--I 'members de big quarters in
de back o' his house, where me an' de res' o' de slaves lived, an how we
uster git up an' do 'roun."
"Besides me I had two sisters an' one brother--I wuz de younges' child."
"All of de slaves on de plantation worked in de fiel'--even de cook--dat
is 'till time fer her to cook de meals. On dis plantation dey raised
practically everything--corn, cotton, wheat, an' rye, an' a heap o' live
stock. Dey wuz runnin' 'bout twenty-five or thirty plows all de time.
Dere wuz one overseer."
"Every mornin' de slaves had to git up an' by de time it wuz light enuff
to see dey had to be in de fiel' workin'". When asked how they were
awakened Mrs. Jackson replied: "Dey knowed how to git you up alright--de
overseer had a horn dat he blowed an' dem dat did'nt wake up when de
horn wuz blowed wuz called by some of de others in de quarters".
Continuing, she said: "Dey wuz in de fiel' fore de sun rose an' dere
'till after it went down--fum sun to sun". "De fiel' han's had one hour
fer dinner--dem dat had families done dere own cookin' an' dere wuz a
special cook fer de single ones. De women whut had families would git up
soon in de mornin's 'fore time to go to de fiel' an' put de meat on to
boil an' den dey would come in at dinner to come in at dinner time an'
put de vegetables in de pot to cook an' when dey come home in de evenin'
dey would cook some corn bread in de ashes at de fireplace".
"All dat I could do den wuz sweep de yards, water de cows an' de
chickens an' den go to de pasture to git de cows an' de calves--we had
two pastures--one fer de calves an' one fer de cows, I had to git de
cows so de womens could milk 'em."
"All of de hard work on de plantation wuz done in de summertime. In
rainy weather an' other bad weather all dat dey had to do wuz to shell
corn an' to help make cloth. As a rule ol' marster wuz pretty good to
his slaves but sometimes some of 'em got whupped kinda bad fer not
workin' an' stuff like dat--I seen 'im cut womens on dey shoulders wid a
long whip 'till it looked like he wuz gonna cut de skin off'n 'im."
"You had to do yo' own work on Saturdays an' Sundays--I members seeing
my po' mother wash her clothes on Sundays many times. We did'nt have no
holidays except Sundays an' den we did'nt have nowhere to go except to
church in de woods under a bush-arbor".
"De white folks clothes an' all o' de slaves clothes wuz all made on de
plantation. De marster's wife could sew an' she an' her mother an' some
of de slaves done all o' de spinning an' weaving on de place. I've
worked many a day in de house where dey made de cloth at. To color de
clothes dey made dyes out o' all kinds o' barks. If dey wanted
yellowstripes dey used dye made out o' hickory bark. Dere wuz always
plenty o' clothes fer everybody 'cause dey give two complete outfits two
times a year--one in de summer an' one in de winter. Fer blankets we
used homespun spreads."
"Even de shoes wuz made on de plantation--dere wuz a man on de place
dat made all o' de shoes. Dey wuz made out o' cowhide an' wuz very
stiff. You had to grease 'em to wear 'em an' after you done dat you
could do pretty well. De clothes dat dey wore on Sunday wuz'nt no
different fum de ones dat dey wore in de week--dey didn't have nowhere
to go on Sundays unless dey had services somewhere in de woods."
"Dere wuz a always plenty to eat 'cause dey raised everything dat you
c'n think of. Dere wuz all kinds o' vegetables an' big fiel's of hogs
an' 'bout fifteen or twenty head'a cattle dat had to be milked everyday.
Dem dat had families got a issue o' food everyday an' de others whut wuz
single wuz fed at de cookhouse. De only time we ever got biscuits wuz on
Sundays--de res' o' de time we et cornbread. Marster had two
smokehouses--one fer de lard an' one fer de meat. Besides des he 'lowed
de slaves to raise dere own vegetables in dey wanted to but dey could'nt
raise no chickens on stuff like dat".
"De place where de slaves lived wuz in de back o' de white folks house.
Dey called it de "quarters". Dere wuz lotsa log cabins kinda 'ranged
'roun in a sorta circle an' all of 'em had big dirt chimneys on de
outside. De holes in de walls wuz stopped up wid dried mud to keep de
weather out. Fer furniture dey jes' nailed up anything--dere wuz a bench
or two an' a few boards nailed together fer a bed. De mattress wuz a big
tickin' stuffed wid straw or dried grass. Some of de houses had big iron
pots so dat dey could cook if dey wanted to. De fireplaces wuz big ones
an' dey had racks in de inside of 'em so dat de pots could hang dere
when dey wuz cookin'. De only light dat dey had wuz de firelight--don't
care how hot it wuz--if you wanted to see you had to make a fire in de
fireplace. De floors in all de cabins wuz made wid wood.
"Hardly anybody ever got sick on de plantation. When dey wuz sick de
white lady would come out once in a while to see how you wuz gittin'
'long. If anybody wuz very sick de doctor would come on his horse an'
bring his medicine wid 'im when he come. When you wuz sick like dis
somebody from de fiel' would stay in an' do de nursin'. All de medicine
I 'members is big blue mass pills an' salts--dey would give you des fer
anything. When you wuz too sick to go to de fiel' an' not sick enuff to
be in bed you had to report to de white lady at de house--she could tell
pretty much if you wuz sick an' she would work on you--if you did'nt git
better den she would send fer de doctor."
"On des plantation dey did'nt have no regular church fer de slaves an'
so when de weather wuz good de slaves went to de woods an' had church in
a bush-arbor. Dey made a bush-arbor by takin' some posts an' puttin' dem
in de groun' an' de coverin' de top wid bushes. Later on dey had a
shelter covered wid boards. De prechin' wuz done by a ol' man dey called
Caesar--he wuz too old to do anything else an' so prechin' wuz de
biggis' thing he done."
"My marster never did sell any o' his slaves--'course if dey wanted to
go to somebodyyelse he'd let 'um go p'vided de one dey wanted to go to
paid fer 'em. He let one or two go like dat once. Other folks uster put
'em on de block an' sell 'em like dey would a chicken or sumpin' like
dat."
"Dere wuz'nt much whuppin on our plantation--not by de marster. Dey
usually got whupped fer not workin'. Others got whupped by de
Paddie-Rollers when dey wuz cot off'n de plantation widout a pass. Dey
would come to de plantation an' whup you if dey knowed you had been off
wid out a pass. Der man whose plantation we wuz on did pretty well by
us--he did'nt like fer de Paddie-Rollers to come on his place to do no
whuppin'."
In reply to a query regarding the possibility of a slave buying his
freedom Mrs. Jackson replied: "De only ones I knowed to go free wuz some
whose marsters willed 'em enuff money to buy deyself out an' dey wuz
mighty few".
Continuing Mrs. Jackson said: "When de Yankee soldiers come through we
had to fit busy an' hide all de meat an' de other food dat wuz in de
smokehouse so dat de soldiers would'nt take it."
"My mother an' father stayed on de plantation a long time after freedom
wuz declared".
"MEMORIES OF HER CHILDHOOD", BY AN EX-SLAVE, CAMILLA JACKSON
Submitted by--
Minnie B. Ross
(Colored)
Mrs. Camilla Jackson doesn't know how old she is, but is so very old
that she almost never leaves her chair. She wears a white rag around her
head and is always spotlessly clean. She speaks distinctly; but her
memory is a little slow, due to her old age. The events related were
given only after she had thought them over carefully, for, as she
stated, she did not wish to tell anything but the truth. She lives in a
back room of a large house and is cared for by other people in the
house.
She was born in Decatur, Georgia, the daughter of Charlotte and Joe
Hoyle, and the tenth child of 18 children. Her family included her
mother and father, a grandmother and 17 sisters and brothers. As far as
she can remember, her family always belonged to Mr. Peter Hoyle, who was
a doctor.
Dr. Hoyle's family included his wife, three boys, and three girls. He
owned a very large plantation, and a large number of a slaves, probably
75 or more. All of them were required to work in the fields and tend the
crops, which consisted mostly of sugar cane and cotton. Syrup was made
from the sugar cane. Mrs. Jackson remembers quite well that everyone was
required to work in the fields, but not until Dr. Hoyle, who was a kind
master, was sure that they were old enough. She was about 12 years old
when she was given a job in the house, operating the fly-brush. The
fly-brush was constructed so that a piece of cloth, fastened on a wooden
frame with hinges, could be pulled back and forth with a cord. This
constant fanning kept the room clear of flies. As she related this, she
smiled to herself as if her job was particularly amusing.
Dr. Hoyle did not find it necessary to hire out any of his slaves as he
had enough work to keep them all busy. She frequently said that her
master was a kind man and never punished unnecessarily. It was very
seldom that he used the whip. His slaves respected him for his kindness
and tried to please him. As a result of his good treatment Dr. Hoyle
never found it necessary to sell any one of his slaves. Once she
hesitated and seemed to go into a deep study over something. A few
minutes later she related the incident of the selling of a woman slave.
This woman gave birth to a baby out of wedlock and, since Dr. Hoyle was
a firm believer in marriage, he immediately sold her, to prevent further
trouble. Mrs. Hoyle was not as kind as her husband, and at times was
cruel to the slaves.
Mrs. Jackson clearly related the method of courtship and marriage on her
master's plantation. Dr. Hoyle never selected the mates for his slaves
but left it to each person to chose whomever he wished. However, the
selection would have to be made from among the slaves on some of his
friends plantations. They were not allowed to chose anyone on their own
plantation. The person chosen was allowed to call on Sundays after
getting a "pass" from his master. She told how courtship was carried on
in those days. A young man courted the girl in the presence of the
parents. Every now and then he would be seen looking at the clock. When
he left, the mother would go to the door with him. When the master was
properly notified of the intended marriage, he would prepare a feast and
call in his own preacher to perform the ceremony. After the ceremony
everybody was allowed to take part in the feast. When Mrs. Jackson's
oldest sister married the master roasted a pig and stuck a red apple in
its mouth. She smiled over this incident.
A slave's home life was very simple. After work hours they were allowed
to visit other plantations; however, they could not visit any plantation
unless their master was friendly with the owner of this particular
plantation. One of the most enjoyable affairs in those days was the
quilting party. Every night they would assemble at some particular house
and help that person to finish her quilts. The next night, a visit would
be made to some one else's home and so on, until everyone had a
sufficient amount of bed-clothing made for the winter. Besides, this was
an excellent chance to get together for a pleasant time and discuss the
latest gossip. Most friendly calls were made on Sunday, after securing a
"pass". This "pass" was very necessary to go from one plantation to
another.
Slaves did not have to prepare their food during the week. Their food
was brought to them in pails from the "big house". (The master's house
was called the "big house".) On Sundays they were given groceries to
prepare their own meals. Mrs. Jackson remembers the bread that was made
from "shorts". "Shorts" was the name given to a second grade of flour,
similar to whole wheat. The first grade was always used in the master's
house. As a whole, Dr. Hoyle gave his slaves enough food; however, on
several occasions she remembers that a friend of her mother's, who lived
on the adjoining plantation, handed pans of food over the fence to them.
Slaves were never given spending money but her grandmother was very
thrifty and managed to earn a little money. This was done by collecting
all the rags she could find and then carrying them to town in an oxcart
to sell them. Old women used oxcarts because oxen would not run away.
She smiled when asked if she had ever worn a hoop skirt. "Yes, child",
she replied, "I have worn hoop skirts. They were the fad in those days."
She related how her sister made hoop skirts by cutting slits in the hem
of the skirt, and running a hoop through it. "I can remember the cloth
that was made on the spinning wheel", she said. She told how she had
turned the reel many a day and spun the thread. She could not clearly
relate the construction of a spinning wheel.