"My mother married a Thompson. Her married name was Margaret Thompson
and her name before she married was Margaret Berth. Her master before
she married was Berth. Her last master was Blue. Her mother's name was
Cordelia Lowe. Her maiden name was Berth. When the old man Berth died,
he made his will and Bullard Berth didn't want any slaves because he
wanted to train his children to work. Willard, my mother's master,
should have been a Berth because he was old man Berth's son, but he
called himself Blue. It might have been that old man Berth was his
stepfather. Anyway he went by the name of Willard Blue. He was an
undertaker.
"My father's name was Oliver Thompson. I don't remember any of my
father's people. His people were in Nashville, Tennessee, and my
mother's people were in Gallatin, Tennessee. We were separated in
slavery."