The bareness of Minnie Davis' yard was relieved by a single rosebush,
and her small house might best be described as a "tumble-down shack." An
unsteady wooden box served as a step to the fragment of porch before the
front door.
"Good mornin', Mam," was the greeting of a Negro man who hastened to
answer the visitor's knock at the door. "Yes Mam, Miss Minnie's at
home." He turned, tapped on the door of one of the four rooms adjoining
the hall, and called: "Miss Minnie, a white lady wants to see you."
Minnie hobbled to the door and invited the visitor to her bedroom, where
a suite of handsome walnut furniture reflected the period when marble
tops were standard parts of dressers and washstands. A low chair, an old
table, and a rusty heater completed the furnishings of the room.
Age and ill health have not dealt kindly with Minnie, and her short-cut,
kinky hair is almost white, but her eyes and face retain a remarkably
youthful appearance. She is a small thin woman of gingercake color and,
despite the sweltering heat, she wore a pink flannel nightgown, faded
and dingy, and a pair of high top black shoes, so badly run over that
she hobbled along on the sides of them. Minnie is well educated, and she
taught school for so long that her speech is remarkably free of dialect.
When the nature of the visit was explained, Minnie said: "A white woman
has been here several times before, but I was sick and didn't understand
clearly what she wanted me to tell her." She then explained that she did
not care to talk for publication at all. She said she was hungry and had
nothing at all in the house to eat. Her nephew, Ed, an ex-postman lived
with her, she explained, and he would go for food if there was any
money. She might feel like talking a little if she had a little
something to eat. The interviewer provided the cash and Ed soon returned
with a pint of milk and some cinnamon rolls. After her repast, Minnie
began to talk, giving the impression that every word was carefully
weighed before it was uttered.
"I was born in Greene County near Penfield, Georgia," she said. "Aggie
Crawford was my mother and she was married to Jim Young. My only sister
was Mariah, and my three brothers were Ned, John, and Jim. Ned was a
mulatto. I know who his father was, but of course you won't ask me that.
I wouldn't want to expose my own mother or the man who was Ned's father.
I was quite a small child during the war period, and I can tell you very
little of that time, except the things my mother told me when I grew old
enough to remember. My mother belonged to the Crawford family in Greene
County, but when I knew anything we were living in Athens and were the
slaves of Marster John Crawford.
"As children we played around the yard; those of us who were old enough
had odd jobs to do. The unceiled house that my father and mother shared
with three other families was weatherboarded and had a chimney made of
sticks and dirt. There was a bed in each corner of the room and from one
to three children slept in the bed with their parents: the rest of the
children slept on the floor. The tall old home-made wooden beds had very
much the appearance of beds used now, except that cords were used
instead of the metal springs that came into use later. Our osnaburg
mattress ticks were filled with straw. I'm quite sure there were no
pillows. There was also a two-story house on the lot for slaves." She
was asked what she called her father and mother during slavery time, and
her reply was: "I have always said father and mother because I liked it
better, and the Bible teaches us to say that.
"Grandmother Dilsey and grandfather Levi Crawford lived in Lexington. I
saw my grandmother one time, but I don't know what she did at the white
folks' house. Grandfather was a carpenter.
"I never got any money in slavery time. If the slaves ever got any, it
was when the Yankees came through here. At that time the white people
gave their money to the slaves for safekeeping, and after the Yankees
went on it was returned to the white owners.
"My mother was the cook and looked after the house. Oh, yes indeed, we
had good food to eat. Bread, milk, meat, collard greens, turnips, and
potatoes. I would say we had just everything that was grown in the
garden and on the plantations to eat at that time. The cooking was done
in the kitchen in the yard. The fireplace was as wide as the end of this
room, and a long iron bar extended from one end to the other. The great
cooking pots were suspended over the coals from this bar by means of pot
hooks. Heavy iron skillets with thick lids were much used for baking,
and they had ovens of various sizes. I have seen my mother bake
beautiful biscuits and cakes in those old skillets, and they were ideal
for roasting meats. Mother's batter cakes would just melt in your mouth
and she could bake and fry the most delicious fish. There was no certain
thing that I liked to eat more than anything else in those days. I was
young and had a keen appetite for all good things. Miss Fannie and Miss
Susan often made candy and it was so good I could have eaten all they
made, had they given it to me. My father hired his time out; he made and
sold gingercakes on the railroad.
"In the summertime we wore homespun dresses made with a full skirt
gathered onto a tight-fitting waist. In the wintertime the dresses were
made of checked woolen material called linsey cloth. For underwear, we
wore balmoral petticoats and osnaburg drawers. We went barefooted most
of the time. I remember one particular time when the ground was frozen
and I went about without any shoes, but it didn't bother me. Barefooted
children seldom had bad colds in winter. We wore just anything on
Sunday, but we had to look nice and clean.
"Marster John Crawford, son of the distinguished William H. Crawford,
was my owner. Indeed, he was good to us. I'll tell you after awhile
about the time he wouldn't let the town marshal whip my mother. They
told me his wife was a fine woman and that she was as good to her slaves
as she could be. She died very young in life and Marse John's sisters,
Miss Fannie and Miss Susan, kept house for him after that. Marse John's
three children were Miss Fannie, Miss Rosa, and Marse Allie. Miss Rosa
married Marse Tom Golden, and Miss Fannie married a Gerdine; I've
forgotten his first name.
"Marse John may have had an overseer on one of his plantations, but I
don't remember. I do know he didn't have a carriage driver for he didn't
have a carriage. I don't believe I can describe the peculiar shape of
his fine eight-room house. It was on Dougherty Street, right back of
Scudder's School. The Crawfords were considered very uppity people and
their slaves were uppish too. Marse John didn't have many slaves and
they had to get up and get going early every morning. Marse John was
postmaster of Athens and had to be in his office by eight o'clock every
morning so he ordered that his breakfast be served regularly at
seven-thirty.
"No Mam, our white folks didn't teach their slaves to read and write
because it was against the law. However, they did read the Bible to us,
and the slaves that were smart enough, were asked to repeat the verses
they had learned from hearing Miss Fannie, Miss Sue, and Marse John
read. The Crawford children were caught teaching my mother to read and
write, but they were made to stop. Mother was quick to learn and she
never gave up. She would steal the newspapers and read up about the war,
and she kept the other slaves posted as to how the war was progressing.
She knew when the war was over, almost as soon as Marse John did.
"I don't recall any certain reason why the slaves were punished; they
needed it, I'm sure of that. Some folks need to be punished now. Miss
Sue, as we called her, whipped the slaves for misbehavior. I remember
one time there was quite a commotion. The town marshal came to our house
to whip my mother. It had been told that she had been writing letters,
asking people to buy whiskey from her, but Marse John wouldn't let the
marshal touch her. There was a jail, but I don't recall that any of
Marse John's slaves were ever put in there. I was told that his slaves
were, as a rule, well behaved and that they gave him no trouble.
"Yes Mam, we went to church, that is, those of us who cared to go did.
There wasn't any separate church for colored people in Athens, that I
can remember. We went to church and Sunday School at the First
Presbyterian Church, where the slaves were allowed to sit in the
gallery. I recall that Dr. Hoyt used to pray that the Lord would drive
the Yankees back. He said that 'Niggers were born to be slaves.' My
mother said that all the time he was praying out loud like that, she was
praying to herself: 'Oh, Lord, please send the Yankees on and let them
set us free.' I wasn't enough of a singer to have a favorite song, and I
was too happy playing with the Crawford children to be interested in
going to baptizings and funerals.
"I did go to my father's funeral. When he was taken sick Dr. Holt
attended his case, and it was not long before he told Marse John that
Father would never get well. When he died Mother hollered and screamed
something terrible. Miss Sue told her not to cry because, 'the Lord
knows best.' 'Yes, Miss Sue,' answered Mother, 'but you have never loved
a man to lose.' With that, they both cried. When anyone died in those
days, the people sat up all night and didn't go to bed until the funeral
was over. Now, no real sympathy is shown.
"I don't believe any of Marse John's slaves ever went to the war. He was
good to them and everyone of them loved him. I heard of patterollers
chasing slaves and whipping them if they were caught away from home
without a pass, and sometimes they locked them up. However, nothing of
the kind ever happened to any of Marse John's slaves. He was a highly
respected citizen and everyone in Athens knew better than to touch his
Negroes.
"After the work for the day was finished at the big house, the slaves
went to their quarters to weave cloth and sew, but when ten o'clock came
and the bell sounded, everything had to be quiet. Slaves on our place
worked Saturday afternoons the same as any other day. On Saturday nights
the young folks and a few of the older folks danced. Some of them got
passes from Marse John so they could visit around. They popped corn,
pulled candy, or just sat around and talked. Those of us who desired
went to Sunday School and church on Sundays; others stayed at home and
did their washing and ironing, and there was always plenty of that to be
done.
"Christmas was a grand time at Marse John's. We had everything good to
eat under the sun at that time and, as my mother was the cook, I was
sure of getting my share of the good things. Miss Fannie and Miss Sue
played Santa Claus to slave children. I was sorry when Mary got too
smart and peeped to see what it was all about, for after that they just
came to our house and handed us the things that would have come as Santa
Claus.
"New Year's Day was no different from other days, except that Marse John
gave the grown folks whiskey to drink that day like he did on Christmas
morning. They couldn't risk giving slaves much whiskey because it made
them mean, and then they would fight the white folks. They had to be
mighty careful about things like that in order to keep down uprisings.
"My mother went to cornshuckings, cotton pickings, and quiltings. They
must have had wonderful times, to hear her tell it. She said that after
the corn was shucked, cotton picked, or quilts quilted, they always gave
them plenty of good things to eat and drink and let them aloose to enjoy
themselves for the balance of the night. Those things took place at
harvest time, and everyone looked forward to having a good time at that
season. Mother said that Marse John was particular with his slaves, and
wouldn't let them go just anywhere to these things.
"About the only game I can remember playing as a child was a doll game.
The Crawford children would use me for the doll, and then when my turn
came to play mamma and claim one of them for my doll, Miss Fanny or Miss
Sue would appear and then I would have to be a doll for them. I didn't
mind, for I dearly loved them all.
"Now about Raw Head and Bloody Bones; I am going to tell you, Miss, my
Marster's people were cultured and refined, and they wouldn't allow such
things told to their own children or to their slaves' children. They
didn't want anything said or done to frighten any little children, and
if a nurse or anyone else was caught doing such a thing, that person was
punished for it. With the heritage of training like that I could hardly
be expected to believe in such things.
"Marse John was grand to sick slaves. He always sent for Dr. Moore, who
would make his examination and write out his prescription. When he left
his parting word was usually 'Give him a sound thrashing and he will get
better.' Of course he didn't mean that; it was his little joke. Dr.
Holt, Dr. Crawford Long, and Dr. Jones Long were sometimes called in for
consultation on particularly serious cases. We didn't like Dr. Moore and
usually begged for one of the other doctors. I don't think my white
folks used teas made of herbs, leaves or roots; they may have, but I
don't remember it. However, I do know that we wore little sacks of
asafetida around our necks to keep off diseases, and the white folks
wore it too.
"On the day we learned of the surrender, the Negroes rallied around the
liberty flag pole that they set up near where the city hall is now. All
day long they cut up and there was a song they sung that day that went
something like this:
'We rally around the flag pole of liberty,
The Union forever, Hurrah! Boys Hurrah!'
"Next morning when the Negroes got up the white folks had cut that pole
down. We were mortally afraid of the Yankees when they appeared here a
short time after the surrender. We were afraid of the Ku Klux Klan
riders too. The Negroes did act so bad; there were lots of killings
going on for a long time after the war was supposed to be over.
"Mother was glad and sorry too that she was free. Marse John had been so
good to all his slaves that none of them really wanted to leave him. We
stayed on a while, then mother left and rented a room. She worked hard
and bought a house as soon as she could; others did the same. There were
very few slaves that had any money at all to begin on.
"Immediately following the surrender northern people opened Knox
Institute. One of my teachers was Miss Dora Brooks, a white woman from
the North. The principal was a white man, he was Mr. Sortur. After I
graduated from Knox Institute, I went to the Atlanta University four
years, then came back to Athens and taught school here forty years. I
taught whatever grade they assigned me to each year, never any certain
grade from year to year. First and last, I've taught from first grade
through high school. I would be teaching now if it were not for my bad
health. I receive a teacher's pension, but have never applied for an old
age pension.
"My husband was Samuel B. Davis, publisher of the _Athens Clipper_. I
published this newspaper myself for a short while after his death, then
sold it. We didn't have a big wedding, just a very simple one at my
mother's house. I was married in a nice white dress, but it was nothing
fancy. Our two children were born dead. Once I had a nice home,
beautifully furnished. All I have left of it is this old house and my
good bedroom suite. The rest of my possessions have gotten away from me
during my continued illness.
"I often think of Abraham Lincoln; he did a good deed for my race. Jeff
Davis was a good man and, no doubt, he thought he was doing the right
thing. Booker T. Washington was a man of brilliant mind, but he was
radically wrong in many of his views pertaining to education of the
black race. He lectured here once, but I didn't bother to hear him
speak.
"Yes Mam, indeed I had rather be free. Oh! religion is glorious. If God
has set you free from the bonds and penalties of sin, I think you ought
to live up to your Lord's commands. I dearly love to go to church and
hear the preacher tell of God. It gives me strength to live until He is
ready for me to go.
"Now, Miss, I hope I have told you what you wanted to know, but I must
admit the things that took place way back there are rather vague in my
mind. I'm an old woman and my mind is not as clear as it once was. Next
week, if I am strong enough to make the trip, I am going to spend the
day with Mary Colbert, and go over the old times you and I have
discussed. She remembers them better than I do, because she is older."
Whitley
[HW: Unedited
Atlanta]
E. Driskell
EX-SLAVE MOSE DAVIS
[APR 8 1937]
In one of Atlanta's many alleys lives Mose Davis, an ex-slave who was
born on a very large plantation 12 miles from Perry, Georgia. His master
was Colonel Davis, a very rich old man, who owned a large number of
slaves in addition to his vast property holdings. Mose Davis says that
all the buildings on this plantation were whitewashed, the lime having
been secured from a corner of the plantation known as "the lime sink".
Colonel Davis had a large family and so he had to have a large house to
accommodate these members. The mansion, as it was called, was a great
big three-storied affair surrounded by a thick growth of cedar trees.
Mose's parents, Jennie and January Davis, had always been the property
of the Davis family, naturally he and his two brothers and two sisters
never knew any other master than "The Old Colonel".
Mr. Davis says that the first thing he remembers of his parents is being
whipped by his mother who had tied him to the bed to prevent his running
away. His first recollection of his father is seeing him take a drink of
whiskey from a five gallon jug. When asked if this was'nt against the
plantation rules "Uncle Mose" replied: "The Colonel was one of the
biggest devils you ever seen--he's the one that started my daddy to
drinking. Sometimes he used to come to our house to git a drink
hisself".
Mose's Father was the family coachman. "All that he had to do was to
drive the master and his family and to take care of the two big grey
horses that he drove. Compared to my mother and the other slaves he had
an easy time," said Uncle Mose, shaking his head and smiling: "My daddy
was so crazy about the white folks and the horses he drove until I
believe he thought more of them than he did of me. One day while I was
in the stable with him one of the horses tried to kick me and when I
started to hit him Daddy cussed me and threatned to beat me."
His mother, brothers, and sisters, were all field hands, but there was
never any work required of Mose, who was play-mate and companion to
Manning, the youngest of Colonel Davis' five sons. These two spent most
of the time fishing and hunting. Manning had a pony and buggy and
whenever he went to town he always took Mose along.
Field hands were roused, every morning by the overseer who rang the
large bell near the slave quarters. Women [TR: and] young children were
permitted to remain at home until 9 o'clock to prepare breakfast. At 9
o'clock these women had to start to the fields where they worked along
with the others until sundown. The one break in the day's work was the
noon dinner hour. Field hands planted and tended cotton, corn, and the
other produce grown on the plantation until harvest time when everybody
picked cotton. Slaves usually worked harder during the picking season
than at any other time. After harvest, the only remaining work was
cleaning out fence corners, splitting rails building fences and numerous
other minor tasks. In hot weather, the only work was shelling corn.
There was no Sunday work other than caring for the stock.
On this plantation there were quite a few skilled slaves mostly
blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, plasterers, and a cobbler. One of
Mose's brothers was a carpenter.
All slaves too old for field work remained at home where some took care
of the young children, while others worked in the loom houses helping
make the cloth and the clothing used on the plantation. Since no work
was required at night, this time was utilized by doing personal work
such as the washing and the repairing of clothing, etc.
On the Fourth of July or at Christmas Colonel Davis always had a
festival for all his slaves. Barbecue was served and there was much
singing and dancing. These frolics were made merrier by the presence of
guests from other plantations. Music was furnished by some of the slaves
who also furnished music at the mansion whenever the Col. or some of the
members of his family had a party. There was also a celebration after
the crops had been gathered.
Although there was only one distribution of clothing per year nobody
suffered from the lack of clothes because this one lot had enough to
last a year if properly cared for. The children wore one piece garments,
a cross between a dress and a slightly lengthened shirt, made of
homespun or crocus material [TR note: "crocus" is a coarse, loosely
woven material like burlap]. No shoes were given them until winter and
then they got the cast-offs of the grown ups. The men all wore pants
made of material known as "ausenberg". The shirts and under wear were
made of another cotton material. Dresses for the women were of striped
homespun. All shoes were made on the premises of the heaviest leather,
clumsely fashioned and Uncle Mose says that slaves like his father who
worked in the mansion, were given much better clothing. His father
received of "The Colonel" and his grown sons many discarded clothes. One
of the greatest thrills of Mose's boyhood was receiving first pair of
"ausenberg" pants. As his mother had already taught him to knit (by
using four needles at one time) all that he had to do was to go to his
hiding place and get the socks that he had made.
None of the clothing worn by the slaves on this particular plantation
was bought. Everything was made by the slaves, even to the dye that was
used.
Asked if there was sufficient food for all slaves, Uncle Mose said "I
never heard any complaints." At the end of each week every family was
given some fat meat, black molasses, meal and flour in quantity varying
with the size of the family. At certain intervals during the week, they
were given vegetables. Here too, as in everything else, Mose's father
was more fortunate than the others, since he took all his meals at the
mansion where he ate the same food served to the master and his family.
The only difference between Week-day and Sunday diet was that biscuits
were served on Sundays. The children were given only one biscuit each.
In addition to the other bread was considered a delicacy. All food stuff
was grown on the plantation.
The slave quarters were located a short distance below the mansion. The
cabins one-roomed weatherboard structures were arranged so as to form a
semi-circle. There was a wide tree-lined road leading from the master's
home to these cabins.
Furnishings of each cabin consisted of one or two benches, a bed, and a
few cooking utensils. These were very crude, especially the beds. Some
of them had four posts while the ends of others were nailed to the
walls. All lumber used in their construction was very heavy and rough.
Bed springs were unheard of--wooden slats being used for this purpose.
The mattresses were large ausenberg bags stuffed to capacity with hay,
straw, or leaves. Uncle Mose told about one of the slaves, named Ike,
whose entire family slept on bare pine straw. His children were among
the fattest on the plantation and when Colonel Davis tried to make him
put this straw in a bag he refused claiming that the pine needles kept
his children healthy.
The floors and chimneys on the Davis Plantation were made of wood and
brick instead of dirt and mud as was the case on many of the other
surrounding plantations. One window (with shutters instead of window
panes) served the purpose of ventilation and light. At night pine knots
or candles gave light. The little cooking that the slaves did at home
was all done at the open fireplace.
Near the living quarters was a house known as the "chillun house." All
children too young for field work stayed at this house in the care of
the older slave women. There was no hospital building on the premises.
The sick had to remain in their individual cabins where they too were
cared for by slaves too old for field work.
Only one family lived in a cabin. Mose's mother and father each had a
separate cabin. He did not explain the reason for this but said that he
was made to live in his father's cabin. Whenever he could, (usually when
his father was away with the Colonel for a day or two) he stayed in his
mothers cabin. "The only difference between the houses we lived in
during slavery and those that some of us live in now who said is that we
had more room there than we have now." He says that even the community
cook house was larger than some of the living quarters of today. All
cabins were white washed the same as the other buildings on the
plantation, and the occupants were required to keep the interiors and
the surrounding clean at all times. The overseer's cabin was located a
short distance away from the slave cabins, so that it would be easier
for him to keep check on his charges.
There was little if any sickness but Colonel Davis employed a doctor who
visited the plantation each week. On other occasions the overseer
administered such remedies as castor oil, turpentine, etc., and the
slaves had remedies of their own. For stomach ache they used a tea made
of Jimson weeds. Another medicine was heart leaf tea. Manual and
religious training were the only types allowed on the plantation. Trades
like carpentry, blacksmithing, etc. were learned from the white
mechanics sometimes employed by Colonel Davis. All slaves were required
to attend church and a special building was known as "Davis' Chapel." A
Negro preacher officiated and no white people were present. Uncle Mose
doesn't know what was preached as he and Manning always slipped into
town on Sundays to see the girls. Uncle Mose says he and Manning were
together so much that occasionally they even slept in the same
bed,--sometimes in Manning's house and sometimes at his own house.
A pool for baptism was filled with well water. The colored pastor
performed all baptisms and marriages.
Book learning was prohibited in any form. Sometimes Mose tried to
persuade Manning to teach him to read and write but Manning always
refused. Mose's cousin who was taught to read and write forged Colonel
Davis' name to a check and drew the money from the bank before the hand
writing was discovered. For this act he was given a sound whipping and
assigned to hard labor by the master, "And", said Uncle Mose, "he didn't
even have the pleasure of spending one penny". When asked if his cousin
was arrested and placed in jail he replied that the jails were not for
the slaves, as their punishment was usually left to their individual
masters. When his cousin was whipped this was an exception to "The
Colonel's rule"; he was entirely against any form of whipping. His usual
method of punishment was to cut off individual privileges for a limited
amount of time (in proportion to the nature of the offense), along with
an assignment of extra heavy work.
The fame of the "Paddle-Rollers" was widespread among the slaves, but
none of Colonel Davis' servants attempted to run away or leave the
plantation often without the required pass (if they did they were never
caught).
There was very little talk on the plantation about the actual beginning
of the Civil War. Slaves was very guarded in their talk as they feared
the master's wrath. Uncle Mose thought little or nothing about the War
and had even less to say.
When the Yankee soldiers came to the plantation they drove wagons to the
smoke house and took all the meat away. "The funny part about it was
that "The Colonel" had taken shelter in this particular house when he
saw the Yankees coming," said Uncle Mose. "He didn't have time to hide
any of his other belongings." When the soldiers had left, The Colonel
looked around and said to Manning and Mose: "Just like I get that, I
guess I can get some more."
Uncle Mose says that when freedom was declared, his father came rushing
to their cabin waving his arms like a windmill, shouting: "Boy we is
free--you can go and git yourself a job 'cause I ain't goin' to hitch up
no more horses". Some of the slaves remained on the plantation where
they worked for wages until their deaths. His father was one of them and
after his death, his mother moved to another plantation to live with
another son. Meanwhile Mose started traveling from place to place as
soon as he was told that he was free to go as he pleased. He paid one
visit to the plantation where he learned of his father's death. He then
asked Manning, who was operating the plantation, for the ox that had
belonged to his father and when Manning refused to part with this
animal, he made a secret visit back, that night, and took the animal
away. He has not been back since.
At this time Mr. Davis stretched himself, saying: "Well, I guess that's
about as straight as I can get it--Wish that I could tell you some more
but I can't." Smiling broadly, he bade the interviewer a pleasant
good-bye.