[Footnote 4: The office of the State Board of Welfare is in the
Agriculture Building.]
N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 625
Subject: CHARITY McALLISTER
Story teller: Charity McAllister
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt
CHARITY McALLISTER
602 South Street
"My name is Charity McAllister. I wus here a long time before de
Yankees come here. I wus 'bout grown when dey come through. I ain't
hardly able to cook my little sumptin' to eat now. I ain't able to work
out. No sir, not able to work. Done and worked my time out. I wus a
grown gal when de Yankees come. I wus 'bout 18 years old. I loves to
give you de truth and I knows I wus dat old. I wus a grown gal.
"My father wus named Robert Blalock. He 'longed to de Blalocks o'
Harnett County. My mother wus Annie McAllister. She 'longed to Jennett
McAllister in Harnett County. I 'longed to John Greene at Lillington,
Harnett County. My mother first 'longed to John Greene. She got in de
family way by a white man, and John Greene sold her to a speculator
named Bill Avery of Raleigh, a speculator. Dey sold my brother. He wus
as white as you is. When de surrender come mother went back to Miss
Jennett McAllister in Harnett County. Dat's how dey got back dere. I
wants to tell de truth and dats what I is goin' to do.
"I tell you I wus whupped durin' slavery time. Dey whupped us wid
horsehair whups. Dey put a stick under our legs an' tied our hands to
de stick and we could not do nuthin' but turn and twist. Dey would sure
work on your back end. Every time you turned dey would hit it. I been
whupped dat way and scarred up. We slept on mattresses made o' tow
sacks. Our clothes were poor. One-piece-dress made o' carpet stuff,
part of de time. One pair o' shoes a year after Christmas. Dey give 'em
to us on January first; no shoes till after Christmas. Dey did not give
us any holidays Christmas in Harnett County. Dat wus 'ginst de rules.
No prayer nor nuthin' on de plantation in our houses. Dey did not 'low
us to go to de white folks church. Dey did not 'low de slaves to hunt,
so we did not have any game. Dey did not 'low us any patches. No
sirree, we did not have any money.
"De slaves slep' a lot on pallets durin' slavery days. A pallet wus a
quilt or tow carpet spread on de floor. We used a cotton pillow
sometimes. Dere wus about 50 slaves on de plantation. We had no
overseer on master's plantation, and no books and schools o' any kind
for niggers. I cannot read and write. No sir, I wish I could read and
write.
"I split rails and worked in de Cape Fear River Low Grounds. We fenced
de fields wid rails split from trees, pine trees. Dey were eleven feet
long.
"Yes sir, I seed de patterollers. I seed a plenty of dem scoundrels.
Oh! ho, de Ku Klux, Ha!, Ha! Dey were real scandals, and I jest caint
tell you all de mean things dey done right after de war. Reubin
Matthew's slave, George Matthews, killed two Ku Klux. Dey double teamed
him and shot him, and he cut 'em wid de ax, and dey died.
"I wus married right after de war. De second year after de war, I
married Richard Rogers, but I kep' de name o' McAllister right on. My
husband been dead a good long time. Lawd, I don't know how long. I been
married one time, and dat wus one time too much. I have two sons, one
name Clarence, and one named John, two daughters, one in Newport News,
one in Washington, D.C., one named Lovie, and one named Lula."