N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 817
Subject: ANNIE STEPHENSON
Person Interviewed: Annie Stephenson
Editor: G.L. Andrews
[TR: Date stamp: AUG 6 1937]
ANNIE STEPHENSON
80 years old
1813 Rosewood Ave.
Richmond, Va.
Now at 717 Saunder's Street
Raleigh, N.C.
"I wus born in Hillsboro, N.C. I 'longed to Charles Holman and my
missus wus named Rachel. He owned a plantation near Hillsboro. It wus a
mighty big plantation in Orange County, an' he had a good many slaves
on dat place. We had tolerable good food an' log cabins and clothes dat
you wove in de loom. Home-wove cloth. We had no feather bed. We did not
know nuthin' 'bout feather beds. Slaves like dat had bunks an' some
slept on de floor. We went barefooted most of the time. Slave shoes had
wooden bottoms on 'em. Chilluns wus not give shoes at our place till
dey wus big enough to work.
"I 'member seein' de Yankees. Dey wore blue clothes an had brass
buttons on 'em. De only work I done wus to sweep yards an' nurse small
chilluns. I done very little heavy work. My mother wus named Nicy
Oldman an' she worked in de field. My father wus named Billy Briggs,
cause he 'longed to the Briggs family. I do not 'member seein' my
father but one time. I never seen a slave sold or whupped, but I heard
tell of it. My mother tole me 'bout marster whuppin' so severe. We had
a rough boss. He had two colored foremen. Dey were slaves who 'longed
to marster.
"Dere wus no patches allowed to any of the slaves, an' none of 'em had
any money.
"We wus not allowed to have any prayer meetin's. Mother said she never
knowed one on de plantation.
"Dere wus a lot of talk 'bout de patterollers but marster done his own
sneakin' around. He done a lot of eavesdroppin'. My mother said when
dey tho't he wus asleep he wus awake. He wus strict on his slaves an' I
didn't know what church wus. No books of any kind wus allowed to slaves
an' I can't read an' write.
"They give two days Christmas. Mother said dat had always been
marster's rule.
"I 'member de cornshuckin's. Dey lasted two or three days. Dere wus
enough slaves to shuck de corn. Dey had plenty of cider at corn
shuckin's an' a lot better things to eat den at other times. Marster
made corn, peas, an' tobacco on de farm, mostly corn. Dey had plenty
hogs an' dat wus a time when dey killed 'em. Dryin' up de fat for lard,
trimmin' an' saltin' de meat an' chitlins. De hog guts wus called
chitlins. Slaves wus allowed to eat meats as soon as de hogs wus
gutted. Dey wus allowed to boil some lean parts of de meat an' eat it
at de killin's.
"We played base an' hide an' jumpin' when I wus a chile.
"When we got right smart an' sick we had a doctor. When we wus not
mighty sick, we took tea made of catnip, sassafras, an' roots.
"Yes, I 'member when dey tole us we wus free. Mother got up de chilluns
to leave. She got just a few clothes. I 'member seein' my uncle come
to de house an' put up de horse. He put 'im in de stable an' we all
lef' together. We went to my uncle 'bout five miles away on his
marster's plantation. His marster wus named Harvey Roundtree. We stayed
there three weeks, den we went to a white man's place, Bill Gates. We
stayed there several years. Mother had six chilluns. Three wus boun'
out for dere victuals an' clothes an' three wus with her.
"We come to Wake County when I wus fully grown. We come in a covered
wagon. I saw father one time to 'member him. He died before de war
closed, an' mother never married again. We went to Mr. Jeff Upchurch of
Wake County an' worked on his farm. We stayed there ten or twelve years
an' I married while we wus there. I married Albert Stephenson. We
stayed right on there about six years after we married. We then went to
Mr. Lonnie Stephen's place, the man who onct owned my husband's father.
We stayed there two years workin' as day hands, then we rented a farm
from Mr. Joe Smith. Dis wus de fust time any of us had ever farmed for
ourselves. We kept it up until old age made us unable to farm an' all
de chilluns had got grown an' lef' us.
"We had thirteen chilluns, an' six is livin' yet. My husband died two
years ago dis comin' August.
"Slavery from what I knows an' whats been tole me wus a mighty bad
thing. Don' see how some of de slaves stood it. I never did min' work
but I is unable to work now. I has got a good will but I is worn out.
De only way I lives is by goin' 'round 'mong my people. I have no home
of my own."