N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 760
Subject: HENRY JAMES TRENTHAM
Person Interviewed: Henry James Trentham
Editor: G.L. Andrews
HENRY JAMES TRENTHAM
Raleigh, N.C. Rt. 2
Age 92 years
"I wus born de second day of December 1845. Dat would make me 92 years
of age. I wus born on a plantation near Camden, S.C. I belonged to Dr.
Trentham and my missus wus named Elizabeth. My father wus named James
Trentham and mother wus named Lorie. I had two brothers and one sister.
We all belonged to Dr. Trentham.
"Marster's plantation wus a awful big plantation with 'bout four
hundred slaves on it. It wus a short distance from the Wateree River.
The slave houses looked like a small town and dere wus grist mills for
corn, cotton gin, shoe shops, tanning yards, and lots of looms for
weavin' cloth. Most of de slaves cooked at dere own houses, dat dey
called shacks. Dey wus give a 'lowance of rations every week. De
rations wus tolerably good, jest bout like people eat now. Dere wus a
jail on de place for to put slaves in, an in de jail dere wus a place
to put your hands in called stocks. Slaves wus put dere for punishment.
"I seed lots of slaves whupped by de overseers. Marster had four
overseers on de place an' dey drove us from sunup till sunset. Some of
de women plowed barefooted most all de time, an' had to carry dat row
an' keep up wid de men, an' den do dere cookin' at night.
"We hated to see de sun rise in slavery time cause it meant anudder
hard day, but den we was glad to see it go down.
"Marster lived in a large two story house wid 'bout twelve rooms in it.
We called it de plantation house. Dere wus a church on de plantation
an' both white an' black went to preachin' dere. Dere wus Sunday School
dere too. De preacher tole us to obey our missus an' marster. He tole
us we must be obedient to 'em. Yes sir, dat's what he tole us. Some of
de slaves run away. When dey wus caught dey wus whupped and put in de
stocks in de jail. Some of de slaves dat run away never did come back.
De overseers tole us dey got killed reason dey never come back.
"De patterollers come round ever now an' den an' if you wus off de
plantation an' had no pass dey tore you up wid de lash.
"Marster an' missus rode around in a carriage drawn by two horses and
driven by a driver. Dey had four women to work in de house as cooks,
maids, an' de like.
"No huntin' wus allowed a slave if no white man wus wid 'im, an' dey
wus not allowed to carry guns.
"De corn shuckin's was a great time. Marster give good licker to
everybody den. When anybody shucked a red ear he got a extra drink of
whiskey. We had big suppers den an' a good time at corn shuckin's.
Atter de shuckin' at nite [HW: night] dere would be a wrastlin' match
to see who was bes' on de plantation. We got a week holliday at Xmas.
Den wus de time shoes wus give to de slaves, an' de good times
generally lasted a week. At lay-by time wus another big time. Dat wus
'bout de Fourth of July. Dey give a big dinner an' everbody et all de
barbecue an' cake dey wanted.
"I saw slaves sold at Camden. Marster carried some slaves dere an' put
'em on de auction block an' sold 'em. I wus carried but I wus not sold.
I went with the old doctor. I wus his pet. Dey carried slaves away from
de plantation in chains. Dey carried five or six at a time. If a nigger
didn't suit him he sold him.
"Missus didn't like for him to beat 'em so much no how. De old doctor
had three boys, William, Sidney and Henry and two girls, Missie and
Carrie.
"Dey would not allow slaves no books an' I can't read an' write. I did
not git any learnin.
"When a slave died dere wus only a few to go to de buryin. Dey didn't
have time to go, dey wus so busy workin'. De slaves wus burried in
plain wood boxes which wus made by slave men on de plantation. Our
marster looked atter us when we got sick.
"I married Ella Davis 31 years ago in South Carolina, near Camden. We
had twelve chilluns, six boys and six girls.
"Slavery wus pretty rough and I am glad it is all over."
N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 631
Subject: JANE ANNE PRIVETTE UPPERMAN
Person Interviewed: Jane Anne Privette Upperman
Editor: G.L. Andrews
[TR: Date stamp: AUG 4 1937]
JANE ANN PRIVETTE UPPERMAN
74 years old, of 330 West South Street.
"I wusn't livin in Raleigh when my mother wus freed from slavery. We
wus livin' in Nash County right near the border of Wake County. We
belonged to Shirley Brantly. Our missus wus named Penina.
"I wus born a slave, but I wus only 'bout two years old at de time of
de surrender. I am 74 now. I wus born in April. I had my age in a
Bible, but de book got tore to pieces an' my age got lost.
"We lived on Marster Brantly's plantation an' de slave quarters wus
near de great house. Mother said she wurked in de fiel's from sun to
sun. Dey did not eat breakfast in de mornin' fore dey went to wurk. It
wus cooked an' put on a shelf an' dey had breakfas' at about eleven
o'clock in de day. Mother said sometimes de flies got to de meat an'
blowed it fore dey could come in to eat it. Mother said de food wus bad
an' not fixed right.
"Dere wus a lot of de slaves divided among marsters chillun. I can't
remember how many.
"Marster wus a soldier an' when he come an' tole mother she wus free,
Missus Penina tole her, 'No, you aint free, you'se got to stay here an'
wurk right on.' Marster tole her if she had been through wid what he
been through wid she could give mother up as free as takin' a drink of
water.
"When de war ended father come an' got ma an' took her on to his
marsters plantation. My father wus named Carroll Privette an' my mother
wus Cherry Brantly, but after she wus free she begun to call herself by
my fathers name, Privette. Father belonged to Jimmie Privette across
Tar River from whar ma lived. He lived near a little place named
Cascade. We lived there at father's marster's place till most of de
chillun wus 'bout grown, den father bought a place in Franklin County
from Mr. Jack Griffin. He stayed there long enough to pay for de place;
den he sold it an' we moved to Clayton.
"At this time all de older chillun wus married, an' dats what
dissatisfied my father. He had nobody to help him wurk. Arch, Frank,
an' Dennis wus married. Mary wus married. Two girls an' one boy wus
lef' single. Dere wus seben of de chillun. We moved from Clayton to
Raleigh. I wus married in Raleigh. I married William Upperman.
"Mother an' faather died in Raleigh. Mother died right here in dis
house. My mother an' father couldn't do no writin', but father could
read a little. He could read hymns an' de Bible.
"I aint remember nothin' 'bout slavery 'ceptin' what I've heard 'em
say. Some said dey had a good time an' liked slavery. Dat wus when dey
had good marsters. Den some says dey had a hard time an' didn't like
it. Dat wus when dey had bad marsters. Slavery wus good an' bad
accordin' to de kind of marster you had.
"My husban' died September 6, 1925. I am unable to wurk. I've had a
stroke on one side. I'se jest hangin' 'round home.
"My daughter wurks for de WPA an' supports me but now she has been laid
off. My chillun, some of 'em live in Harlem, New York, but dey has to
have so much to live on dey can't help me. Dey sends me a Christmas
present most of de time, an' dey remembers me on mother's day sometime.
"I aint signed up wid any of de places to get money yet. Don't see what
I is goin' to do. I aint got 'nough money to pay bus fare to de
registerin' place other side of town."