Mah Missis wuz Miss Jennie McCullough en she ma'ried Eldridge Casey.
Mah Missis's mammy wuz a widder en she gib me, mah mammy, man sistah
Violet, mah two br'ers Andrew en Alfred ter Miss Jennie fer a wed'un
gif'. Missis Jennie en Marster Eldridge brung us ter Nashville 'fore
de war sta'ted.
Mah Missis wuz good ter us. I'se bin w'll tuk keer ob, plenty ter eat
en warm clothes ter w'ar. Right now I'se got on long underw'ar en mah
chemise.
Mah mammy d'ed fust y'ar ob freedum. Dey tuk her 'way in a two-hoss
waggin, 'bout four o'clock one evenin'. Dere wuz no hurses er caskets
den. W'en mah mammy d'ed, I still stayed wid Missis Jennie. She raised
me. Dat's why folks say I'se so peculiar. De Yankee soldiers tuk mah
sistah en two br'ers 'way durin' de war. I ez de mammy ob seven
chilluns. All d'ed now but one.
Mah white folks didn't send me ter schul but I'se l'arned a few things
ob how ter act. Don't ax me 'bout der young people. Dey ez pas' me. No
manners 'tall.
In slavery days you didn't hab ter worry 'bout yo clothes en rations
but dese days you hab ter worry 'bout eve'ything.
I 'longs ter de Baptist Chuch. Useter go ter camp-meetin's en hab a
big time wid good things ter eat. Didn't go ter de baptizin' much.
Dey would leave de chuch singin' en shoutin'. Dere ez three days in
September dat we hab dinnah on de groun' en all Baptist git tergedder.
We calls hit de 'sociation.
I'se neber voted cose dat ez de man's job. Mah frens hab nebber had
political jobs. Don't b'leeve in ma'rige ob white en black en hit
shouldn't be 'lowed.
Since freedom mah main job wuz cookin' but I'se done washin' en
ironin'. Atter mah health started failing, I done a lot ob nusin'.
I'se aint abul ter wuk fur de las' five y'ars en de white folks hab
he'ped me. De relief gibes me groc'eys, coal en pays mah rent. I hope
ter git de ole age pension soon. Mah ole favo'ite song ez "Mazing
Grace, How Sweet hit Sounds."
INTERVIEW
CECELIA CHAPPEL
705 Allison Street
Nashville, Tenn.
"I'se bawn in Marshall County, Tennessee. I'm de olest ob ten chilluns
en I'se 102 ya'rs ole. I feels lak I'se bin 'yer longer dan dat. Mah
mammy wuz brought ter Nashville en sold ter sum peeple dat tuck her
ter Mississippi ter live."
"Mah Marster en Missus wuz named Bob en Nancy Lord. Eve'y slave had
ter say Missus en Marster en also ter de white babies. I still says
hit, en ef I kum ter yo do'r, I nebber kums in 'till you ax me. Lots
ob mah folks seze ter me dat I ez too ole fash'on en I seze I don'
keer I wuz raised wid manners en too ole ter change."
"Our Marster gib us good food en clothes. I wuz l'arnt how ter nit,
weav, sew en spin. On rainy days we wuz gib a certain 'mount ob
weavin' ter do en had ter git hit don'. I dunno how ter read er rite.
De white folks didn' 'low us ter l'arn nuthin'. I declar' you bettuh
not git kotch wid a papah in you han'. Ef I had half a chance lak you
chilluns hab, I'd go ter bed wid mah books."
"Our Marster 'lowed us ter go ter chuch. I went bar'foot en had a rag
tied 'roun mah haid en mah dress kum up ter mah 'nees. Dat
preacher-man would git up dere en tell us "Now you min' yo Marster en
Missis en don' steal fum dem." I stayed wid mah Missis fer a long time
atter I got freedum en I cried lak a fool w'en I had ter leave dem.
Mah Missis seze "You ez jes as free as I ez," but I allus had good
clothes en good food en I didn' know how I'd git dem atter I lef'
her."
"Mah white folks wuz tight on us but, as ole as I ez, I offun think
dat day nebber hit a lick dat I didn' need. Ef'n dey hadn' raised me
right, I might hab got in meaness en bin locked up half de time, but I
ain't nebber bin 'rested, en I'se 'ferd ob de policemans. De fiel'
slaves wuz whup'd in de fiel's by de oberseer en de Marster en Missis
did hit at de house."
"I tell you we had a hahd time. Mah Missis woulden' let dem sell me. I
wuz a nuss en house gal. I wuz whup'd wid a bull whup, en got cuts on
mah back menny a time. I'se not shamed ter say I got skyars on mah
back now fum Marster cuttin' hit wid dat bull whup. Mah Missis also
whup'd me. W'en de Missis got ready ter whup me, she would gib us sum
wuk ter do, so she would kind ob git ober her mad spell 'fore she
whup'd us. Sum times she would lock us up in a dark closet en bring
our food ter us. I hated bein' locked up. Atter dey tuk me out ob de
house, I wuked in de fiel' lak de urthurs. Long 'fore day break, we
wuz standin' in de fiel's leanin' on our hoes waitin' fer daylite en
waitin' fer de horn ter blow so we would start ter wuk. Ef'n we
wan'ed ter go ter any place we had ter hab a pass wid our Marster's
name on hit en ef you didn' hab hit, you got tore ter pieces en den
you Marster tore you up w'en you got home."
"One story mah daddy useter tell us wuz 'bout a slave named Pommpy. He
wuz allus prayin' fer de good Lawd ter tek 'im 'way. One nite he wuz
down on his 'nees prayin', "Good Lawd, kum en tek po Pommpy out ob his
misery." De Marster ob Pommpy 'year'd 'm en de Marster made a leetle
noise en Pommpy seze, "Who ez dat?" En his Marster seze, "Hits de Lawd
kum ter tek po Pommpy out ob his misery." Pommpy crawl under de bed en
seze, "Pommpy has bin gon' two er three days."
"'Nurther story: A partridge en a fox 'greed ter kil' a beef. Dey kilt
en skinned hit. B'fo dey divide hit de fox said, "Mah wife seze sen'
her sum beef fer soup," so he tuck a piece ob hit en carried hit down
de hill, den kum back en said mah wife wants mo' beef fer soup. He kep
dis up 'til all de beef wuz gon' 'cept de libber. De fox kum back en
de partridge seze now lets cook dis libber en both ob us eat hit. De
partridge cooked de libber, et hits part rite quick, en den fell ovuh
lak hit wuz sick; de fox got skeered en said dat beef ez pizen en he
ran down de hill en started bringin' de beef back en w'en he brought
hit all back, he lef' en de partridge had all de beef."
"Don't member much now 'bout de Klu Klux Klan en nothin' 'bout slave
'risings at any place. I don' member 'bout de sta'rs fallin', but I
did see de comet, en hit looked lak a sta'r wid a long tail; atter
freedum, I nebber year'd ob no slave gettin' land er money en I dunno
nothin' 'bout de slave mart 'yer fer I didn' git ter kum ter town."
"Since freed, I hab nussed, cooked en don' diff'unt things. I wuk'ed
fer one family fifteen y'ars en didn' miss a day. I has stayed at dis
place fer de las' five y'ars. I had a stroke en wuz in de hospit'l a
long time. I cain' git out; en 'roun' 'yer in de house, I has ter walk
wid a stick."
"I ain' nebber voted. One day sum men kum 'yer ter tek me ter vote. I
tole dem w'en I got ready ter be a man, I would put on overalls."
"I'se a member ob de Missionary Baptist Chuch. I ain' bin fer a long
time kaze I ain' able ter go. De ole song I members ez "Dixie Land,"
en "Run Nigger Run, de Pat-a rollers Will Git You."
"Oh Lawdy! I think sum ob is young peeple ain' no count w'ile sum ob
dem ez alright. I think each color should ma'rie his own color. Hit
makes me mad ter think 'bout hit. Ef de good Lawd had wanted dat, he
would hab had us all one color."
"Fer a long time de relief gib me a quart ob milk a day, but now all I
has ez w'at mah sistah Harriett gibs me. She sin' got much wuk en sum
days we don' hab much ter eat. Ef mah Missis wuz livin' I wouldin' go
hongry."
INTERVIEW
WILEY CHILDRESS
808 Gay St.
Nashville, Tennessee
"I'se 83 Y'ars ole en wuz bawn a slave. Mah mammy b'longed ter de
Bosley's en mah daddy b'longed ter de Scales."
"W'en Miss Jane Boxley ma'ried Marster Jerry Scales, me en mah mammy,
br'er en sistah wuz gib ter Miss Jane."
"Durin' de war mah Missis tuk mah mammy en us chilluns wid her ter de
mount'ins 'till de war wuz gon'. Did'nt see no soldiers. Don't member
now nuthin' 'bout dem Klu Klux men en don't member de ole songs er
'bout slaves votin'."
"Dunno 'bout de young persons, white er black, dey ez all so wild
now."
"W'en we all wuz freed we had nuthin en no place ter go, so dat mah
mammy lived wid our Missis five y'ars longer."
"De only story dat I member mah people tole me 'bout wuz on Fedd, a
slave on de next plantation. He wuz a big man en wuz de strongest man
neah dat part ob de kuntry. He wouldin' 'low nobody ter whup 'in. De
Marster framed 'im by tellin' 'im ter bring his saddle hoss en w'en he
kum wid de hoss several men 'peahrd en tole Fedd dat dey wuz gonna
whup 'im. He struck one ob de mans so hahd dey had ter hab de doctuh.
De Marster said let 'im 'lone he's too strong ter be whup'd. I'll hab
ter shoot 'im. One time Fedd run 'way en de white men whar he stopped
know'd he wuz a good fighter en made a $250.00 bet dat nobody could
lick 'im. A nigger fum de iron wuks fought Fedd en Fedd won. De iron
wuks nigger wuz kilt right dere."
"'fore Freedum de slaves wuz promused forty acres ob land w'en freed
but none eber got hit, en I 'year'd ob no one gittin' any money. I
dunno nuthin' ob de slave 'risin's, ghostus er dreams, but I member
mah folks talkin' 'bout fallin' sta'rs en a comet but I don' member
now w'at dey said."
"I'se wuk'd at a lot ob diff'ent jobs since mah freedum. I wuk'd at de
Maxwell House 15 years as store room porter, en hit wuz de only
wo'th-while hotel in Nashville at dat time. I wuk'd fuh de City fuh
menny y'ars en den I wuk'd fuh Foster & Creighton 'till dey wore me
out. I off'n think ob deze diff'nt men dat I wuk'd fuh but dey ez all
de'd. De las' job I had wuz buildin' fiers en odd jobs fuh a lady up
de street. She would gib me food en coal. She ez de'd now."
"I'se not able ter wuk now en all I has ez a small groc'ey order dat
de relief gibs me. Dey keep promisin' ter gib me de Old Age Pension en
I wish dey would hurry hit up."
_SUBJECT_
_SLAVE STORIES_
ROBERT FALLS
608 South Broadway
Knoxville, Tennessee