|
|
(Lee County, Alabama, Preston Klein) Ella Harris lives six miles from Opelika and when I went to her house I found everything so nice and clean I remarked, "Ella you look like you have just had Spring Cleaning," and she said, "No'm, I'se got to do that thing, cause eve'ything is dirty now, "but everything was spotlessly clean, her apron and dress were spotless too.
She was a small girl when freedom came and as most children, in those times, did not notice what was going on around them very much.
Ella was born in Chambers Co. on the Pressley Place and lived there with her Mother and Father, Caroline, and Abraham Pressley, till she married; there were seven children: Mary, Martha, Jacob, Marion, Jesse, Susan and Ella.
Marse Pressley wus er mighty good man to all his niggers and he had er heap 'ubem too, but long as yer do yer work and act ter yer concious, tain't no need fer trouble, don't yer know it? Ole Marse had er heap er niggers fer he wus er big planter.
I spec dare is er lot er dem old log slavery houses us used ter live in up thar yet, fer things wus hand hewed and outer heart pine, in dem days and dey lastes. My Mother wus er spinner and er weaver in slavery time, and dey had er set number, er day, to do too and sum times had extra doings to fix at night, many er night I'se seed my Mother set up and card and spin reels and weave till way into de night, course us chillun had been fed our bread and milk up in de Pressley yards long fore night so as ter git us outer de way fore dark and when us looked droopy dey giv us Jerusalem Oak tea and garlic for worms and dat's 'bout all de medacine us ever took, course cept castor oil and terpentine.
Ella said she remembered well when the Yankees came through, her Mother had to help cook them their dinner, and "atter dey et", they had an old sick horse and left it behind and took one of their fat mules instead.
"The slaves didn' have no church er dey own but us used Master's white church cept us had our service in de evening and day'un in de mornings. Well atter while I married Abraham Harris, Mistess, I had leben chillun and hit sho took sum'pun ter feed um too. Lemme see ef I kin call all dem niggers: Celina, Abraham, Jessie, George, John Wiley, Carrie, Jacob, Robert, Josephine, Augusta and Ida Bell."
