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(Mobile, Alabama. Mary A. Poole, Federal Writer's Project, Dist. 2, June 11, 1937)
The writer interviewed Callie Williams, residing at 504 Eslava Street, Mobile, Alabama. She found her very interesting, even though she was only 4 years of age at the time of the Surrender. Callie has kept the stories told to her by her mother fresh in her memory, aided no doubt by the fact that she was raised among the same environments and with her parents' late owners and their family.
Callie said her mother's name was Vicey and that she was born in Virginia, and her father's name was Harry and he was born in Kentucky. Both her father and her mother were sold by their former masters to speculations, who brought them down into Alabama, where they were bought by Mr. Hiram McLemore, of Newport Landing on the Alabama river, in Lowndes county.
Callie said Mr. McLemore had about 300 head of slaves and about 2000 acres in one plantation and 500 acres in another section. His wife was Mrs. Axie Bethea McLemore. He had a previous wife, however, whose name Callie did not know, who died and left two children, and there were 5 children by the second marriage, 4 girls and one boy. Callie as a little girl about 6 years of age was given to "Miss Julia" the elder of the first McLemore children.
Callie smiling said: De fust kalico dress I eber had Miss Julia gib me an' I was jest as proud as ah peacock ob hit".
When asked by the writer about the McLemore home, Callie said it was a rambling one story white house surrounded by beautiful trees,
she recalled the big cool well, and the large dairy close by, the row of cabins in the slave quarters, some built of logs and some of planks, each known by the name of its occupant.
Callie said her father woke the slaves about 4 a.m. by knocking a "sweep,"... [one line missing--Eds. note] piece of metal. The slaves usually cooked the night before so they could eat quickly on arising and be ready to go to work at sun up.
When the writer asked Callie about marriage among the slaves, she smiled and said: "Us jes' jump'd der broom stick, ef yo' wanted ter marry, yo' tole de marster an' he had yo' ter come up ter de big house an' axed yo', as the Marster did her parents:
"Dicey, yo' want Harry? An' she say 'yes', den he axed Harry, 'yo want Dicey'? an' he say 'yes'. Den marster say 'jine hands an' jump ober de broomstick, den dey was married. A simple service but Callie said, "dey stuc' better den de folks do ter day".
Callied said her mother was a field hand at first but later took care of the little pickaninnies of the slaves while their mothers worked. They had a special cabin used as a nursery with little homemade cradles, and their mothers came in about 10:00 o'clock each morning to nurse them, and Callie's mother had a pot of greens cooked and fed the pickaninnies some of the greens and potlicker and corn bread, while the babies got just potlicker and later in the afternoon all had mush and skimmed milk.
Callie laughed while telling this to the writer, and said she got her share, too, and all were as fat as butter balls. The rations for the slaves were given out every Monday night consisting of 3 lbs. of smoked meat and a peck of meal, then there was a large house garden for the slaves where they could get all the vegetables they needed, except during the war when food stuff was short and much of it had to be sent to the soldiers at the front, but there was always plenty of skimmed milk to fill up on. The slaves cooked for themselves in the open fire places in an "Iron spider" or an iron pot hanging on a hook, and cooked mostly at night; warming it over next day or not just as they liked best.
Callie said her father was a negro driver under the overseer and after crops was harvested was the plantation shoemaker.
When the writer asked Callie what the slaves did after their day's work was done she said: "When hit was crop season dey all work so hard, dey was tired out an' glad ter go ter bed, but sometime dey sot 'round an' sang en' Sunday afternoons dey sang an' prayed but durin' der war dey sad der niggers jes' sing an' pray ter be sot free an' forbid dere singin' so der slaves wud git in der cabin turn big wash pot upside down, so as ter hole soun' in an' sing anyhow.
Callie said the speculators were men who bought up slaves and then came through the County selling them enroute to the plantation owners. The slaves walked along the roads Callie's mother had told her, followed by covered wagons, in which they carried supplies as it was to the speculator's interest to keep the slaves in good condition.
Relative to runaway slaves, Callie said that some got away entirely, but if caught by the "patrollers" they were whipped and returned to their masters who would then put shackels on the slaves loose enough so they could work but the shackels prevented their running away again.
If the slaves wanted to go hunting at night for 'possums or coons, or to go fishing on Sundays, they had to get a pass
from the overseer. Sometimes if the slaves wanted to get word to the slaves on another plantation they stole off atnight, running the chance of being caught by the patrollers, but the negroes had the inherited instinct of forest lifeand could get by the patrollers, unless they had the dogs with them.
When the writer asked Callie about the war and the Surrender, she replied her mother "tol' her a 'hole rigimint o'soldiers on horses an' mules came up der road tuh der house cryin' out, 'youse free, 'youse free", den dey went tuhder smoke house an' gib out all der meat tuh der niggers an' gib dem all der 'lasses an' der meal, burn der gin housean' all der cotton, rob der bee gums, staid an' eat dinner an' went on tuh de nex' place takin' mos' der men wid dem,onliest ones staid were der old men, mah pa amon' dem."
When the writer asked Callie what was a "bee gum", she said, jes' lak ah squar' post". The writer then said, "youmean a bee hive, Callie"? And she answered, "Yas'm, but us call'd dem 'bee gums'".
Callie said her mother had told her that while she looked after the slave babies she also had to spin cotton and wasexpected to spin 2 cuts a day. The writer asked just what was meant by a cut and Callie explained they had a reel,and when it had spun 300 yards it popped, and then the spinner tied it, that was a "cut". A full days work was 4 cuts,after the cotton was spun another woman took it to the loom and wove it into cloth to be made into garments for theslaves on the plantation. Callie said the slaves did not work on Saturday afternoons; that was their time to clean uptheir quarters and wash their clothes; you must appear in clean clothes Monday morning to go to work, or else getpunished for being dirty.
On being asked about sickness among the slaves, Callie said her mother told her the marster always kept a supply ofhome remedies, like bluemas, calomel and quinine, and if it was serious sickness, a doctor was called in.
The following were some of the old time remedies the slaves made for themselves. Boneset, which Callie describedas a bush and said, if when you pulled the leaves to make a tea and you pulled them down on the stem, the teaworked your stomach but if you pulled them up from the stem, the tea acted as an emetic. For children they gatheredthe seed of the Jerusalem Oak (a weed) cooked it with syrup, making it taste like candy, and this was used as amedicine to eliminate worms.
When asked about old songs Callie did not know any of those we are trying to locate, but sang the following hymn:
"Yon Comes Ole Marster Jesus"Ah really believe Christ is comin' aginHe's comin' in der mornin'He's comin' in der mornin'He's comin' wid der rainbow on His shoulderHe's comin' agin bye an' bye".
Callie said after the Surrender her father rented land on the McLemore place and staid there, and that both her fatherand mother are buried in the old slave graveyard which the McLemore gave to the negroes.
Callie was married to Frank Williams in Montgomery, Alabama, by a colored preacher. They had five children, ofwhich two are living, one girl lives in Atlantic City, N.J., and Callie lives with one in Mobile, Alabama. Callie hadno opinion to express about either Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis but thought Booker T. Washington [was] asmart man and expressed her belief, if all people, white and black, were religious and served "Our Master, deywould not hav' all dis here present troubles".
(Washington Copy, 6/16/37, L. H.)
