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Brinkley, Arkansas
Age : Born 1872
"I was born in Courtland, Alabama. Mother was twelve years old at the first of the surrender.
"Grandfather was a South Carolinian. Master Harris bought him, two more, his brothers and two sisters and his
mother at one time. He was real African. Grandma on mother's side was dark Indian. She had white hair nearly
straight. I have some of it now. Mother was lighter. That is where I gets my light color.
"Master Harris sold mother and grandma. Mother said she was fat, tall strong looking girl. Master Harris let a Negro
trader have grandma, mother and her three brothers. They left grandpa. Master Harris told the nigger traders not
divide grandma from her children. He didn't believe in that. He was letting them go from their father. That was
enough sorrow for them to bear. That was in Alabama they was auctioned off. Master Harris lived in Georgia. The
auctioneerer held mother's arms up, turned her all around, made her kick, run, jump about to see how nimble and
quick she was. He said this old woman can cook. She has been a good worker in the field. She's a good cook. They
sold her off cheap. Mother brought a big price. They caught on to that. The man nor woman wasn't good to them. I
forgot their names what bought them. The nigger traders run her three brothers on to Mississippi. The youngest one
died in Mississippi. They never seen the other two or heard of them till after freedom. They want back to Georgia.
All of them went back to their old home place.
"In Alabama at this new master's home mother was nursing. Grandma and another old woman was the cooks.
Mother want to their little house and told them real low she had the baby and a strange man in the house said, 'Is
that the one you goiner let me have?' The man said, 'Yes, he's goiner leave in the morning b'fore times.'
"The new master come stand around to see when they went to sleep. That night he stood in the chimney corner.
There was a little window; the moon throwed his shadow in the room. They said, 'I sure do like my new master.'
Another said, 'I sure do.' The other one said, 'This is the best place I ever been they so good to us.' Then they sung a
verse and prayed and got quiet. They heard him leave, seen his shadow go way. Heard his house door squeak when
he shut his door. Then they got up easy and dressed, took all the clothes they had and slipped out. They walked
nearly in a run all night and two more days. They couldn't carry much but they had some meat and meal they took
along. Their grub nearly give out when they come to some camps. Somebody told them, 'This is Yankee camps.'
They give them something to eat. They worked there a while. One day they took a notion to look about and they
hadn't gone far 'fore Grandpa Harris grabbed grandma, then mama. They got to stay a while but the Yankees took
them to town and Master Harris come got them and took them back. Their new master come too but he said his wife
said bring the girl back but let that old woman go. Master Harris took them both back till freedom.
"When freedom come folks about and knock down things so glad they was free. Grandpa come back. Master Harris
said, You can have land if you can get anything to work.' Grandpa took his bounty he got when he left the army and
bought a pair of mules. He had to pay rent the third year but till than he got what they called giving all that stayed a
start.
"Grandma was Marish and grandpa was Ned Harris. The two boys came back said the baby boy died at Selma,
Alabama.
"Grandpa talked about the War when I was a child. He said he was in the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. He said
blood run sho enough deep in places. He didn't see how he ever got out alive. Grandma and mama said they was
glad to get away from the camps. They looked to be shot several times. Colored folks is peace loving by nature.
They don't love war. Grandpa said war was awful. My mother was named Lottie.
"One reason mother said she wanted to get away from their new master, he have a hole dug out with a hoe and put
pregnant women on their stomach. The overseers beat their back with cowhide and them strapped down. She said
'cause they didn't keep up work in the field or they didn't want to work. She didn't know why. They didn't stay there
very long. She didn't want to go back there.
"My life has never been a hard one. I have always worked. He and my husband run a cafe till he got drowned. Since
then I have to work harder. I wash and iron, cook wherever some one comes for me. When I was a girl I was so
much like mother--a fast, strong hand in the field, I always had work.
"Mother said, 'Eat the beans and greens, pot-liquor and sweet milk, make you fat and lazy.' That was what they put
in the children's wooden trays in slavery. They give the men and women meat and the children the broth and
dumplings, plenty molasses. Sunday mother could cook at home in slavery if she'd 'tend to the baby too. All the
hands on Harrises place et dinner with their family on Sunday. He was fair with his slaves.
"For the life of me I can't see nothing wrong with the times. Only thing I see, you can't get credit to run crops and
folks all trying to shun farming.
When I was on a farm I dearly loved it. It the place to raise young black and white both. Town and cars ruined the
country."
Owns two houses in among white people.
Interviewer Miss Irene Robertson
William Geat
Forrest City, Arkansas
Age 101
"I was one hundred and one years old last Saturday (1938). I was born in Bedford County, middle Tennessee. My
parents' names was Judy and Abraham Gant. They had the same master. They had three boys and two girls. Our
owners was Jim Gant and Elizabeth Gant. Ma had seven children, four gals and three boys. We called her Miss
Betsy. Jim Gant owned seven hundred acres of good land in one body and some more land summers else. My young
masters and mistresses was: Malindy, Jennie, Betsy, Mary, Jim, John, Andy. They had twenty-five or thirty slaves I
knowed. He was pretty good to his slaves. He didn't whoop much. Give 'em three or four licks. He fed 'em all well.
We had warm clothes in winter.
"I never seen nobody sold. My brothers and sisters was divided out. Miss Betsy was my young mistress. I could go
to see all my folks. I never seen no hard times in my life. I had to work or be called lazy. I loved to work. I been in
the field when the sun come up and got part my ploughing done. Go back to the house and eat and feed my mule,
rest around in the shade. Folks didn't used to dread work so bad like they do now. I lay down and rest in the heat of
the day. They had big shade trees for us niggers to rest under, eat under, spring water to drink. I'd plough till smack
dark I couldn't see to get to the barn. We had lighted knots to feed by. The feed be in the troughs and water in the
big trough in the lot ready. My supper would be hot too. It would be all I could eat too. Yes, I'd be tired but I could
sleep till next morning.
"We had big to doos along over the country. White and black could go sometimes. Picnics and preachings mostly,
what I want to. Sometimes it was to a house covering, a corn shucking, a corn shelling, or log rolling. We went on
hunts at night some.
"Sassy (sancy) Negroes got the most licks. I never was sassy. I never got but a mighty few licks from nobody. We
was slaves and that is about all to say.
"I learned to fiddle after the fiddler on the place. Uncle Jim was the fiddler. Andy Jackson, a white boy, raised him.
He learned him to read and write in slavery. After slavery I went to learn from a Negro man at night. I learned a
little bit. My master wouldn't cared if we had learned to read and write but the white folks had tuition school. Some
had a teacher hired to teach a few of them about. I could learned if I'd had or been 'round somebody knowed
something. He read to us some. He read places in his Bible. Anything we have and ask him. We didn't have books
and papers. I loved to play my fiddle, call figures, and tell every one what to do. I didn't take stock in reading and
writing after the War.
"My parents had the name of being a good set of Negroes. She was raised by folks named Morrow and pa by folks
named Strahorn. When ma was a little gal the Morrows brought her to Tennessee. My parents both raised in South
Carolina by the Morrows and Strahorns. I was twenty years old in the War.
"They had a big battle seven or eight miles from our homes. It started at daylight Sunday morning and lasted till
Monday evening. I think it was Bragg and Buel. The North whooped. It was a roar and shake and we could hear the
big guns plain. It was in Hardin County close to Savannah, Tennessee. It was times to be scared. We was all
distressed.
"My master died, left her a widow.
"We farmed, made thirty or forty acres of wheat, seventy-five acres of oats, some rye. I pulled fodder all day and
take it down at night while the dew would keep it in the bundle. Haul it up. We was divided out when the War was
on.
"Somebody killed Master Jim Gant. He was murdered in his own house. They never did know who done it. They
had two boys at home. One went visiting. They knocked her and the boy senseless. It was at night. They was all
knocked in the head.
"Will Strahorn owned my wife. He was tollerable good to his Negroes. Edmond Gant was a black preacher in
slavery. He married us. He married us in white folks' yard. They come out and looked at us marry. I had to ask my
master and had to go ask fer her then. Our children was to be Strahorn by name. Will would own them 'cause my
wife belong to him. My first wife had five girls and three boys. My wife died. I left both my two last wives. I never
had no more children but them eight.
"Freedom--my young master come riding up behind us. We was going in dragging our ploughs. He told us it was
freedom. The Yankees took everything. We went to Murray County to get my horse. I went off the next day. The
Yankees stayed in Lawrence County. The Yankees burnt Tom Greenfield out. Tom and Jim had joining farms. They
took everything he had. Took his darkies all but two girls. He left. Jim was good and they never want 'bout him. Jim
stayed at home. I went over there. He put me on his brother's place.
"I come to Arkansas by train. I come to Jackson, Tennessee, then to Forrest City, brought my famlee. My baby child
is grown and married.
"The Ku Klux never bothered me. It was a mighty little I ever seen of them.
"I never have had a hard time. I have worked hard. I been ploughing, hoeing, cradling grain, picking cotton all my
life. I love to plough and cradle grain. I love to work.
"There is a big difference now and the way I was raised up. They used to be whooped and made mind. They learned
how to work. Now the times run away from the people. They used to buy what they couldn't raise in barrels. Now
they buy it in little dabs. I ain't used to it. White folks do as they pleases and the darkies do as they can. Everybody
greedy as he can be it seem like to me. Laziness coming on more and more every year as they grow up. I ain't got a
lazy bone in me. I'm serving and praising my Lord every day, getting ready to go over in the next world."
Interviewer Miss Irene Robertson"
