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Ah was born aftuh surrender. Ah guess ah'm abcut 74 years ole. Mah pa was er slave an mah ma was too. Dey
moster was name Green Traylor an dey lived right down dar at Tula Creek. Mah mistess was named Martha Traylor
an dey name me aftuh huh. Mah name is Martha Lee Traylor. Aftuh she mahried huh name was Martha Tatum. We
worked down dar. Oh! Mah Lawd? How we did work - all ovsh dat bottom. De puttiest fiel' ah evah did see. De
Traylor's owned hit den. Later on de Tatums bought hit fum dem and years aftuh dat de Nash's bought hit fun de
Tatums. But now all uv dat place is growed up. Nothing but er pine thicket and er black berry thicket. Ye caint
hardly walk trhough de place. Later on de Cebb's owned us. George Cobb was his name. He lived down in de
Caledonia settlement. Ah went behin' him er many er day wid de hoe or he'd crack mah haid. He use tuh be de
sheriff here de years uv de boon an his nephew is de sheriff now Grady Wooley. Later on while ah was a gull ah
worked fuh de Swilleys an was partly raised on dey plantation. De ole man was name Lawson Swilley. His wife,
Margaret Swilley, and I clare dem two people treated me white. She mammied me er many er day. Ah was bred and
born right down dar er-round Calddonia. Ah was a big gull durin de time uv de centennial snow. Bis snow was
called dat cause hit was de bigges snow dat evah been. Hit was cvah yo haid. We had tuh spade our way evah whah
we went. Tuh de wood gitting place, tuh de sping, tuh de hoss lot, and evah whah. De snow was warm an soft. We
piled up so much snow till hit took hit er half er year tuh melt.
Dat snow stayed on de groun two months.
Ah am de muthah uv five gulls and fo' boys. Didn nairy one uv mah gulls come in de pen till dey was mahried. Ah
use tuh fish in er big ole fish pond rat down whah de wesson depot is now. Years ergo people come fum Camden an
othufh places tuh fish in dat fish pond.
Mr. Sam Austin sole old man Burgy (Burgiss?) er piece uv groun' to bury folks in and he was de first man tuh die
an be buried dar. Se dey name hit de Burgy Cemetery.
Down dar in Memphis Addition atah the colored Prof. Dykes place dar use tuh be one uv de bes' springs. Course at
dat time hit was er big ole fiel' den and de watuch was jes lak ice watuh.
Dat make me think. Mah pa sed he went tuh de wah tuh cook fuh his cle moster, Green Traulor. Well pa said dar
was er spring whar day got watuh. Said he went tuh git watuh outen de sping and had tuh pull dead men outn de
spring an dat dey drinked of'n dem dead men all while de wah was going on.
Name Mattie Rose
Occupation Gardening
Residence South Field, Oil Field. Age 74
Interviewer Miss Irene Robertson"
