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Ex-slave, Age 80
Aunt Viney, as she is affectionately called by her white folks, lives in a tumbled down shack set off to itself in a large field. When I called, "Aunt Viney", she stuck her head out of the upstairs window and said, "What is it honey, come on up here, I ain't able ter come down dere."
Aunt Viney is a tiny little old darkey, very stooped and wrinkled. She has a light brown complexion and light blue eyes. She wore an old fashioned "mother hubbard" and her head was wrapped in a cap made from a pair of old stockings. She fairly beamed as she rocked and told me of her early life.
"Darlin'", I sho will tell you all about dem days, cause I likes to talk about 'em." All the time her eyes twinkled and her face beaming.
"Mr. Brewer was my mammy's ole Marster', and I was born right there in his back yard. Mr. Scatergood was my pa's Marster and he lived on his place but came home ter us at night."
"Our Marster and Missus dey had plenty of money and dey were sho good to us. My ma had three chillun and every Sunday morning 'ole Marster' would come git us and take us in his house and have prayer. 'Ole Marster' he would sing and pray. Mammy she would have to keep punching us chillun to keep us from laughin'. "You know honey, I was christened right dere in de white folks Methodist Church, right over dere where de Vineville school is right now. Mammy said when de preacher poured water on my head I said, O, and jes' laughed. I remember jes' as good when de Yankees came through Macon. Dey came right down dis big road and all us chillun ran out to see 'em. One of de Yankees got off his horse and threw a string of rock candy round my neck. Honey is you ever seen any rock candy?" Aunt Viney paused to say.
"They camped right around frum us on Callaway Street. Captain Mallet, a Yankee soldier, boarded at my 'missus' house. You know my 'ole marster' he was a Yankee.
"Capt' Mallet would always tease me and tell me to cook him some dinner, so I would make some mud pies and call him to eat some. He would come out in de back yard and make out lak he was eatin' 'em."
"My 'ole Marster' had two hogs, one named Cuff, and one named Dick. Us chillun would play wid dem, and when dey out wood in de back yard we would put de shavin's all over dem. We would put curls on our ankles and play ketchum."
"When ole missus punched dese holes in my ears, I remember I jes' cried," and she showed me the holes and the ear rings she had given her.
"You know honey when de war was over we jes' stayed on right here, cause dey were jes' too good to us for us to leave. Dey built us good houses for us to live in right in their yard and gave us all we could eat."
"After my missus died I lived with her daughter and helped her raise all her chillun."
"Now honey is dere anything else you would like to know? I think I have jes' about talked out, but I have sho enjoyed talking to you. Come back to see me some more."
John Rogers (Mary A. Crawford Interviewer Edited by J. R. Jones Interviewed Aug. 21, 1936)
