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Janie was born in 1852 in Newberry, S. C. She was born a slave and lived later on the plantation of Dr. Henry. Janie is a large-framed woman, slightly rawbony and withered now, evidently with a slight strain of white blood as she was not black, but brown. Her heavy lower lip protrudes beyond the upper, the whites of her dim old eyes have a yellow jaundice tint, and her big gnarled parchment-like hands toyed nervously with a scrap of cloth from Aunt Harriet's quilt scrap basket as she talked. Her grey wool was neatly braided in many sections, and instead of the usual headcloth she wore an old hat. Her grey homespun dress was long, but not long enough to hide the almost soleless shoes she wore.
When asked about her early life Aunt Janie smiled wanly, showing a few yellow tusks in her almost toothless mouth. "Yes'm my Mama died in slavery, and I was sold when I was a little tot." To my inquiry as to whether she remembered it, she replied, "I 'member when dey put me on de block."
"Were you separated from your family?"
"Yes'm we wus scattered eberywhere. Some went to Florida and some odder places. De Missus she die an' we wus all sold at one time. After dat nobody could do nothin' on de ole plantation for a year - till all wus settled up. My brudder he wusn't happy den and he run away --- he run away fer five year."
"Where was he all that time, Aunt Janie?"
"Lawd knows, honey. Hidin', I reckon, hidin' in de swamp."
"Did you like your new master?"
"Honey, I wus too little to have any sense. When dat man bought me - dat Mr. Henry, he put me up in de buggy to
take me off. I kin see it all right now, and I say to Mama and Papa, 'Good-bye, I'll be back in de mawnin' - and deyfeel sorry fer me and say 'She don' know whut happenin'."
"Did you ever see your family again, Aunt Janie?""Yes'm, dey wusn't so far away. When Christmas come de Marster say I can stay wid Mama de whole week. I hadthree brothers and four sisters then."
"Do you remember when freedom came?""Oh yas'm - my brudder comed fer me - he say, 'Jane, you free now. You wanner go home and see Papa?' But oldMars' say, 'Son, I don' know you an' you don' know me. You better let Janie stay here a while.' So he went off. But
pretty soon I slip off. I had my little black bonnet in my hand, and de shoes Papa give me, and I started off, 'Tickt,tickt, crost dat bridge.'"All by yourself, Auntie, and you so little?""An I kept on till I got my sister. But when I got to de bridge de river was risin'. An' I hadder go down de swamp
road. When I got dere wus I dirty? An' my sister say, 'How come you were all by yourself?' Den she took off myclothes and put me to bed. An' I 'member de next mornin' when I get up it was Sunday and she had de clo'es allwash and ironed. De fus Sunday mornin' atter freedom."
"And I suppose they raised cotton on the plantation, Aunt Janie?""Law yeah, dey raise cotton - had a cotton gin and everyt'ing.""And when did you come to Augusta?""Well, I'd done got married to a man named Peter, an' he done die, den I move to Augusta and jine de Springfield
Baptis' Chu'ch, and wus baptize in de river. I been here over fifty year. I ask a old woman to git me a service place -I wus young den - so I hired out to Mr. Pat Mulherin's wife, and she gimme a place to stay. I nuss Miss MaeMahoney when she young. She good to me - gimme money when I ain't got nothin'."
"Other day I talk to a lady on de hill. She say, 'Aunt
Janie, you know how ole I am?' I say, 'I dunno.' Den she say, 'Sixty-two, and you nuss me when I wus a baby.' Soyou see dat tell you how ole I is."Partheny Shaw Thomson, Georgia (Maude Barragan Leila Harris May 18, 1937 Federal Writers' Project)
