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1(A) Mrs. Earrist -Ex-Slave, Barrell street.
2(B) Anna Prichett, Federal Writer, 1800 Kentucky Avenue.
Residents in the life of Mrs. Cheston as she told them to me. (B)
"I was born, in 1845, in Gallwin, Tennessee, 92 years age this coming (1937) Christmas day." (A) "Our master, Martin Easley, a farmer, was hard on us slaves, but we were happy in spite of our lack." (A)
"When I was a child, I didn't here it as hard as some of the children in the quarters, I always stayed in the "big house," slept on the floor, right near the fireplace, with one quilt for my bed one quilt to cover me. Then when I growed up, I was in the quarters." (A)
"After the civil war, I went to Ohio to seek for General Fegrs. We had a nice life in the general's house." (A)
"I rember one night, way back before the Civil war, we wanted a goose. I went out to steal one as that was the only way we slaves would have one. I crept very quiet-like, put my hand in where they was and grabbed, and what do you suppose I had? A great big pole cat. Well, I dropped him quick, went back, take off all my clothes, dug a hole, and buried them. The next night I went to the right place, grabbed me a nice big goose, held his neck and feet so he couldn't holler, put him under my arm, and ran with him, and did we eat?" (A)
"We often had prayer meeting out in the quarters, and to keep the folks in the "big house" from hearing us, we would take pots, turn them down, put something under them, that lot the sound go in the pots, put them in a row by the deer, then our voices would not go out, and we could sing and pray to our heart's content." (A)
"At Thanksgiving time we would have pound cake. That was fine. We would take our hands and beat and beat our cake dough, put the dough in a skillet, cover it with the lid and put it in the fireplace. (The covered skillet would beat our ovens of today." It would take all day to bake, but it sure would be goods not like the cakes you have today." (A)
"When we seeked our reguler meals, we would put our feed in pots, slide then on an iron rod that hooked into the fire-place. (They were called pot hooks.) The pots hung right over the open fire and would boil until the feed was done." (A)
"We often made ash cake. (That is made of bissuit daugh.) When the dough was ready, we swept a clean place on the floor of the fireplace, smoothed the dough out with our hands, took some ashes, put them on top of the dough, then put some hot coals on top of the ashes, and just left it. When it was done, we brushed off the coals, took out the bread, brushed off the ashes, child, that was broad." (A)
"When we roasted a chicken, we got it all nice and clean, stuffed him with dressing, greased him all over good, put a cabbage leaf on the floor of the fireplace, put the chicken on the cabbbage leaf, than covered him good with another cabbage leaf, and put hot coals all over and around him, and left him to reast. That is the best way to cook chicken." (A)
Mrs. Cheaten lives with a daughter, Mrs. Jones. She is a very small old lady, pleasant to talk with, has a very happy disposition. Her eyes, as she said, "have gotten very dim," and she can't piece her quilts anymore. That was the way she spent her spare time.
She has beautiful white hair and is very proud of it. (B)
Submitted December 1, 1937
Indianapolis, Indiana
By: Anna Pritchett
Field Writer
