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N. C. District No. 2 Subject SLAVERY DAYS INFRANKLIN COUNTY Worker Mary A. Hicks Story teller Lily Perry No. Words 794 Editor Geo. L. Andrews"
An interview with Lily Perry, 84 years old, of 9 McKee Street, Raleigh, N. C.
"I wus borned on de plantation of Mister Jerry Perry near Louisburg, about eighty-four years ago. My daddy, Riddick, 'longed ter him an' so did my mammy, do she 'longed ter a Mis' Litchford 'fore she married daddy.
"De fust things dat I can remember wus bein' a house gal, pickin' up chips, mindin' de table an' feedin' de hogs. De slop buckets wus heavy an' I had a heap of wuck dat wus hard ter do. I done de very best dat I could but often I got whupped jist de same.
"When dey'd start ter Whup me I'd bite lak a runmad dog so dey'd chain my han's. See hyar, hyars de scars made by de chains. Dey'd also pick me up by de years an' fling me foun', see hyar, I can wiggle my years up an' down jist lak a mule can, an' I can wiggle 'em roun' an' roun' lak dat, see!
"One day I ain't feelin' so good an' de slops am so heavy dat I stops an' pours out some of it. De oberseer, Zack Terrell, sees me an' when I gits back ter de house he grabs me ter whup me.
"De minute he grabs me I seize on ter his thumb an' I bites hit ter de bone, den he gits mad an' he picks me up an' lifts me higher dan my haid an' flings me down on de steel mat dere in front of de do'.
"Dey has ter revise me wid cold water from despring an' I wus sick fer a week. We ain't had good food which makes me weak an' I still has ter do heavy wuck.
"Dar wus a slave block in Louisourg an' I'se seed many a slave sold dar. Very few wus put in chains, most of 'em wus put in a kivered wagon wid a guard an' wus chained at night. I'se seed many a 'oman cryin' fer her chile when one er de tother wus put on de slave block in Louisburg.
"I wus 'bout twelve years old when de Yankees come. I wus pickin' up chips in de yard when dey comes by wid dere hosses steppin' high an' dere music playin' a happy chune. I wus skeered, but I don't dasent run case marster will sho have me whupped, so I keeps on wid my wuck.
"Dey pass fast on down de road an' dey doan bother nothin' in our community but de white folkses hates 'em jist de same.
"Marster Jerry tells us 'bout a week later dat we am free an' all of de two hundret 'cept 'bout five er six goes right off. He tells all of us dat he will pay us effen we will stay an' wuck, so me an' my family we stays on.
"We lives dar fer seberal years den I marries Robert Perry who lives on de same plantation wid us. We ain't had but one daughter an' dat's Kate, who still libes wid me.
"Me an' Robert wus raised up tergether, he bein' five years older'n me an' I loved him frum de time I wus borned. I know how he uster hate ter see me git dem beatin's an' he'd beg me not ter let my mouth be so sassy, but I can't help hit. He uster take my beatin's when he could an' a heap of times he sneak out ter de fiel's in de ebenin' an' toted dat slops ter de pigs.
"Onct when marster wus whuppin' me Robert run up an' begged marse ter put de whuppin' on him 'stead of me. De result wus marse whupped us both an' we 'cided ter run away.
"We did run away, but night brung us back ter another whuppin' an' we ain't neber run away no mo'.
"We wus at a frolic at Louisburg when he proposes ter me an' he do hit dis way, 'Honey gal, I knows dat you doan love me so powerful much, but will you try ter do hit fer me?'
"Course I sez, 'Go long, nigger, iffen I doan love yo' den dar ain't no water in Tar riber.' Den I sez, 'We can gitMarse Henry outen de bed an' he'll marry us ternight.'"Rob wus tickled pink an' sho nuff we wus married right away dat very night.
"We lived pore, dat I knows, but we wus too happy in ourselves ter worry 'bout sich things an' de lack."I laughs now ter think how ignorant we niggers wus. We'd do our washin' an' 'bout de time we hung hit on de line,we'd see a string of folks comin' home frum de prospect Church an' we'd know dat we'd done our washin' on aSunday."
AC
Perry, Valley
N.C. District No. 2 |
Subject:A SLAVE STORY, THEWOMAN OVERSEER |
No. Words: 815 |
Person Interviewed: Velley Perry |
Worker: Mary Hicks |
Editor: George L. Andrews" |
Perry, Valley |
story of kind mistress who stops ?? on plantation
An interview with Valley perry, 50 years of age, of Cary, North Carolina, Noute # 1.
"Course bein' no older dan I is i can't recollect 'bout de war, but I'se heard my manny tell a little an' my gran'mammy tell a right smart 'bout dem slavery times yo's talkin' 'bout.
"Gran'mammy Josephine, on' mammy Clarice 'longed ter a Mr. Nat Whitaker in make County. Mr. Nat's wife wus named Mrs' Lucy, an' she wus so good dat ever'body what ever seed her 'membered her. Dar is eben de belief among de niggers dat she riz up ter heaben alive, like Slijah.
"Dey said dat Mr. Nat's oberseer wus kinder mean ter de slaves, an' when he whupped dem dey 'membered hit ter de longest day dey lived. Mr. Nat wusen't near so bad an' Mis' Lucy wus a angel. She'd beg Mr. Nat ter make de oberseer stop, but Mr. Nat 'fused, 'case he said dat de niggers won't obey him iffen he teaches dem he won't let de oberseer punish dem good an' plenty. Den Mis' Lucy 'ud cry an' she'd run an' grab de oberseer's arm an' beg him ter stop. She'd cry so hard dat he'd hafter stop.
"Finally de oberseer goes ter Mr. Nat an' complains, an' he sez dat he am gwine ter quit de joo iffen Mr. Nat doan make mis' Lucy keep outen his business.
"Mr. Nat axes him ter tell him 'fore he starts ter beat 'em, an' ter set a time fer de beatin' an' dat he will git Mis' Lucy offen de place. well, de oberseer does what Mr. Nat sez an' waits ter whup eber'body on Chuesday an' on Chuesday Mr. Nat takes Mis' Lucy ter town.
"Mis' Lucy 'am tickled pink dat she an a-goin' shoppin' an' she ain't suspicion nothin' at all. When she gits. ter shoppin' do' she ain't satisfied, an' terreckly she tells Mr. Nat dat she wants ter go home.Mr. Nat tries to git her ter go ter a concert but Mis' Lucy dez no, dat she feels lak somethin' am happenin' at home.
"Mr. Nat begs her ter stay on an' enjoy herself, but when she won't listen ter no reason at all he starts home. De mules creep an' poke, but Mis' Lucy herself whups 'em up, an' dey gits home sooner dan dey am expected.
"When dey drives up in de yard de oberseer am so busy whuppin' de niggers what has done bad dat he ain't seed Mis' Lucy till she am right on him, den she snatch de heavy bullwhup an' she strikes him two or three times right in de face.
"Mis' Lucy look delicate, but she cuts de blood outen his cheek an' she shets up one of his eyes an' brings de blood a-pourin' from his nose. Den de meek little 'oman draws back de whup ag'in an' she 'lows, 'git often dis plantation, an' iffen ever I ketches you here ag'n I'll shoot you, you beast.'
"Dat settled de oberseer's hash an' atter he left Mis' Lucy went ter doctorin' out up backs. gran'mammy said dat our wusn't no more trouble Mis de niggers an' Mis' Lucy ?one all of de punishin' nerself.
"She made de meanest ones l'arn a whole passel of scripture, she punish de chillun of makin' den memorize poems an' sich. Sometimes she sont 'em ter bed widout supper, sometimes she make 'em work at night, sometimes she prayed yer 'em, an' once in a coon's age she whupped. bey said dat she could really hurt when she meant to, but she whupped as de las' thing ter do an' she whupped wid a keen little switch 'stead of de leather.
"Once atter she had whupped a little nigger she said, 'Clarice, dis hurt me wusser dan hit did yo'.'
"Clarice look at Mis' Lucy den she sez, 'Iffen hit hurt yo' wusser dan hit did me I'se powerful sorry fer you.' Dat little gal wus my mammy.
"My gran'father wus named Jake, ?n' he 'longed ter a family by de name of Middleton some whar in de neighborhood.
Marse Nat ain't had no use fer Mr. Middleton 'case he tried ter act up, an' he wus a New York Yankee ter foot, what thought that he owned de heaoens an' de ?earth. ?hen gran'father take fell in love wid gran'mammy nobody ain't knowed hit, 'case dere marsters an mad at each other an' dey knows dat dere won't be no marryin' twixt de families.
"Time goes on an' gran'father runs away an' comes ter see gran'mammy, but one night Mr. Middleton follers gran'father an' fin's him in gran'mammy cabin.
"Mr. Middletor. doan wait ter say nothin' ter nobody, when he peeps in at de winder an' sees dem a-settin' at de table eatin' musk melons wha gran'paypy had stole cuten his patch. He jist comes in a-rarin' an' a-tarin' an' starts a-whuppin' wid his ridin' quirt. He whups gran'father fer a while, den he pitches in on gran'mammy.
"While all dis am a-goin' on somebody runs fer Marster Nat an' when he gits dar dere am trousle in de shack. Marse Nat ain't so heaby as Mr. Middleton, but man, he puts de beatin' on Mr. Middleton, den he makes him sell take ter him an' he pays him spot cash right den an' dar.
"De nex' day he thinks ter ax gran'mammy what take an a-doin' in her cabin, an' gran'mammy tells him dat she loves take an' dat she wants ter marry him. nurse Nat laugh fit ter kill an' he sez dat dey'll have a big weddin' at de house fer dem.
"Dey did habe a big weddin' an' gran'mammy wore a red dress dat Mis' Lucy give her. She said dat she wish dat gran'father could of wore red too.
"She said dat when mammy wus borned dat ole Doctor Freeman 'tended her an' dat she stayed in de bed two weeks. Mis' Lucy wus good ter de niggers lak dat.
"I 'members gran'mammy tellin' 'bout de fankees comin' an' how she stood front of Mis' Lucy's door wid de ax an' tol' 'em dat she'd chop out anybody's orains what tried ter go in. De door wus open an' dey could see Mis' Lucy a-settin' dere white as a sheet, so dey went on sarchin' fer valuables, an' all de time dem valuables wus in Mis' An interview with Tempe Pitts, 91 of 307 Tarboro St., Raleigh, N. C.
