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"I was born on the other side of Maybinton, in Newberry County, South Carolina. Old Squire Kenner was my master and his wife, Lucy, my mistress. My pa was Joseph Gilliam, who was a slave of John Gilliam, and my mamma was Lou Kenner, who was a slave of Squire Kenner. I stayed with my mamma at Squire Kenner's and waited on my mistress, Mrs. Lucy Kenner, who was the best white woman I know of - just like a mother to me, wish I was with her now. I stayed there 'till my mistress died, was right by her bed.
"It sure was a good place to live. Dey didn't give us money for work but we had enough to eat and place to sleep and a few clothes. Squire had a big farm he got from the Hancocks, some of his kin. He didn't have overseers; he looked after his own farms. Master had a big garden and give us lots from it to eat. We hunted 'possums, rabbits, squirrels, wild turkeys, on the river. We lived right near Broad River.
"I remember de padderrolers; dey come to my pa's house and want to come in, but pa had an old musket gun and tole them if dey come in dey wouldn't go out alive - and dey went away.
"After the day's work was done, the slaves would set down and talk, and on Saturday afternoons, they would stay home, go fishing or wash up, and sometimes the chaps would go to de river and watch the boats full of cotton go by. On
Sundays we go to church. They made us go to Baskets ohurch, de white folks church, and set in the gallery. On Christmas Day we would get time off and master would give us good things to eat. We never had any corn-shuckings and cotton pickings there. All of the family and the slaves do that work on moon-shiney nights. We had some games we played, like Molly Bright, Hiding Switches, Marbles. We played on Sunday, too, unless the mistress calls us in and stops us.
"When a slave got sick we sent for the doctor. We never put much store in herb root tea and such like.
"The Yankees went through Maybinton but didn't get over as far as us. Some say they stole cattle and burned ginhouses.
"Squire Kenner was killed in the war, and when the war was over we stayed on with de mistress; she was like a mamma. She had a son who was killed in the war, too. Another son livod there and we worked for him after Mistress died, but he soon moved far away and sold out his plantation. His name was Howsen Kenner.
"I married Walter Cain at Mr. Walter Spearman's house, a good white man, and the white folks give us a good supper after the wedding. I had one child, 2 grand-children, and one great-grand-child. I joined the church before I married 'cause I wanted to do better, do right and live right, and get religion. I think everybody ought to join the church and live right. That is the reason the Lord blesses me in lots of ways today. We had good time in slavery-sometimes I wish I was back there-would have somebody to take of you and help you. If my mistress was living I would rather be back in slavery."
SOURCE: Granny Cain (90),RFD,Newberry: by G. L. Summer, Newberry.S.C.
(Project 1885-1, FOLKLORE, Spartanburg Dist.4, 22 Sep 1937, Edited by: Elmer Turnage)
Cain, Granny
"I was born near the village of Maybinton, and lived on old Squire Kenner's plantation. Squire Kenner and his wife, mistress Lucy, was good to me. My mistress was so good I wish I was living with her now. I sho wouldn't have such a hard time getting something to eat. I am old and have rheumatism and can't get about good now.
"I live with some of my grand children, but they can't make so much for us. We manage to eat, though. We rent a two-room house about two miles from Newberry Courthouse.
"I don't know nothing about 40 acres of land for the slaves after the war. We just stayed on with the master 'til he died, for wages; then we hired out to other people for wages. I don't know nothing 'bout slaves voting after the war. There was no slave uprisings then in our section.
"Ever since the war was over, the slaves have worked for wages on plantations or moved to town and got little jobs here and there where they could. Some of the slaves would rent small farms from land owners or work the farms on shares. None of the slaves in our section come from Virginia."
Source: "Granny" Cain (90). Newberry County, S.C. Interviewer: G.L. Summer, Newberry, S.C. 8/10/37.
(Project 1885-1, FOLKLORE, Spartanburg Dist.4, 24 May 1937, Edited by: Elmer Turnage)
