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Anna Lee
I'se born near Huntsville, Tenn., in 1849, so they tells me, I don't know myself where or how old I is. Father's name
Jerry Alewine, mother's name Sally. I did not have any brothers or sisters that I knows of cause mother and father
were sold to another man before I'se old enough to remember. I'se never heard tell of my grandparents. All I
members was, I'se just run around there playing with some other negro kids there on Maser's farm.
I'se owned by Maser Tom Alewine and married one of his boys and we did not change our name till I'se married
again.
Maser and Mistress were both mighty good white folks. They had one son and daughter. I'se cooked many a meal
with that pretty curlyhaired baby girl in one arm. She sure would cry after her black mammy and I sure did love that
sweet child.
B. E. Davis Madisonville, Texas District #8 (September 16, 1937 (No))
Anna Lee
I was born near Huntsville, Tenn., in 1849 so they tells me. I'se don't knows when I'se born or how old I is. Father
named, Jerry Alewine, mother's name Sally. I don't knows as I'se had any brothers or sisters cause father and mother
they were sold to another man before I'se old enough to remember and my old slave mama raised me. No she was
not my grandmother and I'se never heard tell of my parents no more. I'se don't know whatever became of them.
Well sir, son all I'se members was I's just run around there playing with some other negro kids there on Maser's
farm.
Yes I was owned by Maser Tom Alewine as I'se married to one of his boys and we did not change our name till I'se
married again. We had pretty good quarters. They were built out of plank and covered with hewed boards that was
made by hand. No sir, it did not leak and was real warm in there. Our beds they were built on the ground in one
corner of our quarters out of shucks, moss and grass. We would get down under that when we would go to bed at
night and never did get cold.
No sir, I'se never heard tell of my grandparents or stories told me about them.
Maser had plenty work to do such as: chop cotton, corn, cut weed and house work of all kinds. He made me plow
just like the men slaves, but the work that we done did not hurt us.
No sir, I'se never did see any money until after I'se set free. Did not know that it was during slavery I'se hear them
other slaves talk about money but I did not know what they were talking about.
We sure had plenty to eat in slavery time as we eat from the same table that the white folks eat from. We had
cornbread gathered fresh from the field and it was grated and mixed with water and salt, cooked in plenty of grease
on the open fire in a great big flat iron skillet. Yes, we had possum, rabbits, and fish - that was my favorite dish.
Maser had plenty of other kinds of meat and plenty of vegetables fresh out of the garden. No the slaves did not have
their own garden. Maser gave the slaves what he wanted them to have to eat and that was plenty all time. No sir, we
never did go hungry while we were slaves like we have since we been free.
In not weather son we wore just plain royal shirts open all the way down the front. In cold weather we had woolen
clothes to keep us warm. Yes sir, we had shoes what we called brogan shoes, no wear out to them. Yes we had plain
white royal shirts on Sundays to wear and they must be real clean at all times. That was one thing Maser made us do
was to stay clean all the time, he never would allow his negroes to go dirty no time, not even when they was at
work. He kept us enough clothes to change so'es we would have clean clothes to put on. Yes sir, our Maser was
very particular about his slaves at all time.
Well son our Maser he was a real white man always jolly and in a good humor, never was mad. Yes he was real
strict with us, if we did'nt do right he would whip us, but son he never told one of us that he was going to do
something that he didn't do no sir, when he told us he would do a thing that was exactly what he done. Mistress she
was a plum angel, that was one of the best white women that God ever let live. She was always going to church and
she never bawled us out if we didn't do things exactly like she told us. She would come and show us just exactly
how she wanted us to do. She always laughed with us over our mistakes and there was many that we made, yes sir,
cause us negroes never know nothing in them days here in this country, and our fore-people they were worse than
we were. They just had one curlyhaired girl and son, I'se cooked many a meal with that child in one arm, she sure
would cry after her old black mammy and I sure loved that sweet child, she was the best little thing that ever was.
The house they lived in was a real good home. It was built out of plank and it had 4 rooms with large smoke house
at the back door where they kept all their cooking things and son it was always full of cured meat. There was one
door to every room save two and they had 2 doors to them rooms. Didn't have no window glass, all it had in the way
of windows was open shutter and slide windows. People them days did not have glass windows no sir. Well their
home was on a hill or knoll with plenty of shade trees all around. It was covered with boards that the slaves riveted
out by hand. That overseer he was not good to us like Maser was, he was sure rough on the slaves - hardly ever did
he speak a kind word to us. Overseer Carl Yarborough sure did keep us afraid of him cause he wore a big gun on his
side all the time and ever so often he would shoot right over a slave's head to see him jump, holler and beg him not
to shoot so close to them again, but that overseer would just laugh at the poor slave cause he was all time dealing
them all the misery he could and never did have no mercy on a slave at no time.
Well son, there was near about 100 acres in that plantation, and Maser had 23 slaves. Well that overseer he woke us
up every morning at about 4:30 o'clock with a great large bell hung at his door, so we could be in the field waiting
for daylight to come. Child, he worked us just as long every day as we could see. We would be in the field sitting on
the end of the row when it got light enough for us to work and we worked then until dark run us in.
Yes I has seen the slaves whipped, hog-tied and kept there 3 or 4 days at a time by that overseer. He would whip a
slave if he just made a mistake, and if he had to whip them for something sure enough that they done he would then
punish them further by tying them up and leaving them there several days without anything to eat, except once a day
he would let them have a little bread and water, just enough to keep them from being sick after he would turn them
aloose. Well no sir, they was not exactly a jail there for the slaves but he always found a way to lock a slave up if he
wanted to. He would lock them in their quarters and not let them have any privilege of no kind. Son I am telling you
that overseer he was mean to the slaves. Cause one time he took a slave and tied his hands around a tree and then
wrapped his body to that tree so he could not twist and turn, then he backed off and took that cat-o-nine tails and
whipped that poor negro until he gave out his self. When he got tired and quit that poor slave was bleeding all over,
it is a wonder he hadn't of killed that negro cause it was in hot weather and he never turned that negro aloose so he
could have his body dressed, just left him tied there to that tree to suffer for several days. When he did finally turn
him aloose he was so stiff and sore he could not stand or move, so they had to carry him to his quarters and the
slaves had to bathe and rub him for sometime before he ever had any use of hisself, and it was several days before
he ever got over that whipping to where he was any account. Well son I didn't think that the white folks could be so
mean to the poor slaves but they were. You know son that some people are good to their stock, some will feed them
good and care for them the best they can, then you will see other people that will not feed their stock or will not take
good care of them, then when they want them to work they are not able to work because they were not taken good
care of. They will beat and abuse their stock when no one is to blame but themselves, now that was the way the
people were with their slaves. You know son we have some people that do not care what they have or how it looks
just so they get what they want. It is awful that people are that way but it is so, and we cannot help it either, so I
don't guess there is any use of worrying about it after slavery is over, but then it was hard on poor slaves to be
owned by these kind of people. If a slave was with the better class of Masers he was all right, better off than we
negroes are now, these hard times.
Yes sir child. I'se seen a few slaves sold and auctioned off to the highest bidder. First thing we did was to wash and
clean up real good, then greased our feet, hands and body where exposed so'es we would look real fat and shine,
slick and greasy like we had been taken real good care of. You know son if you were going to sell a yearling you
would want that yearling to be real fat, and his hair and body to look fat and slick, that was the way they wanted us
to look so'es our would-be buyers would give a good price for us. Most of the time our Masers would get the
highest bid they could on a slave before they sold, and you could not blame them for that. After he would sell and
the new Maser would start to leave with his new slaves that he had bought, all the hollering and bawling would take
place because they were taking one of their number off and they would never expect to see that slave no more he
would be just the same as dead to the rest of the slaves.
Yes I'se seen slaves in chains there on our farm. And I'se seen one slave that had to wear a bell for ever so long. I'm
telling you child, that overseer he was sure mean to the slaves. We had to wear chains to the field just like we were
convicts if we were the least bit stubborn. That slave he had to wear a bell because he got to slipping off a night to
see his woman. The way they fixed that bell on that negro was a big frame fixed that would fit over his head and
shoulders and the bell put in that frame above the negro's head so he could not reach it to silence it, but that didn't
stop him from going to see his woman. He would get some of the negroes to stuff that bell full of rags and leaves or
something to keep it from clapping, then he would leave to go see his woman and she would meet him on the line of
the two places under a big tree and they would stay out all night and then they would not be no account the next
day. They tried every way to stop it as they were both good hands but they finally had to sell that poor slave and that
slave's new Maser carried him to another state and I'se never did know whatever became of that poor negro as we
never did hear of him no more.
No sir, the white people they did not try to help me learn to read or write, said they did not have time to fool with us
as we were too thick headed to ever learn anything.
No sir, us slaves did not have a church of our own there, but the white folks did and we went to their church as they
always had a place fixed for the negroes there in one part of that church. No sir, us slaves we did not read the Bible
as none of us could read or write, but we got our Maser and Mistress to read some in the Bible to us every Sunday
morning. It was then sort of like Sunday School the way we had them to read the Bible to us. My favorite preacher
Joe Bryan back home, and he was sure a good preacher. Sure was liked by the slaves and white people too cause he
certainly did live his preaching every day in the week, not just only Sunday like most preachers do. When them old
camp-meetings would last from a month to 2 months they would always be several to be baptised and preacher he
would direct them all to the nearest creek and there while the slaves sang them old time hymns such as: "Rock of
Ages" and "On the Stormy Banks of Jordan", that preacher he would baptize the white children and after he would
get them baptised he would baptize the slaves that joined his church. I don't recollect that we had any funeral while
we were slaves. Now they could have had a funeral but I'se do not recollects one.
No sir, I'se do not believes I'se heard of any negro that tried to run off to the north. The only way we could carry
news from one plantation to another was for our Maser to give us a pass as all us negroes we were fraid of the
patterrollers, they would sure get the negro if he was caught off the plantation without a pass and the negroes all
knew it, boy, what them patterrollers done to a negro was a plenty yes sir. Time they whipped a negro 39 licks with
that cat-o-nine tails he was in pretty bad shape, yes sir he was. Of course we slipped off some at night and prowled
around some but we did not dare let the patterroller get hold of us. They come pretty near getting hold of me one
time for slipping off, but I dodged in the brush at night time and run all the way back to my quarters and was in the
bed when they got there. I'se making out like I'se sound asleep, cause I'se so still they could have heard my heart
beating if they had listened cause I'se thought sure they had done had me. But they finally went on cause they was'nt
certain I was the negro they wanted and believe me son, I'se sure was glad when they left, I'se had a close call. That
was too close for me. It was a long time before I'se tried that again. Yes sir it was.
Son we just generally fell in at the door cause we would be so tired when we came in at night from our days work
out in the field. No sire, we did not work on Saturday unless our Maser get in a tight with his crop or in the grass.
That was the day he gave us the day off to see that we washed up, cleaned our clothes and Saturday night we always
were ready for them tin pan beatings and banjo picking and the negro dance. That was about the only time we ever
were allowed to be together and have some fun. You know we had to have some way to see the other sex and be
together, and that was the only time that our Maser allowed us to be together just among ourselves, and we sure
made the best of it cause we generally danced, hollered and had our fun all night long. Maser generally had to come
early enough Sunday to run us home and to our beds, but he never got rough on us cause we danced all night long.
On Sunday we first had our Bible reading by our Maser and Mistress then we went to our quarters, and to bed, then
we were all up for our mid-day meal and to the creek swimming or having a ball game among us slaves as Maser
never did bother us on these days. He always let us go and have all the fun we could just so we behaved ourselves.
On Christmas day Maser might say he turned us loose, but we always stayed close, us girls we waited on the young
white people there in the house such as taking their wraps and hats, putting them away, brushing up their shoes,
fixing their hair while the boys would be on the outside to take care of the young men's horses and so on like that,
then for that dinner. Maser would have nearly about anything anyone would want to eat that day. Yes he always
give all us slaves some kind of present and plenty fireworks to shoot off and have lots of fun. As you know son we
use to celebrate on that day the birth of our Saviour, and my Maser and Mistress they were real religious people. On
New Years Day we had that day for a holiday as our Maser he gave us every holiday, and son he was a real white
man. I'se wish lots of times they were more people like him in the world today as we sure do need them especially
now, when this old world is about to turn over. Outside of these holidays I'se told you about is all the holidays we'se
negroes knew anything about. Yes we had corn-shucking days in the winter time when it would get so had that we
could not have dances to get together, then too our maser he sold lots of shelled corn. We shelled and shucked corn
all day long so'es us negroes could have some way to get together and have some fun. Yes we had cotton-picking
days, our Maser wanted to get his cotton picked and out of the field. He would give the negro that picked the most
cotton some kind of prize and son it would be different things that he would give us.
When the white people had a dance or things like that us slaves we were always there to wait on our young people
and to play the music for them to dance by.
When our white folks married, us negroes sure did hate to see our white children leave and we cried and went on
worse than the white people did. Sure we were allowed to take part when they got married, as son you know they
were our children we'se raised them. Boss you will hears this today - "I'se raised by some old slave negro," that is so
son, cause they use to be our children. Don't know as I'se seen any of our white folks that died during slavery.
Well they were not very much to a slave wedding, most of the slave weddings were home weddings. We considered
if our Maser agreed for us to live together we was lawfully married and I'se guess we were.
If our man lived on some other plantation my Maser and his Kaser both would have to agree for us to be married,
and if that was the case his Maser would let him come stay with me one night out of a week, sometimes it would be
two weeks before he would be allowed to come and sometimes we would beg our Masers to let us have a preacher
to marry us and he would. The slaves they were allowed to ride us on rails dipped in tubs of water no matter how we
got married.
Don't knows as I'se ever members a death among the slaves during slavery, as our Masers took too good care of us.
You know child we were too valuable then to let die if they could help it anyway at all.
As children nearly all our playmates were the white children and we played their games and that was games like
wolf-over-the-river, seesaw and hide-and-seek. Sometime we played ball and games of flying-jennie. Us children
we sure use to have great times playing with our white children, never was no fight like they have today. These here
white children won't let the little negro children play with them now like they use to. No sire son, it has been so long
ago since I'se thought of them games that I'se do not members any of the words or songs we sung as children.
No sir, son I'se don't members any stories about raw-head and bloody-bones, nor know anything about riddles or
charms used during slavery by the slaves. No sir, no stories about animals or anything that ever happened to me. No
sir, I'se don't members any work song or plantation hollers, child that has been so long I'se forgot all them.
No sir, I'se never seen a ghost or haunt, fact son I'se do not white man. I'se wish lots of times they were more people
like him in the world today as we sure do need them especially now, when this old world is about to turn over.
Outside of these holidays I'se told you about is all the holidays we'se negroes knew anything about. Yes we had
corn-shucking days in the winter time when it would get so bad that we could not have dances to get together, then
too our maser he sold lots of shelled corn. We shelled and shucked corn all day long so'es us negroes could have
some way to get together and have some fun. Yes we had cotton-picking days, our Maser wanted to get his cotton
picked and out of the field. He would give the negro that picked the most cotton some kind of prize and son it would
be different things that he would give us.
When the white people had a dance or things like that us slaves we were always there to wait on our young people
and to play the music for them to dance by.
When our white folks married, us negroes sure did hate to see our white children leave and we cried and went on
worse than the white people did. Sure we were allowed to take part when they got married, as son you know they
were our children we'se raised them. Boss you will hears this today - "I'se raised by some old slave negro," that is so
son, cause they use to be our children. Don't know as I'se seen any of our white folks that died during slavery.
Well they were not very much to a slave wedding, most of the slave weddings were home weddings. We considered
if our Maser agreed for us to live together we was lawfully married and I'se guess we were.
If our man lived on some other plantation my Maser and his Maser both would have to agree for us to be married,
and if that was the case his Maser would let him come stay with me one night out of a week, sometimes it would be
two weeks before he would be allowed to come and sometimes we would beg our Masers to let us have a preacher
to marry us and he would. The slaves they were allowed to ride us on rails dipped in tubs of water no matter how we
got married.
Don't knows as I'se ever members a death among the slaves during slavery, as our Masers took too good care of us.
You know child we were too valuable then to let die if they could help it anyway at all.
As children nearly all our playmates were the white children and we played their games and that was games like
wolf-over-the-river, see-saw and hide-and-seek. Sometime we played ball and games of flying-jennie. Us children
we sure use to have great times playing with our white children, never was no fight like they have today. These here
white children won't let the little negro children play with them now like they use to. No sire son, it has been so long
ago since I'se thought of them games that I'se do not members any of the words or songs we sung as children.
No sir, son I'se don't members any stories about raw-head and bloody-bones, nor know anything about riddles or
charms used during slavery by the slaves. No sir, no stories about animals or anything that ever happened to me. No
sir, I'se don't members any work song or plantation hollers, child that has been so long I'se forgot all them.
No sir, I'se never seen a ghost or haunt, fact son I'se do not believes any them ghost people has told me they has
seen ghosts, but I'se do not believes in them cause I'se never seen one no time. Now child they are not ghosts no
way.
When we become sick we had awful good care taken of us, yes sir, our Maser was awful good to us. He first turned
us over to our old negro mama to doctor and if she did not get us well then we had the white doctor with us. Our old
negro mama she got her hoe and sack and to the woods she went gathering herbs to make our medicine out of. Well
she gathered cami weed roots, peach tree leaves, red oak bark and privet roots; cooked or boiled them all down to a
thick syrup and gave to us for chills, fever, malaria and so on. She used pine tree bark, onions and pure honey to
make us a cough syrup out of for our cold and coughs and it was real good son - better than anything these here
doctors can give these days. There are not many of them that can cure the chills, all they want is the money. Yes we
use to wear camphor tied around our necks to keep off all kinds of malaria. Yes we has wore assafoetida also
around our necks for all kinds of diseases. Then, our negro women they like to have depopulated this country on the
negro race. They got to chewing cotton roots to keep from giving births to babies and they finally made a law
against that but it did not help much. If slavery had lasted much longer they would not have been any slaves except
the old ones they had here left, cause when slavery was ended they was not being any new slaves born, we had done
quit breeding.
Well son I'se do not members so much about that awful war but I'se heard lots during that terrible time, when it was
over, all the negroes were running to and fro in the street and a white man with a rag tied over his face rode his
horse down through all them negroes and shot his gun right in among them, he never killed a negro but he hit
several and the negroes they tore out to their Masers for protection. If they had stayed after that he would have
killed several and they knew it, because they were hollering "I'se free just like a frog, I can jump from a log to the
ground if I'se want to," so they thought, but that rider with his face covered changed their minds for them and that
night all negroes that were not in their quarters when dark come the patterrollers got them. I'se members that several
nights after the war ended between the states Mistress' little girl got sick, she called one of the slave men and told
him to get a horse and go after the doctor for her, he asked for a pass but Mistress told him he would not need a
pass. He never did get to the doctor, the patterrollers caught that poor negro and hung him to a tree limb. Mistress
said she was to blame for his death cause she sent him without a pass, that was after the war had done ended. Maser
he had not got home yet and when he did come home he told us that we were free, just as free as he was and that we
could go do as we pleased, but we had not got over the patterrollers hanging that poor negro, too we all loved our
Maser but he told us that he didn't have any more say over what we done. We begin to wonder what we was going
to do for we did not have no job and nothing to eat, and we did not know what we was going to do. We begin to beg
Maser to keep us there with him but he told us he did not know if he could or not, that about all he had was wiped
out during the war, but he promised us that he would see if he could get the money to keep us. So he went to see if
he could get some help so that he could work us and he did. We worked there for our Maser a long time after the
war for two dollars per month, course he let us have some corn, garden and some hogs to make our meat and that
was how we lived after the war. Boy we sure was glad to get that, course we did not have the care taken of us that
we did before the war, but then our people were good to us even after the war. If our Maser should have got killed
in that war we would have not had no place to stay or no way to make a living and we was glad to get what we did.
There were some negroes that they just turned a loose, no place to go or no way to make a living, they just had to
roam the country and beg what they could for a living, but thank God our Maser was able to keep us and see after us
until we had kind of got use to being free and to where we was not afraid to ask a man for a job. We had lots of hard
times just after the war and we did not have plenty to eat like we did when we were slaves, but it was the best our
Maser could do for us to get by on.
Well son I'se had great time when I'se married to Allen Lee, who was owned by one of General Lee's relatives,
course that was several years after the war. He never had seen me but one time before we were married. He got one
of his people's horses and come by and just married me by force. He just rode by, picked me up and put me on the
horse behind him and a way he went to the preachers and we were married. Course I'se did not object much and the
negroes did not find out we were married until we got back, then all the dancing and eating it came off. I'se had on
all the clothes I'se had and they were work clothes. Well child we had 11 children, one of them is dead, a girl, all the
rest 5 boys and 5 girls are still living. I'se done lost count of my grandchildren they are too many of them for me to
count.
Well my children they are trying to farm, 2 working on this here government work. My old man he done gone and
left me, he died long 17 years ago and I'se living with one of my daughters whose man is dead.
Well child I'se don't know that I expect anything from slavery, I never did expect what we got. I thought that we
would go on just like we were in slavery but course you know we didn't. No sir, I'se did not expect them to divide
Maser's land with us. Why child, we did not get nothing except we were turned loose like bunch of wild hogs to
make it the best we could. No sir they were not any land gave to the ex-slaves no time, all we got we had to work
real hard for. Sometimes we did not get what we worked for, they beat us out of that cause we could not help
ourselves. No sir, our owner did not give us anything cause he did not have anything his self after the war was over.
That war just about broke our Maser.
Well yes, and no, we was not forced to stay on as servants only in one way and that was, we most had to stay and do
what our Maser told so'es we could get something to eat and wear. When we were turned aloose we were not trained
in no way nor did we have anything, no sir, to live on. You know child if you had to stay where you could get
something to eat and wear that would be where you would stay regardless of where it was. We loved our Maser
better than we did our own people at that time cause he was so good to us in every way he could, as he managed our
affairs for us and helped us to learn the way of a free people. He taught us the way to do and act after we was free
and went to work for him by the month.
Well son we done just about what we could after the war, as we were worse off then than we were in slavery time.
People would not let us get out and hunt other places to stay and work, as they were use to making us do just like
they wanted us to. Of course they had to gradually get away from that and we had to gradually get use to taking care
of ourselves and managing our own business. Our wages were low and it was hard for us to even keep bread to feed
our families on, not any doctor bills if we got sick, we just had to tough it out or die because we did not have money
to get a doctor with. We had to depend then entirely on our old negro mamas to cure us of all our ailments.
The reconstruction period was hard on the old slaves but we endured all hardships and came through with colors
flying.
Son we done most just what we could after we were turned aloose. It was hard going to live as our wages were so
low that we could hardly feed ourself, muchless our children, and too we were not trained. We got from 15 to 30
cents a day for our work, and sometimes they never paid us at that.
Yes we had the KKK and the patterrollers just after the war and they influenced us lots. We had to do just about like
they wanted us to if we didn't, we got a real good whipping and beating or else they would hang us to a limb is we
didn't and us negroes we were all afraid of them KKK and the patterrollers.
No sir, they was none of my menfolks that ever tried to vote they were afraid to, then they did not know anything
about voting therefore they let the white folks do all that and they stayed at home and worked. Yes I believes since
our young people have become more educated that they should be allowed more rights and privileges in voting. We
have to pay taxes and send our young boys to war and fight for our country just like our white people do and sure
we have to shoulder the same load of the white man.
From the time the war closed to now son we farmed mostly. Yes we worked some at day laborers on the farm and
I'se taken in a few washings from the white people but that was what we had to do as that was all the negroes was fit
to do. We did have all the things "
