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Mrs. Mary Anne Patterson, 97, was born somewhere in Louisiana. She doesn't know her exact age but says she is
between 97 and 102 years old. She was brought to Texas by a Mr. Turner when she was only eighteen months old.
She and her mother were purchased by Colonel Aaron Burleson of Rogers' Hill, Travis County, where they
remained until emancipation. She says Colonel Burleson gave his slaves a fair deal and was kind to them. When she
was twenty years old she married Alexander Patterson. After emancipation she and her husband rented land from
Joshua Patterson. They had fifteen children, six of whom are living. She had had no education and says she can
neither read nor write. Mrs. Patterson owns a farm of thirty-six acres near Rogers' Hill and gets about sixty dollars a
year in rent. She lives with her daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Lee, at 1304 Red River Street, Austin, Texas. Her story:
"Way back yonder my name was Mary Anne Burleson. I was bawn in Louisiana, but I don' know jes' where. I'se
anywhere f'om 97 to 102 years old. I know it was tol' dat I was brought to Texas when I was eighteen months old. A
Mr. Turner sold me and mama to Colonel Aaron Burleson. Mawster Burleson bought both of us, 'cause he was a
good man and he didn't believe in separatin' a chile f'om its mammy. I do think dat man has gone to hebben.
I don' know nothin' about my papa. We was jes' brought f'om Louisiana, me and mama, out here to Texas. All I
remembah is dat mama's name was Lucy Burleson.
When I growed up it was my job to wet nuss Rufe Burleson. Dah was nothin' de matter wid him, but his mama jes'
didn't have enough milk fo' him.
I helped wid de work in de "loom room". I had to do "five cuts a day", but I was fast enough to make eight cuts a
day. I made five cuts fo' de white folks and three fo' myself.
It was durin' cotton pickin' dat I learned to count a little. I picked my cotton, brought it to the wagon and listened to
'em countin' on de scales. Putty soon I could of counted my own cotton. Sometimes Mawster Burleson would come
to de field and weigh cotton fo' us. He was good to us, and he never did lak fo' de wimmen to lift too much. When a
woman had a chile and no husband to take care of her, Mawster Burleson would make a man go out and chop wood
fo' her and dat slave had better act lak he wanted to. Mawster Burleson was so good to us, dat he never had jes' plain
cabins fo' us. He had lumber hauled f'om de Bastrop pineries and he built us slaves good wood dwellin's. Mawster
Burleson had his plantation on Rogers' Hill, east of Austin.
I know dat mama said how she had to help grub de new land on which Mawster Burleson had his plantation.
Now, let me tell you about de cooks. Mawster Burleson had a cook fo' de big house and he had a cook fo' de slaves.
Dah was a kitchen in de big house fo' de white folks, and dah was a kitchen and long table fo' de hands. We had
putty good vittles. I remembah we had so much hog meat dat we'd throw de hogs' head and feet away. Mawster
Burleson raised his own hogs. Everythin' dat ole mawster et, we had it too. Sometimes we et deer meat and dah was
times when we had bear meat and honey. Mawster Burleson had his own bees.
I remembah how at sweet potato time mama would sneak out to de patch and scratch up some sweet potatoes. When
Mawster Burleson found de potatoes gone, he'd jes' say, "now, I know nobody done dis but ole Lucy."
I seen many a Injun. I seen 'em in droves. Dem Injuns never bothered us. Dah was one Injun whose name was
Placedo. Ole Placedo and his son would come on down to Mawster Burleson's place, and ole mawster would give
'em plenty of food. When de Injuns come near, de cattle would 'low and cut-up, 'cause day knowed when Injuns was
around.
I was about twenty years old when I married Alex Patterson. Alex was brought f'om Tennessee to Texas and he was
owned by Mawster Joshua Patterson. He had a fahm at Rogers' Hill. After freedom, we rented land f'om Mawster
Joshua Patterson and lived on de place fo' about seben years.
Me and Alex had fifteen chillun. Six of de chillun is still livin'. Dah is two in Texas, two in California, one in
Oklahoma, and one in Kansas.
I got my pension fo' six months, and got only seben dollars a month. I don' git no pension now. I owns a little fahm
of thutty six acres out near Rogers' hill. I gits sixty dollahs a year fo' de rentin' out of de land. And now de folks
wants me to sell it. But, my husband bought dat place, and I wants to keep it. I know dis much: I'se worked harder
since after freedom dan I ever worked befo' freedom.
(6-4-38)
