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Laura Ray, tall, erect, white haired and still active for a person of her age, lives about six miles out on the Carey
Lake road north west of Jacksonville. Laura was on her front porch when I visited her and greeted me with a hearty
welcome, showing that she was pleased to have some one sit and talk over old times with her. Taking off her glasses
and laying her patching aside she gave the following account of her life.
If I make no mistake I was born in 1853, about three miles west of the site of Old Jacksonville 'bout eight years old
when the war started. I well remember how the cannons an guns roared but I never saw any dead nor wonded folks.
I was the property of Mr. Ned Ragsdale. He usta live in Mississippi but brought my father and mother, Henry and
Laura Jacobs who had one child at that time, a daughter, Henrietta. Mr. Ned brought them from Tennessee. I dis
remembers jes' how many slaves Massa Ned had, but that was Joe Dickson, Joe Grimes, Eliza Cotton and others.
They were no kin to me. Massa Ned an his wife Miss Matilda had a big home and several chillun. Two of Massa
Neds chillun are still livin, a boy and girl. I can't say how many acres in Massa Neds plantation but I know it was a
large place. He had five cabins in his yard, and there was lots of big trees that made good shades to play an work
under.
The slaves all ate in the main big kitchen which was a big
log room. Yessum, we ate all three meals in the big kitchen, but there was one woman, Henrietta Cotton that cooked
for the slaves, then Maia Bobbit done the cookin an servin for Massa Ned's family.
Miss Matilda has a brother named Gibless that heard the call and was kilt. The slaves didn't go places thout passes.
Somethimes the older ones or grown folks went to balls but must have passes so the paterrollers wouldn't get 'em.
We chillun didn't know many games to play 'cept 'Pisin Oak', a ring game.
We had church services once a month. The white folks went to church in the mownin an then the same preacher
would preach to us in the atter-noon. Massa Ned had a milk house built down by the spring fixed so's the water
would run thru the big trouf all the time. The trouf whar he kep the big buckets o'milk.
My fust work was totin water from the spring, sweepin yards an seein atter the chickens.
Liza was the milker and Aunt Tob allus fed the chillun under a large post oak tree. Massa Ned let the chillun sleep
till sun up, he says he think they grow better what they sleep a little longer. The hans got up early, ole Jack woke'm
up by blowin a hon'. For supper Aunt Tob fed us con-bread an pot-liker an honey and milk. I still likes honey jus'
like I usta. The field hans got thirty minutes for dinner.
Some times the slaves would knit an spin at night an at odd times. Aunt Tob was the spinner an Aunt Narciss the
weaver. The loom was in the kitchen.
In the summer the only dresses we wore were jus' plain ones with a draw-string in the neck. Yessum, Jus' wore the
one piece.
Massa Ned allus bought us a pair o'shoes in the winter, and we got candy for Christmas. He didn't have no driver as
I remember but Mr. Norris McAnnally a white man was the over-seer. Massa Ned was so good to us an we loved
them so, that when we were sot free, my mother an us chillun stayed on thar for several years. My father and mother
separated but he would allus come back to see us and helped to sell the cotton in the fall.
I was twenty when I married George Ray. We rode hosses to Jacksonville where Squire Chessher married us. I had
three chillun, two girls an a boy. The boy is still livin but in bad health, worked for Railroad, last I heard of him he
was in the Hospital at Texarkana. I married the second time to Joe Mitchell, but we had no chillun.
(Foreman, Heloise M., Dallas, 5 July 1937, (yes)) "
