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Fannie Moore Walker, 84, was born a slave in Texas, but she is unable to remember where. She says she was once
owned by a certain Burleson Family. She remembers best the Tom Moores, who owned her and had a large cotton
plantation on Gilliland Creek, near Webberville, Travis County. Fannie's job was to nurse the Moore children.
Fannie has never seen her mother, and says she believes she was sold during slavery. Her father, Richard Luckett,
was owned by the Lucketts and the Washingtons, who probably had plantations near Webberville. Fannie who in
her youth was nicknamed Betty, dislikes to associate with her own race, and says she wants the friendship only of
her "white folks dat was so good to me durin' my whole life." Fannie's father married again after slavery, and his
wife, Caroline, was so unkind to Fannie that she married Charlie Burleson of San Antonio. He rode from San
Antonio to Austin on a burro. Charlie and Fannie had four children, two boys and two girls, all of whom still are
living. When she separated from Charlie, she married Ed Walker. They had two boys, Theodore and Rufus.
Theodore died during the world war. Fannie's husband died in 1930. Fannie lives with her grandson, Theodore
Walker, Jr. at 1613 East 4th Street, Austin, and receives a monthly pension of twelve dollars from the State of
Texas.
"When I was a girl de white folks nicknamed me Betty. My real name was Fannie Moore and some called me
Fannie Burleson. I was owned by more'n one mawster at different times.
"Yo' know dat years and days is hard fo' me to remembah. I don't even know de day or de year ob my birthday, or
jes' how old I is. I must be in de eighties, 'cause I know dat I was a little girl durin' slavery. I don't even know where
I was bawn at.
"When I was a little girl I used to cry and ask my papa, 'Don't I have a mama? Where is she?'
"Papa would say, 'Aw, she's gone. She'll be back, don't you worry.'
"I was owned now by Mawster Tom Moore and Mistress Mary Moore. Dey had a laghe cotton plantation on
Gilliland Creek near Webberville.
"Mistress Mary told me, 'Don't yo' worry, Betty, 'cause Mistress Mary is goin' to take care ob yo' till yo' is free.'
"I'se goin' to stay wid yo' Mistress Mary, till I is grown.'
"I was owned by de Moores and papa was owned by another man. De reason dat mama left me, de other folks told
me was 'cause she was sold to another mawster. I was a little girl den and I never saw mama again. I wouldn't know
her if I saw her if she was livin'.
"Nussin' de Moore chillun was my job, and I liked de chillun.
"One day Mistress Mary told me, 'Betty, yo' is a free girl.'
"I didn't have sense enough to know whut it was all about. All dat I knowed was dat I didn't want to leave Mistress
Mary and de chillun.
"'I is already a free girl, Mistress Mary', I said, 'and I want to stay here wid yo'. I won't go and live wid dem niggers.
I'se goin' to stay here wid yo'.'
"Den some big, black boy come on a big hoss and got me. I set in back ob him. I sure didn't want to go along wid
dat black boy. But, Mistress Mary said dat I would have to go, 'cause he was takin' me home to my papa. He was
livin' on Red River Street, in Austin.
"Jes' befo' I left I laid on de floor ob de front gallery, and Mistress Mary put holes through my ears, so I could wear
some errings. She den put some gold errings through my ears. Dem is de same ones dat yo' see her in my ears.
"Papa had married another woman. Ca'oline was her name. I don't know where he got her, f'om way up de country
somewhere. Ca'oline already had a little girl when she married papa. Den she had me nussin' dat child.
"'Betty,' she told me, 'Yo' take dat baby and nuss her.'
"'Whut baby--dat little nigger? I ain't goin' to nuss no nigger baby. And I ain't goin' to git no whoopin'. Mistress
Mary said dat no nigger is goin' to whoop me.'
"Dat's whut I told Ca'oline. She would scold me and tell me to take care ob Ida.
"'Fannie yo' must mind Ca'oline,' papa would say, 'she's my wife now and yo' mama.'
"'No, she ain't, she ain't my mama.'
"Caroline sure didn't treat me right.
"I stayed wid pap only long enough till Charlie Burleson, a young man, come on a jack f'om San Antonio to Austin,
and married me. I was jes' a child, too. We lived in San Antonio, and had four chillun, two boys and two girls. De
boys is twins. All ob dem chillun is still livin'. Charlie, my husband jes' wasn't no good. He got to runnin' around
wid other wimmen. But he was a good fahmer.
"I moved to Gilliland Creek wid Charlie's mothaw. De chillun was wid me. Den Charlie got to fahmin' on de place.
His mothaw was as mean to me as she could be. One day Charlie went to plow in de field, and dat afternoon he
went fishin' on de Colorado River. He come back wid somethin' dat I never saw befo'. I didn't know whut to do wid
it. Dey said dat it was a turtle, one dat yo' could eat. De next noon Charlie come in f'om de field and he was hungry.
"I called to him, 'Come in here Charlie and see if dis turtle is all right.'
"De turtle was still so tough dat Charlie got mad at me.
"Fannie yo' is de most ignorant little nigger dat I ever saw.'
"'Say mama, why don't yo' show my wife how to cook dat turtle?"
"'I ain't goin' to show her nothin'. Why dem white folks got her so spoiled dat she is plumb crazy.'
"Dat's whut Charlie's mothaw said. Charlie went into de house got de turtle and throwed it out into de yard. He
didn't have nothin' to eat but some cawnbread dat I had baked.
"One day I got enough ob dat. So I told him, 'I'm quittin' yo' nigger. Goodbye Charlie, yo' nigger. I'se packin' my
clothes and I'se goin' to Austin.'
"I went out on de road. A nigger come along in a wagon. It was a Saturday, and he was on his way to Austin to do
some trading.
"'Good mawnin', I told him, "How much would yo' chaghe me to take dis trunk to Austin?"
"'Oh, nothin'" he said. 'Isn't yo' a married woman? Where is yo' husband? Won't he git mad if I take yo'?"
"'Charlie Burleson is my hasband. He isn't good to me and won't help me, so I left him.'
"I went on up to Austin, and stahted to work fo' a white lady on East Third Street. Mrs. Farrell was her name. I
helped her wid work in de house, swept de yards, and nussed her little chillun.
"Den I was married to Ed Walker. We had two boys, Theodore and Rufus. Theodore was killed in de last big war.
I'm stayin' here wid his son. Ed worked in de Miller Hidehouse here in Austin. His son works in de same place
where he use to work. Ed got to drinkin' and I had to go and bring him home. I stayed wid Ed though, till he died in
1930.
"When I married Ed we used to go out and pick cotton. When de weather got too hot fo' me, I would quit pickin'
and go rest in de shade. My good white folks had always treated me so good dat I was spoiled. I thought dat pickin'
twenty-five pounds ob cotton at any time was work.
"When I was bawled out I'd tell 'em, 'I'll go to my good Mawster Tom and Mistress Mary Moore. Dey'll take care ob
me.'
"On de Tom Moore plantation de white chillun tried to show me how to learn my A B C's.
"'Now Betty, yo' come on over here and try to learn to read. Now look at dis letter, dis is A,' Mistress Mary would
say.
"'I'm sure listenin',' I would tell her.
"'Den whut come next?'
"'Den comes B, and den C.'
"But I wasn't wantin' to learn to read. I'd quit and go out and nuss de baby. I never did learn to read and write. Some
folks even come around here now and tell me dat I should learn how to read. I tell dem dat I would take dat money
dat dey spend fo' books and buy me somethin' to eat. My papa tried to git me go to school after slavery. I didn't go. I
jes' didn't want to learn. I'd be crazy if I went to school now, old as I is. I ain't got many more years on dis earth.
"De trubble wid me is dat I never did lak to stay around niggers. One time I was stayin' wid some niggers down at
Webberville and dey made me git some wood f'om de Colorado River bottoms. I got so mad one time dat I saw a
water moccasin snake, and I stuck my foot to its mouth and let it bite me. I had to have a doctah, and he give me a
lot ob whiskey to drink and I soon got better.
"Den dere was de time when us folks would go to de brush arbor camp meetin's.
"De folks de country side over would be told, 'Dere is goin to be a big meetin' at de arbor. Yo' all be sure to come.'
"Dere was times when us folks had to listen to four preachahs. When one got tired de other would staht preachin.
"When one got through he'd say, 'Now brothaw yo' git up and preach.'
"A lot ob trubble stahted dere sometimes. De meetin' lasted fo' three and four days, and a lot ob fightin' would go
on. Or a lot ob stealin' would take place. I would git so tired ob listenin' to dem preachahs, dat I'd git up and go
home. Nowadays, I ain't been to a chu'ch fo' a long time 'cause de fust thing dat dey ask fo' is a dollah to help pay fo'
de chu'ch buildin'. I git only a little pension ob twelb dollahs f'om de state. I need de little money dat I git. I owned a
little fahm at one time, but a nigger cheated me out ob it. It's de white folks dat has always helped me."
(Menn, Alfred E., District No. 9, Travis County, 9-16-37, (Yes))
