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SALLY BANKS CHAMBERS. wife of Ben Chambers of Liberty, does not know her age. She was born a slave of
Jim Moore, in Oakland, Louisiana. Sally has been married three times and has had seven children, about 54
grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Heavy gold earrings hang from her ears and she dresses, even in
midsummer, in a longsleeved calico shirt, heavy socks and shoes, and a sweeping skirt many yards wide.
"Befo' I marry de first time my name am Sally Banks, and I's borned in de old states, over in Louisiana, round
Oakland. I ain't 'member nothin' 'bout dat place, 'cause I's so small when dey brung me to Texas.
"Old massa name Jim Moore. He a fair old gen'man, with a big bald place on he head, and he an good to de slaves.
Not even as stric' as old missus, what was de big, stout woman. She am terrible stric', but she whip de li'l white
chillen too, so dey be good.
"My daddy name John Moore and mama name Car'line, and dey borned in Louisiana. My grandpa was Lewis
Moore and grandma name Polly, but dey wasn't reg'lar Africy people. My grandma, she have right smart good blood
in her.
"When old massa come to Texas he brung us over first by wagon, a mule wagon with a cover over de top, and he
rent de house close to Liberty. But de nex' year he find a place on de river bottom near Grand Cane and it jes' suit
him for de slaves he have, so he brung all de rest over from Louisiana.
"My mama have four chillen when us come to Texas, but she have eleven more after freedom. When war broke out
she have six, but she multiply after dat. She de milker and washwoman and spinner, and make de good, strong
clothes.
"Dey have li'l separate houses make outten logs for us slaves. De white folks house was one dese big, old
double-pen house, with de hall down de middle. Dey have right nice things in it.
"De white folks 'lowance out de food every Saturday night and dat spose last de week. All de cullud folks cook for
deyself 'cept'n de single mens, and dey eats up in de big kitchen. Us have syrup and cornbread and lots of sweet
'taters and homecure' meat what dey salt down and hang in de smokehouse.
"De old missus, she ain't 'low no dancin' or huzzawin' round dat place, 'cause she Christian. Dey 'low us Saturday
and Sunday off, and de women do dey own washin den'. De menfolks tend to de gardens round dey own house. Dey
mite some cotton and sell it to massa and git li'l money dat way. Us don't never have no presents, but dey give
eatments mostly.
"De young massas both go to war. Dey John Calhoun Moore and William. De oldes' goes crazy, kind of shellshock
like. As far as I knowed, he ain't never git no more better. Young William and de old man comes back without no
scratch, but dey ain't serve long. All dey three 'lists by deyselfs, 'cause dey didn't have no truck with dem
conscrip'ers. One my uncles, Levy Moore. he go to war to wait on de massas, and he struck with de fever at Sabine
Pass and die right dere.
"After freedom riz up, old massa come home. Den he call all de growed folks and tell dem dey's free. A heap left,
dey jes' broke ranks and left. My daddy and mama both stay. Dey de fav'rites. Old missus make present to my mama
of a heap of things she need. But de white folks was jus' rentin'. and when dey have no slaves no more dey give it up
and move to Tarkington Prairie. Us lost track of dem and ain't never seed dem no more.
"My daddy come back to Liberty den and work in de woodyard. Mama she larn me to work and cook and sich and
hire me out to nuss a white baby. I ain't knowed how much dey pay, 'cause mama she collec' de money.
"I's 19 year old when I marry de first time. You know I got two dead men, dat Dick Owens and Nero Williams, both
of Liberty. I has two gals, Alice and Airy, for Dick, and five chillen for Nero. Dey all dead but Adlqwyer and
Mamie, and dey lives right here. I been marry some thirty odd year to Ben Chambers but us ain't never have no
chillen.
"Goodness, I dunno how many grandchillen I has. I jedge 'bout 54 in all and 13 great ones.
"I loves to work and I ain't gwineter beg. though I's got too old to do much. I can't take it but a li'l at a time, but I
gits by somehow.
Chesley, Harriet
Harriet Chesley: Born a slave of the Dr. Mahon family in Harrison County, Texas. Five miles south of Marshall on
Hwy. #8. Later married Louis Chesley and moved to Marshall where he worked in the Cartwheel Foundry. Now
lives at 108 Davis St., Marshall, Texas
"I was 'bout 12 years old when de Niggers was freed. My father's name was George Thomas and my mother was
named Kate Thomas. My brudder's and sister's was named Sarah, Paralee, Reita, John, Will, Edmon, Charley and
Harry.
"We live in box houses and slep' on wood beds. I had a hard time and had to work in the fiel' all the time. I never
did have no shoes even in the cold winter. That's the reason I have such a cole' all the time now. Dr. Mahon was a
good man, but he wanted us to work. My father worked on halves so he made us work. We et co'nbread, peas, grits
and lots of rabbits and 'possums. My mama cooked on the fireplace. We didn't know what a stove was. We had our
own garden and chickens. The plantation was large and had four or five families livin' in it. The niggers use to go to
the fiel' at daylight and stay till dark, den they would eat supper and go to bed. No, I didn't learn to read and write. I
was so mean and fought all the chilluns' 'till they wouldn't let me go to school. The slaves had a church where dey
went ever' Sunday. The Niggers' didn't work on Saturday evenin' but the women fo'ks washed and den ironed on
Saturday night. On Sunday evenin' we would wrop our hair and rest. We didn't have to work on Christmas. Us
chillens' would sot and watch up the chimley for Santa Claus, 'cause our parents tole us he would come but he never
did. I don't know what made them tell us such lies. We would cry 'cause he didn't come to see us. All the Niggers
would have a big meetin' at the chu'ch house on New Year's and pray for each other. We would pray all night long
and shake hands, cry and shout. Fo'ks had more 'ligion than they does now. Fo'ks ain't got no 'ligion now. The only
fun we ever had was when we would have co'n shuckins and guitar playins'. We would all go to some Nigger's
house and somebody would play the guitar. We didn't know nothin' 'bout no piano or nothin' but the guitar and
fiddle. We would have cake cuttings and put money in the cake and pay to cut to see how much we could win. We
useta play marbles and make rubber shooters and shoot birds, I had me a bow and arrow and useta shoot at fo'ks
houses and Ma said if I didn't quit they would put me in jail. I still carries my rabbit foot in my pocket. I 'member
one time I seed a haint but I ain't scared of 'em. Thar was a woman lived nex' door to me and my husban' what died
and when she died she wanted to take her baby with her and cried too but she couldn't. After she died wouldn't
nobody live in dat house but nearly eve'y night the whole house would be lit up and you could see her over thar
goin' from room to room lookin' for her baby. We use to take herbs, sassfrass tea and red oak bark tea when us was
sick. My ma made me wear asafetida around my neck to keep from gittin' sick.
I married Louis Chesley, but I don't know how ole' I was. I was 'bout grown. I was out in de fiel' workin' and ma
called me to the house, and tole me that Louis wanted to marry me. I was glad to git to marry anybody so I could
quit workin' in the fiel' and I laked him too. I married in my cotton dress what I had on workin' in. I don' forgot the
preacher's name but I 'members my husbin' brought him a bottle of wine and I didn't know what it was 'cause we
didn't have no whiskey and wine.
I jez' do 'member when we was freed, but we hollered and tole all the other Niggers. We didn't move from whar we
was livin'.
I had four chillens'. One is daid, one cooks for a man in Marshall, one with a minstrel in Oklahoma, one in Kansas
City, one worked in WPA Sewing Room in Marshall. One of my grandchillens' lives with me and I don't know
whether de others got any or not. I don't hear from them.
Miss Effie Cowan, P.W. McLennan County, Texas District #8 (March 12, 1938 (No))
