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Kate Curry
"I was born in de year 1834, near Shreveport La. an' am a hundred an' four years old. I belonged to Master Jackson
Randle an' lived wid his folks untill I was 'bout ten years old, den he sold me to Sammy Cole who brung to Texas
jes befo' de Mexican War. I had seen Texas go thro' four wars, de war wid Mexico, bekase de United States took
Texas into de Union, de Civil War an' de Spanish American War an' de big World War.
"Sammy Cole sold me to a Methodist preacher named Renfro, an' I kin 'member 'bout de first thing after I cum to
Texas 'bout de Gold Rush to California an' de United States soljers a passin' thro' Texas on dey way to fight de
Mexicans, dey had on de blue suits an' de brass buttons on dem. De nex' thing I 'members de best is how de Massa
Renfro would ride horse-back from one place to another to preach, dis is w'en dey is livin' on de Red River in North
Texas.
Massa Renfro gib me to his daughter Mistis Mary, an' w'en she married Massa Prendergast I went wid her to dis
town of Springfield, close to whar I is livin' now. Yes, mam, hit a long time ago, an' I may git de times mixed up,
but I will try to tell you de way we lived an' some of de things dat happened in dem days. I kin 'member livin' in
Louisiana an' how dat we lived on a big plantation dat was close to de river, an' how dat de w'ite an' black chillun
bof' would go down to de river to watch de steam-boats cumin' by from New Orleans to Shreveport, dey was de
grandes' sight I had ever seen, wid de smoke cumin'
out of de smoke stacks an' de engine puffin' away. De log rafts for de boats would be put in de front of de boats wid
de freight on de rafts. De folks would ride on de boat an' have dey little cabins on hit an' w'en dey has de music an'
dey wants to see what is goin' on dey goes up on de deck.
"De other things I kin 'member on de old plantation back in Louisiana was de nigger cabins whar we all lived, an' de
big house dat de Massa an' de Misses lived in. Dey had de house an' de field slaves, I waited on de Misses an' she
had de cook's, de house gal, an' de sewin' gal's to do de work besides de ole Auntie dat nuss de chillun, an' de Massa
had his own house servants too, an' de ones for de outside all had dey own work to do, like de coach man, de stable
boy an' de body servant for himself.
"De big house was facin' de river, wid de cabins for de slaves down de hill back of de big house, dis is whar we go
to de river to see de boats cum in. Den w'en de Massa an' de Misses had dey folks from Shreveport an' on up to
Memphis to cum an' see dem, dey always went to de river to take dem a ridin' on de boats an' to show dem how dey
kin go fishin' down on de river.
"Louisiana was a pretty wid de flowers an' de wild haw, de dogwood an' de woodbine an' all de rest of de wild
flowers dat bloom in de spring time. Den dey was de cane brakes whar so many of de run-a-way slaves hide, but
dey trail dem wid de blood-hounds, if dey could git away from dem any whar hit was in de canebrakes.
"Other things dat I kin 'member was how dat we had de ole time meeting in de ole brush arbor, how de ole preacher
was a w'ite man dat go from one place to another to hold de big meetin's, de w'ite folks go an' take de slaves an' de
slaves sit on de back seats. W'en dey had de baptizin' down at de river, de w'ite folks be baptized first an' den some
of de slaves. Dey sing de ole timey songs like,
"Read in de Bible, understan', Methuselah was de oldest man, Lived nine hundred sixty nine, Died an' got to Heben
in de Lawd's own time------Methuselah was a witness, Fuh my Lawd, Fuh my Lawd."
"Dey all sing high den low, an' dey sway as dey sing an' keep de time to de music, dey keep on a singin' 'bout how
Samson was a witness an' den how,
Daniel was a Hebrew chile, an' went to de Lawd to pray while God tole de angels de lions to keep, whilst Daniel lay
down to sleep------an' dat's another witness. Fuh my Lawd, Fuh my Lawd."
by de time dey git thro' de song den hit time for de shoutin', an' dey end de meetin' wid shoutin' an' singin'.
"Dey had de all-day singin's too, like de brush arbor meetin's, den dey has de dinner on de groun' an' dey all goes
home happy, dis was de w'ite folks way an' dey take de nigger house slaves along to set de dinner an' to wait on dem
an' clean up after dem, whilst dey visit wid each other. Den dey has de ole timey dances too, dey has de dances in de
winter time an' de meetin's an' singin's in de summer time.
"Dis was befo' de time de big War between de Nawth an' de Souf cum, an' whilst we was slaves of Jackson Randle
in Louisiana, 'bout dis time he sold me to Sammy Cole who brung me to Texas an' sold me to Massa Renfro dat
lived on de Red River. I stayed in de house wid de Misses Renfro, an' de young Mistis Mary dat dey gib me to until
she married Massa Prendergast. I does not 'member so much 'bout Massa Prendergast, for de war cum an' so he had
to go an' dey is livin' at ole Springfield, right close to whar I lives now, so Massa Prendergast takes de young Mistis
Mary back to stay wid her folks on de Red River while de goes to de war.
"I stay on at ole Springfield for I has married my ole man, Page Curry. We live at de same place an' takes keer of hit
for de young Massa an' de young Misses. De Judge Prendergast an' Col. Henry helped to git Trinity University here
by givin' dem big pieces of land fo' hit. In a place 'bout ten miles from ole Springfield, dey had what dey call de
Central Institute, an' had John Parker for de head of hit, dis was a school for boys. Dis was 'bout ten years after de
war was over, as well as I kin 'member.
"Springfield was de County Seat untill de railroad cum an' dey moved de town to Grosbeck, dey had four different
Courthouses built in dis town befo' dey moved hit, de first was w'at dey called a palasade, built right on de edge of
de lake, den dey built a log house, den a plank, den a brick on de hill, dis last was burned down, but you can still see
whar hit was right down in front of my house now.
"Our doctor was Dr. Starley, he was my fambly [doctor] as long as he lived, I 'members his young daughter Mistis
Amantha Starley, de young
Mistis of de ole Springfield would always go to see de new babies, for she would know 'bout dem, many is de time
she cum to see mine. On a Sunday de young folks has dey horse-shoe pitching an' dey foot-races, after dey has gone
to church.
"Did yer ever go an' see de cemetery? You kin find de ole time famblies by dey lots an' read de tombstones. Dey is
Dr. Brookins who was killed by de Mexicans, den de Haynie lot an' de Alsobrook, de Morris, de Coles an' de
Peoples, who cum from Alabama. Den dey is Robert McElroy who married Mistis Betty Prendergast an' jes lived a
year. Yer kin see de Stroud family lot wid de names of de ole Massa Logan Stroud an' de Mistis Jane, an' dey
chillun William, Ethan, Beden, Owens an' Suda.
"De ole famblies mos' all is represented here an' dey sleep de long, long sleep. I has gone to many of dey funerals. I
wonders why dat dey who had so much to live for had to go an' ole folks like me stay here, but maybe de Lawd
think dat my chillun needed me de most. I had fifteen, but jes raised four to be grown an' am livin' wid my boy Ben,
now.
"I forgot to tell yer 'bout ole man Abe Anglin, he was livin' in de Fort Parker w'en hit was raided by de Indians, but
he was gone w'en dey cum, de story goes. But w'en he an' Ervay Faulkenberry cum back dey mos' run into de
Indians, dey jump in de river an' swim across an' de Indians shoot him wid arrows, but he meets some other folks
dat carried him wid arrows, but he meet some other folks dat carried him to de Fort after de Indians gone an' took
keer of him. Ole Abe was de only man to escape de Indians so he lived on near ole Springfield an' raised a fambly.
He married one of de Falkenberry girls.
"My Young Massa Prendergast an' de Young Mistis cum here after dis happen' but hit is one of de ole stories dat
was handed down to us. 'Nuther story 'bout dis Fort was how w'en de Indians raided hit dey took some w'ite
medicine an' w'en dey had dey war dance dey painted demselves w'ite wid hit, an' all dat was painted died. Dis
medicine was arsenic.
"Dey is so many things dat happen in de days after de war, dey was de times dat de nigger regiment cum close by
an' dey had de trouble wid de w'ite folks, an' dey has one stationed over at Tyler, dis was w'en de Ku-Klux got busy
an' w'en de w'ite folks was afraid to go anywhere at night, de Ku-Klux would ride up an' down de country wid dey
long w'ite robes on an' dey fiery red cross holdin' up over dey heads, an' if de nigger gib dem back any of his sass
dey be maybe a dead nigger hangin' to a tree de nex' mornin'. Hit was'nt long untill de nigger soljers leave an' don't
bother de w'ite folks any more.
"Den dey was de bad nigger of de town, Merrick Trammel, who dey say kill Massa Applewhite in de center of de
crossin' of Navasoto an' Ellis Streets in Grosbeck, an' dis caused de soljers to be put in Grosbeck, an' dat caused so
much trouble. He was finally killed by a w'ite horse-thief, who was staying wid Trammel in his cave on de Navasoto
river. Some of de freed niggers tried to be officers an' so de w'ite folks jes nacheraly would'nt stand for hit, dis was
'nuther reason dey had de trouble.
"After de railroad, (de Houston an' Texas Central,) from Dallas to de town of Houston cum, den dey missed Ole
Springfield 'bout two or three miles kase de w'ite folks dat had de land wanted too much for hit, an' so dey pass by
de town jes a few miles an' dey build de town's of Grosbeck an' Mexia. An' so de ole town whar I am still livin' is
jes a ghost of dem other days, jes some of de freed nigger's an' few ones lives here, we has our school an' our
church, but de w'ite folks all gone down to Grosbeck an' up to Mexia.
"W'en dey moved de town to Grosbeck dey moved de Court House an' dey has had two or three Court Houses since
hit was built, an up an' down de river by ole Springfield dey is buildin' a Government C.C.C. camp to train de boys,
an' dey is building a big Lake dey is callin' Lake Springfield. Dis will be a fine place to go fishin' but de w'ite folks
may like hit de bes', but de ole timers, I 'speck, will be like de ole nigger, dey feel like dey is nothin' like de ole river
an' de ole times w'en dey go fishin' on hit w'en dey fust cum to ole Springfield.
"De Highway from Dallas to Houston goes mos' by my door, an' hit long way back to de days w'en young Massa
Prendergast brung his young wife an' some of de slaves, includin' myself, to dis place, in de cove wagon dey had
instid of de automobile everybody goes in now. But dem was de bes' days, we had so much to do to git our home
started, den we had to wait for de war to be over, an' hit was a man an' a woman's big job to make de start all over,
but dey did dis, an' now hit seems dey all gone but me. But dey did dey part an' I has done mine.
Reference: Interview with Kate Curry, (Old Springfield) R.F.D., Mart Grosbeck, Tex.
Heloise M. Foreman Dallas, Texas District #4 (September 1, 1937 (Yes))
