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MILLIE FORWARD, about 95 years old, was born a slave of Jason Forward, in Jasper, Texas. She has spent her
entire life in that vicinity, and now lives in Jasper with her son, Joe McRay. Millie has been totally blind for fifteen
years and is very deaf.
"Us used to live 'bout four mile east of Jasper, on de Newton Highway. I reckon I's 'bout 95 year old and I thank de
Lawd I's been spared dis long. Some my old friends say I's 100, and maybe I is. I feels like it.
"I's born in Alabama and mammy have jus' got up when de white folks brung us out west. Pappy's name Jim
Forward and mammy name Mary. Dey lef' pappy in Alabama, 'cause he 'long to 'nother massa.
"My massa name Jason Forward and he own a lot of slaves. I work as housegirl and wait on de white women.
Missus name am Sarah Ann Forward. Massa Jason he own de fust drugstore in Jasper. I have de sister, Susan, and
de brudder, Tom. Massa and missus, dey treats us jes' like dey us pappy and mammy.
"Us have more to eat den dan us do now. Us never was knowed to be without meat, 'cause massa raise plenty pigs.
Us have fish and possum and coon and deer and everything. Us have biscuits and cakes too, but us drink bran meal
coffee. Massa and missus has no chillun and dey give us feast and have biscuits and cake. Befo' Christmas massa go
to town and buy all kinds candy and toys and say, 'Millie, you go out on de gallery and holler and tell Santy not
forgit fill your stockin' tonight.' I holler loud as I can and nex' mornin' my stockin' chock full.
"After freedom come, us stays right on with massa and missus. Massa teach school for us at night. Us learn A B C
and how spell cat and dog and niggers Den one day he git cross and scold us and us didn't go back to school no
more. Us didn't have sense 'nough to know he tryin' do us good.
"Den missus git sick, but she dat good, dat when one cullud man git drown in de 'river she sit up in bed and make he
shroud and massa feed de whole crowd de two days dey findin' de body. After him bury, missus git worse and says
'Jason, pull down de blind, de light am so bright it hurt my eyes.' Den a big, white crane come light on de chimney
and us chillen throw rocks at him, but he jes' shake he head and ruffle he feathers and still sit dere. I tells you dat de
light of Heaven shinin' on missus and iffen ever a woman went dere, she did. She de bes' white woman I ever see.
De day she die, I cry all day.
"When de sojers go to de war, every man take a slave to wait on him and take care he camp and cook. After de end
of war, when de sojers gwine home, don't know how many Yankees pass through Jasper, but it sound like de roar of
a storm comin'. Every officer have he wife ridin' right by he side. Dey wives come to go home with dem. Dey
thousands bluecoats, ridin' two abreas'.
"When I young lady, dey have tourn'ments at Adrian Ryall place west of Jasper and de one what cotch de hoss
bridle de most times, git crown queen. I gits to be queen every time. I looks like a queen now, doesn't I?
"After us git free a long time, me and Susan and Tom us work hard and buy us de black land farm. But de deed git
burnt up and us didn't know how to git 'nother deed, and a young nigger call McRay, he come fidlin' 'round me and
makin' love to me. He find out us don't have no deed no more and he claim dat farm and take it 'way from us and
leave me with li'l baby boy what I names Joe Millie McRay. But never 'gain. I never marries.
"Us done work in de cotton field and wash many a long day to pay for dat farm. But dat boy growed to be a good
men and I live with him and he wife now. And he boy, Bob, am better still. He jes' work so hard and he buy fine li'l
home in Jasper and marry de bes' gal, mos' white. Dey have nice fur'ture and gas and lights and everything.
"Dey treat us purty good in slavery days but I'd rather be free, but it purty hard to be blind so long and most deaf,
too, but I thank de Lawd I's not sufferin'. I gits de pension of 'leven dollars a month. I's so old I can't 'member much,
only sometime, things comes to me I thought I forgot long time ago. I's had it purty hard to pay for de farm and den
have it stoled from me when I's old and blind, but de good Lawd, he know all 'bout it and we all got to stand 'fore de
jedgment some day soon.
Forward, Millie -- Additional Interview
She is a little woman about 95 years of age, five feet in height, and weighs perhaps a hundred pounds. Millie
Forward, once the slave of Jason Forward, has spent her entire life in the vicinity of Jasper. For the past fifteen
years, she has been totally blind, and almost deaf. She has a head of white, kinky hair, and a large goiter on the right
side of her neck. Millie has thick lips and regular negro features. She is very conscientious. When asked if she could
not tell a story about the war, she seemed shocked, and, turning her old blind eyes imploringly toward her
daughter-in-law, she said, "A story? No Ma'am, I always tells de troof."
"We lib 'bout fo' mile' eas' of Jasper on de Newton Highway. I reckon I's 'bout 95 year' ol', and I t'ank de Lawd I's
been spared dis long. Some of my ol' fren' say I's over a hunnerd and mebbe I is. I feels like it. I's been blin' and
almost de'f for fifteen year' or mo'. I was bo'n in Al'bama. Mudder hab jes' got up w'en de w'ite folks brung her out
Wes'. Fadder name's Jim Forward, and Mudder name' Mary Forward. Dey brung Mudder wes' and lef' Fadder in
Al'bama, 'cause Daddy he b'long to anudder marster, and Mudder dey cook. Nebber seed my gran' parents, dey stay
in Al'bama."
"My marster' name was Jason Forward. He own' a lot of slaves.
I wuk as house gal and wait' on de w'ite wimmen. My missus name was Sarah Ann Forward. Marse Jason Forward,
he own de fus' drug sto' in Jasper. It was w'ere Mistah Fish' sto' is now."
"I nebber git marry. I has a sister Susan and a brudder, Tom. My ol' marster and missus, dey treat' us jes' like dey
was our fadder and mudder. But if a darkey was mean, dey whip 'im. My fadder and mudder and all my folks dey
was slaves. Us hab mo' to eat in slav'ry times dan us hab now. I wouldn' eat turnip greens w'en us hab 'em for
dinnah, so Missus say, 'Well, Millie, go to de cubbard and git yo' dinnah.'"
"We nebber was knowed to be widout meat 'cause Marster he raise plenty pigs. We hab fish, 'possum, 'coon, deer
and eb'ryt'ing. We bile de 'possum, den bake 'em wid 'taters, if us want 'im dat way, otherwise, us didn'. Us hab
biscuits and cake, too, and all but coffee. We miss dat so much, and hab to drink meal bran coffee."
"Marster and Missus hab no chillen of dere own. W'en Marster hab birthday, he give us all feas' and hab biscuits,
cake and eb'ryt'ing, and I so spoil' in dem days, I wouldn' eat de cake 'less it were fresh. I didn' know it den, but
befo' Chris'mus, Marse Forward would go to town and buy all kinds of candy and toys. Den he say, 'Millie, you go
out on de porch and holler and tell Santa not fo'git to fill yo' stockin' tonight.'"
"I'd go out and holler, 'Oh, Santa, please put sumpin' in my stockin' tonight.' Den Marse say, 'Call louder.' Den I
holler loud as I could. Nex' mo'nin' my stockin' be chock full."
"Atter freedom come, us stay right on wid marster and missus. Marster teach school for us at night. We learn' our A,
B, C, and how to spell cat, dog, and nigger. Den, one day, he git cross and holler at us and scold, and so we lef' dat
w'ite man, and didn' go back to school no mo'. Us didn' hab sense 'nuff to know he tryin' to do us good."
"Den Missus git sick, but she dat good, dat w'en one cullud man git drown in de ribber, she sit up in bed and mek
him shroud, and Marster fed de hull crowd de two days dey findin' he body."
"Atter him bury, Missus git wuss and say, 'Jason, pull down de blin'. He say, 'W'at for you want me to pull down de
blin'? She say, 'Oh, de light gittin' so bright, it hurts my eyes.'"
"Den a big, w'ite crane come and light on de chimbly. Us chillen frow rocks at him, but he jes' shake he head and
ruffle he fedders, and still sit dar. I tells you dat was de light of heaven shinin' on her, and iffen ebber a woman went
dar, she did. She de bes' w'ite woman I ebber see. De day she die', I cry all day, I couldn' he'p it."
"Durin' de war, we wo' home-spun clo's, and de fust pair of shoe' I hab is made at de tan yard. W'en de sojers go to
war, eb'ry man tuk a slave wid 'im to wait on 'im, and tek care of de camp and cook. We didn' see no fightin', but
heerd dem tell how de Yankees mek our sojers run 'til dey was dyin' of thirst, and dey stop and drink outen holes
wid maggots in dem."
"Atter de close of de war, w'en de sojers gwine home, don' know how many Yankees pass t'rough Jasper, but it
sound like de roar of a storm comin', and eb'ry officer hab he wife ridin' right by he side. Dey wives come to go
home wid dem. Dey was t'ousan's of blue-coats, all ridin' two a-bres' (abreast)."
"W'en I young lady, dey uster hab tournaments at de Adrian Ryall place wes' of Jasper, and de one w'at caught de
hoss' bridle de mos' times, git crown' "queen of de tournament," and I git to be "queen" eb'ry time. (Laughing), I
looks like a "queen" now, don' I?"
"Atter us git free, me and sister Susan, and brudder Tom, we all wuk hard and buy us a black lan' farm. But atter a
long time, de deed git bu'n (burn) up and us didn' know how to git anudder deed, and a young nigger name' McRay,
come foolin' 'roun' me, and mekkin' love to me, and he find out we don' hab no deed no mo', and he claim' de farm
and tuk it 'way fum us, and leabe me wid li'l baby boy dat I name' Joe Millie McRay. But nebber ag'in."
"Us done wuk in de cotton fiel' and wash many a long day to pay for dat farm. But dat boy grow' to be a good man,
and I lib wid 'im and he wife now. And his boy, Bob, am bettah, still. He jes' wuk so hard, and he buy fine li'l home
in Jasper, and marry de bes' gal, mos' w'ite. Dey hab nice furni'chure, and gas and lights and eb'ryt'ing. I et dinnah
wid dem de Fo'th and dey sho' had ice cream and a feas'."
"In slav'ry days, de w'ite folks didn' read de Bible to us, and dey go to chu'ch at Col' Springs and Magnolia Springs,
and leabe de chillen at home. W'en I ol' 'nuff to go, dey preach to de w'ite folks at 'leben o'clock, den ring de bell at
one for de cullud. Everett Armstrong, he my fav'rite preacher, he preach to all dem at once. I jine de Mef'dis Chu'ch
at Col' Springs under Rev. Payne. Dey sung all de ol' songs and a new one dey call, 'We's Walkin' Down to de
Tomb."
"Dey treat' us good in slav'ry days, but I rudder be free, but it purty hard to be blin' so long, and mos' de'f, too, but I
t'ank de Lawd I's not sufferin'. I gits a pension of 'leben dollahs a mont'. I's so ol' I can' 'member much, on'y
sometime', t'ings come to me dat I t'ought I done forgit long time 'go. I wukked as house gal and didn' see much of
de ruff (rough) side of slav'ry days w'en I was young. But I's had it purty hard to pay for de farm and den hab it
stole' fum me w'en I's ol' and blin', but de good Lawd, he know all 'bout it, and we all got to stan' befo' de Jedgment
some day soon."
Gauthier, Sheldon F. Tarrant Co., Dist. #7 (9-21-37 (Yes))
