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Mrs. Georgina Giwbe, an ex-slave, resides at 707 Lindsey Avenue, Portamouth, Virginia. The old lady marveled at the great change that has been made in the clothings, habits and living conditions of the Negro since she was a child. She described the clothing of the slaves in a calm manner, "All of de cloth during slavery time was made on de loom. My mastah had three slaves who worked in de loom house. After de cloth was made, mastah sent hit over town to a white woman who made hit in clothes. We had to knit all our stockings and gloves. We'd plait blades of wheat to make us bonnets. We had to wear wooden bottom shoes. Dere won't no stores, so we growed everything we et, an' we'd make everything we'd near."
"We had a washing house. Dere was five women who done de washing an' ironing. Dey had to make de soap. Dat was done by letting water drip over oak ashes. Dis made oak ash lye, and dis was used in making soap. After de clothes had soaked in dis lye-soap and water, dey put de clothes on tables and beat 'em 'till dey was white."
"Mastah give us buts to live in. De beds was made of long boards dat was mailed to de wall. De mattress was stuffed wif straw and pine tags. De only light we had was frox de fire-place. We didn't use no matches, 'stead we'd strick a rock on a piece of steel. We'd let the sparks fall on some cotton."
"My mastah had 'bout five hundred slaves. He'd never sell none of his slaves, but he'd always buy more. Dat keeps de slaves from marrying in dere famblies. Then yer married, yer had to jump over a broom three times. Dat was de licence. Ef mastah seen two slaves together too much he would marry them. Hit didn't make no difference of yer won't but fourteen years old."
"Work began at sun rise and last 'till sun down. When I was eight years old, I started working in de field wif two paddles to keep de crows from eatin' de crops.
He had a half day off on Sunday, but you won't 'lowed to visit. Sometimes de men slaves would put logs in de beds, and dey'd cover 'em up, den dey go out. Mastah would see de logs and think dey was de slaves."
"My father told me dere was once a mastah who sold a slave woman and her son. Many years after dis, de woman married. One day when she was washing her husband's back she seen a scar on his back. De woman 'membered de scar. Et was de scar her mastah had put on her son. 'Course dey didn't stay married, but de woman wouldn't ever let her son leave her."
Superstitions told by Mrs. Georgina Giwbs
1 "Ef a dog turns on his back and howls', 'tis a sign of death."
2 "Ef yer drops a dish rag on de floor and it spreads out, 'tis de sign dat a hungry women is gwine ter come to yer house. Ef de rag don't snread out den a hungry man is a coming."
3 "Ef a black cat crosses yer path going to de right, 'tis good luck. Ef de cat goes to de left 'tis bad luck."
4 Ef a girl walks around wif one shoe off and one on, she'll stay single as many years as de number of steps she taken.
(Interview of Mrs. Candis Goodwin, Aged 80, Cape Charles, Virginia)
