From the WPA Slave
Narratives:
Fanny Smith Hodges
Fanny Smith Hodges lives in Berglundtown, in the northern part of town, in the
only Negro settlement within the corporate limits of McComb.
"My name's Fanny Hodges. I was Fanny Smith befo' I was mar'ied. My mammy was
Jane Weathersby, an' she b'long ter old man Weathersby in Amite County. He was
de meanes' man what ever lived. My pappy was sol' befo' I was born. I doan
know nothin' 'bout him. I had one sister - her name was Clara - and one
brudder - his name was Jack. Dey said my pappy's name was George. I doan know.
"Mammy said when I was jes big 'nough to nuss an' wash leetle chulluns, I was
sol' to Marse Hiram Cassedy an' dat man give me ter his darter, Miss Mary, to
be her maid. De Cassedys sho' was good people. I was big 'nough to draw water,
an' put it in a tub an' wash Miss Mary, Miss Annie, an' Miss July. I had to
keep 'em clean. I had to comb dey hair an' dey would holler an' say I pulled.
I was tol' not to let anything hurt dem chulluns.
"I slep' in de Quarters wid de other niggers. Befo' sunup I had to git to de
Big House ter dress dem chulluns. I doan 'member what kind of bed I had, but
reckin' it was good. I et in de kitchen. Dey fed fine. I et whut de white
folks lef', am' sometimes dey had 'possum an' taters. Dey was good.
"Marse Cassedy was a big Judge. He went to all de cou'ts, an' rode in a fine
carri'ge with two big horses hitched ter it, an' a driver. He wore fine clo'es
an' ever'body said he was a mighty big man. He had lots an' lots of money. I
doan know how many acres in his plantation, but he had more'n 50 slaves.
"When Marse Cassedy was gone, his oberseer would be hard on de slaves, but
Marse Cassedy would toll him not to be too hard. He never 'lowed his driver to
draw de blood when dey whupped. He fed his slaves. Dey all had gardens and he
tuk care of us. He had money in every one of us. De oberseers was white men
workin' for wages.
"I was never whupped afte' I went to Marse Cassedy. Slaves was whupped when
dey wouldn't work right. Sometimes dey was lazy. De oberseer blowed a horn
every mornin' and de slaves knowed to git up, an' when dat horn blowed agin,
dey knowed dey must go to de fiel'. Dey blowed de horn at dinner an' night.
Afte' supper, we set 'bout an' sing an go places. Sometimes de men would steal
off an' go ter other plantations, an' when kotched dey got a whuppin'. If de
pataroller got em, dey sho' kotched it. Dey was whupped an' brung back.
"De white folks had big dances in de Big House and de niggers played de
fiddle. Dey was fine times. Dey had good things ter eat, an' I allus got some
of whut was lef'. Christmas time de slaves had dances. I could sho' shuffle my
feet. Shucks, folks doan dance like dat any more.
"When slaves was sick, dey want to de woods and got roots an' herbs ter doctor
'em wid. If dey had runnin' off of de bowels, dey got red oak barks an' boiled
it an' made 'em drink it. It's de best thing right now to cure runnin' off of
de bowels. If young gals had pains in dey stomachs dey made tea out'n gum bark
and dat would bring 'em 'round. When babies was born, dey had good midwives to
wait on. 'em. Dat was good money.
"When Miss July got mar'ied dey had two cooks in de kitchen makin' pound cake
for more'n a week, an' pies, an' chicken pie, an' dey killed a hog. Dey had
ever'body in de country savin' butter an' eggs for a long time. I didn' see de
waddin' but de yard was full and we had ever'thing to eat.
"My folks was rich. Marse Cassedy went to de War an' he was a big man dere. He
was gone a long time. Dey kep' tellin' us de Yankees was comin' and Miss Fanny
had her silver put in a bag and hid. Dey had de money put in a wash pot and
buried, an' dey ain't found dat money yet. Oh, dey had more money! Didn' I
tell you dey was rich! No mam, dey wasn't po' when war was over. Dey had
ever'thing. When de Yankees come, dey carried off all de meat in de
smokehouse, an' de blanket an' quilts, an' every thing dey wanted, dey he'ped
deyse'ves. None of de slaves went wid 'em.
"When Marse Cassedy come home he had de oberseer blow de horn 'bout ten
o'clock and tol' 'em all dey was freed. He said he'd work 'em for wages, an'
nearly ever'one of 'em stayed for wages. I stayed wid Miss Mary 'bout ten
years. Den I mar'ied. No, Jake an' me rid horse back an' went to Magnolia an'
got mar'ied. I doan know who mar'ied us - somebody in de cou't house.
"Me an' Jake went to Summit ter live'. We had to work mighty hard. Sometimes I
plowed in de fiel' all day; sometimes I washed an' den I cooked, an' afts'
'while, we moved down to de new town. I come here when dis town fust started.
I cooked for Mrs. Badenhauser, while he was mayor of de town. Dey worked me
hard. Me'n Jake's had some hard ups an' downs. I had fo' chullun, none of dem
livin' dat I know of. I might have some grandchulluns but if I do, dey live up
North.
"I'm old an' can hardly git about. I's got a cancer. De doctor done cut my lef'
brest clear offen me, but dat hurts me somtimes yit.
"I niver jined any church 'til 'bout 20 year ago, right here in Berglundtown.
My church is Flowery Mount Baptist Church, an' my Brudder Washin'ton is my
pastor, an' he is de best preacher what ever lived. No, Marse Cassedy didn't
have no church fer de slaves. Dey want to de white folks' church.
"How do I live? Well I gits a pension of fo' dollars a month, an' I try to
wash a leetle for de colored folks, an' den I beg. I can't stay here long but
God won't low me to starve. Bless God, he's comin' for me some day."
Interviewer: Unknown
Transcribed by Ann Allen Geoghegan
Mississippi Narratives
Prepared by
The Federal Writer’s Project of
The Works Progress Administration
For the State of Mississippi
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"If you teach them where they come from, they won't need as much help finding where they are going!" Cordelia Carothers " Aunt Dee" Geoghegan (1894-1987)
Project Manager: Ann
Allen Geoghegan State Coordinator Assistant State Coordinators and
Transcriptionists: Ann Allen Geoghegan, Debbie Leftwich, and Rose Diamond and Linda Durr Rudd Banner designed by: Melissa McCoy-Bell Unknown worker photograph provided by L. Stephen Bell Photography, and family photo albums of Karen Schweikle, Lucy Gray and Jens Burkhart. Copyright © 2005-2008 by MSGenWeb Project. All rights reserved. |
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