From the WPA Slave
Narratives:
Edward Jones
Born 1855
I can remember heaps more about war days than folks thinks I can 'cause I
don't discuss it with them. I made up my mind long ago not to get in no
argument with folks what ain't got no logic in their conversation 'cause it
don't get you no where, and there ain't no argument against ignorance. I was
born in Alabama, Montgomery County. My mother's name was Sophia Jones. I never
knew my father. He didn't belong to the same master that owned my mother.
The young Miss in my mother's family married Mr. Tom Dickerson and moved to
his home in Hinds County, Mississippi. She brought with her nine slaves, among
them my mother and her five children, three boys and two girls. Course my
father couldn't come because he belonged to another family. I can never
remember seeing him, but after the war was over we all went back to my
father's name---Jones. My Auntie was among the ones who came too. She did the
cooking for everybody, both black and white. The white folks had white flour
and we ate corn bread. There wasn't no complaint to be made about what we had.
It was good and plentiful. There were not many to cook for. The place was a
small rented one. My new Master was a school teacher and merchant. He ran the
place in connection with his business. There were only thirteen slaves, one
man, four women, and eight children.
Conditions were different from big places. We didn't have no overseer, or
driver, but we all had to work. I was not old enough to do much 'cept pick a
little cotton, and gather up brush wood for the fires. Sometimes I could make
a little money holding a horse for a white gentleman or taking a message for
him. The money was mine, and I could do with it what I pleased. Master was
good to us. He very seldom whipped anybody, but when he got mad, he surely
could cuss. Once my mother ran off. She didn't get punished for it 'cause it
was just a family to do. She got contrary and left. The rules in them days was
if you left the place you had to have a pass. Then you could go anywhere. If
you were caught without your pass, you would be taken up by the patrol and
brought home, and the patrol men would be paid for catching you. My mother
came back before she was caught. There was a man on the place next to us what
wasn't allowed to go nowhere. One day he slipped off any way. When they caught
him, they shaved one side of his head. He had to go back to his master like
that. He sure did look like he was crazy with his hair all off one side.
Life was mostly very pleasant for us. Our houses were comfortable, and we had
plenty of warm cover at night. The white folks house was just about the same
as most white folks lives in now. It warn't so good, and it warn't so bad that
it made any special memory in my mind. It must have been tall off the ground
'cause we would get under it to hear what the white folks was talking about.
The white folks would come to our house to eaves drop too. It was a habit for
us to talk about white horses when we meant white folks, so if they heard us
they wouldn't know we was talking about them. That's the reason you can't 'pend
on nothing colored folks tells you to this good day. They learned to be so
deceivable when they was young. We didn't have no churches of our own. We went
to the white folks church. We held prayer meeting at our homes. Most of the
people was Methodists so we didn't have no big baptizings. Sometime when a
person died, they would hold a Christian burial and sometime they would just
have songs sung at the grave. On Christmas and the 4th of July we would get
the old fiddle man to play for us to dance. If we danced any other time, the
only music we had was the patting of the hands. Most of the amusements was
quilting parties, and they were only for the women. There warn't never no work
went on after dinner on Saturdays, even after the war when they was paid to
work. The folks said right out that Old Master didn't make them work, and they
knew it wasn't right to do so.
The country all around us was filled with Indians. There were more Indians
than whites and blacks put together. They were very peaceful like, and none of
us were scared of them. They made all kinds of baskets to sell to get money to
buy whiskey. What we were scared of was ghosts. You couldn't get us children
out of doors after dark. My brother saw ghosts and he would tell us about
them. The only thing I ever saw was a light, no feet, no body, just a light.
It crossed the road and went back into the woods. We didn't hear nothing about
voodoo and charms. All that came up since the War. There is folks today what
thinks everytime they gets sick that some one has put the jinks upon them, and
when a woman's husband leaves her she thinks another woman has conjured him
into leaving.
After the war was over my family stayed on the place they was on for a year.
The others stayed on until they died. Some white folks told us later that
after Old Master died, Old Miss married a Yankee man. That looks like the
colored is more loyal than the whites. Even now there ain't no good colored
man what will go against his boss, lessen he has been corrupted by some story
that ain't got no substance to it, just like the stories they used to tell
about Abraham Lincoln. The darkies all had it he was a black man, and the son
of a queen. They didn't tell no such stories on Jefferson Davis, 'cause both
the white and black knowed he was a grand man. I have been on his plantation
near Vicksburg a many a time. He had all the people on his place learn to read
and write. Mr. Davis had a old colored man named Ben Montgomery what took care
of everything on that place. He could run it just the same as if his master
had been home. I have known the old man to go to New Orleans with as much as
ninety thousand dollars to put in the Bank. Just before Vicksburg was taken,
Mr. Davis deeded the place to old Man Montgomery. When the Yankees tried to
take that property, Old Man Montgomery said it was his. 'Course they didn't
believe no such story as that so they took it to the Court, and sure enough
the old Man produced the deed and the property was saved. Yes Ma'm! that
really happened. Lots of the colored folks had false ideas concerning freedom.
They thought they were going to be on top and govern the country, and the
Yankees would conform that idea. It was natural for them to say that 'cause
they were fighting against the South. It was a many a long day before they got
it all straightened out. It didn't bother me none. I just went on farming same
as if nothing had happened. After I quit farming I taught school, and later
became a Baptist preacher. I married and had six children. My wife an all of
the children is dead, except one son who is living in Jackson. I haven't seen
him for a long time, and I don't know any of my grand children. I am now a
healer. That is I have power to cure any kind of sickness and stop any pain by
looking at the person afflicted. I don't use any voo doo or charm. Don't
believe in nothing like that. I have power to change water into medicine, the
only medicine I ever use. I could do so much more for humanity if people
didn't have such false ideas. Before people got so poor, I made a good living
healing. When the depression came on and folks had no money to pay to be
healed, I would cure them just the same for nothing, as I did for pay. I was
sorry for them, and I got too much humane in my nature to see suffering. Now
that folks is prosperous again, they still expect me to cure them for nothing,
so I make very little money. My wants are few and the government helps me
through the old age assistance. I have nothing to complain of as long as I can
get about to lead a useful and helpful life.
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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