From the WPA Slave Narratives:
Aunt Jane Morgan age 106
Foreword: Aunt Jane Morgan, 106 years old, is believed
to be the oldest ex-slave in south Mississippi. Aunt Jane resides about 12
miles from Hattiesburg on the old rifle range road near the Sheeplow community.
Attired in skirts that sweep the ground, a little black tattered shawl, and
extra-sized easy walkers, the gray, be-whiskered negress sits calmly beneath a
great oak in front of her little log cabin, and smoking her pipe, tells stories
of slavery times. When questioned which period of time she prefers, the
ante-bellum days or the present, she quickly says "the old days."
Aunt Jane lived in Jasper county, near old Paulding, on a plantation owned by
the McNairs during the Civil War. She says that her mammy was Tina Morgan and
her pappy, George Morgan.
"I kin remember hearing dem
Yankees comin' down de road yit. Dey hosses sounded like thunder, and de head
man, he allus blowed on a fife and de hosses prance and keep time, dey did. Us
chilluns all run an' jump in de ol' well an' pull de wooden kivver down over us
when de soljers came. My young missus, she jes sit an' cry an' cry, while de
Yankees make us niggers cook everything on de place for dem to eat. I was jes
15 den, an' my missus git so scared at nights, I always slept at her feet. Den,
when day light come, I kep' de chilluns in de chimney corner.
"My young missus, she jes
finished school when de war broke out, and she come home an' mar'ied young
marster, den he have to go to de war, and leave us niggers to take care of
young missus. She was good to us niggers, but sometimes slaves do run away.
When dey did, dey always managed to run through de pig pen or put red pepper in
dey shoes so de nigger dogs couldn't follow dem.
"When de speculators come,
dey take all de niggers on de place what don't have heirs, and buy 'em. But us
family we stay together, an' I worked in de house and taken care of de
chilluns. Aunt Susanne, she cooked an' washed de dishes.
"I used to go to de smoke
house go' to git smoke sausage, caze hit was my favorite meat, and young missus
sometimes see me, and come out and call, 'Jane you in that sausage ag'in?"
an' I says, 'Yes mam, I jes got a little bit.' "We had lard cracklings,
beef, and plenty to eat and wear in dem days too.
"Some times we hoped in de
fields too, and when we did, three of us chilluns allus rode home on a big ol'
gray hoss. Den we would tote water in long necked gourds clear to de house, but
we didn't mind dat, caze we knowed dat corn pone an' collards would be waitin'
fer us when we was through.
"Ag'in young missus would
take us to de baptizin' at de river, and we chilluns would ride behind in de
buggy. An' some time, we would go to a funeral. In dem days, dey jes had plain
homemade boarded-up coffins, specially fer de niggers what died - and allus jes
a dirt grave. Dats why I guess de slave graves is so hard to find today, caze
dey 'bout all washed way.
"Our men folks had straw
hats fer de summer. We made dese from palmetto leaves what grows in de swamps.
Afte' de leaves are picked we dipped 'em in hot water. Den de chilluns, dey
strip 'em, an' de wimmin plait 'em an' make de hats. We had homemade shoes too,
in dem days. De leather was tanned on our place, and dem shoes sho' last's
longer dan dese do today. We all was always so proud to git new shoes. We had
woolen underskirts dat was wove on de looms and woolen jackets what we dyed wid
laurel leaves to make dem yellow.
We carded our hair caze we never
had no combs, but de cards dey worked better. We used de cards to card wool wid
also, and we jes wet our hair and den card hit. De cards dey had wooden handles
and strong steel wire teeth.
Once de Ku Kluxes cum to our
place and take two of our niggers off. We never knowed dey had done nothin' but
we sho never seen dem niggers no more - no sir we aint.
We used to help at de spinning
too but we didn't do de main work. Our missus could spin bout 5 or 6 yards a
day.
We made medicine out of May apple
roots and coprus we burnt and made pills fer liver tonics. All our medicine in
dem days we made from roots and weeds.
"Ah don't know - Ah likes
hit now and ah liked hit den - but ah sho cant forgit slavery times. Ah don
seen three wars and I'm gwine to see de next one too I is."
Interviewer's note: Aunt Jane Morgan, although 106 years old, is
able to get about with the aid of a stick. The old negress is about 5 feet 4
inches in height and weighs about 105 pounds. She has a short kinky mop of
white hair like wool and an uneaven growth of gray whiskers about half an inch
long standing out on her wrinkled chin. Around her head she wears a white
bandage - more for ornamental purposes or force of habit, while a little black
tattered shawl can always be seen about her shoulders. Aunt Jane also wears
extra-sized easy walkers and long ground-sweeping skirts. She is never seen
without pipe and knows good terbaccy when she gets it. Most of her time is
spent sitting in a little old home made chair with a skin covered bottom out in
front of her log cabin with a dirt and stick chimney and under a great oak
tree. Aunt Jane likes to remind you that she has lived through three wars and
that if her white folks had not been good to her she would not be living today.
A little half fed yellow hound dog walks up and down the yard or chases the
chickens out of the tater patch nearby. Last week she went fishing in the creek
and fell in - "but hit never even give me a cold," she remarked. Aunt
Jane's vision is remarkable, and while being interviewed called the writer's attention
to a tall object among a pine growth fully a mile away. With only a few teeth
her articulation is bad. She has a keen sense of hearing and her memory is
exceptionally good. Aunt Jane seems to be in perfect health. Although she does
no work other than keeping her one room cabin she contends that she is going to
live to see that other war.
Interviewer: Marjorie Woods
Austin
Transcribed by Debbie M. Leftwich
Mississippi Narratives
Prepared by
The Federal Writer’s Project of
The Works Progress Administration
For the State of Mississippi
