From the WPA Slave
Narratives:
Eugenia Weatherall
Foreword: Aunt Eugenia Weatherall is a tall, erect, high brown negro woman.
Her accent is different to that of most of the negroes and one may tell before
she speaks of the fact, that she has received an education above that of the
other negroes of the community, and especially of her age and time. Her health
is excellent and she attends to all of her household duties with the spryness
of a person many years younger.
"Of cose, Miss, I was not born until 1863, but slavery hadn't been done way
with then, it was not until the 'Mancipation was signed by Mr. Lincoln that we
was freed. Now, I dont remember much myself since I was so little but I know
what I was told 'bout it all."
"My parents was named Anderson and Catherine Bramlett and they belonged to de
Bramletts what lived in Lee County. My mother was born on that very place and
so was I. My grandmammy was sold a slave in Tuscaloosa Alabama. My daddy never
was a field hand. He was as smart as they make them and worked 'round de lot
all time as handy man. 'Sides he could weave baskets, chair bottoms, make
horse collars, and axe handles. I guess the reason he was so smart to do these
kinda things was because his father was a Choctaw Indian. Lawd, he wasn't
scared of nothing either. He never was afraid of the overseers whipping him
cause he was known to be the best shot any where in the country and they was
scared if they hurt him he would get them. White folks was always our friends
anyway. None of us ever did anything to make them not like us. My mother was
part Indian too, way back some of her folks was an Indian. My grandmammy's
nose was hooked down just like the pictures you see of Indians in the
georgraphy."
"I was born during de midst of de war. My mother useter put me to sleep
telling me 'bout de soldiers going through our place and 'bout de fierce
battles what was fought there where we lived at and when I was a child we
useter go out and look for bullets on de ground and find lots of them. They
said too that General Grant spent the night about five miles from where we
lived."
"After the war we moved up to Union County near a place they call Myrtle. I
started going to school up there when I was six years old. My father and some
other colored men built the school out of logs. They useter say that was the
first negro school in that county. I 'spect it was the first in this part of
the state, don't you? My daddy couldn't read and write but he believed in
education and I went as far as the schools did in those days. Then we was
thrown with the white folks on the place in our work and they was smart, they
all went to colleges like Blue Mountain and the others. I been used to smart
white folks all my life and niggers what knowed a little something. That's the
reason I don't like where I live now. I ain't never liked it at all. Guess
it's just the atmosphere I don't like. But I is been here a long time and I
guess I'll die here. I ain't got but one of my brothers an sisters living now,
dat's John Emmanuel, and he lives too far off to see."
"I married in 1883 to old William here. He was a preacher, never knowed how to
read and write but I taught him how. He's crazy now and I have to watch him
like you would a child. When we married we had the biggest kinda wedding.
That's one thing they believed in in them days. White folks had regular shows
when they married and I copied my wedding dress from one of the white women's
that married 'fore I did. My dress was Canary yellow and had big white bows
down the front. That was my wedding dress, my infair dress, the one I wore on
the next day was a fancy suit made of blue silk. You shoul've seen them. Me
and Weatherall has had eight children but ain't but four living now. We sent
them all to school tho' and they is doing well. Ted is in Atlanta and is a
nurse in one of the government hospitals there. He has gone as far as he could
go in his work and just 'bout runs his end of the hospital. William Carrol and
Potaphar lives in Detroit and works at de Ford plant. Charlie is a preacher in
Detroit. He can do most anything else too and when he aint preaching he is
paper hanging or doing some other kind of work in decoratin'.
"We haven't got but one grand child and he is blind. He goes to the school for
blind children in Lansing, Michigan and is just as smart as he can be. Why his
teacher carried him befo' a bunch of white folks the other day and had him
play the piano for them. He can weave too, just like his great grandaddy!"
"William hadn't preached in a long time. 'Fore he learned to read I would
teach him de text and he could get up and preach on it for hours. I knows de
Bible from cover to cover tho'. I'se read it through nigh on to 30 times,
dat's a record, ain't it?"
"Sure I member's bout the Ku Kluxers but we never had no trouble with them.
Why one of my cousin used to make de robes and masks they wore and I have
watched them dress up in them many a time. We behaved our selves tho' like we
should've and then if we hadn't I believe they would a been afraid of my daddy
shootin' them. He sho' had the reputation of being the best shot anywhere!"
"I think I is got a record. I ain't done a thing I would be glad to get up and
tell my maker 'bout. I studies the Bible, I minds my business and I ain't
never done nobody no evil, that I knows of. I hopes I'm heading for the
promised land!"
"Did I tell you 'bout my grandma runnin' away from the blood hounds? Well,
twas three times she done it. She was living in Tuscaloosa then and it was
fore she was sold to the Bramletts. I is forgotten who twas she belong to then
but I is heared her call de marster, Marse Fred. He was a regular slave trader
and my grandma was born on his place. He sold niggers just like I do chickens
and eggs. My grandma was right peart and had a head of her own even when she
was a young gal. She tried to run off from Marse Fred and he sont the blood
hounds after her. They called them nigger hounds in those days and the first
time she run off it twaren't long fore they cotch her. They didn't do much to
her that time but just put her back to work and tell her she better not try
that stunt again. She was set on running away tho' and it wasn't very long
fore she tried it again. This time she got away from the blood hounds and hid
out til she got hungry and then come creeping back beggin' fore mercy from de
marster. He didn't give her much mercy tho' but just sent her to his whippers
and they put stripes on her back with the big lashes they had. That made her
so mad that she was more 'termined than ever and this time she runned off over
on the ferry across the black Warrior and hid out. Some of the patrollers
found her tho and carried her back and that time cured her cause when Marse
Fred saw her he took her out to the fodder block, that was where they crushed
feed for the stock, and showed her where they put men who disobeyed they
marsters. They would let the block down on them til it most nigh crushed them
to death. He told her he was gwineter put her down there and try her out but
she was so scared and cried and begged so hard he told her if she would
promise never to try to run off again he would let her go. She did and he let
her off and after that she was one of the best niggers on the place."
"'Nother thing I thought of after you left the other day was bout my Uncle
Ned. He was a Baptist preacher and as good a one as you've ever heared. He
couldn't read or write but one of the women on the place would read him his
text and parts of the Bible and he would remember it and would preach grand
sermons, a whole lot better than they do now days. Folks then had more
religion than they do now. I feels like I am living out of my element now with
the carryin' on the niggers round here do. I am down right shamed of it. Why
our white folks back where we come from was all smart, had been to college,
you know we was close to Blue Mountain, and they taught us all the good things
we ought to know. I don't believe these niggers here know anything cept
meanness. But to get back to Uncle Ned. He was shining when he could have a
babtizing. He had his own special style. He and the head deacon would carry
the person out in the water that they was gwineter babtize and have all de
rest stand around in a circle and shout and sing. They would be quiot til the
person comed out of the water and then the noise would start in right. One
time they carried a big man in who must have weighed about 240 pounds and he
was so heavy he carried thom both down with him and all you could see for a
minute was, footses as black as night and what scrambling'! Youve never seen
de like. De shoutin' sure started up right then and if it hadn't been for some
of the other men folkses they would've all drowned like rats. That was one
more big day for the all."
"Well, I is got to go long now and see what old Weatherall has been up to. I
has to look after him like he was a baby, cept he is more trouble. And he just
won't behave himself at all. Lawzee me!"
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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