"I is always glad to talk 'bout de old times an' de old people. We is livin' in peace now, but still it's hard times. We ought to be thankful though our country ain't in war."

Source: Daphney Wright, Scotia, S.C.



Project 1885-1 Folk Lore District No. 4. May 28, 1937.

Edited by: J.J. Murray.

STORIES OF EX-SLAVES

Seated on the front steps of his house, holding a walking cane and talking to another old colored man from Georgia, who was visiting his children living there, the writer found "Uncle" Bill Young. He readily replied that he had lived in slavery days, that he was 83 years old, and he said that he and Sam were talking about old times.

He was owned by Dave Jeter at Santuc, S.C.; though he was just a boy at the time his mother was a slave. He used to mind his "Missus" more than anybody else, as he stayed around the house more than anywhere else. His job, with the other boys, both white and black, was to round up the milk cows late every afternoon. The milk cows had to be brought up, milked and put up for the night; but the other cows and calves used to stay in the woods all night long. Some times they would be a mile away from the house, but the boys would not mind getting them home, for they played so much together as they slowly drove the cows in.

When asked if he got plenty to eat in slavery days, he replied that he had plenty, "a heap more than I get today to eat". As a slave, he said he ate every day that the white folks ate, that he was always treated kindly, and his missus would not let anybody whip him; though he had seen other slaves tied and whipped with a bull-whip. He said he had seen the blood come from some of the slaves as they were whipped across the bare back. He said he had seen the men slaves stand perfectly naked and take a beating. He also said that he never had a whipping and that his "Missus" wouldn't let his own mother whip him. She would say, "Don't tech that boy, as he is my Nigger." She told him one day that he was free, but he stayed right on there with her and worked for wages. He got $6.00 a month, all his rations, and a place to stay.

"Uncle" Bill said there was some humor at times when a slave was to be whipped. His hands and feet tied together, the slave would be laid across a rail fence, feet dangling on one side and head on the other side; then the master would give the slave a push or shove and he would fall heavily on the ground on his head. Not being able to use his feet or his hands, the slave's efforts to catch himself before he hit the ground was something funny. "That was funny to us Niggers looking at it, but not funny to the Nigger tied up so."

He said some Yankee soldiers came by the house at times, but they never bothered anybody on the place. "Of-course they would take something to eat, but they never bothered anybody."

After working for Dave Jeter for many years, he moved up to Jonesville, where he married. He lived in or near Jonesville for about thirty years, then he moved with his son, who was a barber, to Spartanburg, and has been here thirteen years.

"I never knew anything about rent 'til I got here. I always had a house to live in, raised my own feed and got my wood off the place. So when I got to Spartanburg I learned what rent was. I just quit work two years ago when I had high blood pressure; and now I ain't able to work. Do you see that Nigger across the street, going to work somebody's garden? Well, if I didn't have high blood pressure, I'd be just as good to work as him."

"Yes sir, with my peck of meal, my three pounds of meat each week and my $6.00 a month wages, I had more to eat than I gets now."

SOURCE: "Uncle" Bill Young. 202 Young Street, Spartanburg, S.C. Interviewer: F.S. DuPre, Spartanburg Office, Dist. 4.



Project 1885-1 Folklore Spartanburg, Dist. 4 Feb. 4, 1938

Edited by: Elmer Turnage

STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

"March 15, 1862 is de date I allus takes when folks axes how old is you. Dat's de best, to follow one date, den no argument don't follow.

"Some see'd it powerful hard in slavery, others never see'd it so bad. Dat 'pends on you a lot, den it 'pends on dem dat you stays wid. It still like dat everywhar dat I is been, but I ain't been no further dan Spartanburg gwine north, and to Lyles's Ford gwine south.

"From a wee bitty baby dey teach me to serve. Befo' you serves God you is got to know how to serve man. De Bible speaks of us as servants of de Lawd. Niggers can serve him better dan white folks, kaise dat is all dey does if dey stays whar dey belongs. Young folks and chillun being raised up real biggity like dey is now, dey can't serve nothing, kaise if you can't serve your earthly father, how is you gwine to serve your Heavenly Father?

"De big plantation and house whar Mr. Jimmie Jeter's sons stay is whar I first see'd earthly light. Dat place still look fine, and it look fine den, too. When I was 8 years old I started out in de field, afo' dat I did jes' what all little nigger boys did, nothing but eat and sleep and play and have a big time wid de little white boys. Lots of my playmates, both white and black, done gone on now. Some done gone to de bad place and some done gone to Heaven, jes' ain't no use talking, dat's sho nuff de truth.

"War was raging all 'round Charleston and Columbia when I come in dis world so dey says, Yankees camped in half mile of Santuc. I is heard dat everybody was scared. Has even heard dat I cried when dem Yankees come, but all I knows is jes' what I heard. Folks hears lots and dey tells it, and dat's jes' what I is doing now—jes' telling what dey told me when I got big. If folks didn't never tell nothing no worse, it wouldn't make no difference, but often dey takes devilish notions and tells dat what injures, if anybody believes dem.

"Aunt Phyllis Jeter 'low when dem Yankees got to Santuc, she was a weaving jes' as hard as she could for her white folks. She say dat she started to run, but dem Yankees come in de house and throw'd away her yarn and took her and tied her to a tree. When she hollered, dey whipped her. She say dat dey was drunk, but dey never burn't up nothing in de house. Dey went on singing, and she got me to playing and got up de yarn from de dirt in de yard and cleaned it. De Yankees never bothered us no mo', and dey never stayed in Santuc long.

"Once when I was a big boy I got drunk and pa whipped me so hard I never got drunk no mo' till I was married, and den I jumped on my old lady for fun and she hit me wid a bed slat. Dat knocked me sober and I 'cided de best thing for me to do was let liquor go to de devil. When I was young I allus walked to Union. Dat ain't but ten miles down de railroad. Den I used to walk all over Santuc and down to Herbert in Fish Dam. Now I is drapped most all my walking. De chilluns travels fast in automobiles, but I jes' as lieve walk to Union as to ride in dem things. Wrecks kills you off so quick dat you does not have time to repent.

"Walking never has hurt nobody, and I buys leather and tacks it on my own shoes, and in dat way it don't cost me nothing much. Folks goes so fast in dem automobiles, and half de time dey ain't in no hurry kaise dey ain't gwine to nothing no way. I gits on my shoe in de winter and I walks. When I wants to drap in for a chaw at some friend's house, I does. I sets dar till I gits rested and warm and I goes on. If dey eats, I does too, and when I gits to Union my chillun is done out and gone. Jes' de same, I reaches home at night befo' dem.

"Dey has tales to tell about gitting out of gas, and when I axes whar dey been, dey jes' as apt to say Spartanburg as any whars. As long as dey has a quarter dey is allus gwine to ride and come home broke. If you fools wid automobiles, you is gwine to spend lots of time in jail. I ain't never been in jail and I thinks it is a disgrace. My chillun says dat I is 'old timey' and don't know nothing 'bout living. Jes' de same, I likes slow moving, and takes mine out in walking and gits home at dark or soon atter.

"Dese fast ways don't bother me. Dey makes sassy chilluns. Sassy chilluns dat can't serve deir pa need not think dat dey can ride to de Promise Land in narry automobile dat dey is ever seed. Gwine round in fast circles and never gitting nowhars seems to satisfy dem, so I don't know what is gwine to become of dem."

Source: Bob Young (75) Jonesville, S.C. Interviewer: Caldwell Sims, Union, S.C. 11/10/37



[Transcriber's Note:

A number of punctuation errors have been corrected. Other typographical errors are as follows:

Page 1: "Hariett" changed to "Harriett" (young mistress, Miss Harriett.) Page 3: "Cival" changed to "Civil" (pre-Civil and Civil War days,) Page 38: "nonegenarian" changed to "nonagenarian" (what a nonagenarian is?) Page 43: "carpetbagbers" changed to "carpetbaggers" (scalawags and carpetbaggers,) Page 45: "SC" changed to "S.C." (RIDGEWAY, S.C.,) Page 49: "On e" changed to "One" (One pick a banjo,) Page 53: "Dancers" changed to "Dances" (Dances? There was); "william" changed to "William" (young master, William) Page 56: "we" added between "us" and "we" (told us we was free); "cornshuckings" changed to "corn-shuckings" (old time corn-shuckings) Page 59: "gie" changed to "gi'e" ("He gi'e me sugar.); "pantomime" changed to "pantomime," "the" added before "way" (with pantomine, of the way pidgin) Page 62: "to-day" changed to "today" (in Russia today.) Page 66: "piscopal" changed to "'Piscopal" (he was 'Piscopal) Page 67: "thrity-two" changed to "thirty-two" (thirty or thrity-two) Page 76: "OF-EX" changed to "OF EX-SLAVES" Page 84: "quite" changed to "quiet" Page 86: "Come" changed to "Some" (Some white people); "one" changed to "One" ("One gone in) Page 89: "or" changed to "of" (the back of gallery.) Page 120: "remembers" changed to "disremembers" (I jes' disremembers,) Page 143: "be be" changed to "be" (be so many school) Page 149: "folks" changed to "forks" (Ninety-eight silver forks) Page 159: "Reovah" changed to (Rehovah Baptist Church.) Page 165: "carpet bag" changed to "carpetbag" (de carpetbag,) Page 183: "do" added after "only" (only do de) Page 187: "cornshucking" changed to "corn-shucking" (corn-shucking 'bout) Page 194: "cordality" changed to "cordiality" (with a cordiality); "dilapedated" changed to "dilapidated" (somewhat dilapidated shanty.) Page 195: "revently" changed to "reverently"; "out side" changed to "outside" (outside the same church); "necesities" changed to "necessities" (such household necessities) Page 196: "asleep" changed to "slept" Page 217: "but" changed to "buy" (wanted to buy something) Page 231: "no" added after "or" (true or no,) Page 255: "i" changed to "I" (as I was.) Page 269: "Twentyfive" changed to "Twenty-five" (Twenty-five cent of bacon) Page 270: "the the" changed to "the" (at the time his)]

THE END