Henry Childers

I was born on de 13th day of March 1844 at Oensville, Texas in Bell County. My Mammy was a slave of Captain Goulsby Childers , who cum from Quincy, Illinois, in de year 1832, an' settled on Little River in Hall County. Soon after dis he located what was known as Fort Griffin in Bell County whar he lived."De Mexican government gave him a league of land an' he had five brothers who cum wid him; dey was single men, so dey was given a headright of land. My mammy, Lucy Childers , fell to de son of Captain Childers whose name was Robert . She was de fambly cook an' de body servant of Massa Robert's wife. One of dey sons was Massa Joe Childers who is now de President of de First National Bank of Temple, Texas. He had an' older son name Edward , who lives at Bartlett."I will tell you 'bout de Childers family later, but I wants to tell you 'bout my folks now. I has been married twice, had two chillun by my first wife an' twelve by de second, my last wife was named Mahaley Elliott . One of my boys, whose name is Joe was named for Massa Joe Childer's de one who lives at Temple; dis is de one I make my home wid w'en I am at Mart, Texas, Miss, whar you heard 'bout me. One of my brothers was named Dave for Davy Crockett, an' one was named Wash , an' one named Ike. Dis brother Ike was de body guard an' playmate of Massa Joe Childers of Temple. W'en Massa Goulsby Childers cum to Texas, he first stopped at Fort Nashville on Little River, den he located de place called Fort Griffin. De Indians was still livin' in dis part of de country, some of dem was friendly Indians. I kin remember hearin' dem tell 'bout w'en Massa Robert Childers , was appointed by de government to move de Fort farther west; he left my mammy-Lucy , an' de Mistis alone at de house an' took wid him as his guide a one-eyed friendly Indian. After he had been gone a few weeks, he sent a note back home by dis Indian. De Indian reached de house one evenin' 'bout sunset an', as he wanted to deliver de note as soon as possible, he went straight to de house an' found de Mistis alone in de house wid her baby. My Mammy was milkin' de cows, so w'en de Indian poked his head in de door, de Mistis did'nt stop to see what he wanted, but grabbed her baby an' run to de cow-pen to my mammy wid de Indian a runnin' after her wid de note."Mammy Lucey saw dat he had something, so she took de note to de Mistis to read, an' great was dey rejoicin' w'en dey found dat hit was good news from Massa Robert.My mammy stayed on wid Massa Robert an' de Mistis untill she was too old to work.De most of de slaves stayed on an' broke de land an' raised dey corn an' feed, also dey vegetables an' chickens an' de hogs run out in de woods, so dey had de meat, besides de wild turkeys, prairie chickens an' de birds to hunt. De Massa had what dey called de bottom land, dis make fine sweet potatoes as well as sugar cane an' sorghum dey used to make dey molasses. De mill to make de syrup was on de plantation an' dey all know how to make dey own molasses, dis was called "black strap".De hogs would run out in de woods untill de fall, den dey was put in de pens an' fed de corn dat was grown on de sod lands. We first raised de corn an' ground hit wid a mill run by horse-power, den we raised wheat an' thrashed hit wid a stick. De overseer on de Childer's plantation was my step-father, he planned our work for us, an' told us what to do. Massa Bob Childers was a good Master an' his slaves was not always a runnin' away like home did. W'en I lay bad sick wid pneumonia he took me to his house an' had me taken keer of untill I was well. Kept me in a room in de back of de house whar he could see dat I was treated right. I kin remember seein' de Indians pass by de big house w'en dey was sent to de reservation, an' dey would stop an' beg for somethin' to eat, Massa Bob would have dem fed, den he tell dem to "Bumes", me meanin' "Go". De squaws would be walkin' wid dey papoose on dey back an' de braves would be ridin' dey mustang ponies. Den de Mexican's used to pass by drivin' de oxen, dey had collars on de oxen made wid corn shucks. We was not so much afraid of de Mexicans as we was de Indians, de Mexicans would steal, but dey did not kill an' burn de homes like de Indians. I kin remember hearin' de Massa tell 'bout de raid de Indians made in de year 1836. Massa Robert's father, Captain Goulsby Childers an' de family, wid a doctor an' dey preacher, wid a friend by de name of Judge O. T. Tyler who had jes joined de party, was on dey way to Fort Nashville, w'en de doctor an' de preacher, who was 'bout half a mile ahead drivin' a lame horse, saw de Indians cumin' an' tried to go back to de wagons, but was cut off by de Indians an' murdered before de rest of de party. Judge Tyler took de younger sister of de Massa Robert on his horse an' made his escape, he afterwards married her. "De ole Massa Goulsby Childers had served in de Black Hawk War, so he knew how to fight de Indians. He never let de Indians draw de ones in de wagons into shootin' at dem, so dey made dey way to a grove whar dey got ready for de Indians to attack dem, but for some reason de Indians did not follow an' so dey finally made dey way to Fort Nashville. "De Childers family had to leave dey homes three different times on account of de Indians. Massa Robert an' his brother Frank left ones wid Captain Erath's rangers, Massa Robert an' Massa Frank was not member's of Captain Erath's force but dey volunteered an' was in de fight dat took place, an' dis was w'en Massa Frank was killed. I will try to tell you 'bout hit as near as I kin remember de way hit was handed down to us. "As well as I kin remember dis was 'bout de year 1837, de first of Febuary an' a snow had fallen. De spies from de forts as de Falls of de Brazos an' at Little River met every day on middle ground, dey had de report dat de trail had been crossed by Indians goin' southeast. All de signs dat had been discovered give de idea dat hit was jes theivin' party, a few men from each fort an' some volunteers met at a de place de Indians had crossed to follow dem. "From a hill, de rangers saw de smoke from de campfires in de bottom de few men under Captain Erath decided to attack de Indians, de horses was tied a good distance away, an' de men under de cover of de night slipped up close to de camp widout de Indian's dogs hearin' dem. Daylight was cumin', an' de Indians begun to wake up an' to stir 'bout de fires. De officers had divided his men into squads of three an' four an' told dem to shoot at different fires, an' to be sure dat no two men shoot at de same Indian. Den de command was given to fire an' at every camp fire de Indians would fall an' so dis scared de Indians so dey thought a whole army was after dem, maybe, so dey stampeded, but w'en dey found out dat de rangers was not many, dey started to fightin' again an' so dis was w'en Captain Erath ordered de men to retreat. "All de rangers escaped, but two men was killed, an' dis is de way dat young Massa Frank Childers was killed. De Indians buried dey dead in a pool of water an' den fled, wid de rangers followin' after dey had again formed into de line of battle. De two forts I has been tellin' you 'bout was Fort Milam at de Falls of de Brazos built by Captain Joseph Daniels , an' Fort Griffin at de Little River forks dat was located by Massa Robert Childers. "But hit was not all Indians fights in dese days, as a boy I kin remember de stories dat was handed down to us chillun 'bout de first real Christmas celebration de Childers family as well as all de Texas people had. Dis was 'bout de year 1836 four years after dey had cum to Texas from up North. Texas had jes thrown off de Mexican rule an' General Sam Houston was elected de President of de Republic of Texas in October before dis Christmas. So all of Texas was celebratin' dis Christmas. Hit was too far for our folks to go way back to dey ole home in Illinois so dey helped to celebrate wid de rest of de Texas people, dat Texas was free at last. Hit was said to be a cold an' rainy Christmas, an' dis was not like dey Christmas wid de snow on de ground, an' dey must have been homesick for dey own people. "But dey has made dis new country dey home, so dey is makin' de best of de disadvantages an' de loneliness an' de homesickness. W'en de time for de Santa Clase cum, den dey goes out into de woods an' cut a cedar tree an' dey puts hit up in de big dinin' room of de big house whar de ole Massa Goulsby Childers live. Dey light up de tree wid de pine boughs made into torches, dey string de corn dat has been popped on hit an' dey trims hit up most as good as dey do now. Texas is too far to have de toys shipped den, so dey has dem made from de things dat dey kin find, like de dolls for de chillun was carved from de cedar an' de pine bough, dey has de lasses candy dat dey has pulled untill hit makes as fine stick candy as de chillun kin eat, de wimmen knit de presents of de socks an' de mufflers an' such things dat de wimmen kin make. De little chillun of de slaves was not forgotten an' Santa brought dem de candy an' de good things to eat too. W'en de Christmas tree is over den dey clear de floor an' dey has de ole time dance wid de neighbors dat live, maybe, ten or twenty miles away cum in to spend dis Christmas Eve. "De young Mistis would wear dey hair in curls an' de young Massa's would dress up in dey frocks tail coats dat dey had back in de states befo' dey cum to Texas, an' de most of dem wore mustaches an' some whiskers. Dey danced de Virginia reel an' other dances of de times, an' de caller was de most important person at de dance. De ones who did not dance gathered 'bout de roarin' fire an' told stories of de wars dey had been thro' an' of de news of de day. "De next mornin', de Massa would wake up de house full of visitors an' dey would all cum to de big dinin' room an' have dey eggnog, den maybe de men would go for a little hunt or horse-back ride an' de wimmen would be busy wid dey Christmas dinner. Dey has maybe, de wild turkey, an' all de Christmas trimmin's like de pies, dey make from de wild plums dey has put up in de spring, nuts dey has gathered for de winter, an' de big Christmas cake. An' dis is de way dey spend dis Christmas de first dat Texas is free. "De nex' Christmas dat I 'specially remember was befo' de Civil War cum, General Houston had jes been elected de Governor of Texas since hit had been taken into de Union, an' dis was a solemn time de folks was all wondering if dey was to be a war an' hopin' dat General Houston could keep dem out of hit De young folks of de country still had dey dances, an' de supplies was bein' shipped into Texas by Galveston an' so de ones who liked dey whiskey could git dey favorite brand to serve wid dey eggnog de young folks has de mascarade balls an' some dress like Davy Crockett , Sam Houston , Santa Anna, an' some like de Indians, some of de Mistis wore de dresses wid de long train an' some would wear de tight waist an' de hoop skirts. "Dey was jes begginin' to be happy again, den de Civil War cum, an' de young Mistis' sweethearts an' de Young Massa's had to go an' leave dey young wives an' families. Some took de young slaves boys as dey body guards, some of de young Massa's body guards helped to build de breast-works at Galveston an' Sabine Pass, dey did de cookin' for de young soljers an' looked after dey clothes an' w'en de last call cum an' de ole Massa's had to go, den de ole slaves dat was left at home looked after de plantation. "W'en de war was over, Massa Robert Childers owned a whole lots of land in Bell County an' some in what is now Milam County, so w'en freedom cum, he told de slaves to go out on de prairie an' ketch some of de unbroke steers from his ranch, den dey took de oxen dey is already plowin' an' worked wid dese unbroke steers an' broke dem to de plow, so dey puts in more land for dem to work. Dey was a big cedar 'bout twelve miles away wid cedar timber, so dey took dese ox teams an' cut de cedar into fence posts an' hauled hit an' fenced de land. Dis was what dey called de stake an' rider fences. "I kin remember de long oxen trains of freight passin' by whar we lived on dey way to de market at Houston an' Galveston, de wagons would have from ten to twenty oxen hitched to a wagon. First dey send de corn, hogs an' de cattle, den later w'en dey goes to raisin' cotton dey sends de wagon trains of cotton. "De biggest sight dat I remember was de prairie fires an' de cattle runnin' to de river from de fire, de settlers plowed 'round de rail fences to stop de fires, an' whar dey did not have de fences, dey jes run a few furrows to break de fires, for w'en de fire hit de plowed ground hit would die out, an' dis was de way dey protected demselves from de fires dat was always gittin' started in de grass. "My folks stayed on wid Massa Childers untill dey commenced to make so much cotton over on de Brazos bottom, so dey moved over to de bottom because dey did not think de black land would make cotton. I after-wards bought a little farm twelve miles south of Marlin in de west side of de river which I still own. "I cum to dis place 'bout ten years after de Civil War, de place whar I bought is jes a few miles down de ole site of de place whar General Sterling Robertson located de cpaital of de Milam Land District, I believe hit was, any way dey called dis place Viesca, but de settlers had dey plantations on de east side of de river so dey moved over to whar Marlin is, an' dey used dis place for Fort Milam for de rangers to use to live in to watch for de Indians. "W'en I first cum to dis place near Marlin dey was jes a little village wid 'bout two or three stores an' a few homes. De first white folks school dat I remember was at Coleman Prairie, three miles from de Marlin settlement, an' de first white folks church close to me was at Durango, called Carolina den. Later dey helped to build a church for for de nigger's 'bout two miles from whar I lived, dis is still used for a church but a new one has been built. "W'en we had our camp meetin's befo' de church was built, we had de ole brush arbor meetin's an' de white preachers would preach to us befo' dey taught de nigger to read de Bible an' to preach. Dey was de ole white preacher named Morrell an' lived at Marlin who used to cum an' preach to us, hit was his son dat laid off de town of Marlin . Hit was in de year 1851 dat dey had de District Court held by Judge Robert Baylor in a little log cabin on de square, an' everybody for miles 'round would cum to town on dat day. "De biggest crowds dat collected in de summer was at de big camp meetin's at de little church dat was organized for de niggers. Dey cum from all over de country an' up an' down de Brazos. I likes to think of de shoutin' times an' de songs dat we sung like dat we sung like de Big Bethel Church, Hit's good to be dere, w'en de sinners all jine, Wid de brudderin' in dere a singin', An hit looks like Gabriel gwine ter rack and blow, En set dem heav'n bells ter ringin'. Oh de Big Bethel Chu'ch, de Big Bethel Chu'ch, Done put ole Satan behin' him, ef a sinner git loose, De Big Bethel Chu'ch will find him.