I'se owned by Maser Tom Alewine and married one of his boys and we did not change our name till I'se married again. Maser and Mistress were both mighty good white folks. They had one son and daughter. I'se cooked many a meal with that pretty curlyhaired baby girl in one arm. She sure would cry after her black mammy and I sure did love that sweet child. I was born near Huntsville, Tenn., in 1849 so they tells me. I'se don't knows when I'se born or how old I is. Father named, Jerry Alewine , mother's name Sally . I don't knows as I'se had any brothers or sisters cause father and mother they were sold to another man before I'se old enough to remember and my old slave mama raised me. No she was not my grandmother and I'se never heard tell of my parents no more. I'se don't know whatever became of them. Well sir, son all I'se members was I's just run around there playing with some other negro kids there on Maser's farm. Yes I was owned by Maser Tom Alewine as I'se married to one of his boys and we did not change our name till I'se married again. We had pretty good quarters. They were built out of plank and covered with hewed boards that was made by hand. No sir, it did not leak and was real warm in there. Our beds they were built on the ground in one corner of our quarters out of shucks, moss and grass. We would get down under that when we would go to bed at night and never did get cold. No sir, I'se never heard tell of my grandparents or stories told me about them. Maser had plenty work to do such as: chop cotton, corn, cut weed and house work of all kinds. He made me plow just like the men slaves, but the work that we done did not hurt us. No sir, I'se never did see any money until after I'se set free. Did not know that it was during slavery I'se hear them other slaves talk about money but I did not know what they were talking about. We sure had plenty to eat in slavery time as we eat from the same table that the white folks eat from. We had cornbread gathered fresh from the field and it was grated and mixed with water and salt, cooked in plenty of grease on the open fire in a great big flat iron skillet. Yes, we had possum, rabbits, and fish - that was my favorite dish. Maser had plenty of other kinds of meat and plenty of vegetables fresh out of the garden. No the slaves did not have their own garden. Maser gave the slaves what he wanted them to have to eat and that was plenty all time. No sir, we never did go hungry while we were slaves like we have since we been free. In not weather son we wore just plain royal shirts open all the way down the front. In cold weather we had woolen clothes to keep us warm. Yes sir, we had shoes what we called brogan shoes, no wear out to them. Yes we had plain white royal shirts on Sundays to wear and they must be real clean at all times. That was one thing Maser made us do was to stay clean all the time, he never would allow his negroes to go dirty no time, not even when they was at work. He kept us enough clothes to change so'es we would have clean clothes to put on.

Yes sir, our Maser was very particular about his slaves at all time. Well son our Maser he was a real white man always jolly and in a good humor, never was mad. Yes he was real strict with us, if we did'nt do right he would whip us, but son he never told one of us that he was going to do something that he didn't do no sir, when he told us he would do a thing that was exactly what he done. Mistress she was a plum angel, that was one of the best white women that God ever let live. She was always going to church and she never bawled us out if we didn't do things exactly like she told us. She would come and show us just exactly how she wanted us to do. She always laughed with us over our mistakes and there was many that we made, yes sir, cause us negroes never know nothing in them days here in this country, and our fore-people they were worse than we were. They just had one curlyhaired girl and son, I'se cooked many a meal with that child in one arm, she sure would cry after her old black mammy and I sure loved that sweet child, she was the best little thing that ever was. The house they lived in was a real good home. It was built out of plank and it had 4 rooms with large smoke house at the back door where they kept all their cooking things and son it was always full of cured meat. There was one door to every room save two and they had 2 doors to them rooms. Didn't have no window glass, all it had in the way of windows was open shutter and slide windows. People them days did not have glass windows no sir. Well their home was on a hill or knoll with plenty of shade trees all around. It was covered with boards that the slaves riveted out by hand. That overseer he was not good to us like Maser was, he was sure rough on the slaves - hardly ever did he speak a kind word to us. Overseer Carl Yarborough sure did keep us afraid of him cause he wore a big gun on his side all the time and ever so often he would shoot right over a slave's head to see him jump, holler and beg him not to shoot so close to them again, but that overseer would just laugh at the poor slave cause he was all time dealing them all the misery he could and never did have no mercy on a slave at no time.

Well son, there was near about 100 acres in that plantation, and Maser had 23 slaves. Well that overseer he woke us up every morning at about 4:30 o'clock with a great large bell hung at his door, so we could be in the field waiting for daylight to come. Child, he worked us just as long every day as we could see. We would be in the field sitting on the end of the row when it got light enough for us to work and we worked then until dark run us in. Yes I has seen the slaves whipped, hog-tied and kept there 3 or 4 days at a time by that overseer. He would whip a slave if he just made a mistake, and if he had to whip them for something sure enough that they done he would then punish them further by tying them up and leaving them there several days without anything to eat, except once a day he would let them have a little bread and water, just enough to keep them from being sick after he would turn them aloose. Well no sir, they was not exactly a jail there for the slaves but he always found a way to lock a slave up if he wanted to. He would lock them in their quarters and not let them have any privilege of no kind. Son I am telling you that overseer he was mean to the slaves. Cause one time he took a slave and tied his hands around a tree and then wrapped his body to that tree so he could not twist and turn, then he backed off and took that cat-o-nine tails and whipped that poor negro until he gave out his self. When he got tired and quit that poor slave was bleeding all over, it is a wonder he hadn't of killed that negro cause it was in hot weather and he never turned that negro aloose so he could have his body dressed, just left him tied there to that tree to suffer for several days. When he did finally turn him aloose he was so stiff and sore he could not stand or move, so they had to carry him to his quarters and the slaves had to bathe and rub him for sometime before he ever had any use of hisself, and it was several days before he ever got over that whipping to where he was any account.

Well son I didn't think that the white folks could be so mean to the poor slaves but they were. You know son that some people are good to their stock, some will feed them good and care for them the best they can, then you will see other people that will not feed their stock or will not take good care of them, then when they want them to work they are not able to work because they were not taken good care of. They will beat and abuse their stock when no one is to blame but themselves, now that was the way the people were with their slaves. You know son we have some people that do not care what they have or how it looks just so they get what they want. It is awful that people are that way but it is so, and we cannot help it either, so I don't guess there is any use of worrying about it after slavery is over, but then it was hard on poor slaves to be owned by these kind of people. If a slave was with the better class of Masers he was all right, better off than we negroes are now, these hard times. Yes sir child. I'se seen a few slaves sold and auctioned off to the highest bidder. First thing we did was to wash and clean up real good, then greased our feet, hands and body where exposed so'es we would look real fat and shine, slick and greasy like we had been taken real good care of. You know son if you were going to sell a yearling you would want that yearling to be real fat, and his hair and body to look fat and slick, that was the way they wanted us to look so'es our would-be buyers would give a good price for us. Most of the time our Masers would get the highest bid they could on a slave before they sold, and you could not blame them for that.

After he would sell and the new Maser would start to leave with his new slaves that he had bought, all the hollering and bawling would take place because they were taking one of their number off and they would never expect to see that slave no more he would be just the same as dead to the rest of the slaves. Yes I'se seen slaves in chains there on our farm. And I'se seen one slave that had to wear a bell for ever so long. I'm telling you child, that overseer he was sure mean to the slaves. We had to wear chains to the field just like we were convicts if we were the least bit stubborn. That slave he had to wear a bell because he got to slipping off a night to see his woman. The way they fixed that bell on that negro was a big frame fixed that would fit over his head and shoulders and the bell put in that frame above the negro's head so he could not reach it to silence it, but that didn't stop him from going to see his woman. He would get some of the negroes to stuff that bell full of rags and leaves or something to keep it from clapping, then he would leave to go see his woman and she would meet him on the line of the two places under a big tree and they would stay out all night and then they would not be no account the next day. They tried every way to stop it as they were both good hands but they finally had to sell that poor slave and that slave's new Maser carried him to another state and I'se never did know whatever became of that poor negro as we never did hear of him no more. No sir, the white people they did not try to help me learn to read or write, said they did not have time to fool with us as we were too thick headed to ever learn anything. No sir, us slaves did not have a church of our own there, but the white folks did and we went to their church as they always had a place fixed for the negroes there in one part of that church. No sir, us slaves we did not read the Bible as none of us could read or write, but we got our Maser and Mistress to read some in the Bible to us every Sunday morning. It was then sort of like Sunday School the way we had them to read the Bible to us. My favorite preacher Joe Bryan back home, and he was sure a good preacher. Sure was liked by the slaves and white people too cause he certainly did live his preaching every day in the week, not just only Sunday like most preachers do. When them old camp-meetings would last from a month to 2 months they would always be several to be baptised and preacher he would direct them all to the nearest creek and there while the slaves sang them old time hymns such as: "Rock of Ages" and "On the Stormy Banks of Jordan", that preacher he would baptize the white children and after he would get them baptised he would baptize the slaves that joined his church. I don't recollect that we had any funeral while we were slaves. Now they could have had a funeral but I'se do not recollects one. No sir, I'se do not believes I'se heard of any negro that tried to run off to the north. The only way we could carry news from one plantation to another was for our Maser to give us a pass as all us negroes we were fraid of the patterrollers, they would sure get the negro if he was caught off the plantation without a pass and the negroes all knew it, boy, what them patterrollers done to a negro was a plenty yes sir. Time they whipped a negro 39 licks with that cat-o-nine tails he was in pretty bad shape, yes sir he was. Of course we slipped off some at night and prowled around some but we did not dare let the patterroller get hold of us. They come pretty near getting hold of me one time for slipping off, but I dodged in the brush at night time and run all the way back to my quarters and was in the bed when they got there. I'se making out like I'se sound asleep, cause I'se so still they could have heard my heart beating if they had listened cause I'se thought sure they had done had me. But they finally went on cause they was'nt certain I was the negro they wanted and believe me son, I'se sure was glad when they left, I'se had a close call. That was too close for me. It was a long time before I'se tried that again. Yes sir it was.

Son we just generally fell in at the door cause we would be so tired when we came in at night from our days work out in the field. No sire, we did not work on Saturday unless our Maser get in a tight with his crop or in the grass. That was the day he gave us the day off to see that we washed up, cleaned our clothes and Saturday night we always were ready for them tin pan beatings and banjo picking and the negro dance. That was about the only time we ever were allowed to be together and have some fun. You know we had to have some way to see the other sex and be together, and that was the only time that our Maser allowed us to be together just among ourselves, and we sure made the best of it cause we generally danced, hollered and had our fun all night long. Maser generally had to come early enough Sunday to run us home and to our beds, but he never got rough on us cause we danced all night long. On Sunday we first had our Bible reading by our Maser and Mistress then we went to our quarters, and to bed, then we were all up for our mid-day meal and to the creek swimming or having a ball game among us slaves as Maser never did bother us on these days. He always let us go and have all the fun we could just so we behaved ourselves. On Christmas day Maser might say he turned us loose, but we always stayed close, us girls we waited on the young white people there in the house such as taking their wraps and hats, putting them away, brushing up their shoes, fixing their hair while the boys would be on the outside to take care of the young men's horses and so on like that, then for that dinner. Maser would have nearly about anything anyone would want to eat that day. Yes he always give all us slaves some kind of present and plenty fireworks to shoot off and have lots of fun. As you know son we use to celebrate on that day the birth of our Saviour, and my Maser and Mistress they were real religious people.

On New Years Day we had that day for a holiday as our Maser he gave us every holiday, and son he was a real white man. I'se wish lots of times they were more people like him in the world today as we sure do need them especially now, when this old world is about to turn over. Outside of these holidays I'se told you about is all the holidays we'se negroes knew anything about. Yes we had corn-shucking days in the winter time when it would get so had that we could not have dances to get together, then too our maser he sold lots of shelled corn. We shelled and shucked corn all day long so'es us negroes could have some way to get together and have some fun. Yes we had cotton-picking days, our Maser wanted to get his cotton picked and out of the field. He would give the negro that picked the most cotton some kind of prize and son it would be different things that he would give us. When the white people had a dance or things like that us slaves we were always there to wait on our young people and to play the music for them to dance by. When our white folks married, us negroes sure did hate to see our white children leave and we cried and went on worse than the white people did. Sure we were allowed to take part when they got married, as son you know they were our children we'se raised them. Boss you will hears this today - I'se raised by some old slave negro," that is so son, cause they use to be our children. Don't know as I'se seen any of our white folks that died during slavery. Well they were not very much to a slave wedding, most of the slave weddings were home weddings. We considered if our Maser agreed for us to live together we was lawfully married and I'se guess we were. If our man lived on some other plantation my Maser and his Maser both would have to agree for us to be married, and if that was the case his Maser would let him come stay with me one night out of a week, sometimes it would be two weeks before he would be allowed to come and sometimes we would beg our Masers to let us have a preacher to marry us and he would. The slaves they were allowed to ride us on rails dipped in tubs of water no matter how we got married. Don't knows as I'se ever members a death among the slaves during slavery, as our Masers took too good care of us. You know child we were too valuable then to let die if they could help it anyway at all. As children nearly all our playmates were the white children and we played their games and that was games like wolf-over-the-river, seesaw and hide-and-seek. Sometime we played ball and games of flying-jennie. Us children we sure use to have great times playing with our white children, never was no fight like they have today. These here white children won't let the little negro children play with them now like they use to. No sire son, it has been so long ago since I'se thought of them games that I'se do not members any of the words or songs we sung as children.

No sir, son I'se don't members any stories about raw-head and bloody-bones, nor know anything about riddles or charms used during slavery by the slaves. No sir, no stories about animals or anything that ever happened to me. No sir, I'se don't members any work song or plantation hollers, child that has been so long I'se forgot all them. No sir, I'se never seen a ghost or haunt, fact son I'se do not white man. I'se wish lots of times they were more people like him in the world today as we sure do need them especially now, when this old world is about to turn over. Outside of these holidays I'se told you about is all the holidays we'se negroes knew anything about. Yes we had corn-shucking days in the winter time when it would get so bad that we could not have dances to get together, then too our maser he sold lots of shelled corn. We shelled and shucked corn all day long so'es us negroes could have some way to get together and have some fun. Yes we had cotton-picking days, our Maser wanted to get his cotton picked and out of the field. He would give the negro that picked the most cotton some kind of prize and son it would be different things that he would give us. When the white people had a dance or things like that us slaves we were always there to wait on our young people and to play the music for them to dance by. When our white folks married, us negroes sure did hate to see our white children leave and we cried and went on worse than the white people did. Sure we were allowed to take part when they got married, as son you know they were our children we'se raised them. Boss you will hears this today - "I'se raised by some old slave negro," that is so son, cause they use to be our children. Don't know as I'se seen any of our white folks that died during slavery. Well they were not very much to a slave wedding, most of the slave weddings were home weddings. We considered if our Maser agreed for us to live together we was lawfully married and I'se guess we were. If our man lived on some other plantation my Maser and his Maser both would have to agree for us to be married, and if that was the case his Maser would let him come stay with me one night out of a week, sometimes it would be two weeks before he would be allowed to come and sometimes we would beg our Masers to let us have a preacher to marry us and he would. The slaves they were allowed to ride us on rails dipped in tubs of water no matter how we got married. Don't knows as I'se ever members a death among the slaves during slavery, as our Masers took too good care of us. You know child we were too valuable then to let die if they could help it anyway at all.

As children nearly all our playmates were the white children and we played their games and that was games like wolf-over-the-river, see-saw and hide-and-seek. Sometime we played ball and games of flying-jennie. Us children we sure use to have great times playing with our white children, never was no fight like they have today. These here white children won't let the little negro children play with them now like they use to. No sire son, it has been so long ago since I'se thought of them games that I'se do not members any of the words or songs we sung as children. No sir, son I'se don't members any stories about raw-head and bloody-bones, nor know anything about riddles or charms used during slavery by the slaves. No sir, no stories about animals or anything that ever happened to me. No sir, I'se don't members any work song or plantation hollers, child that has been so long I'se forgot all them. No sir, I'se never seen a ghost or haunt, fact son I'se do not believes any them ghost people has told me they has seen ghosts, but I'se do not believes in them cause I'se never seen one no time. Now child they are not ghosts no way. When we become sick we had awful good care taken of us, yes sir, our Maser was awful good to us. He first turned us over to our old negro mama to doctor and if she did not get us well then we had the white doctor with us. Our old negro mama she got her hoe and sack and to the woods she went gathering herbs to make our medicine out of. Well she gathered cami weed roots, peach tree leaves, red oak bark and privet roots; cooked or boiled them all down to a thick syrup and gave to us for chills, fever, malaria and so on. She used pine tree bark, onions and pure honey to make us a cough syrup out of for our cold and coughs and it was real good son - better than anything these here doctors can give these days. There are not many of them that can cure the chills, all they want is the money. Yes we use to wear camphor tied around our necks to keep off all kinds of malaria. Yes we has wore assafoetida also around our necks for all kinds of diseases. Then, our negro women they like to have depopulated this country on the negro race. They got to chewing cotton roots to keep from giving births to babies and they finally made a law against that but it did not help much. If slavery had lasted much longer they would not have been any slaves except the old ones they had here left, cause when slavery was ended they was not being any new slaves born, we had done quit breeding. Well son I'se do not members so much about that awful war but I'se heard lots during that terrible time, when it was over, all the negroes were running to and fro in the street and a white man with a rag tied over his face rode his horse down through all them negroes and shot his gun right in among them, he never killed a negro but he hit several and the negroes they tore out to their Masers for protection. If they had stayed after that he would have killed several and they knew it, because they were hollering "I'se free just like a frog, I can jump from a log to the ground if I'se want to," so they thought, but that rider with his face covered changed their minds for them and that night all negroes that were not in their quarters when dark come the patterrollers got them. I'se members that several nights after the war ended between the states Mistress' little girl got sick, she called one of the slave men and told him to get a horse and go after the doctor for her, he asked for a pass but Mistress told him he would not need a pass. He never did get to the doctor, the patterrollers caught that poor negro and hung him to a tree limb. Mistress said she was to blame for his death cause she sent him without a pass, that was after the war had done ended. Maser he had not got home yet and when he did come home he told us that we were free, just as free as he was and that we could go do as we pleased, but we had not got over the patterrollers hanging that poor negro, too we all loved our Maser but he told us that he didn't have any more say over what we done. We begin to wonder what we was going to do for we did not have no job and nothing to eat, and we did not know what we was going to do. We begin to beg Maser to keep us there with him but he told us he did not know if he could or not, that about all he had was wiped out during the war, but he promised us that he would see if he could get the money to keep us. So he went to see if he could get some help so that he could work us and he did. We worked there for our Maser a long time after the war for two dollars per month, course he let us have some corn, garden and some hogs to make our meat and that was how we lived after the war. Boy we sure was glad to get that, course we did not have the care taken of us that we did before the war, but then our people were good to us even after the war. If our Maser should have got killed in that war we would have not had no place to stay or no way to make a living and we was glad to get what we did. There were some negroes that they just turned a loose, no place to go or no way to make a living, they just had to roam the country and beg what they could for a living, but thank God our Maser was able to keep us and see after us until we had kind of got use to being free and to where we was not afraid to ask a man for a job. We had lots of hard times just after the war and we did not have plenty to eat like we did when we were slaves, but it was the best our Maser could do for us to get by on. Well son I'se had great time when I'se married to Allen Lee, who was owned by one of General Lee's relatives, course that was several years after the war. He never had seen me but one time before we were married. He got one of his people's horses and come by and just married me by force. He just rode by, picked me up and put me on the horse behind him and a way he went to the preachers and we were married. Course I'se did not object much and the negroes did not find out we were married until we got back, then all the dancing and eating it came off. I'se had on all the clothes I'se had and they were work clothes. Well child we had 11 children, one of them is dead, a girl, all the rest 5 boys and 5 girls are still living. I'se done lost count of my grandchildren they are too many of them for me to count. Well my children they are trying to farm, 2 working on this here government work. My old man he done gone and left me, he died long 17 years ago and I'se living with one of my daughters whose man is dead. Well child I'se don't know that I expect anything from slavery, I never did expect what we got. I thought that we would go on just like we were in slavery but course you know we didn't. No sir, I'se did not expect them to divide Maser's land with us. Why child, we did not get nothing except we were turned loose like bunch of wild hogs to make it the best we could. No sir they were not any land gave to the ex-slaves no time, all we got we had to work real hard for. Sometimes we did not get what we worked for, they beat us out of that cause we could not help ourselves. No sir, our owner did not give us anything cause he did not have anything his self after the war was over. That war just about broke our Maser. Well yes, and no, we was not forced to stay on as servants only in one way and that was, we most had to stay and do what our Maser told so'es we could get something to eat and wear. When we were turned aloose we were not trained in no way nor did we have anything, no sir, to live on. You know child if you had to stay where you could get something to eat and wear that would be where you would stay regardless of where it was. We loved our Maser better than we did our own people at that time cause he was so good to us in every way he could, as he managed our affairs for us and helped us to learn the way of a free people. He taught us the way to do and act after we was free and went to work for him by the month. Well son we done just about what we could after the war, as we were worse off then than we were in slavery time. People would not let us get out and hunt other places to stay and work, as they were use to making us do just like they wanted us to. Of course they had to gradually get away from that and we had to gradually get use to taking care of ourselves and managing our own business. Our wages were low and it was hard for us to even keep bread to feed our families on, not any doctor bills if we got sick, we just had to tough it out or die because we did not have money to get a doctor with. We had to depend then entirely on our old negro mamas to cure us of all our ailments. The reconstruction period was hard on the old slaves but we endured all hardships and came through with colors flying. Son we done most just what we could after we were turned aloose. It was hard going to live as our wages were so low that we could hardly feed ourself, muchless our children, and too we were not trained. We got from 15 to 30 cents a day for our work, and sometimes they never paid us at that. Yes we had the KKK and the patterrollers just after the war and they influenced us lots. We had to do just about like they wanted us to if we didn't, we got a real good whipping and beating or else they would hang us to a limb is we didn't and us negroes we were all afraid of them KKK and the patterrollers. No sir, they was none of my menfolks that ever tried to vote they were afraid to, then they did not know anything about voting therefore they let the white folks do all that and they stayed at home and worked. Yes I believes since our young people have become more educated that they should be allowed more rights and privileges in voting. We have to pay taxes and send our young boys to war and fight for our country just like our white people do and sure we have to shoulder the same load of the white man. From the time the war closed to now son we farmed mostly. Yes we worked some at day laborers on the farm and I'se taken in a few washings from the white people but that was what we had to do as that was all the negroes was fit to do. We did have all the things "