Robert Howard, an ex-slave, was born in 1852, in Clara County, Kentucky. His master, Chelton Howard, was very kind to him. The mother, with her five children, lived on the Howard farm in peace and harmony. His father, Beverly Howard, was owned by Bill Anderson, who kept a saloon on the riverfront.
Beverly was “hired out” in the house of Bill Anderson. He was allowed to go to the Howard farm every Saturday night to visit with his wife and children. This visit was always looked forward to with great joy, as they were devoted to the father.
The Howard family was sold only once, being owned first by Dr. Page in Henry County, Kentucky. The family was not separated; the entire family was bought and kept together until slavery was abolished.
Samuel Bell was an enslaved person in Kentucky for 12 years before Emancipation. In this excerpt, he describes how the enslaved didn’t truly have rights under the law, and because of this, the enslaver’s rules were the only laws that mattered.
“[John Bell] … was a good and a just man and fed his slaves well. He only used the lash when it was absolutely necessary. You know how it is in the court! Well, it was the same way on the plantations in slavery days. A good slave was seldom punished, but mean ones had to be punished to prevent their taking advantage of their master and the other slaves. Slaves were not subject to the laws of the land, and this punishment had to be governed by a slave’s deeds and errors. The master’s will was the only law he was compelled to obey. When a slave refused to work, he was flogged until he was willing to work. The master had to feed and clothe him and expected him to repay with work.
Evall had about 200 slaves on a big plantation and fine race horses. He raised cane, wheat, and corn, and he had a big stillhouse to make his own whiskey, and he made it to sell, too.
We did our cooking in our cabin, and it wasn’t much except jowl bacon, cornbread, and syrup. I and part of our family were sold once, and ole Miss Evall’s mother brought us back the same day.
I saw slaves whipped at the whipping post in Paris, Kentucky, until their backs bled. And then they sprinkled the cuts with salty water.
Different slave owners would take their slaves to help other slave owners cut their winter’s wood, or husk corn, or shear their sheep. We got good food then and sometimes they used to let their slaves have dances together whilst they were working to get the work done.
Evall bought our shoes in Paris, (Kentucky) and if they were too big, we wore them, and if they were too little we wore them just the same, But sometimes we cut the toes out of the shoes to make them long enough.
Samuel Sutton was very young when the Civil War was fought, however he has some recollection. Here, he tells of his experiences interacting with soldiers from both sides. He goes on to tell about the celebrations that occurred among the formerly enslaved person on July 4 after the Civil War ended.
The war? Yes ma’am, I saw soldiers, Union Calvary going by dressed fine with gold braid on blue and big boots. But the Rebels now, I recollect they had no uniforms because they were hard up and they came in just common clothes. Old master was a Rebel and he always helped them. Yes ma’am. A pitched battle started right on our place. It didn’t last long, for they were running on to fight in Perryville, where the one big battle to take place in the state of Kentucky took place.
Most likely story I remember to tell you about was something that made me mad and I always remembered because of that. I had the biggest, finest watermelon, and I was told to sit up on the fence with the watermelon and show them and sell them twenty cents. Along came a line of soldiers. ‘Hey there boy, how much for the melon?’, one hollered at me.
‘Twenty cents sir!’ I said, just like I had been told to say, and he took that melon right out of my arms and rode off without paying me. I ran after them trying to get my money but I couldn’t keep up with those soldiers on horses, and all of the soldiers just laughed at me. Yes ma’am, they were the finest, biggest melons I ever saw. That was right mean of him, fine looking gentleman he was, at the head of the line.
Ole Master Ballinger, he was a Rebel, and he harbored Rebels. There were two men hanging around there named [Union General Don Carlos] Buell and [Confederate General Braxton] Bragg. Buell was a northerner, Bragg, he was a Rebel. Buell gave Bragg a chance to get away when he should have found out what the Rebs were doing and taken him prisoner. I heard tell about that.
There was a lot of spying and riding around there for one thing or another, but I don’t know what it was all about. I do know I feel sorry for those Rebel soldiers I saw that were ragged and tired, all worn out. Master felt pretty bad about everything sometimes, but I reckon there were mean Rebels and southerners that had it coming to them. I always heard till they had it coming to them.
. . .Yes ma’am, like I told you, the war was over and the colored folks had a big time, with speaking and everything over at Dick Robinson’s camp on the 4th. Never have I seen such rejoicing on the 4th of July since, no ma’am, I ain’t.
Samuel Sutton was very young when the Civil War was fought, however he has some recollection and remembers life directly after. Here he describes his right to vote and why he votes the way he does.
I’ve seen two presidents, Grant and Hayes. I voted for Hayes when I was 22 years old. General Grant was running against Greeley when I heard him speak in Louisville. He told what all Lincoln had done for the colored man. Yes ma’am, fine looking man he was, and he wore a fine suit. Yes ma’am. I haven’t missed an election since I was 22 and voted for Hayes. I’m not going to miss any, and I vote like the white man read out of the Emancipation Proclamation. I vote for one of Abe Lincoln’s men every time , I sure do.
Samuel Watson was very young when the Civil War ended and Emancipation was granted to those enslaved. However, he clearly remembers the struggles his family had after Emancipation. In this excerpt, he describes the struggle his mother had supporting the family, how his siblings became indentured servants, and his life as an indentured servant to an unkind employer.
Uncle Samuel remembers when the war ended and the slaves were emancipated. “Some were happy and some were sad!” Many dreaded leaving their old homes and their masters’ families.
Uncle Samuel’s mother and three children were told that they were free people and the master asked the mother to take her little ones and go away.
She complied and took her family to the plantation of Jourdain James, hoping to work and keep her family together. Wages received for her work failed to support the mother and children so she left the employ of Mr. James and worked from place to place until her children became half starved and without clothing.
The older children, remembering better and happier days, ran away from their mother and went back to their old master.
Thomas Watson went to Dixon, Kentucky and had an article of indenture drawn up binding both Thomas and Laurah to his service for a long number of years. Little Samuel only remained with his mother who took him to the home of William Allen Price. Mr. Price’s plantation was situated in Webster County, Kentucky about half-way between Providence and Clay on Craborchard Creek. Mr. Price had the little boy indentured to his service for a period of eighteen years. There the boy lived and worked on the plantation.
He said he had a good home among good people. His master gave him five real whippings within a period of fourteen years but Uncle Samuel believes he deserved every lash administered.
It was the custom for a slave indentured to a master to be given a fair education, a good horse, bridle, saddle and a suit of clothes for his years of toil, but Mr. Price did not believe the boy deserved the pay and refused to pay him. A lawyer friend sued in behalf of the N***o and received a judgement of $115.00 (one hundred and fifteen dollars). Eighteen dollars repaid the lawyer for his service and Samuel started out with $95.00 and his freedom.
Interviewee Formerly enslaved person
Birth Year (Age)
Interviewer WPA Volunteer
Enslaver’s Name
Samuel Watson
1862
Lauana Creel
Thomas Watson
Interview Location
Residence State
Birth Location
Evansville, IN
Indiana
Clay, KY
Themes & Keywords
Additional Tags:
Emancipation, Economics, Equality
Third person, Dialect, Bound out after war, whipped, notable,
Sarah Frances Shaw Graves’ enslaver moved her from Kentucky to Missouri at a young age. In this excerpt, she describes the term “allotment” and the process of hiring out an enslaved person. She goes on to describe how her father was allotted to another enslaver when they were moved to Missouri, and how the enslavers would not tell her mother where her father was in order to encourage her to remarry and have children.
Yes ma’am. Allotted? Yes ma’am. I’m going to explain that, she replied. You see there were slave traders in those days, just like you got horse and mule and auto traders now. They bought and sold slaves and hired them out. Yes ma’am, rented them out. Allotted means something like hired out. But the slave never got any wages. That all went to the master. The man they were allotted to paid the master.
I never was sold. My mama was sold only once, but she was hired out many times. Yes ma’am when a slave was allotted, somebody made a down payment and gave a mortgage for the rest. A chattel mortgage. A down payment!! Times don’t change, just the merchandise.
Allotments made a lot of grief for the slaves, Aunt Sally asserted.
We left my papa in Kentucky, because he was allotted to another man. My papa never knew where my mama went, and my mama never knew where papa went.
Aunt Sally paused a moment, then went on bitterly. They never wanted Mama to know, because they knew she would never marry so long as she knew where he was. Our master wanted her to marry again and raise more children to be slaves. They never wanted Mama to know where Papa was, and she never did, sighed Aunt Sally. Only those who have lost their mate, and never know the end of the tale, can understand such heart anguish.
Mama said she would never marry again to have children, continued Aunt Sally, so she married my step-father, Trattle Barber, because he was sick and could never be a father. He was so sick he couldn’t work, so me and mama had to work hard.
Sarah Frances Shaw Graves’ enslaver moved her from Kentucky to Missouri at a young age. In this excerpt, she gives details about what it’s like to be whipped by an enslaver. She then tells a story of how she was blamed for something one of the enslaver’s children did, and was nearly whipped twice for this.
Yes ma’am. Some masters were good and some were bad. My mama’s master whipped his slaves for pastime. My master was not so bad as some were to their slaves. I’ve had many a whipping, some I deserved, and some I got for being blamed for doing things the master’s children did. My master whipped his slaves with a cat-o’-nine-tails. He’d say to me, ’You ain’t had a currying down for some time. Come here!!!’ Then he whipped me with the cat. The cat was made of nine strips of leather fastened onto the end of a whip. Lots of times when he hit me, the cat left nine stripes of blood on my back. Yes ma’am . . .
. . . I belong to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and I ain’t never cussed but once in my life, and that was one time I nearly got two whippings for something I didn’t do. Some of the master’s kin folks had a wedding, and we walked to the church, and somebody kicked dust on the bride’s clothes, and I got blamed but I never kicked it. The master’s daughter Puss, she kicked it. Ole mistress she whipped me. Yes ma’am, she whipped me. It was the worst whipping I ever got. The worst whipping in my whole life, and I still got the marks on my body. Yes ma’am. I have them yet. When the master came home, he was going to whip me again, and I got mad and told him it was a lie, and if Puss said I kicked dust on the white folks she was a DAMNED LYIN’ DEVIL. He took the switch and gave Puss a whipping for telling a lie. Yes ma’am. That’s the only time I ever cussed in my life. Yes ma’am, and that’s about all I know about slavery and folks’ ways hereabouts.
Sarah Locke’s enslaver kept never sold enslaved persons. He instead kept them within his own family. In this excerpt, she describes an account of the KKK coming to her plantation and the reason why none of the enslaved persons was attacked during this time.
She remembers one night the slaves were having a dance in one of the cabins, a band of Ku Kluxers came and took all the firearms they could find, but no one was hurt. However, it did not take long for them to find out why. Another night when the Kluxers were riding, the slaves recognized the voice of their young master. That was the reason why the Keephart slaves were never molested.
Sarah Waggoner was a 93 year old formerly enslaved person. She remembers a great deal about her life of enslavement. In this excerpt she first describes how her enslaver worked her much harder late in the Civil War because she knew the enslaved were likely to be freed. She then goes on to describe the work and the life she lived inside her enslavers’ house.
During the war, Old Miss kept telling me I had to help her put new cloth in the loom and when little Jane, that’s her little girl, wanted me to play, her mother would say, ’Sarey has to work fast now, because she is going to be free’. Oh Lord, Miss, Sarey will never be free. But I was freed.
Now I am going to tell you about home life. I worked in the house for Old Miss, and we had plenty to do and plenty to eat. When the white folks were through eating, I got a pan and got the grub, and sat on the floor and ate it.
Oh Lordy, but I worked hard since I was twelve years old. But not in the fields. Old Miss said there was plenty for me to do in the house, and there was, sure enough. I washed and cooked for all of us. And ironed too. I’d heat the irons, great big old irons, in the fireplace. I ironed on a quilt spread out on the floor, and I ironed just as nice as anybody. I lived right in the house with the white folks. In summer we slept, my brother Henry and me, in a trundle bed in the kitchen; and in the winter made a pallet beside the fireplace. Old Pap was good to us. He kept up a fire all night when it was cold. I never saw a cooking stove or a lace shoe until I was freed. We just had to burn our faces cooking over the fireplace. I milked eight cows and then put the milk away. That took a long time. They didn’t have horses then, much. They had a yoke of oxen. Sometimes some of us were hired out to work but we didn’t get any money for that ourselves. They drawed the wages.
Interviewee Formerly enslaved person
Birth Year (Age)
Interviewer WPA Volunteer
Enslaver’s Name
Sarah Waggoner
1844 (93)
G.K. Bartlett
Jim Howard
Interview Location
Residence State
Birth Location
Savannah, MO
Missouri
Grayson County, KY
Themes & Keywords
Additional Tags:
Gender/gender roles
First person, dialect, hired out
Waggoner_S_1
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