INTRODUCTION I This collection of slave narratives had its beginning in the second year of the former Federal Writers' Project (now the Writers' Program), 1936, when several state Writers' Projects—notably those of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina—recorded interviews with ex-slaves residing in those states. On April 22, 1937, a standard questionnaire for field workers drawn up by... more...

INTERVIEWFRANCES BATSON1213 Scovel St.Nashville, Tennessee "I dunno jes how ole I ez. I wuz baw'n 'yer in Nashville, durin' slabery. I must be way pas' 90 fer I member de Yankee soldiers well. De chilluns called dem de 'blue mans.' Mah white folks wuz named Crockett. Dr. Crockett wuz our marster but I don't member 'im mahse'f. He d'ed w'en I... more...

NAT TURNER Back 'fore the sixties, I can 'member my Mistress, Miss Sara Ann, comin' to de window an' hollerin', "De niggers is arisin'! De niggers is arisin'! De niggers is killin' all de white folks, killin' all de babies in de cradle!" It must have been Nat Turner's Insurrection; which wuz sometime 'fo de breakin' of de Civil War. I... more...

"I's birthed below Nacogdoches, and dey tells me it am on March 19th, in 1852. My mammy had some kind of paper what say dat. But I don't know my master, 'cause when I's two he done give me to Marse Frank Sparks and he brung me to Bosqueville. Dat sizeable place dem days. My mammy come 'bout a month after, 'cause Marse Frank, he say I's too much trouble without my... more...

Interviewer: Irene RobertsonSubject: NEGRO LOREStory:—Information This information given by: Charlie VadenPlace of Residence: Hazen, Green Grove, Ark.Occupation: FarmingAge: 77 [TR: Information moved from bottom of first page.] Charlie Vaden's father ran away and went to the war to fight. He was a slave and left his owner. His mother died when he was five years old but before she died she gave... more...

PLANTATION LIFE AS VIEWED BY AN EX-SLAVEGEORGIA TELFAIR, Age 74Box 131, R.F.D. #2Athens, Ga. Written by:Miss Grace McCuneAthens, Ga. Edited by:Mrs. Sarah H. HallAthens, Ga. andMrs. Leila HarrisAugusta, Ga.[Date Stamp: APR 29 1938] "Yes chile, I'll be glad to tell you de story of my life, I can't tell you much 'bout slav'ry 'cause I wuz jus' six months old when freedom... more...

Ex-Slave StoriesDistrict No. 5Vanderburgh CountyLauana Creel AN UNHAPPY EXPERIENCE[GEORGE W. ARNOLD] This is written from an interview with each of the following: George W. Arnold, Professor W.S. Best of the Lincoln High School and Samuel Bell, all of Evansville, Indiana. George W. Arnold was born April 7, 1861, in Bedford County, Tennessee. He was the property of Oliver P. Arnold, who owned a large... more...

Garrard County. Ex-Slave Stories.(Eliza Ison) [HW: Ky 9] Interview with Dan Bogie: Uncle Dan tells me "he was born May 5, 1858 at the Abe Wheeler place near Spoonsville, now known as Nina, about nine miles due east from Lancaster. Mother, whose name was Lucinda Wheeler, belonged to the Wheeler family. My father was a slave of Dan Bogie's, at Kirksville, in Madison County, and I was named for... more...

FOLK STUFF, FLORIDAJules A. FrostTampa, FloridaOctober 20, 1937 JOSEPHINE ANDERSON HANTS "I kaint tell nothin bout slavery times cept what I heared folks talk about. I was too young to remember much but I recleck seein my granma milk de cows an do de washin. Granpa was old, an dey let him do light work, mosly fish an hunt. "I doan member nothin bout my daddy. He died when I was a baby. My... more...

MEMORIES OF UNCLE JACKSON "I was born in 1851, in the yard where my owner lived next door to the City Hall. I remember when they was finishin' up the City Hall. I also remember the foreman, Mr. James Walker, he was general manager. The overseen (overseer) was Mr. Keen. I remember all the bricklayers; they all was colored. The man that plastered the City Hall was named George Price, he... more...