Biography & Autobiography Books

Interviewer: Mrs. Bernice BowdenPerson interviewed: Lizzie McCloud     1203 Short 13th Street, Pine Bluff, ArkansasAge: 120? "I was one of 'em bless your heart. Yes ma'm, Yes ma'm, I wouldn't tell you a lie 'bout that. If I can't tell you the truth I'm not goin' tell you nothin'! "Oh yes, I was a young lady in slavery times—bred and born in... more...

Interviewer: Samuel S. TaylorPerson interviewed: Dr. D. B. Gaines1720 Izard Street, Little Rock, ArkansasAge: 75 “I was born in 1863 and am now seventy-five years old. You see, therefore, that I know nothing experimentally and practically about slavery. “I was born in South Carolina in Lawrence County, and my father moved away from the old place before I had any recollection. I remember nothing... 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...

CHAPTER I. I was born in Lexington, Ky. The man who stole me as soon as I was born, recorded the births of all the infants which he claimed to be born his property, in a book which he kept for that purpose. My mother's name was Elizabeth. She had seven children, viz: Solomon, Leander, Benjamin, Joseph, Millford, Elizabeth, and myself. No two of us were children of the same father. My father's... more...

CHAPTER I Once a slave girl, I have endeavored to fill the pages with some of the most interesting thoughts that my mind is so full of, and not with something that is dry. This sketch is written for the good of those that have written and prayed that the slaves might be a freed people, and have schools and books and learn to read and write for themselves; and the Lord, in His love for us and to us as a... more...

THE HISTORY OF MARY PRINCE, A WEST INDIAN SLAVE. (Related by herself.) I was born at Brackish-Pond, in Bermuda, on a farm belonging to Mr. Charles Myners. My mother was a household slave; and my father, whose name was Prince, was a sawyer belonging to Mr. Trimmingham, a ship-builder at Crow-Lane. When I was an infant, old Mr. Myners died, and there was a division of the slaves and other property among... more...

Asked for the story of his early life and his recollections of slavery, Elisha replied: "Yes Ma'am, 'deed I'll tell you all I knows 'bout dem days." His next words startled the interviewer. "I knowed you was comin' to write dis jedgment," he said. "I seed your hand writin' and long 'fore you got here I seed you jus' as plain as you is now. I... more...

PLANTATION LIFE RACHEL ADAMS, Age 78300 Odd StreetAthens, Georgia Written by:Sadie B. Hornsby [HW: (White)]Athens Edited by:Sarah H. HallAthens andJohn N. BoothDistrict SupervisorFederal Writers' ProjectResidencies 6 & 7Augusta, Georgia Rachel Adams' two-room, frame house is perched on the side of a steep hill where peach trees and bamboo form dense shade. Stalks of corn at the rear of... 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...

[HW: Dist 5Ex-Slave #63] Whitley,1-22-36Driskell EX SLAVEJENNIE KENDRICKS[Date Stamp: MAY 8 1937] Jennie Kendricks, the oldest of 7 children, was born in Sheram, Georgia in 1855. Her parents were Martha and Henry Bell. She says that the first thing she remembers is being whipped by her mother. Jennie Kendricks' grandmother and her ten children lived on this plantation. The grandmother had been... more...