Texas Slave Narratives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Slave Narrative

  Martha Spence Bunton

Martha Spence Bunton , 81, was born a slave, Jan. 1, 1856, on the John Bell plantation, in Murphreesboro. Tennessee. Mr. Bell sold Martha , her mother and four sisters to Joseph Spence , who brought them to Texas. Martha Married Andy Bunton in 1880, and they had nine children. Martha now lives with her sister, Susan , on twelve acres of land which their father bought for $25.00 an acre. The fare is picturesquely located on a thickly wooded hill about six miles east of Austin, Texas.

"I was born on New Year's Day. Yes, suh, in 1856, on Massa Bell's plantation over in Tennessee. De name of de town was Murphreesboro, and my mammy and my four sisters and me all 'longed to Massa John Bell , but he done sold us to Massa Joseph Spence , and dat how I come by my name. "I 'members how Massa Speace brung us to Texas in wagons, and the way we knowed when we hit Texas am 'cause massa 'gin to talk 'bout a northern. When dat northern done strike, all de weeds and leaves jus' starts rollin'. De poor, ig'nant niggers thunk at first dey was rabbits, 'cause we'd never seed a rabbit den. Massa Spence rid his hose and Missie Spence come 'long in de richer way, in a coach. De chillen walked mornin's and de older folks walked afternoons. Massa Spence come to Montopolis, right nigh to Austin, and settled down. I helped carry dinner pails to de field workers, and dey was full of meat and cabbage and biscuit. Pappy wasn't dere then, 'cause be was own by Massa Burrows , over in Tennessee. But when his massa died, my massa bought pappy and he come out to Texas, Befo' I's a sizeable child, mammy took sick with diphtheria and died and pappy had to be mammy and pappy to us  Pappy was a big-bodied man and on Sunday mornin' he'd git out of bed and make a big fire and say. 'Jiminy cripes! You chillen stay in you beds and I'll make de biscuits.' He would, too. I laughs when I thinks 'bout dem big, rye biscuits, what was so big we called dem 'Nigger heels.' Dey sho' was big biscuits, but dey was good. We never did git no butter, though, and sometimes we'd ask the white chillen to give us a piece of biscuit with butter on it. We got plenty other eats - sliced meat and roastin' ears and sweet milk. After freedom pappy seat us to school to de white teacher, and dat's why I can read and write. I went to de sixth grade and quit. Pappy was drinkin' a lot then. He'd take alcohol and mix it with 'lasses and water. But he was good to us. Sometimes a Texas norther come up and we'd be on the way home and we'd see something comin' what look like a elephant and it was pappy, with a bundle of coats. I was twenty-four years old when I married Andy Bunton and he jes' rented farms here and yonder. We had a big weddin' and pork and turkey and cake. Aunt Lucy Hubbard , what weighed three hundred pounds, done de cookin' dat day. We had such a good time nobody knowed when one de guests stole a whole turkey. "I was mother of nine chillen and three of dem is livin' now. Andy made purty good livin till he had a paral'sis stroke. Poor old feller! In de end. I took care of him and had to work like I was young again. I out wood and carried water and washed and cooked. I had to feed him. "I owns my place here. It an twelve acres and pappy bought it long ago for $25.00 de acre. My sister lives here too, and my son, Howard , comes home sometimes, but he's got eight houn' dogs he can't feed. I sho' can't feed dem on dat $11.00 pension what I gits.


Martha Spence Bunton , 81, was born a slave on January 1, 1856, on the John Bell cotton plantation in Murphfreesboro, Tennessee. Bell sold Martha , her mother and four sisters to Joseph Spence , who brought them overland to Texas. Spence rented a cotton plantation at Montopolis, now a suburb of Austin. Martha's father, Abraham Spence , was owned by William Burrows of Murphfreesboro, and was not allowed to accompany his family to Texas. Burrows died shortly after this incident, and Joseph Spence purchased Abraham , who rejoined his family in Texas. Hester Bell , Martha's mother, died of diphtheria shortly after coming to Texas. Martha was reluctant to relate incidents concerning her slavery days, because she hated to even "think about dem awful days". On December 27, 1880, when Martha was 24, she married Andy Bunton , a renter-farmer. They had nine children, of whom three are living. Martha is a devoted student of the Bible and now is thankful that, after slavery she took the chance to go to school, "up to the sixth grade" when she quit to go to work, so she could help her father, who was getting "drunk all ob de time". Martha and her sister, Susan Spence live in two small houses on twelve acres of land which their father purchased for $25.00 an acre. Their farm is picturesquely located on a thickly wooded red bluff, about six miles east of Austin, on Route 1, Box 120. Martha receives a monthly pension of $11.00 from the State. Her story: "I was bawn on Mawster John Bell's cotton plantation at Murphfreesboro, Tennessee, dis was on January 1, 1856, right on New Year's day. We belonged to Mawster Bell , but he sold us to Joseph Spence . Dat's why later, I got de name ob Spence , Martha Spence . "Now here, I remembah how when Mawster Spence bought us, we come on down to Texas in wagons, in dem big covered wagons. I kin remembah how we crossed de big Mississippi River on a steamboat. I didn't even have sense enought to be scared ob dat steamboat  "We knowed when we hit Texas, 'cause de mawster was a tellin' us all times, "We had better git off ob de road and pull up alongside ob dem trees and brushes, 'cause a nawther is on de way." "When dat nawther struck, weeds and leaves would jes' staht a rollin' along de land. Yo' might not believe me when dem weeds got to tumblin' along dat way, us poor, ignorant little niggers thought dat dey was rabbits. We sure did. We never saw no rabbits in Tennessee, but we had heard dat dere was a lot ob 'em in Texas. "Mawster Spence rode his hoss, and sometimes he'd let us git three days ahead ob him and den he'd catch up wid us. I believe Mistress Spence come along in a richer way, in a coach, or a stagecoach, I believe. I know dat she didn't come along wid us. "Mawster's nephew, William Hamilton , rode along wid us in de covered wagons. De chillun had to walk in de mawnin's while de older folks rode, in de afternoons, de older folks walked and us chillun rode. Ob course, de littlest chillun rode all of de time. Sometimes we took de wrong road and had to turn bock and find de main road. "We come through Louisiana into East Texas. Here sistah Nancy took sick and had a baby. She was married to a slave, John Spence . He was along wid us. Dey called de little baby girl Anna .  Mothaw, my other sistahs, Nester , Parthenia , Susan , and me come on down to Austin, where Mawster Spence rented a cotton fahm. "When I was child, I had to help de other chillun bring de dinner pails to de workers in de fields. We toted buckets dat had meat, cabbage, biscuits and milk in 'em. About twelb o'clock de men would unhitch de mules, and wait fo' us. Dey was hungry and dey got plenty to eat. All ob us got enough to eat. "Fathaw wasn't out in dem fields, 'cause he was owned by Mawster William Burrows ob Murphfreesboro, Tennessee, and he warn't allowed to come along. But when mawster Burrows died, Mawster Spence bought fathaw, and he came on down to Texas. He den worked out in de fields ob Mawster Billingsley . Mawster Spence had enough hands, so he allowed fathaw to work out. "But fathaw was near us. Den mothaw got a cold and diptheria, and died. We was lak little orphan niggers, but fathaw den come over and took care ob us. He was fathaw and mothaw to us. Muh, dat's whut we called mothaw in dem early days, wasn't wid us no more. "Fathaw, poor soul, was a big bodied man. I remembah how on Sunday mawnin's when we didn't have nothin' to do, he'd git out ob bed in our log cabin, make a big fire, and tell us Jiminy-cripes! yo' chillun stay in yo' beds, I'll make de biscuits." "He would too. I still laugh when I think about dem big rye biscuits dat was so laghe, dat we called 'em "nigger Heels" Dey sure was big biscuits, but dey was good. Some ob dem big biscuits was made out ob black shorts, but dey was good, too. "We never did git no butter and sometimes, we'd see de little white chillun goin' around eatin' bread dat was buttered and sugared. We got plenty ob other eats: sliced meat, biscuits ob black shorts, roastin' ears in season, plenty of sweet milk and butter-milk, but no butter. "Den we'd ask some ob de chillun; "Joseph , give us a peice ob yo' bread, please." "He'd say, "all right, break off a peice, don't let mothaw see yo' do it, though." "Joseph was de best ob de three Spence boys. Den we'd ask Robert . He'd say, "no I ain't! Yo' go and git yo' some cawnbread."De boys' mothaw, Mistress Mag , would whoop us, when we needed it. But she also whooped her chillun, when dey done wrong or wouldn't mind. Mistress Mag was a big chu'ch member. She'd have prayer meetin's, mawnin' and night. But I got tired listenin' to her. She asked God to make her boys rich and well-to-do. She got her wish. One ob de boys was a jedge, another was a professor, and one ob 'em is still livin' and he is a big doctor, I believe. I was thinkin' about dat de other day. "One day fathaw found out dat his little chaps, he always called us his chaps, had bugs in dere hair. We had lice. Mistress Mag tried to git us rid ob 'em. One day fathaw went up to mawster Spence , who was always good to us and said, "Mawster Joe , if yo' please, tell Mistress Mag to stop bathin my chaps' heads wid dat lye soap! Mawster Joe , I'se tellin' yo', she'll kill my little niggers. She'll git dere brains out ob dere heads dat way.' "And Mawster Spence would nigh always have his way "Dere's only one time dat I remembah when Mawster Spence slapped me. I was nussin' his baby boy, Harry , and we went down to de well wid my little niece, Anna . De baby and Anna got hold ob de bucket and den both ob em let it go at once. And de bottom ob dat bucket was knocked out. Dat's when I got de slappin'. "After slavery, fathaw sent us to school. We had white teachers. Dat's why I kin read and write. Mawster Spence was good to his little niggers, but he never did learn us our A-B-C's. I went to dis public school until I was in de sixth grade, when I quit. I wanted to go to school so I could work and help fathaw. He was drinkin' a lot now. He took alcohol and mixed it wid molasses and water. It looked jes' lak whiskey. Fathaw allowed his little chaps to drink all dat dey wanted. He always had a jug handy.  "But he was good to us. We would leave fo' school in de mawnin', and befo' we could git back home, a Texas nowther would blow our way. We'd be on our way home and way down de road, we would see somethin' comin' along dat looked lak a elephant. It was fathaw wid a bundle ob coats fo' us to wear. "He would come up to us and say, 'Heah - Jiminy Cripes! Put dis coat around yo', Martha , fo' yo' freeze stiff. Yo' take dis one, Susan ; and Anna , yo' wear dis one.' "Oh, fathaw was good to us. Ob course, he whooped us when we needed it. I believe dat when chillun is bad, dey should git a whoopin'. De proberbs in the Good Book say dat de chillun shall not be spared de rod lest, yea, dey shall not be saved. And dey must be punished and whooped to make 'em mind. I read my Bible lots ob times durin' de week. I believes in de Bible. "I was twenty-four years old when I married. Dis was December 27, 1880. I married Andy Bunton . He jes' rented fahms here and dere, and done a lot ob other work. "We had a big weddin' at fathaw's cabin. We had pork, tukkeys and cakes. Aunt Lucy Hubbard , what weighed three hundret pounds done de cookin' fo' us dat day. We had such a good time dat no one in dat cabin knowed when one ob de guests stole a whole tukkey, and made away wid it. "Fathaw was drunk and was layin' on de bed and cryin'. I don't know why he was cryin' and I reckon he didn't neither. We never had no dance. Aw, I wanted to dance, but I never could dance a step in my whole life. "I was the mothaw ob nine chillun: Abraham , Willis , Hester , Dee , Albert , Nettie , Luther , Howard , and a baby dat was dead when it was bawn. Howard , Luther and Nettie is still livin'. Dem three chillun all live right aroun me. Dey ain't far away. "I always had a good time when I was a girl. My husband was a fahmer, and den he'd hire out and do almost anything else to make a livin'. Andy died about six yeahs ago. He'd come and go, and work out. After a month or so, he'd decide to come home. Den he had aparalysis-stroke. Poor ole feller. In de end, I took care ob him. I had to work lak I was a young woman. I cut my own wood, carried big buckets ob water to de house, and I washed clothes and done de cookin'. And den I took care ob him, too. Den I had to feed him. He couldn't eat wid his own hands. Poor feller. He was humble durin' his last days, and I think he died makin' it all right wid his God. He was down about eleben weeks. De doctor said dat if he had pulled through, he wouldn't ob been no-account about gittin' around. "Befo' he died, he said to my son, Luther , 'Son, I'd talk to yo' Mamma, but she kain't hear nothin' dat I say.'"I could see dat he wanted to talk to me, but he was so feeble, and I'se so hard ob hearin', dat I put my ear to his mouth and I could feel his hot breath, but I couldn't understand a word he was sayin'."I own my little place here. It has twelbe acres, dat fathaw bought long ago fo' $25 an acre. My sister Susan lives in a house next door. She's never been married. My son, Howard , lives here wid me sometimes, and he's got eight houn' dogs dat he kain't feed. I sure kain't feed em on de eleben dollars pension dat I git."


BACK TO TEXAS "B" SLAVE NARRATIVE INDEX