Lucius Cooper

Lucius Cooper , an aged negro preacher of Texarkana, was born in 1847 at Rawleightown, South Carolina, a Methodist preacher. He was refugeed with the Sommervilles to McClellan County, Texas during the early part of the Civil War, and remained with them until he was past middle age. Since leaving the Sommervilles , Lucius has always earned a living from the cook trade. He now resides at the Ragland Old Folks Home, 318 Elm Street, Texarkana, and receives a $10.00 per month Government pension.

I was bo'n close to the North Lakes, at Rawleightown, South Carolina. That's close to the Mississippi line. I belonged to Judge Joe Sommerville , what was a Methodist preacher. He bought my father, Lucius , from the Coopers of Missouri, and my mother, Sylvia , from Kentucky. We allus kept the Cooper name. I had thirteen brothers and four sisters, but forgot the names of them all 'cept Alex , Ben , Hudy , Joe , Sallie , Mollie , and Mattie . There was two sets of twins, me and Mollie and Alex and Mattie . I 'members my grandma, Adeline Cooper . I could tell no stories she told cause when she started talking she allus say, "You kids skee-daddle on out of here to play." "Judge had a big family, owned a big place, worked many a darky and treated them right. He was a Methodist preacher and didn't 'low his darkies to call him Master. He say to us, "I'm not your Master. There is just one Master and that is your Heavenly Master." We allus called him Judge 'cause he was a Bureau. Colored people all over the country come to him if their owners didn't treat them right, and he talked to the owners and tell them how they ought to treat their darkies. Collins Jeems what run a jining (joining) place, beat his darkies unmerciful and half fed them. They come to Judge 'bout it and he told Collins if he didn't treat his darkies right and feed and clothe them, that he'd have him fined. The darkies lived in nice quarters and had good beds. Judge used a prayer every morning and every night and taught his darkies to use a prayer morning and night. He wouldn't have no overseer. My uncle Hudy was "overlooker" for him. Judge told him in the morning, "Hudy , if it gets too hot, bring the hands in 'bout ten o'clock." The ole Judge had a store on his place and got all his groceries out of New Orleans. We had most anything we wanted to eat. At night when the work was done, we had school or meeting. The white chil'ren would teach the blacks. His chil'ren played with the colored chil'ren all the time. Judge had some mighty nice girls. He didn't care where his black fo'ks went, but they had to get a permit so the Pattyrollers wouldn't get them.

At parties we play Susie Gal and patted and played it off with music. There was a church on the place. Judge teached a colored man the Bible, and he and Judge preached. Judge's doctrine was Christ. He didn't visit them churches where the preachers told the darkies that if they obeyed their Master and Mistress they would go to Heaven. Our favorite songs was: "We're Marching To Zion" and "Oh, How I Love Jesus". We had a big baptizings there on the place and sung old time hymns. Judge learned all his darkies to read and write, and pray and sing Christmas songs. My papa was the regular head leader of the corn shuckings. They lasted two or three days with a big party the last night. Judges darkies was put away nice when they died. His Uncle was our doctor. I'se seed slaves whipped on other places. Some of them was tied down and beat unmerciful. I never seed a slave sold. Judge didn't believe in that. I was 'bout thirteen years old when the war started. There at Rawleigh we could hear the cannons plain at Vicksburg. We lived close to Rawleigh and Vicksburg too, on the line of Mississippi. I seed the soldiers marching by. Them was pretty squally times. Two of Judge's boys, Joe and John , went to the war. Joe got killed on the field. Both of the boys come home on furlough before Joe was killed. Joe allus started crying when he had to go back. John was of the strongest heart and had more grit. When they was home they talked the war to Judge and he told us we was going to be free. He never believed slavery was right. He told us many times that every man ought to set under his own vine and fig tree.

We come to Texas during the war. We come right through Vicksburg when they was fixing for the big battle there with the Yankees. They had two battles there, I think, but the big one come off after we come to Texas. I 'members Judge saying the Yankees had two battles coming down the Mississippi before they got to Vicksburg. Some of us come to Texas by boat, round by New Orleans, and some come by land. Judge settled close to Waco. He read the papers and told us that they was having a big battle at Vicksburg. After surrender, Judge called all the darkies and lined them up and told them they was free. My fo'ks left and went to a farm of another man, but I stayed till I was up in years. After the war he made me a speaker in the Church and they licensed me to preach. The Ku Klux was strong round Waco, but the Judge help keep them down. They didn't dare bother the darkies on his place. He was a strong man in that part and they let him alone.  I was raised up in Judge's house and learned to be a cook. When I left him I went to Dallas and went right into the cook room of a hotel. I married Anna Johnson in Dallas. We lived there 'bout eight months and come to Texarkana. All this country was woods when I come here. The Rosborough Mills cut most of the timber out of here. I is allus made a living cooking and preaching till 'bout eight years ago. I went to West Texas and got in a big sand storm and lost my eye sight. I come back to Texarkana cause that was my home. I think its quite wrong that the colored people can't vote. Used to every one went together to the polls, but now they put the darkies behind. I think every man ought to be 'lowed to be his own dictator. I think the young set of darkies has got too much foolishness. Some of them ain't got enough sense to make anything of themselves. They send them to school to study how to be something, but most of them study foolishness.