Sue Craft

Sue Craft is an interesting negro quite active in mind as well as in body. She is a small person, full of pep, having an unusually keen intellect. She lives in her own home at 208 Brick St. at which place she has resided continuously since 1902. Above her bed hangs her marriage license in a frame. It is dated March 6, 1901, and issued in Wichita Falls, Texas, to Charles Craft and Sue Frizzell . Her husband has been dead for several years. Now she lives alone, excepting for the long periodical visits which an aged brother, who lives in Mississippi, pays her. She gets a pension of $12 a month from the government.

I was born in 1860, in Bedford County, Tennessee. I 'member playing 'round de big house and when de soljers would come, I'd set in de fron' an' sing to de soljers. White folks kept me as a pet; I'se too little to work durin' de time o' de war. I was born on de plantation owned by Mr. Tom and Miss Marthy Mozely . My father and mother were slaves on de Mozely plantation. Father didn't go to war. They was a-huntin' him to go, but he stay home to take care o' Miss Marthy and Uncle Tom . Uncle Tom he ole, an' his min' was gettin' kinder bad. Father drove the carriage. Mother was a house girl. Neither of dem was evah sold. Dey went to white folk's church Primitive Baptis'. But I go to de Missiona'y Baptis', now, St. John's. After de war cullud folks had a church of dey own. Mother an' father live an' died in Bedford county, Tennessee. Both of 'em died 'bout one mile from where they was bo'n an' raised. But father 'lowed his children to get out an' see de worl'. He let me an' my brother go to Arkansas wid my uncle one time. We stayed 'bout two yeahs. I glad I got out in de worl'. I been to California once, goin' 'gin nex' yeah, too. "De Mozely's were jus' nacherly good. Miss Mattie Mozely was 'bout de age o' me. She learn me my ABCs. When we get to 'I' she say, 'What yo' see outta?' An' when we come to 'O' she say, 'When you fall down an' get hurt what yo' say?' Dey used to sit down an' tell me stories in de big house to I was 'fraid to go home. I 'member dreckly after 'mancipation de fus' thing what happen' all de cullud bought liscenses an' got married all over again. Miss Marthy gib 'em a big dinner. Two plantations joined. Both was owned by two Mozely brothers. De whole school was made up outta Mozeleys none of dem was kin.

We read by fire on de harth when we studied our lessons in de winter time. Worked de lessons out on slate. In de summer time we used grease lamps. I started to school in Shelbyville, an' finished up in Fairfield, Bedford county, Tennessee. There were no cullud teachers den, so I studied to teach. I got my teacher's stifkit an' taught to I was twenty-nine yeahs ol', an' den I got married to Ike Frizzell . "My teacher's name Dunlap a white teacher teachin' de cullud. De Ku Klux whupped him fo' teachin' us. I saw de Ku Klux ridin' a heap dem days. Dey had hoods pulled ovah dere faces. One time dey come to our house twict. Fus' time dey come quiet. It was right 'fore de 'lection o' Grant jus' after slavery. It was fus' time cullud people 'lowed t' vote. Dey ast my father was he goin to vote for Grant . He tell 'em he don' know he goin' vote. After 'lection dey come back, whoopin' an' hollerin. Dey shoot out de winder lights. It was 'cause my father voted for Grant . Dey broke de do' open. My father was a settin' on de bed. I 'member he had a shot gun in his han'. Well, de broke de do' down, an' then father he shoot, an' dey scattered all ovah de fence. Dey did a lotta dirt 'roun' 'bout. Dey not so bad now. Not lak dey was early time after de wah. When I was a little girl I used to pack watah for 'em to make soap. I carried a bucket on my haid an' one in each han'. I poured it in de lye-hoppah. Dey would put ashes in de hoppah, an' de watah would go in on toppa de ashes. De trof's were under de hoppah where de lye would drip. Den dey would take de lye an' pour it in de kittle out in de yard. Den dey would boil it down an' put in de grease. If dey was any bones de lye would eat up de bones an' rin's. De ol' time lye what come thoo de hoppah was better dan de lye now-a-days. We had to pack watah 'bout a half a mile. "We used to make our own starch, too. We take wheat bran dat was sent to de watah-mill an' grin'. It wasn't white, but we sift it troo de sieve, den take de bran an' put it in a big tub an' pour tub full o' watah, den stir. De bran all come to top. Take off de bran; pour mo watah in an' pour off agin. Then all be white. Let dry; then there'd be lumps of starch. "I help t' spin an' make cloth. I'd fill de quills an' set down an' han' my gran'mother de thread. Sometimes she let me make cotton checks wid cullud thread. "I 'member how dey use to bake in de fire-place. Dere was ovens on legs wid lids. To brown in de oven we had to put coals on top of lid. When we baked a cake we couldn' have too much fire. Such a change now. (shakes head) My brother an' me was jus talkin' 'bout it yisterday. Seems almos' impossible. We baked hoecake in skillets dat set on tribbits (trivets). Coffee was boiled on de tribbets, too. "I 'member when all de money ovah a nickle was greenbacks. We called 'em shim plasters. (shin plasters) We didn't want our shim plasters changed into nickles. Green backs was money. "All de cullud used grease lamps. De white folks used candles. I 'member my mother moulding candles. "Back in October, 1897, when I was a widow with three children, Mr. R. E. Huff who used t' live in Bellbuckle dats close to home come back to de centennial, an' visit his mother. He 'suaded me t' come to Texas an' cook fo' him an' Mrs. Huff . Dey wanted me t' come right 'way, but I had to get ready. I had t' leaf my children wid my mother t' look after. An' den Mr. Huff had to leab in a hurry, cause he 'fraid they'd get quarantined 'count o' yellow fever dat was evahwhere. So he lef' me my fare to come to Wichita Falls. Well, I got ready to go in a few days after de Huffs lef'. Mr. Huff say he 'fraid I get quarantined. But I got as far as Memphis, an' sho' nuff I did. An' dere I was in de railroad station in Memphis, Tennessee, quarantined. I didn't have nothin' in my pocket but my railroad ticket, fifty cents. An' some postal cards. An' I didn' know a soul. Well I set down an' wrote my mother a card an' Mr. Huff a card. Den I wen' up to de ticket man an' tol' him 'bout me. He called de porter, an' de porter took me to a fren's house. Dis was sho' a good woman. She was workin' doin' washn' an' ironin' for de Chickesaw Club. She let me iron fo' my bo'd. I stayed right dere whole two weeks dat I had to stay in Memphis. "When Mr. Huff got my card he wired me three, fo' dollahs. He had already tole me when I come to Texas if it was night not to get off de train at Thome stay on to I come to Fo't Worth. Well, I waited in Fo't Worth to it got day, an' then I got on a train dat I come jus' to nowhere. But I nevah did get homesick, an' I nevah did want to go back to Tennessee to live. 'Cose I went back an' got de children few yeahs latah.

I know one cullud pusson heah. She was my fren'. Molly Lindsay . She had come out here wid Mr. Huff 'bout three yeahs 'fore me. She was younger dan me. Her mother an' my mother was house girls together for de Mozeleys back on de plantation. After I come to Wichita Falls. I cooked for de Huffs , an' lived right in de big house. No serbants houses here dan. That was in 1897. I stayed in de Huff house to 1901, when I got married to Charlie Craft . We moved to de place where Mr. J. I. Staley buil' his fine home. It is called Rose Street now. Right dere was where I made a big mistake. Property was cheap den, an' Mr. Huff tried his bes' to get me t' buy dat house. If I had I sho' nuff woudda been fixed up if I couldda sol' it to Mr. Staley when he got ready to buil'. Property sho' nuff was cheap den. Faith built dis town up. Dat's what dey say, an' sho' nuff it did. Oney thing t' make a pusson stay here was faith. "I cooked an' raised dose Huff kids. I use to nurse a heap, too. I put de fus garments on dose Langford boys. "When dey was scoopin' out de big lake I use t' take ole Kit an' de buggy an' carry all de white folks children out dere. We sho' use t' hab some good times. "In 1900 I went on a trip wid de Huffs to Galveston. This was in March after the Spanish-American War. We went to see all de big battle ships; went on battle ship dat was 'way out in de gulf. Dis was a few months 'fore de big flood. "I was here in here in Wichita Falls when gas come in an' 'lectric lights an' street cars, too. Dere was jus' one school here den. An' de place was full saloons. I glad t' see saloons go out, an' hate to see 'em come back. When dey opened up Lawton, Oklahoma, dey wasn't nothin' but saloons. Dat's all been long time 'go. Judge Huff's awful feeble now hate t' go 'roun' where he's at. He bes' man dat evah lived awful good people. Cause I got such good health an' lib so long is 'cause I ain'got no bad habits. My receipt fo' keepin' young is to not use no make-up on my face. Jes' a little powder. I keeps clean wid soap an' water. When I go down to de bank an' see some ob de men who I use t' work fo' dey say, Well, Sue , you a wundah.