I was wukkin' w'en I's small. Dey ain' wait fo' to git a beard on dem 'til dey wuk dem in dem day. I was bo'n in Tyler county on Drake's Branch in 1853. Dat mek me 84 year' ol' now. My marster he was Rayford Odom from Georgy. He buy my mudder and fadder from a spec'later man fo' I bo'n. My fadder, dat Joe, de spec'later pick up in Verginny and my mudder, Holly , he git her in No'th Ca'liny. Dey jes' git marry by 'greement. De fus' wuk I do was to buil' up de co'n stalks in de fiel' and cut logs fo' de fire place. I uster tote water in a li'l pail to de fiel' han's, too. Us play 'roun' li'l and pick up trash in de yard on de plantation. De plantation was five mile' eas' or souf' of Woodville. Dey was 'bout haffer dozen uder slaves. Us fambly was de onlies' fambly de marster hab. Dey was Rube and George and Saul and Becky and me and mudder and Fadder. De ol' boss he war'n' good. He mean to be good but ol' missus mek him so mad he come out to de fiel' and say, 'I gwinter whip you.' Us say, 'Huccome? Us wukkin' hard.' He say, 'I t'ink you kin wuk harder.' Dat jes' cause he git he temper up. He allus say, 'Feed dem niggers good,' do' (though), but de ol' missus she too stingy. She tek de butter and de egg' and food he gib her to feed de slaves and sell it to trabblers by on de road. Den she kep' all de money fo' herse'f. She gib de slaves all de meat skins and gib her dogs mo' meat dan she gib de niggers. 'Bout all de slaves git was pot-likker mek outn' greens and collards and some co'n bread. Dey feed my fadder purty good but us chillen, dey didn' git nuthin' much. In slav'ry times dey hab w'at dey call log rollin'. Dey ask 'bout 25 or 30 men to he'p dem roll de logs wid han' sticks and bu'n dem. Dey gib dem big dinner and supper on de plantation. Dey go 'roun' from one plantation to anuder to he'p dey neighbors. Dey hab big hog-killin' time too.

All us li'l chillen hab to stay close by de house 'count of de bears and de wolfs. De bears and de wolfs prowl 'roun' de house cause dey smell all de fresh meat and wanter steal it. De ol' marster was gib up to be de bes' farmer in Tyler county. He wuk in de fiel' right 'long wid de uder niggers. He hab 70 head of wuk hosses and plenty of cattle. Dey hab so much milk dey feed it to de hogs. Not to de li'l darkies do (though) but dat ol' missus' doin'. Dey move to Waco de thu'd (third) year of de war. W'en dey move ol' missus hab a whole sackful of money w'at she git from sellin' t'ings to de trabblers by, t'ings w'at he t'ink all de time was gib to us niggers to eat. He sho' didn' like it w'en he fin' out. She was mean to him too. Dey kep' us on a year atter de war. De captain man he come a year atter de war close and say, 'I unnerstan' you kep' yo' slaves?' De ol' marster say, 'Yes.' De captain he say, 'You gotter tu'n dem a-loose.' Den de ol' marster he put he foot up on de gall'ry and he say, 'You's free's I is.' He didn' gib us nuthin' but dey was one t'ing he did gib us. He say, 'Raise you chillen to wuk right. Git a good place. Be hones' and trut'ful.' Dat was good advice. I neber 'll fo'git dat 'long's I lib. De ol' marster he los' he wife outn' Waco. He come back and die' here in Woodville. Long fo' de war en' dey's a sojer he come to de boss' house to eat. He tol' de boss he gwinter de war to fight to he'p to hol' de slaves, but he say, 'We gwinter git whip.' De boss he say, 'Well, go 'head and fight and hol' dem long' you kin. Cause us all gwinter be ruint w'en dey tek dem 'way. Atter dey tu'n us a-loose fadder went to a man's house w'at marry my young mistus and he mek a share crop. My fadder and mudder bus' right atter dat. One went one way and de uder de uder way. Us chillen git 'long bes' 's us could. De trubble was my fadder was too good. He neber could keep nuthin'. Iffen he hab a stack of co'n twelve rail high he gib it a 'way to people w'at ain' got none. My mudder she didn' like dat so she go to Bevilpo't. My fadder he go to Jasper. I's de ol'es' boy and I go wid de w'ite folks.

I's uster be a preacher and organize' de 'Merican Baptis' Free Mission right 'cross de hill ober dere. De preachers in de ol' days was call 'hardshells. I marry Nancy in 1874 and us hab eleben chillen. Dey t'ree at home now and de res' all scatter'.