My name is Hannah Jameson . I 'members coming to Texas in 1863, when I was 'bout thirteen years old. I can read and write and tell you lots 'bout slavery times. I 'members where I was bo'n back in Arkansas, close to Bright Star. There was no towns much dem days. Bright Star was jest a village. There was a store and postoffice and a man rid (rode) a mule and carried mail on a ten mile route. My father come from North Carolina with Henry Larry and my mother come from Mississippi with John Paterson . The Patersons and Larrys settled on ajinning places there in Arkansas. John Paterson sold my father to Henry Larry and Larry give him to my mother for her man. There warn't no wedding by law and preachers dem days. My mother was named Fannie . She raised three slavery children, me and my brothers, Nelson and Solomon . Den Larry sold my father and my mother took Cole Copeland for her man. She had of the free-bo'n children, William , Jim , Cole , Susie and Mariah . I never seed my father no mo' after he was sold off the place. I 'members coming to Texas. My mother say it was in '63. When we left Arkansas, I was big enuff to milk and churn and tote wood. I 'members dat like it was yesterday ca'se when we got to Texas they put us out in the woods in a pen to protect us from the wolves and varmits till them could fix us a place to live in. Varmits was as thick as they could be and they darsn't let us out after sundown. Henry Larry built his place right there at Hughes Spring on the big road to Linden. He fixed a regular place for the Niggers. You never seed beds like we had them days. They had jest one leg, you couldn't put them no where but in the corner. They had pole rails and board slats, and dere warn't no a-falling down to 'em. Den we pulled grass and fix the mattress.

In my owners family there was four boys, Jim , Jeff , John and Shuck . They done the bossing. My Mistress was Nancy . She had two girls, Caldonia and Miss Ella . Our white fo'lks warn't cruel to us. My Master had 'bout fifty Niggers, he didn't own big droves like some of the owners. All the white folks warn't alike. There was good and bad like today. Some wouldn't give you no chance, I'se seed them on jinning places tie Niggers hand with a rope and whip them till all they could say was, "Pray, Master". At night they cooked a little supper, did their task and go to bed. Every Saturday the owners give them rations. If it didn't last - do the best you could to Saturday agin. They got what the white folks say to get out of the garden. There was no chance to have their own gardens. The good folks give the Niggers parties, but the bad ones didn't give them a chance to get over the fence. Lots of them had to wash at night and on Sunday, down by the spring by a pine knot torch, ca'se they had to come out clean Monday morning. Most of the owners worked the Niggers all day Saturday. At night the wimmen had to spin three or four curts of cloth. The men had a task and if they didn't done it, there was where a whipping scrape come in. I never seed any Niggers sold, but seed them driv' down the road to the sale block. The owners went to sell off their Niggers the first of January. We liked our white folks ca'se they warn't cruel to us and teached us to read and write. I tell you how that was. Ole Mistress girls and boys all had them a little Nigger. Miss Ella was my young Mistress. She divide her bread and meat with me and take her book and give me my A B C's. The white boy and the Nigger et bread and meat together, played together and if ole Master or Mistress started to whip him, he would say, "This is my Nigger, don't thrash him".

I sho' members them corn shuckings. Dey was sumpin. After the corn was all husked and all the white folks was gone to bed they danced the rabbit dance and sing alike this: Early one morning, on my Massa's farm Cut that pigeon wing, Lizy Jane I heard dem chickens a-givin the alarm shake yo feet, Miss Lizy Jane Shake yo feet, Niggers, It'll soon be day, Skoot along lively, Miss Lizy Jane; Massa ketch us dancin', there'll be  to pay, We got taters to dig and hoe dat corn Hit dat duffle-shiffle, Lizy Jane You'd better be a-humping, coz it'll soon be morn, Shake dat balmoral, Lizy Jane. Lordy me, dem was the times. De best days of dis ole Niggers life am gone, but when I think of the good times before the war, dese bones of mine get to live agin like dey was at dem parties when de Niggers knocked off dat: Rooster in de chicken coop, crowing for day Horses in the stable go nay, nay, nay Ducks in the yard go quack, quack, quack, And de geese go filley-I-fee, Pigs in the pen squealing for slop, Big dogs barking like they never will stop, Guines in de tree go pat-a-rack, pat-a-rack And de goose go filley-I-fee. When we was coming to Texas I seed the soldiers and heard 'em say,  Them is Yankees going to fight. My Master's boy, Shuck , he fit (fight) in the war but warn't shot. I was a good sized hunk den, but not big enuff to take a woman's part. I waited on my Mistress and fetched her things when we was a-coming to Texas, and in Arkansas. The first work I done in slavery was waiting on Mistress and toting water to the field. I don't 'members much of de war 'cept dem soldiers going to fit (fight). Master told us we was free. At first he wouldn't, den he had to. He told all the Niggers,  You is free; you got no more Master and Mistress; you can go or stay.  When surrender broke, you could tie all a Nigger family had in a bed sheet. They had nothing 'cept a house full of Niggers and no where to go. Most of the old ones stayed with ole Master, but the young ones separated. I married five years after surrender to John Jameson and we come to Jefferson. We stayed there 'bout five years and come on to Marshall and here I still is and don't know zactly how old I is. Me and Jameson lived together twenty years and he died. I married a Nigger, Creer , but he was so no account I quit him and took back on Jameson's name. I sho do 'members the Ku Klux raging and beating folks. That's the reason ma and my step-pa stayed with old Master. He protect them. I don't take no stock in politics. I leave that to the men folks. If'n they can't tend to it, I don't see dat de wimmen would help things any. I don't know 'bout these young ones that is a-coming up. I worked for the white folks as long as I was able to work and didn't take no stock in their doings. Me and my sister, Mariah , bo'n the second year of surrender, live by ourself. The relief folks helped us on. I gets $12.00 a month pension and dat man at de courthouse say Mariah is going to get hers.