Sho', I 'members dem slavery times, 'cause I's eleven when de breakup come. Everybody call my massa Jedge Turner , but him am a Baptist preacher and have de small farm and gen'ral store. My papy and mammy don't live together, 'cause pappy an own by Massa Jack Hooper . Massa Turner done marry dem. Mostest de cullud folks jus' lives together by 'greement den, but massa have de cer'mony. Us live in log cabins with de dirt floor and no windows, and sleep on straw ticks. All de cookin' done in de eatin' shed but when pappy come over twict de week, mammy cooks him de meal den. Let me tell yous how de young'uns cared for. Massa give dem special care, with de food and lots of clabber and milk and pot-liquor, and day all fat and healthy. Massa am a preacher and a farmer and a saloonkeeper. He makes de medicine with whiskey and cherry bark and rust offen nails. It mus' be good, 'cause us all fat and sassy. Gosh for 'mighty. How I hates to take dat medicine! He say to me, 'Take good care de young'uns, 'cause de old ones gwine play out sometime, and I wants de young'uns to grow strong. Massa Turner wants de good days work and us all give it to him. Every Saturday night us git de pass if us wants to go to de party. Us have parties and dancin' de quadrille and fiddles and banjoes. On Sunday massa preach to us, 'cause he de preacher heself. He preach to de white folks, too. I 'member dat surrender day. He call u s round him. I can see him now, like I watches him come to de yard, with he hands clasp 'hind him and he head bowed. I know what he says, 'I likes every one of you. You been faithful but I has to give you up. I hates to do it, not 'cause I don't want to free you, but 'cause I don't want to lose you all.' Us see de tears in he eyes. Mos' everybody leaves, and us go to pappy's place, den comes here in 1872, right here where us live now. My sister, Scott , she lives up de street. It warn't no houses here den. I gits married in 1974 to Henry Daggett and he dies in 1884. Den I marries Jim Byers in 1885 and he am lazy and no 'count. He leaves on Christmas Day in de mornin', and don't come back. Dat de only present he ever give me! He am what you calls de buck passer. I does de washin' and ironin' and he passes de bucks I makes. I marries Bill Mathews and he my las' husband. He dies on May 15th, dis year. I has seven chillen and four of dem am right in dis town. I never votes but once, 'bout four years ago. I jus' don't care 'bout it. Too much fussin' round for me. My husband allus voted de Lincoln ticket. I gits 'round and it won't be long 'fore I goes to de Lawd's restin' place. My sister an 81 and I's 83, and she lives in de next block yonder way. Us am de cons'lation to each other.

Louise Mathews , 83, 2718 Ennis Ave. Ft. Worth, Tex., was born a slave to a Bapt. Preacher, Rev. Robert Turner , who owned seven slave families, including Louise's mother and her nine children with a small farm located near Bucksnort (changed to Tenaha since) in Shelby Co., Tex. Louise knows nothing of her father. Jack Hooper , a neighboring farmer, owned her step-father. She married Henry Daggett when she was 20. Three children were born to them before his death in 1884. She married Jim Byers in 1885. One child was born to them. They were separated in 1886. She married Bill Mathews in 1887. Three children were born to them before his death in May 15, 1937. Four children are now dead. Her story:

Sho Ise 'membahs slavery times, 'cause Ise 83 yeahs old now. Ise 11 yeahs old w'en de breakup comes. Ise bo'n in Shelby County, Texas, on de farm dat b'longs to Marster Robert Turner . Ever'body calls him Judge Turner . He was a Baptist Preacher, an' run a small farm an' a gen'ral store, too. Thar am seven fam'lies of slaves on Marster's place. 'Twas my mother, she had nine chilluns, an' six tudder fam'lies. Ise don't know nothin' 'bout my father, 'cept Ise told he am in Virginia. W'en Ise old 'nough to 'membahs, mother am mai'ied to Tom Hooper . He am owned by Marster Jack Hooper , dat owns a farm fouah miles f'om Marster's place. Marster Turner am de preacherman dat mai'ied dem. Mostest de cullud fo'ks jus' lives together by 'greement in slavery time, but 'twas diffe'nt on Marster's place. De Marster says de ce'emony fo' de marriage. He gits de couple together an' says, "Do youse tooks dis man to be youse husband, and do youse tooks dis womens to be youse wife? What de Lawd jines together, let no man put asunder". Youse see, 'twas jus' lak de white fo'ks does w'en dey mai'ies. Weuns lives in cabins built f'om logs. Dey am double cabins, an' mostest of dem have two fam'lies livin' in dem. Dey am jus' lak all tudder cabins in slavery time wid dirt flooah, no windahs, jus' holes in de wall. Weuns sleeps in bunks wid straw ticks. De cabins all had a fireplace, but deys used fo' heat, mostly in de wintah time. De cookin' am done at one place. 'Twas my gran'mammy dat done de cookin' fo' de wo'kers. Now, 'twas 'lowed to cook in de cabins fo' special doin's, lak if thar am a visitor. My mammy always cooks in her cabin w'en my stepfather comes to see weuns. He comes ever' Wednesday an' Saturday night, an' den she cooks de meal fo' weuns. Sho, Marster 'lows dat, an' my step-father had a good Marster too.

Ise gwine tell youse how my step-father's Marster does wid most of his slaves. He 'lows dem one acres of land an' gives dem time to wo'k it. All dey makes on de acre am given to de nigger. Father always plants his acre in cotton, an' w'en Marster Hooper takes his cotton to town, father's cotton goes too, an' what it brings am given to father. Well, dat away, father can buy things fo' himself so he has his own hoss an' saddle, an' he brings us good things to eat our Marster don't furnish, sich as de coffee an' tea. Co'se, he brings us candy sometimes, an' things to play wid. 'Twas green coffee dat father always brings, an' mammy would roast, grind it an' make coffee fo' allus w'en her man comes to visit weuns. Marster Turner always gives weuns good rations. Dat away, he am awful good, but what father brings am jus' extra. Father sho does well wid his acre of land. Co'se he gits all his rations an' clothes f'om his Marster jus' lak all slaves does, so he could save all he makes. Well, w'en surrendah comes, he had over $500.00 saved, an' 'twarnt worth a cent. Ise 'membahs how he called allus chilluns together an' says "Heah am lots of money youse can have". Weuns tooks it, an' plays store wid it. 'Twas Confederate money am de reason 'twarnt no good. Weuns sho lives good on Marster Turner's place. Co'se, dey raises ever'thing dey uses in dem days, an' 'twas plenty of it. Lots of co'n, cane, veg'tables, 'sides de cotton. 'Twas plenty of hawgs fo' de meat, cows fo' de milk an' buttah, chicken fo' chicken meat an' eggs, an' bees fo' de honey. So, de rations am plenty of good food. No sar, weuns am never hongry. De clothes weuns have am made on de Marster's place on his own loom. Weuns always had plenty linsey-woolsey clothes. Let me tell youse how de younguns am cared fo'. Dey's given special care by de Marster. De food am lots of clabber milk, co'n bread, potliquor wid co'n bread crumbled up in it. 'Twas good food fo' sho 'cause deys all fat an' healthy. De Marster had a special madicine fo' weuns dat he makes. Youse see, he runs a store an' sells whiskey. Yas sar, he am a preacherman, farmer, an' a saloonkeeper. Well, now Ise tells youse how he makes de medicine. He tooks some whiskey an' puts cherry bark in it, also de rust off nails an' iron. Dat am de medicine weuns have to took. Well, it must be good 'cause 'twarnt much sickness, an' weuns am all fat an' sassy. Gosh fo' mighty! How Ise hates to took dat madicine! Bittahs am what 'twas called, an' 'twas bittah fo' sho. De Marster 'tends to givin' de bittahs himself. He am pa'ticulah 'bout de younguns, how deys fed an' ever'thing. Ise often heah him says to Anne , dat am de cullud womens as tooks care of de chilluns, "Anne , tooks good care of de younguns 'cause de old ones gwine to play out some time, an' Ise wants de younguns to grow to be strong niggers. Yas sar, ever'thing am lovely wid weuns on dat plantation. 'Twarnt no whuppin's dat Ise knows of. All de cullud fo'ks am satisfied wid what de Marster gives dem, an' tries hard to please him, an' he am satisfied wid de wo'kers so 'twarnt no trouble. Twas only one runawayer, an' he runs back to de Marster's farm 'stead of 'way f'om him. 'Twas dis away, Marster hires him out to a man named Murphy . Well, Murphy wo'ks de man all night an' day, an' den aint satisfied so de cullud fellow runs off an' comes home. Sho, de Marster often hires out a slave if dey can spare one an' some tudder Marster am short of help. De Marster would hire one out fo' so much a day. Well, w'en John shows up at home, Marster asks him why he came home. John told him how 'twas he am wo'ked an' Marster says he did him jus' right. He says, "Ise don't hire youse out to be wo'ked to death". Dat same day, Murphy shows up an' wants to git John , but Marster says, "No sar! Ise knows John am a good wo'ker an' w'en he says he am over wo'ked, Ise knows he am overwo'ked". Murphy am purtty riled 'bout it but had to go off widout John . Marster Turner am very reasonable 'bout de wo'k. He wants a good days wo'k, an' all de cullud fo'ks gives it to him.

Weuns had Saturday afternoons off, an' co'se, Sundays too. Weuns does de washin' an' sich wo'k as weuns wants to do fo' ourselves on Saturdays, den weuns could go to parties at night. De Marster gives weuns a pass ever' Saturday night if weuns wanted it. Weuns had to have de pass 'cause de Patterollers am watchin' fo' de cullud fo'ks as don't have de pass. Weuns have singin' an' dancin' at de parties. De dancin' am quadrilles an' de music am fiddles an' banjoes. Weuns all goes to chu'ch on Sundays. Co'se de Marster am de preacher. He preached to his white fo'ks in de evenin'. 'Twas cullud fo'ks as comes f'om all 'round tudder plantations to weuns chu'ch. Dat am de way weuns lives on de Marster's place, an' 'twas de same on step-father's place. Ever'thing am changed w'en surrendah comes. Well does Ise 'membahs de day Marster Turner come out in de yard of de cullud qua'tahs, an' calls allus 'round him. Ise can see him now, lak Ise watched him comin' to de yard wid his hands clasped 'hind him, an' his head bowed, walkin' slowly. W'en he gits to de yard, he tells my uncle to call allus to him. W'en weuns gits together, he starts talkin' slowly, an' says, "Fo'ks", Ise 'membahs de words well, "Ise laks ever' one of youse. Youse have been faithful but Ise have to give youse up. Ise hates to do it, not 'cause Ise don't want to free youse, but 'cause Ise don't want to lose youse all. Ise guess 'tis de bestest fo' youse, an' fo' dat, Ise glad. Youse f'om dis moment am free fo'ks jus' lak Ise am, or tudder white fo'ks". Den he stops talkin' fo' a little bit, an' weuns could see tears in his eyes. W'en he talks 'gain, he says, "Ise wants youse all to stay on de farm, an' weuns can wo'k de land on shares". Most de cullud fo'ks leaves de place an' went back to de fo'ks de Marster buys dem f'om. Some went to Dawg Robinson , some to Maddox , an' some to Reeves . Co'se, my mammy tooks weuns chilluns an' goes to Hooper's place whar father am, an' weuns lives thar on de Hooper Place fo' seven yeahs after de breakup. Weuns comes to Fort Worth in 1872, an' 'twas right whar weuns am livin' now. 'Twarnt settled den. Weuns farmed land whar all de houses am now in dis section.

Reason father moves f'om Shelby County am 'cause de Ku Klux Klan gits so bad pesterin' de niggers de men fo'ks am 'fraid to sleep in de house, an' would go to ravines, de woods, an' sich whar dey could hide. Weuns never had any trouble on de Marster's place, but am 'fraid to go any place. 'Twas two cullud mens shot neah weuns. De Klux comes to de house, an' de cullud fellows tries to fit dem off. 'Cause de cullud fellows fits dem, de Klux shoots dem. Father gits 'gusted after dat an' says,  Tis time to move f'om sich country. After weuns comes heah, Ise gits mai'ied de fust time. 'Twas in 1874, an' Ise 20 yeahs old. 'Twas to Henry Daggett . He b'long to Marster Daggett befo' surrendah, an' he lives on de Daggett Ranch. He dies in 1884. 'Bout a yeah after dat, Ise mai'ied to Jim Byers , an' weuns sep'rated de next yeah. Dat man was lazy an' no' 'count. Ise jus' keeps fustin' wid him, an' 'sistin' dat he go to wo'k. W'en he sees dat Ise means it, he leaves an' 'twas de last Ise ever sees of him. 'Twas on a Christmas Day in de mo'nin', an' 'twas de only Christmas present he ever made me. He am what am called de, "Buck Passer". Ise did washin' an' ironin', an' he passes de bucks Ise made away. Ise mai'ies Bill Mathews de next yeah. He makes weuns livin' at common labor but am 'dustrious an' tooks good care of his fam'ly. Ise de mother of seven chilluns. 'Twas three by Henry Daggett , one by Jim Byers , an' three by Bill Mathews . He died on May 15, dis yeah. Jus' fouah of my chilluns am still livin', an' deys all heah in Fort Worth. Votin'? Well, Ise only voted once 'bout fouah yeahs ago. Ise jus' don't care 'bout it, 'cause 'tis too much fustin' 'round. Bill Mathews always voted in de gen'ral 'lection, an' he always voted de Lincoln Ticket. Yas sar, my health am good. Ise gits 'round an' does my housewo'k. Ise feels good but Ise knows 'twont be long 'til Ise goes to de restin' place de Lawd has fo' weuns. Now, if youse wants to know anymo', youse go to my sis', Scott Hooper . She am 81 yeahs old, an' lives in de next block yonder way. She m'ybe 'membahs somethin' Ise done left out.