I was born in Jackson, Miss., about 1844, that is about the best I can tell you son. When I was born I was owned by William Neely and was married to one of his slave boys. My parents were brought here from Africa when they were young. I had one brother George , one named Josh , one sister Sarah , that was all the brothers and sisters that I knew anything about. I was the oldest one and we had good times together until Maser put me to work. Father's name was Joe Neely , mother's name Judie Neely . Our home and quarters was pretty good, about the best in the whole country. It was built out of boxing planks, you have seen these chicken houses, that is like our quarters looked, great long building with all the doors facing the south, among lots of shade trees. It had no floor except old mother earth and we kept real warm and dry in it all the time. Our beds they were built like this: one forked pole in the center of the room drove in the ground then another drove in the ground in two places for the other ends of the railing to rest in them. We had strips nailed across these and some hides stretched over them, and our beds then were pure old cotton that we picked the seed out by hand. Then we had quilts spread over this and our quilts were made by hand to cover us with and they kept us real warm, that son, was like our quarters back in slavery time. No sir, I'se heard tell that my grandparents were pure old africans but I'se don't remembers any stories told me about them. Yes sir, I'se heard talk of them when I'se young, but that was long time ago. Well sir, son, I'se done all kinds of work during slavery time such as, cook, sew on my fingers, help run a spinning wheel, chop cotton, plowed corn and cut wood, cleared land and so on if Maser had work for us to do. He used the slave negro woman just like he did the slave man. He never did let the slave girl do one kind of work and the slave boy another, he worked us right on together. Well son, I might have earned money but I never seen any money except once and awhile Mistress would give me a nickel or dime when I would go to town or church with her.

Son I would buy candy with what little money she would give me as it was not often that she ever gave me any. Son we always had plenty to eat during slavery, water cornbread, fresh from the field, nothing in it except salt and it was cooked on a big flat skillet on the open fire. Our meat was cooked the same way. Yes we had plenty pork and beef too all the time, it was cooked or fired on big open skillet on the open fire place. Yes sir, we had some rabbit meat and possum too, once and awhile as they were not very many there on the plantation that cared very much for these kinds of meat, but fish we all loved that, and we had plenty of fish to eat nearly all the time. We cooked them on the open fire in a big flat skillet with plenty of grease - all the negroes loved fish. Well no sir, the slaves did not have their own garden, but Maser always had a large garden and he would give the slaves what he wanted them to have out of his garden. The slave eat just about what their white folks eat anyway. Son, we wore royal shirts open all the way down the front pinned together with thorns. In hot weather no shoes, in cold weather, we wore wollen clothes and we had brogan shoes to wear and on Sundays we had white royal shirts to wear that must be kept real clean. No shoes on Sunday did we have to wear. My wedding dress it was just plain every day royal shirt, I never had no shoes when I married. Well son, Maser he was a jolly good man but of course he was real strict with the slaves when he told them things that was exactly what he meant for the slaves to do. Mistress she was right good to her black people but when she spoke she meant business, there was no foolishness about her cause she was real religious woman. They did not have any children, and the house they lived in was a big house with upstairs to it. They had 4 rooms downstairs and 2 rooms upstairs. Boss, that overseer John Wesley , he was a bad man to his slaves, yes sir, he would ride by the slaves and slap him or her across the shoulders just cause he could, there was not a slave there on the plantation that liked him cause he was too smart and mean to them.

There was about 100 acres there in the plantation on the farm and I believes there was 31 slaves. The overseer he rang a bell every morning to wake up the slaves about 4:30 o'clock and if the slaves were not up and out of their quarters he would go there with that cato-nine tails and use that on the slaves until they would get up and out of their quarters. Well son, we would be in the field waiting for daylight to come and we worked that day just as long as we could see how to work. Well son, the slaves were whipped for being stubborn or if the overseer did not think they was working hard enough, yes and for sassing him, if one ever tried it. Well if he had to whip one that week he would at the end of the week lock him in his quarters and not let him or her go anywhere. No son, there was not exactly a jail there for the slaves but if he wanted to lock them up he would lock them in their quarters, that was almost like a jail. I'se seen the overseer tie the slaves hands together and pull them up over a limb on a tree and whip them unmercifully. They would have blood all over their back, great big gashes clear across their back and legs.Well son, I'se seen a few slaves sold and auctioned off. The first thing they did was to make the slaves take real good bath and clean up real good, then grease all exposed places on their body real good with a greasy meat skin so they would look real fat and greasy. Then they would trot the slave out to and fro in front of the bidders, and let them look the slaves over real good. Then they would begin to bid on them and when they would get the highest bid for that slave they would take it and bring out another slave, that was the way they did until all the slaves were sold. When all the buyers would get their slaves and start to leave, all the hollering and bawling you never heard in your life. Just like someone was dead. Well son, you have heard a bunch of cattle low and bawl for 3 or 4 days after you have taken their calves away from them, that was just exactly the way the slaves were when they would trade or sell off one of their members because the slaves would never expect to see that slave any more. Most of the time they would go to some far off county with their slave just traded for or bought. Well son, we traveled just about like they use to drive cattle to market - bunch of us in front of Maser and he would ride along on behind us on a horse to see that we kept moving along. Well no son, I don't believes that I ever saw any slaves in chains although I have seen them most every other way.The white people did not learn me how to read and write as they thought about us like we do mules and horses today. They did not ever think they could learn us anything