Texas Slave Narratives

Texas Slave Narrative

  Mary Nickerson

She is a big woman, wearing a shapeless house dress which almost drags on the floor and hangs in dips and folds about her fat, bare ankles.Mary Nickerson , Beaumont negress, is far advanced in her 90's, but appears much younger despite ill health. In her earlier days as a slave in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, she must have been a buxom wench, because her large frame is still robust looking. Mary , who belonged to Rafe Smith , was a dairy helper in slavery time. She has been married twice and was the mother of 14 children, all of whom are now dead but one girl. Her house evidently at one time comfortably furnished, is badly weather-beaten and considerably out of repair, while in the yard once verdant garden patches and fruit trees, are weed-choked and half-dead.

Yessum, I done been marry twict. My fus' husban' he name' Charlie Nickerson . Atter he dead I marry dat man Henry Garlan . Atter so long a time he die' too. Mos' of de folks 'roun' here calls me Mary Nickerson now though. I's sick and ha'f blin' and dat a turrible condition to be in. I libs here all by myse'f and dis my own house but it fallin' down on top of me. Dey's a man w'at libs in de alley and he come' and fix my fires in the mawnin' in de winter time, but in de summer time I jis' hafter manage by myse'f. I was bo'n on Gran' Coteau over in Lou'siana. De ol' marster was name' Rafe Smith and he wife, do ol' mistess, she name' Clemmis . I uster had two young marsters name' Boss and John , and two young mistess' name' Mary and 'Lisbeth . De w'ite folks was sho' good to me. I nebber knowed a hungry day in dem time, but I sho' does now. Dey was my mama, Rosalie she come from Op'lousas. My papa was Jesse Martin . Dey bought him and brung him from Richmon' or some other fore'in country. I nebber 'member none of my grammas but Celeste Donat , she one of Gustav Donat's slaves in Op'lousas. Us go to see her once in a w'ile. Mistus didn' 'low any of de young folks to do no hebby wuk 'roun' de plantation. Dey was jis' learn' some how to pick cotton and sich. My mudder in de big house and mek de cheese and churn butter for to sell in town. My task was to churn. Us uster hab big wood churn sorter like a long bar'l big at de bottom and comin' up not so big at de top. Dey's a li'l 'roun' kivver wid a hole in it. Dey hab a stick like a broom stick dat go froo de hole and on de en' was two li'l cross slats. Dey uster beat dat up and down in de butter milk and dat mek de butter come. Dey hab sweet milk by de tub. Dey uster curdle it some way my mudder she uster know how to mek it into cheese. Atter it been churn' dey put salt in it and put it in a big wood butter press and mash down hard on it. Den de ol' cook fix up de butter in li'l pats and sen' it up de hill to town. All us li'l chillen hab all de buttermilk us could drink. Us allus hab plenty to eat. Dey hab a big butcher pen on de plantation w'er dey butcher' wil' cattle and hogs for de town. Dey hab a man w'at butcher' dere eb'ry day, and sen' de fresh meat in to town. Dey hab jis' a common wagon wid mule hitch' to it to tek de meat to town. Dey was lots of suet and cracklin's and chittlin's all de time. Dey hab a big smokehouse and dey keep bacon and ham and sich for eb'ryboddy. It was a big plantation and lots of acres. Dey hab a big saw mill w'er dey saw out planks and mek posts and lumber for de place. Dey hab a big sugar farm and mek dey own sugar and some to sell. Dere was a cotton gin and cotton compress w'er dey bale de cotton. De arms on dat compress was big sills w'at dey call weavers. All de li'l chillen uster like to ride de mules goin' 'roun' to wuk de compress. Dey was so many ol' heads and so many chillen on de place but I can't 'member how many. Dey was a ol' woman name' Stack w'at tuk care of all de li'l chillen and ol' man Weston , he look atter all de boys and learn' dem dey wuk. Dey was bofe good and de w'ite folks was good. I was nebber slap' by a w'ite man in my life. De ol' marster he tuk sick and dey sont 'im off for he health.

He die' away off from home and dey hafter sen' 'im back for to be bury. Dey was a-buil'in' a new house, so dey "waked" 'im in de new house. Dey didn' wanter tek him back in de ol' one w'er he git sick. W'en de ol' man die, mistess wouldn' 'low de boys to be de boss for fear dey be too hard. So jis' kep' ol' man Weston to be de overseer since he already know all de boys. W'en dey buil' dat new house dey buil' de kitchen sep'rate. It were a nice new plank house. De slave house hab good brick chimneys and was tight li'l houses. Dey was a special man w'at haul' log for de quarters' houses so dey hab plenty of fire w'en dey come in outer de fiel'. Dey was two wimmens w'at wuk on de looms and mek de clo's for all de han's. Ol' marster w'en he was live, uster sen' off and buy de choes. Dey didn' hab no shoemaker on dat plantation. De ol' mistus uster hab us come up to de house at night for prayer meetin' and us uster sing wid de w'ite folks. She give us Sadday and Sunday off and we hafter fix out t'ings ready for chu'ch. Us go to de Gran' Coteau Cath'lic Chu'ch. I don' 'member none of de songs. W'en de war come to Lou'siana de sojers come froo dere jis' like a drove of cows. I heerd de guns firin' at Fort Barrows and de cannon balls like thunder. Thunder and bombshells I hear a many. I don' wanter hear dem any ag'in. All us li'l chillen hafter stay close in de house. De ol' mistus say de sojers hab spy-glass and dey shoot bombs like dat. We so scare' we huddle right by her all de time. Us nebber did see no war boats but dey tol' us 'bout 'em. Dey was down on de big water at Bayou Teche. John he de only one of de w'ite boys w'at go to de war and he come back not wounded.  W'en de Yankee sojers come by, dey say dey didn' tek nuffin' off ol' mistus' place 'cause she been too good to her cullud folks. My two brudders run off to de war w'en de Yankees come froo. Dat was Gil Creder and Martin Jones . Dey was ha'f brudders. Dey come back atter de war but dey bofe of 'em dead now. Dey come right back to de plantation. De young mistus she wo' 'em out for goin' off but dey was sorry dat dey done gone dat she forgive 'em. My mudder hab hogs and garden.

Atter de w'ite folks tu'n her loose she tuk me and us go to my gramma's in Op'lousas. De ol' mistus give her a wagon load of sweet 'taters and corn and sich, and she hab her hogs and chickens. Atter w'ile I go to wuk on de Louie Priddam place. Me and my mudder stay dere. 'Bout dis time my mudder she hab a busted blood vein in one leg and couldn' git 'bout. She was cripple' and I hafter tek care of her. She lib to be 123 year' ol' befo' she die. Ol' mistus Priddam she was nice to me 'cause I he'p her in de house. W'en I marry Charlie Nickerson on February 26, 1866, she give us good time. She gimme a nice w'ite dress and veil. It was sho' fine. It was too nice to be marry, I thought. Dey gimme a nice pitcher and bowl and lots of other t'ings. Father Raymon ' he marry us in de Op'lousas Cath'lic Chu'ch. I done hab so much trubble though. My husban' he die', I done had fo'teen chillen, all by Charlie , but I los' all but one gal. She name' Mary Burr and she lib on Carroll Street. She a widder woman too, and she done had fo'teen chillen. I marry Henry Garlan ' and us come to Beaumont fif'teen year' ago, but I been a widder fo'teen year' and I sick and can't see.   I growed up Cath'lic but w'en I come to Beaumont de niggers didn' hab no Cath'lic chu'ch so I jine de Baptis'."


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