Louvinia Young was my name when I was a girl. My married name is Louvinia Pleasant . Dey tell me dat I was bawn on March 10, 1851, and dat I is 86 years old. I don't know why de good Lawd has kept me here so long, but I reckon He's get a reason. I was bawn on Mawster George Ball's cotton plantation near de town ob Chappel Hill, Washington County. My mammy was Liza Neill , and she done took de name ob her grandmammy Neill . My daddy was David Young . His mawster, Jack Robertson , brought him f'om Alabama to Texas. Daddy took de name ob Young f'om dat ob his daddy back in Alabama. When I was growin' up on Mawster Ball's plantation, I had to git out and do housework and field work. I had to do a little ob everything. At dat time I could pick about one hunnert and forty pounds ob cotton a day. I had to pick dis much ebber day or I'd sure git a good scorchin'. We had to git up at de break of day, and git ready to go to de field. When dat hawn was blowed at de break ob day, yo' had better git up and git ready to go. I sure had to work hard, but dat's all right now, 'cause I'se done prayed and forgive ebberbody fo' whut dey done to me. De folks at dat time sure burned me up a lot ob times wid a hard whoopin'. My, my, my, dey sure did whoop us in dem days. When a pusson in dem days didn't unnerstand jes' whut to do, dat pusson couldn't go right out and do whut a older person knowed how to do. Dey learned me how to do somethin', but I sure got a whoopin' in learnin' how to work. I wouldn't want to go back through wid all ob dat again. Mawster Ball had a overseer on his place and, ooh-wee, he sure was rough. I'se tellin' yo' he was rough. One day mammy got behind wid her cotton choppin' and de overseer rode up on his hoss and stabted to cussin' her fo' not workin' harder. Mammy was pregnant and wasn't feelin' good, and she couldn't keep up wid de rest. De oversser took his bull-whoop and stahted in to whoopin' mammy. Daddy come runnin' up and told de overseer to stop beatin' his wife, 'cause she was sick. He said dat she couldn't keep up wid de rest ob de people, 'cause ot dat. Den daddy took his hoe and knocked de overseer's boss down knocked it to de groun'.

My mawster's son-in-law, Jack Robertson , from Alabams, owned and liked my daddy, and be wouldn't allow mawster Ball's overseer to punish him. Mawster Robertson brought daddy wid him f'om Alataza. Yo' see, whenever Mawster Ball got in a tight and had too much work, he would ask Mawster Robertson to send some ob his slaves over and help out. Dat's why daddy was on Mawster Ball's plantation. Slaves got married in dem days, but de husband stayed on his place, and de wife stayed on her place, and dey could visit each other at certain times durin' de week. Mawster Jack Robertson married Ellen Ball . Dey lived on dere own plantation near de Balls ' place. Mammy had to milk de cows, about nine or ten ob 'em. I went along and helped tie up de calves. We'd feed de cows turnips, cottonseed and meal. Dere was de time in winter when mammy and me went out to silk, and we was barefooted and had no shoes to put on. We sure was cold out dere, wid no shoes on our feet. And early in de mawnin' I had to go up to de "big house" to make a fire in de fire place and den make hot water in a big, black kettle, so Mistress Alice could take her bath. And I had better be in a hurry, too, and git through so I could go out into de fields. Mistress Alice had two girls Martha and Ellen . Martha married a Mr. Taylor , and I don't remembah his first name. Ellen was Mrs. Jack Robertson . When Martha married and had her first chile, I had to help nuss it. Martha stayed in de big house wid her folks. I got along putty good wid Martha , better den I did wid Ellen . De folks always called me Vin and not Louvinia .

I did de best dat I could at dem times, but dere was many times dat I wished dat I was dead. I sure did have a hard time. But de good Lawd will take care ob all dat. We lived in a little log cabin near de big house. Dere was a whole row ob dem log cabins, where de slaves lived. On de cold winter nights, we nebber had no beds to sleep on, and no bed clothes ob any kind. De men folks would build a big fire in de fireplace, which would keep us wahm durin' de night. De good Lawd has fixed it so dat we don't have to live lak dat no mo'e. We et bacon, cracklins, yams, irish potaters, ash-cakes, and plenty ob pot-likker. We got tukkey once in a while. Many was time dat I baked dem ash-cakes. I'd make dem cakes and place dem on collard leaves, and den put 'em among de ashes to bake. On Sundays, we'd sit around and talk. About once a month, a white preachab would come aroun' and preach to us at one ob de chu'obes. About de only thing dat he would preach would be: Now, don't yo' all steal yo' mawster's eggs Now don't yo' all steal yo' mawster's sugar...Now, don't yo' all steal yo' mawster's chickens'. We never had no school on our place and I never did git to go to school durin' my entire life. I never went to school after freedom. But, I do remembah dat, dat when I was a chile, dat I'd see some letters and words on pieces ob ole paper. I'd go outside and trace dem letters in de sand wid my finger. Dat is de way I tried to learn my A-B-C's. I can't write much to dis day, but I can read a little. Mawster and Ellen and all ob de rest nebber did show me how to write. All dat dey did learn me was to work hard. And I had better not be caught learnin' my A-B-C's by tracin' 'em in de sand. One day mistress Alice asked mammy,  Liza , do yo' think dat yo' will ever be free?  No, ma'm," Mammy said, "I don't think dat we'll ever be free."  But nammy said dat she had heard dat all slaves was to be free soon, but she didn't want Mistress Alice to know dat she had heard dat news. Mawster Ball was a sort ob sickly man at dis time, so one day Mistress Alice read a paper to all ob de slaves. She had been cryin' all day long, and I had wondered whut was wrong. She had made me clean up, once mo'e all de rooms in de big house. After I had cleaned up den bare cedar floors, Mistress Alice would run her hand along dat floor and if any dirt was found on dat hand, I sure would get a good scorchin'. After Mistress Alice read f'om dat paper, she said, "Now yo' all is as free as I am. Now I want you all to stay on here and help us gather de crops. De cotton is made and is ready to pick. If yo' all will stay, I'll pay yo' all fo pickin'. Some of de folks stayed. We stayed and helped dem gather dere crops. We stayhed on about six months. It was Christmas when we left. I was now fourteen years old.

Five years later, when I was nineteen, I was married. My husband was twenty years old, George Pleasant , and he was jes' stahtin' out to be a circuit-ridin' preachah. We lived on a fahm fo' about three years near Brenham, Washington County. Den my husband stahted out to travellin'. I went along sometimes. When de chillun come along, I would git up and go along wid him. We had twelb chillun, six boys and six girls; George , Lewis , Sam , David , Henry and a baby boy dat was dead when he was bawn; Eliza , Hattie , Lillie , Parsena , Lula and a girl bawn dead. Four girls and two boys is still livin'. Sometimes we travelled in a buggy and sometimes in a wagon. We travelled aroun' fo' about twenty years. We even went as far as Oklahoma. George would preach anywhere in chu'ches, in houses, and under de brush-arbors. People would come in ox wagons to de big camp meetin's. We sure had fine times. We'd come to a house, and de folks would invite us in to eat. On dem camp meetin' groun's de folks brought dere pots and pans and baked and cooked de food right on the groun'. Den we'd all spread a cloth on de groun', and put de food on it. Folks sure believed in one another at dat time. More'n day do now. My husband preached until he got too old to travel. He was gittin' to be putty old when he died on September 3, 1933. I own my home here in de Cockle Burr section, so about de main thing fo' me is to git somethin' to eat. I git a pension ob nine dollahs a month, but Lawd, dat ain't much. I even have to have my water hauled here. It costs me a nickel a barrel and a nickel a barrel to have it hauled here. I had a good well, but it's gone dry and I had to have it filled in.