I lived in an' 'roun' Bullard 'till I married Cyrus Porter . I had fifteen children and raised ten to be grown an' married. I married 'bout forty-five or fifty years ago. I wore white dress like all de brides did an' my husban' he had a new homespun suit. I never went to but two dances in my life. Dey would have what dey called "Chivarees" atter a couple got married. At night dey would git a crowd together, get cups made of tin cans, cow horns an' anything to make a noise, an' atter bedtime, dey would congregate 'bout de house of de newly weds an' make a racket, 'till dey was invited in an' fed, maybe dey would dance awhile. Dey made blow harps to use on chivarees by punching a tin cup full of holes and take blow quills made out of joints of canes 'bout size of your finger; dey would plait dese togedder with twine an' blow through dem like dey was a french harp. At dese weddings an' chivarees dey would serve chocolate and cake an' make candy outen syrup; sometimes dey would feed 'em coffee and cookies. I danced at the last dance I went to, with my father. Our beds were made of crab grass when we first come to Texas. We'd pull a great big pile of grass an' spread it out to dry then stuff a duck ticking with it. Later on, I got me some few geese an' saved up feathers to make me a feather bed an' I got me a good cotton mattress. Our dresses were made of duckin' an we would git red oak bark if we wanted to dye our dresses yellow. Sumake was good dye too. We would set the dye with salt. We did our cookin' out-a doors on a fireplace built away from de house. Mos' en often, we had us a brush arbor built over the table an' fireplace for shade an' to keep off de rain some. We baked our bread in an oven; it had a lid an' we'd put hot coals under the skillet an' on top de lid and dat would bake as good bread as you could want. Yass'um, I made lemon pies den. I'd put de ple in a tin plate an' set de plate in de skillet an' cook right along. We rossted corn an' taters in de hot embers. We would gather a big pile of small, light brush an' make fires in de fireplaces both in de house or out of doors to see by. One of the prettiest dresses I ever had, my ole man brought me the goods from town; I built me a brush light-fire and made de dress dat night with my fingers by de brush-fire light. Wore it to de meetin' house next day. Looked purt peart too, so dey said. Yass'ua I can cook on de oil stove an' de gas stove an' run de sewing machine, but we don't have as good times now nor as much to eat as we used to have. Dem was good ole days an' my marster and mistis was good to us. 'Course we had to work but we had good times too an' when we were sick Marster got his doctor an' we was looked after. We knew dat we would have close an' somethin' to eat an' a house to shelter us but we don't have dat now. When you get too ole to work you shore has a hard tine. Us moved to Waco in 1888, in de spring of dat year. We bought a lot on Taylor street and began payin' taxes in 1903. Before dat I cooked for de Day family at Day's lake, north of Waco. I'ze been a widow now goin' on nine year the 13th of this coming December. Mos' all my chillun got fair good edication. I larned to write a very little and to read some. I kep dem chillun in school an' give 'ex all de chance in de world 'till dey jes run out from under me.

 We bought de place from Mr. John Hardwick and I washed fer his fambly at $2.50 a week and paid the place out by washing and ironing. Took me four years to do it but I got it now. Cost me $550.00 an' lots of hard work. Mos' of de time, my young'uns only had one dress apiece. When dey come home from school we'd wash an' iron dat dress ready fer next day. Come wet or cold weather, we'd dry dem by de fire an' dey would wear dere ole ragged dresses roun home. Yass'um, I've shore seen it hard.