Henry J Richardson

Henry J. Richardson was born in 1860. The place where he was born is north of Nacogdoches and is the home of D. F. Cates . Henry and his mother were the property of Judge Bennett Blake of this city. I can remember so very little about slavery times since I was so small but I can remember that there was three more slaves who belonged to Master and that he sometimes had to flog them when they didn't do what the Master and Mistress said. Master liked for them to work and work hard when they were in the field. Sometimes if they did not work fast enough he would beat them. There were a few who would not work good and had to be whipped. We had church most every Sunday, but I can't remember our pastor's name, but it was Master and Mistress's pastor who preached to us. We, all of us darkies, lived in a small one roomed cabin which was built of logs in the back yard. My mother worked all day and seldom had time to cook very much, but we managed to have two meals every day. She cooked our meals after she finished all of her chores for master. Our beds were built on the floor, of old ragged quilts usually, that Mistress had discarded. I didn't do any work in the field as I was too small, but my mother cooked and worked in the field. She stayed at the house and helped mistress when she needed her, but when she didn't haft to have her services she helped ole Master chop cotton and plow. At first my father belonged to the Summers , but my master bought him and then he lived with us. He plowed and chopped cotton and run errands for Master. My life was pretty lonely, as I was the only small child. Usually I played in the back yard and waited for my mother to come home from work. I never had any special games to play, in fact, I only mimicked my parents at work for work was all I knew outside of my own idleness. We never had a chance to go to school as Master and Mistress did not have time to teach us. They had a very large plantation and a very few slaves to do the work so they all had to keep busy. Master and Mistress lived in a beautiful log building, and also had it furnished very beautiful. They had nice beds to sleep on and pretty chairs and a nice place to eat too. There was a high fence all around the yard and there is where I spent most of my early childhood days. Christmas and other holidays were just another day to us except we were treated to a real feast on those days. We often had a log rollings, corn huskins, and cotton pickings, but I couldn't give a good description of them as they only meant busy days for my mother, father, Master and Mistress. Too, I shall never forget that on those days we really did feast. The only ghosts stories that I ever heard were the ones my mother told me when she wanted to scare me into obeying her. I can't remember but very little about the war except the brass buttons on the soldiers coats and the pretty flag that was at Nacogdoches. The flags was where the Post Office now stands. My mother was scared of the soldiers and always made me hide when they were said to be near. Don't know which one she was afraid of, maybe both. When the days work was done some of the darkies sung awhile, but most times they were so tired that they just went to bed. Sometimes darkies would come from other plantations to visit with us. They would have to get passes to go from one plantation to the other. I don't remember of ever having gone to but one darky funeral. He was put away on the old plantation. Master's pastor preached a few words and all the darkies and Master and Mistress sung.