Texas Slave Narratives

 

 

 

 

Texas Slave Narrative

  George Selman

George Selman was born in 1852, five miles east of Alto, Texas. His father was born in Virginia and his mother in South Carolina, and were brought to Texas by Mr. Dan Lewis . Green has been a Baptist minister since his youth. He lives in Jacksonville. Texas.

Wo was a big fam'ly, nine children. I was born a slave of the Selmans , Marster Tom and Missus Polly , and they lived in Mississippi. Mother's name was Martha and my father's name was John Green Selman . Marster's folks come from Mississippi a long ways back and they had a big house made from hewed logs with a big hallway down the middle. The kitchen was out in the yard, 'bout forty steps from the house. The yard had five acres in it and a big garden was in it. Marster had five slave families and our cabins was built in a half circle in the back yard. I seemed to be the pet and always went with Marster Tom to town or wherever he was goin'. Then I learned to plow by my mother letting me hold the handles and walk along with her. Finally she let me go 'round by myself. Marster Tom was always good to us and he taught me religion. He was the beat man I over knew. When Saturday noon come, they blew the horn and we quit workin'. We went to church one Sunday a month and we sat on one side and the white folks on the other. I never learnt to read and write, but I learned to work in the house and the fields. Late in the day Aunt Dicey , who was the cook, called all us children out under the big trees and give us supper. This was in summer, but nobody ever fed us but Aunt Dicey . We all ate from one bowl, or maybe I'd call it a tray, 'cause it was made of wood, like a bread tray but bigger, big enough to hold three, four gallons. She put the food in the tray and give each chil' a spoon. Mostly we had pot likker and cornbread. In winter we ate from the same tray, but in the kitchen. I never seen runaway slaves, but Marster Tom had a neighbor mean to slaves and sometimes when they was whipped we could hear 'em holler. The neighbor had one slave called Sallie, and she was a weaver and was to mean she had to wear a chain. After she died, I heered her ghost one night. I was stayin' with a white man who had the malaria, typhoid-pneumonia fever, and one night I heered Sallie scream and seen her chain drag back and forth. I tol' the man I knowed it was Sallie , 'cause I'd heered that scream for years. But the man said she was dead, so it mus' have been her ghost. I heared her night after night, screamin' and draggin' her chain up and down. When Marster Tom says we's free, I goes to his sister, Miss Ca'line and works for her. After sev'ral years I larned to preach and I's the author of most the Baptist churches in this county.


George Selman , a Baptist minister since a young man, was born in 1852, five miles east of Alto on the old San Antonio Trail. His father was born in old Virginia and his mother in South Carolina. Later they became the property of Dan Lewis who brought them to Texas. On the way over they were married and when they (Dan Lewis and his slaves) reached Alto, George's father and mother, John Green Selman and Martha Selman were bought by Tom Selman (they, of course, took their Master's name) for $550. They already had a small son whose name was Preely . There was a big family, nine children livin' and several dead, George said. My chillun live in and aroun' Jacksonville. The boys are Wade , Alvin , Lewis and J. D. The girls are Etta Fay , Adell , Calida , Corana and Phenis . They all work at day labor. I have one brother, Preely who is eight or ten years older than me and a sister Anna , she lives in Kansas City. I was born a slave of the Selman family. Marster Tom and his wife, Missus Polly , had no chillun at home but had three boys married, Missus Joe , Massa Frank and Massa Tom , named atter his pa. Marster's folks came from Mississippi. They had a big house made from hewed logs with a hallway between the rooms. The kitchen set off out in the yard 'bout forty steps from the house. There were five acres in the big yard and the garden was in this. Marster had five families livin' in his yard. Our cabins were made or built in a half circle in the back yard. We chillun jes' played aroun' in the big yard til we got big enough to work. 'Pears like I was Massa Tom's pet. As soon as I was big enough to follow him he allus took me with him to feed the hogs, go to mill or to town. I carried water to the field hands an' thars where I learned to plow. My mother would let me hold the plow handles and walk along with her. Finally she let me go around by myself and I had larn't to plow before Massa Tom know anything about it. He had three farms, some days we worked in the bottom field, some days in the north field and sometimes in the field by the house. The hands were called to dinner by the blowing of the conk. Massa Tom was very good to us. He never had to punish anyone very often. Hit was under Massa Tom's guidance and faithful teachin' that I pressed religion. He was the best man I ever knew. When Saturday noon came we stopped the field work and did our washin', cleaning up and cookin' for Sunday. Massa Tom wouldn't 'low no workin' on Sunday. Aunt Dicey was the cook and Massa Tom and Missa Polly seed to it that Aunt Dicey had plenty vegetables in the house. (We chillun help bring them in from the garden.) The cakes and pies was baked Saturday. Everything fixed so's there'd be no cookin' on Sunday. We went to church once a month, over to the white folks' church. We sat on one side and the white folks on t'other. Two favorite old songs was Amazing Grace and Come We That Love the Lord and Let Your Joys be Known. My favorite preacher was Brother George Silver a white man. I never larn't to read and write.

My main duties was houseboy. One place that I special liked to go was with Massa Tom to Buffalo Hole, thar's where he set out his hooks to ketch the big buffalo. Sometimes when we'd go down early of a mornin' we'd have big ones on the hooks, enough to feed all the han's fish. Massa Tom never had but one overseer and the han's didn't like him. He raised a rucus one day among the han's and one shot him. No, hit didn't kill him, but Massa Tom let him go, jest done the oversee'n himself. Ole Uncle Ansley was the driver. Massa Tom tole me Uncle Ansley was the first slave he ever owned. My mother and Aunt Jane were the weavers. In the summer they weaved on the kitchen porch. One of my first trips away from home was to go with one of the old Negro men up to old Larissa, near Mount Selman to carry the wheat to mill and to buy whiskey for my master. We put the oxen to the wagon one morning and drove all day. Got there late in the afternoon. Got our wheat made into flour, spent the night and went home next day, taking part of the night for it. I remember very well that Massa Tom gave me ten dollars, I got two five gallon jugs whisky, five dollars a jug. The old man I was with bought one jug. He was a slave of Massa Tom's neighbor. Late in afternoon Aunt Dicey the cook called all us chillun out under the big trees in the shade and gave us our supper. This was in the summertime. Nobody ever fed us but Aunt Dicey . We all ate from the same bowl, a large wooden tray kinda like an old-fashioned bread tray only much larger, large enough to hold three or four gallons. Our food was put in this tray and each child given a spoon. In the main our supper was pot likker and corn bread. Aunt Dicey sot right by us and iffen one of us misbehaved or ate too greedy, she'd slow us down an punish us when the meal was over. In the winter Aunt Dicey fed us from the tray in the kitchen. Massa Tom kept the rations in the meal house. The provisions were portioned out to each family. Iffen they got out of something, meal, syrup, etcetera, they went to Massa Tom .

I never saw any slaves sold nor any runaway slaves, but Massa Tom had a neighbor that was mean to his slaves and sometimes when they were whipped Massa Tom would call us out and make us listen to the slaves holler and cry and beg. Then Massa Tom say, 'See, now I don' have to whip you all that way 'cause you mind me,' and you bet we didn't cross Massa Tom . He tried to teach us to live as the Lawd expected us to do. He was a good Christian man and liked his religion every day. Massa Tom's neighbor had some on-ruly slaves. Sallie was one of 'em. She was the spinner and was so mean she had to wear a chain and long atter Sallie died I heard her ghost one night. I was staying with a white man who had the malaria-typhoid-pneumonia fever. I had to sleep with him an' one night I heard Sallie scream and the chain drag back and fo'th as she spun, then she would scream again. I tole that man I knew that was Sallie for I'd heard her scream many times before, and he would say, 'Lie down George , it's just Sallie's ghost. It won't hurt you.' But I couldn't sleep, for all night I heard Sallie's screamin' and draggin' her old chain up and down as she spun. When Massa Tom tole us we were free I went to his sister's, Miss Caloline's , for the rest of the year. The next year I worked on the halves for Mr. Hicks, then back to Massa Frank Selmans . I've preached for many years. I'se the author of most of the Baptist churches (colored) in this county. Brother Carter , a white preacher who lived below Rusk married me to Mary Ann Ratliff . We had a big weddin'. About fifty white folks came to see us married and brought us lots of presents, then we had a big supper. I've enjoyed livin' an' I know the Old Master is gonna be callin' for me some of these days. My favorite songs is More Water in the Pool to be Baptized and Come My Lovin' Sister and Be Baptized.


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