Yes'm, I 'member slavery. 'Course I was li'l den, but I ain't so old dat I forgot it. I was bo'n Dec. 21, 1851. My mother told me my age an' I know she was 'bout right by de feelin' of me. I was bo'n in Harrison County, on de Hagardy Plantation. Old Widder Hagardy own de plantation an' run it by sheself. Mr. Hagardy was dead, dat's why dey all call Miss Hagardy 'old Widder Hagardy '. But we never call 'er dat to 'er face. No, sir. She wouldn' of stood it. She wasn't mean but she was stern. Yes'm, dat's it. She was stern. She own 'bout five hundred head of colored folks. Yes, Ma'm, she had a big place--it was at least two or two an' a half mile from one side to de other. All de colored folks had dere own cabin with wood floors. Yes, Ma'm, wood floors. Dey had dere own garden, too. Dey use to raise vegetables an' some of de women had flowers planted. De Widder live in a big house. I never did mess 'round dere much, so I can't tell you much 'bout it. Dere was a church dere, too. I think it was a Baptist Church, leastwise dat's de one I always 'tended. Dey had a white preacher who use to come 'round an' preach on Sundays. Once in a while we had meetin's in our place an' one of de colored folks'd preach. I don' know if dey was camp meetin's or not. I was jus' a boy an' I don' 'member things so plain at de Widder Hagardy's . She use to have an old country doctor, Doc Hillard , who give us pills an' quinine when we was sick. He always give a child my age oil no matter what was de matter with 'em. Jus' plain old oil dat dey give chillun. Dey was takin' de colored folks den an' puttin' dem on de block, auctionin' 'em off like horses. Dey auction off my mother an' father an' I had to go with 'em.

My mother was name Mary an' my father was name James . Yes, Ma'm, dey took 'em to a market, but I don' know where 'twas. I didn' go dere with 'em. Dey come an' got 'em an' took 'em to where dis market was an' kep' 'em dere for a while. Den dey come an' got me, an' me an' 'em went to de Briggs ' plantation. I sure can't 'member what county dat place was in. It was 'way out in de country. I guess it was too far out in de country to be in a county. No'm, it wasn' in no county. I 'membered where de Widder Hagardy's place was, didn' I? So if dis place was in a county I'd 'member dat, wouldn't I? It was no place. I sure didn' like it. I wanted to go back to de Widder Hagardy's . Dere was so many colored folks dere an' all dat I use to know. Dere was a lot of colored folks at de Briggs' place, too. Not as many as at de Widder's, but dere was a lot dere. Den, too, at der Widder's, de cabins had plank floors. Dey didn' have no church nor school nor nothin'. No'm we jus' met in each other's house. One of de colored folks was de preacher. De place was 'most as big as der Widder's place, I guess. De white folks' house was better'n de Widder's. It was made out of wood. De overseer dere use to whip de colored lots, too. Dey wouldn' let me work, I was too little, but I can 'member lots of whippin's. One time my father run 'way an' hid in de woods. Dey hunt him with dogs dey kep' for huntin' colored folks. Me an' my mother could hear 'em hollerin' an' we cried. Oh, I was jus' a li'l boy den. It took 'em a long time to find 'em, but when dey got 'im dey tied 'im to a post an' whipped 'im. Yes, Ma'm, I 'member dat. He never run 'way no more. I was too li'l to be in de war, an' I never understood much 'bout it. I never seen no soldiers nor hear no shootin'. De only way I know dere was a war was by hearin' some of de folks talk 'bout it. Den dey said dat we was free. I don' know how dey know dat. I jes' hear de colored folks shoutin' an' hollerin' over de good time dey was goin' to have. Den Mr. Briggs say dat now dat we was free we had to leave dere. 'Most of de colored folks want to leave an' go to de North. But dey kep' hollerin' an' shoutin' dat now dey was free, an' dat was all dey could think of. I jus' run 'round hollerin', too. We didn' stay here but a li'l while after dat. We went to Galveston an' my father went to work dere. After I got big I jus' work 'round, firs' one place an' den 'nother. Now I is too old to work. I is too old to do anythin'.