You got to 'scuse how I looks, 'cause I been out in de back yard helpin' my daughter with de washin'. She allus fuse at me 'cause I work like dat, but I tells her jes' 'cause I is a old woman ain't no reason why I got to act like one. I don't know for sho' jes' when I'm birthed, but my sister allus say I'm one year and six months older'n her and she say she's birthed 'bout 1857. Dey didn't make no record den like now. I thinks old massa, Dave Mann , keep some kind record on us, but he been dead de long time.My mammy and pappy was name Moins , Car'line and Charles Moins . De slaves used to take de massa's name and sometimes when dey sold dey drap de old name and take de new massa's name. Dat how come it so herd to keep up with dem. Massa Mann sho' nice but him and he missy die and Massa Jim Ross step into dere shoes on de plantation. Us gits swamp den. When you git swamp dat mean you got to live with a mean man. He sho' was mean, too. De plantation was big and 'bout a hundred slaves on it. Dey work dem hard, too, sometimes till nine o'clock at night. A lot of den run away but dey sic de nigger dogs on dere trail and cotch dem. When day cotch dem dey whup dem. Dey put sticks in de ground and tie dere hands and feet to dem. Some places dey strip dem naked and whip dem.Sometimes Massa Jim 'low us go to de Catholic Church at Mari on. Dey wouldn't 'low us to pray by ourself. But we Sneaks off and have pot prayin'. Two men carry de great big hog pot dey uses to scald hogs and take it out in de woods and us stick de head in it and pray. All de noise go in de pot and you couldn't hear it outside. Old massa fed us good. meal and syrup and meat 'nough to last. He give us watermelons every Sunday. But Massa Jim didn't 'lieve in pamperin' niggers. he say. He didn't give us much to eat and de houses leak 'cause de walls rotten.One time he take de notion to sell us. He put my mother and me and sister on de block up in Marion. Us all cryin' hard, 'cause us thunk us gwine git sep'rate. Den I looks up sudden and right at my young miss. Miss Mary . She so mad she pale like de ghost. She say, 'Ella , you git 'way from dat block and come over to me, and you too. Della .' Me and my sister runs over dere to her and wrap ourself round her dress and hold on with all our might. De massa come after us and Miss Mary say. 'What you mean sellin' my slaves?' He say us slaves his and she say, do he want to have to prove what he say. Den she start in and raise so much sand he have to call mammy down off de block and take us back home. I heared everybody say a war goin' on and my uncle and cousin run 'way to de head bureau, where de Yankees at. My mammy say it at Milligan, Texas. Time dey ready for freedom in Louisiana, dey refugees us to Texas, in de wagons. Us travel all day and half de night and sleep on de ground. It ain't take us so long to git to Calvert, out dere in de bottom of Texas, and dey puts us on de Barton plantation. We's diggin' potatoes dere when de Yankees come up with two big wagons and make us come out of de fields and free us. Dere wasn't no cel'bration 'bout it. Massa say us can stay couple days till us 'cide what to do.

Well, den somethin' funny happen dere. De slaves all drinks out an on well. Dey'd drink water in de mornin' and dey'd have de cramps awful bad 'bout dinner time and in de evenin' dey's dead. Dey dies like flies, so fast dey couldn't make de coffins for dem. Dey jes' sew dem up in sacks and bury dem dat way. Some de slaves say massa put de poison in de well. I don't know what kill dem but it sho' look funny. Mammy and me goes to Calvert and hires out, but 'fore long us come to Calves and pappy go back to Louisiana. If he ain't dead he still live dere in St. Mary's Parish. I never seen him no more. I marries 'bout 1886, and stays right here in Galveston. I seen Wright Cuney lots of times but I ain't never knowed him to talk to. I 'member when dey say he be governor some day but dey ain't gwine have no cullud man governor. Course, he did git to congress.

Ella Washington of 2714 Avenue H (Rear) was born a slave in 1855 in St. Mary's Parish, Louisiana. She was the property of Dave Mann until his death after which she became the property of his brother-in-law, Jim Ross . When the slaves were freed in Louisiana, she was taken to Calvert, Texas, and put on the Barton Plantation. Soon after the war she came to Galveston, Texas, and is now living with her daughter who supports herself and her mother by taking in washing. You got to 'scuse how I look 'cause I been out in de back yard helping my daughter wit' de washing. She alway fuss at me 'cause I work like dat, but I tells her dat jes' 'cause I is an old woman ain' no reason why I got to act like one. I don' feel old an' 'sides I is more healthful dan her. I ain' had to have no doctor since de year after de 1915 storm. Den I was only sick a week wit' de flu. Dat don' count anyway 'cause everybody else had it den, too. De lady next door say I is de spryest person for my age dat she ever see. You see, I don' know for sure jes' when I was born, but my sister alway say I was one year an' six months old'n her an' she say she was born 'bout 1857, so I guess I was born 'bout 1855. My daughter say she going to write back to St. Mary's Parish in Louisiana where I was born at an' fine out for sure if anybody dere know when I was born. But dey didn't make no record of when you was born den like dey do now. I guess our old marster, Dave Mann , keep some kind of a record on us, but he been dead for a long time an' old Jim Ross , our other marster, ain' got sense 'nough to keep no kind of a record.I think my mother an' father was born dere in St. Mary's Parish, too. No, I don' neither, 'cause dey was name Meins , Car'line an' Charles Meins , an' my father was name after de marster he had 'fore Mr. Mann buy him, an' I don' 'member nobody 'round dere name Meins . De slaves use to take dere marster's name, an' sometime when dey was sol' dey drop de old marster's name an' take on de new marster's name. Dat's how come it's so hard to keep up wit' 'em. Dey change dere name maybe two, three times.Mr. Mann shore was a nice marster. Den him an' de mistress die an' Jim Ross take dere chillun an' step into dere shoes on de plan'ation.

He marry de marster's sister, Miss Sally , an' dey take in de marster's chillun. Dere was three of 'em, Miss Mary an' her two brothers. When de marster die, Jim Ross git me to nurse de chillun. De boys was little but Miss Mary was 'most grown den. I take care of 'em 'til after slavery. But Jim Ross ain' no marster of mine. My marster's dead, dat's how we got 'swamp'. When you git 'swamp' dat mean you got to live wit' a mean man. He shore was mean, too.De plan'ation was big, dey had 'bout a hundred an' fifty slaves jes' guessing on it. Most of 'em was field hands, but a couple of de women work in de house an' in de kitchen. When a woman jes' had a baby, dey wouldn't let 'er go to de fields for a while, dey put 'em in de loom, making 'em card an' spin. Dey make dere own cloth for de slaves to wear. I don' know much 'bout dat part of it, 'cause I never had nothing to do wit' it. Dey work 'em hard, too. Sometime dey work in de fields 'til nine 'clock at night when it got so dark dey couldn't see to work no more. I 'member sometimes in de summer time it was 'bout ten 'clock 'fore my mother an' father come in out of de fields. A lot of 'em run 'way from dere, but dey sic de nigger dogs on dere trail an' most of de time dey catched 'em. My cousin run 'way all de time. He use to run through de cow pen an' shinny over de fence an' run in de woods. De dogs use to go to de cow pen an' stay dere an' look under de cow shed an' wait for him to come out. Den time de marster found out he wasn't under dere, dey'd take de dogs out in de woods an' hunt him dere. Dey always found him 'til he run 'way during de war. When dey catched him dey use to whup him, but it shore never done no good 'cause he was gone 'gain in no time. Dey use to put sticks down in de ground an' tie dere hands an' feet to de sticks an' whup 'em like dat. Some places dey say dey strip 'em naked an' whup 'em. I know dat overseer we use to have was mean as Jim Ross . He use to pull de women's dress down an' whup 'em. I get mad every time I think 'bout him. I like to git my hands on him, I'd pull all dat hay-colored hair off'n his head. Once in a while Jim Ross let us go to de Catholic Church in Marion. Dat was right close to de plan'ation where we is at. Dey wouldn't let us pray or hol' prayer meetings by ourself. But we use to sneak off an' have 'pot praying'. Two men use to carry de great big hog pot dey use to scald hogs in 'way out in de woods an' put it down an' us'd come an' stick our heads down in it an' pray. All de noise use to go down inside de pot an' you couldn't hear nothing outside.Course dey didn't have no schools or nothing like dat. Nobody know how to read an' write den.Sat'day evening I use to go wit' my mother to de ration. De old marster, Mr. Mann , fed us good. He use to give us plenty on Sat'day, meal an' syrup an' meat 'nough to last us 'til de next Sat'day. Every Sunday morning a big wagon load of water melons use to drive up to de quarters an' stop an' we all help ourself. Sometimes we eat two melons at one time, take one bite off'n one an' 'nother bite off'n de other one. But after de old marster die our hard times come 'long, 'cause Jim Ross don' believe in pampering niggers. He kept de big house nice though, 'cept he never would paint it an' it was all peel an' it look bad, but it never leak.

One time old Jim Ross take a notion he going to sell us. He took me an' my mother an' my sister to Marion an' put us up on de block. He got my mother on de block an' me an' my sister was standing in front of her crying hard as we could 'cause we thought we was going to git sep'rated. Den I look up sudden like an' look right at my young miss, Miss Mary . Like de block was right here, she was standing right dere, right in front of it an' she was so mad she was pale as a ghost. She tol' me, 'Ella , you git 'way from dat block an' come over to me. You too, Della .' Me an' my sister run over dere to her an' wrap ourself 'round her dress an' hol' on wit' all our might. De marster come over after us an' Miss Mary ask him what do he mean by selling her slaves. He say dose slaves was his an' she say do he wan' to have to prove what he say. An' den she start in an' raise so much sand he had to call my mother down off from de block an' take us back. Den we didn't have no regular marriages wit' de minister marrying you. If someone wan' to git married, dey go outdoors an' two slave men hol' up a broom an' dey jump over it. Dat counted for being married. I hear everybody say dere's a War going on an' my uncle an' my cousin run 'way an' wen' to de head bureau. Dat's where de Yankee soldiers stay at. It was dere head place. My mother say it was at Milligan, Texas. Dey stay dere at de head bureau 'til freedom was 'clared, an' a lot of de other slaves run 'way an' wen' dere, too.I hear 'em talk 'bout de Yankees burning down de houses an' places, but none never come 'round our place. I never seen no Yankees 'til dey took us to Texas. Time dey was ready for freedom in Louisiana, we refugee to Texas.

De marster put us in wagons an' took us to Texas. We travel all day an' half de night an' when we do stop we sleep on de ground. It ain' take us long to git to Calvert, out dere in de bottom of Texas, an' dey put us on de Barton Plan'ation. We stay dere 'til de Yankee soldiers come an' run us off.We was digging 'tatoes when de Yankee soldiers come wit' two big wagons an' struck camp an' made us come out of de fields an' free us. Ab'ham Lincoln shore worked dem soldiers hard for freedom. De white folks say when de War start dat if dey can get him dey'd kill him, but it ain' do dem no good 'cause dey got to let us go anyway. De soldiers say we was free an' didn't have to stay dere no more 'less we wan' to. We never had no cel'bration 'bout it. We don' know what to do. De marster said we could stay dere for a couple days 'til we 'cided what we wan' to do.Well, den something funny happen. De slaves all drink out of an' ol' well dere. Well, dey'd drink a drink of water in de morning, an' dey'd have de cramps awful bad 'bout dinner time an' in de evening dey was dead. Dey die like flies. Dey die so fast dat dey couldn't make 'em coffins fast 'nough. Dey jes' sew 'em up in sacks an' things an' bury 'em dat way. Some of de slaves say de marster put poison in de water. I don' know what kill 'em but it shore look funny.Me an' my mother wen' to Calvert an' she hired out dere.

We shore seen plenty of Klu Kluxes 'round dat part of de country. Dey scare you half to death an' chase you 'til dey catched you an' den dey'd whup you. One night my mother an' my aunt was coming home from a ball by their self an' dey look back on 'em an de road an' dere was a gang of Klu Kluxes coming whizzing 'long after 'em. Dey shore didn' stop to fine out what dey wan' wit' 'em, dey kept going faster. When dey got home dey was all out of breath, but dey stayed home after dat. If dey had catched 'em dey'd whup 'em. Dey never kill nobody dat I ever hear 'bout, but dey use to whup 'em when dey catched 'em out after dark.One time dey 'most scared my father to death. We was all in bed when somebody beat on de door an' holler at us to open de door quick. My father was scared but he open de door an' dere was a bunch of de Klu Kluxes. Dey tol' him to give 'em a bucket of water 'cause dey was thirsty an' want a drink. He give 'em de water an' dey wen' out to drink it so he couldn't see who dey was an' come back for some more. My father say he thought dey never was going to fill up dere belly. When dey finish dey give him back de bucket an' wen' on off. Me an' my mother 'cided to come on wit' my aunt to Galveston an' my father wen' back to Louisiana. If he ain' dead I guess he still live dere in St. Mary's Parish yet. I never seen him no more. When we got here my mother hired out to some white folks an' when I got big 'nough I did, too. I got married right after de big fire. Dat was 'bout '86. I think. It was de biggest fire I ever seen. All de east end was on fire. It got from de bay to de Gulf an' I don' know where it didn' got. I was working for Lollie Scott den in de east end, 'round thirteenth an' Market when somebody say dere was a big fire. It lasted 'bout half de day. All de men wen' out an' fit it, but dey didn' have much water den an' dat kind of made it bad. When a house catched on fire de people run in dere an' took out everything dey could move, an' for blocks 'round where de fire was everybody had dere stuff setting on de sidewalk, waiting for de fire to come to dere houses. I run home to look for my things an' found my house was burn down to de ground an' everything I had burned up but what I had on my back. I live on 10th and H den. Somebody tol' me dat dey had seen somebody run in my house an' take my sewing machine out an' go off wit' it. I run 'round looking for my machine an' a man come 'long an' tol' me dat my machine was setting on de beach. I wen' dere an' shore 'nough dere it was. I never did know how it got dere. I never stay here in de storms. I go to my sister who lives in Alvin an' stay dere wit' her. I's scared of Galveston in de storms. I seen Wright Cuney lots of times, but I never knowed him to talk to. I 'member when dey use to say 'round here dat he'd be gov'nor some day, but dey ain' going to have no colored man gov'nor. Course he did git to Congress. I done told you 'bout all I know 'bout slavery. I is sorry I don' know no medicine, but I never use to be sick an' I don' know nothing 'bout dat. I is lucky 'cause even my eye sight hold up. I sew at night time an' don' even have to use de glasses my daughter got for me. I guess I is 'bout de healthfulest person my age 'round here. But while I been setting here gabbing Della got to work by herself. I guess I better run out now an git in de wash tub.