"I axed my old missus when I's borned and she rec'lect I'm eight or nine year old when de freedom war starts. She say she don't make recall de 'xact time, but I takes May for a birthin' time. They's a time when some sich was writ in de Bible, but it got burnt up 'fore I's ageable. I knows where I'm borned, though, and it am on Capt. Forrester's farm in Ellis County. His mother, Miss Susan , raises me like she am my mammy. I calls her Sis Sue . She was old miss and Miss Lee was young miss. My paw, I don't know nothin' 'bout. My sister Anna and me us have de same paw, but my mammy's sold out of Miss'sippi 'way from my paw 'fore my birthin'. My maw kept de name of Lucindy Lane , but Martha and Jennie , my other sisters, had diff'rent paws. "I's gone through so much of hard times all my life, but when I's de li'l gal I didn't have much to do 'cept tend my Aunt Matilda's babies and wash they clothes. The rest the time I jes' plays round. Miss Lee have a china doll with a wreath of roses round it head. We takes turns playin' with it. I had a rag doll, and it jes' a bundle of rags with strings tied round it to give it a shape. Us make playhouses. Capt. Forrester goes away and I heared he gone to some war, but, law me, I didn't know 'bout war den. I's jus' glad to play and eat anythin' I can git. When I git a tin can of clabber and some bread, that's what I wanted. They didn't buy no dishes for nigger young'uns to break up. Us et bacon and beef and salt pork and cornbread with us fingers. Muscle shells is what we dipped 'stead of spoons. I did love de souse, too.

When I had de chills, Sis Sue , dat Old Miss, come out to de quarters and give me sweet milk boiled with pepper. I got shut of dem chills 'cause I didn't like dat pepper tea, but I like it better'n quinine or sage tea. I didn't like to be sick noways, 'cause dey jus' two bedsteads, one for my mammy and my steppaw, and one for us gals. They allus promise me they'll larn me to read and write, but never did git to dat. Aunt Matilda did most de spinnin' and weavin' and sewin'. I used to wear a shimmy and a dress in de week and a clean one for Sunday. In winter sometimes us have a li'l sacque and homemake calfskin shoes but mostly us have to stay inside iffen de weather ain't mod'rate. De only frolics I 'member was candy pullin's on Christmas. Dat all us One day Miss Tilda git de buggy whip to whip my mammy. It's noontime, and dey had blowed de horn for de field niggers to come eat. Maw grabs de whip and says, 'Miss Tilda , you ain't gwine do dat.' Miss Tilda didn't say nothin' for a day or two, den she say, 'Lucindy , you git your young'uns and leave dis place. So us goes walkin' down de road till us come to some folk's house and dey takes us in. Us dere 'bout a month when mammy git sick. Dem folks sends word to de Forresters dere niggers am sick and Sis Sue hitch up de hoss and come over. She brung food for us every day, end say. Now, Lucindy , when you git able you bring your young'uns on home and 'have yourself.' My mammy dies when I's 'bout ten year old. After Capt. Forrester come back home dey tell us to watch out for de Feds. Sis Sue say dey kill nigger young'uns. One day I's comin' through de fields and see three men in blue coats on big bay hosses. - I ran, but dey passes me by big as you please. I seed plenty after day, 'cause dey come and asks for corn and Sis Sue allus say us don't have 'nough for de hosses. But dat night de corn allus leave de cribs. Dem Feds was sho' thievin' folks. I stays with de Forresters till I's 22 year old, and dey give me food and clothes, but never no money. Sis Sue used to say, 'Come here, you li'l old free nigger.' It make me so mad. But den I marries and have de swiss white dress and us walk 'cross de fields to de preachers. Dat every bit of fixin' us have. Den us raise crops on de half-shares and sot up housekeepin' with a bedstead, some quilts and a li'l old stove. I has four young'uns and every one of dem had schoolin' an schoolin' and larnin'.

Emma Watson , born 1852 or 1853 in Ellis County near Hillsboro, Texas; lives with her daughter at 818 Allen St., Dallas, Texas. She was born in slavery to the Forrester family. She neither reads nor writes. She has worked the majority of her years in the fields but has been employed in later years as a household servant. She is incapacitated for work now. I axed my old Missus when I was borned and she said she recollected that I was eight years old when the war started. She said she dont make no recall of the time exact but I could take May for a birthing time. They was a time when some such was writ in the Bible but it got burned up before I was ageable. I know where I was borned. It was on Captain Forrester's farm in Ellis County. Captain Carl Forrester's mother Sis Sue raised me like she was a mother to me. Her name was Miss Susan but I called her Sis Sue . She was old Miss. Miss Lee was young Miss. My paw, I dont know nothing about. My sister Anna and me had the same paw but my maw was sold out of Mississippi away from my paw before my birthing. My maw kept the name of Lucindy Lane . Martha and Jennie , my other sisters, had different paws. I went through so much of hard times all my life. But when I was a little girl I didn't have so much to do but 'tend to my Aunt Matilda's babies and wash their clothes. The rest of the time I just played around. Little Miss Lee had a chiny doll with a wreath of roses around its head. We used to take turn around playing with it. I had a rag doll. It was just a bundle of rags with strings tied around it to give it a shape. We used to make play houses and ride stickhorses too.

When Captain Forrester went away I heard that he had gone to some war. We used to play on the sticks that we were on horses going to the war. Law me, I didn't know what no war was. I was just glad to play and eat anything I could get. When I could get a tin can of clabber and some bread that was what I wanted. Law, they couldn't buy no dishes for Nigger younguns to break up. We et bacon and beef and salt pork and corn bread with our fingers. Muscle shells is what we dipped with instid of spoons. I used to love souse.When I had the chills, Sis Sue , that was Old Miss, came out to the quarters and gave me sweet milk boiled with pepper. I got shut of the chills 'cause I didn't like that pepper tea. But I liked it better than I liked quinine or sage tea. I didn't like to be sick noways 'cause they was just two bedstids. One for my step paw and maw and one for us gals. They was always promising me they was going to teach me how to read and write and sew. Sis Sue tried to teach Anna to sew. But she got so provoked with Anna she never did try nothing on me. Aunt Matilda did most of the sewing and the spinning and weaving. They had the looms and the spinning wheels and they made ginghams for our dresses. I used to wear s shimmy and a dress for a week and on Sunday morning I put on my other set. Our dresses were made like mens' shirts only a little longer. In the winter time sometimes we had a little sacque and home-made calf skin shoes but mostly we just had to stay inside if the weather wasn't moderate. The only kind of frolics I can remember was candy pullins' on Christmas. We used to make taffy candy out of sorghum molasses. That is all the Niggers know about Christmas. The three Forrester children used to get little presents but not the Nigger younguns. The Nigger workers was Uncle Billy , Uncle Jerry , Aunt Phoebe , Aunt Matilda and my maw. They raised corn, wheat, millet, barley and oats. And we raised some livestock and good gardens. Ooh they was so many Nigger younguns around that I couldn't begin to name half of them.

One day Miss Tilda Forrester got the buggy whip to whip my maw. It was the noon time and they had blowed the horn for the field Niggers to come eat. Maw grabbed the whip and said, Miss Tilda you ain't going to do that. Miss Tilda didn't say nothing for a day or two but then she came and said, Luncindy you get your younguns and leave this place. So we went walking down the road until we come to some folk's house and they took us in. We were there about a month when Maw took sick. The folks sent word to the Forresters that their Niggers were at their house and sick. Sis Sue hitched up the horse and buggy and come over. Every day she brought food for us to eat and she said, Now Lucindy when you get able you bring your younguns on home and behave yourself. My mother died when I was ten years old or there abouts. Sis Sue raised us how to do. She used to whip me. She tore my hide up for all the devilment I got into. I used to hide out on the work. After Captain Forrester came back home they told me to watch out for the Federals. Sis Sue said they killed little Nigger younguns. One day I was coming across the fields and I saw three men with blue coats on big bay horses. I ran but they just passed me by big as you please just a laughin' and a talkin'. I saw plenty of them after that. The Federals would come by and ask for corn and Sis Sue would tell them we didn't have enough for the horses. But that night the corn would leave the cribs. The Federals was the most thievin' folks I ever seen. I lived with the Forresters until I was twenty-two years old. I did the milking and hoed in the field. They gave me my food and what clothes I had. But I never got no money. Sis Sue used to say, Come here you little old free Nigger. It would make me so mad 'cause I thought she meant something bad. I got married when I was twenty-two. I botched up a white swiss dress to wear and we walked across the fields to a preacher's house and got married. That is every bit of the fixin' we had. We raised crops on the halfance shares for a man that lived about five miles from the Forresters. We set up housekeeping with a bedstid, some quilts and a little old stove. I had four younguns and everyone of them had schoolin and learnin. I joined the Methodist church 'cause I heard a Methodist preacher make a fine talk to a funeral. I was growned before I ever heard any preachin. I dont know what ever come of the Forrester chilluns. Seems like it is so hard making a livin' that you lose track of all the folks.