Lewis Williams

I was born twelve miles from Milam, Texas, Sabine County in 1851, so you see I'se eighty-six years old. My father name was Ned Williams and my mother's name was Hanna Williams . She was Hanna Thompson before she was married. I don't know nothing about what state my folks come from 'cept my grand-mammy, Mirah Thompson , she come to this country from Virginia with old Mistress' white folks. I had four brothers, Jule , Jack , George and Jim , and four sisters, Amey , Mary , Martha and Nellie . I begin to ride horses when I was eight years old. Mr. Hamilton , old Marster's brother-in-law, had a lot of horses what he run in the races and I rode for him. I never worked in the field till after freedom. Lawd no, I never earned no money for myself, what I earned belonged to old Marster, but he give me a little money sometimes and I'd buy candy and jews harps. Shore, I hunted possums and rabbits, folks now days don't know how to cook possum so it's fittin' to eat. A possum needs to be cooked with the hide on, scrape the hair off like scrapin' a hog, then bile 'em tender and bake 'em with a lot of sweet 'taters all round 'em and you is got something to eat. There wasn't but mighty few cook stoves in them days, cookin' was done on the fireplace, in big iron pots hung across the fireplace on a iron rod. Bread was cooked in the ashes and was called ash cakes. It was made up in pones as big as your two hands, a place smoothed out in the ashes to put the bread then cover it up with more hot ashes, when it was done it was as brown and as good as any bread you ever et. My Master was Captain Billie Sourlock , he married Miss Thompson . They was mighty good folks and was mighty good to us slaves. We lived like folks, had plenty to eat and wear and slaves on old Captain's plantation weren't whipped, he didn't allow it, and if any of the slaves got sick, Marster and Mistress tended on 'em and seed that they had plenty of medicine and 'tention. We got up at four o'clock ever' morning in the summer and winter alike, there weren't no horn blowed nor no bell rung, he told us to git up at that time and we knowed to do it. Shore, I had seed slaves auctioned off, they was bid off jest like biddin' off a horse or something. Who ever pay the most for 'em got the nigger. Most all the preachin' I ever heard was white folks preaching. The white folks would have preaching at eleven o'clock. The preachers I remember hearing was Mr. Littleton Fowler , Mr. Woolam and Mr. Mills . They preached at a place called McMahon's Chapel. No them folks didn't have preaching' ever' Sunday, jest sometimes when a preacher come through the country. What you say about holiday? Holidays and Saturday evening look jest like Monday morning. We didn't have extra dinner for Christmas and didn't have to work that day. I never will forgit the day of freedom. All the hands was in field when old Marster come from Milam with the news. He blow the horn and everybody come to the house, he said to us, 'Well you all is free, you don't belong to me no more.' I didn't know what he mean and I said, 'Now Marster, you is joking. If we don't belong to you who does we belong to?' 'Nobody,' he said, 'just yourselves. You is just loose here in the world, you aint got nothing, but you has made this crop so if you want to stay and finish the crop I'll feed and clothe you just like I been doing and then I'll divide the crop between you this fall.' Ever' nigger stayed just as they always had and all of 'em finally bought homes close to the old plantation. I'se been married twice, first time I married Martha Williams and then I married Sallie Jackson . I has seven living chillun and the best I can count 'em up I has thirty-five grandchillun and thirty-one great-grandchillun.