Works Progress
Administration Interview with
Julius Nelson, Former Slave of Anson County, NC
Interview
taken by WPA worker, Mary A. Hicks.
Name:
Julius Nelson
Age: 77 (born about 1860)
Birth Place: Anson County
Residence State: North Carolina
Interview Location: State Prison, Raleigh, North Carolina
Father's name: Alex
Father - Places Lived: Anson County
Mother's name: Ann
Mother - Places Lived: Anson Co
Owner's Name: Nelson
Date
of interview: c.1936-1938
An interview
with Julius Nelson, 77 of State Prison, Raleigh, N.C.
“I doan ‘member
no slavery, of course, so ‘taint no use ter ax me no questions. I does not dat my mammy wus named Ann an’ my pappy wus named
Alex. Day ‘longed ter a Mr. Nelson in
Anson County. Dare wus ‘leben o’ us
youngins but dey am all daid now ‘cept me.
“I doan
reckon dat I is but roun’ sebenty, case I wus jist five years old at de close o’
de war. What’s dat, I’m sebenty
seben? Lan’ how de time do fly!
“Anyhow I
jist barely does ‘member how de ho’n blowed ‘fore de light o’ de day an’ how we
got up an’ had our breakfast an’ when de ho’n blowed at sunrise we went ter de
fiel’s in a gallop. At dinner time de
plantation bell rung an’ we’d fly fer home.
“one big fat
nigger ‘oman cooked de dinner fer us fifty or sixty slaves an’ in er hour or so
we’d go back ter de fiel’s fermo’
wuck. I ses us, but I means dem what could wuck. I did pull weeds an’ pick up apples, an’ dem
things.
“Dese
dinners hyar ‘min’s me o’ de plantation dinners somehow. Maybe case it am ‘bout de same quality. Great big pots o’ turnip salet, collards,
peas, beans, cabbages, potatoes or other vege’ables, an’ a oben full o’ sweet ‘taters
in de winter. Dar wus a heap o’ pies in
de summertime, an’ honey, an’ ‘lasses, an’ lasses cake in de winter time. Dar wus big pones o’ co’n bread all de year
roun’ an’ whole sides o’ meat, an’ on New years’ Day hogshead an’ peas.
“Fur supper
we gine’ly had pot licker, lef’ from dinner, ‘taters maybe an’ some sweetnin’.
Der wus ash cake fur supper an’ breakfas’ most o’ de time an’ hominy, which de
marster had grown himself. De smart
nigger et a heap o’ possum an’ coons, dar bein’ plenty o’ dem an’ rabbits an’
squirrels in abundance.
“Did yo’
eber eat any kush? Well dat wus made
outin meal, onions, salt, pepper, grease an’ water. Hit made a good supper dish. Sometimes in de heat of de day marster let us
pick blackberries on de hedgerow fer our supper. We little ‘uns often picks de
berries, an’ den we have a big pan pie fer supper.
“On holidays
we sometimes had chicken pie an’ ham an’ a lot o’ other food. Dem wus de happy times, ‘specially on
Christmas mornin’ when we all goes ter de big house ter celebrate an’ ter git
ouor gif’s. Dey give us clothes, food,
an’ fruit. One Christmas we had a big
tub of candy, I reckolicts.
“ ‘Bout
twict a year we had a sociable when de niggers from de neighborin’ plantations ‘ud
be invited an’ dey’d come wid deir banjoes an’ fiddles an’ we’d dance, all o’
us, an’ have a swell time.
“We litte’uns
‘ud play fox-on-de-wall, tag, mulberry bush, drap handkerchief, stealin’ sticks
an’ a whole heap of others dat I disremembers right now.
“We shucked
our co’n on rainy days mostly, but de marster lets us have one big co’n shuckin’
eber’ year an’ de person what fin’s a red year can kiss who dey pleases. Hit was gran’ times dat we had den.
“We also had
regular weddin’ wid a preacher an’ all de fixin’s an’ de marster usually give
us a big supper case he knowed dat he wuz gwine ter soon habe more slaves from
de union.
“Iffen de
Yankees comed ter our part o’ de country I don’t ‘member seein’ dem but I does
know dat de Ku Kluxes done give us a heap of trouble
“I’se libed
a long time, ‘specially de fifteen years dat I’se spent hyar, but I knows how
ter treat white folkses, an’ I knows dat de wuck an’ de healthy rations dat de
niggers got ‘fore de war am why dey am stronger dan de young niggers o’ dis
day.”
Source
Information
Ancestry.com.
U.S., Interviews with Former Slaves, 1936-1938 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
Original
data:
A
Folk History of Slavery in the United States From
Interviews with Former Slaves, 1936–1938.
Vol. 1-17. Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration
microfilm publication SCM 000 320, SCM 000 321, SCM 000 322, SCM 000 323, SCM 000 325, 5
rolls. Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
MORE
ANSON CO., NC HISTORY & GENEALOGY
This page created February 3, 2011 by Julie Hampton
Ganis