Anderson Bates
From:
South Carolina
Project 1655
W. W. Dixon
Winnsboro, S. C.
ANDERSON BATES
EX-SLAVE 87 YEARS OLD.
Anderson Bates lives with his son-in-law and daughter, Ed and Dora
Owens, in a three-room frame house, on lands of Mr. Dan Heyward, near
the Winnsboro Granite Company, Winnsboro, S. C. Anderson and his wife
occupy one of the rooms and his rent is free. His son-in-law has regular
employment at the Winnsboro Cotton Mills. His wife, Carrie, looks after
the house. Anderson and his daughter, Dora, are day laborers on the
neighborhood farms, but he is able to do very little work.
"I was born on de old Dr. Furman place, near Jenkinsville, S. C., in de
year, 1850. My pappy was name Nat and mammy name Winnie. They was slaves
of old Dr. Furman, dat have a big plantation, one hundred slaves, and a
whole lot of little slave chillun, dat him wouldn't let work. They run
'round in de plum thickets, blackberry bushes, hunt wild strawberries,
blow cane whistles, and have a good time.
"De old Dr. Furman house is ramshackle but it is still standin' out dere
and is used as a shelter for sawmill hands dat is cuttin' down de big
pines and sawin' them on de place.
"Where did my pappy and mammy come from? Mammy was born a slave in de
Furman family in Charleston, but pappy was bought out of a drove dat a
Baltimore speculator fetch from Maryland long befo' de war. Doctor
practice all 'round and 'bout Monticello, happen 'long one day, see my
pappy and give a thousand dollars for him, to dat speculator. I thank
God for dat!
"Dr. Furman, my old marster, have a brudder called Jim, dat run de
Furman School, fust near Winnsboro, then it move to Greenville, S. C.
"My mistress name Nancy. Her was of de quality. Her voice was soft and
quiet to de slaves. Her teach us to sing:
'Dere is a happy land, far, far 'way,
Where bright angels stand, far, far 'way,
Oh! How them angels sing!
Oh! How them bells ring!
In dat happy land, far, far 'way!'
"Dere was over a thousand acres, maybe two thousand in dat old Furman
place. Them sawmill folks give $30,000.00 for it, last year.
"My pappy and mammy was field hands. My brudders and sisters was:
Liddie, Millie, Ria, Ella, Harriet, Thomas, Smith, and Marshall. All
dead but me and Marshall.
"I was fifteen when de Yankees come thru. They took off everything,
hosses, mules, cows, sheep, goats, turkeys, geese, and chickens. Hogs?
Yes sah, they kill hogs and take off what parts they want and leave
other parts bleedin' on de yard. When they left, old marster have to go
up into Union County for rations.
"Dat's funny, you wants to set down dere 'bout my courtship and weddin'?
Well, sir, I stay on de old plantation, work for my old marster, de
doctor, and fell head over heels in love wid Carrie. Dere was seven more
niggers a flyin' 'round dat sugar lump of a gal in de night time when I
breezes in and takes charge of de fireside cheer. I knocks one down one
night, kick another out de nex' night, and choke de stuffin' out of one
de nex' night. I landed de three-leg stool on de head of de fourth one,
de last time. Then de others carry deir 'fections to some other place
than Carrie's house. Us have some hard words 'bout my bad manners, but I
told her dat I couldn't 'trol my feelin's wid them fools a settin'
'round dere gigglin' wid her. I go clean crazy!
"Then us git married and go to de ten-acre quarry wid Mr. Anderson. I
work dere a while and then go to Captain Macfie, then to his son, Wade,
and then to Marse Rice Macfie. Then I go back to de quarry, drill and
git out stone. They pay me $3.50 a day 'til de Parr Shoals Power come in
wid 'lectric power drills and I was cut down to eighty cents a day. Then
I say: 'Old grey hoss! Damn 'lectric toolin', I's gwine to leave.' I
went to Hopewell, Virginia, and work wid de DuPonts for five years. War
come on and they ask me to work on de acid area. De atmosphere dere tear
all de skin off my face and arms, but I stuck it out to de end of de big
war, for $7.20 a day. I drunk a good deal of liquor then, but I sent
money to Carrie all de time and fetch her a roll every fourth of July
and on Christmas. After de war they dismantle de plant and I come back
to work for Mr. Eleazer, on de Saluda River for $2.00 a day, for five
years.
"Carrie have chillun by me. Dere was Anderson, my son, ain't see him in
forty years. Essie, my daughter, marry Herbert Perrin. Dora, another
daughter, marry Ed Owens. Ed makes good money workin' at de factory in
Winnsboro. They have seven chillun. Us tries to keep them chillun in
school but they don't have de good times I had when a child, a eatin'
cracklin' bread and buttermilk, liver, pig-tails, hog-ears and turnip
greens.
"Does I 'member anything 'bout de Klu Kluxes? Jesus, yes! My old
marster, de doctor, in goin' 'round, say out loud to people dat Klu
Kluxes was doin' some things they ought not to do, by 'stortin' money
out of niggers just 'cause they could.
"When he was gone to Union one day, a low-down pair of white men come,
wid false faces, to de house and ask where Dick Bell was. Miss Nancy say
her don't know. They go hunt for him. Dick made a bee-line for de
house. They pull out hoss pistols, fust time, 'pow'. Dick run on, secon'
time, 'pow'. Dick run on, third time, 'pow' and as Dick reach de front
yard de ball from de third shot keel him over lak a hit rabbit. Old miss
run out but they git him. Her say: 'I give you five dollars to let him
'lone.' They say: 'Not 'nough.' Her say: 'I give you ten dollars.' They
say: 'Not 'nough.' Her say: 'I give you fifteen dollars.' They say: 'Not
'nough.' Her say: 'I give you twenty-five dollars.' They take de money
and say: 'Us'll be back tomorrow for de other Dick.' They mean Dick
James.
"Nex' day, us see them a comin' again. Dick James done load up de
shotgun wid buckshot. When they was comin' up de front steps, Uncle Dick
say to us all in de big house: 'Git out de way!' De names of de men us
find out afterwards was Bishop and Fitzgerald. They come up de steps,
wid Bishop in de front. Uncle Dick open de door, slap dat gun to his
shoulder, and pull de trigger. Dat man Bishop hollers: 'Oh Lordy.' He
drop dead and lay dere 'til de coroner come. Fitzgerald leap 'way. They
bring Dick to jail, try him right in dat court house over yonder. What
did they do wid him? Well, when Marse Bill Stanton, Marse Elisha
Ragsdale and Miss Nancy tell 'bout it all from de beginnin' to de end,
de judge tell de jury men dat Dick had a right to protect his home, and
hisself, and to kill dat white man and to turn him loose. Dat was de end
of de Klu Kluxes in Fairfield."
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Millie Bates
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