Anna Wright
From:
North Carolina
District: No. 2
Worker: Mary Hicks
No. Words: 580
Subject: A SLAVE STORY, ANNA WRIGHT
Person Interviewed: ANNA WRIGHT
Editor: George L. Andrews
[TR: Date stamp: AUG 17 1937]
ANNA WRIGHT
An interview with Anna Wright, 72 years of age, of Wendell, North
Carolina.
"I wus borned de year de war ended so I can't tell nothin' dat I seed,
only what my mammy tol' me. We lived dar on Marse James Ellis'
plantation till I wus five or six years old, so I 'members de slave
cabins an' de big house.
"De plantation wus in Scotland County an' de big house set on a little
knoll. Back of de big house set de rows of slave cabins an' back of dem
wus de apple orchard an' de bee orchard. Hit wus a purty place sho'
nuff, an' dey tells me dat dey wus happy 'fore de war, 'case Marse
James wus good ter dem.
"Dere must of been 'bout two hundret slaves, 'cordin' ter de number of
cabins. De slaves wurked hard in de fiel's but unless de wurk wus
pushin' dey had Sadday evenin' off ter go a-fishin' er do anything de
wanted ter do. Two or three times a year Marse James let dem have a
dance an' invite in all de neighborhood slaves. Dey had corn shuckin's
ever' fall an' de other slaves 'ud come ter dem.
"De candy pullin's wus a big affair wid de niggers. Dey'd come from all
over de neighborhood ter cook de lasses an' pull de candy. While de
candy cooled dey'd play drappin' de handkerchief an' a heap of other
games. De courtin' couples liked dese games 'case dey could set out or
play an' court all dey pleased. Dey often made up dere min's ter ax de
marster iffen dey could narry [TR: marry] too, at dese parties.
"De weddin's wus somethin' fine, believe me. De niggers dressed lak a
white folks weddin' an' de circuit parson married dem in de big house
parlour. De marster an' de missus wus dere, an' dey always gived
presents ter de bride too. Atter de ceremony wus over dar'd be a feas'
an' a dance. Most likely dar'd be a heap of noise. I've heard mammy
tell of seberal big weddin's.
"Mammy tol' me dat Marse James wus a very religious man, an' dat wus
why de preacher married de slaves, an' why he made all of de slaves go
ter church on Sunday an' say de blessin' at meal times.
"My pappy wus named Tom, an' he wurked in de fiel's fer Marse James.
Hit wus pappy dat haul up de waremelons in de wagin body atter I could
'member, an' dey said dat he haul dem up in slavery times too. Marse
James raise a plenty melons fer all of de slaves an' he raise plenty of
hogs ter eat de rines. De slaves uster have a watermelon slicin' 'bout
once a week an' sometimes dey'd invite de neighbors in.
"You wants ter know 'bout some ole slavery foods, well I'll tell you
what I knows. Did you ever hear of kush? Kush was cornbread, cooked in
de big griddle on de fireplace, mashed up with raw onions an' ham gravy
poured over hit. You mought think dat hit ain't good but hit am.
"Fried chicken wus seasoned, drapped in flour an' den simmered in a big
pan of ham gravy wid a lid on hit till hit wus tender, den de lid wus
tuck off an' de chicken wus fried a golden brown as quick as possible.
"Does you know de old southern way of makin' baked chicken dressin'?
Well, it wus made from soft corn bread wid bacon grease, onions, black
pepper an' boiled eggs. Some of de folks used cheese too in dis
dressin'.
"De griddle cakes wus flour an' meal mixed, put on a big ole iron
griddle on de fireplace an' flipped over two times. Ashe cake wus made
of either meal or flour, wrapped in a damp cloth an' cooked in de hot
ashes on de h'ath. Taters wus cooked in de ashes too an' dey wus good
like dat. I'se heard mammy say dat de slave chilluns uster bake onions
dat way.
"Fish, dem days, wus dipped in meal, 'fore dey wus cooked, 'cept cat
fish; an' dey wus stewed wid onions.
"Cornmeal dumplin's wus biled in de turnip greens, collards, cabbages,
an' so on, even ter snap beans, an' at supper de pot licker wus eat
wid de dumplin's. Dat's why de folks wus so healthy.
"Speakin' 'bout sweets, de blackberry or other kind of pie wus cooked
in a big pan wid two crusts. Dat made more an' wus better ter boot.
Cakes wus mostly plain or had jelly fillin', 'cept fer special company.
"From the first I could 'member de white folks an' niggers alike ain't
had much ter eat. A heap of our rations wus vege'ables, squirrels,
rabbits, possums an' coons. We drunk parched meal water fer coffee an'
we done widout a heap of things, but atter awhile we got richer, an'
Marse James got some money for something from de No'th, so dey got
'long all right.
"When I wus twelve we moved ter Wake County, out near Wendell an' when
I wus thirteen I married Sam Wright, an' we got along fine till he dies
'bout ten years ago. We ain't had but three chilluns but we lived
through a heap of bad depressions.
"What we needs mostly am law an' justice. Why hit wus better when de Ku
Kluxes had law, dey tells me. Now-a-days de nigger fights on de streets
like dogs. Back den de bossman seed to hit dat dar wus law an' order in
de town an' in de country too fer dat matter, an' dem wus de good ole
days."
EH
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