Ben Lawson
From:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
[Date stamp: NOV 5 1937]
BEN LAWSON
Age 84 yrs.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
I was born in Danville, Illinois. De best I can get at my age I is 84
years old. My father dey tell me was name Dennis Lawson and died
before I was born. My mother's name was Ann Lawson, who I saw once. I
was given by her to my Mistress, Mrs. Jane Brazier, when a kid and she
was too. My mother raised me, she and her son to manhood. I got no
brothers or sisters to my knowledge. I was de only slave dey had and
dey raised me to be humble and fear dem as a slave and servant. As I
was de only slave I slept in de same room wid my Mistress and her son
who was grown, her husband and father being dead.
I worked on the farm doing general farm work, hoeing, plowing,
harvesting the crop of wheat, corn, barley, oats, rice, peas, etc. To
make and harvest the crops dey would hire poor white help and as dey
was grown and I was a lad, dey kept me in a strain in order to keep up
wid dem for if I didn't it was just too bad for my back. So's dere
would be work for me to do during the bad days of winter dey built a
pen under a shed and dey would lay a cloth on de ground covering the
ground in the pen and wid small mesh wire on top of de pen on which de
wheat was laid and wid a wooden maul I would pounder out wheat all day
long, even though dey could have thrashed it as dey did de biggest
part of it.
At meal time dey would give me what was left of de scraps off dey
table in a plate, which I would eat most de time on de back porch in
warm weather and in de kitchen in winter.
For summer I wore a lowell shirt and for winter I wore de same old
lowell shirt only wid outing slips and a pair of brogan shoes or a
pair of old shoes dat was thrown away by my Mistress' son.
Their house was a 3-room log house unpainted, wid only one bed room
and a dining room and kitchen.
The plantation had 'bout 160 acres and was worked by my Mistress' son
and myself plus poor white hired help, my being de only slave.
I was treated most harshly 'mongst a group of just white people and
who seemed to think me de old work ox for all de hardest work. De
nearest other Negro slaves were 'bout 15 or 20 miles from me.
When I was grown I ran away one night and walked and rode de rods
under stage coaches to Paducah, Kentucky. I got me a job and worked as
a roustabout on a boat where I learned to gamble wid dice. I fought
and gambled all up and down de Mississippi River, and in de course of
time I had 'bout $3,000, but I lost it.
I don't know de month or de year I was born in but I can 'member de
sinking of de biggest circus show in de Mississippi River at Mobile,
Alabama when I was 10 to 14 years old, I ain't sure which.
There wasn't no children for me to play with and it seem like I never
was a child but was just always a man. I wasn't never told dat I was
free, and I didn't know nothing 'bout de War much dat brought my
freedom. Dey kept all of dat away from me and I couldn't read or write
so I didn't know.
I've been married only once. My wife is 54 years old, and her name is
Hattie Lawson. We have no children. Since we married after freedom
there wasn't nothing unusual at our wedding.
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Mary Lindsay
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George Kye
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