Bolden Hall
From:
Florida
FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
American Guide, (Negro Writers' Unit)
Alfred Farrell, Field Worker
John A. Simms, Editor
Dive Oak, Florida
August 30, 1936
BOLDEN HALL
Bolden Hall was born in Walkino, Florida, a little town in Jefferson
County, on February 13, 1853, the son of Alfred and Tina Hall. The Halls
who were the slaves of Thomas Lenton, owner of seventy-five or a hundred
slaves, were the parents of twenty-one children. The Halls, who were
born before slavery worked on the large plantation of Lenton which was
devoted primarily to the growing of cotton and corn and secondarily to
the growing of tobacco and pumpkins. Lenton was very good to his slaves
and never whipped them unless it was absolutely necessary--which was
seldom! He provided them with plenty of food and clothing, and always
saw to it that their cabins were liveable. He was careful, however, to
see that they received no educational training, but did not interfere
with their religious quest. The slaves were permitted to attend church
with their masters to hear the white preacher, and occasionally the
master--supposedly un-beknown to the slaves--would have an itinerant
colored minister preach to the slaves, instructing them to obey their
master and mistress at all times. Although freedom came to the slaves in
January, Master Lenton kept them until May in order to help him with his
crops. When actual freedom was granted to the slaves, only a few of the
young ones left the Lenton plantation. In 1882 Bolden Hall came to Live
Oak where he has resided ever since. He married but his wife is now
dead, and to that union one child was born.
Charlotte Martin
Charlotte Mitchell Martin, one of twenty children born to Shepherd and
Lucinda Mitchell, eighty-two years ago, was a slave of Judge Wilkerson
on a large plantation in Sixteen, Florida, a little town near Madison.
Shepherd Mitchell was a wagoner who hauled whiskey from Newport News,
Virginia for his owner. Wilkerson was very cruel and held them in
constant fear of him. He would not permit them to hold religious
meetings or any other kinds of meetings, but they frequently met in
secret to conduct religious services. When they were caught, the
"instigators"--known or suspected--were severely flogged. Charlotte
recalls how her oldest brother was whipped to death for taking part in
one of the religious ceremonies. This cruel act halted the secret
religious services.
Wilkerson found it very profitable to raise and sell slaves. He
selected the strongest and best male and female slaves and mated them
exclusively for breeding. The huskiest babies were given the best of
attention in order that they might grow into sturdy youths, for it was
those who brought the highest prices at the slave markets. Sometimes the
master himself had sexual relations with his female slaves, for the
products of miscegenation were very remunerative. These offsprings were
in demand as house servants.
After slavery the Mitchells began to separate. A few of the children
remained with their parents and eked out their living from the soil.
During this period Charlotte began to attract attention with her herb
cures. Doctors sought her out when they were stumped by difficult cases.
She came to Live Oak to care for an old colored woman and upon whose
death she was given the woman's house and property. For many years she
has resided in the old shack, farming, making quilts, and practicing her
herb doctoring. She has outlived her husband for whom she bore two
children. Her daughter is feebleminded--her herb remedies can't cure
her!
Sarah Ross
Born in Benton County, Mississippi nearly eighty years ago, Sarah is the
daughter of Harriet Elmore and William Donaldson, her white owner.
Donaldson was a very cruel man and frequently beat Sarah's mother
because she would not have sexual relations with the overseer, a colored
man by the name of Randall. Sarah relates that the slaves did not marry,
but were forced--in many cases against their will--to live together as
man and wife. It was not until after slavery that they learned about the
holy bonds of matrimony, and many of them actually married.
Cotton, corn, and rice were the chief products grown on the Donaldson
plantation. Okra also was grown, and from this product coffee was made.
The slaves arose with the sun to begin their tasks in the fields and
worked until dusk. They were beaten by the overseer if they dared to
rest themselves. No kind of punishment was too cruel or severe to be
inflicted upon these souls in bondage. Frequently the thighs of the male
slaves were gashed with a saw and salt put in the wound as a means of
punishment for some misdemeanor. The female slaves often had their hair
cut off, especially those who had long beautiful hair. If a female slave
was pregnant and had to be punished, she was whipped about the
shoulders, not so much in pity as for the protection of the unborn
child. Donaldson's wife committed suicide because of the cruelty not
only to the slaves but to her as well.
The slaves were not permitted to hold any sort of meeting, not even to
worship God. Their work consumed so much of their time that they had
little opportunity to congregate. They had to wash their clothes on
Sunday, the only day which they could call their own. On Sunday
afternoon some of the slaves were sent for to entertain the family and
its guests.
Sarah remembers the coming of the Yankees and the destruction wrought by
their appearance. The soldiers stripped the plantation owners of their
meats, vegetables, poultry and the like. Many plantation owners took
their own lives in desperation. Donaldson kept his slaves several months
after liberation and defied them to mention freedom to him. When he did
give them freedom, they lost no time in leaving his plantation which
held for them only unpleasant memories. Sarah came to Florida
thirty-five years ago. She has been married twice, and is the mother of
ten children, eight of whom are living.
REFERENCES
1. Personal interview with Bolden Hall, living near the Masonic Hall, in
the Eastern section of Live Oak, Florida
2. Personal interview with Charlotte Martin, living near Greater Bethel
African Methodist Episcopal Church, in the Eastern section of Live Oak,
Florida
3. Sarah Ross, living near Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal
church, Live Oak, Florida
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