Elijah Green
From:
South Carolina
S-260-264-N
Project #1655
Augustus Ladson
Charleston, S.C.
Page I
No. Words: 1497
EX-SLAVE BORN DECEMBER 25, 1843
COWARD MASTER RAN OUT CIVIL WAR--LEAVING HIM
"I was bo'n in Charleston at 82 King Street, December 25, 1843. The
house is still there who' recent owner is Judge Whaley. My ma an' pa was
Kate an' John Green. My ma had seben chillun (boys) an I am the last of
'em. Their names was: Henry, Scipio, Ellis, Nathaniel, Hobart, Mikell,
an' myself.
"From the South-East of Calhoun Street, which was then Boundry Street, to
the Battery was the city limit an' from the North-West of Boundry Street
for sev'als miles was nothin' but fa'm land. All my brothers was fa'm
han's for our master, George W. Jones. I did all the house work 'til the
war w'en I was given to Mr. Wm. Jones's son, Wm. H. Jones as his "daily
give servant" who' duty was to clean his boots, shoes, sword, an' make
his coffee. He was Firs' Lieutenant of the South Car'lina Company
Regiment. Bein' his servant, I wear all his cas' off clothes which I was
glad to have. My shoes was call' brogan that has brass on the toe. W'en
a slave had one of 'em you couldn't tell 'em he wasn't dress' to death.
"As the "daily give servant" of Mr. Wm. H. Jones I had to go to Virginia
durin' the war. In the battle at Richmond Gen'al Lee had Gen'al Grant
almos' beaten. He drive him almos' in the Potomac River, an' then take
seven pieces of his artillery. W'en Gen'al Grant see how near defeat he
was, he put up a white flag as a signal for time out to bury his deads.
That flag stay' up for three weeks while Gen'al Grant was diggin'
trenches. In the meantime he get message to President Lincoln askin' him
to sen' a reinforcement of sojus. Gen'al Sherman was in charge of the
regiment who sen' word to Gen'al Grant to hol' his position 'til he had
captur' Columbia, Savannah, burn out Charleston while on his way with
dispatch of 45,000 men. W'en Gen'al Sherman got to Virginia, the battle
was renew' an' continued for seven days at the en' of which Gen'al Lee
surrender' to Gen'al Grant. Durin' the seven days fight the battle got
so hot 'til Mr. William Jones made his escape an' it was two days 'fore
I know he was gone. One of the Gen'als sen' me home an' I got here two
days 'fore Mr. William got home. He went up in the attic an' stay' there
'til the war was end'. I carry all his meals to him an' tell him all the
news. Master show was a frighten' man; I was sorry for him. That battle
at Richmond, Virginia was the wors' in American history.
Dr. George W. Jones, my master, ran a blockade. He had ships roamin' the
sea to capture pirates ships. He had a daughter, Ellen, who was always
kin' to the slaves. Master had a driver, William Jenkins, an' an' a'
overseer, Henry Brown. Both was white. The driver see that the work was
done by the supervision of the overseer. Master' fa'm amounted to
twenty-five acres with 'bout eighteen slaves. The overseer blow the
ho'n, which was a conch shell, at six in the mornin' an' every slave
better answer w'en the roll was call' at seven. The slaves didn't have
have to work on Sat'day.
Mr. Ryan had a private jail on Queen Street near the Planters Hotel. He
was very cruel; he'd lick his slaves to death. Very seldom one of his
slaves survive' a whippin'. He was the opposite to Govenor Aiken, who
live' on the North-West corner of Elizabeth an' Judith Streets. He had
several rice plantations, hundreds of his slaves he didn't know.
Not 'til John C. Calhoun' body was carried down Boundry Street was the
name change' in his honor. He is bury in St. Phillip Church yard, 'cross
the street with a laurel tree planted at his head. Four men an' me dig
his grave an' I clear' the spot w'ere his monument now stan'. The
monument was put up by Pat Callington, a Charleston mason. I never did
like Calhoun 'cause he hated the Negro; no man was ever hated as much as
him by a group of people.
The Work House (Sugar House) was on Magazine Street, built by Mr.
Columbus C. Trumbone. On Charlmer Street is the slave market from which
slaves was taken to Vangue Range an' auctione' off. At the foot of
Lawrence Street, opposite East Bay Street, on the other side of the
trolly tracks is w'ere Mr. Alonze White kept an' sell slaves from his
kitchen. He was a slave-broker who had a house that exten' almos' to the
train tracks which is 'bout three hundred yards goin' to the waterfront.
No train or trolly tracks was there then 'cause there was only one
railroad here, the Southern, an' the depot was on Ann Street w'ere the
Baggin' Mill now is.
W'en slaves run away an' their masters catch them, to the stockade they
go w'ere they'd be whipp' every other week for a number of mornins. An'
de for God sake don' you be cotch with pencil an' paper, dat was a major
crime. You might as well had kill your master or missus.
One song I know I use to sing to the slaves w'en master went 'way, but I
wouldn't be so fool as to let him hear me. What I kin 'member of it is:
Master gone away
But darkies stay at home,
The year of jubilee is come
An' freedom will begun.
A group of white men was in Doctor Wilson' drug store one day w'en I
went to buy something. They commence' to ax me questions concernin' some
historical happenin's an' I answer them all. So Dr. Wilson bet 'me that
I couldn't tell who fired the firs' shot on Fort Sumter. I tell him I
did know an' he offer's dollar if I was right. I tell him I wasn't goin'
tell 'less the dollar was given to one of the men. He did so an' I told
them it was Edward Ruffin who fired the firs' shot an' the dollar was
mine. Anderson was determine' not to leave the fort but w'en 'bout four
shells had hit the fort he was glad to be able to come out. W'en Sherman
was comin' through Columbia, he fired an' a shell lodged in the
South-East en' ef the State House which was forbidden to be fix'. He was
comin' down Main Street w'en that happens'.
The firs' two people that was hung in Charleston was Harry an' Janie;
husban' an' wife who was slaves of Mr. Christopher Black. Mr. Black had
them whip' an' they planned to kill the whole fambly. They poison the
breakast one morning an' if two of the fambly han' been sleep, they too
would a been dead. The others die almos' instantly. An investigation was
made an' the poison discovered an the two slaves hung on the big oak in
the middle of Ashley Avenue.
If'en any in your owner' fambly was goin' to be married the slaves was
dress' in linen clothes to witness the ceremony. Only special slaves was
chosen to be at the weddin'. Slaves was alway ax how they like' the one
who was comin' in the [TN: two illegible words.] myself by sayin' nice things
'bout the person en hate' the person at the same time.
Slaves was always bury in the night as no one could stop to do it in the
day. Ole boards was use' to make the coffin that was blackened with shoe
polish.
After the war I did garden work.
Mr. Stiles Bee on James Islan' give track of lan' to the Negroes for a
school jus' after the war; he put up a shed-like buildin' with a few
chairs in it. It was at the place call Cut Bridge.
Henry McKinley, a Negro who ran as congressman from Charleston jus'
after the war, lived on Calhoun Street. He was a mail carrier. He made
an oath to Almighty God that if he was elected, he'd never betray his
trus'. In one of his speeches he said: "I hope God 'ill paralize me
should I do as others have done." He was elected an' never see the
Congress. One white man from Orangeburg, Samuel Dibbin, bought him out.
An' three weeks later McKinley took a stroke that carry him to a' early
grave. James Wright, a Negro judge of Charleston in 1876 sol' out for
ten thousand dollars--a dime of which he hasn't receive' yet. He 'cross
the bridge an' stay in a' ole house an' die there. The Probate Judge, A.
Whipper, refused to give up the books of Judge Wright to the white man
he sell out to. Judge Whipper went in Beauford jail an' die there 'cause
he wouldn't give up the books. Wright kept such a poor record that Judge
Whipper was ashamed to have them expose', an' that's why he didn't give
up the books. Henry Smalls, owner of the Smalls Lot on Comin' Street was
Second Lieutenant on the Police Force. Henry Fordham was Second
Assistant Lieutenant. Captain James Williams, Third Assistant Lieutenant
who become Captain of the Military Department an' forme' the Carolina
Light Infantry which was recogniz' 'til Ben Tillman call' them on the
Green an' take their guns.
I was janitor at Benedict College in Columbia for two years an' at
Clafflin in Orangeburg for twelve. The Presidents under which I worke'
was: Allen Webster, grandson of the dictionary maker; J.C. Cook; an' Dr.
Duntin.
Now all that is pass' an I'm livin' from han' to mouth. The banks took
all my money an' I can't work. I do the collectin' for my lan'lord an'
he give me a room free. If it wasn't for that I don't know what I'd do.
=Source:=
Interview with Elijah Green, 156 Elizabeth Street, Charleston, S.C.
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