Emma Blalock
From:
North Carolina
N. C. District: No. 2 [320111]
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 1153
Subject: EMMA BLALOCK
Story Teller: Emma Blalock
Editor: Geo. L. Andrews
[TR: Date Stamp "AUG 6 1937"]
EMMA BLALOCK
88 years old
529 Bannon Avenue
Raleigh, N. C.
I shore do 'member de Yankees wid dere blue uniforms wid brass buttons
on 'em. I wus too small to work any but I played in de yard wid my
oldes' sister, Katie. She is dead long ago. My mother belonged to ole
man John Griffith an' I belonged to him. His plantation wus down here at
Auburn in Wake County. My father wus named Edmund Rand. He belonged to
Mr. Nat Rand. He lived in Auburn. De plantations wus not fur apart. Dere
wus about twenty-five slaves on de plantation whur mother an' me
stayed.
Marse John used ter take me on his knee an' sing, 'Here is de hammer,
Shing ding. Gimme de Hammer, shing ding.' Marster loved de nigger
chilluns on his plantation. When de war ended father come an' lived with
us at Marse John's plantation. Marster John Griffith named me Emmy. My
grandfather on my fathers side wus named Harden Rand, an' grandmother
wus named Mason Rand. My grandfather on my mother's side wus named Antny
Griffiths an' grandmother wus named Nellie.
Our food wus a plenty and well cooked. Marster fed his niggers good. We
had plenty of homespun dresses and we got shoes once a year, at
Christmas Eve. I ken 'member it just as good. We got Christmas Holidays
an' a stockin' full of candy an' peanuts. Sometimes we got ginger snaps
at Christmas. My grandmother cooked' em. She wus a good cook. My
mother's missus wus Miss Jetsy Griffith and my father's missus wus Lucy
Rand. Dey wus both mighty good women. You know I am ole. I ken 'member
all dem good white folks. Dey give us Fourth July Holidays. Dey come to
town on dat day. Dey wore, let me tell you what dey wore, dey wore
dotted waist blouses an' white pants. Dat wus a big day to ever'body, de
Fourth of July. Dey begun singing at Auburn an' sung till dey reached
Raleigh. Auburn is nine miles from Raleigh. Dere wus a lot of lemonade.
Dey made light bread in big ovens an' had cheese to eat wid it. Some
said just goin' on de fofe to git lemonade an' cheese.
In the winter we had a lot of possums to eat an' a lot of rabbits too.
At Christmas time de men hunted and caught plenty game. We barbecued it
before de fire. I 'members seein' mother an' grandmother swinging
rabbits 'fore de fire to cook 'em. Dey would turn an' turn 'em till dey
wus done. Dey hung some up in de chimbly an' dry 'em out an' keep 'em a
long time an' dat is de reason I won't eat a rabbit today. No Sir! I
won't eat a rabbit. I seed 'em mess wid 'em so much turned me 'ginst
eatin' 'em.
I don't know how much lan' Marster John owned but, Honey, dat wus some
plantation. It reached from Auburn to de Neuse River. Yes Sir, it did,
'cause I been down dere in corn hillin' time an' we fished at twelve
o'clock in Neuse River. Marster John had overseers. Dere wus six of 'em.
Dey rode horses over de fields but I don't 'member dere names.
I never seen a slave whupped but dey wus whupped on de plantation an' I
heard de grown folks talkin' 'bout it. My uncles Nat an' Bert Griffiths
wus both whupped. Uncle Nat would not obey his missus rules an' she had
him whupped. Dey whupped Uncle Bert 'cause he stayed drunk so much. He
loved his licker an' he got drunk an' cut up bad, den dey whupped him.
You could git plenty whiskey den. Twon't like it is now. No sir, it
won't. Whiskey sold fur ten cents a quart. Most ever' body drank it but
you hardly ever seed a man drunk. Slaves wus not whupped for drinkin'.
Dere Marsters give 'em whiskey but dey wus whupped for gittin' drunk.
Dere wus a jail, a kind of stockade built of logs, on de farm to put
slaves in when dey wouldn't mind. I never say any slave put on de block
an' sold, but I saw Aunt Helen Rand cryin' because her Marster Nat Rand
sold her boy, Fab Rand.
No Sir, no readin' an' writin'. You had to work. Ha! ha! You let your
marster or missus ketch you wid a book. Dat wus a strict rule dat no
learnin' wus to be teached. I can't read an' write. If it wus not fur my
mother wit don't know what would become of me. We had prayer meetings
around at de slave houses. I 'member it well. We turned down pots on de
inside of de house at de door to keep marster an' missus from hearin' de
singin' an' prayin'. Marster an' his family lived in de great house an'
de slave quarters wus 'bout two hundred yards away to the back of de
great house. Dey wus arranged in rows. When de war ended we all stayed
on wid de families Griffiths an' Rands till dey died, dat is all 'cept
my father an' me. He lef' an' I lef'. I been in Raleigh forty-five
years. I married Mack Blalock in Raleigh. He been dead seven years.
My mother had two boys, Antny an' Wesley. She had four girls, Katie,
Grissie, Mary Ella an' Emma. I had three chilluns, two are livin' yet.
They both live in Raleigh.
We had big suppers an' dinners at log rollin's an' corn shuckin's in
slavery time ha! ha! plenty of corn licker for ever'body, both white an'
black. Ever'body helped himself. Dr. Tom Busbee, one good ole white man,
looked after us when we got sick, an' he could make you well purty
quick, 'cause he wus good an' 'cause he wus sorry fer you. He wus a
feelin' man. Course we took erbs. I tell you what I took. Scurrey grass,
chana balls dey wus for worms. Scurrey grass worked you out. Dey give us
winter green to clense our blood. We slaves an' a lot of de white folks
drank sassafras tea in de place of coffee. We sweetened it wid brown
sugar, honey, or molasses, just what we had in dat line. I think slavery
wus a right good thing. Plenty to eat an' wear.
When you gits a tooth pulled now it costs two dollars, don't it? Well
in slavery time I had a tooth botherin' me. My mother say, Emma, take
dis egg an' go down to Doctor Busbee an' give it to him an' git your
tooth pulled. I give him one egg. He took it an' pulled my tooth. Try
dat now, if you wants to an' see what happens. Yes, slavery wus a purty
good thing.
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