Frances Willingham
From:
Georgia
PLANTATION LIFE AS VIEWED BY AN EX-SLAVE
FRANCES WILLINGHAM, Age 78
288 Bridge Street
Athens, Georgia
Written by:
Sadie B. Hornsby
Athens
Edited by:
Sarah H. Hall
Athens
Leila Harris
Augusta
and
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Project
Residencies 6 & 7
The interviewer arrived at Frances Willingham's address on a sultry July
morning, and found a fat and very black Negress sweeping the sidewalk
before the three-room frame house. There was no front yard and the front
steps led up from the sidewalk into the house. A vegetable garden was
visible at the rear of the lot. The plump sweeper appeared to be about
five feet tall. Her wooly white hair was plaited in tiny braids, and she
wore a brown print dress trimmed in red and blue. A strand of red beads
encircled her short neck, and a blue checked coat and high topped black
shoes completed her costume. Asked if Frances Willingham was at home,
the woman replied: "Dis is her you is a-talkin' to. Come right in and
have a seat."
When Frances was asked for the story of her life, her daughter who had
doubtless been eavesdropping, suddenly appeared and interrupted the
conversation with, "Ma, now don't you git started 'bout dem old times.
You knows your mind ain't no good no more. Tomorrow your tongue will be
runnin' lak a bell clapper a-talkin' to yourself." "Shut your big mouth,
Henrietta." Frances answered. "I been sick, and I knows it, but dere
ain't nothin' wrong wid my mind and you knows it. What I knows I'se
gwine to tell de lady, and what I don't know I sho' ain't gwine tell no
lie about. Now, Missus, what does you want to know? Don't pay no
'tention to dis fool gal of mine 'cause her mouth is big as dis room.
"I was born way off down in Twiggs County 'bout a mile from de town of
Jeffersonville. My Pa and Ma was Otto and Sarah Rutherford. Our
Mist'ess, dat was Miss Polly, she called Ma, Sallie for short. Dere was
nine of us chillun, me and Esau, Harry, Jerry, Bob, Calvin, Otto, Sallie
and Susan. Susan was our half-sister by our Pa's last marriage. Us
chillun never done much but play 'round de house and yards wid de white
chillun. I warn't but four years old when dey made us free." Henrietta
again interrupted, "See dere, I told you she don't know what she's
a-talkin' 'bout."
Frances ignored the interruption and continued: "Us lived in log cabins
what had jus' one room wid a stick and mud chimbly at de end. Our
bedsteads was made out of rough planks and poles and some of 'em was
nailed to de sides of de cabins. Mattress ticks was made out of osnaburg
and us filled 'em wid wheat straw in season. When dat was used up us got
grass from de fields. Most any kind of hay was counted good 'nough to
put in a slave's mattress. Dey let us mix some cotton wid de hay our
pillows was stuffed wid.
"My grandmas lived on another plantation. I 'members once Grandma Suck,
she wes my Ma's mammy, come to our house and stayed one or two days wid
us. Daddy's Ma was named Puss. Both my grandmas was field hands, but Ma,
she was a house gal 'til she got big enough to do de cyardin' and
spinnin'. Aunt Phoebie done de weavin' and Aunt Polly was de seamster.
All de lak of dat was done atter de craps was done laid by.
"No Ma'am, nobody never give slave chillun no money in dem times. I
never had none 'til atter us had done been give our freedom. I used to
see Old Marster countin' of it, but de slaves never did git none of dat
money.
"Our Old Marster was a pow'ful rich man, and he sho' b'lieved in givin'
us plenty to eat. It warn't nothin' fine, but it was good plain eatin'
what filled you up and kept you well. Dere was cornbread and meat,
greens of all sorts, 'taters, roas'en-ears and more other kinds of
veg'tables dan I could call up all day. Marster had one big old gyarden
whar he kept most evvything a-growin' 'cept cabbages and 'matoes. He
said dem things warn't fittin' for nobody to eat. Marster let Daddy go
huntin' enough to fetch in lots of 'possums, coons, rabbits, and
squirrels. Us cooked 'em 'bout lak us does now, only us never had no
stoves den, and had to do all de cookin' in open fireplaces in big old
pots and long handled skillets what had big old heavy lids. I'se seed Ma
clean many a 'possum in hot ashes. Den she scalded him and tuk out his
innards. She par-boiled and den baked him and when she fetched him to de
table wid a heap of sweet 'taters 'round him on de dish, dat was sho'
somepin good to eat. Daddy done his fishin' in Muddy Crick 'cause slaves
wern't 'lowed to leave de plantation for nothin' lak dat.
"Summertimes us wore homespun dresses, made wid full skirts sewed on to
tight fittin' waisties what was fastened down de back wid buttons made
out of cows and rams horns. Our white petticoat slips and pantalettes
was made on bodices. In winter us wore balmorals what had three stripes
'round de bottom, and over dem us had on long sleeved ap'ons what was
long as de balmorals. Slave gals' pantalettes warn't ruffled and tucked
and trimmed up wid lace and 'broidery lak Miss Polly's chilluns' was.
Ours was jus' made plain. Grown folks wore rough brogans, but me, I wore
de shoes what Miss Polly's chillun had done outgrowed. Dey called 'em
Jackson shoes, 'cause dey was made wid a extra wide piece of leather
sewed on de outside so as when you knocked your ankles 'gainst one
another, it wouldn't wear no holes in your shoes. Our Sunday shoes
warn't no diffunt from what us wore evvyday.
[TR: HW sidenote: 'durable', regarding Jackson Shoes]
"Marse Lish Jones and his wife--she was Miss Polly--was our Marster and
Mist'ess. Dey sho' did love to be good to deir little Niggers. Dey had
five chillun of deir own, two gals and three boys. Dey was: Mary, Anna
Della, Steve, John, and Bob. 'Bout deir house! Oh, Missus, dat was
somepin to see for sho'. It was a big old fine two-story frame house wid
a porch 'cross de front and 'round both sides. Dere was five rooms on de
fust floor and three upstairs. It sho' did look grand a-settin' back dar
in dat big old oak grove.
"Old Marster had a overseer but he never had no car'iage driver 'cause
he loved to drive for hisself so good. Oh Lord! How big was dat
plantation? Why, it must have been as big as from here to town. I never
did know how many slaves Marster had, but dat old plantation was plumb
full of 'em. I ain't never seed Old Marster do nothin' 'cept drive his
car'iage, walk a little, and eat all he wanted to. He was a rich man,
and didn't have to do nothin'.
"Our overseer got all de slaves up 'fore break of day and dey had to be
done et deir breakfast and in de field when de sun riz up. Dat sun would
be down good 'fore dey got to de house at night. I never seed none of de
grown folks git whupped, but I sho' got a good beatin' myself one time.
I had done got up on top of de big house porch and was a-flappin' my
arms and crowin' lak a rooster. Dey told me to come on down, but I
wouldn't mind nobody and kept on a-crowin' and a-flappin', so dey
whupped me down.
"Dey had jails in Jeffersonville, but dem jails was for white folks what
didn't be-have deirselfs. Old Marster, de overseer, and de patterollers
kept de slaves straight. Dey didn't need no jails for dem.
"I ain't never been to school a day in my life, 'cause when I was
little, Niggers warn't 'lowed to larn to read and write. I heared Ma say
de colored preacher read out of de Bible, but I never seed him do it,
'cause I never went to church none when I was a chap. Colored folks had
deir own church in a out settlement called John De Baptist. Dat's whar
all de slaves went to meetin'. Chilluns was 'lowed to go to baptizin's.
Evvybody went to 'em. Dey tuk dem converts to a hole in de crick what
dey had got ready for dat purpose. De preacher went fust, and den he
called for de converts to come on in and have deir sins washed away.
"Our Marster sot aside a piece of ground 'long side of his own place for
his Niggers to have a graveyard. Us didn't know nothin' 'bout no
fun'rals. When one of de slaves died, dey was put in unpainted home-made
coffins and tuk to de graveyard whar de grave had done been dug. Dey put
'em in dar and kivvered 'em up and dat was all dey done 'bout it.
"Us heared a plenty 'bout patterollers beatin' up Niggers what dey
cotched off deir Marsters' plantations widout no passes. Sometimes dey
cotched one of our Marster's slaves and sometimes dey didn't, but dey
was all time on deir job.
"When slaves come in from de fields at night de 'omans cleant up deir
houses atter dey et, and den washed and got up early next mornin' to put
de clothes out to dry. Mens would eat, set 'round talkin' to other mens
and den go to bed. On our place evvybody wukked on Saddays 'til 'bout
three or four o'clock and if de wuk was tight dey wukked right on 'til
night lak any other day. Sadday nights de young folks got together to
have deir fun. Dey danced, frolicked, drunk likker, and de lak of dat.
Old Marster warn't too hard on 'em no time, but he jus' let 'em have dat
night to frolic. On Sunday he give dem what wanted 'em passes to go to
church and visit 'round.
"Christmas times, chilluns went to bed early 'cause dey was skeered
Santa Claus wouldn't come. Us carried our stockin's up to de big house
to hang 'em up. Next mornin' us found 'em full of all sorts of good
things, 'cept oranges. I never seed nary a orange 'til I was a big gal.
Miss Polly had fresh meat, cake, syrup puddin' and plenty of good sweet
butter what she 'lowanced out to her slaves at Christmas. Old Marster,
he made syrup by de barrel. Plenty of apples and nuts and groundpeas was
raised right dar on de plantation. In de Christmas, de only wuk slaves
done was jus' piddlin' 'round de house and yards, cuttin' wood, rakin'
leaves, lookin' atter de stock, waitin' on de white folks and little
chores lak dat. Hard work started again on de day atter New Year's Day.
Old Marster 'lowed 'em mighty little rest from den 'til atter de craps
was laid by.
"Course Marster let his slaves have cornshuckin's, cornshellin's, cotton
pickin's, and quiltin's. He had grove atter grove of pecan, chestnut,
walnut, hickor'nut, scalybark, and chinquapin trees. When de nuts was
all gathered, Old Marster sold 'em to de big men in de city. Dat was why
he was so rich. Atter all dese things was gathered and tended to, he
give his slaves a big feast and plenty to drink, and den he let 'em rest
up a few days 'fore dey started back to hard wuk.
"I never seed but one marriage on Old Marster's plantation, and I never
will forgit dat day. Miss Polly had done gimme one of little Miss Mary's
sho' 'nough pretty dresses and I wore it to dat weddin', only dey never
had no real weddin'. Dey was jus' married in de yard by de colored
preacher and dat was all dere was to it.
"Ma used to tell us if us didn't be-have Raw Head and Bloody Bones would
come git us and take us off. I tried to see him but I never did. Grown
folks was all time skeerin' chillun. Then us went to bed at night, us
used to see ghosties, what looked lak goats tryin' to butt us down. Ma
said I evermore used to holler out in my sleep 'bout dem things I was so
skeered of.
[HW sidenote: Home remedies]
"White folks was mighty good and kind when deir slaves got sick. Old
Marster sont for Dr. 'Pree (DuPree) and when he couldn't git him, he got
Dr. Brown. He made us swallow bitter tastin' powders what he had done
mixed up in water. Miss Polly made us drink tea made out of Jerusalem
oak weeds. She biled dem weeds and sweetened de tea wid syrup. Dat was
good for stomach trouble, and us wore elder roots strung 'round our
necks to keep off ailments.
"Mercy me! I'se seed plenty of dem yankees a-gwine and comin'. Dey come
to our Marster's house and stole his good mules. Dey tuk what dey wanted
of his meat, chickens, lard and syrup and den poured de rest of de syrup
out on de ground. Atter de war was over Niggers got so rowdy dem Ku
Kluxers come 'long to make 'em be-have deirselfs.' Dem Niggers and
Kluxers too jus' went hog wild.
"What did Niggers have to buy no land wid, when dey never had no money
paid 'em for nothin' 'til atter dey was free? Us jus' stayed on and
wukked for Old Marster, 'cause dere warn't no need to leave and go to no
other place. I was raised up for a field hand, and I ain't never wukked
in no white folks house.
"Me I'se sho' glad Mr. Lincoln sot us free. Iffen it was still slav'ry
time now old as I is, I would have to wuk jus' de same, sick or no. Now
I don't have to ax nobody what I kin do. Dat's why I'se glad I'se free.
"Now, 'bout my marriage; I was a-living in Putnam County at dat time,
and I got married up wid Green Willingham. He had come dar from Jasper
County. I didn't have no weddin'. Ma jus' cooked a chicken for us, and I
was married in a white dress. De waist had ruffles 'round de neck and
sleeves. Us had 17 chilluns in all, seven boys and 10 gals, dere was 19
grandchillun and 21 great grandchillun. Dey ain't all of 'em livin', and
my old man, he's done been daid a long time ago."
Henrietta again made her appearance and addressed her mother: "Hush your
mouth Ma, for you knows you ain't got all dem chillun. I done told de
lady you ain't got your right mind." Frances retorted: "You shut up your
mouth, Henrietta. I is so got my right mind, and I knows how many
chillun of mine dere was. One thing sho' you is got more mouth dan all
de rest of my chillun put together."
The interviewer closed her notebook and took her departure, leaving
Frances dozing in her chair.
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Adeline Willis
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Eliza Williamson
