Hannah Mcfarland
From:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
HANNAH McFARLAND
Age 85 yrs.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
I was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, February 29, 1853. My father
was name James Gainey and my mother was name Katie Gainey. There was
three chillun born to my folks doing slavery. My father was a free
man, but my mother was de slave of the Sampsons, some Jews. My father
was de richest Negro in South Carolina doing this time. He bought all
three of we chillun for $1,000 apiece, but dem Jews jest wouldn't sell
mamma. Dey was mighty sweet to her. She come home ever night and
stayed with us. Doing the day a Virginian nigger woman stayed with us
and she sho' was mean to we chillun. She used to beat us sumpin'
terrible. You know Virginia people is mean to cullud people. My father
bought her from some white folks too.
We lived in town and in a good house.
It was a good deal of confusion doing de War. I waited on the Yankees.
Dey captured mamma's white people's house. Dey tried to git mamma to
tell dem jest whut de white folks done done to her and all she could
say was dey was good to her. Shucks, dey wouldn't sell her. She jest
told them she had a free husband.
My father was a blockader. He run rafts from one place to another and
sho' made a lot of money. He was drowned while doing this while I was
a good size child.
Dem patrollers tied you to a whipping post iffen dey caught you out
after 10 o'clock. They 'tempted to do my mother that way, but my papa
sho' stopped dat. I can't say I lak white people even now, 'cause dey
done done so much agin us.
I was free, but I couldn't go to school, 'cause we didn't had none. I
been in Oklahoma over 40 years. Have done some traveling and could go
some whar else, but I jest stays here 'cause I ain't got no desire to
travel.
All we ever wore to keep off diseases was asafetida, nothing else.
I done heard more 'bout conjure in Oklahoma than I ever heerd in South
Carolina. All dat stuff is in Louisiana. I didn't heah nothing 'bout
the Klu Klux Klan till I come to Oklahoma neither. More devilment in
Oklahoma than any place I know. South got more religion too. I jest as
soon be back with the Rebels.
Bushwhackers whipped you iffen you stayed out late, and sho' nuff if
dey didn't lak you.
I felt sorry for Jeff Davis when the Yankees drilled him through the
streets. I saw it all. I said, "Mama, Mama, look, dey got old Jeff
Davis." She said, "Be quiet, dey'll lynch you." She didn't know no
better! She was a old slave nigger. I showed the Yankees where the
white folks hid their silver and money and jewelry, and Mamma sho'
whipped me about it too. She was no fool 'bout slavery. Slavery sho'
didn't he'p us none to my belief.
I didn't care much 'bout Lincoln. It was nice of him to free us, but
'course he didn't want to.
The overseer was sho' nothing but poor white trash, the kind who
didn't lak niggers and dey still don't, old devils. Don't let 'em fool
you, dey don't lak a nigger a'tall.
I'm a Methodist. People ought to praise God 'cause he done done so
much for dese sinners. Dey was heap more religious in my early days. I
jined church in 1863. I jined the Holiness so I could git baptized and
the Methodist wouldn't baptize you. After my baptism, I went back to
the Methodist Church. You know my pastor, Reverend Miller, is the
first Methodist preacher I ever knowed that was baptized, and that
baptizes everybody.
I was married in Akin, South Carolina to Andrew Pew. We had 12
chillun. Jest one boy is my only living child today.
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Stephen Mccray
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