Henry Nix
From:
Georgia
[HW: Dist. 6
Ex-Slave #80]
Mary A. Crawford
Re-Search Worker
HENRY NIX--Ex-Slave
808 E. Slaton Ave.
Griffin, Georgia
Interviewed
September 24, 1936
[Date Stamp: MAY 8 1937]
[TR: Numerous handwritten changes were made in this interview. Where a
word appears in brackets after a HW entry, it was replaced by that
handwritten entry. All numbers were originally spelled out.]
Henry Nix was born March 15, 1848 in Upson County, about 5 miles from
Barnesville, Georgia.
[HW: His] [Henry's] parents were John Nix and Catherine Willis, who were
not married, because as Henry reports, John Nix was an overseer on the
plantation of Mr. Jasper Willis, "and when Marster found out what kind
of man John Nix was he (Nix) had to skip out."
When Henry "was a good sized boy, his mother married a darky man", and 3
other children were born, 2 boys and a girl. Henry loved his mother very
much and [HW: says] relates that on her death bed she told him who his
father was, and [TR: "also told him" crossed out] how to live so as not
to get into trouble, and, [HW: due to her advice] that he has never been
in jail nor in any meanness of any kind [TR: "due to what she told him"
crossed out].
Mr. Jasper Willis, [TR: "who was" crossed out] Henry's owner, lived on a
large plantation of about 300 three hundred acres in Upson County, [HW:
and] [Mr. Willis] owned only about 50 or 60 slaves as well as Henry can
remember. The old man considers Mr. Willis "the best marster that a
darky ever had," saying that he "sho" made his darkies work and mind,
but he never beat them or let the patter-role do it, though sometimes he
did use a switch on 'em". Henry recalls that he received "a sound
whuppin onct, 'case he throwed a rock at one o' Marse Jasper's fine cows
and broke her laig!"
When asked if Mr. Willis had the slaves taught to read and write, Henry
hooted at the idea, saying emphatically, "No, Mam, 'Ole Marse' wuz sho
hard about dat. He said 'Niggers' wuz made by de good Lawd to work, and
onct when my Uncle stole a book and wuz a trying to learn how to read
and write, Marse Jasper had the white doctor take off my Uncle's fo'
finger right down to de 'fust jint'. Marstar said he fixed dat darky as
a sign fo de res uv 'em! No, Miss, we wuzn't larned!"
Mr. Willis allowed his slaves from Saturday at noon till Monday morning
as a holiday, and then they always had a week for Christmas. All of the
Negroes went to meeting on Sunday afternoon in the white people's church
and were served by the white minister.
Henry says that they had a "circuit doctor" on his Marster's place and
the doctor came around regularly at least every two weeks, "case Marster
paid him to do so and [HW: he] 'xamined evah darky big and little on dat
plantation."
One time Henry recalls that he "had a turrible cowbunkle" on the back of
his neck and 'marse' had the doctor to cut it open. Henry knowed better
den to holler and cut up, too, when it was done.
The old man remembers going to war with his young master and remaining
with him for the two years he was in service. They were in Richmond when
the city surrendered to Grant and soon after that the young master was
killed in the fight at Tumlin Gap. Henry hardly knows how he got back to
"Ole Marster" but is thankful he did.
After freedom, [HW: al]most all of Mr. Willis' darkies stayed on with
him but Henry "had to act smart and run away." He went over into Alabama
and managed "to keep [TR: "his" crossed out] body and soul together
somehow, for several years and then [TR: "he" crossed out] went back to
"Ole Marster."
Henry is well and rather active for his 87 or 88 years and likes to
work. He has a job now cleaning off the graves at the white cemetery but
he and his wife depend mainly [HW: for support] on their son [TR: "for
support" crossed out], who lives just across the street from them.
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Mary A Crawford
Previous:
Fanny Nix
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