John Collins
From:
South Carolina
Project #1655
W. W. Dixon
Winnsboro, S. C.
JOHN COLLINS
EX-SLAVE, 85 YEARS OLD.
John Collins lives in a two-room frame cottage by the side of US 21,
just one mile north of the town of Winnsboro, S. C. on the right side of
the highway and a few hundred yards from the intersection of US 21 and
US 22. The house is owned by Mr. John Ameen. His son, John, who lives
with him, is a farm hand in the employ of Mr. John Ameen, and is his
father's only support.
"They tells me dat I was born in Chester County, just above de line dat
separates Chester and Fairfield Counties. You know where de 'dark
corner' is, don't you? Well, part is in Fairfield County and part is in
Chester County. In dat corner I first see de light of day; 'twas on de
29th of February, 1852. Though I is eighty-five years old, I's had only
twenty-one birthdays. I ketches a heap of folks wid dat riddle. They ask
me: 'How old is you Uncle John?' I say: 'I is had twenty-one birthdays
and won't have another till 1940. Now figure it out yourself, sir, if
you is so curious to know my age!' One time a smart aleck, jack-leg,
Methodist preacher, of my race, come to my house and figured all day on
dat riddle and never did git de correct answer. He scribbled on all de
paper in de house and on de back of de calendar leaves. I sure laughed
at dat preacher. I fears he lacked some of dat good old time 'ligion, de
way he sweated and scribbled and fussed.
"My daddy was name Steve Chandler. My mammy was called Nancy. I don't
know whether they was married or not. My daddy was sent to Virginia,
while de war was gwine on, to build forts and breastworks around
Petersburg, so they say, and him never come back. I 'members him well.
He was a tall black man, over six feet high, wid broad shoulders. My
son, John, look just lak him. Daddy used to play wid mammy just lak she
was a child. He'd ketch her under de armpits and jump her up mighty nigh
to de rafters in de little house us lived in.
"My mammy and me was slaves of old Marse Nick Collins. His wife, my
mistress, was name Miss Nannie. Miss Nannie was just an angel; all de
slaves loved her. But marster was hard to please, and he used de lash
often. De slaves whisper his name in fear and terror to de chillun, when
they want to hush them up. They just say to a crying child: 'Shet up or
old Nick will ketch you!' Dat child sniffle but shet up pretty quick.
"Marster didn't have many slaves. Best I 'member, dere was about twenty
men, women, and chillun to work in de field and five house slaves. Dere
was no good feelin's 'twixt field hands and house servants. De house
servants put on more airs than de white folks. They got better things to
eat, too, than de field hands and wore better and cleaner clothes.
"My marster had one son, Wyatt, and two daughters, Nannie and Elizabeth.
They was all right, so far as I 'member, but being a field hand's child,
off from de big house, I never got to play wid them any.
"My white folks never cared much about de slaves having 'ligion. They
went to de Universalist Church down at Feasterville. They said everybody
was going to be saved, dat dere was no hell. So they thought it was just
a waste of time telling niggers about de hereafter.
"In them days, way up dere in de 'dark corner', de white folks didn't
had no schools and couldn't read or write. How could they teach deir
slaves if they had wanted to?
"De Yankees never come into de 'dark corner'. It was in 1867, dat us
found out us was free; then we all left. I come down to Feasterville and
stayed wid Mr. Jonathan Coleman. From dere, I went to Chester. While I
was living dere, I married Maggie Nesbit. Us had five chillun; they all
dead, 'cept John. My wife died two months ago.
"I is tired now, and I is sad. I's thinking about Maggie and de days dat
are gone. Them memories flood over me, and I just want to lay down.
Maybe I'll see you sometime again. I feel sure I'll see Maggie befo'
many months and us'll see de sunrise, down here, from de far hebben
above. Good day. Glad you come to see me, sir!"
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