John H Jackson
From:
North Carolina
N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: Mrs. W.N. Harriss
No. Words: 1363
Subject: Memories of Uncle Jackson
Interviewed: John H. Jackson
309 S. Sixth St.
Wilmington, N.C.
[TR: Date stamp: JUN 26 1937]
MEMORIES OF UNCLE JACKSON
"I was born in 1851, in the yard where my owner lived next door to the
City Hall. I remember when they was finishin' up the City Hall. I also
remember the foreman, Mr. James Walker, he was general manager. The
overseen (overseer) was Mr. Keen. I remember all the bricklayers; they
all was colored. The man that plastered the City Hall was named George
Price, he plastered it inside. The men that plastered the City Hall
outside and put those colum's up in the front, their names was Robert
Finey and William Finey, they both was colored. Jim Artis now was a
contractor an' builder. He done a lot of work 'round Wilmin'ton.
"Yes'm, they was slaves, mos' all the fine work 'round Wilmin'ton was
done by slaves. They called 'em artisans. None of 'em could read, but
give 'em any plan an' they could foller it to the las' line."
Interviewer: "Did the owner collect the pay for the labor, Uncle
Jackson?"
"No, ma'm. That they did'n. We had a lot of them artisans 'mongst our
folks. They all lived on our place with they fam'lies. They hired
theyselves where they pleased. They colle'ted they pay, an' the onliest
thing the owner took was enough to support they fam'lies. They all
lived in our yard, it was a great big place, an' they wimmen cooked
for 'em and raised the chilluns.
"You know, they lays a heap o' stress on edication these days. But
edication is one thing an' fireside trainin' is another. We had
fireside trainin'.
"We went to church regular. All our people marched behind our owners,
an' sat up in the galle'y of the white folks church. Now, them that
went to St. James Church behind their white folks didn' dare look at
nobody else. 'Twant allowed. They were taught they were better than
anybody else. That was called the 'silk stockin' church. Nobody else
was fitten to look at.
"My mother was the laund'ess for the white folks. In those days ladies
wore clo'es, an' plenty of 'em. My daddy was one of the part Indian
folks. My mammy was brought here from Washin'ton City, an' when her
owner went back home he sold her to my folks. You know, round
Washin'ton an' up that way they was Ginny (Guinea) niggers, an' that's
what my mammy was. We had a lot of these malatto negroes round here,
they was called 'Shuffer Tonies', they was free issues and part Indian.
The leader of 'em was James Sampson. We child'en was told to play in
our own yard and not have nothin' to do with free issue chil'en or the
common chil'en 'cross the street, white or colored, because they was'nt
fitten to 'sociate with us. You see our owners was rich folks. Our big
house is the one where the ladies of Sokosis (Sorosis) has their Club
House, an' our yard spread all round there, an' our house servants, an'
some of the bes' artisans in Wilmin'ton lived in our yard.
"You know, I'm not tellin' you things what have been told me, but I'm
tellin' you things I knows.
"I remember when the Zoabbes company came from Georgia here to
Wilmin'ton an' they had all ladies as officers.[1]
"I remember when the Confederates captured part of the Union Army at
Fort Sumter, S.C., and they brought them here to Wilmin'ton and put
them out under Fourth Street bridge, and the white ladies of
Wilmin'ton, N.C. cooked food and carried it by baskets full to them. We
all had plenty of food. A warehouse full of everything down there by
the river nigh Red Cross Street, an' none of us ever went hungry 'till
the war was over.
"I remember when Gen'ral Grant's Army came to the river. They mounted
guns to boombar the city. Mr. John Dawson an' Mr. Silas Martin, they
went on the corner of Second an' Nun Streets on the top of Ben Berry's
house an' run up a white sheet for a flag, an' the Yankees did'n'
boombar us. An' Mr. Martin gave his house up to the Progro Marshells,
and my mother cleaned up the house an' washed for them. Her name was
Caroline West.
"I remember when that Provo Marshell told the colored people that any
house in Wilmin'ton they liked, that was empty, they could go take it,
an' the first one they took was the fine Bellamy Mansion on Market an'
Fifth Street."
"Uncle Jackson", asked the interviewer, "don't you remember that house
was headquarters of the Federal Army? How could colored people occupy
it?"
Uncle Jackson: "I don't remember nothin' about Federal soldiers bein'
in that house, but I'm tellin' you I knows a lot of common colored
folks was in it because I seen 'em sittin' on the piazza an' all up an'
down those big front steps. I seen 'em. Nice colored people wouldn't
'a gone there. They had respec' for theirselves an' their white folks.
But Dr. Bellamy came home soon with his fam'ly an' those colored people
got out. They wan't there long.
"Endurin' of slavery I toted water for the fam'ly to drink. I remember
when there was springs under where the new Court House is now, and all
the white folks livin' 'round there drank water from those springs.
They called it Jacob Spring. There was also a spring on Market Street
between Second and Third Streets, that was called McCrayer (McCrary)
spring. They didn't 'low nobody but rich folks to get water from that
spring. Of co'se I got mine there whenever I chose to tote it that
far. We did'n' work so hard in those days. I don't know nothin' about
field han's an' workmen on the river, but so far as I knows the
carpenters an' people like that started work at 8 o'clock A.M. and
stopped at 5 o'clock P.M. Of course 'round the house it was different.
Our folks done pretty much what the white folks did because we was all
pretty much one an' other.
"Did I ever know of any slaves bein' whipped? I seen plenty of 'em
whipped over at the jail, but them was bad niggers, (this with a
grimace of disgust, and shaking of the head), they needed whippin'. But
(with a chuckle) I sho' would have hated to see anybody put they han's
on one of my owner's people. We was all 'spectable an' did'n know
nothin' about whippen. Our mammy's spanked us aplenty, yes mam they
did.
"I remember when they didn't have no trussels 'cross either river, an'
they had a passages boat by the name of Walker Moore, an' the warf was
up there by the Charlotte railroad (S.A.L.) The Boat would take you
from there to the bluff an' then you would have to catch the train to
go to Greensboro, and other places in No'th Carolina.
"I remember when the Fourth Street Fire Department bell was in front of
the City Hall. An' Mr. Maginny had his school right back of the City
Hall.
"I believe we was all happy as slaves because we had the best of kere
(care). I don't believe none of us was sold off because I never heard
tell of it. I have always served nice folks an' never 'sociated with
any other kind. I brought up Mis ----'s chil'ren an' now she gives me a
life intrust in this place I lives in. I hav'nt never to say really
wanted for anything. I hav'nt never bothered with wimmen, an' had
nothin' to bother me.
"I mus' tell you' bout Gov'ner Dudley's election, an' the free issue
niggers. They say Mr. Dudley told 'em if they'd vote for him he'd do
more for 'em than any man ever had. So they voted for him an' he was
elected. Then he ups an' calls a const'utional convention in Raleigh
an' had all the voting taken away from 'em. An' that the big thing he
done for em."[2]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Note: Have not been able to verify this memory, and think
perhaps the unusual uniforms of the Zoaves caused the small boy to
think they were women, or some adult may have amused themselves by
telling him so.]
[Footnote 2: Note: Governor Dudley was elected before Uncle Jackson was
born, but he enjoyed thoroughly telling this joke on the 'free issue
niggers'.]
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