Liney Henderson
From:
South Carolina
Code No.
Project, 1885-(1)
Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis
Place, Marion, S.C.
Date, November 11, 1937
Reduced from ---- words
Rewritten by ----
LINEY HENDERSON
EX-SLAVE, 70 YEARS
"Accordin to de way dey figures up my age, dey say I 70 now en I
believes dat right, too, en de government ought to give me somethin.
When we was born, de white folks put us chillun age down in de Bible en
I know from dat I been 19 years old de year of de shake. Cose I gets
clothes give to me, but no help no more den dat en all dis here wood en
coal bill put on me. No, mam, ain' got no support to help me out no
time. But justice will plum de line some day. I just gwine leave it in
de hands of de Lord. Ain' gwine cry over it."
"I tell you, I been wid white folks all my days en I was properly cared
for long as I been in dey protection. I suffers now more den I is ever
think bout would come to me. Yes, mam, I done raise over 20 head of
white chillun. Dat de God truth. I been in de white folks kitchen all my
days en if I feel right, I think dey ought to take of me in my old age.
I don' brag on myself, but if I could work like I used to, I wouldn' ax
nothin from nobody. I had a family of white people to send for me de
other week to come en live wid dem en dey would take care of me, but I
never had nobody to trust aun' Sallie wid. You see, child, she such a
helpless, poor creature just settin dere in dat bed all de time en can'
see to do one thing widout I give her my hand. Cose de government helps
aun' Sallie, but dat ain' me. En, honey, I ain' even able to stand up en
iron, I has dis rheumatism so bad. It hurts me so terrible at night, I
has to keep my foots out from under de cover. It a sort of burnin
rheumatism like. Yes, mam, it does worry me right smart."
"Oh, my Lord, I was raise down dere to old Dr. Durant plantation. Yes,
mam, dem Durants had everything right to dey hand. Never had to want for
a glass of water or nothin en didn' none of Dr. Durant's colored people
never had no trouble wid de law from de time de law take care to dis. I
remember old Massa would always kill his plantation people a cow on de
fourth of July en couldn' never count de number of hogs dey would have,
dere be so many. Honey, dey would take dem hogs up dis time of de year
from out de swamp en put dem in dey fattenin pen. Lord, Lord, de many a
time dat I been see dem take bucket on a bucket of milk to dat pen. When
my mother was dere helpin dem, dey used to been a week to a time tryin
up lard en makin blood puddin en sausage en joinin up ears en things
like dat. Yes, mam, all dey plantation niggers what been helpin dat day
set for hog killin would eat to de white folks yard. Dey would just put
two or three of dese big wash pot out in de yard en full dem up wid
backbone en haslets en rice to satisfy dem hungry niggers wid en would
bake de corn bread to de Missus kitchen. I mean dey would have hog
killin days den, too. Would have dese long old benches settin out dere
under de trees to work on--long benches, child. Some days, dey would
kill 15 hogs en some days, dey would kill 20 hogs en I mean dey was
hogs, not pigs. De number dey would kill would be accordin to how many
hands was helpin de day dey pick to kill. You see, dey would kill dem
one day en hang dem up en den dey would set de next day to cut dem up.
Oh, dey would hang dem up right out to de eyes of everybody en didn'
nobody never have no mind to bother nothin. My Lord, couldn' trust to do
nothin like dat dese days. En dey had de nicest homemade butter en whip
cream dere all de time. Seems like things was just more plentiful en dey
was better in dat day en time."
"It just like I tellin you, it de way of de past, everything had to be
carried out right on Dr. Durant's plantation. When freedom come here,
dere couldn' no head never get dem colored people to leave from dere.
Yes, mam, dey great grand-chillun dere carryin on to dis very day. Dem
Durant chillun ain' never had to hunt for no hand to do somethin for
dem. Yes, mam, my white folks had dey own colored people graveyard what
was corn crated in en it still dere right now. When one of de colored
people on de plantation would die, dey white folks would be right dere
to de funeral. En it de blessed truth, old Dr. Durant had his own
carpenters right dere on de plantation to make de corpse boxes en line
dem en all dat en dig de graves. Dat was a day, honey, en dat a day gone
from here, I say."
"I ain' never been one of dese peck abouts when I was comin on cause I
didn' done nothin, but nurse de white folks chillun dat was comin up.
Yes, mam, I would go all bout wid de white people. Dey never didn' leave
me home. Lord, de chillun what I nurse, dey got seven en eight head of
chillun of dey own now. Like I been tellin you, some of dem beg me to
come en live wid dem, but my God, I can' struggle wid dem chillun no
more after I done wash baby breeches all my best days, so to speak. Yes,
my Lord, dem chillun would get dey 10:30 lunch in de mornin en I been
get mine, too. Ain' never had to work in de field in all my life.
Anybody can tell you dat what know me."
"I has a little boy stayin here wid me en aun' Sallie what was give to
me. I don' never think hard of de people for not fussin bout him stayin
here cause he helps me so much. No, mam, I know his mother fore she die
en he been stayin wid his aun' en she chillun en dey treat him mean. He
been raise to himself en he can' stand no other chillun en he come home
from school one day en ax me to let him stay here wid me. No, child, he
ain' no trouble cause de Lord give me dat child. He can stay out dere in
dat yard right by himself en play all day fore he would ever get dirty
up."
"Well, I tell you, I don' know hardly what to say bout how de world
gwine dese days. I just afraid to say bout it. I know one thing, I used
to live better, but President Roosevelt, seem like he tryin to do de
right thing. But if I could be de whole judge of de world, I think de
best thing would be for de people to be on dey knees en prayin. De
people talkin bout fightin all de time en dis here talk bout fightin in
de air, dat what got my goat. Might lay down at night sound en wake up
in de mornin en find us all in destructiveness. I say, de Lord all what
can save dis country."
=Source:= Liney Henderson, age 70, colored, Marion, S.C.
Personal interview by Annie Ruth Davis, Nov., 1937.
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