Lucy Ann Dunn
From:
North Carolina
N. C. District: No. 2 [320125]
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 1119
Subject: AUNT LUCY'S LOVE STORY
Person Interviewed: Lucy Ann Dunn
Editor: G. L. Andrews
[TR: Date Stamp "AUG 1 1937"]
AUNT LUCY'S LOVE STORY
An interview with Lucy Ann Dunn, 90 years old, 220 Cannon Street,
Raleigh, N. C.
My pappy, Dempsey, my mammy, Rachel an' my brothers an' sisters an' me
all belonged ter Marse Peterson Dunn of Neuse, here in Wake County. Dar
wus five of us chilluns, Allen, Charles, Corina, Madora an' me, all
borned before de war.
My mammy wus de cook, an' fur back as I 'members almost, I wus a house
girl. I fanned flies offen de table an' done a heap of little things fer
Mis' Betsy, Marse Peterson's wife. My pappy worked on de farm, which wus
boun' ter have been a big plantation wid two hundert an' more niggers
ter work hit.
I 'members when word come dat war wus declared, how Mis' Betsy cried
an' prayed an' how Marse Peter quarreled an' walked de floor cussin' de
Yankees.
De war comes on jist de same an' some of de men slaves wus sent ter
Roanoke ter hep buil' de fort. Yes mam, de war comes ter de great house
an' ter de slave cabins jist alike.
De great house wus large an' white washed, wid green blinds an' de
slave cabins wus made of slabs wid plank floors. We had plenty ter eat
an' enough ter wear an' we wus happy. We had our fun an' we had our
troubles, lak little whuppin's, when we warn't good, but dat warn't
often.
Atter so long a time de rich folkses tried ter hire, er make de po'
white trash go in dere places, but some of dem won't go. Dey am treated
so bad dat some of dem cides ter be Ku Kluxes an' dey goes ter de woods
ter live. When we starts ter take up de aigs er starts from de spring
house wid de butter an' milk dey grabs us an' takes de food fer
dereselbes.
Dis goes on fer a long time an' finally one day in de spring I sets on
de porch an' I hear a roar. I wus 'sponsible fer de goslins dem days so
I sez ter de missus, 'I reckin dat I better git in de goslins case I
hear hit a-thunderin'.
'Dat ain't no thunder, nigger, dat am de canon', she sez.
'What canon', I axes?
'Why de canon what dey am fightin' wid', she sez.
Well dat ebenin' I is out gittin' up de goslins when I hears music, I
looks up de road an' I sees flags, an' 'bout dat time de Yankees am dar
a-killin' as dey goes. Dey kills de geese, de ducks, de chickens, pigs
an' ever'thing. Dey goes ter de house an' dey takes all of de meat, de
meal, an' ever'thing dey can git dere paws on.
When dey goes ter de kitchen whar mammy am cookin' she cuss dem out an'
run dem outen her kitchen. Dey shore am a rough lot.
I aint never fergot how Mis' Betsy cried when de news of de surrender
come. She aint said nothin' but Marse Peter he makes a speech sayin'
dat he aint had ter sell none of us, dat he aint whupped none of us bad,
dat nobody has ever run away from him yet. Den he tells us dat all who
wants to can stay right on fer wages.
Well we stayed two years, even do my pappy died de year atter de
surrender, den we moves ter Marse Peter's other place at Wake Forest.
Atter dat we moves back ter Neuse.
Hit wus in de little Baptist church at Neuse whar I fust seed big black
Jim Dunn an' I fell in love wid him den, I reckons. He said dat he loved
me den too, but hit wus three Sundays 'fore he axed ter see me home.
We walked dat mile home in front of my mammy an' I wus so happy dat I
aint thought hit a half a mile home. We et cornbread an' turnips fer
dinner an' hit wus night 'fore he went home. Mammy wouldn't let me walk
wid him ter de gate. I knowed, so I jist sot dar on de porch an' sez
good night.
He come ever' Sunday fer a year an' finally he proposed. I had told
mammy dat I thought dat I ort ter be allowed ter walk ter de gate wid
Jim an' she said all right iffen she wus settin' dar on de porch
lookin'.
Dat Sunday night I did walk wid Jim ter de gate an' stood under de
honeysuckles dat wus a-smellin' so sweet. I heard de big ole bullfrogs
a-croakin' by de riber an' de whipper-wills a-hollerin' in de woods. Dar
wus a big yaller moon, an' I reckon Jim did love me. Anyhow he said so
an' axed me ter marry him an' he squeezed my han'.
I tol' him I'd think hit ober an' I did an' de nex' Sunday I tol' him
dat I'd have him.
He aint kissed me yet but de nex' Sunday he axes my mammy fer me. She
sez dat she'll have ter have a talk wid me an' let him know.
Well all dat week she talks ter me, tellin' me how serious gittin'
married is an' dat hit lasts a powerful long time.
I tells her dat I knows hit but dat I am ready ter try hit an' dat I
intends ter make a go of hit, anyhow.
On Sunday night mammy tells Jim dat he can have me an' yo' orter seed
dat black boy grin. He comes ter me widout a word an' he picks me up
outen dat cheer an' dar in de moonlight he kisses me right 'fore my
mammy who am a-cryin'.
De nex' Sunday we wus married in de Baptist church at Neuse. I had a
new white dress, do times wus hard.
We lived tergether fifty-five years an' we always loved each other. He
aint never whup ner cuss me an' do we had our fusses an' our troubles we
trusted in de Lawd an' we got through. I loved him durin' life an' I
love him now, do he's been daid now fer twelve years.
The old lady with her long white hair bowed her head and sobbed for a
moment then she began again unsteadily.
We had eight chilluns, but only four of dem are livin' now. De livin'
are James, Sidney, Helen an' Florence who wus named fer Florence
Nightingale.
I can't be here so much longer now case I'se gittin' too old an' feeble
an' I wants ter go ter Jim anyhow. The old woman wiped her eyes, 'I
thinks of him all de time, but seems lak we're young agin when I smell
honeysuckles er see a yaller moon.
LE
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Tempie Herndon Durham
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Jennylin Dunn
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