Martha Jones
From:
Kentucky
[Martha J. Jones:]
In an interview with Mrs. Martha J. Jones, she reminisced of the old
Civil War days as follows:
"I was born in Buckingham County, Virginia, and later during the Civil
War, I lived in Gilmer County, W. Va. My fathers name was Robert R.
Turner; he was born in 1818 and my mother's name was Susan; she was born
in 1821. My parents had six children and we lived on a big farm.
My father was in the legislature in W. Va. During the Civil War, I had
three brother in the Southern Army. One of them died of fever, one was
shot and killed in action, and the other William Wert Turner, came out
of the army after the close of the war and became a lawyer. Later he
went to New Castle, Kentucky, and became a prominent lawyer, where he
remained until his death in 1932.
I married John R. Jones, a lieutenant in the Union Army, at Gilmer, W.
Va., when I was about twenty years old, shortly after the war. We then
moved to New Castle, Kentucky, Henry County. We had four children born
to us, and I now have three living children; later on in years we moved
to Louisville. During the days of the Civil War my father owned three
slave, one was an old darkey named Alex, and the nigger mammies, were
Diana and Mary Ann. My parents were always good to their slaves, and
never traded or sold them. They were good workers and my father never
kept many.
My Uncle, John C. Turner, had farms close to my father's in West Va.,
and he had fifty-two slaves when the war ended. He would buy, sell and
trade them all the time. The slaves were judged by the Masters. If they
were big and strong they would bring a good price, as they would be
better workers for the fields, and then, I would watch my uncle swap and
buy slaves, just the same as he was buying any other stock for his farm.
I am getting [HW: old] now, and my memory is not so good no more, and it
is hard to remember the things of so long ago. You see, I will be ninety
years old, next Feb. 23rd. I was born in 1847."
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Joana Owens
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