Millie Barber
From:
South Carolina
Project #1655
W. W. Dixon
Winnsboro, S. C.
MILLIE BARBER
EX-SLAVE 82 YEARS OLD.
"Hope you find yourself well dis mornin', white folks. I's just common;
'spect I eats too much yesterday. You know us celebrated yesterday,
'cause it was de Fourth of July. Us had a good dinner on dis 2,000 acre
farm of Mr. Owens. God bless dat white boss man! What would us old no
'count niggers do widout him? Dere's six or seven, maybe eight of us out
here over eighty years old. 'Most of them is like me, not able to hit a
lick of work, yet he take care of us; he sho' does.
"Mr. Owens not a member of de church but he allowed dat he done found
out dat it more blessed to give than to receive, in case like us.
"You wants to know all 'bout de slavery time, de war, de Ku Kluxes and
everything? My tongue too short to tell you all dat I knows. However, if
it was as long as my stockin's, I could tell you a trunk full of good
and easy, bad and hard, dat dis old life-stream have run over in
eighty-two years. I's hoping to reach at last them green fields of Eden
of de Promise Land. 'Scuse me ramblin' 'round, now just ask me
questions; I bet I can answer all you ask.
"My pa name, Tom McCullough; him was a slave of old Marster John
McCullough, whose big two-story house is de oldest in Fairfield County.
It stands today on a high hill, just above de banks of Dutchman Creek.
Big road run right by dat house. My mammy name, Nicie. Her b'long to de
Weir family; de head of de family die durin' de war of freedom. I's not
supposed to know all he done, so I'll pass over dat. My mistress name,
Eliza; good mistress. Have you got down dere dat old marster just took
sick and die, 'cause he wasn't touched wid a bullet nor de life slashed
out of him wid a sword?
"Well, my pa b'longin' to one man and my mammy b'longin' to another,
four or five miles apart, caused some confusion, mix-up, and heartaches.
My pa have to git a pass to come to see my mammy. He come sometimes
widout de pass. Patrollers catch him way up de chimney hidin' one night;
they stripped him right befo' mammy and give him thirty-nine lashes, wid
her cryin' and a hollerin' louder than he did.
"Us lived in a log house; handmade bedstead, wheat straw mattress,
cotton pillows, plenty coverin' and plenty to eat, sich as it was. Us
never git butter or sweet milk or coffee. Dat was for de white folks but
in de summer time, I minds de flies off de table wid the peafowl feather
brush and eat in de kitchen just what de white folks eat; them was very
good eatin's I's here for to tell you. All de old slaves and them dat
worked in de field, got rations and de chillun were fed at de kitchen
out-house. What did they git? I 'members they got peas, hog meat, corn
bread, 'lasses, and buttermilk on Sunday, then they got greens, turnips,
taters, shallots, collards, and beans through de week. They were kept
fat on them kind of rations.
"De fact is I can't 'member us ever had a doctor on de place; just a
granny was enough at child birth. Slave women have a baby one day, up
and gwine 'round de next day, singin' at her work lak nothin' unusual
had happened.
"Did I ever git a whippin'? Dat I did. How many times? More than I can
count on fingers and toes. What I git a whippin' for? Oh, just one
thing, then another. One time I break a plate while washin' dishes and
another time I spilt de milk on de dinin' room floor. It was always for
somethin', sir. I needed de whippin'.
"Yes sir, I had two brothers older than me; one sister older than me and
one brother younger than me.
"My young marster was killed in de war. Their names was Robert, Smith,
and Jimmie. My young mistress, Sarah, married a Sutton and moved to
Texas. Nancy marry Mr. Wade Rawls. Miss Janie marry Mr. Hugh Melving. At
this marriage my mammy was give to Miss Janie and she was took to Texas
wid her young baby, Isaiah, in her arms. I have never seen or heard tell
of them from dat day to dis.
"De Yankees come and burn de gin-house and barns. Open de smokehouse,
take de meat, give de slaves some, shoot de chickens, and as de mistress
and girls beg so hard, they left widout burnin' de dwellin' house.
"My oldest child, Alice, is livin' and is fifty-one years old de 10th of
dis last May gone. My first husband was Levi Young; us lived wid Mr.
Knox Picket some years after freedom. We moved to Mr. Rubin Lumpkin's
plantation, then to George Boulwares. Well, my husband die and I took a
fool notion, lak most widows, and got into slavery again. I marry Prince
Barber; Mr. John Hollis, Trial Justice, tied de knot. I loved dat young
nigger more than you can put down dere on paper, I did. He was black and
shiny as a crow's wing. Him was white as snow to dese old eyes. Ah, the
joy, de fusses, de ructions, de beatin's, and de makin' ups us had on de
Ed Shannon place where us lived. Us stay dere seven long years.
"Then de Klu Kluxes comed and lak to scared de life out of me. They ask
where Prince was, searched de house and go away. Prince come home 'bout
daylight. Us took fright, went to Marster Will Durham's and asked for
advice and protection. Marster Will Durham fixed it up. Next year us
moved to dis place, he own it then but Marster Arthur Owens owns it now.
Dere is 2,000 acres in dis place and another 1,000 acres in de Rubin
Lumpkin place 'joinin' it.
"Prince die on dis place and I is left on de mercy of Marster Arthur,
livin' in a house wid two grandchillun, James twelve years, and John
Roosevelt Barber, eight years old. Dese boys can work a little. They can
pick cotton and tote water in de field for de hands and marster say:
'Every little help'.
"My livin' chillun ain't no help to me. Dere's Willie, I don't know
where he is. Prince is wid Mr. Freeman on de river. Maggie is here on de
place but she no good to me.
"I 'spect when I gits to drawin' down dat pension de white folks say is
comin', then dere will be more folks playin' in my backyard than dere is
today."
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Anderson Bates
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Ed Barber
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