Morgan Scurry
From:
South Carolina
=Project 1885-1=
=FOLKLORE=
=Spartanburg Dist. 4=
=May 25, 1937=
=Edited by:=
=Elmer Turnage=
=STORIES OF EX-SLAVES=
"I was born in Newberry County, near the Laurens County line, above
Chappells Depot. My father and mother were Tom and Francis Scurry and
belonged as slaves to the Drury Scurry family. Dr. Drury Scurry bought
them from Col. Cooper of Laurens County. He was a fine man and mighty
good to his slaves. I worked around the house as a boy, and in the
fields when I got old enough. Some of the nigger boys hunted 'possums,
rabbits and squirrels. Dr. Scurry had 100 acres in woods. They were just
full of squirrels and we killed more squirrels than you can count.
"The slaves didn't have a garden, but after the war, we stayed on wid
Marse Scurry. When freedom come, he come to us in the yard where we had
congregated and told us we was free and could go anywhere we wanted, but
if any wanted to stay on wid him, he would pay wages. All of us stayed
on wid him. He give us a one-acre patch of ground to raise anything we
wanted to raise. He had white overseers during slavery, but none ever
whipped us 'cause the master wouldn't let them. He had a plantation of
about 300 acres and 40 or 50 slaves. They got up at sun-up and worked
'till sun-down each day, but had Saturday afternoons off when dey could
do anything dey wanted to.
"There wasn't much time for learning to read and write. The white folks
sometimes had niggers to go to their church and set in the back of
gallery. In our neighborhood, niggers had their own church dat they made
of poles and brush, and called it, 'Brush Harbor'. They made seats from
small logs sawed off of rough plank.
"On Christmas day, the master would have a big dinner for his slaves and
spread it out in the yard. Corn shuckings were popular and so were
cotton pickings, where big eats were prepared for those who helped.
They had big feasts at marriages, and even the slaves had feasts at
their marriages, the master and his family taking part in the
ceremonies. I was married in 1887, and at that time I was living with
Mr. Renwick, and my girl with Dr. Tom Brown. Dr. Brown had us to marry
in his yard in the grove, and over 200 persons was there to see it. The
next day, he give us a big 'infair' with all kinds of good things to
eat, presents and dances. We never had any children. After we moved to
town, my wife was a nurse or midwife among some of the white families
for a long time.
"In Ku Klux times, I met five or ten of them in the road one night. They
never bothered me. They had long white sheets over them and the horses.
Slits were cut for the head, eyes, nose and mouth.
"The niggers had an old field song: 'Give me dat good ole time religion'
which they sang most of the time. There was another song they sang:
'Dark midnight is my cry--Give me Jesus, You may have all this world,
but give me Jesus.'
"Some old-time cures for the sick was--barks of cherry tree, dogwood,
and olive bush, made into tea and drunk.
"I thought Abe Lincoln was a fine man, done mighty good and saved the
country. Jeff Davis was a good man. Booker Washington was a great man. I
think slavery was bad; yet our white folks was good to us, but some
white masters was mean. I think everybody should belong to the church
and be a Christian."
SOURCE: Morgan Scurry (78), Newberry, S.C.; interviewed by:
G.L. Summer. Newberry, S.C. May 19, 1937.
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Ransom Simmons
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Nina Scott
