Nancy King
From:
Texas
NANCY KING, 93, was born in Upshur County, Texas, a slave of
William Jackson. She and her husband moved to Marshall, Texas, in
1866. Nancy now lives with her daughter, Lucy Staples.
"I was borned and raised on William Jackson's place, jus' twelve miles
east of Gilmer. I was growed and had one child at surrender, and my
mother told me I was a woman of my own when Old Missie sot us free, jus'
after surrender, so you can figurate my age from that.
"My first child was borned the January befo' surrender in June, and I
'members hoeing in the field befo' the war come on. Massa William raised
lots of cotton and corn and tobacco and most everything we et. I never
worked in the field, 'cept to chase the calves in, till I was most
growed. Massa was good to us. Course, I never went to school, but Old
Missie sent my brother, Alex, two years after the war, with her own
chillen.
"I was married durin' the war and it was at church, with a white
preacher. Old Missie give me the cloth and dye for my weddin' dress and
my mother spun and dyed the cloth, and I made it. It was homespun but
nothin' cheap 'bout it for them days. After the weddin' massa give us a
big dinner and we had a time.
"Massa done all the bossin' his own self. He never whipped me, but Old
Missie had to switch me a little for piddlin' round, 'stead of doin'
what she said. Every Sat'day night we had a candy pullin' and played
games, and allus had plenty of clothes and shoes.
"I seed the soldiers comin' and gwine to the war, and 'members when
Massa William left to go fight for the South. His boy, Billie, was
sixteen, and tended the place while massa's away. Massa done say he'd
let the niggers go without fightin'. He didn't think war was right, but
he had to go. He 'serts and comes home befo' the war gits goin' good and
the soldiers come after him. He run off to the bottoms, but they was on
hosses and overtook him. I was there in the room when they brung him
back. One of them says, 'Jackson, we ain't gwine take you with us now,
but we'll fix you so you can't run off till we git back.' They put red
pepper in his eyes and left. Missie cried. They come back for him in a
day or two and made my father saddle up Hawk-eye, massa's best hoss.
Then they rode away and we never seed massa 'gain. One day my brother,
Alex, hollers out, 'Oh, Missie, yonder is the hoss, at the gate, and
ain't nobody ridin' him.' Missie throwed up her hands and says, 'O,
Lawdy, my husban' am dead!' She knowed somehow when he left he wasn't
comin' back.
"Old Missie freed us but said we had a home as long as she did. Me and
my husban' stays 'bout a year, but my folks stays till she marries
'gain.
"My brother-in-law, Sam Pitman, tells us how he put one by the Ku
Kluxers. Him and some niggers was out one night and the Kluxers chases
them on hosses. They run down a narrow road and tied four strands of
grapevine 'cross the road, 'bout breast high to a hoss. The Kluxers come
gallopin' down that road and when the hosses hit that grapevine, it
throwed them every which way and broke some their arms. Sam used to
laugh and tell how them Kluxers cussed them niggers.
"Me and my husban' come to Marshall the year after surrender, and I is
lived here every since. My man works on farms till he got on the
railroad. I's been married four times and raised six chillen. The young
people is diff'rent from what we was, but diff'rent times calls for
diff'rent ways, I 'spect. My chillen allus done the best they could by
me.
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Silvia King
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Mary Kindred
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