Nancy Whallen
From:
Indiana
Iris L Cook
District #4
Floyd County
SLAVE STORY
STORY OF NANCY WHALLEN
924 Pearl St.
New Albany, Ind.
Nancy Whallen is now about 81 years of age. She doesn't know exactly.
She was about 5 year of age when Freedom was declared. Nancy was born
and raised in Hart County near Hardinsburg, Kentucky. She is very hard
to talk to as her memory is failing and she can not hear very well.
The little negro girl lived the usual life of a rural negro in Civil War
Time and afterwards. She remembers the "sojers" coming thru the place
and asking for food. Some of them camped on the farm and talked to her
and teased her.
She tells about one big nigger called "Scott" on the place who could
outwork all the others. He would hang his hat and shirt on a tree limb
and work all day long in the blazing sun on the hottest day.
The colored folk, used to have revivals, out in the woods. They would
sometimes build a sort of brush shelter with leaves for a roof and
service a would be held here. Preachin' and shouting' sometimes lasted
all day Sundays. Colored folks came from miles around when they possibly
could get away. These affairs were usually held away from the "white
folks" who seldom if ever saw these gatherings.
Observation of the writer.
The old woman remembers the Big Eclipse of the sun or the "Day of Dark"
as she called it. The chickens all went to roost and the darkies all
thought the end of the world had come. The cattle lowed and everyone was
scared to death.
She lived down in Kentucky after the War until she was quite a young
woman and then came to Indiana where she has lived ever since. She lives
now with her daughter in New Albany.
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Samuel Watson
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