Nicey Kinney
From:
Georgia
PLANTATION LIFE AS VIEWED BY EX-SLAVE
NICEY KINNEY, Age 86
R.F.D. #3
Athens, Ga.
Written by:
Miss Grace McCune
Athens
Edited by:
Mrs. Sarah H. Hall
Athens
and
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Proj.
Res. 6 & 7
Augusta, Ga.
Sept. 28, 1938
A narrow path under large water oaks led through a well-kept yard where
a profusion of summer flowers surrounded Nicey Kinney's two-story frame
house. The porch floor and a large portion of the roof had rotted down,
and even the old stone chimney at one end of the structure seemed to
sag. The middle-aged mulatto woman who answered the door shook her head
when asked if she was Nicey Kinney. "No, mam," she protested, "but dat's
my mother and she's sick in bed. She gits mighty lonesome lyin' dar in
de bed and she sho does love to talk. Us would be mighty proud if you
would come in and see her."
Nicey was propped up in bed and, although the heat of the September day
was oppressive, the sick woman wore a black shoulder cape over her thick
flannel nightgown; heavy quilts and blankets were piled close about her
thin form, and the window at the side of her bed was tightly closed. Not
a lock of her hair escaped the nightcap that enveloped her head. The
daughter removed an empty food tray and announced, "Mammy, dis lady's
come to see you and I 'spects you is gwine to lak her fine 'cause she
wants to hear 'bout dem old days dat you loves so good to tell about."
Nicey smiled. "I'se so glad you come to see me," she said, "'cause I
gits so lonesome; jus' got to stay here in dis bed, day in and day out.
I'se done wore out wid all de hard wuk I'se had to do, and now I'se a
aged 'oman, done played out and sufferin' wid de high blood pressur'.
But I kin talk and I does love to bring back dem good old days a-fore de
war."
Newspapers had been pasted on the walls of Nicey's room. In one corner
an enclosed staircase was cut off from the room by a door at the head of
the third step; the space underneath the stair was in use as a closet.
The marble topped bureau, two double beds, a couple of small tables, and
some old chairs were all of a period prior to the current century. A pot
of peas was perched on a pair of "firedogs" over the coals of a wood
fire in the open fireplace. On a bed of red coals a thick iron pan held
a large pone of cornbread, and the tantalizing aroma of coffee drew
attention to a steaming coffeepot on a trivet in one corner of the
hearth. Nicey's daughter turned the bread over and said, "Missy, I jus'
bet you ain't never seed nobody cookin' dis way. Us is got a stove back
in de kitchen, but our somepin t'eat seems to taste better fixed dis
'way; it brings back dem old days when us was chillun and all of us was
at home wid mammy." Nicey grinned. "Missy," she said, "Annie--dat's dis
gal of mine here--laughs at de way I laks dem old ways of livin', but
she's jus' as bad 'bout 'em as I is, 'specially 'bout dat sort of
cookin'; somepin t'eat cooked in dat old black pot is sho good.
"Marse Gerald Sharp and his wife, Miss Annie, owned us and, Child, dey
was grand folks. Deir old home was 'way up in Jackson County 'twixt
Athens and Jefferson. Dat big old plantation run plumb back down to de
Oconee River. Yes, mam, all dem rich river bottoms was Marse Gerald's.
"Mammy's name was Ca'line and she b'longed to Marse Gerald, but Marse
Hatton David owned my daddy--his name was Phineas. De David place warn't
but 'bout a mile from our plantation and daddy was 'lowed to stay wid
his fambly most evvy night; he was allus wid us on Sundays. Marse Gerald
didn't have no slaves but my mammy and her chillun, and he was sho
mighty good to us.
"Marse Gerald had a nice four-room house wid a hall all de way through
it. It even had two big old fireplaces on one chimbly. No, mam, it
warn't a rock chimbly; dat chimbly was made out of home-made bricks.
Marster's fambly had deir cookin' done in a open fireplace lak evvybody
else for a long time and den jus' 'fore de big war he bought a stove.
Yes, mam, Marse Gerald bought a cook stove and us felt plumb rich 'cause
dere warn't many folks dat had stoves back in dem days.
"Mammy lived in de old kitchen close by de big house 'til dere got to be
too many of us; den Marse Gerald built us a house jus' a little piece
off from de big house. It was jus' a log house, but Marster had all dem
cracks chinked tight wid red mud, and he even had one of dem
franklin-back chimblies built to keep our little cabin nice and warm.
Why, Child, ain't you never seed none of dem old chimblies? Deir backs
sloped out in de middle to throw out de heat into de room and keep too
much of it from gwine straight up de flue. Our beds in our cabin was
corded jus' lak dem up at de big house, but us slept on straw ticks and,
let me tell you, dey sho slept good atter a hard days's wuk.
"De bestest water dat ever was come from a spring right nigh our cabin
and us had long-handled gourds to drink it out of. Some of dem gourds
hung by de spring all de time and dere was allus one or two of 'em
hangin' by de side of our old cedar waterbucket. Sho', us had a cedar
bucket and it had brass hoops on it; dat was some job to keep dem hoops
scrubbed wid sand to make 'em bright and shiny, and dey had to be clean
and pretty all de time or mammy would git right in behind us wid a
switch. Marse Gerald raised all dem long-handled gourds dat us used
'stid of de tin dippers folks has now, but dem warn't de onliest kinds
of gourds he growed on his place. Dere was gourds mos' as big as
waterbuckets, and dey had short handles dat was bent whilst de gourds
was green, so us could hang 'em on a limb of a tree in de shade to keep
water cool for us when us was wukin' in de field durin' hot weather.
"I never done much field wuk 'til de war come on, 'cause Mistess was
larnin' me to be a housemaid. Marse Gerald and Miss Annie never had no
chillun 'cause she warn't no bearin' 'oman, but dey was both mighty fond
of little folks. On Sunday mornin's mammy used to fix us all up nice and
clean and take us up to de big house for Marse Gerald to play wid. Dey
was good christian folks and tuk de mostest pains to larn us chillun how
to live right. Marster used to 'low as how he had done paid $500 for
Ca'line but he sho wouldn't sell her for no price.
"Evvything us needed was raised on dat plantation 'cept cotton. Nary a
stalk of cotton was growed dar, but jus' de same our clothes was made
out of cloth dat Mistess and my mammy wove out of thread us chillun
spun, and Mistess tuk a heap of pains makin' up our dresses. Durin' de
war evvybody had to wear homespun, but dere didn't nobody have no better
or prettier dresses den ours, 'cause Mistess knowed more'n anybody 'bout
dyein' cloth. When time come to make up a batch of clothes Mistess would
say, 'Ca'line holp me git up my things for dyein',' and us would fetch
dogwood bark, sumach, poison ivy, and sweetgum bark. That poison ivy
made the best black of anything us ever tried, and Mistess could dye the
prettiest sort of purple wid sweetgum bark. Cop'ras was used to keep de
colors from fadin', and she knowed so well how to handle it dat you
could wash cloth what she had dyed all day long and it wouldn't fade a
speck.
"Marster was too old to go to de war, so he had to stay home and he sho
seed dat us done our wuk raisin' somepin t'eat. He had us plant all our
cleared ground, and I sho has done some hard wuk down in dem old bottom
lands, plowin', hoein', pullin' corn and fodder, and I'se even cut
cordwood and split rails. Dem was hard times and evvybody had to wuk.
"Sometimes Marse Gerald would be away a week at a time when he went to
court at Jefferson, and de very last thing he said 'fore he driv off
allus was, 'Ca'line, you and de chillun take good care of Mistess.' He
most allus fetched us new shoes when he come back, 'cause he never kept
no shoemaker man on our place, and all our shoes was store-bought. Dey
was jus' brogans wid brass toes, but us felt powerful dressed up when us
got 'em on, 'specially when dey was new and de brass was bright and
shiny. Dere was nine of us chillun, four boys and five gals. Us gals had
plain cotton dresses made wid long sleeves and us wore big sunbonnets.
What would gals say now if dey had to wear dem sort of clothes and do
wuk lak what us done? Little boys didn't wear nothin' but long shirts in
summertime, but come winter evvybody had good warm clothes made out of
wool off of Marse Gerald's own sheep, and boys, even little tiny boys,
had britches in winter.
"Did you ever see folks shear sheep, Child? Well, it was a sight in dem
days. Marster would tie a sheep on de scaffold, what he had done built
for dat job, and den he would have me set on de sheep's head whilst he
cut off de wool. He sont it to de factory to have it carded into bats
and us chillun spun de thread at home and mammy and Mistess wove it into
cloth for our winter clothes. Nobody warn't fixed up better on church
days dan Marster's Niggers and he was sho proud of dat.
"Us went to church wid our white folks 'cause dere warn't no colored
churches dem days. None of de churches 'round our part of de country had
meetin' evvy Sunday, so us went to three diffunt meetin' houses. On de
fust Sunday us went to Captain Crick Baptist church, to Sandy Crick
Presbyterian church on second Sundays, and on third Sundays meetin' was
at Antioch Methodist church whar Marster and Mistess was members. Dey
put me under de watchkeer of deir church when I was a mighty little gal,
'cause my white folks sho b'lieved in de church and in livin' for God;
de larnin' dat dem two good old folks gimme is done stayed right wid me
all through life, so far, and I aims to live by it to de end. I didn't
sho 'nough jine up wid no church 'til I was done growed up and had left
Marse Gerald; den I jined de Cedar Grove Baptist church and was baptized
dar, and dar's whar I b'longs yit.
"Marster was too old to wuk when dey sot us free, so for a long time us
jus' stayed dar and run his place for him. I never seed none of dem
Yankee sojers but one time. Marster was off in Jefferson and while I was
down at de washplace I seed 'bout 12 men come ridin' over de hill. I was
sho skeered and when I run and told Mistess she made us all come inside
her house and lock all de doors. Dem Yankee mens jus' rode on through
our yard down to de river and stayed dar a little while; den dey turned
around and rid back through our yard and on down de big road, and us
never seed 'em no more.
"Soon atter dey was sot free Niggers started up churches of dey own and
it was some sight to see and hear 'em on meetin' days. Dey would go in
big crowds and sometimes dey would go to meetin's a fur piece off. Dey
was all fixed up in deir Sunday clothes and dey walked barfoots wid deir
shoes acrost deir shoulders to keep 'em from gittin' dirty. Jus' 'fore
dey got to de church dey stopped and put on deir shoes and den dey was
ready to git together to hear de preacher.
"Folks don't know nothin' 'bout hard times now, 'specially young folks;
dey is on de gravy train and don't know it, but dey is headed straight
for 'struction and perdition; dey's gwine to land in dat burnin' fire if
dey don't mind what dey's about. Jus' trust in de Lord, Honey, and cast
your troubles on Him and He'll stay wid you, but if you turns your back
on Him, den you is lost, plumb gone, jus' as sho as shelled corn.
"When us left Marse Gerald and moved nigh Athens he got a old Nigger
named Egypt, what had a big fambly, to live on his place and do all de
wuk. Old Marster didn't last long atter us was gone. One night he had
done let his farm hands have a big cornshuckin' and had seed dat dey had
plenty of supper and liquor to go wid it and, as was de custom dem days,
some of dem Niggers got Old Marster up on deir shoulders and toted him
up to de big house, singin' as dey went along. He was jus' as gay as dey
was, and joked de boys. When dey put him down on de big house porch he
told Old Mistess he didn't want no supper 'cept a little coffee and
bread, and he strangled on de fust bite. Mistess sont for de doctor but
he was too nigh gone, and it warn't long 'fore he had done gone into de
glory of de next world. He was 'bout 95 years old when he died and he
had sho been a good man. One of my nieces and her husband went dar atter
Marse Gerald died and tuk keer of Mistess 'til she went home to glory
too.
"Mammy followed Old Mistess to glory in 'bout 3 years. Us was livin' on
de Johnson place den, and it warn't long 'fore me and George Kinney got
married. A white preacher married us, but us didn't have no weddin'
celebration. Us moved to de Joe Langford place in Oconee County, but
didn't stay dar but one year; den us moved 'crost de crick into Clarke
County and atter us farmed dar 9 years, us moved on to dis here place
whar us has been ever since. Plain old farmin' is de most us is ever
done, but George used to make some mighty nice cheers to sell to de
white folks. He made 'em out of hick'ry what he seasoned jus' right and
put rye split bottoms in 'em. Dem cheers lasted a lifetime; when dey got
dirty you jus' washed 'em good and sot 'em in de sun to dry and dey was
good as new. George made and sold a lot of rugs and mats dat he made out
of plaited shucks. Most evvybody kep' a shuck footmat 'fore deir front
doors. Dem sunhats made out of shucks and bulrushes was mighty fine to
wear in de field when de sun was hot. Not long atter all ten of our
chillun was borned, George died out and left me wid dem five boys and
five gals.
"Some old witch-man conjured me into marryin' Jordan Jackson. Dat's de
blessed truth, Honey; a fortune-teller is done told me how it was done.
I didn't want to have nothin' to do wid Jordan 'cause I knowed he was
jus' a no 'count old drinkin' man dat jus' wanted my land and stuff.
When he couldn't git me to pay him no heed hisself, he went to a old
conjure man and got him to put a spell on me. Honey, didn't you know dey
could do dat back in dem days? I knows dey could, 'cause I never woulda
run round wid no Nigger and married him if I hadn't been witched by dat
conjure business. De good Lord sho punishes folks for deir sins on dis
earth and dat old man what put dat spell on me died and went down to
burnin' hell, and it warn't long den 'fore de spell left me.
"Right den I showed dat no 'count Jordan Jackson dat I was a good 'oman,
a powerful sight above him, and dat he warn't gwine to git none of dis
land what my chillun's daddy had done left 'em. When I jus' stood right
up to him and showed him he warn't gwine to out whack me, he up and left
me and I don't even use his name no more 'cause I don't want it in my
business no way a t'all. Jordan's done paid his debt now since he died
and went down in dat big old burnin' hell 'long wid de old witch man dat
conjured me for him.
"Yes, Honey, de Lord done put it on record dat dere is sho a burnin'
place for torment, and didn't my Marster and Mistess larn me de same
thing? I sho does thank 'em to dis day for de pains dey tuk wid de
little Nigger gal dat growed up to be me, tryin' to show her de right
road to travel. Oh! If I could jus' see 'em one more time, but dey can
look down from de glory land and see dat I'se still tryin' to follow de
road dat leads to whar dey is, and when I gits to dat good and better
world I jus' knows de Good Lord will let dis aged 'oman be wid her dear
Marster and Mistess all through de time to come.
"Trust God, Honey, and He will lead you home to glory. I'se sho enjoyed
talkin' to you, and I thanks you for comin'. I'se gwine to ax Him to
take good keer of you and let you come back to cheer up old Nicey
again."
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