Rena Raines
From:
North Carolina
N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 779
Subject: RENA RAINES
Person Interviewed: Rena Raines
Editor: G.L. Andrews
[TR: Date stamp: AUG 17 1937]
RENA RAINES
"I wus three years ole when de Yankees come through. I do not 'member
much 'bout slavery, but I knows a lot my mother tole me.
"My mother wus named Vicey Rogers an' my father wus named Bob Hunter.
He 'longed ter de Hunters of Wake County an' mother longed ter Marster
John Rogers. Her missus' name wus Ann Rogers. I 'members my grandfather
on my mother's side but do not 'member any more of my grandparents.
"Marse John Rogers wus a ole batchelor before he wus married an' he had
'bout twelve slaves when he married Mis' Ann Hunter. She owned one
slave, a colored boy, when she wus married. Her father gave her the
slave. The plantation wus between Apex an' Holly Springs in Wake
County. All my people lived in Wake County an' I wus born on de
plantation. Marster wus good ter his niggers before he wus married, but
when she came in it got mighty rough. It got wusser an' wusser till
'bout de time of de surrender. De place wus a Hell on earth, mother
said, if dere could ever be one. Missus had slaves whupped fur most any
little thing an' den she wud not allow 'em to have much ter eat. My
mother tole me all about it, atter de surrender. Mother said Missus
runned the plantation an' made it hard fur all de slaves. She jist
liked ter see slaves beat almost ter death. Dere wus a lot of niggers
whupped in dat neighborhood by the overseers, owners an' patterollers.
"Slaves wus sold 'round from one to a nother 'mongst de white folks.
Mother said you jist couldn't tell when you would git whupped. De wurk
wus hard from sun to sun. Poor food ter eat, poor clothes, barefooted
most of de time, an' a general hard time, till freedom put an end to
it. My mother tole me ole man Pasqual Bert who lived near 'em in Wake
County had his niggers whupped all day sometimes. He beat 'em
unmercifully an sometimes made away wid 'em an' dey wus not seed no
more. She said de way he whupped his slaves wus ter lay 'em up an' down
on a log wid de bark off. He made 'em lie flat down on dere stomachs
an' den buckled 'em on den de overseers beat 'em unmercifully. One time
a overseer's wife heard a pat, pat, pat, down at de whuppin' log an'
she ax him what it wus an' why he beat niggers from sun to sun an he
tole her ole man Bert made 'im do it or else leave. So his wife says
'We will leave, you must not beat any more niggers if we perish to
death,' an de overseer left. Mother said ole man Bert fed his little
niggers out of a trough like hogs. Ole man Bert also had niggers tied
to barrels an whupped.
"De grown slaves got one pair shoes a year. Dey wus give ter dem at
Xmas. an de chillun didn't have no shoes at all. De clothes wus
homemade. De houses wus made out of logs an had stick an dirt chimleys
to 'em. De sleepin' places wus bunks fer de grown niggers an de chillun
slept on de floor on pallets. A pallet wus made by spreadin' a quilt
made of towbaggin' or rags on de floor, dat's where de chillun slept
in our neighborhood before de surrender.
"Mother and father married by jumpin' de broom. Dey put de broom down
on de floor den day helt one another's hands an den dey jumped de
broom, den day went ter de slave house an' went ter bed. Mother an'
father come ter Raleigh atter de surrender an wus married right. Mother
an' father lef' ole man Rogers as soon as dey wus free. Dey lived on
hardtack an' pickled meat de Yankees give for sometimes den dey went
an' stayed wid Mr. Gray Jones an' when I wus a great big girl we lef'
an moved ter Chatham County. Pa bought a place, paid for it, built a
little house on it an' lived dere until he died.
"I married in Chatham County an' lived dere till my husband died den I
kept stayin' till all my chillun married off an' I come ter Raleigh ter
live wid my son. I had four chilluns. Dey are all dead but de one I
live wid.
"I have been unable to git out of de house widout help fur a long time.
I have heart trouble an' high blood pressure. Slavery wus a right bad
thing. I thank God it is over."
LE
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