Richard Orford
From:
Georgia
[RICHARD ORFORD, Age around 85]
The following version of slavery was told by Mr. Richard Orford of 54
Brown Avenue in South Atlanta. Mr. Orford is large in statue and
although 85 years of age he has a very active mind as well as a good
sense of humor.
Mr. Orford was born in Pike County, Georgia (near the present site of
Griffin) in 1842. His master's name was Jeff Orford. Mr. Orford
describes him as follows: "Marster wus a rich man an' he had 'bout 250
slaves--'course dat was'nt so many 'cause some of de folks 'round dere
had 400 and 500. He had plenty of land too--I don't know how many acres.
He raised everything he needed on de plantation an' never had to buy
nothing. I 'members when de Yankees come through--ol' marster had 'bout
200 barrels of whiskey hid in de smokehouse--dat wus de fust time I ever
got drunk."
"Besides hisself an' his wife ol' marster had two boys an' nine girls".
Continuing, Mr. Orford said: "My Ma did'nt have many chillun--jus' ten
boys an' nine girls. I went to work in marster's house when I wus five
years old an' I stayed dere 'till I wus thirty-five. De fust work I had
to do wus to pick up chips, feed chickens, an' keep de yard clean. By de
time I wus eight years old I wus drivin' my missus in de carriage."
"All de rest of de slaves wus fiel' hands. Dey spent dere time plowing
an' takin' care of de plantation in general. Dere wus some who split
rails an' others who took care of de stock an' made de harness--de
slaves did everything dat needed to be done on de plantation. Everybody
had to git up 'fore daybreak an' even 'fore it wus light enuff to see
dey wus in de fiel' waitin' to see how to run a furrow. 'Long 'bout nine
o'clock breakfus' wus sent to de fiel' in a wagon an' all of 'em stopped
to eat. At twelve o'clock dey stopped again to eat dinner. After dat dey
worked 'till it wus to dark to see. Women in dem days could pick
five-hundred pounds of cotton a day wid a child in a sack on dere
backs."
"When de weather wus too bad to work in de fiel' de hands cribed an'
shucked corn. If dey had any work of dere own to do dey had to do it at
night".
According to Mr. Orford there was always sufficient food on the Orford
plantation for the slaves. All cooking was done by one cook at the cook
house. In front of the cook house were a number of long tables where the
slaves ate their meals when they came in from the fields. Those children
who were too young to work in the fields were also fed at this house but
instead of eating from the tables as did the grown-ups they were fed
from long troughs much the same as little pigs. Each was given a spoon
at meal time and then all of the food was dumped into the trough at the
same time.
The week day diet for the most part consisted of meats and
vegetables--"sometimes we even got chicken an' turkey"--says Mr. Orford.
Coffee was made by parching meal or corn and then boiling it in water.
None of the slaves ever had to steal anything to eat on the Orford
plantation.
All of the clothing worn on this plantation was made there. Some of the
women who were too old to work in the fields did the spinning and the
weaving as well as the sewing of the garments. Indigo was used to dye
the cloth. The women wore callico dresses and the men wore ansenberg
pants and shirts. The children wore a one piece garment not unlike a
slightly lengthened dress. This was kept in place by a string tied
around their waists. There were at least ten shoemakers on the
plantation and they were always kept bust [TR: busy?] making shoes
although no slave ever got but one pair of shoes a year. These shoes
were made of very hard leather and were called brogans.
In the rear of the master's house was located the slave's quarters. Each
house was made of logs and was of the double type so that two families
could be accommodated. The holes and chinks in the walls were daubed
with mud to keep the weather out. At one end of the structure was a
large fireplace about six feet in width. The chimney was made of dirt.
As for furniture Mr. Orford says: "You could make your own furniture if
you wanted to but ol' marster would give you a rope bed an' two or three
chairs an' dat wus all. De mattress wus made out of a big bag or a
tickin' stuffed wid straw--dat wus all de furniture in any of de
houses."
"In dem days folks did'nt git sick much like dey do now, but when dey
did de fust thing did fer 'em wus to give 'em blue mass. If dey had a
cold den dey give 'em blue mass pills. When dey wus very sick de marster
sent fer de doctor."
"Our ol' marster wus'nt like some of de other marsters in de
community--he never did do much whuppin of his slaves. One time I hit a
white man an' ol' marster said he was goin' to cut my arm off an' dat
wus de las' I heard of it. Some of de other slaves useter git whuppins
fer not workin' an' fer fightin'. My mother got a whuppin once fer not
workin'. When dey got so bad ol' marster did'nt bother 'bout whuppin'
'em--he jes' put 'em on de block an' en' sold 'em like he would a
chicken or somethin'. Slaves also got whuppins when dey wus caught off
the plantation wid out a pass--de Paddie-Rollers whupped you den. I have
knowed slaves to run away an' hide in de woods--some of 'em even raised
families dere."
"None of us wus allowed to learn to read or to write but we could go to
church along wid de white folks. When de preacher talked to de slaves he
tol' 'em not to steal fum de marster an' de missus 'cause dey would be
stealing fum dere selves--he tol' 'em to ask fer what dey wanted an' it
would be givven to 'em."
When Sherman marched through Georgia a number of the slaves on the
Orford plantation joined his army. However, a large number remained on
the plantation even after freedom was declared. Mr. Orford was one of
those who remained. While the Yankee soldiers were in the vicinity of
the Orford plantation Mr. Orford, the owner of the plantation, hid in
the woods and had some of the slaves bring his food, etc. to him.
Mr. Orford was thirty-five years of age when he left the plantation and
at that time he married a twelve year old girl. Since that time he has
been the father of twenty-three children, some of whom are dead and some
of whom are still alive.
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