Solomon Caldwell
From:
South Carolina
Project 1885-1
Folklore
Spartanburg, Dist. 4
Dec. 15, 1937
Edited by: Elmer Turnage
[~HW: (Caldwell~]
STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES
"I own a little farm, about 22 acres, and I live on it wid my wife. I
ain't been married but once, but we had 15 chilluns. Dey is all done
married and left us. I is gitting so I can't do much work any more,
'specially plowing. I lives below Prosperity. I was born above dar, near
Beaver Dam Creek on de old Davenport place.
"My daddy was Alfred Caldwell and my mammy was Suella Caldwell. She was
a Nelson. Dem and me belonged to Marse Gillam Davenport. Marse Gillam
sho was rapid. I saw him whip my mammy till you couldn't put a hand on
her shoulder and back widout touching a whelp. Marse Gillam killed a man
and dey put him in Jail in Newberry, but he died befo' de trial come
off. Atter dat, I was put in de hands of his son, Sam Davenport. Dis was
atter freedom come. He was a purty good man, but my mammy was always
careful. At night she say, 'Come in chilluns, I got to fasten de do'
tight.' We lived in a little log house den. When we moved from dar we
went to Dr. Welch's place, jes' dis side of it.
"De niggers never had any churches till atter de war; den dey used brush
arbors or some old broke-down log house. We never had schools den, not
till later. I never had a chance to go a-tall.
"I 'member de Ku Klux and how dey rid around in white sheets, killing
all de niggers. De Red Shirts never killed but dey sometimes whipped
niggers. My daddy voted de Republican ticket den, but I know'd two
niggers dat was Democrats and rode wid de Red Shirts. Dey was old Zeb
and old Jeff Bozard.
"We had a big camp meeting sometimes at a log house dat was called
'Hannah's Church'. It was named for a nigger man of slavery time. He
bought de land for de church when freedom come and give it to dem. Dis
church is on de other side of Bush River, near Mr. Boulware's place.
"In old times we had plenty to eat dat we raised on de farm. We had
gardens, too. We raised hogs and made our own flour. We never worked on
Saturday afternoons and Sundays. On Christmas we got together and tried
to have extra things to eat, and maybe a few drinks.
"In old times we had lots of corn-shuckings and log-rollings. De niggers
all around would come and help, den we would git a feast of lamb or pig
that was cooked while we was working.
"Some old folks use to make medicines out of herbs. I 'member my ma
would take fever grass and boil it to tea and have us drink it to keep
de fever away. She used branch elder twigs and dogwood berries for
chills. Another way to stop chills from coming was to dip a string in
turpentine, keep it tied around de waist and tie a knot in it every time
you had a chill.
"Abraham Lincoln was a good man. Seems like all de niggers loved him
lots. I don't know much about Jefferson Davis. Booker Washington was a
good man. I 'member he was once in Newberry and I heard him preach in de
old courthouse. (?)
"I joined de church when I was 12 years old. In dem days de old folks
made chillun go to church when dey was 12 years old, and join den. Dat
was de reason I joined. I was a Methodist but I joined de Baptist later,
because, well, I saw dat was de right way."
Source: Solomon Caldwell (73), Newberry, S. C. RFD
Interviewer: G. L. Summer, Newberry, S. C. 12/7/37.
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Nelson Cameron
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Laura Caldwell
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