Susie King
From:
Arkansas
Interviewer: Zillah Cross Peel
Information given by: Aunt Susie King, Ex-slave.
Residence: Cane Hill, Arkansas. Washington County.
Age: about 93.
Across the Town Branch, in what is dubbed "Tin-cup" lives one of the
oldest ex-slaves in Washington county, "Aunt Susie" King, who was born
at Cane Hill, Arkansas about 1844.
"Aunt Susie" doesn't know just how old she is, but she thinks she is
over ninety, just how much she doesn't know. Perhaps the most accurate
way to get near her age would be go to the county records where one
can find the following bill of sale:
"State of Arkansas, County of Washington, for and in
consideration of natural affection that I have for my
daughter, Rebecca Rich, living in the county aforesaid above
mentioned, and I do hereby give and bequath unto her one negro
woman named Sally and her children namely Sam, and Fill, her
lifetime thence to her children her lawful heirs forever and I
do warrant and forever defend said negro girl and her children
against all lawful claims whatsoever.
July, 1840. Tom Hinchea Barker,
Witness, J. Funkhouser.
Filed for record,
Feb. 16, 1841.
When this bill of sale was read to "Aunt Susie" she said with great
interest,
"Yes'm, yes'm that sure was my Ma and my two brothers, Sam and Fill,
then come a 'nother brother, Allan, and then Jack and then I'm next
then my baby sister Milly Jane. Yes'm we's come 'bout every two
years."
"Yes'm, ole Missy was rich; she had lots of money, lots of lan'. Her
girl, she jes' had one, married John Nunley, Mister Ab, he married
Miss Ann Darnell, Mister Jack he married Miss Milly Holt, and Mister
Calvin he married Miss Lacky Foster. Yes'm they lived all 'round 'bout
us. Some at Rhea's Hill and some at Cane Hill," and to prove the
keenness of this old slave's mind, as well as her accuracy, one need
only to go to the county deed records where in 1849, Rebecca Rich
deeded several 40 acres tracts of land to her sons, James, Calvin,
William Jackson and Absaolum. This same deed record gives the names of
the wives of these sons just as "Aunt Susie" named them. However, Miss
Lacky Foster was "Kelika Foster."
Then Aunt Susie started remembering:
"Yes'm, my mother's name was Sally. She'd belonged to Mister Tom H.
Barker and he gived her to Miss Becky, his daughter. I think of them
all lots of days. I know a heap of folks that some times I forgot.
When the War came, we lived in a big log house. We had a loom room
back of the kitchen. I had a good mother. She wove some. We all wove
mos' all of the blankets and carpets and counterpans and Old Missey
she loved to sit down at the loom and weave some", with a gay chuckle
Aunty Susie said, "then she'd let me weave an' Old Missey she'd say I
takes her work and the loom away from her. I did love to weave, all
them bright colores, blue and red and green and yellow. They made all
the colors in the back yard in a big kettle, my mother, Sally did the
colorin'".
"We had a heap of company. The preacher came a lot of times and when
the War come Ole Missey she say if we all go with her, she'd take us
all to Texas. We's 'fraid of the Yankees; 'fraid they get us.
"We went in wagons. Ole Missey in the carriage. We never took nothin'
but a bed stead for Ole Missey. They was a great drove of we darkies.
Part time we walked, part time we rode. We was on the road a long
time. First place we stopped was Collins County, and stayed awhile I
recollect. We had lots of horses too. Some white folks drove 'long and
offered to take us away from Ole Missey but we wouldn't go. We didn't
want to leave Ole Missey, she's good to us. Oh Lord, it would a nearly
kilt her effen any body'd hit one of her darkies; I'd always stay in
the house and took care of Ole Miss. She was pretty woman, had light
hair. She was kinda punny tho, somethin' matter with her mos' all the
time, headache or toothache or something'."
"Mister Rich went down to the river swimmin' one time I heard, and got
drowned."
"Yes'm, they was good days fo' the War."
"Yes'm we stayed in Texas until Peace was made. We was then at
Sherman, Texas. Peace didn't make no difference with us. We was glad
to be free, and we com'd back to Arkansas with Ole Missey. We didn't
want to live down there. Me and my man, Charlie King, was married
after the War, and we went to live on Mister Jim Moores place. Ole
Miss giv'd my ma a cow. I made my first money in Texas, workin' for a
woman and she giv'd me five dollars."
"Yes'm after Peace the slaves all scattered 'bout."
"The colored folks today lak a whole heap bein' like they was fo' the
War. They's good darkies, and some aint so good." Me and my man had
seven children all dead but two, Bob lives with me. I don't worry
'bout food. We ain't come no ways starvin'. I have all I want to eat.
Bob he works for Missus Wade every mornin' tendin' to her flowers and
afternoons works for him self. She owns this house, lets us live in
it. She's good all right, good woman."
"I like flowers too, but ain't got no water, no more. Water's scarce.
Someone turned off the hydrant."
"I belong to the Baptist church a long while."
"Do you know Gate-eye Fisher?" When I said "yes, I went down to talk
to him last week," she said, "well, law me, Gate-eye ain't no fool.
He's the best cook as ever struck a stove. He married my baby sister,
Milly Jane's child. Harriet Lee Ann, she's my niece. She left him,
said she'd never go back no more to him. She's somewhere over in
Oklahoma."
"And did you see Doc Flowers? Yes'm, I was mos' a mother to him.
"One time my man and me heard a peckin' at the do'. We's eatin'
supper. I went to the do' and there was Doc. He and his step-pa, Ole
Uncle Ike, had a fight and Doc come to us and stayed 'bout three
years. He started cryin'."
"Yes'm my Pa and Ma had belonged to Mister John Barker, before he
giv'd my Ma to Miss Becky, my Pa was a leather worker. He could make
shoes, and boots and slippers."
"Yes'm, Good bye. Come back again honey. Yes'm I'd like a little
snuff--not the sweet kind. It makes my teeth feel better to have
snuff. I ain't got much but snags, and snuff, a little mite helps
them."
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William Kirk
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Mose King
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