Uncle Pen Eubanks
From:
South Carolina
Project 1885-1
FOLKLORE
Spartanburg--Dist. 4
May 18, 1937
Edited by:
Elmer Turnage
STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES
"White folks. I sho nuff did ride wid de 'Red Shirts' fer Marse Hampton.
Dar was two other darkies what rid wid us. Dey is bof daed now. One was
Jack Jones, and de t'othern I does not recollect his name. Him and Jack
is both daed. Dat leave me de onliest living one what rid in de company.
"I rid in de company wid Marse Jimmie Young and he was de Cap'un. He
live out yonder at Sardis Church. Ev'ybody know Marse Jimmie. He ain't
quite as aged yet as I bees. Mr. J.T. Sexton, he rid from up around
Cross Keys, he got de 'hole in de wall' and I calls on him yit, and us
talks over de olden days. Miss Bobo's husband, he rid in Marse Jimmie's
company. (Mr. Preston B. Bobo) Our company camped at de ole Brick church
out whar de mansion set now. It has allus been called de Lower
Fairforest Baptist Church, whar de white folks still goes, 'cept de done
move de church down on de new road, further from de mansion and de ole
graveyard. I lows dat you knows I is speaking o' de new mansion--Mr.
Emslie Nicholson's house on de forest at de Shoals. I is got memory, but
I ain't got no larning; dat I is proud of, kaise I is seed folks wid
larning dat never knowed nothing worth speaking about. All de way 'fru',
I is done tuck and stuck to my white folks--de Democratic white folks,
dat I is.
"Sho was a pretty sight to see 'bout a hun'ded mens up on fine horses
wid red shirts on. I still sees dem in my mind clear as day. Our red
shirts fastened wid a strong band 'round de waist. Dar wasn't nar'y
speck o' white to be seed no whars on 'em. Dey was raal heavy and
strong. Fact, dey was made from red flannel, and I means it was sho
'nough flannel, too. I had done kept one o' mine here till times got
hard and den I tuck and tore it up fer me a undershirt, here past it
been two winters when it got so cold.
"One night us sot up all night and kept a big fire. Next morning it was
de biggest frost all over de ground; but us never got one mite cold. De
good white ladies of de community made our red shirts fer us. I 'spects
Marse Jimmie ken name some fer you.
"I got eve'y registration ticket in my house, and I still votes allus de
democratic ticket. I has longed to de Democratic club ever since de red
shirt days and I has voted dat way all de time. I was jes' turn't
seventeen when I jined de Red Shirts and got into de Democratic Club,
and I has been in it ever since. It ain't gwine out neither.
"I sho seed Hampton speak from Dr. Culp's porch. I voted fer him. At dat
time, I lived on de Keenan place. Marse Jimmie Young, he de overseer fer
Mr. Keenan. Mr. Charles Ray owns and lives on it now. Dat brick church
straight up de road from de Keenan place; straight as a bee line. Dat
whar us met most o' de time fer de Red Shirt gatherings. Our Red Shirt
Club was called de 'Fairforest' club atter de Lower Fairforest white
folks Baptist church. De church has allus sot on de banks o' Fairforest
Creek. Atter us got organized, I used to tote our flag. I was de onliest
darky dat toted it.
"I is done handed you a few names: dey is all Democratic names. Lots of
dem 'scapes my knowledge, it has all been so long ago. Dar was Mr.
Gilmer Greer. Miss Gilmer Blankenship what lives out dar, she his niece.
Mr. John Sims 'nother white man I members. Dar was lots o' companies in
dis county, but I does not recall how many.
"Captain Jimmie Young would allus notify when dar was to be a meeting.
Us darkies dat 'longed 'ud go and tell de white mens to come to de
church. Us met sometime right 'fo de 'lection and all de companies come
together at de ole courthouse dat stood right whar de new one is now.
"Robinson's Circus come to Union. De circus folks gib everbody a free
ticket to de circus dat 'longed to de Democratic Club. Dey let all de
scalawag niggers in fer registration tickets dat de Republicans had done
give dem to vote fer Chamberlain. Dem niggers wanted to go to de circus
wu'se dan dey wanted to do anything else. Dey never dre'mt dat dey was
not a going to git to vote like de carpetbaggers, and de scalawags had
done tole dem to do. Fact is, dey never much cared jes' since de got in
de circus. Dem dat wanted de registration tickets back when de come out,
never seed nobody to git 'em from nohows. Robinson's Circus was so big
dat dey never showed it all in Union, but what dey had was out on
McClure's field. It wasn't no houses dar den, and, o' course, dar wasn't
no mill no whar about Union in dem days. All de tents dat was staked was
staked in McClure's ole field over on 'Tosch' Branch. In dem days, dat
field was de biggest territory in de clear around Union. Atter dat, all
de Red Shirts met on de facade in front o' de courthouse. Mos' all de
mens made a speech. Another darky sung a song like dis: 'Marse Hampton
was a honest man; Mr. Chamberlain was a rogue'--Den I sung a song like
dis: 'Marse Hampton et de watermelon, Mr. Chamberlain knawed de rine.'
Us jest having fun den, kaise us had done 'lected Marse Hampton as de
new governor of South Ca'linia."
=Source:= "Uncle Pen" Eubanks, Hampton Ave. Union, S.C. (age 83)
Interviewer: Caldwell Sims, Union, S.C. (5/4/37)
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