JANE ARRINGTON 0023- NC/#344 "I ORT TO BE ABLE TO TELL SUMPIN CAUSE I WUS TWELVE YEjRSOLD WHEN DEY HAD DE SURRENDER RIGHT UP HERE IN RALEIGH. IF I LIVE TO SEE DIS COMING DECEMBER I W ILL BE EIGHTY FIVE YEARS OLD. I WUS BORN ON THE 18TH OF DECEMBER 1852. "I BELONGED TO JACKSON MAY OF NASH COUNTY. I W SBkORNON DE PLANTATION NEA R TAR RIVER. JACKSON MAY NEVER MARRIED UNTIL I WUS OF A GREAT BIG GIRL. HE OWN NED A LOT OF SLAVES; DERE WERE EIGHTY ON DE PLANTATION BEFORE DE SURRENDER. HE MARRIED MISS BECKY WILDER, SISTER OF SAM WILDER. DE WILDERS LIVED ON A JINING P LANTATION TO WHERE I WUS BORNED. "JACKSON MAY HAD SO MANY NIGGERS HE LET BILLY WILLIAMS WHO HAD A-PLjNcAcrON NEARBY HAVE PART OF 'EM. MARSTER JACKSON HE RAISED MY FATHnRAND BOUGHT MY MOT HER. MY MOTHER WUS NAMED LOUISA MAY, AND MY FATHER WUS NAMED LOUIS MAY. MY MOT HER HAD SIX CHILLUNS, FOUR BOYS AND TWO GIRLS. THE BOYS WERE RICHARD, FARRO, CA ESER, AND FENNER. DE GIRLS ROSE AND JANE. JANE, DATS ME. "WE LIVED IN LOG HOUSES WITH STIlK jN' DrRT CHrMlE\b. 0cHeYCALLED 'EM THE SLAVE HOUSES. WE HAD CHICKEN FEATHER BEDS TO SLEEP ON AN' DE HOUSES WUS GOOD WA RM COMFORTABLE LOG HOUSES. WE HAD PLENTY OF COVER AN' FEATHER PILLOWS. "NY GRANDMOTHER ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE TOLD ME A LOT OF STORIES 'kOUT HArNTS A ND HOW PEOPLE RUN FROM 'EM. DEY TOLD ME 'BOUT SLAVES DAT HAD BEEN KILLED BY DER E MARSTER'S COMING BACK AND WORRYIN' 'EM. OLE MISSUS PENNY WILLIAMS, BEFORE JAC KSON MAY BOUGHT MOTHER, TREATED SOME OF DE SLAVES MIGHTY BAD. SHE DIED AN' DEN COME BACK AN' NEARLY SCARED DE SLAVES TO DEATH. GRANDMOTHER TOLD ALL WE CHILLUN SHE SEED HER AN' KNOWED HER AFTER SHE BEEN DEAD AN' COME BACK. "JOHN MAY A SLAVE WUS BEAT TO DEATH BY BILL STONE AN' OLIVnRMAY. OLIVER M AY WUS JUNIUS MAY'S SON. JUNIUS MAY WUS JACKSON MA Y'S UNCLE. JOHN MAY COME BACK AN' WURRIED BOTH OF 'EM. DEY COULD HARDLY SLEEP ARTER DAT. DEY SAID DEY COULD HEAR HIM HOLLERIN' AN' GROANIN' MOST ALL DE TIME. DESE WHITE MEN WOULD GROAN IN DERE SLEEP AN' TELL JOqN tO pO&AfAh. &DEY wOulD SAY, 'GO WAY JOHN, PLEASE GO AWAY'. DE OTHER SLAVES WUS AFRAID OF 'EM CAUSE DE GHOST OF JOHN WURRIED 'EM SO BAD. "I WURKED ON DE FARM, CUTTIN' CORN STALKS AND TENDrN' tO&CATtlEIN SLAVERY TIME. SOMETIMES I SWEPT DE YARDS. I NEVER GOT ANY MONEY FOR MY WORK AND WE DID N'T HAVE ANY PATCHES. MY BROTHERS CAUGHT POSSUMS, COONS AND SICH THINGS AN' WE COOKED 'EM IN OUR HOUSES. WE HAD NO PARTIES BUT WE HAD GUILTIN'S. WE WENT TO T HE WHITE FOLKS CHURCH, PEACH TREE CHURCH, SIX MILES FROM DE PLANTATION AN' POPLA R SPRINGS CHURCH SEVEN MILES AWAY. BOTH WERE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCHES. "THERE WERE NO OVERSEERS ON JACKSON MAY'S PLANTATION. HE WOULDN'T HAVE NAR Y ONE. BILLY WILLIAMS DIDN'T HAVE NONE. DEY HAD COLORED SLAVE FOREMEN. "AFTER WURKIN' ALL DAY DERE WUS A TASK OF COTTON TO BE PICKED AN' SPUN BY 'EM. DIS WUS TWO ONCES OF COTTON. SOME OF DE SLAVES RUN AWAY FROM BILL WILLIAM S WHEN MARSTER JACKSON MAY LET HIM HAVE 'EM TO WORK. DEY RUN AWAY AN' COME HOME. AUNT CHANEY RUNNED AWAY AN' MOTHER RUN AWAY. MARSTER JACKSON MAY KEPT 'E M HID CAUSE HE SAY DEY WUS NOT TREATED RIGHT. HE WOULDN'T LET 'EM HAVE 'EM BACK NO MORE. "I NEVER SAW A GROWN SLAVE WHUPPEDR IN CHAINS AND I NEVnR2SAW A2slAeESOL D. JACKSON MAY WOULD NOT SELL A SLAVE. HE DIDN'T THINK IT RIGHT. HE KEPT 'EM TOGETHER. HE HAD EIGHTY HEAD. HE WOULD LET OTHER WHITE PEOPLE HAVE 'EM TO WURK FOR 'EM SOMETIMES, BUT HE WOULD NOT SELL NONE OF 'EM. "IF DEY CAUGHT A SLAVE WID A BOOK YOU KNOWED IT MEANT A WHUPPIN', BUT DE WH ITE CHILLUN TEACHED SLAVES SECRETEY SOMETIMES. OLE MAN JAKE RICE A SLAVE WHO BE LONGED TO JOHN RICE IN NASH COUNTY WUS TEACHED BY OLE JOHN RICE'S SON TILL HE HA D A PURTY GOOD MOUNT OF LARNIN'. "WE DID NOT HAVE PRAYER MEETING AT MARSER'S PLANTATION OR ANYWHUR. MARSTER WOULD NOT ALLOW DAT. "WHEN I WUS A CHILD WE PLAED DE GAMES OF THREE HANDED REELS, 'OLD GRAY GOO SE', 'ALL LITTLE GAL, ALL LITTLE GAL, ALL LITTLE GAL REMEMBER ME'. WE TOOK HOLD OF HANDS AN' RUN ROUND AS WE SANG DIS SONG. "WE SANG 'OLD DAN TUCKER'. GIT OUTEN DE WAY, OLE DAN TUCKER, SIXTEEN HOSSE S IN ONE STABLE, ONE JUMPED OUT AN' SKINED HIS NABLE AN' SO ON. "DOCTOR MANN AND DOCOTR SID HARRIS AND DOCR FEE MANN AND DOCTOR MATHIAS L OOKED ARTER US WHEN WE WUS SICK. MOTHER AND DE OTHER GROWN FOLKS RAISED HERBS D AT DEY GIVE US TOO. CHILLUN TOOK A LOT OF SALTS. "JACKSON MAY WUS TO RICH TO GO TO DE WAR. BILLY WILLIAMS DIDN'T GO, TOO R ICH TOO, I RECKONS. I REMEMBER WHEN DEY SAID NIGGERS HAD TO BE FREE. DE PAPERS SAID IF DEY COULD NOT BE FREEDOM BY GOOD MEN DERE WOULD BE FREEDOM BY BLOOD. D EY FIGHTED AN' KEPT ON FIGHTIN' A LONG TIME. DEN DE YANKEES COME. I HEARD DEM BEAT DE DRUM. MARSTER TOLE US WE WUS FREE BUT MOTHER AN' FATHER STAYED ON WITH MARSTER. HE PROMISED 'EM SUMPTIN, BUT HE GIVE 'EM NOTHIN'. WHEN DE CROP WUS HO USED DEY LEFT. "FATHER AND MOTHER WENT TO HENCH STALLINGS PLANTATION AND STAYED THERE ONE YEAR. THEN THEY WENT TO JIM WEBBS FARM. I DON'T REMEMBER HOW LONG THEY STAYED THERE BUT ROUND TWO YEARS. THEY MOVED ABOUT AN' ABOUT AMONG THE WHITE FOLKS TIL L THEY DIED. THEY NEVER OWNED ANY PROPERTY. THEY BEEN DEAD 'BOUT THIRTY YEARS. "I MARRIED SIDNEY ARRINGTON. HE HAS BEEN EAD SIX YEARS LAS' SEPTEMBER. "I AM UNABLE TO DO ANY KIND OF WORK. MY ARM IS MIGHTY WEAK. ""I KNOW SLAVERY WUS A BAD THING. I DON'T HAVE TO THINK ANYTHING ABOUT IT. ABRAHAM LINCOLN WUS THE FIRST OF US BEIN' FREE. I THINK HE WUS A MAN OF GOD. I THINK ROOSEVELT IS ALL RIGHT MAN. I BELONGS TO THE PENTICOSTIAL HOLLINESS CH URCH."