ADDY GILL                      78- NC/#434
     "I AM SEVENTY FOUR YEARS OF AGE.  I WUS BORN A SLAVE JANUARY 6, 1863 ON A P
LANTATION  NEAR MILLBURNIE, WAKE COUNTY, OWNED BY MAJOR WILDER, WHO HIRED MY FAT
HER'S TIME.  HIS WIFE WUS NAMED SARAH WILDER.  I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING 'BOUT SLAVE
RY 'CEPT WHAT WUS TOLE ME BY FATHER AN MOTHER BUT I DO KNOW THAT IF IT HAD NOT B
EEN
FOR WHAT DE SOUTHERN WHITE FOLKS DONE FOR US NIGGERS WE'D HAVE PERISHED TO
DEATH.  DE NORTH BURNED US OUT WID OUT ANYTHING TO MAKE A LIVIN' WID.

     "MY FATHER WUS DAVID GILL AND MY MOTHER WUS EMILY GILL.  MY FATHER WUS A BL
ACKSMITH AN HE MOVED FROM PLACE TO PLACE WHERE DEY HIRED HIS TIME.  DATS WHY I W
US BORN ON MAJOR WILDERS PLACE.  MARSTER GILL WHO OWNED US HIRED FATHER TO MAJOR
 WILDER AND MOTHER MOVED WID HIM.  FOR A LONG TIME ATTER DE WAR, NINE YEARS, WE
STAYED ON WID MAJOR WILDER, DE PLACE WE WUS AT WHEN DEY SET US FREE.

     "MISTER WILDER HAD A LARGE PLANTATION AND OWNED A LARGE NUMBER OF SLAVES BE
FORE DE SURRENDER.  I ONLY 'MEMBERS FOURTEEN OF DE ONES I KNOW BELONGED TO HIM.
 MISTER WILDER WUS A MIGHTY GOOD MAN.  WE HAD PLENTY TO EAT AN PLENTY WORK TO
DO.  DERE WUS SEVEN IN THE MAJOR'S FAMILY.  THREE BOYS, TWO GIRLS, HE AN HIS WIF
E.  HIS BOYS, WUS NAMED SAM, WILL AND CROCKETT.  DE GIRLS WUS NAMED
FLORENCE AND
FLORA.  DEY ARE ALL DEAD, EVERY ONE OF 'EM.  DE WHOLE SET.  I DON'T KNOW NARY ON
E OF OF 'EM LIVIN.  IF DEY WUS LIVIN I COULD GO TO 'EM AN' GIT A MEAL ANY TIME.
 YES SIR] ANY TIME, DAY OR NIGHT.

     "I FARMED FOR A LONG TIME FOR MYSELF ATTER I WUS FREE FROM WILDER AT 21 YEA
RS OF AGE.  DEN 'BOUT TWELVE YEARS AGO I COME TO RALEIGH AND GOT A JOB AS BUTLER
 AT SAINT AUGUSTINE EPISCOPAL COLLEGE FOR COLORED.  I WORKED DERE EIGHT YEARS, W
US SICK WHILE WORKING DERE AN HAS BEEN UNABLE TO WORK MUCH  SINCE.  DAT WUS FOUR
YEARS AGO.  SINCE DEN SOMETIMES I AIN'T ABLE TO SIT UP OUTEN MY CHAIR WHEN I IS
SETTIN DOWN.  I TELLS YOU, SISTER, WHEN A NIGGER LEAVES DE FARM AN COMES TO TOWN
 TO LIVE HE IS TAKIN A MIGHTY BIG CHANCE WID DE WOLF.  HE IS JUST A RISKIN PARIS
HIN, DATS WHAT HE IS A DOIN.

     "I MARRIED FORTY FIVE YEARS AGO THIS PAST NOVEMBER.  I WUS MARRIED ON DE SE
COND THURSDAY NIGHT IN NOVEMBER TO MILLIE RUFFIN OF WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA.
  WE HAD LEBEN CHILLUNS, SIX BOYS AN FIVE GALS.  FOUR OF THE BOYS AN ONE OF DE G
ALS IS LIVIN NOW.  SOME OF MY CHILLUNS WENT NORTH BUT DEY DIDN'T STAY DERE BUT T
WO MONTHS.  DE ONE DAT WENT NORTH WUS SAMS DAT WUS DE OLDEST ONE.  HE TOOK A NOT
ION TO MARRY SO HE WENT UP TO PENNSYLVANIA AND WORKED.  JUST AS SOON AS HE GOT E
NOUGH MONEY TO MARRY ON HE COME BACK AN GOT MARRIED.  HE NEVER WENT BACK NORTH N
O MORE.

MOTHER BELONGED TO SAM KRENSHAW BEFORE SHE WUS BOUGHT BY MARSTER GILL.  HER MISS
US WHEN SHE WAS A GIRL GROWIN UP WUS MISTRESS LOUISE KRENSHAW.  DE MISSUS DONE D
E WHUPPIN ON MISTER KRENSHAW'S PLANTATION AN SHE WUS MIGHTY ROUGH AT TIMES.  SHE
WHUPPED MOTHER AN CUT HER BACK TO PIECES SO BAD DAT DE SCARS WUS ON HER WHEN SHE
 DIED.  FATHER DIED IN RALEIGH AN MOTHER DIED OUT AT MISS ANNIE BALL'S FARM 'BOU
T  SEVEN MILES FROM RALEIGH.  MOTHER AN FATHER WUS LIVIN THERE WHEN MOTHER DIED.
  FATHER DEN COME TO RALEIGH AN DIED HERE.

     "I CAINT READ AN WRITE BUT ALL MY CHILLUNS CAN READ AND WRITE.  MOTHER AND
FATHER COULD NOT READ OR WRITE.  I HAINT HAD A CHANCE.  I HAD NO LARNIN.  I HAD
TO DEPEND ON WHITE FOLKS I FARMED WID TO LOOK ATTER MY BUSINESS.  SOME OF EM CHE
ATED ME OUT OF WHAT I MADE.  I AM TELLIN YOU  DE TRUTH 'BOUT SOME OF DE LANDLORD
S, DEY GOT MIGHTY NIGH ALL I MADE.  MISTER RICHARD TAYLOR WHO OWNED A FARM NEAR
RALEIGH WHUR I STAYED TWO YEARS WUS ONE OF EM.  HE CHARGED DE SAME THING THREE T
IMES AN I HAD IT TO PAY.  I STAYED TWO YEARS AN MADE NOTHIN'.  DIS IS DE TRUTH F
ROM MY HEART,  FROM HERE TO GLORY.  I MEMBERS PAYIN' FUR A MIDDLIN OF MEAT
TWICE.  SOME OF DE WHITE FOLKS LOOKED OUT FOR ME AN PROSPERED.  MISTER DAVE FAUL
K WUS ONE OF 'EM.  I STAYED WID HIM SIX YEARS AND I PROSPERED.  MISTER JOHN BUSH
NELL WUS A MAN WHO TOOK UP NO TIME WID NIGGERS.  I RENTED FROM HIM A LONG TIME.

     "HE FURNISHED A NIGGER CASH TO RUN HIS CRAP ON DE NIGGER MADE DE CRAP SOLD
IT AN CARRIED HIM HIS PART.  HE FIGGERED 'BOUT WHAT HE SHOULD HAVE AN DE NIGGER
PAID IN CASH.  HE WUSA MIGHTY GOOD MAN TO HIS NIGGER TENANTS.  I NEVER OWNED A F
ARM,  I NEVER OWNED HORSES OR MULES TO FARM WITH.  I WORKED DE LANDLORDS STOCK A
ND FARMED HIS LAND ON SHARES.  FARMIN' HAS BEEN MY HAPPIEST LIFE AND I WUSHES I
WUS ABLE TO FARM AGIN BECAUSE I AM HAPPIEST WHEN ON DE FARM.

     "I HAD A QUIET HOME WEDDrN' jN&I6W SMARRIED BY A WHITE MAGISTRATE.  I GOT
UP ONE NIGHT AN' WUS MARRIED AT 1 O'CLOCK.

     "ATTER DE WEDDIN SHE WENT BACK HOME WID ME.  WE HAVE HAD OUR UPS AND DOWNS
IN LIFE.  SOMETIMES DE LIVIN' HAS BEEN MIGHTY HARD, BUT DERE HAS NEVER BEEN A TI
ME SINCE I BEEN FREE WHEN I COULD NOT GIT A HANDOUT FROM DE WHITE FOLKS BACK YAR
D."