HENRIETTA EVELINA SMITH      1397-ARK/#026                                   018
         I WAS BORN IN LOUISIANA IN EAST FELICIE PARISH NEAR BATON ROUGE ON THE
28TH DAY OF DECEMBER. MY MOTHER'S NAME WAS DELIA WHITE. HER MAIDEN NAME WAS DELI
A EARLY. MY FATHER'S NAME WAS HENRY WHITE. MY MOTHER'S FATHER WAS NAMED AMOS EAR
LY. MY MOTHER'S MOTHER'S NAME WAS JULIA. MY FATHER'S FATHER WAS NAMED TOM WHITE
AND HIS MOTHER WAS NAMED SUSAN.
         MY FATHER AND MOTHER BOTH BELONGED TO THE EASON'S. I DON'T KNOW HOW THE
Y SPELLED IT. EASON'S DAUGHTER MARRIED MUNDAY AND MY UNCLE BOGHT THIS WHITE MAN'
S PLACE YEARS AFTER FREEDOM. THAT IS NOT FAR FROM CLINTON - ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE M
ILES. IT IS THREE MILES FROM ETHEL, LOUISIANA.
         AMO\, *Y7RANDFA,H     , WAS ,HE WAGONEER ON ,HE OLD7PLAC(.6FA,H      ,
HE USE
D TO DRIVE THE WAGON TOO. HE' HAUL COTTON TO BATON ROUGE AND THINGS LIKE THAT. H
E WOULD RUN OFF AND STAY FIVE OR SIX MONTHS. I HAVE HEARD THEM TALK ABOUT HOW HE
 USED T O COME BACK AND BRING HOGS AND ONE THING AND ANOTHER ,HAT8HE6FOUND6OUT9I
N THE WOODS. HE WOULD RUN OFF BECAUSE THE OVERSEER WOULD WHIP HIM. BUT HE WAS SU
CH A GOOD WORKING MAN THAT ONCE OR TWICE, THE BOSS MAN TURNED OFF HIS OVERSEER O
N ACCOUNT OF HIM. THERE WAN'T NOTHING AGAINST HIS WORK. HE JUST WOULDN'T TAKE A
BLOW. MOST OF THE TIMES AFTER HE HAD BEEN OUT A WHILE THE BOSS MAN WOULD TELL TH
E HANDS TO TELL AMOS THAT IF HE WOULD COME ON HOME THEY WOULDN'T WHIP HIM FOR RU
NNING OFF.
         MY GRANDMOTHER'S MOTHER ON MY FATHER'S SIDE WAS NAMED MELISS . I ,HINK
THAT WAS HER NAME. MY FATHER'S MOTHER WAS NAMED SUSAN LIKE I TOLD YOU.SHE WAS PA
RT INDIAN - BETTER WORK HAND NEVER WAS. BUT SHE WOULDN'T BE CONQUERED NEITHER. W
HEN THEY GOT READY TO WHIP HER , IT WOULD BE HALF A DAY BEFORE THEY COULD TAKE H
ER. WHEN THEY DID GET HER, THEY WOULD WHIP HER SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO RAISE HER I
N A SHEET. THE LAST TIME THEY WHIPPEDHER, IT TOOK HER NEARLY A YEAR TO GET OVER
IT. SO THE WHITE MAN JUST TURNED HER LOOSE AND TOLD HER SHE WAS FREE. SHE WENT O
N OFF AND WE NEVER DID KNOW WHAT BECAME OF HER.
         THE EASONS WERE FARMERS AND THEY HAD A LARGE PLANTATION. I DON'T KNOW J
UST HOW MANY SLAVES THEY OWNED.
         MY FATHER AND MOTHER WERE FED LIKE PIGS. THEY8HAD ANOOLDWOMAN THAT DID
THE COOKING. SHE WAS BROKE DOWN FROM WORK. THEY WOULD GIVE THE SLAVES GREENS AND
THE CHILDREN POT-LIQUOR. MY PARENTS WERE FIELD HANDS. MY MOTHER WAS TOO YOUNG TO
 CARY A ROW >HEN SHE WAS FREED,BUT SHE WORKED ON AN OLDER PERSON'S ROW. TH(Y6WO
RKED FROM CAN TILL CAN'T. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, FROM THE TIME THEY COULD SEE TIL
L THE TIME THEY COULDN'T. REB TIME WAS SOMETHING LIKE THE PENITENTIARY NOW. IT N
EVER GOT TOO COLD NOR TOO HOT TO WORK. AND THERE WASN'T ANY PAY. MY PARENTS NEVE
R WERE GIVEN ANY CHANCE TO EARN ANY MONEY. I HEARD THAT MY GRANDPA USED TO MAKE
A LITTLE SOMETHING. HE WAS A WAGONER YOU KNOW. HE WOULD CARRY A LITTLE EXTRA ON
HIS LOAD AND SELL IT. HIS OLD MASTER NEVER DID FIND IT OUT. PEOPLE KNEW HE HAD S
TOLE IT, BUT THEY WOULD BUY IT JUST THE SAME.
         THE OLD BOSS MAN CAME DOWN IN THE QUARTERS AND TOLD THEM ,HEY WERE FREE
WHEN FREEDOM CAME. RIGHT AFTER FREEDOM THEY STAYED THERE ON THE OLD PLACE FOR A
YEAR OR MORE. MY MOTHER WASN'T GROWN AND SHE AND MY FATHER MARRIED AFTER THAT. A
FTERWARDS THEY HAD KIND OF A FIGHT TO GET AWAY FROM THE OLD MAN. HE WAS CARRYING
THEM THE SAME WAY HE WAS GOING BEFORE THE WAR AND THEY HAD A ROW AND LEFT HIM. I
DON'T KNOW JUST WHAT TERMS THEY WORKED ON. I DON'T THINK THEY DID THEMSELVES. TH
EY TOOK JUST WHAT THEY COULD GET AND DIDN'T KNOW JUST HOW THEY WAS PAID.
         IF A MAN MADE A GOOD CROP, THEY WOULD RUN HIM AWAY AND MAKE HIM LEAVE H
S CROPS BEHIND.
         MY FOLKS CONTINUED TO FARM ALL THEIR LIVES. THEY DAD TROUBLE6WI,H ,HE N
IGHT RIDERS. THEY HAD TO VOTE L-KE THEY WERE TOLD. IF YOU VOTED THE WRONG WAY TH
EY WOULD GET BEHIND YOU AND RUN YOU OFF. THERE WERE SOME FOLKS WHO WOULD TAKE PA
Y FOR VOTING AND THEN VOTE DIFFERENT, AND WHEN THE NIGHT RIDERS FOUND IT OUT, TH
ERE WOULD BE TROUBLE. I DON'T BELIEVE IN TAKING MONEY FOR VOTING, AND I DON'T BE
LIEVE IN LYING.
         MY MOTHER AND FATHER DIDN'T GET ANY SHCOOLING. THAT WAS ALLOWED AFTER S
LAVERY, BUT IT WASN'T ALLOWED IN SLAVERY TIME. THEY LEARNED A LITTLE FROM OTHER
PEOPLE. THEY WOULD SLIP AND LEARN TO READ.
         *Y7REATPRANDMO,HER WAS CONSIDERED PRET,Y >HEN \HE6WAS8>OU !. \HEHAD
GLOSSY BLACK HARI AMD WAS A LITTLE SHORT. SHE WAS BROWNSKIN AND HAD BIG LEGS. HE
R MASTER WOULD TAKE HER OUT BEHIND THE FIELD AND DO WHAT HE WANTED. WHEN SHE GOT
FREE, SHE GAVE BOTH OF HER CHILDREN AWAY. SHE HAD TWO CHILDREN BY HIM - A BOY NA
MED ELI AND A GIRL NAMED ANNA. SHE DIDN'T WANT THEM 'ROUN HER BECAUSE THEY REMIN
DED HER OF HIM.
  X   XXX
STP