to Arkansas when she was a small girl. She nursed and cooked all the
time. After freedom she went with Reverend Porter's relatives to work
for them. I know so very little about what she said about slavery.

"My father was raised in North Carolina. His name was Jerry Smith and
his master he called Judge Smith. My father made all he ever had
farmin'. He knew how to raise cotton. He owned a home. This is his home
(a nice home on River Street in Clarendon) and 80 acres. He sold this
farm two miles from here after he had paralysis, to live on.

"My parents had two girls and two boys. They all dead but me. My
mother's favorite song was "Oh How I Love Jesus Because He First Loved
Me." They come here because my mother had a brother down here and she
heard it was such fine farmin' land.

"When I was a little girl my father was a Presbyterian so he sent me to
boardin' school in Cotton Plant and then sent me to Jacksonville,
Illinois. I worked my board out up there. Mrs. Dr. Carroll got me a
place to work. My sister learned to sew. She sewed for the public till
her death. She sewed for both black and white folks. I stretches
curtains now if I can get any to stretch and I irons. It give me
rheumatism to wash. I used to wash and iron.

"My husband cooks on a Government derrick boat. He gets $1.25 and his
board. They have the very best things to eat. He likes the work if he
can stay well. He can cook pies and fancy cookin'. They like that. Say
they can't hardly get somebody work long because they want to be in town
every night.

"We have one child. I used to be a primary teacher here at Clarendon.