Interviewer: Samuel S. Taylor
Person interviewed: Henry Waldon
816 Walnut Street. North Little Rock, Arkansas
Age: 84


"I was plowing when they surrendered. I had just learned to plow, and
was putting up some land. My young master come home and was telling me
the War was ended and we was all free.

"I was born in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. I think it was about
1854. My father's name [HW: was] ----, my mother's [HW: was] ----, I
knew them both.

"My mother belonged to Sterling and my father belonged to a man named
Huff--Richmond Huff.

"We lived in Lauderdale County. Huff wouldn't sell my father and my
people wouldn't sell my mother. They lived about a mile or so apart.
They didn't marry in them days. The niggers didn't, that is. Father
would just come every Saturday night to see my mother. His cabin was
about three miles from her's. We moved from Lauderdale County to Scott
County, Mississippi, and that separated mama and papa. They never did
meet again. Of course, I mean it was the white people that moved, but
they carried mama and us with them. Papa and mama never did meet again
before freedom, and they didn't meet afterwards.

"My mother had twelve children--eight girls and four boys. She had one
by a man named Peter Smith. She was away from her husband then. She had