"I have a faint recollection of my grandparents. My grandfather was sold
to a man in South Carolina, to work in the rice field. Grandmother
drowned herself in the river when she heard that grand-pap was going
away. I was told that grandpap was sold because he got religious and
prayed that God would set him and grandma free.

"When I was ten years old I was put to work on the farm with other
children, picking weeds, stone up and tobacco worms and to do other
work. We all got new shoes for Christmas, a dress and $2.50 for
Christmas or suits of clothes. We spent our money at Mr. Randorph's
store for things that we wanted, but was punished if the money was spent
at the county seat at other stores.

"We were allowed fat meat, corn meal, black molasses and vegetables,
corn and grain to roast for coffee. Mother cooked my food after stopping
work on the farm for the day, I never ate possum. We would catch rabbits
in guns or traps and as we lived on the rivers, we ate any kind of fish
we caught. The men and everybody would go fishing after work. Each
family had a garden, we raised what we wanted.

"As near as I can recall, we had about 150 sheep on the farm, producing
our own wool. The old women weaved clothes; we had woolen clothes in the
winter and cotton clothes in the summer. On Sunday we wore the clothes
given to us at Christmas time and shoes likewise.

"I was married on the farm 1863 and married my same husband by a Baptist
preacher in 1870 as I was told I had not been legally married. I was
married in the dress given to me at Christmas of 1862. I did not get one
in 1863.