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Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States - From Interviews with Former Slaves - Arkansas Narratives, Part 2 by Work Projects Administration
page 119 of 341 (34%)
loyal to de Souf an' er heap of de young ones fit in de army, an' dey
sont corn an' cows an' hogs an' all sich like supplies to de army in
Tennessee an' Georgia. Dat's what my mammy tole me an' I know dey done
dem things, an' dey crazy 'bout Mr. Jefferson Davis, de fust an' only
President of de Confedracy, an' dat's how come me got dis name I got.
Yas suh, dat is how come me named 'Jeff Davis.' An' I always has been
proud of my name, 'cause dat was a sure great one what I is named after.

"My pappy was a white man, dat's what my mammy allus told me. I knows he
bound to been 'cause I is too bright to not have no white blood in me.
My mammy, she named 'Mary Welborn'. She say dat my pappy was a white man
name 'Bill Ward' what lived back in Alabama. Dat's all my mammy ever
told me about my pappy. She never say iffen he work for de Welborns er
no, er iffen he was an overseer er what. I don't know nothin' 'bout him
scusin' dat he er white man an' he named 'Bill Ward'. My steppappy, he
was name John Sanders, an' he married my mammy when I 'bout four year
old, an' dat was atter de slaves taken outen dey bondage.

"My steppappy, he was a fine carpenter an' could do most anything dat he
want to do with an axe or any kind of a tool dat you work in wood with.
I riccolect dat he made a heap of de culberts for de railroad what was
built through Marvell from Helena to Clarendon. He made dem culberts
outen logs what would be split half in two. Then he would hew out de two
halves what he done split open like dey used to make a dug-out boat. Dey
would put dem two halves together like a big pipe under de tracks for de
water to run through.

"There was several white mens dat I knowed in dis part of de county what
raised nigger famblys, but there wasn't so many at dat. I will say this
for them mens though. Whilst it wasn't right for dem to do like dat, dem
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