shoe makers, carpenters, etc., were seldom sold under $10,000. Rather
than sell a tradesman slave, owners kept them in order to make money by
hiring them out to other owners for a set sum per season. However,
before the deal was closed the lessee would have to sign a contract
which assured the slave's owner that the slave would receive the best of
treatment while in possession.

Pattillo remembers hearing his parents say the North and South had
disagreed and Abraham Lincoln was going to free the slaves. Although he
never saw a battle fought, there were days when he sat and watched the
long line of soldiers passing, miles and miles of them. Master Ingram
did not enlist but remained at home to take care of his family and his
possessions.

After the war ended, Master Ingram called his slaves together and told
them of their freedom, saying, "Mr. Lincoln whipped the South and we are
going back to the Union. You are as free as I am and if you wish to
remain here you may. If not, you may go any place you wish. I am not
rich but we can work together here for both our families, sharing
everything we raise equally." Pattillo's family remained there until
1870. Some owners kept their slaves in ignorance of their freedom.
Others were kind enough to offer them homes and help them to get a
start.

After emancipation, politics began to play a part in the lives of
ex-slaves, and many were approached by candidates who wanted to buy
their votes. Pattillo tells of an old ex-slave owner named Greeley
living in Upson County who bought an ex-slaves vote by giving him as
payment a ham, a sack of flour and a place to stay on his plantation.
After election, he ordered the ex-slave to get the wagon, load it with