One time, dey sent me down de road to fetch somethin’ ’n I heerd a bunch of horses comin’, ah jumped ovah de fence ’n hid behind de elderberry bushes, until dey passed, den ah ran home ‘n tol’ ’em what ah done seen.  Pretty soon dey come to de house, 125 Union soldiers an’ asked fo’ something to eat.  We all jumped roun’ and fixed dem a dinnah, when dey finished, dey looked for Master, but he was hid.  Dey was gentlemen ’n didn’t botha or take nothin’.  When de war was ovah de Master gave Mammy a house an’ 160 acre farm, but when he died, his son Clay tole us to get out of de place or he’d burn de house an’ us up in it, so we lef an’ moved to Paris.  After I was married ’n had two children, me an my man moved north an’ I’ve been heah evah since.

WPA in Ohio
Federal Writers’ Project
Bishop & Isleman
Reporter:  Bishop
July 7, 1937

Topic:  Ex-Slaves. 
Jefferson County, District #5
[HW:  Steubenville]

THOMAS McMILLAN, Ex-Slave
(Does not know age)

I was borned in Monroe County, Alabam.  I do not know de date.  My father’s name was Dave McMillan and my mothers name was Minda.  Dey cum from Old Virginny and he was sold from der.  We lived in a log house.  De beds hed ropes instead of slats and de chillun slept on de floor.

Dey put us out in de garden to pick out weeds from de potatoes.  We did not get any money.  We eat bread, syrup and potatoes.  It wuz cooked in pots and some was made in fire, like ash cakes.  We hed possum lots of times and rabbit and squirrel.  When dey go fishin’ we hed fish to eat.  I liked most anything they gave us to eat.

In de summer we wore white shirt and pants and de same in de winter.  We wore brogans in de winter too.

De Massa name wuz John and his wife died before I know her.  He hed a boy named John.  He lived in a big house.  He done de overseeing himself.

He hed lots of acres in his plantation and he hed a big gang of slaves.  He hed a man to go and call de slaves up at 4 o’clock every morning.  He was good to his slaves and did not work them so late at night.  I heard some of de slaves on other plantations being punished, but our boss take good care of us.

Our Massa learn some of us to read and write, but some of de udder massas did not.

We hed church under a arbor.  De preacher read de bible and he told us what to do to be saved.  I ’member he lined us up on Jordan’s bank and we sung behind him.

De partrollers watch de slaves who were out at night.  If dey have a pass dey were alright.  If not dey would get into it.  De patrollers whip dem and carry dem home.

On Saturday afternoon dey wash de clothes and stay around.  On Sunday dey go to church.  On Christmas day we did not work and dey make a nice meal for us.  We sometimes shuck corn at night.  We pick cotton plenty.

When we were chillun me other brudders and five sisters played marbles together.