Nancy was asked what her methods were in raising children.

“Bin so long I mos’ forgot,” she said.  “All my babies growed straight ‘cause I swep’ ’em 9 times for 9 mornings from de knees down on out, dataway, and bathed ’em wid pot liquor and dish water.  I ain’ nused no root cep’ sassafax roots to make tea outten das good to purge your blood in de spring of de year.  Drinkin’ water from a horse trough, I hearn’ tell das good for whoopin’ cough and all lika-dat.”

“Dat daughter of mine, she had a wen on her neck big as a apple.  An old lady come to me.  ‘I come to git my child today,’ she say, ’a lady died dis morning and I wants to take her dere.’  Well I didn’ want my child gwine to de death house but she take her.  De corpse ain’ cold yit.  She put her 9 times across, nine times straight, and dat child was cured.  Yas’m, she got jus’ as pretty face now!  Ain’ no use talkin’, she straighten my child, her and de Lord!  De wen went and jus’ pass away.  You got to do it before de corpse git cold, jus’ after de breaf’ pass out of de body.”

“I done mark three of my chillun.  Yas’m, I ruin’t three of ’em.  I was een de country and I was gwine thoo’ de orchard, and de cherries was scarce.  I looked up in de man’s cherry tree, and one tree was full of fruit.  Dey jus’ as pretty!  I say:  ’Jim, please sir, give me one of dem cherries.’  Jim say:  ‘No!’ I stood dere wishin’ for dem cherries, scratchin’ my wrist, and my child born wid cherry on his wrist, right where I scratch!  I took de baby and showed him to old man Jim, and he cry and pray over dat cherry and told me to forgive him and he never would do it no more.  But he done it den.”

“I live in de country.  I come to town where a white man was down here on McKinne Street makin’ dat soft white candy.  I stood up and wished for it.  It did look so pretty and I wanted some so bad and I didn’ have no money.  I was cryin’, scratchin’ my forehead over my right eye near de hair.  He didn’ give me none.  When my gal born, she had white mark right on her forehead in de place I scratched.”

“My sister-in-law made me ruin’t my other child.  Twas an old man coming along.  He was ruptured.  He had on a white ap’on, and she bus’ out laughin’ and say:  ‘Look at dat!’ I jus’ young gal, ain’ be thinkin’ and I bus’ out laughin’ too, he did look funny.  I ruin’t my boy.  He was in de same fix and when I look at him I feel so bad, and think ‘dat didn’ have to be.’”

“Dis kin happen:  anybody see another person wid pretty hair and rub dey hair down, dat child gwine have mustee hair too.  A old black ’oman had a baby.  She seen somebody wid dat mustee hair (das what we calls black folks wid smooth straight hair) and when her child born, everybody say:  ’Look what dis baby got!  Long black hair!”

Asked about persons born with cauls, Nancy grunted: