“I b’longed to Marse Jackie Dorn of Edgefield County, I was gived to him and his wife when dey was married for a weddin’ gift.  I nussed deir three chilluns for ’em and slep’ on a couch in dier bedroom ’til I was 12 years old, den ’Mancipation come.  I loved ’em so and stayed wid ’em for four years atter freedom and when I left ’em I cried and dem chilluns cried.

“Yassir, dey was sho’ good white people and very rich.  Dere warn’t nothin’ lackin’ on dat plantation.  De big house was part wood and part brick, and de Niggers lived in one or two room box houses built in rows.  Marse Jackie runned a big grist mill and done de grindin’ for all de neighbors ’round ’bout.  Three or four Niggers wukked in de mill all de time.  Us runned a big farm and dairy too.

“Dere was allus plenty t’eat ’cause Marster had a 2-acre gyarden and a big fruit orchard.  Two cooks was in de kitchen all de time.  Dey cooked in a big fireplace, but us had big ovens to cook de meat, biscuits and lightbread in.  Us made ’lasses and syrup and put up fruits just lak dey does now.

“My Ma was head weaver.  It tuk two or three days to set up de loom ’cause dere was so many little bitty threads to be threaded up.  Us had dyes of evvy color.  Yassir, us could make wool cloth too.  De sheeps was sheered once a year and de wool was manufactured up and us had a loom wid wheels to spin it into thread.

“Old Marster never whupped nobody and dere was only one man dat I kin ’member dat de overseer whupped much and he ’served it ’cause he would run away in spite of evvything.  Dey would tie him to a tree way down in de orchard and whup him.”

Julia kept repeating and seemed anxious to impress upon the minds of her visitors that her white folks were good and very rich.  “Yassir, my white folks had lots of company and visited a lot.  Dey rode saddle horses and had deir own carriages wid a high seat for de driver.  Nosir, she didn’t ride wid hoopskirts—­you couldn’t ride wid dem on.

“Us bought some shoes from de market but dere was a travelin’ shoemaker dat wukked by days for all de folks.  He was a slave and didn’t git no money; it was paid to his Marster.  Us had our own blacksmith dat wukked all de time.

“De slaves from all de plantations ’round come to our corn shuckin’s.  Us had ’em down in de orchard.  Lots of white folks comed too.  Dey kilt hogs and us had a big supper and den us danced.  Nosir, dere warn’t no toddy, Marse didn’t b’lieve in dat, but dey would beat up apples and us drinked de juice.  It sho’ was sweet too.

“Folks done dey travelin’ in stages and hacks in dem days.  Each of de stages had four hosses to ’em.  When de cotton and all de other things was ready to go to market, dey would pack ’em and bring ’em to Augusta wid mules and wagons.  It would take a week and sometimes longer for de trip, and dey would come back loaded down wid ’visions and clothes, and dere was allus a plenty for all de Niggers too.