Was the life hard—­well it was and it wasn’t.  No, ma’am, I didn’t get much learning.  Some folks wouldn’t let their black folks learn at all.  Then there was some which would let their children teach the colored children what they learned at school.  We never learned very much.

You see, Master didn’t live on the place.  He lived bout as far as from here to town” (fully two miles) “The overseer looked after us mostly.  No, ma’am I don’t remember much about the war.  You see, they was afraid that the fighting was going to get down there so they run us off to Texas.  We settled down and made a crop there.  How’d we get the land?  Master rented it.

We made a crop down there and later we come back.  No, ma’am we didn’t stay with Mr. Johnson more than a month after there was peace.  We come on in to Washington.  No, ma’am, I never heard tell that Washington had been the Capitol of Arkansas for a while during the War.  No, I never did hear that.  Guess it was when we was in Texas.  Then we folks didn’t hear so much anyway.

We stayed in Washington most a year.  Was I with my Mother?  No, ma’am I was married—­married before the war was thru.  Married—­does you know how we folks married in them days?  Well the man asked your mother.  Then you both asked your master.  He built you a house.  You moved in and there you was.  You was married.  I did some washing and cooking when I was in Washington.  Then we moved onto a farm.  I sort of liked Washington, but I was born on a farm and I sort of liked farm life.

We didn’t move around very much—­just two or three places.  We raised cotton, corn, vegetables, peas, watermelons and lots of those sort of things.  No ma’am, didn’t nobody think of raising watermelons to ship way off like they does in Hempstead county now.  Cotton was our cash crop.  We rented thirds and fourths.  Didn’t move but three times.  One place I stayed 15 years.

I been a widow 40 years.  Yes, ma’am.  I farmed myself, and my children helped me.  Me and the owners got along well.  Made good crops, me and the children.  I managed to take good care of them.  Made out to raise 15 out of the 17 to be grown.  There’s only 5 of them alive now.

Hard on a woman to run a farm by herself.  Well now, I don’t know.  I made out.  I raised my children and raised them healthy.  I got along well with the farm owner.  You might know when I was let to stay on one place for 15 years.  You know I must have treated the land right and worked it fair.

Yes ma’am I remembers lots.  Seems like women folks remembers better than men.  I’ve got a good daughter.  I’m still strong and can get about good.  Guess the Lord has been good to me.”

Interviewer:  Miss Irene Robertson
Person interviewed:  Jennie Ferrell, West Memphis, Arkansas
Age:  65