“Last man I married was Elder Flagg.  He was a preacher in the Baptist church and as good a preacher as I ever heard.  They don’t preach the Gospel now.

“Well, I wish I could remember more to tell you, but it’s been a long time.  I’ll be ninety if I live till the 4th of next May.”

Interviewer:  Mrs. Zillah Cross Peel
Person interviewed:  Doc Flowers
Age:  85? 
Home:  Lincoln, Arkansas

Everybody calls him Uncle Doc.  His name is Doc Flowers, and he lives in the last house on a street that is just part of a road in the town of Lincoln, Arkansas.

When you stop in front of the house you will find there is no path.  One has to watch his step owing to the fact that there is a zigzaggy branch hidden by the tangle of weeds.

If old Aunt Jinney is on the porch she will say, “Sorry, honey, but de path done growed up.”

Uncle Doc is six feet two and as strong as a lion.  Whether he is 80 or if he is 90, he is young-looking for his age.

“No’m lady, I’se jes’ don’ know how old I is.  Back in dem days didn’t keep up with our ages.  No record of the born.  Yes’m I was a pretty good chunk of a boy when de war started.”

Doc belonged to Edward Choate, who lived on Barron Forks, near Dutch Mills in the Southwest corner of Washington County.  Barron Forks is made up from Fly Creek and the River Jordan Creek.

About 1849 Edward Choate came from Tennessee to Arkansas, where he had bought Aunt Marie [TR:  ‘a slave’ marked out here] and her three sons, Doc, Abe, and Dave.

“Yes’m, we had a 100 acres or better all along the banks of de river and good valley land where we raised corn, potatoes, wheat, oats, an’ ’bacco.  Master Choate had three sons, I recollect, Jack, Sam, and Win.  He had a lot of slaves.  Some of dem was good, some was bad.  An’ old Mister Choate had a cat-a-nine-tails.  He never did have to whup me, some of dem darkies did get whupped.  Dar was one who was always dressing up in wimmins clothes and go walking down by de river.

“My mother was Maria.  She worked part time in de kitchen and part time in de field.  My mother had three boys and I ’member one of my sisters was sold as a slave.  We darkies had cabins all along de river bank.

“During de War we all jes’ stayed on de place.  Mister Choate and Old Missy stayed too.  After peace was made my mother and all of we went up to Prairie Grove to live.

“Yes’m, I voted every chance I got.  I voted for Harrison for President.  No’m, I don’t know which Harrison.  Yes’m, I vote Republican.

“I can’t say much for these young darkies these times.

“I ben ‘roun’ some.  I went to Caldwell, Kansas, two times.  Farming is my occupation.  Now we jes’ live.  I get $10 a month from the state.  Yes’m, that there Jinney is my wife.  Her mother Celia and she belonged to the Ballards of Cincinnati.

“No’m, I jes’ can’ tell how old I is.  I know I was quite a chunk of a boy when de War started.  Me and Mister Win, one of Mister Choate’s boys, was ’bout de same age.” (Winston Choate died in the spring of 1935 at the age of 94 years, according to a niece.)