“My father had, as nearly as I can remember—­lemme see—­Cordelia, Adrianna, Mary, Jennie, Emma, and Dortch.  Emma and Dortch were children by a first wife.  Cordelia was his stepdaughter.  My brothers were Alec and Gabe.  There is probably some I have overlooked.

“The Indian blood in me came through my mother’s father.  He was a full-blooded red Indian.  I can’t think of his name now.  Her mother was a dark woman.

“My father was a carpenter, chair maker, and a farmer too.  All the work he did after peace was declared was carpentry and chair and basket making.  He made coffins too just after peace was declared.  They didn’t have no undertakers then.  He made the bottoms to chairs too.  He could put a roof on a house beautifully and better than any one I know.  Nobody could beat him putting shingles on a house.

“My mother was reared to work in the house.  She was cook, housekeeper.  She was a weaver too.  She worked the loom and the spinning wheel.  She gardened a little.  But her work was mostly in the house as cook and weaver.  She never went out in the field as a hand.  My father didn’t either.

Kind Masters

“My father seemed to have been more of a pet than a slave.  He was a kind of boss more than anything else.  He had his way.  Nobody was allowed to mistreat him in any way.  My mother was the same way.  I don’t think she was ever mistreated in any way by the white folks—­not that I ever saw.

Attitude of Slaves Toward Father

“There wasn’t any unfriendliness of the other slaves toward my father.  My oldest sister can tell you with clearness, but I don’t think he ever had any trouble with the other slaves any more than he had with the white folks.  He was well liked, and then too he was able to take care of himself.  Then again, he had a good master.  Hays was a good man.  We made a trip down there just a short while ago.  We hadn’t been there since the Civil War.  They made it so pleasant for us!  We all set down to the same table and ate together.  Frank was down there.  He was my young master.

Thirty Acres—­not Forty

“They gave us thirty acres of land when we came out of slavery.  They didn’t give it to us right then, but they did later.  I am going down there again sometime.  My young master is the postmaster down there now.  He thinks the world and all of me and my oldest sister.

“I don’t mind telling people anything about myself.  I was born in June.  They ain’t nothing slipping up on me.  I understand when to talk.  There are two of us, Adrianna Kern—­that’s her married name.  She and I are the ones Mr. Frank gave the thirty acres to.  I have a younger sister.

Slave Work

“I don’t know how much cotton a slave was expected to pick in a day.  The least I ever heard of was one hundred fifty pounds.  Some would pick as high as three and four hundred pounds.