Interviewer: Margaret Bishop Person Interviewed: Scott Mitchell Location: Breathitt County, Kentucky As told by Scott Mitchell, a former slave: Scott Mitchell, claims his age as somewhere in the 70’s but his wool is white on the top of his head. Negroes don’t whiten near as quickly as white people, evidently he is nearly 90, or […]
Person Interviewed: Cecelia Chappel Location: Nashville, Tennessee Place of Birth: Marshall County, Tennessee Age: 102 Place of Residence: 705 Allison Street, Nashville, Tenn. “I’se bawn in Marshall County, Tennessee. I’m de olest ob ten chilluns en I’se 102 ya’rs ole. I feels lak I’se bin ‘yer longer dan dat. Mah mammy wuz brought ter Nashville
Interviewer: Mrs. W. F. Holmes Person Interviewed: Fanny Smith Hodges Location: Berglundtown, Mississippi Fanny Smith Hodges lives in Berglundtown, in the northern part of town, in the only Negro settlement within the corporate limits of McComb. “My name’s Fanny Hodges. I was Fanny Smith befo’ I was mar’ied. My mammy was Jane Weathersby, an’ she
Interviewer: Mrs. Richard KolbPerson Interviewed: Wayne HollidayLocation: Aberdeen, MississippiPlace of Birth: Aberdeen, MississippiDate of Birth: 1853Age: 84 “I was born an’ raised in Aberdeen an’ I’se been a railroad nigger fo’ mos’ of my days. I’se retired now ’cause dey say I too old to work any longer, but shucks, I ain’t half dead yet.
Person Interviewed: James Lucas Location: Natchez Mississippi Place of Residence: Natchez, Adams County MS Date of Birth: October 11, 1833 James Lucas, ex-slave of Jefferson Davis, lives at Natchez, Adams County. Uncle Jim is small, wrinkled, and slightly stooped. His woolly hair is white, and his eyes very bright. He wears a small grizzled mustache.
Person Interviewed: Nettie Henry Location: Meridian, Mississippi Place of Birth: Livingston, Alabama Age: 82 Place of Residence: 19th Street, Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi Nettie Henry, ex-slave, 19th Street, Meridian, Lauderdale County, is 82 years old. She is five feet tall and weighs one hundred pounds. “De Chil’s place was at Livingston, Alabama, on Alamucha Creek.
Interviewer: Mrs. Richard Kolb Person Interviewed: Pet Franks Location: Aberdeen, Mississippi Age: 92 Uncle Pet, 92 year old ex-slave, is the favorite of Ackers’ Fishing Lodge which is situated 14 miles north of Aberdeen, Monroe County. He is low and stockily built. His ancestry is pure African. Scarcely topping five feet one inch, he weighs
Interviewer: Mrs. Richard Kolb Person Interviewed: Dora Franks Location: Aberdeen, Mississippi Place of Residence: Aberdeen, Monroe County, Mississippi Age: 100 (?) Dora Franks, ex-slave, lives at Aberdeen, Monroe County. She is about five feet tall and weighs 100 pounds. Her hair is inclined to be curly rather than kinky. She is very active and does
Interviewer: Esther de Sola Person Interviewed: Gabe Emanuel Location: Port Gibson, Mississippi Gabe Emanuel is the blackest of Negroes. He is stooped and wobbly from his eighty-five years and weighs about one hundred and thirty-five pounds. His speech is somewhat hindered by an unbelievable amount of tobacco rolled to one side of his mouth. He
Interviewer: Edith Wyatt Moore Person Interviewed: Charlie Davenport Location: Natchez, Mississippi “I was named Charlie Davenport an’ encordin'[FN: according] to de way I figgers I ought to be nearly a hund’ed years old. Nobody knows my birthday, ’cause all my white folks is gone. “I was born one night an’ de very nex’ mornin’ my
Interviewer: Mrs. Richard Kolb Person Interviewed: Anna Baker Location: Aberdeen, Mississippi Age: 80 Anna Baker, 80-year old ex-slave, is tall and well built. She is what the Negroes term a “high brown.” Her high forehead and prominent cheek bones indicate that there is a strain of other than the pure African in her blood. She
Person Interviewed: Rev. James Singleton Location: Mississippi Date of Birth: 1856 “My name’s James Singleton. I’se a Baptist preacher. I was born in 1856, but I doan know zactly what date. My mammy was Harr’et Thompson. Her marster was Marse Daniel Thompson over in Simpson County on Strong River at a place called Westville. My
Interviewer: Mrs. Ed Joiner Person Interviewed: Jim Allen Location: West Point, Mississippi Age: 87 Jim Allen, West Point, age 87, lives in a shack furnished by the city. With him lives his second wife, a much older woman. Both he and his wife have a reputation for being “queer” and do not welcome outside visitors.
Interviewer: Marjorie Woods Austin Person Interviewed: Sam McAllum Location: Meridian, Mississippi Date of Birth: September 2, 1842 Age: 95 Place of Residence: Meridian, Lauderdale County To those familiar with the history of “Bloody Kemper” as recorded, the following narrative from the lips of an eye-witness will be heresy. But the subject of this autobiography, carrying
