Name: Telfair, Georgia

Address: R.F.D. # 2 Athens, Ga

Age: 74

Written by: Miss Grace McCune (Athens, Ga.)

Edited by: Mrs. Sarah H. Hall (Athens) and Mrs. Leila Harris (Augusta)

Citation: Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 4, Part 4, Telfair-Young (1936), Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mesn.044

Interview

"Yes chile, I'll be glad to tell you de story of my life, I can't tell you much 'bout
slav'ry 'cause I was jus' six months old when freedom come, but I has heared quite a lot,
and I will tell you all I kin 'member 'bout everythin." Said old "Aunt" Georgia Telfair,
who lives with her son to whom her devotion is quite evident. Both "Aunt" Georgia and
the little home show the excellent care that is given them.

"My pa," she said, "was Pleasant Jones, an' he b'longed to Marse Young L. G.
Harris. Dey lived at de Harris place out on Dearing Street. Hit was all woods out dar den,
an' not a bit lak Dearing Street looks now.

"Rachel was my ma's name. Us don' know what her las' name was 'cause she was
sold off when she was too little to 'member. Dr. Riddin' (Redding) bought her an' his
fambly always jus' called her Rachel Riddin'. De Riddin' place was whar Hancock
Avenue is now, but it was all in woods 'roun' dar, jus' lak de place whar my pa was. Atter
dey was married ma had to stay on wid de Riddin' fambly an' her chilluns b'longed to de
Riddin's 'cause dey owned her. Miss Maxey Riddin' was my brudder's young Missus, an'
I was give to her sister, Miss Lula Riddin', for to be her own maid, but us didn't git to
wuk for 'em none 'cause it was jus' at dis time all de slaves got sot free. Atter dat my pa
tuk us all wid him an' went to farm on de old Widderspoon (Witherspoon) place.

"It was 'way off in de woods. Pa dut down trees an' built us a log cabin. He made
de chimbly out or sticks an' red mud, an' put iron bars crost de fireplace to hang pots on
for to bile our vittuls an' made ovens for de oakin'. De bes way to cook 'tatoes was to roas'
'em in de ashes wid de jackets on. Dey ain' nothin' better tastin dan ash-roasted 'tatoes
wid good home-made butter to eat wid 'em. An 'us had de butter, 'cause us kep' two good
cows. Ma had her chickens an' tukkeys an' us raised plenty of hogs, so we nebber was
widout meat. Our reg'lar Sunday breakfas' was fish what pa cotch out of de crick. I used
to git tired out of fish den, but a mess of fresh crick fish would sho' be jus' right now.

"Us always kep' a good gyarden full of beans, corn, onions, peas an' 'taters, an'
dey warn't nobody could beat us at raisin' lots or greens, 'specially turnips an' colla'd
greens. Us saved heaps or dry peas an' beans, an' dried lots of peaches an' apples to cook
in winter. When de wind was a howlin' an' de groun' all kivvered wid snow, ma would
make dried fruit puffs for us, dat sho' did hit de spot.

"When I was 'bout eight years old, dey sont me to school. I had to walk from Epps
Bridge Road to Knox School. Dey calls it Knox Institute now. I toted my blue back
speller in one han' and my dinner bucket in de other. Us wore homespun dresses wid
bonnets to match. De bonnets was all made in one piece an' had drawstrings on de back to
make 'em fit, an' slats in de brims to make 'em stiff an' straight. Our dresses was made
long to keep our legs warm. I don't see, for to save me, how dey keeps dese young-uns
from freezin' now since dey let 'em go 'roun' mos' naked.

"Our brush arbor church was nigh whar Brooklyn Mount Pleasant Church is now,
an' us went to Sunday School dar evvy Sunday. It warn't much of a church for looks,
'cause it was made out of poles stuck in de groun' an' de roof was jus' pine limbs an'
brush, but dere sho' was some good meetin's in dat old brush church, an' lots of souls
foun' de way to de heb'enly home right dar.

"Our reg'lar preacher was a colored man named Morrison, but Mr. Cobb preached
to us lots of times. He was a white gemman, an' he say he could a sot all night an' lissen
long as us sung dem old songs. Some of 'em I done clar forgot, but de one I lak bes' goes
sorter lak dis:

'I want to be an angel An' wid de angels stan' A crown upon my forehead And a
harp widin my han'.'

"Another tune was 'Roll, Jordan Roll.' Little chillun was larnt to sing, 'How
Sweetly do de Time Fly, When I Please my Mother,' an' us chillun sho' would do our best
a singin' dat little old song, so Preacher Cobb would praise us.

"When I jined de church dere was 35 or us baptized de same day in de crick back
or de church. While Preacher Brown was a baptizin' us, a big crowd was standin' on de
bank a shoutin' an' singin', 'Dis is de healin' Water,' an', 'Makin' for de Promise Lan!
Some or 'em was a prayin' too. Atter de baptizin' was done dey had a big dinner on de
roun's for de new members, but us didn't see no jugs dat day. Jus' had plenty or good
somethin' t'eat.

"When us warn't in school, me an' my brudder wukked in de fiel' wid pa. In cotton
plantin' time, pa fixed up de rows an' us drap de seeds in 'em. Nex' day us would rake dirt
over 'em wid wooden rakes. Pa made de rakes hisse'r. Dey had short wooden teer jus'
right for to kivver de seed. Folkses buys what dey uses now an' don't take up no time
makin' nothin' lak dat.

"In dem days 'roun' de house an' in de fiel' boys jus' wo' one piece or clo'es. It was
jus' a long shirt. Dey didn't know nothin' else den, but I sho' would lak to see you try to
make boys go 'roun' lookin' lak dat now.

"Dey hires me out to Mr. Jack Weir's fambly when I was 'bout fo'teen years old to
do washin', ironin', an' cleanin' up de house, an' I wukked for 'em 'till married. Dey
lemme eat all I wanted dere at de house an' paid me in old clo'es, middlin' meat, sirup,
'tatoes, an' wheat flour, but I never did git no money for pay. Not mary a cent.

"Us wukked mighty hard, but us had good times too. De bigges' fun us had was at
candy pullin's. Ma cooked de candy in de wash pot out in de yard. Fust she poured in
some home-made sirup, an' put in a heap or brown sugar from de old sirup barrel an' den
she oiled it down to whar if you drapped a little of it in cold water it got hard quick. It
was ready den to be poured out in greasy plates an' pans. Us greased our han's wid lard to
keep de candy from stickin' to 'em, an' soon as it got cool enough de couples would start
pullin' candy an' singin'. Dat's mighty happy music, when you is singin' an' pullin' candy
wid yo' bes' teller. When de candy got too stiff an' hard to pull no mo', us started eatin',
an' it sho' would evermo' git away from dar in a hurry. You ain't nebber seed no dancin',
what is dancin', lessen you has watched a crowd dance atter dey et de candy what dey
done been pullin'.

"Quiltin's was a heap of fun. Sometimes two or three famblies had a quiltin'
together. Folkses would quilt some an' den dey passed 'roun' de toddy. Some would be
cookin' while de others was a quiltin' an' den when supper was ready dey all stopped to
eat. Dem colla'd greens wid cornpone an' plenty or gingercakes an' fruit puffs an' big old
pots of coffee was mighty fine eatin's to us den.

"An' dere warn't nothin' lackin' when us had cornshuckin's. A gen'ral or de
cornshuckin' was appointed to lead off in de fun. He sot up on top of de big pile of corn
an' hysted de song. He would git 'em started off singin' somethin' lak, 'Sallie is a Good
Gal,' an' evvybody kept time shuckin' an' a singin'. De gen'ral kept singin' faster an' faster,
an' shucks was jus' flyin'. When pa started passin' de jug 'roun' dem Niggers sho' nuff
begun to sing loud an' fas' an' you was 'bliged for to 'low Sallie mus' be a Good Gal, de
way de shucks was comin' off of dat corn so fas'. Dey kep' it up 'til de corn was all
shucked, an' ma hollered, 'Supper ready!' Den dey made tracks for de kitchen, an' dey
didn't stop eatin' an' drinkin' dat hot coffee long as dey could swallow. Ain't nobody fed
'em no better backbones, an' spareribs, turnip greens, 'tato pies, an' sich lak dan my ma set
out for 'em. Old time ways lak dat is done gone for good now. Folkses ain't lak dey used
to be. Dey's all done got greedy an' don't keer 'bout doin' nothin' for nobody else no more.

"Ma combed our hair wid a Jim Crow comb, or cyard, as some folkses called 'em.
If our hair was bad nappy she put some cotton in de comb to keep it from pullin' so bad,
'cause it was awful hard to comb.

"Evvybody tried to raise plenty of gourds, 'cause dey was so handy to use for
dippers den. Water was toted from de spring an' kep' in piggins. Don't spec' you ebber did
see a piggin. Dats a wooden bucket wid wire hoops 'roun' it to keep it from leakin'. De
wash place was nex' to de spring. Pa fixed us up a big old stump whar us had to battle de
clo'es wid a battlin' stick. It tuk a sight of battlin' to git de dirt out sometimes.

"If you turned a chunk over in de fire, bad luck was sho' to come to you. If a dog
howled a certain way at night, or if a scritch owl come in de night, death was on de way
to you, an' you always had to be keerful so maybe bad spirits would leave you alone.

"Pa built us a new kitchen, jus' lak what de white folkses had dem days. It sot out
in de back yard, a little piece of a way from our house. He made it out of logs an' put a
big old chimbly wid a big fireplace at one end. Benches was built 'roun' de sides for seats.
Dere warn't no floor in it, but jus' dirt floor. Dat was one gran' kitchen an' us was mighty
proud of it.

"My w'ite folkses begged me not to leave 'em, when I told 'em I was gwine to
marry Joe Telfair. I'd done been wukkin' for 'em nigh on to six years, an' was mos' twenty
years old. Dey gimme my weddin' clo'es, an' when I seed dem clo'es I was one proud
Nigger, 'cause dey was jus' lak I wanted. De nightgown was made out of white bleachin'
an' had lots of tucks an' ruffles an' it even had puff sleeves. Sho' 'nough it did! De
petticoat had ruffles an' puffs plum up to de wais' ban'. Dere was a cosset kiver dat was
cut to fit an' all fancy wid tucks an' trimmin', an' de drawers, dey sho' was pretty, jus' full
of ruffles an' tucks 'roun' de legs. My dress was a cream buntin', lak what dey calls serge
dese days. It had a pretty lace front what my ma bought from one of de Moss ladies.
When I got all dressed up I was one mo' gran' lookin' bride.

"Us got married in de new kitchen an' it was plum full, 'cause ma had done axed
76 folkses to de weddin'. Some or 'em was Joe's folkses, an' us had eight waiters: four
gals, an' four boys. De same Preacher Brown what baptized me, married us an' den us had
a big supper. My Missus, Lula Weir, had done baked a great big pretty cake for me an' it
tasted jus' as good as it looked. Atter us at all us could, one or de waiters called de sets
for us to dance de res' of de night. An' sich dancin' as us did have! Folkses don't know
how to dance dat good no mo'. Dat was sho' nurf happy dancin'. Yes Ma'am, I ain't
nebber gonna forgit what a gran' weddin' us had.

"Next day us moved right here an' I done been here ever since. Dis place b'longed
to Joe's gran'ma, an' she willed it to him. Us had 15 chillun, but ain't but five of 'em livin'
now, an' Joe he's been daid for years. Us always made a good livin' on de farm, an' still
raises mos' of what us needs, but I done got so po'ly I can't wuk no more.

"I'se still tryin' to live right an' walk de narrow way, so as I kin go to Heb'en when
I dies.' I'se gwine to pray for you an' ax de Lawd to bless you, for you has been so good
an' patient wid me, an' I'se sho' thankful my son sont you to see me. You done helped me
to feel lots better. Goodbye, an' God bless you, an' please Ma'am, come back to see me
again."

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