Slave Narratives are a collection of accounts taken by government workers assigned to go out in about the year 1937 and record the experiences of former slaves before they had all passed away. This work was done under the Work Projects Administration, an agency of the United States government, brought into being by President Roosevelt during his administration. There are many more states where this work was done and many more slave narratives but my research to date has only included South Carolina. For a substantial collection of the slave narratives go to Gutenberg Project under Work Projects Administration for further accounts.
What follows are accounts by former slaves from South Carolina describing in their own words their own work experience as slaves. Keep in mind the accounts were based on memory and about 72 years had passed since they had had that experience. Of the broader list of slave narratives accounts (this list only includes interesting accounts from those who shared their stories about their work experience) many could not remember the various things that had happened to them and some did not want to give their experience on various subjects.
“De most of de niggers work in de field. They went to work as soon as it git light
enough to see how to git ’round; then when twelve o’clock come, they all
stops for dinner and don’t go back to work ’til two. All of them work on
’til it git almost dark.”
[South Carolina, Part I, Victoria Adams]
“Work used to start on the plantation at four o’clock in the morning,
when the people went in the garden. At eight or nine o’clock they went
into the big fields. Everybody was given a task of work. When you
finished your task you could quit. If you didn’t do your work right you
got a whipping.”
[South Carolina, Part I, Henry Brown]
“Cotton pickin’ was de biggest work I ever did, outside of drivin’ a
wagon and playin’ de fiddle. Look at them fingers; they is supple. I
carry two rows of cotton at a time. One week I pick, in a race wid
others, over 300 pounds a day. Commencin’ Monday, thru Friday night, I
pick 1,562 pounds cotton seed. Dat make a bale weighin’ 500 pounds, in
de lint.”
[South Carolina, Part I, Andy Brice]
“Listen good now. When
I got big and couldn’t play ’round at chillun’s doings, I started to
platting cornshucks and things fer making hoss and mule collars, and
scouring-brooms and shoulder-mats. I cut hickory poles and make handles
out of dem fer de brooms. Marse had hides tanned, and us make buggy
whips, wagon whips, shoe strings, saddle strings and sech as dat out of
our home-tanned leather. All de galluses dat was wo’ in dem days was
made by de darkies.”
“White oak and hickory was split to cure, and we made fish baskets, feed
baskets, wood baskets, sewing baskets and all kinds of baskets fer de
Missus. All de chair bottoms of straight chairs was made from white oak
splits, and de straight chairs was made in de shop.”
[South Carolina, Part I, George Briggs]
“Well, when I got my pants, my maw fetched me in and I clumb up de steps
dat Marse Johnson had, to git up in his swing wid. At fus, dey had to
show me jus how to hole de brush, kaise dem peacock feathers wuz so
long, iffen you didn’t mind your bizness, de ends of dem feathers would
splash in de gravy er sumpin nother, and den de Missus table be all
spattered up. Some o’ de Marsters would whorp de nigger chilluns fer dat
carelessness, but Marse Johnson, he always good to his niggers. Mos de
white fokes good to de niggers round bout whar I comes from.”
[South Carolina, Part I, Henry Coleman]
“Our work was light; we got up at sun-up at blowing of de horn and
worked till sundown. Sometimes we worked on Saturday afternoons when we
had to. On Saturday nights we had frolics–men and women. Some women
would wash their clothes on Saturday afternoons. Den at night we have
prayer meetings.”
[South Carolina, Part I, Wallace Davis]
“My daddy was de blacksmith for Mr. Jackie Davis en he could make plows
en hoes en all dem kind of things. He have a circuit dat he go round en
mend things on other white folks plantations. Some of de time, he bring
back more den $100.00 to he boss dat he would make. Go all bout in dat
part of Marion county dat be part of Florence county dose times.”
[South Carolina, Part I, William Henry Davis]
“My father was owned by Robert W. Williams, of Mount Olive, and he was
the most highly prized Negro in the vicinity. He was a natural carpenter
and builder. Often he would go to the woods and pick out trees for the
job in hand. Some of the houses he built there are standing today.
Mother was equally trained and well equipped to make a home and keep it
neat and clean. When they were free in 1865, half the community was
eager to employ them and pay them well for their services. And, when I
came along, they were living in their own house and prospering.”
[South Carolina, Part I, Rev John B Elliot]
“Oh, dere was bout two or three hundred acres in de Rogers place. Slaves
worked from daylight till dark in de winter time. Always be up fore day
cause my boss generally called de slaves fore day. Hear him say, ‘Rob,
come, come. Aaron, come, come.’ We didn’ work hard though. Didn’ work in
hot sun in June, July en August cause in slavery time dey allow us to
take out at 10 or 11 o’clock en go swimmin. Den we had to be back in de
field bout three o’clock. Had plenty poor white neighbors bout dere en
boss hire me to man like dat one time. Poor man give bout 1-1/2 hours
for noon whe’ I get two hours back home en I never go back de next day.
Boss say, ‘Why don’ you go back to work?’ I tell him dat fellow wouldn’
give me long enough time for noon. My boss wouldn’ force me to go back
when I tell him dat.”
[South Carolina, Part II, Aaron Ford]
“I wasn’t a very big boy in slavery time, tho’ I ‘member choppin’
cotton, and pickin’ cotton and peas ‘long ‘side mammy in de field. Pappy
was called ‘Bill de Giant’, ’cause him was so big and strong. They have
mighty bad plantation roads in them days. I see my pappy git under de
wagon once when it was bogged up to de hub and lift and heft dat wagon
and set it outside de ruts it was bogged down in. Him stayed at de
blacksmith shop, work on de wagons, shoe de mules and hosses, make
hinges, sharpen de plow points and fix de iron rings in de wagon wheels.”
[South Carolina, Part II, Henry Gladney]
“Now does you wanna know what I do when I was a child, from de time I
git up in de mornin’ to de time I go to bed? I was ’bout raised up in de
house. Well, in de evenin’, I fill them boxes wid chips and fat
splinters. When mornin’ come, I go in dere and make a fire for my young
mistresses to git up by. I help dress them and comb deir hair. Then I
goes down stairs and put flowers on de breakfas’ table and lay de Bible
by Marse William’s chair. Then I bring in de breakfas’. (Table have to
be set de night befo’) When everything was on de table, I ring de bell.
White folks come down and I wait on de table.”
“After de meal finish, Marse William read de Bible and pray. I clear de
table and help wash de dishes. When dat finish, I cleans up de rooms.
Then I acts as maid and waitress at dinner and supper. I warms up de
girls’ room, where they sleep, after supper. Then go home to poppy John
and Mauma Anne. Dat was a happy time, wid happy days!”
[South Carolina, Part II, Adeline Hall Johnson]
“We lived in a little one-room house
in dere yard. The mistress learned me to card and spin, and to weave
when I was a child. When I was old enough, dey put me in de field to
work, hoe and pick cotton. We got no money for working, but got our
place to live, some victuals and a few clothes to wear. We had no
garden, but helped de mistress in her garden and she give us something
to eat from it. We had homespun dresses; we made not much underclothes,
but sometimes in awful cold weather, we had red flannel underskirts.”
“Nigger boys in slavery when dere work was done in evening, sometime
went hunting and caught rabbits, squirrels or ’possums.”
[South Carolina, Part II, Mary Johnson]
“Fer my first task I had 1/4 of an acre in taters, ’bacca and
watermelons de first year. Some of de boys had ’pinders, cantloupes and
matises (tomatoes) in dere task of a 1/4 acre.”
[South Carolina, Part II, Richard Jones]
“Good Master all right. Give plenty to eat. Reasonable task. Task dem
time one-fourth to one half acre. Ditching man ten compass. Got to slush
’em out. Got to bail that water out till you kin see track.”
[South Carolina, Part II, Gabe Lance]
“I was a strong gal, went to de field when I’s twelve years old, hoe my
acre of cotton, ‘long wid de grown ones, and pick my 150 pounds of
cotton. As I wasn’t scared of de cows, they set me to milkin’ and
churnin’. Bless God! Dat took me out of de field. House servants ‘bove
de field servants, them days. If you didn’t git better rations and
things to eat in de house, it was your own fault, I tells you! You just
have to help de chillun to take things and while you doin’ dat for them,
you take things for yourself.”
[South Carolina, Part IV, Mary Raines]
“I couldn’ tell you nothin bout how many slaves Massa Randall Davis had,
but I know dat he had a right smart of them. I know it cause he had so
many field hands dey didn’ none of em never have to work every day in de
field. Oh, dey just knock bout our Massa house en see after de stock en
such things as dat what time dey didn’ have to work in de field.”
[South Carolina, Part IV, Hector Smith]
“Dere wus three kinds of days wurk on de plantation: One is de whole
tas’, meanin’ a whole han’ or a person een his prime. He wus given two
tas’ fur dis day’s wurk. A tas’ carried frum twenty four to twenty five
rows which wus thirty-five feet long en twenty five feet wide. De shree
fourth han’ wus given one whole tas’ which consists of twelve rows. All
de young chillun wus included in dis group. De half han’ was de old
slaves who did a half tas’ for dere day’s work. When it was time to pick
cotton, de shree fourth han’ had to pick thirty pound’ an’ de half han’
twenty fur dere day’s wurk. Dose who attended to the gin only include de
three fourth han’.”
[South Carolina, Part IV, Prince Smith]
“Dere was more classes ‘mongst de slaves. De fust
class was de house servants. Dese was de butler, de maids, de nurses,
chambermaids, and de cooks. De nex’ class was de carriage drivers and de
gardeners, de carpenters, de barber, and de stable men. Then come de
nex’ class de wheelwright, wagoners, blacksmiths and slave foremen. De
nex’ class I ‘members was de cow men and de niggers dat have care of de
dogs. All dese have good houses and never have to work hard or git a
beatin’. Then come de cradlers of de wheat, de threshers, and de millers
of de corn and de wheat, and de feeders of de cotton gin. De lowest
class was de common field niggers. (Slave owner, Nick Peay, with 19 plantations and 1,000 slaves)”
[South Carolina, Part IV, Rosa Stark]