Slave Narratives

Federal Writers’ Project. WPA Slave Narratives. Web. 2007-2024. The WPA Slave Narratives must be used with care. There is, of course, the problem of confusion in memory resulting from (73+ years) of the participants. In addition, inexperienced interviewers sometimes pursued question lines related to their own interests and perspectives and attempted to capture the colloquialism of the informant’s speech. The interviews provide fascinating insight and surprisingly candid information, however.

Slave Narrative of Aunt Betty Cofer

Interviewer: Esther S. Pinnix Person Interviewed: Betty Cofer Location: North Carolina Date of Birth: 1856 Age: 81 Negro Folk Lore Of The Piedmont. Sources of Information: Aunt Betty Cofer–ex-slave of Dr. Beverly Jones The ranks of negro ex-slaves are rapidly thinning out, but, scattered here and there among the ante-bellum families of the South, may be found a few of these picturesque old characters. Three miles north of Bethania, the second oldest settlement of the “Unitas Fratrum” in Wachovia, lies the 1500 acre Jones plantation. It has been owned for several generations by the one family, descendants of Abraham Conrad. … Read more

Slave Narrative of Aunt Adeline

“I was born a slave about 1848, in Hickmon County, Tennessee,” said Aunt Adeline who lives as care taker in a house at 101 Rock Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas, which is owned by the Blakely-Hudgens estate. Aunt Adeline has been a slave and a servant in five generations of the Parks family. Her mother, Liza, with a group of five Negroes, was sold into slavery to John P.A. Parks, in Tennessee, about 1840. “When my mother’s master come to Arkansas about 1849, looking for a country residence, he bought what was known as the old Kidd place on the Old Wire … Read more

Slave Narrative of Arrie Binns

Interviewer: Minnie Branham Stonestreet Person Interviewed: Arrie Binns Location: Washington-Wilkes, Georgia Arrie Binns lives in Baltimore, a negro suburb of Washington-Wilkes, in a little old tumbled down kind of a cottage that used to be one of the neatest and best houses of the settlement and where she has lived for the past sixty-odd years. In the yard of her home is one of the most beautiful holly trees to be found anywhere. She set it there herself over fifty years ago. She recalled how her friends predicted bad luck would befall her because she “sot out er holly”, but … Read more

Slave Narrative of Arnold Gragston

Interviewer: Martin Richardson Person Interviewed: Arnold Gragston Location: Eatonville, Florida Age: 97 (Verbatim interview with Arnold Gragston, 97-year old ex-slave whose early life was spent helping slaves to freedom across the Ohio River, while he, himself, remained in bondage. As he put it, he guessed he could be called a ‘conductor’ on the underground railway, only we didn’t call it that then. I don’t know as we called it anything – we just knew there was a lot of slaves always a-wantin’ to get free, and I had to help ’em.”) “Most of the slaves didn’t know when they was … Read more

Slave Narrative of Anthony Dawson

Person Interviewed: Anthony DawsonLocation: 1008 E. Owen St., Tulsa, OklahomaAge: 105 “Run nigger, run,De Patteroll git you!Run nigger, run,De Patteroll come! “Watch nigger, Watch-De Patteroll trick you!Watch nigger, watch,He got a big gun!” Dat one of the songs de slaves all knowed, and de children down on de “twenty acres” used to sing it when dey playing in de moonlight ’round de cabins in de quarters. Sometime I wonder iffen de white folks didn’t make dat song up so us niggers would keep in line. None of my old Master’s boys tried to git away ‘cepting two. and dey met … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie Young Henson

Interviewer: Rogers Person Interviewed: Annie Young Henson Location: Baltimore, Maryland Place of Birth: Northumberland County, Virginia Age: 86 Place of Residence: African M.E. Home, 207 Aisquith St., Baltimore, Maryland Reference: Personal interview with Annie Young Henson, ex-slave, at African M.E. Home, 207 Aisquith St., Baltimore. “I was born in Northumberland County, Virginia, 86 years ago. Daughter of Mina and Tom Miller. I had one brother Feelingchin and two sisters, Mary and Matilda. Owned by Doctor Pressley Nellum. “The farm was called Traveler’s Rest. The farm so named because a man once on a dark, cold and dreary night stopped there … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie Trip

Person Interviewed: Annie Trip Location: Dade County, Florida “My name’s Annie Trip. How my name’s Trip, I married a Trip, but I was borned in Georgia in the country not so very far from Thomasville. I’m sure you must ha’ heard of Thomasville, Georgia. Well, that’s where I was borned, on Captain Hamlin’s plantation. “Captain Hamlin, he was a greatest lawyer. Henry Hamlin, you know he was the greatest lawyer what ever was, so dey tell me. You see I was small. My mother and father and four brothers all lived there together. Some of the rest were too small … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie Morgan

Interviewer: Mamie Hanbery Person Interviewed: Annie Morgan Location: Hopkinsville, Kentucky Age: 65 Place of Residence: 207 W. 2nd St., Hopkinsville, Ky Story of Annie Morgan: (age 65, 207 W. 2nd St., Hopkinsville, Ky.) Annie was born of slave parents. Her mother and father were slaves of the Payne family. Ques: Annie can you give me or rather tell me of some of your earlier life with your parents, or what your mother and father has told you of things before and after the Civil War. Ans: Wal, wal, I do declare it has ben so long I’se jes don’t remember. … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie Hawkins

Person Interviewed: Annie HawkinsLocation: Colbert, OklahomaAge: 90 I calls myself 90, but I don’t know jest how old I really am but I was a good sized gal when we moved from Georgia to Texas. We come on a big boat and one night the stars fell. Talk about being scared! We all run and hid and hollered and prayed. We thought the end of the world had come. I never had no whitefolks that was good to me. We all worked jest like dogs and had about half enough to eat and got whupped for everything. Our days was … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie Groves Scott

Person Interviewed: Annie Groves Scott Place of Birth: Lyonsville, South Carolina Date of Birth: March 18, 1845 Just before the war broke out I was fifteen year old and my mistress told me I was born March 18, 1845, at a little place she called Lyonsville, South Carolina. Maw (that’s all the name she ever called her mother) was born at Charlotte, N.C., and father was born at Lyonsville, same as me, and his name was Levi Grant, which changed to Groves when he was sold by Master Grant. That was when I was a baby and I wants to … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie Gail

Person Interviewed: Annie Gail Location: Dade County, Florida Annie Gail, 1661 NW 6th Court, Miami, Florida, was four years old when “peace came.” “I was borned on Faggott’s place near Greenville, Alabama. My mother, she worked for Faggott. He wuz her bossman. When she’d go out to de fiel’s, I ‘member I used to watch her, for somehow I wuz feared she would get away from me. “Now I ‘member dat jes ez good as ’twas yesterday. I didn’t do anything. I just runned ’round. “We just ‘stayed on’ after de’ ‘Mancipation’. My mother, she was hired then. I guess … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie Beck

Interviewer: Miss Irene Robertson Person Interviewed: Annie Beck Age: 50 Location: West Memphis, Arkansas “I was born in Mississippi. Mama was born in Alabama and sold to Holcomb, Mississippi. Her owner was Master Beard. She was a field woman. They took her in a stage-coach. Their owner wanted to keep it a secret about freedom. But he had a brother that fussed with him all the time and he told the slaves they was all free. Mama said they was pretty good always to her for it to be slavery, but papa said his owners wasn’t so good to him. … Read more

Slave Narrative of Annie B. Boyd

Interviewer: Mamie Hanberry Person Interviewed: Annie B. Boyd Location: Hopkinsville, Kentucky Place of Birth: Christian County, KY Date of Birth: August 22, 1851 Place of Residence: Hopkinsville, Kentucky Annie B. Boyd: [TR: Interviewer’s name also spelled also spelled Hanbery.] Annie B. Boyd, born August 22nd 1851, resides at corner of Liberty and First Street, Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Born a slave belonging to Charles Cammack near Gordonsville, Kentucky in Christian County. “My mother and me war put on de block in front of de Courthouse in Hopkinsville and sold to Mr. Newt. Catlett and we brung $500.00. Marse Catlett lived on the … Read more

Slave Narrative of Anne Rice

Interviewer: G. Leland Summer Person Interviewed: Anne Rice Location: Newberry, South Carolina Place of Birth: Spartanburg County, SC Folk-Lore: Ex-Slaves “I was born in Spartanburg County, S.C., near Glenn Springs. I can’t ‘member slavery or de war, but my ma and pa who was Green Foster and his wife, Mary Posey Foster, always said I was a big gal when the war stopped, when freedom come. “We belonged to Seth Posey who had a big farm there. He was a good man, but sure made us work. I worked in the fields when I was small, hoed and picked cotton, … Read more

Slave Narrative of Anna Smith

Interviewer: Geo. H. Conn Person Interviewed: Anna Smith Location: Ohio Place of Birth: Henderson Kentucky Date of Birth: May 1833 Age: 100+ Place of Residence: 518 Bishop Street Writer Wilbur C. Ammon, Editor C.R. McLean, District Supervisor June 11, 1937 Folklore Summit County, District #5 In a little old rocking chair, sits an old colored “mammy” known to her friends as “Grandma” Smith, spending the remaining days with her grandchildren. Small of stature, tipping the scales at about 100 lbs. but alert to the wishes and cares of her children, this old lady keeps posted on current events from those … Read more

Slave Narrative of Anna Scott

Interviewer: Viola B. Muse Person Interviewed: Anna Scott Location: Jacksonville, Florida Anna Scott, an ex-slave who now lives in Jacksonville near the intersection of Moncrief and Edgewood Avenues, was a member of one of the first colonization groups that went to the West coast of Africa following the emancipation of the slaves in this country. The former slave was born at Dove City, South Carolina, on Jan. 28, 1846, of a half-breed Cherokee-and-Negro mother and Anglo-Saxon father. Her father owned the plantation adjoining that of her master. When she reached the adolescent age Anna was placed under the direct care … Read more

Slave Narrative of Anna Baker

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 is in fair health. “Lemme see how old I is. Well, I tells you jus’ lak I tol’ dat Home Loan man what was here las’ week. I ‘members a pow’ful lot ’bout slavery times an’ ’bout ‘fore surrender. I know I was a right … Read more

Slave Narrative of Ann Matthews

Person Interviewed: Ann Matthews Location: Nashville, Tennessee Place of Birth: Murfreesboro, Tennessee Place of Residence: 719 9th Ave. South, Nashville, Tennessee “I wuz bawn in Murfreesboro on Stones River. I dunno how ole I ez en hit meks me ‘shamed ter tell peeple dat, but mah mammy would hit me in de mouth w’en I’d ax how ole I wuz. She say I wuz jes’ tryin’ ter be grown.” “Mah mammy’s name wuz Frankie en mah daddy wuz Henry Ken Kannon. Don’ member much ’bout mah mammy ‘cept she wuz a sho’t fat Indian ‘oman wid a turrible tempah. She … Read more

Slave Narrative of Ann Gudgel

Interviewer: Mildred Roberts Person Interviewed: Ann Gudgel Location: Anderson County, Kentucky COMBINED INTERVIEWS: Customs: By Counties Slavery: Local History and Dialect ANDERSON CO. (Mildred Roberts) Story of Ann Gudgel (age unknown): “I doesn’t know how old I am, but I was a little girl when dat man Lincum freed us niggahs. My mammy neber tole us our age, but I knows I’se plenty old, cause I feels like it. “When I was a liddle girl all of us was owned by Master Ball. When Lincum freed us neggahs, we went on and libbed with Master Ball till us chilluns was … Read more

Slave Narrative of Angie Boyce

Interviewer: Wm. R. Mays Person Interviewed: Angie Boyce Location: Franklin, Indiana Place of Birth: Adair County, KY Date of Birth: March 14, 1861 Place of Residence: 498 W. Madison St., Franklin, Ind. Wm. R. Mays Dist 4 Johnson Co. ANGIE BOYCE BORN IN SLAVERY, Mar. 14, 1861 on the Breeding Plantation, Adair Co. Ky. Mrs. Angie Boyce here makes mention of facts as outlined to her by her mother, Mrs. Margaret King, deceased. Mrs. Angie Boyce was born in slavery, Mar. 14, 1861, on the Breeding Plantation, Adair County, Kentucky. Her parents were Henry and Margaret King who belonged to … Read more