Memorandum July 30, 1937. To: State Directors Of The Federal Writers’ Project From: Henry G. Alsberg, Director The following general suggestions are being sent to all the States where there are ex-slaves still living. They will not apply in to your State as they represent general conclusions reached after reading the mass of ex-slave material […]
Sent to: North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma. April 14, 1937 Mr. Edwin Bjorkman State Director, Federal Writers’ Project Works Progress Administration City Hall, Fifth Floor Asheville, North Carolina Dear Mr. Bjorkman: We have received more stories of ex-slaves and are gratified by the quality and interest
From the correspondence and memoranda files of the Washington office of the Federal Writers’ Project the following instructions and criticisms relative to the slave narrative collection, issued from April 1 to September 8, 1937, have been selected. They throw light on the progress of the work, the development of materials and methods, and some of
Selected Records, Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives Read More »
Notes by an editor on dialect usage in accounts by interviews with ex-slaves. (To be used in conjunction with Supplementary Instructions 9E.) Simplicity in recording the dialect is to be desired in order to hold the interest and attention of the readers. It seems to me that readers are repelled by pages sprinkled with misspellings,
Works Progress Administration Federal Writers’ Project 1500 Eye St. N.W. Washington, D.C. Supplementary Instructions #9-E To The American Guide Manual Folklore Stories From Ex-Slaves Note: In some states it may be possible to locate only a very few ex-slaves, but an attempt should be made in every state. Interesting ex-slave data has recently been reported
Slave narratives are stories of surviving slaves told in their own words and ways. Unique, colorful, and authentic, these slave narratives provide a look at the culture of the South during slavery which heretofore had not been told.
It was the Sabbath: the holy day which God in his infinite wisdom gave for the rest of both man and beast. In the state of Maryland, the slaves generally have the Sabbath, except in those districts where the evil weed, tobacco, is cultivated; and then, when it is the season for setting the plant,
The resolution of which I informed the reader at the close of the last chapter, being put into practice, I continued my flight on the public road; and a little after the sun rose, I came in sight of a toll gate again. For a moment all the events which followed my passing a toll
The Good Woman of the Toll Gate – Fugitive Blacksmith Read More »
The brief narrative I here introduce to the public, consists of outline notes originally thrown together to guide my memory when lecturing on this part of the subject of slavery. This will account for its style, and will also show that the work is not full. The question may be asked, Why I have published
On leaving W.W., I wended my way in deep sorrow and melancholy, onward towards Philadelphia, and after traveling two days and a night, I found shelter and employ in the family of J. K., another member of the Society of Friends, a farmer. The religious atmosphere in this family was excellent. Mrs. K. gave me
The slaves are generally fed upon salt pork, herrings and Indian corn. The manner of dealing it out to them is as follows: Each working man, on Monday morning, goes to the cellar of the master where the provisions are kept, and where the overseer takes his stand with some one to assist him, when
The Feeding and Clothing of the Slaves – Fugitive Blacksmith Read More »
It is but natural that the reader should wish to hear a word about the family I left behind. There are frequently large slave families with whom God seems to deal in a remarkable manner. I believe my family is an instance. I have already stated that when I fled, I left a father, mother,
The Family I Left in Slavery – Fugitive Blacksmith Read More »
Almost immediately on entering the wood, I not only found myself embosomed in the darkness of the night, but I also found myself entangled in a thick forest of undergrowth, which had been quite thoroughly wetted by the afternoon rain. I penetrated through the wood, thick and thin, and more or less wet, to the
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These two letters are simply introduced to show what the state of my feelings was with reference to slavery at the time they were written. I had just heard several facts with regard to my parents, which had awakened my mind to great excitement. To My Father, Mother, Brothers, And Sisters. The following was written
I was born in the state of Maryland, which is one of the smallest and most northern of the slave holding states; the products of this state are wheat, rye, Indian corn, tobacco, with some hemp, flax, &c. By looking at the map, it will be seen that Maryland, like Virginia her neighbor, is divided
The Fugitive Blacksmith: Events in the history of James W. C. Pennington, Pastor of a Presbyterian Church, New York, formerly a slave in the State of Maryland, United States. The principal portion of the ‘Tract,’ as Mr. Pennington modestly styles his book, consists of an autobiography of his early life as a slave, and of his escape from bondage, and final settlement in New York as a Presbyterian Minister. His adventures and hair breadth escapes invest the narrative with startling interest, and excite the deepest sympathies of the reader.
Cemetery Hill as it is known to us here, being in London, Ky. was a hill on which a Civil War battle was fought. The trenches are still here. The hill was given to the north to bury their dead by Jarvis Jackson, a great grand father of the Jarvis Jackson who is now city
This list is as remembered by the oldest citizens, and one T.J. “Uncle” Jeff Sizemore, 94 years old Civil War Veteran and citizen of Prestonsburg, Kentucky, dictated then to the writer in just this order. The List of People who owned Slaves in Floyd County include: Sophia Lane, Lanesville. Jim Lane, Lanesville Gilbert Higgins, Wilson’s
UNION CO. (Ruby J. Girten) A Bill of Sale: This indenture, made and entered into this 5th day of June 1850, by and between Joseph W. Cromwell and Martha Cromwell, his wife, of the first part, and Wm. C. Hamner of the second part, all of the County of Union and State of Kentucky, Witnesseth:
ROCKCASTLE CO. (Robert Mullins) The years 1843 to 1845 worked the development of the systematic enticing away, or stealing of slaves from Kentucky slave owners, and the passing them to Canada by a cordon of posts, or relays, which came to be known as the “Underground Railroad”. A number were stolen and carried away on
