Real Slaves: Their Stories

By Michelle Shocklee

If you've read my blog posts and/or any of my historical novels, you know slavery is a topic that has captured my heart. Growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I didn't have many African American friends. Over the years, at college and in the workplace, I've had the opportunity to meet and enjoy friendships with a number of black people. Still, the plight of the slave didn't really take hold in me until I read Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I was in my forties, living in Texas, raising my family, when my perspective shifted.

It was during my research of slavery in Texas that I discovered the "slave narratives." These are word-for-word interviews done in the 1930s with former slaves. Over 2000 narratives are archived in Washington DC, along with several hundred photographs, as well as a handful of actual recordings of former slaves. Their stories are real, raw, and eyeopening.

I thought today would be a good day to "introduce" you to some of the real slaves I've come to know through my research.

• Sarah Ashley was a small, white-haired woman. At 93, she recalled her years in a "slave speculator's gang." Sold to the speculator when she was a child, she was separated from her family. After many years in this gang (that was apparently leased to different plantation owners), she was put on the auction block in New Orleans and sold. She worked in the cotton fields where she was forced to pick three hundred pounds of cotton a day. When Freedom came, her former owner offered a share in the crop if she would stay, but she left despite having "no place to go and no corn and cotton." She felt blessed to have a comfortable home, fields, and chickens in her old age. Photo: Sarah Ashley, ex-slave. Texas United States, 1937. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/99615230/.

• Anderson and Minerva Edwards, ages 93 and 87, were both slaves on adjoining plantations. Anderson's master owned three families of slaves. He worked in the fields from dawn until dusk. He recalled that when the slaves prayed during slavery time, they dare not let the white folks know about it, or "they beat them to death." The slaves often prayed for freedom, and "the Lord heard our prayer." After the war ended, Anderson and Minerva married and had sixteen children. He started a church and was the pastor there for many years. Photo: Anderson and Minerva Edwards, Age 93 and 87. Texas United States, 1936. Between 1936 and 1938. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/mesnp162005/.

Betty Farrow, age 90, was born a slave to Mr. Alex Clark, a plantation owner in Virginia. She recalled her early years there with fondness. When she was three or four years old, however, her master sold his plantation and moved to Texas. Betty's family went with him on what she recalls as a harrowing journey in covered wagons. Despite being forced into slavery, Betty and her family chose to stay with her former owners after the war. She was twenty-seven when she married and finally left the "white folks' place." She and her husband had ten children and became farmers. Photo: Betty Farrow, Age 90. Texas United States, 1936. Between 1936 and 1938. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/mesnp162033/.

• Sam Jones Washington, 88 years old, was born a slave of Sam Young, a rancher in Texas. Sam lived a different life than most slaves. He was trained as a cowhand and worked for his master until 1868, receiving wages after he was freed. He recalls his mother and siblings lived on the ranch as well, but he never knew his father. He enjoyed riding horses and roping cattle. One night when he was twelve, he and another slave decided they wanted some sugarcane from a neighboring plantation. The "patterollers" or white men who patrolled the area, heard the snapping of cane stalks and chased the boys. He says he ran so fast that he "stayed 'head of my shadow." After freedom, he married three times but never had children.  Photo: Sam Jones Washington, Age 88. Texas United States, 1936. Between 1936 and 1938. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/mesnp164138/.

These are just a few of the millions and millions of people who survived slavery. Their stories are heartbreaking, encouraging, and thought-provoking all at the same time. The narratives go into much more detail than I can share here on the blog. Stories of brutality, abuse, and other hardships are spoken of plainly. I did my best to portray their lives as authentically as I could in my novels.

Your turn: Have you read Uncle Tom's Cabin? What did you think about it?

Michelle Shocklee is the award-winning author of The Planter's Daughter and The Widow of Rose Hill. Her historical novella set in the New Mexico Territory is included in The Mail-Order Brides Collection. Michelle and her husband of thirty-two years make their home in Tennessee. Connect with her at www.MichelleShocklee.com.

THE PLANTER'S DAUGHTER

Adella Rose Ellis knows her father has plans for her future, but she longs for the freedom to forge her own destiny. When the son of Luther Ellis's longtime friend arrives on the plantation to work as the new overseer, Adella can't help but fall for his charm and captivating hazel eyes. But a surprise betrothal to an older man, followed by a devastating revelation, forces Adella to choose the path that will either save her family's future or endanger the lives of the people most dear to her heart.

Seth Brantley never wanted to be an overseer. After a runaway slave shot him, ending his career as a Texas Ranger and leaving him with a painful limp, a job on the plantation owned by his father's friend is just what he needs to bide his time before heading to Oregon where a man can start over. What he hadn't bargained on was falling in love with the planter's daughter or finding that everything he once believed about Negroes wasn't true. Amid secrets unraveling and the hatching of a dangerous plan, Seth must become the very thing he'd spent the past four years chasing down: an outlaw.

https://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Shocklee/e/B01MYD4TRE/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

After Freedom: How Slaves Searched for Family

By Michelle Shocklee

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Yet freedom for most slaves wouldn't come for two more years when the war finally ended in April 1865, and another two months to Juneteenth, the day Union troops arrived in Texas with the proclamation.

While researching my historical novels set on a Texas cotton plantation, I read dozens and dozens of true accounts of what slavery was like. These slave narratives, collected in the 1930s by the Federal Writers Project, are a treasure trove of information about the life of a slave. I wrote about my research in a blog titled I Was Born in Slavery--a Slave's Oral History.  To read and even hear the slaves' own words (there are a few recordings included in the archives!) is truly amazing. 

One heartbreaking theme is found in nearly all the narratives, and that is missing family members. Slave owners regularly split up families, selling off fathers and mothers and children for various (despicable) reasons. Slave traders often transported slaves across state lines, leaving the slaves with no hope of ever seeing their loved ones again. 

Slave auction house in Atlanta, GA, 1864

After the war ended and slavery was abolished, the task of reuniting families was monumental. Records indicate the government began collecting names and pertinent information of the former slaves, creating a sort of data bank to help locate relatives. But without modern-day technology, the endeavor took years and was far from adequate considering the vast number of people searching for their families. At the beginning of the Civil War, there were nearly four million people in bondage in the United States. You can imagine how many of them faced the hopelessness of finding their loved ones. 

As the years passed, some former slaves took to the newspapers, placing ads with information about their missing family members, hoping against all odds that someone somewhere would see it and contact them. I found them very poignant, especially those with updates that include good news. I'll share a few here and let them speak for themselves:

DO YOU KNOW THEM?

Louisville, KY , October 1, 1895.
I desire to know the whereabouts of Edwin Childs, the husband of Lucy Childs. The latter was daughter of old man Carter Page before the war. She belonged to Franklin Guy. She had two brothers, one by the name of William Page, and Archie Page. Edwin Childs belonged to Dr Worthum before the war, and he always hired his own time. His sister Muzinda, and he worked in the tobacco factory together. Edwin Childs' wife, Lucy Childs, was sold to the Negro traders before the war by Franklin Guy. Franklin Guy had two sons, one was named Tommie Guy and the other Warner Guy. 

Oblige,
Bettie Johnson, Louisville, KY

FOUND HER RELATIVES.
Louisville, Ky , October 23, 1895
Mr. Mitchell,
I have heard from my father Edwin Childs. He lives in Washington City. He saw the advertisement in the Richmond Planet. I received the letter from him Tuesday. It has been 36 years since I last saw him. We were sold away from our father in the year of 1859. I received a letter from Philadelphia, Pa , concerning the same matter. My aunt Muzinda lives in Richmond, Va. Through your kindness was the cause of me finding my father and aunt.
From yours,
Bettie Johnson, Louisville, KY

Here is another: 

INFORMATION WANTED OF MY RELATION. My uncle's name is Howard Hightower, his wife's name, Martha Hightower; three sons, Henry, Daniel and John; daughters, Mary, Caroline and Harriet. I have found Henry and Mary, who are living in Greensboro, Ga. We all belonged to William Hightower as late as 1862 '63, and at his death we were divided. Some went to Alabama, Southwestern Georgia and some to Polk county, Ga., while some remained in Green county, Ga., all of us being natives of that county. Uncle's name, Andy Hightower. Aminia and Louisiana Hightower are sisters to Andy. I will inform my uncles and aunts that their mother is living in Greensboro; also two of her sons. Any information will be gladly received by S. M. HIGHTOWER.
Rockmount, Ga.

One must wonder how many families were actually reunited with loved ones, and how many never saw their relatives again. In my historical novel The Widow of Rose Hill, two former slaves, Moses and Harriet, deal with this difficult subject. Without giving away their story, I did my best to keep to the facts of the time period, showing the heartbreak, the challenge, and the difficult decisions so many former slaves had to make. 

Put yourself in their shoes: Had you lived in those days, how would you have gone about searching for your loved ones? How long would you have tried? Would you ever give up?

Michelle Shocklee is the award-winning author of The Planter's Daughter and The Widow of Rose Hill, historical sagas set on a Texas cotton plantation before and after the Civil War. Her historical novella set in the New Mexico Territory is included in The Mail-Order Brides Collection. Michelle and her husband of 32 years make their home in Tennessee. Connect with her at www.MichelleShocklee.com.





THE WIDOW OF ROSE HILL

Widowed during the war, Natalie Ellis finds herself

solely responsible for Rose Hill plantation. When Union troops arrive with a proclamation freeing the slaves, all seems lost. How can she run the plantation without slaves? In order to save her son’s inheritance she strikes a deal with the arrogant, albeit handsome, Colonel Maish. In exchange for use of her family’s property, the army will provide workers to bring in her cotton crop. But as her admiration for the colonel grows, a shocking secret is uncovered. Can she trust him with her heart and her young, fatherless son?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078CN65FH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

I Was Born In Slavery - A Slave's Oral History

This month my good friend Michelle Shocklee, who loves to write historical fiction and has her debut full-length novel releasing this month, is my guest blogger. I will be back next month with more tales of the historical Midwest and other Midwestern spots.

By Michelle Shocklee

As I set out to write The Planter’s Daughter, an antebellum novel set on a Texas cotton plantation in 1859, I took great care in researching the setting, the time period, and the events that unfold throughout the story. Even though I’ve lived in Texas for more than thirty years, there was much I didn’t know about the Lone Star State’s history after the Alamo and prior to the Civil War. For instance, I was surprised to learn how many plantations existed during that time period, with some like Liendo Plantation (http://liendoplantation.com/liendo/), still standing today. Although cotton wasn’t king in Texas just yet, it was a money-making crop for many planters. And as we all know, slave labor was key.

With that in mind, I was especially concerned with accuracy when it came to telling the slaves’ accounts. Their stories, I felt, needed special attention in order for readers to truly see slavery on a Texas plantation. I didn’t want to simply use generalities about slavery in the south. That’s when I discovered a book titled I Was Born in Slavery: Personal Accounts of Slavery in Texas.

In 1936, with the Great Depression raging, the government established the Federal Writers’ Project, with one notable project being the Slave Narrative Collection. Out-of-work writers were dispatched across the South to interview former slaves, all of whom were by then in their 80s, 90s, and 100s. Over 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs were documented and are now archived in the Library of Congress in Washington DC. Some of the stories have found their way into print, like those in I Was Born in Slavery.

The writers/interviewers took great care to preserve the former slaves’ idiom, feeling it was as important to preserve the subject’s manner of speech as it was to preserve what they said. I used that dialect when writing dialog. I also used many of the former slaves’ names as a sort of tribute to the real people who lived and died as Texas slaves. Many of the scenes in The Planter’s Daughter involving slaves are based on true events recorded in the narratives. One in particular is told by Millie Williams, an eighty-six year old woman who was born in Tennessee but was sold when she was seven-years old and was eventually brought to Texas. Millie’s description of being in the cotton fields when a patrol rides by—or patterrollers, as the slaves called the men on horseback charged with catching runaway slaves—is included in my book. The murmuring of “patter the pat, patter the pat” served as a warning to all the slaves and was passed from field to field.

One of the interviewees, Andy J. Anderson, states he was born on a plantation in Williamson County, Texas. This was an important piece of information for me to discover, because Williamson County is the setting for The Planter’s Daughter. Mr. Anderson’s own testimony gave my story’s location the authenticity it needed. James Boyd was 107 years old when he was interviewed. Can you imagine all he witnessed in those many years? He and another former slave, Lu Lee, gave descriptions of plantation life so vivid that I could almost see

Anderson and Minerva Edwards

the fields and the quarter in my imagination. Anderson and Minerva Edwards (pictured) were slaves on adjoining plantations in Rusk County. Their stories inspired me to create a married couple, Moses and Harriet, who must deal with the separation of living on different plantations. Anderson, I’m happy to say, became a Baptist preacher after emancipation and they raised sixteen children.

I Was Born in Slavery changed my book. It changed me as a writer and as a person. Long after The Planter’s Daughter is gathering dust on the shelves, a little orange book with a smiling old gentleman on the cover will, I am certain, continue to draw me to it, almost as though I can hear one of the former slaves say, “I was born in slavery. Let me tell you about it.”

Have you ever had a research book or some other resource impact you so deeply, you knew you would never be the same?

I Was Born in Slavery: Personal Accounts of Slavery in Texas, Edited by Andrew Waters,     John F. Blair, Publisher, 2003

Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Michelle Shocklee is a Rocky Mountain girl at heart. But after living in Texas the past thirty years with her tall Texan husband, she has grown to truly appreciate the Lone Star State's rugged beauty. Her family lived in Williamson County, the setting for her debut novel. The Planter's Daughter, for more than twenty years. She and her husband currently live and work on a 400-acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country where they can often be found spoiling llamas, sheep, and chickens. She is a contributing author in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazine articles, and authors her personal blog, Life Along the Way.