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+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+ <head>
+ <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
+ <title>
+ Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938:
+ District of Columbia: Administrative Files
+ </title>
+ </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Narratives, Administrative Files (A
+Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves), by Work Projects Administration
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Slave Narratives, Administrative Files (A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves)
+
+Author: Work Projects Administration
+
+Release Date: October 25, 2004 [EBook #13847]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVE NARRATIVES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Andrea Ball and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team,
+from images provided by the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<hr width="65%"><br><br>
+
+<h1>SLAVE NARRATIVES</h1>
+<br>
+
+<h2><i>A Folk History of Slavery in the United States<br>
+From Interviews with Former Slaves</i></h2>
+<br>
+
+<h4>TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY<br>
+THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT<br>
+1936-1938<br>
+ASSEMBLED BY<br>
+THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT<br>
+WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION<br>
+FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA<br>
+SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS</h4>
+<br>
+<br>
+
+<p>WASHINGTON 1941</p>
+<br><br><br>
+
+
+<h3>FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY<br>
+WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION<br>
+FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>Paul Edwards, Administrator<br>
+Amelie S. Fair, Director, Division of Community Service Programs<br>
+Mary Nan Gamble, Chief, Public Activities Programs</p>
+<br>
+
+<h4>THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT<br>
+Official Project No. 165-2-26-7<br>
+Work Project No. 540</h4>
+<br>
+
+<p>Mary Nan Gamble, Acting Project Supervisor<br>
+Francesco M. Bianco, Assistant Project Supervisor<br>
+B.A. Botkin, Chief Editor, Writers' Unit</p>
+<br><br><br>
+
+<p>[Transcriber's Note: The CONTENTS section that follows lists the collection
+of Slave Narratives; the SELECTED RECORDS listing after the INTRODUCTION
+lists the nine Administrative Files included in this volume. An identifier
+has been added to the beginning of each of these Files.]</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 65%;' />
+
+<h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+
+<ol type="I">
+<!--I.--><li> <p>ALABAMA</p></li>
+
+<!--II.--><li> <p>ARKANSAS</p></li>
+
+<!--III.--><li> <p>FLORIDA</p></li>
+
+<!--IV.--><li> <p>GEORGIA</p></li>
+
+<!--V.--><li> <p>INDIANA</p></li>
+
+<!--VI.--><li> <p>KANSAS</p></li>
+
+<!--VII.--><li> <p>KENTUCKY</p></li>
+
+<!--VIII.--><li> <p>MARYLAND</p></li>
+
+<!--IX.--><li> <p>MISSISSIPPI</p></li>
+
+<!--X.--><li> <p>MISSOURI</p></li>
+
+<!--XI.--><li> <p>NORTH CAROLINA</p></li>
+
+<!--XII.--><li> <p>OHIO</p></li>
+
+<!--XIII.--><li> <p>OKLAHOMA</p></li>
+
+<!--XIV.--><li> <p>SOUTH CAROLINA</p></li>
+
+<!--XV.--><li> <p>TENNESSEE</p></li>
+
+<!--XVI.--><li> <p>TEXAS</p></li>
+
+<!--XVII.--><li> <p>VIRGINIA</p></li>
+</ol>
+<br>
+
+
+<hr style='width: 65%;' />
+<h3>INTRODUCTION</h3>
+<br>
+
+<b>I</b>
+
+<p>This collection of slave narratives had its beginning in the
+second year of the former Federal Writers' Project (now the Writers'
+Program), 1936, when several state Writers' Projects&mdash;notably
+those of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina&mdash;recorded interviews
+with ex-slaves residing in those states. On April 22, 1937,
+a standard questionnaire for field workers drawn up by John A.
+Lomax, then National Advisor on Folklore and Folkways for the Federal
+Writers' Project<a name='FNanchor_1'></a><a href='#Footnote_1'>[1]</a>,
+was issued from Washington as &quot;Supplementary
+Instructions #9-E to The American Guide Manual&quot; (appended below).
+Also associated with the direction and criticism of the
+work in the Washington office of the Federal Writers' Project
+were Henry G. Alsberg, Director; George Cronyn, Associate Director;
+Sterling A. Brown, Editor on Negro Affairs; Mary Lloyd, Editor;
+and B.A. Botkin, Folklore Editor succeeding Mr.
+Lomax.<a name='FNanchor_2'></a><a href='#Footnote_2'>[2]</a></p>
+
+<a name='Footnote_1'></a><a href='#FNanchor_1'>[1]</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Mr.
+Lomax served from June 25, 1936, to October 23, 1937, with
+a ninety-day furlough beginning July 24, 1937. According to a
+memorandum written by Mr. Alsberg on March 23, 1937, Mr. Lomax was
+&quot;in charge of the collection of folklore all over the United States
+for the Writers' Project. In connection with this work he is making
+recordings of Negro songs and cowboy ballads. Though technically
+on the payroll of the Survey of Historical Records, his work
+is done for the Writers and the results will make several national
+volumes of folklore. The essays in the State Guides devoted to
+folklore are also under his supervision.&quot; Since 1933 Mr. Lomax
+has been Honorary Curator of the Archive of American Folk Song,
+Library of Congress.
+<br><br>
+<a name='Footnote_2'></a><a href='#FNanchor_2'>[2]</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Folklore
+Consultant, from May 2 to July 31, 1938; Folklore
+Editor, from August 1, 1938, to August 31, 1939.
+
+<p>On August 31, 1939, the Federal Writers' Project became the
+Writers' Program, and the National Technical Project in Washington
+was terminated. On October 17, the first Library of Congress Project,
+under the sponsorship of the Library of Congress, was set up
+by the Work Projects Administration in the District of Columbia,
+to continue some of the functions of the National Technical Project,
+chiefly those concerned with books of a regional or nationwide
+scope. On February 12, 1940, the project was reorganized
+along strictly conservation lines, and on August 16 it was succeeded
+by the present Library of Congress Project (Official Project
+No. 165-2-26-7, Work Project No. 540).</p>
+
+<p>The present Library of Congress Project, under the sponsorship
+of the Library of Congress, is a unit of the Public Activities
+Program of the Community Service Programs of the Work Projects
+Administration for the District of Columbia. According
+to the Project Proposal (WPA Form 301), the purpose of the Project
+is to &quot;collect, check, edit, index, and otherwise prepare
+for use WPA records, Professional and Service Projects.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>The Writers' Unit of the Library of Congress Project processes
+material left over from or not needed for publication by the
+state Writers' Projects. On file in the Washington office in
+August, 1939, was a large body of slave narratives, photographs
+of former slaves, interviews with white informants regarding
+slavery, transcripts of laws, advertisements, records of sale,
+transfer, and manumission of slaves, and other documents. As unpublished
+manuscripts of the Federal Writers' Project these
+records passed into the hands of the Library of Congress Project
+for processing; and from them has been assembled the present collection
+of some two thousand narratives from the following seventeen
+states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas,
+Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio,
+Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and
+Virginia<a name='FNanchor_3'></a><a href='#Footnote_3'>[1]</a>.</p>
+
+<a name='Footnote_3'></a><a href='#FNanchor_3'>[1]</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;The
+bulk of the Virginia narratives is still in the state office.
+Excerpts from these are included in <u>The Negro in Virginia</u>,
+compiled by Workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects
+Administration in the State of Virginia, Sponsored by the Hampton
+Institute, Hastings House, Publishers, New York, 1940. Other
+slave narratives are published in <u>Drums and Shadows</u>, Survival
+Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes, Savannah Unit, Georgia
+Writers' Project, Work Projects Administration, University of
+Georgia Press, 1940. A composite article, &quot;Slaves,&quot; based on excerpts
+from three interviews, was contributed by Elizabeth Lomax
+to the <u>American Stuff</u> issue of <u>Direction</u>, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1935.
+
+<p>The work of the Writers' Unit in preparing the narratives for
+deposit in the Library of Congress consisted principally of arranging
+the manuscripts and photographs by states and alphabetically
+by informants within the states, listing the informants and
+illustrations, and collating the contents in seventeen volumes
+divided into thirty-three parts. The following material has been
+omitted: Most of the interviews with informants born too late to
+remember anything of significance regarding slavery or concerned
+chiefly with folklore; a few negligible fragments and unidentified
+manuscripts; a group of Tennessee interviews showing evidence
+of plagiarism; and the supplementary material gathered in connection
+with the narratives. In the course of the preparation of
+these volumes, the Writers' Unit compiled data for an essay on
+the narratives and partially completed an index and a glossary.
+Enough additional material is being received from the state Writers'
+Projects, as part of their surplus, to make a supplement,
+which, it is hoped, will contain several states not here represented,
+such as Louisiana.</p>
+
+<p>All editing had previously been done in the states or the
+Washington office. Some of the pencilled comments have been
+identified as those of John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, who also
+read the manuscripts. In a few cases, two drafts or versions
+of the same interview have been included for comparison of interesting
+variations or alterations.</p>
+<br>
+
+<b>II</b>
+
+<p>Set beside the work of formal historians, social scientists,
+and novelists, slave autobiographies, and contemporary records
+of abolitionists and planters, these life histories, taken down
+as far as possible in the narrators' words, constitute an invaluable
+body of unconscious evidence or indirect source material,
+which scholars and writers dealing with the South, especially
+social psychologists and cultural anthropologists, cannot
+afford to reckon without. For the first and the last time,
+a large number of surviving slaves (many of whom have since
+died) have been permitted to tell their own story, in their own
+way. In spite of obvious limitations&mdash;bias and fallibility of
+both informants and interviewers, the use of leading questions,
+unskilled techniques, and insufficient controls and checks&mdash;this
+saga must remain the most authentic and colorful source
+of our knowledge of the lives and thoughts of thousands of slaves,
+of their attitudes toward one another, toward their masters,
+mistresses, and overseers, toward poor whites, North and South,
+the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, religion, education,
+and virtually every phase of Negro life in the South.</p>
+
+<p>The narratives belong to folk history&mdash;history recovered from
+the memories and lips of participants or eye-witnesses, who
+mingle group with individual experience and both with observation,
+hearsay, and tradition. Whether the narrators relate what they
+actually saw and thought and felt, what they imagine, or what
+they have thought and felt about slavery since, now we know <u>why</u>
+they thought and felt as they did. To the white myth of slavery
+must be added the slaves' own folklore and folk-say of slavery.
+The patterns they reveal are folk and regional patterns&mdash;the patterns
+of field hand, house and body servant, and artisan; the
+patterns of kind and cruel master or mistress; the patterns of
+Southeast and Southwest, lowland and upland, tidewater and inland,
+smaller and larger plantations, and racial mixture (including Creole
+and Indian).</p>
+
+<p>The narratives belong also to folk literature. Rich not only
+in folk songs, folk tales, and folk speech but also in folk humor
+and poetry, crude or skilful in dialect, uneven in tone and
+treatment, they constantly reward one with earthy imagery, salty
+phrase, and sensitive detail. In their unconscious art, exhibited
+in many a fine and powerful short story, they are a contribution
+to the realistic writing of the Negro. Beneath all the
+surface contradictions and exaggerations, the fantasy and flattery,
+they possess an essential truth and humanity which surpasses
+as it supplements history and literature.</p>
+
+<p>Washington, D.C.<br>
+June 12, 1941<br>
+<br>
+B.A. Botkin<br>
+Chief Editor, Writers' Unit<br>
+Library of Congress Project</p>
+
+
+<hr style='width: 65%;' />
+
+<h3>SELECTED RECORDS<br>
+Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>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 the problems encountered.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_1'>1.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Copy of Memorandum from George Cronyn to Mrs. Eudora R.
+Richardson. April 1, 1937.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_2'>2.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Autograph Memorandum from John A. Lomax to George Cronyn.
+April 9, 1937. [<a href='#File_2A'>Handwritten version</a>,
+<a href='#File_2B'>Typewritten version'</a>]</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_3'>3.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Copy of Memorandum from George Cronyn to Edwin Bjorkman,
+enclosing a Memorandum from John A. Lomax on &quot;Negro Dialect
+Suggestions.&quot; April 14, 1937.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_4'>4.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Mimeographed &quot;Supplementary Instructions #9-E to the American
+Guide Manual. Folklore. Stories from Ex-Slaves.&quot;April 22, 1937. Prepared by John A. Lomax.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_5'>5.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Copy of Memorandum from George Cronyn to Edwin Bjorkman.
+May 3, 1937.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_6'>6.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Copy of Memorandum from Henry G. Alsberg to State Directors
+of the Federal Writers' Project. June 9, 1937.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_7'>7.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Copy of &quot;Notes by an Editor on Dialect Usage in Accounts by
+Interviews with Ex-Slaves.&quot; June 20, 1937. Prepared by Sterling A. Brown.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_8'>8.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Copy of Memorandum from Henry G. Alsberg to State Directors
+of the Federal Writers' Project. July 30, 1937.</p>
+
+<p><a href='#File_9'>9.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Copy of Memorandum from Henry G. Alsberg to State Directors
+of the Federal Writers' Project. September 8, 1937.</p>
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_1'></a>
+<p>[File 1]</p>
+
+<h3>Sent to: NORTH &amp; SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, ALABAMA,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;LOUISIANA, TEXAS, ARKANSAS, TENNESSEE,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;KENTUCKY, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI, OKLA.<br>
+<br>
+April 1, 1937<br>
+<br>
+Mrs. Eudora R. Richardson, Acting State Director<br>
+Federal Writers' Project, WPA<br>
+Rooms 321-4, American Bank Building<br>
+Richmond, Virginia<br>
+<br>
+Subj: Folklore</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>Dear Mrs. Richardson:</p>
+
+<p>We have received from Florida a remarkably interesting
+collection of autobiographical stories by ex-slaves. Such
+documentary records by the survivors of a historic period in
+America are invaluable, both to the student of history and to
+creative writers.</p>
+
+<p>If a volume of such importance can be assembled we
+will endeavor to secure its publication. There undoubtedly
+is material of this sort to be found in your State by making
+the proper contact through tactful interviewers. While it is
+desirable to give a running story of the life of each subject,
+the color and human interest will be greatly enhanced if it is
+told largely in the words of the person interviewed. The peculiar
+idiom is often more expressive than a literary account.</p>
+
+<p>We shall be very glad to know if you have undertaken
+any research of this sort, or plan to do so.</p>
+
+<p>Very truly yours,<br>
+George Cronyn<br>
+Associate Director<br>
+Federal Writers' Project</p>
+
+<p>GWCronyn/a</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_2'></a>
+<a name='File_2A'></a>
+<p>[File 2: Handwritten version]</p>
+
+<center>
+<img src='images/doc2p1.gif' width='300' height='435'
+alt='First page of Autograph Memorandum'>
+</center>
+<center>
+<img src='images/doc2p2.gif' width='300' height='423'
+alt='Second page of Autogrpah Memorandum'>
+</center>
+
+<a name='File_2B'></a>
+<p>[File 2: Typewritten version]</p>
+
+<h3>(Transcript of Preceding Autograph Memorandum)<br>
+
+4/9/37</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>Mr. Cronyn:</p>
+
+<p>In replying to this letter I should like for you
+to commend especially two stories:</p>
+
+<p>1. <u>Lula Flannigan</u> by Sarah H. Hall Athens, Ga.</p>
+
+<p>2. <u>Uncle Willis</u>, Miss Velma Bell, Supervisor, Athens, Ga.</p>
+
+<p>All the stories are worth while but these two are mainly
+(one entirely) in dialect and abound in human interest touches.
+<u>All the interviewers should copy the Negro expressions</u>.</p>
+
+<p>I much prefer to read <u>un</u>edited (but typed)
+&quot;interviews,&quot; and I should like to see as soon as possible
+all the seventy-five to which Miss Dillard refers.</p>
+
+<p>It is most important, too, to secure copies of
+&quot;slave codes, overseers codes and the like.&quot; This item is
+new and all the states should send in similar material.</p>
+
+<p>Yours,<br>
+John A. Lomax</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_3'></a>
+<p>[File 3]</p>
+
+<h3>Sent to: North and South Carolina, Georgia,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mississippi, Oklahoma.<br>
+<br>
+April 14, 1937<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Edwin Bjorkman<br>
+State Director, Federal Writers' Project<br>
+Works Progress Administration<br>
+City Hall, Fifth Floor<br>
+Asheville, North Carolina</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>Dear Mr. Bjorkman:</p>
+
+<p>We have received more stories of ex-slaves and are
+gratified by the quality and interest of the narratives.
+Some of these stories have been accompanied by photographs
+of the subjects. We would like to have portraits wherever
+they can be secured, but we urge your photographers to
+make the studies as simple, natural, and &quot;unposed&quot; as possible.
+Let the background, cabin or whatnot, be the normal
+setting&mdash;in short, just the picture a visitor would expect
+to find by &quot;dropping in&quot; on one of these old-timers.</p>
+
+<p>Enclosed is a memorandum of Mr. Lomax with suggestions
+for simplifying the spelling of certain recurring dialect
+words. This does not mean that the interviews should be entirely
+in &quot;straight English&quot;&mdash;simply, that we want them to
+be more readable to those uninitiated in the broadest Negro
+speech.</p>
+
+<p>Very truly yours,</p>
+
+<p>George Cronyn<br>
+Associate Director<br>
+Federal Writers' Project</p>
+
+<p>GWCronyn:MEB</p>
+<br>
+<p>This paragraph was added to the letter to Arkansas.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Lomax is very eager to get such records as you mention:
+Court Records of Sale, Transfer, and Freeing of Slaves, as well
+as prices paid.</p>
+<br>
+
+
+
+<p><b>Negro Dialect Suggestions<br>
+(Stories of Ex-Slaves)</b></p>
+
+<p>Do not write:</p>
+
+<p><u>Ah</u> for I</p>
+
+<p><u>Poe</u> for po' (poor)</p>
+
+<p><u>Hit</u> for it</p>
+
+<p><u>Tuh</u> for to</p>
+
+<p><u>Wuz</u> for was</p>
+
+<p><u>Baid</u> for bed</p>
+
+<p><u>Daid</u> for dead</p>
+
+<p><u>Ouh</u> for our</p>
+
+<p><u>Mah</u> for my</p>
+
+<p><u>Ovah</u> for over</p>
+
+<p><u>Othuh</u> for other</p>
+
+<p><u>Wha</u> for whar (where)</p>
+
+<p><u>Undah</u> for under</p>
+
+<p><u>Fuh</u> for for</p>
+
+<p><u>Yondah</u> for yonder</p>
+
+<p><u>Moster</u> for marster or massa</p>
+
+<p><u>Gwainter</u> for gwineter (going to)</p>
+
+<p><u>Oman</u> for woman</p>
+
+<p><u>Ifn</u> for iffen (if)</p>
+
+<p><u>Fiuh</u> or <u>fiah</u> for fire</p>
+
+<p><u>Uz</u> or <u>uv</u> or <u>o'</u> for of</p>
+
+<p><u>Poar</u> for poor or po'</p>
+
+<p><u>J'in</u> for jine</p>
+
+<p><u>Coase</u> for cose</p>
+
+<p><u>Utha</u> for other</p>
+
+<p><u>Yo'</u> for you</p>
+
+<p><u>Gi'</u> for give</p>
+
+<p><u>Cot</u> for caught</p>
+
+<p><u>Kin'</u> for kind</p>
+
+<p><u>Cose</u> for 'cause</p>
+
+<p><u>Tho't</u> for thought</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_4'></a>
+<p>[File 4]</p>
+
+<h3>WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION<br>
+Federal Writers' Project<br>
+1500 Eye St. N.W.<br>
+Washington, D.C.<br>
+<br>
+SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONS #9-E<br>
+To<br>
+THE AMERICAN GUIDE MANUAL<br>
+<br>
+FOLKLORE<br>
+STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>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 from Rhode Island, for
+instance.</p>
+
+<p>April 22, 1937</p>
+<br>
+
+<p><b>STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES</b></p>
+
+<p>The main purpose of these detailed and homely questions
+is to get the Negro interested in talking about the days of slavery.
+If he will talk freely, he should be encouraged to say what he pleases
+without reference to the questions. It should be remembered that the
+Federal Writers' Project is not interested in taking sides on any
+question. The worker should not censor any material collected, regardless
+of its nature.</p>
+
+<p>It will not be necessary, indeed it will probably be a mistake,
+to ask every person all of the questions. Any incidents or facts
+he can recall should be written down as nearly as possible just as he
+says them, but do not use dialect spelling so complicated that it may
+confuse the reader.</p>
+
+<p>A second visit, a few days after the first one, is important,
+so that the worker may gather all the worthwhile recollections that the
+first talk has aroused.</p>
+<br>
+
+<p><b>Questions:</b></p>
+
+<p>1. Where and when were you born?</p>
+
+<p>2. Give the names of your father and mother. Where did they come
+from? Give names of your brothers and sisters. Tell about your life
+with them and describe your home and the &quot;quarters.&quot; Describe the beds
+and where you slept. Do you remember anything about your grandparents
+or any stories told you about them?</p>
+
+<p>3. What work did you do in slavery days? Did you ever earn
+any money? How? What did you buy with this money?</p>
+
+<p>4. What did you eat and how was it cooked? Any possums?
+Rabbits? Fish? What food did you like best? Did the slaves have
+their own gardens?</p>
+
+<p>5. What clothing did you wear in hot weather? Cold weather?
+On Sundays? Any shoes? Describe your wedding clothes.</p>
+
+<p>6. Tell about your master, mistress, their children, the house
+they lived in, the overseer or driver, poor white neighbors.</p>
+
+<p>7. How many acres in the plantation? How many slaves on it?
+How and at what time did the overseer wake up the slaves? Did they
+work hard and late at night? How and for what causes were the slaves
+punished? Tell what you saw. Tell some of the stories you heard.</p>
+
+<p>8. Was there a jail for slaves? Did you ever see any slaves
+sold or auctioned off? How did groups of slaves travel? Did you ever
+see slaves in chains?</p>
+
+<p>9. Did the white folks help you to learn to read and write?</p>
+
+<p>10. Did the slaves have a church on your plantation? Did they
+read the Bible? Who was your favorite preacher? Your favorite
+spirituals? Tell about the baptizing; baptizing songs. Funerals and
+funeral songs.</p>
+
+<p>11. Did the slaves ever run away to the North? Why? What did
+you hear about patrollers? How did slaves carry news from one plantation
+to another? Did you hear of trouble between the blacks and
+whites?</p>
+
+<p>12. What did the slaves do when they went to their quarters
+after the day's work was done on the plantation? Did they work on
+Saturday afternoons? What did they do Saturday nights? Sundays?
+Christmas morning? New Year's Day? Any other holidays? Cornshucking?
+Cotton Picking? Dances? When some of the white master's family
+married or died? A wedding or death among the slaves?</p>
+
+<p>13. What games did you play as a child? Can you give the
+words or sing any of the play songs or ring games of the children?
+Riddles? Charms? Stories about &quot;Raw Head and Bloody Bones&quot; or
+other &quot;hants&quot; of ghosts? Stories about animals? What do you think of
+voodoo? Can you give the words or sing any lullabies? Work songs?
+Plantation hollers? Can you tell a funny story you have heard or
+something funny that happened to you? Tell about the ghosts you
+have seen.</p>
+
+<p>14. When slaves became sick who looked after them? What medicines
+did tho doctors give them? What medicine (herbs, leaves, or roots)
+did the slaves use for sickness? What charms did they wear and to keep
+off what diseases?</p>
+
+<p>15. What do you remember about the war that brought your freedom?
+What happened on the day news came that you were free? What did your
+master say and do? When the Yankees came what did they do and say?</p>
+
+<p>16. Tell what work you did and how you lived the first year
+after the war and what you saw or heard about the KuKlux Klan and the
+Nightriders. Any school then for Negroes? Any land?</p>
+
+<p>17. Whom did you marry? Describe the wedding. How many children
+and grandchildren have you and what are they doing?</p>
+
+<p>18. What do you think of Abraham Lincoln? Jefferson Davis?
+Booker Washington? Any other prominent white man or Negro you have
+known or heard of?</p>
+
+<p>19. Now that slavery is ended what do you think of it? Tell
+why you joined a church and why you think all people should be religious.</p>
+
+<p>20. Was the overseer &quot;poor white trash&quot;? What were some of his
+rules?</p>
+<br>
+
+<p>
+The details of the interview should be reported as
+accurately as possible in the language of the original statements.
+An example of material collected through one of the
+interviews with ex-slaves is attached herewith. Although this
+material was collected before the standard questionnaire had
+been prepared, it represents an excellent method of reporting
+an interview. More information might have been obtained however,
+if a comprehensive questionnaire had been used.</p>
+<br>
+
+<p><b>Sample Interview From Georgia<br>
+<br>
+LULA FLANNIGAN<br>
+Ex-slave, 78 years.</b></p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dey says I wuz jes fo' years ole when de war wuz over, but
+I sho' does member dat day dem Yankee sojers come down de road. Mary
+and Willie Durham wuz my mammy and pappy, en dey belong ter Marse Spence
+Durham at Watkinsville in slav'ry times.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When word cum dat de Yankee sojers wuz on de way, Marse Spence
+en his sons wuz 'way at de war. Miss Betsey tole my pappy ter take en
+hide de hosses down in de swamp. My mammy help Miss Betsey sew up de
+silver in de cotton bed ticks. Dem Yankee sojers nebber did find our
+whitefolks' hosses and deir silver.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Miss Marzee, she wuz Marse Spence en Miss Betsey's daughter.
+She wuz playin' on de pianny when de Yankee sojers come down de road.
+Two sojers cum in de house en ax her fer ter play er tune dat dey liked.
+I fergits de name er dey tune. Miss Marzee gits up fum de pianny en she
+low dat she ain' gwine play no tune for' no Yankee mens.
+Den de sojers
+takes her out en set her up on top er de high gate post in front er de
+big house, en mek her set dar twel de whole regiment pass by. She set
+dar en cry, but she sho' ain' nebber played no tune for dem Yankee mens!&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;De Yankee sojers tuk all de blankets offen de beds. Dey stole
+all de meat dey want fum de smokehouse. Dey bash in de top er de syrup
+barrels en den turn de barrels upside down.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Marse Spence gave me ter Miss Marzee fer ter be her own maid,
+but slav'ry time ended fo' I wuz big 'nough ter be much good ter 'er.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Us had lots better times dem days dan now. Whatter dese niggers
+know 'bout corn shuckin's, en log rollin's, en house raisin's? Marse Spence
+used ter let his niggers have candy pullin's in syrup mekkin' time, en de
+way us wud dance in de moonlight wuz sompin' dese niggers nowadays doan
+know nuffin' 'bout.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;All de white folks love ter see plenty er healthy, strong black
+chillun comin' long, en dey wuz watchful ter see dat 'omans had good keer
+when dey chilluns vuz bawned. Dey let dese 'omans do easy, light wuk towards
+de last 'fo' de chilluns is bawned, en den atterwuds dey doan do nuffin much
+twel dey is well en strong ergin. Folks tell 'bout some plantations whar de
+'omans ud run back home fum de fiel' en hev day baby, en den be back in do
+fiel' swingin' er hoe fo' right dat same day, but dey woan nuffin lak dat
+'round Watkinsville.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;When er scritch owl holler et night us put en iron in de fire
+quick, en den us turn all de shoes up side down on de flo', en turn de
+pockets wrong side out on call de close, kaze effan we diden' do dem things
+quick, sompin' moughty bad wuz sho' ter happen. Mos' en lakly, somebuddy
+gwint'er be daid in dat house fo' long, if us woan quick 'bout fixin'. Whut
+us do in summer time, 'bout fire at night fer de scritch owl? Us jes' onkivver
+de coals in de fire place. Us diden' hev no matches en us bank de fire wid
+ashes evvy night all de year 'roun'. Effen de fire go out, kaze some nigger
+git keerless 'bout it, den somebuddy gotter go off ter de next plantation
+sometime ter git live coals. Some er de mens could wuk de flints right
+good, but dat wuz er hard job. Dey jes rub dem flint rocks tergedder right
+fas' en let de sparks day makes drap down on er piece er punk wood, en dey
+gits er fire dat way effen dey is lucky.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Dem days nobuddy bring er axe in de house on his shoulder. Dat
+was er sho' sign er bad luck. En nebber lay no broom crost de bed. One time
+er likely pair er black folks git married, en somebuddy give 'em er new broom.
+De 'oman she proud uv her nice, spankin' new broom en she lay hit on de bed
+fer de weddin' crowd ter see it, wid de udder things been give 'em. Fo' thee
+years go by her man wuz beatin' 'er, en not long atter dat she go plum stark
+crazy. She oughter ter know better'n ter lay dat broom on her bed. It sho'
+done brung her bad luck. Dey sent her off ter de crazy folks place, en she
+died dar.&quot;</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_5'></a>
+<p>[File 5]</p>
+
+<h3>May 3, 1937<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Edwin Bjorkman, State Director<br>
+Federal Writers' Project, WPA<br>
+City Hall, Fifth Floor<br>
+Asheville, North Carolina<br>
+<br>
+Subj: Ex-slave Narratives</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>Dear Mr. Bjorkman:</p>
+
+<p>I am quoting a memorandum of Mr. Lomax, folklore
+editor, regarding the ex-slave stories:</p>
+
+<p>&quot;Of the five States which have already sent in reminiscences
+of ex-slaves, Tennessee is the only one in which the
+workers are asking ex-slaves about their belief in signs, cures,
+hoodoo, etc. Also, the workers are requesting the ex-slaves
+to tell the stories that were current among the Negroes when
+they were growing up. Some of the best copy that has come in
+to the office is found in these stories.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>This suggestion, I believe, will add greatly to the
+value of the collection now being made.</p>
+
+<p>Very truly yours,<br>
+George Cronyn<br>
+Associate Director</p>
+
+<p>CC&mdash;Mr. W.T. Couch, Asso. Director Federal Writers' Project<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;University Press<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chapel Hill, No. Car.</p>
+
+<p>GWCronyn/a</p>
+<br>
+<p>SENT TO: No. and So. Carolina; Georgia; Alabama; Louisiana;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Texas; Arkansas; Kentucky; Missouri; Mississippi;<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oklahoma; Florida</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_6'></a>
+<p>[File 6]</p>
+
+<h3>MEMORANDUM<br>
+June 9, 1937<br>
+<br>
+TO: STATE DIRECTORS OF THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT<br>
+FROM: Henry G. Alsberg, Director</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>In connection with the stories of ex-slaves, please
+send in to this office copies of State, county, or city laws
+affecting the conduct of slaves, free Negroes, overseers, patrollers,
+or any person or custom affecting the institution of
+slavery. It will, of course, not be necessary to send more
+than one copy of the laws that were common throughout the state,
+although any special law passed by a particular city would constitute
+worthwhile material.</p>
+
+<p>In addition, we should like to have you collect and
+send in copies of any laws or accounts of any established customs
+relating to the admission to your State of bodies of slaves
+from Africa or other sections, the escape of slaves, etc. Also,
+we should like to see copies of advertisements of sales of slaves,
+published offers of rewards for fugitive slaves, copies of transfers
+of slaves by will or otherwise, records of freeing of
+slaves, etc. Public records of very particular interest regarding
+any transaction involving slaves should be photostated and
+copies furnished to the Washington office.</p>
+
+<p>Furthermore, contemporary accounts of any noteworthy
+occurrences among the Negroes during slavery days or the Reconstruction
+period should be copied, if taken from contemporary
+newspapers. If such records have been published in books, a
+reference to the source would be sufficient. We have been receiving
+a large number of extremely interesting stories of ex-slaves.
+The historic background of the institution of slavery,
+which should be disclosed with the information we are now
+requesting, will be very helpful in the execution of the plans
+we have in mind.</p>
+<br>
+
+Copies sent to:<br>
+<table summary="listing of states that received this document">
+<tr>
+<td>Alabama</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Georgia</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Maryland</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>North Carolina</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Tennessee</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Arkansas</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Kentucky</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Mississippi</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Oklahoma</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Texas</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Florida</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Louisiana</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Missouri</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>South Carolina</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Virginia</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="8">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>West Virginia</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="8">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Ohio</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="8">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Kansas</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_7'></a>
+<p>[File 7]</p>
+
+<h3>Notes by an editor on dialect usage in accounts<br>
+by interviews with ex-slaves. (To be used in<br>
+conjunction with Supplementary Instructions 9E.)</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>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,
+commas and apostrophes. The value of exact phonetic transcription is,
+of course, a great one. But few artists attempt
+this completely. Thomas Nelson Page was meticulous in his dialect;
+Joel Chandler Harris less meticulous but in my opinion
+even more accurate. But the values they sought are different
+from the values that I believe this book of slave narratives
+should have. Present day readers are less ready for the over-stress
+of phonetic spelling than in the days of local color.
+Authors realize this: Julia Peterkin uses a modified Gullah instead
+of Gonzales' carefully spelled out Gullah. Howard Odum
+has questioned the use of goin' for going since the g is seldom
+pronounced even by the educated.</p>
+
+<p>Truth to idiom is more important, I believe, than truth to
+pronunciation. Erskine Caldwell in his stories of Georgia, Ruth
+Suckow in stories of Iowa, and Nora Neale Hurston in stories of
+Florida Negroes get a truth to the manner of speaking without
+excessive misspellings. In order to make this volume of slave
+narratives more appealing and less difficult for the average
+reader, I recommend that truth to idiom be paramount, and exact
+truth to pronunciation secondary.</p>
+
+<p>I appreciate the fact that many of the writers have recorded
+sensitively. The writer who wrote &quot;ret&quot; for right is probably
+as accurate as the one who spelled it &quot;raght.&quot; But in a
+single publication, not devoted to a study of local speech, the
+reader may conceivably be puzzled by different spellings of the
+same word. The words &quot;whafolks,&quot; &quot;whufolks,&quot; &quot;whi'foiks,&quot; etc.,
+can all be heard in the South. But &quot;whitefolks&quot; is easier for
+the reader, and the word itself is suggestive of the setting
+and the attitude.</p>
+
+<p>Words that definitely have a notably different pronunciation
+from the usual should be recorded as heard. More important is
+the recording of words with a different local meaning. Most
+important, however, are the turns of phrase that have flavor
+and vividness. Examples occurring in the copy I read are:</p>
+
+durin' of de war<br>
+outmen my daddy (good, but unnecessarily put into quotes)<br>
+piddled in de fields<br>
+skit of woods<br>
+kinder chillish<br>
+
+<p>There are, of course, questionable words, for which it may
+be hard to set up a single standard. Such words are:</p>
+
+paddyrollers, padrollers, pattyrollers for patrollers<br>
+missis, mistess for mistress<br>
+marsa, massa, maussa, mastuh for master<br>
+ter, tuh, teh for to<br>
+
+<p>I believe that there should be, for this book, a uniform
+word for each of these.</p>
+
+<p>The following list is composed of words which I think
+should not be used. These are merely samples of certain faults:</p>
+
+1. ah for I<br>
+2. bawn for born<br>
+3. capper for caper<br>
+4. com' for come<br>
+5. do for dough<br>
+6. ebry, ev'ry for every<br>
+7. hawd for hard<br>
+8. muh for my<br>
+9. nekid for naked<br>
+10. ole, ol' for old<br>
+11. ret, raght for right<br>
+12. sneik for snake<br>
+13. sowd for sword<br>
+14. sto' for store<br>
+15. teh for tell<br>
+16. twon't for twan't<br>
+17. useter, useta for used to<br>
+18. uv for of<br>
+19. waggin for wagon<br>
+20. whi' for white<br>
+21. wuz for was<br>
+
+<p>I should like to recommend that the stories be told in the
+language of the ex-slave, without excessive editorializing and
+&quot;artistic&quot; introductions on the part of the interviewer. The contrast
+between the directness of the ex-slave speech and the
+roundabout and at times pompous comments of the interviewer is
+frequently glaring. Care should be taken lest expressions such
+as the following creep in: &quot;inflicting wounds from which he
+never fully recovered&quot; (supposed to be spoken by an ex-slave).</p>
+
+<p>Finally, I should like to recommend that the words darky and
+nigger and such expressions as &quot;a comical little old black woman&quot;
+be omitted from the editorial writing. Where the ex-slave himself
+uses these, they should be retained.</p>
+<br>
+
+<p>This material sent June 20 to states of: Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga.,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ky., La., Md., Miss., Mo., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Tenn., Texas,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Va., and S. Car.</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_8'></a>
+<p>[File 8]</p>
+
+<h3>MEMORANDUM<br>
+July 30, 1937.<br>
+<br>
+TO: STATE DIRECTORS OF THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT<br>
+FROM: Henry G. Alsberg, Director</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>The following general suggestions are being sent to
+all the States where there are ex-slaves still living. They
+will not apply <u>in toto</u> to your State as they represent general
+conclusions reached after reading the mass of ex-slave material
+already submitted. However, they will, I hope, prove helpful
+as an indication, along broad lines, of what we want.</p>
+<br>
+
+<b>GENERAL SUGGESTIONS:</b>
+
+<p>1. Instead of attempting to interview a large number
+of ex-slaves the workers should now concentrate on one or two of
+the more interesting and intelligent people, revisiting them,
+establishing friendly relations, and drawing them out over a
+period of time.</p>
+
+<p>2. The specific questions suggested to be asked of
+the slaves should be only a basis, a beginning. The talk should
+run to all subjects, and the interviewer should take care to
+sieze upon the information already given, and stories already
+told, and from them derive other questions.</p>
+
+<p>3. The interviewer should take the greatest care not
+to influence the point of view of the informant, and not to let
+his own opinion on the subject of slavery become obvious. Should
+the ex-slave, however, give only one side of the picture, the
+interviewer should suggest that there were other circumstances,
+and ask questions about them.</p>
+
+<p>4. We suggest that each state choose one or two of
+their most successful ex-slave interviewers and have them take
+down some stories <u>word</u> for <u>word</u>. Some Negro informants are marvellous
+in their ability to participate in this type of interview.
+<u>All stories should be as nearly word-for-word as is possible.</u></p>
+
+<p>5. More emphasis should be laid on questions concerning
+the lives of the individuals since they were freed.</p>
+<br>
+
+<b>SUGGESTIONS TO INTERVIEWERS:</b>
+
+<p>The interviewer should attempt to weave the following
+questions naturally into the conversation, in simple language.
+Many of the interviews show that the workers have simply sprung
+routine questions out of context, and received routine answers.</p>
+
+<p>1. What did the ex-slaves expect from freedom? Forty
+acres and a mule? A distribution of the land of their masters'
+plantation?</p>
+
+<p>2. What did the slaves get after freedom? Were any
+of the plantations actually divided up? Did their masters give
+them any money? Were they under any compulsion after the war to
+remain as servants?</p>
+
+<p>3. What did the slaves do after the war? What did
+they receive generally? What do they think about the reconstruction
+period?</p>
+
+<p>4. Did secret organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan
+exert or attempt to exert any influence over the lives of ex-slaves?</p>
+
+<p>5. Did the ex-slaves ever vote? If so, under what circumstances?
+Did any of their friends ever hold political office?
+What do the ex-slaves think of the present restricted suffrage?</p>
+
+<p>6. What have the ex-slaves been doing in the interim
+between 1864 and 1937? What jobs have they held (in detail)?
+How are they supported nowadays?</p>
+
+<p>7. What do the ex-slaves think of the younger generation
+of Negroes and of present conditions?</p>
+
+<p>8. Were there any instances of slave uprisings?</p>
+
+<p>9. Were any of the ex-slaves in your community living in
+Virginia at the time of the Nat Turner rebellion? Do they remember
+anything about it?</p>
+
+<p>10. What songs were there of the period?</p>
+<br>
+<p>The above sent to: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Ga., Kentucky, La.,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Md., Mississippi, Mo., N. Car., Okla., S. Car., Tenn., Texas, Virginia,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;W. Va., Ohio, Kansas, Indiana.</p>
+
+
+
+<br><br><hr style='width: 65%;'><br><br>
+<a name='File_9'></a>
+<p>[File 9]</p>
+
+<h3>MEMORANDUM<br>
+September 8, 1937<br>
+<br>
+TO: STATE DIRECTORS OF THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT<br>
+FROM: HENRY G. ALSBERG</h3>
+<br>
+
+<p>It would be a good idea if you would ask such of your
+field workers as are collecting stories from ex-slaves to try
+to obtain stories given to the ex-slaves by their parents and
+grandparents. The workers should try to obtain information
+about family traditions and legends passed down from generation
+to generation. There should be a wealth of such material available.</p>
+
+<p>We have found that the most reliable way to obtain information
+about the age of ex-slaves or the time certain events
+in their lives took place is to ask them to try to recollect some
+event of importance of known date and to use that as a point of
+reference. For instance, Virginia had a very famous snow storm
+called Cox's Snow Storm which is listed in history books by date
+and which is well remembered by many ex-slaves. In Georgia and
+Alabama some ex-slaves remember the falling stars of the year
+1883. An ex-slave will often remember his life story in relation
+to such events. Not only does it help the chronological accuracy
+of ex-slave stories to ask for dated happenings of this kind, but
+it often serves to show whether the story being told is real or
+imagined.</p>
+
+<br>
+Sent the following states:<br>
+<table summary="listing of states that received this document">
+<tr>
+<td>Alabama</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Maryland</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Tennessee</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Arkansas</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Mississippi</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Texas</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Florida</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Missouri</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Virginia</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Georgia</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>N. Carolina</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>West Virginia</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Kentucky</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Oklahoma</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Ohio</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Louisiana</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>S. Carolina</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Kansas</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="4">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Indiana</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Narratives, Administrative Files
+(A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves), by Work Projects Administration
+
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+</pre>
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+</body>
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+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Narratives, Administrative Files
+(A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with
+Former Slaves), by Work Projects Administration
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Slave Narratives, Administrative Files (A Folk History of
+ Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves)
+
+Author: Work Projects Administration
+
+Release Date: October 25, 2004 [EBook #13847]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVE NARRATIVES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Andrea Ball and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team,
+from images provided by the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+SLAVE NARRATIVES
+
+A Folk History of Slavery in the United States
+From Interviews with Former Slaves
+
+
+TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY
+THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
+1936-1938
+ASSEMBLED BY
+THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT
+WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
+FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
+SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
+
+
+WASHINGTON 1941
+
+
+
+
+FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY
+WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
+FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
+
+
+Paul Edwards, Administrator
+Amelie S. Fair, Director, Division of Community Service Programs
+Mary Nan Gamble, Chief, Public Activities Programs
+
+
+THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT
+Official Project No. 165-2-26-7
+Work Project No. 540
+
+
+Mary Nan Gamble, Acting Project Supervisor
+Francesco M. Bianco, Assistant Project Supervisor
+B.A. Botkin, Chief Editor, Writers' Unit
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's Note: The CONTENTS section that follows lists the collection
+of Slave Narratives; the SELECTED RECORDS listing after the INTRODUCTION lists
+the nine Administrative Files included in this volume. An identifier has
+been added to the beginning of each of these Files.]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ I. ALABAMA
+
+ II. ARKANSAS
+
+ III. FLORIDA
+
+ IV. GEORGIA
+
+ V. INDIANA
+
+ VI. KANSAS
+
+ VII. KENTUCKY
+
+VIII. MARYLAND
+
+ IX. MISSISSIPPI
+
+ X. MISSOURI
+
+ XI. NORTH CAROLINA
+
+ XII. OHIO
+
+XIII. OKLAHOMA
+
+ XIV. SOUTH CAROLINA
+
+ XV. TENNESSEE
+
+ XVI. TEXAS
+
+XVII. VIRGINIA
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+I
+
+This collection of slave narratives had its beginning in the second year
+of the former Federal Writers' Project (now the Writers' Program), 1936,
+when several state Writers' Projects--notably those of Florida, Georgia,
+and South Carolina--recorded interviews with ex-slaves residing in those
+states. On April 22, 1937, a standard questionnaire for field workers
+drawn up by John A. Lomax, then National Advisor on Folklore and
+Folkways for the Federal Writers' Project[1], was issued from Washington
+as "Supplementary Instructions #9-E to The American Guide Manual"
+(appended below). Also associated with the direction and criticism of
+the work in the Washington office of the Federal Writers' Project were
+Henry G. Alsberg, Director; George Cronyn, Associate Director; Sterling
+A. Brown, Editor on Negro Affairs; Mary Lloyd, Editor; and B.A. Botkin,
+Folklore Editor succeeding Mr. Lomax.[2]
+
+[Footnote 1: Mr. Lomax served from June 25, 1936, to October 23, 1937,
+with a ninety-day furlough beginning July 24, 1937. According to a
+memorandum written by Mr. Alsberg on March 23, 1937, Mr. Lomax was "in
+charge of the collection of folklore all over the United States for the
+Writers' Project. In connection with this work he is making recordings
+of Negro songs and cowboy ballads. Though technically on the payroll of
+the Survey of Historical Records, his work is done for the Writers and
+the results will make several national volumes of folklore. The essays
+in the State Guides devoted to folklore are also under his supervision."
+Since 1933 Mr. Lomax has been Honorary Curator of the Archive of
+American Folk Song, Library of Congress.]
+
+[Footnote 2: Folklore Consultant, from May 2 to July 31, 1938; Folklore
+Editor, from August 1, 1938, to August 31, 1939.]
+
+On August 31, 1939, the Federal Writers' Project became the Writers'
+Program, and the National Technical Project in Washington was
+terminated. On October 17, the first Library of Congress Project, under
+the sponsorship of the Library of Congress, was set up by the Work
+Projects Administration in the District of Columbia, to continue some of
+the functions of the National Technical Project, chiefly those concerned
+with books of a regional or nationwide scope. On February 12, 1940, the
+project was reorganized along strictly conservation lines, and on August
+16 it was succeeded by the present Library of Congress Project (Official
+Project No. 165-2-26-7, Work Project No. 540).
+
+The present Library of Congress Project, under the sponsorship of the
+Library of Congress, is a unit of the Public Activities Program of the
+Community Service Programs of the Work Projects Administration for the
+District of Columbia. According to the Project Proposal (WPA Form 301),
+the purpose of the Project is to "collect, check, edit, index, and
+otherwise prepare for use WPA records, Professional and Service
+Projects."
+
+The Writers' Unit of the Library of Congress Project processes material
+left over from or not needed for publication by the state Writers'
+Projects. On file in the Washington office in August, 1939, was a large
+body of slave narratives, photographs of former slaves, interviews with
+white informants regarding slavery, transcripts of laws, advertisements,
+records of sale, transfer, and manumission of slaves, and other
+documents. As unpublished manuscripts of the Federal Writers' Project
+these records passed into the hands of the Library of Congress Project
+for processing; and from them has been assembled the present collection
+of some two thousand narratives from the following seventeen states:
+Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,
+Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South
+Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia[1].
+
+[Footnote 1: The bulk of the Virginia narratives is still in the state
+office. Excerpts from these are included in _The Negro in Virginia_,
+compiled by Workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects
+Administration in the State of Virginia, Sponsored by the Hampton
+Institute, Hastings House, Publishers, New York, 1940. Other slave
+narratives are published in _Drums and Shadows_, Survival Studies among
+the Georgia Coastal Negroes, Savannah Unit, Georgia Writers' Project,
+Work Projects Administration, University of Georgia Press, 1940. A
+composite article, "Slaves," based on excerpts from three interviews,
+was contributed by Elizabeth Lomax to the _American Stuff_ issue of
+_Direction_, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1935.]
+
+The work of the Writers' Unit in preparing the narratives for deposit in
+the Library of Congress consisted principally of arranging the
+manuscripts and photographs by states and alphabetically by informants
+within the states, listing the informants and illustrations, and
+collating the contents in seventeen volumes divided into thirty-three
+parts. The following material has been omitted: Most of the interviews
+with informants born too late to remember anything of significance
+regarding slavery or concerned chiefly with folklore; a few negligible
+fragments and unidentified manuscripts; a group of Tennessee interviews
+showing evidence of plagiarism; and the supplementary material gathered
+in connection with the narratives. In the course of the preparation of
+these volumes, the Writers' Unit compiled data for an essay on the
+narratives and partially completed an index and a glossary. Enough
+additional material is being received from the state Writers' Projects,
+as part of their surplus, to make a supplement, which, it is hoped, will
+contain several states not here represented, such as Louisiana.
+
+All editing had previously been done in the states or the Washington
+office. Some of the pencilled comments have been identified as those of
+John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, who also read the manuscripts. In a few
+cases, two drafts or versions of the same interview have been included
+for comparison of interesting variations or alterations.
+
+
+II
+
+Set beside the work of formal historians, social scientists, and
+novelists, slave autobiographies, and contemporary records of
+abolitionists and planters, these life histories, taken down as far as
+possible in the narrators' words, constitute an invaluable body of
+unconscious evidence or indirect source material, which scholars and
+writers dealing with the South, especially social psychologists and
+cultural anthropologists, cannot afford to reckon without. For the first
+and the last time, a large number of surviving slaves (many of whom have
+since died) have been permitted to tell their own story, in their own
+way. In spite of obvious limitations--bias and fallibility of both
+informants and interviewers, the use of leading questions, unskilled
+techniques, and insufficient controls and checks--this saga must remain
+the most authentic and colorful source of our knowledge of the lives and
+thoughts of thousands of slaves, of their attitudes toward one another,
+toward their masters, mistresses, and overseers, toward poor whites,
+North and South, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, religion,
+education, and virtually every phase of Negro life in the South.
+
+The narratives belong to folk history--history recovered from the
+memories and lips of participants or eye-witnesses, who mingle group
+with individual experience and both with observation, hearsay, and
+tradition. Whether the narrators relate what they actually saw and
+thought and felt, what they imagine, or what they have thought and felt
+about slavery since, now we know _why_ they thought and felt as they
+did. To the white myth of slavery must be added the slaves' own folklore
+and folk-say of slavery. The patterns they reveal are folk and regional
+patterns--the patterns of field hand, house and body servant, and
+artisan; the patterns of kind and cruel master or mistress; the patterns
+of Southeast and Southwest, lowland and upland, tidewater and inland,
+smaller and larger plantations, and racial mixture (including Creole and
+Indian).
+
+The narratives belong also to folk literature. Rich not only in folk
+songs, folk tales, and folk speech but also in folk humor and poetry,
+crude or skilful in dialect, uneven in tone and treatment, they
+constantly reward one with earthy imagery, salty phrase, and sensitive
+detail. In their unconscious art, exhibited in many a fine and powerful
+short story, they are a contribution to the realistic writing of the
+Negro. Beneath all the surface contradictions and exaggerations, the
+fantasy and flattery, they possess an essential truth and humanity which
+surpasses as it supplements history and literature.
+
+Washington, D.C.
+June 12, 1941
+
+B.A. Botkin
+Chief Editor, Writers' Unit
+Library of Congress Project
+
+
+
+
+SELECTED RECORDS
+Bearing on the History of the Slave Narratives
+
+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 the
+problems encountered.
+
+1. Copy of Memorandum from George Cronyn to Mrs. Eudora R. Richardson.
+April 1, 1937.
+
+2. Autograph Memorandum from John A. Lomax to George Cronyn. April 9,
+1937.
+
+3. Copy of Memorandum from George Cronyn to Edwin Bjorkman, enclosing a
+Memorandum from John A. Lomax on "Negro Dialect Suggestions." April 14,
+1937.
+
+4. Mimeographed "Supplementary Instructions #9-E to the American Guide
+Manual. Folklore. Stories from Ex-Slaves." April 22, 1937. Prepared by
+John A. Lomax.
+
+5. Copy of Memorandum from George Cronyn to Edwin Bjorkman. May 3, 1937.
+
+6. Copy of Memorandum from Henry G. Alsberg to State Directors of the
+Federal Writers' Project. June 9, 1937.
+
+7. Copy of "Notes by an Editor on Dialect Usage in Accounts by
+Interviews with Ex-Slaves." June 20, 1937. Prepared by Sterling A.
+Brown.
+
+8. Copy of Memorandum from Henry G. Alsberg to State Directors of the
+Federal Writers' Project. July 30, 1937.
+
+9. Copy of Memorandum from Henry G. Alsberg to State Directors of the
+Federal Writers' Project. September 8, 1937.
+
+
+
+
+[Document 1]
+
+Sent to: NORTH & SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, ALABAMA,
+ LOUISIANA, TEXAS, ARKANSAS, TENNESSEE,
+ KENTUCKY, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI, OKLA.
+
+April 1, 1937
+
+Mrs. Eudora R. Richardson, Acting State Director
+Federal Writers' Project, WPA
+Rooms 321-4, American Bank Building
+Richmond, Virginia
+
+Subj: Folklore
+
+
+Dear Mrs. Richardson:
+
+We have received from Florida a remarkably interesting collection of
+autobiographical stories by ex-slaves. Such documentary records by the
+survivors of a historic period in America are invaluable, both to the
+student of history and to creative writers.
+
+If a volume of such importance can be assembled we will endeavor to
+secure its publication. There undoubtedly is material of this sort to be
+found in your State by making the proper contact through tactful
+interviewers. While it is desirable to give a running story of the life
+of each subject, the color and human interest will be greatly enhanced
+if it is told largely in the words of the person interviewed. The
+peculiar idiom is often more expressive than a literary account.
+
+We shall be very glad to know if you have undertaken any research of
+this sort, or plan to do so.
+
+Very truly yours,
+George Cronyn
+Associate Director
+Federal Writers' Project
+
+GWCronyn/a
+
+
+
+
+[Document 2]
+(Transcript of Preceding Autograph Memorandum)
+[Transcriber's Note: The handwritten version is included in the original
+volume.]
+
+4/9/37
+
+Mr. Cronyn:
+
+In replying to this letter I should like for you to commend especially
+two stories:
+
+1. _Lula Flannigan_ by Sarah H. Hall Athens, Ga.
+
+2. _Uncle Willis_, Miss Velma Bell, Supervisor, Athens, Ga.
+
+All the stories are worth while but these two are mainly (one entirely)
+in dialect and abound in human interest touches. _All the interviewers
+should copy the Negro expressions_.
+
+I much prefer to read _un_edited (but typed) "interviews," and I should
+like to see as soon as possible all the seventy-five to which Miss
+Dillard refers.
+
+It is most important, too, to secure copies of "slave codes, overseers
+codes and the like." This item is new and all the states should send in
+similar material.
+
+Yours,
+John A. Lomax
+
+
+
+
+[Document 3]
+
+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 of the narratives. Some of these stories have been
+accompanied by photographs of the subjects. We would like to have
+portraits wherever they can be secured, but we urge your photographers
+to make the studies as simple, natural, and "unposed" as possible. Let
+the background, cabin or whatnot, be the normal setting--in short, just
+the picture a visitor would expect to find by "dropping in" on one of
+these old-timers.
+
+Enclosed is a memorandum of Mr. Lomax with suggestions for simplifying
+the spelling of certain recurring dialect words. This does not mean that
+the interviews should be entirely in "straight English"--simply, that we
+want them to be more readable to those uninitiated in the broadest Negro
+speech.
+
+Very truly yours,
+
+George Cronyn
+Associate Director
+Federal Writers' Project
+
+GWCronyn:MEB
+
+
+This paragraph was added to the letter to Arkansas.
+
+Mr. Lomax is very eager to get such records as you mention: Court
+Records of Sale, Transfer, and Freeing of Slaves, as well as prices
+paid.
+
+
+
+
+Negro Dialect Suggestions
+(Stories of Ex-Slaves)
+
+Do not write:
+
+_Ah_ for I
+
+_Poe_ for po' (poor)
+
+_Hit_ for it
+
+_Tuh_ for to
+
+_Wuz_ for was
+
+_Baid_ for bed
+
+_Daid_ for dead
+
+_Ouh_ for our
+
+_Mah_ for my
+
+_Ovah_ for over
+
+_Othuh_ for other
+
+_Wha_ for whar (where)
+
+_Undah_ for under
+
+_Fuh_ for for
+
+_Yondah_ for yonder
+
+_Moster_ for marster or massa
+
+_Gwainter_ for gwineter (going to)
+
+_Oman_ for woman
+
+_Ifn_ for iffen (if)
+
+_Fiuh_ or _fiah_ for fire
+
+_Uz_ or _uv_ or _o'_ for of
+
+_Poar_ for poor or po'
+
+_J'in_ for jine
+
+_Coase_ for cose
+
+_Utha_ for other
+
+_Yo'_ for you
+
+_Gi'_ for give
+
+_Cot_ for caught
+
+_Kin'_ for kind
+
+_Cose_ for 'cause
+
+_Tho't_ for thought
+
+
+
+
+[Document 4]
+
+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 from Rhode
+ Island, for instance.
+
+April 22, 1937
+
+
+STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES
+
+The main purpose of these detailed and homely questions is to get the
+Negro interested in talking about the days of slavery. If he will talk
+freely, he should be encouraged to say what he pleases without reference
+to the questions. It should be remembered that the Federal Writers'
+Project is not interested in taking sides on any question. The worker
+should not censor any material collected, regardless of its nature.
+
+It will not be necessary, indeed it will probably be a mistake, to ask
+every person all of the questions. Any incidents or facts he can recall
+should be written down as nearly as possible just as he says them, but
+do not use dialect spelling so complicated that it may confuse the
+reader.
+
+A second visit, a few days after the first one, is important, so that
+the worker may gather all the worthwhile recollections that the first
+talk has aroused.
+
+
+Questions:
+
+1. Where and when were you born?
+
+2. Give the names of your father and mother. Where did they come from?
+Give names of your brothers and sisters. Tell about your life with them
+and describe your home and the "quarters." Describe the beds and where
+you slept. Do you remember anything about your grandparents or any
+stories told you about them?
+
+3. What work did you do in slavery days? Did you ever earn any money?
+How? What did you buy with this money?
+
+4. What did you eat and how was it cooked? Any possums? Rabbits? Fish?
+What food did you like best? Did the slaves have their own gardens?
+
+5. What clothing did you wear in hot weather? Cold weather? On Sundays?
+Any shoes? Describe your wedding clothes.
+
+6. Tell about your master, mistress, their children, the house they
+lived in, the overseer or driver, poor white neighbors.
+
+7. How many acres in the plantation? How many slaves on it? How and at
+what time did the overseer wake up the slaves? Did they work hard and
+late at night? How and for what causes were the slaves punished? Tell
+what you saw. Tell some of the stories you heard.
+
+8. Was there a jail for slaves? Did you ever see any slaves sold or
+auctioned off? How did groups of slaves travel? Did you ever see slaves
+in chains?
+
+9. Did the white folks help you to learn to read and write?
+
+10. Did the slaves have a church on your plantation? Did they read the
+Bible? Who was your favorite preacher? Your favorite spirituals? Tell
+about the baptizing; baptizing songs. Funerals and funeral songs.
+
+11. Did the slaves ever run away to the North? Why? What did you hear
+about patrollers? How did slaves carry news from one plantation to
+another? Did you hear of trouble between the blacks and whites?
+
+12. What did the slaves do when they went to their quarters after the
+day's work was done on the plantation? Did they work on Saturday
+afternoons? What did they do Saturday nights? Sundays? Christmas
+morning? New Year's Day? Any other holidays? Cornshucking? Cotton
+Picking? Dances? When some of the white master's family married or died?
+A wedding or death among the slaves?
+
+13. What games did you play as a child? Can you give the words or sing
+any of the play songs or ring games of the children? Riddles? Charms?
+Stories about "Raw Head and Bloody Bones" or other "hants" of ghosts?
+Stories about animals? What do you think of voodoo? Can you give the
+words or sing any lullabies? Work songs? Plantation hollers? Can you
+tell a funny story you have heard or something funny that happened to
+you? Tell about the ghosts you have seen.
+
+14. When slaves became sick who looked after them? What medicines did
+tho doctors give them? What medicine (herbs, leaves, or roots) did the
+slaves use for sickness? What charms did they wear and to keep off what
+diseases?
+
+15. What do you remember about the war that brought your freedom? What
+happened on the day news came that you were free? What did your master
+say and do? When the Yankees came what did they do and say?
+
+16. Tell what work you did and how you lived the first year after the
+war and what you saw or heard about the KuKlux Klan and the Nightriders.
+Any school then for Negroes? Any land?
+
+17. Whom did you marry? Describe the wedding. How many children and
+grandchildren have you and what are they doing?
+
+18. What do you think of Abraham Lincoln? Jefferson Davis? Booker
+Washington? Any other prominent white man or Negro you have known or
+heard of?
+
+19. Now that slavery is ended what do you think of it? Tell why you
+joined a church and why you think all people should be religious.
+
+20. Was the overseer "poor white trash"? What were some of his rules?
+
+The details of the interview should be reported as accurately as
+possible in the language of the original statements. An example of
+material collected through one of the interviews with ex-slaves is
+attached herewith. Although this material was collected before the
+standard questionnaire had been prepared, it represents an excellent
+method of reporting an interview. More information might have been
+obtained however, if a comprehensive questionnaire had been used.
+
+
+
+
+Sample Interview From Georgia
+
+LULA FLANNIGAN
+Ex-slave, 78 years.
+
+
+"Dey says I wuz jes fo' years ole when de war wuz over, but I sho' does
+member dat day dem Yankee sojers come down de road. Mary and Willie
+Durham wuz my mammy and pappy, en dey belong ter Marse Spence Durham at
+Watkinsville in slav'ry times."
+
+"When word cum dat de Yankee sojers wuz on de way, Marse Spence en his
+sons wuz 'way at de war. Miss Betsey tole my pappy ter take en hide de
+hosses down in de swamp. My mammy help Miss Betsey sew up de silver in
+de cotton bed ticks. Dem Yankee sojers nebber did find our whitefolks'
+hosses and deir silver."
+
+"Miss Marzee, she wuz Marse Spence en Miss Betsey's daughter. She wuz
+playin' on de pianny when de Yankee sojers come down de road. Two sojers
+cum in de house en ax her fer ter play er tune dat dey liked. I fergits
+de name er dey tune. Miss Marzee gits up fum de pianny en she low dat
+she ain' gwine play no tune for' no Yankee mens. Den de sojers takes her
+out en set her up on top er de high gate post in front er de big house,
+en mek her set dar twel de whole regiment pass by. She set dar en cry,
+but she sho' ain' nebber played no tune for dem Yankee mens!"
+
+"De Yankee sojers tuk all de blankets offen de beds. Dey stole all de
+meat dey want fum de smokehouse. Dey bash in de top er de syrup barrels
+en den turn de barrels upside down."
+
+"Marse Spence gave me ter Miss Marzee fer ter be her own maid, but
+slav'ry time ended fo' I wuz big 'nough ter be much good ter 'er."
+
+"Us had lots better times dem days dan now. Whatter dese niggers know
+'bout corn shuckin's, en log rollin's, en house raisin's? Marse Spence
+used ter let his niggers have candy pullin's in syrup mekkin' time, en
+de way us wud dance in de moonlight wuz sompin' dese niggers nowadays
+doan know nuffin' 'bout."
+
+"All de white folks love ter see plenty er healthy, strong black chillun
+comin' long, en dey wuz watchful ter see dat 'omans had good keer when
+dey chilluns vuz bawned. Dey let dese 'omans do easy, light wuk towards
+de last 'fo' de chilluns is bawned, en den atterwuds dey doan do nuffin
+much twel dey is well en strong ergin. Folks tell 'bout some plantations
+whar de 'omans ud run back home fum de fiel' en hev day baby, en den be
+back in do fiel' swingin' er hoe fo' right dat same day, but dey woan
+nuffin lak dat 'round Watkinsville."
+
+"When er scritch owl holler et night us put en iron in de fire quick, en
+den us turn all de shoes up side down on de flo', en turn de pockets
+wrong side out on call de close, kaze effan we diden' do dem things
+quick, sompin' moughty bad wuz sho' ter happen. Mos' en lakly, somebuddy
+gwint'er be daid in dat house fo' long, if us woan quick 'bout fixin'.
+Whut us do in summer time, 'bout fire at night fer de scritch owl? Us
+jes' onkivver de coals in de fire place. Us diden' hev no matches en us
+bank de fire wid ashes evvy night all de year 'roun'. Effen de fire go
+out, kaze some nigger git keerless 'bout it, den somebuddy gotter go off
+ter de next plantation sometime ter git live coals. Some er de mens
+could wuk de flints right good, but dat wuz er hard job. Dey jes rub dem
+flint rocks tergedder right fas' en let de sparks day makes drap down on
+er piece er punk wood, en dey gits er fire dat way effen dey is lucky."
+
+"Dem days nobuddy bring er axe in de house on his shoulder. Dat was er
+sho' sign er bad luck. En nebber lay no broom crost de bed. One time er
+likely pair er black folks git married, en somebuddy give 'em er new
+broom. De 'oman she proud uv her nice, spankin' new broom en she lay hit
+on de bed fer de weddin' crowd ter see it, wid de udder things been give
+'em. Fo' thee years go by her man wuz beatin' 'er, en not long atter dat
+she go plum stark crazy. She oughter ter know better'n ter lay dat broom
+on her bed. It sho' done brung her bad luck. Dey sent her off ter de
+crazy folks place, en she died dar."
+
+
+
+
+[Document 5]
+
+May 3, 1937
+
+Mr. Edwin Bjorkman, State Director
+Federal Writers' Project, WPA
+City Hall, Fifth Floor
+Asheville, North Carolina
+
+Subj: Ex-slave Narratives
+
+
+Dear Mr. Bjorkman:
+
+I am quoting a memorandum of Mr. Lomax, folklore editor, regarding the
+ex-slave stories:
+
+"Of the five States which have already sent in reminiscences of
+ex-slaves, Tennessee is the only one in which the workers are asking
+ex-slaves about their belief in signs, cures, hoodoo, etc. Also, the
+workers are requesting the ex-slaves to tell the stories that were
+current among the Negroes when they were growing up. Some of the best
+copy that has come in to the office is found in these stories."
+
+This suggestion, I believe, will add greatly to the value of the
+collection now being made.
+
+Very truly yours,
+George Cronyn
+Associate Director
+
+CC--Mr. W.T. Couch, Asso. Director Federal Writers' Project
+ University Press
+ Chapel Hill, No. Car.
+
+GWCronyn/a
+
+SENT TO: No. and So. Carolina; Georgia; Alabama; Louisiana;
+ Texas; Arkansas; Kentucky; Missouri; Mississippi;
+ Oklahoma; Florida
+
+
+
+
+[Document 6]
+
+MEMORANDUM
+June 9, 1937
+
+TO: STATE DIRECTORS OF THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
+FROM: Henry G. Alsberg, Director
+
+
+In connection with the stories of ex-slaves, please send in to this
+office copies of State, county, or city laws affecting the conduct of
+slaves, free Negroes, overseers, patrollers, or any person or custom
+affecting the institution of slavery. It will, of course, not be
+necessary to send more than one copy of the laws that were common
+throughout the state, although any special law passed by a particular
+city would constitute worthwhile material.
+
+In addition, we should like to have you collect and send in copies of
+any laws or accounts of any established customs relating to the
+admission to your State of bodies of slaves from Africa or other
+sections, the escape of slaves, etc. Also, we should like to see copies
+of advertisements of sales of slaves, published offers of rewards for
+fugitive slaves, copies of transfers of slaves by will or otherwise,
+records of freeing of slaves, etc. Public records of very particular
+interest regarding any transaction involving slaves should be
+photostated and copies furnished to the Washington office.
+
+Furthermore, contemporary accounts of any noteworthy occurrences among
+the Negroes during slavery days or the Reconstruction period should be
+copied, if taken from contemporary newspapers. If such records have been
+published in books, a reference to the source would be sufficient. We
+have been receiving a large number of extremely interesting stories of
+ex-slaves. The historic background of the institution of slavery, which
+should be disclosed with the information we are now requesting, will be
+very helpful in the execution of the plans we have in mind.
+
+Copies sent to:
+Alabama Georgia Maryland North Carolina Tennessee
+Arkansas Kentucky Mississippi Oklahoma Texas
+Florida Louisiana Missouri South Carolina Virginia
+ West Virginia
+ Ohio
+ Kansas
+
+
+
+
+[Document 7]
+
+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, commas and
+apostrophes. The value of exact phonetic transcription is, of course, a
+great one. But few artists attempt this completely. Thomas Nelson Page
+was meticulous in his dialect; Joel Chandler Harris less meticulous but
+in my opinion even more accurate. But the values they sought are
+different from the values that I believe this book of slave narratives
+should have. Present day readers are less ready for the over-stress of
+phonetic spelling than in the days of local color. Authors realize this:
+Julia Peterkin uses a modified Gullah instead of Gonzales' carefully
+spelled out Gullah. Howard Odum has questioned the use of goin' for
+going since the g is seldom pronounced even by the educated.
+
+Truth to idiom is more important, I believe, than truth to
+pronunciation. Erskine Caldwell in his stories of Georgia, Ruth Suckow
+in stories of Iowa, and Nora Neale Hurston in stories of Florida Negroes
+get a truth to the manner of speaking without excessive misspellings. In
+order to make this volume of slave narratives more appealing and less
+difficult for the average reader, I recommend that truth to idiom be
+paramount, and exact truth to pronunciation secondary.
+
+I appreciate the fact that many of the writers have recorded
+sensitively. The writer who wrote "ret" for right is probably as
+accurate as the one who spelled it "raght." But in a single publication,
+not devoted to a study of local speech, the reader may conceivably be
+puzzled by different spellings of the same word. The words "whafolks,"
+"whufolks," "whi'foiks," etc., can all be heard in the South. But
+"whitefolks" is easier for the reader, and the word itself is suggestive
+of the setting and the attitude.
+
+Words that definitely have a notably different pronunciation from the
+usual should be recorded as heard. More important is the recording of
+words with a different local meaning. Most important, however, are the
+turns of phrase that have flavor and vividness. Examples occurring in
+the copy I read are:
+
+durin' of de war
+outmen my daddy (good, but unnecessarily put into quotes)
+piddled in de fields
+skit of woods
+kinder chillish
+
+There are, of course, questionable words, for which it may be hard to
+set up a single standard. Such words are:
+
+paddyrollers, padrollers, pattyrollers for patrollers
+missis, mistess for mistress
+marsa, massa, maussa, mastuh for master
+ter, tuh, teh for to
+
+I believe that there should be, for this book, a uniform word for each
+of these.
+
+The following list is composed of words which I think should not be
+used. These are merely samples of certain faults:
+
+ 1. ah for I
+ 2. bawn for born
+ 3. capper for caper
+ 4. com' for come
+ 5. do for dough
+ 6. ebry, ev'ry for every
+ 7. hawd for hard
+ 8. muh for my
+ 9. nekid for naked
+10. ole, ol' for old
+11. ret, raght for right
+12. sneik for snake
+13. sowd for sword
+14. sto' for store
+15. teh for tell
+16. twon't for twan't
+17. useter, useta for used to
+18. uv for of
+19. waggin for wagon
+20. whi' for white
+21. wuz for was
+
+I should like to recommend that the stories be told in the language of
+the ex-slave, without excessive editorializing and "artistic"
+introductions on the part of the interviewer. The contrast between the
+directness of the ex-slave speech and the roundabout and at times
+pompous comments of the interviewer is frequently glaring. Care should
+be taken lest expressions such as the following creep in: "inflicting
+wounds from which he never fully recovered" (supposed to be spoken by an
+ex-slave).
+
+Finally, I should like to recommend that the words darky and nigger and
+such expressions as "a comical little old black woman" be omitted from
+the editorial writing. Where the ex-slave himself uses these, they
+should be retained.
+
+
+This material sent June 20 to states of: Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga.,
+Ky., La., Md., Miss., Mo., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Tenn., Texas,
+Va., and S. Car.
+
+
+
+
+[Document 8]
+
+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 toto_ to your
+State as they represent general conclusions reached after reading the
+mass of ex-slave material already submitted. However, they will, I hope,
+prove helpful as an indication, along broad lines, of what we want.
+
+
+GENERAL SUGGESTIONS:
+
+1. Instead of attempting to interview a large number of ex-slaves the
+workers should now concentrate on one or two of the more interesting and
+intelligent people, revisiting them, establishing friendly relations,
+and drawing them out over a period of time.
+
+2. The specific questions suggested to be asked of the slaves should be
+only a basis, a beginning. The talk should run to all subjects, and the
+interviewer should take care to sieze upon the information already
+given, and stories already told, and from them derive other questions.
+
+3. The interviewer should take the greatest care not to influence the
+point of view of the informant, and not to let his own opinion on the
+subject of slavery become obvious. Should the ex-slave, however, give
+only one side of the picture, the interviewer should suggest that there
+were other circumstances, and ask questions about them.
+
+4. We suggest that each state choose one or two of their most successful
+ex-slave interviewers and have them take down some stories _word_ for
+_word_. Some Negro informants are marvellous in their ability to
+participate in this type of interview. _All stories should be as nearly
+word-for-word as is possible._
+
+5. More emphasis should be laid on questions concerning the lives of the
+individuals since they were freed.
+
+
+SUGGESTIONS TO INTERVIEWERS:
+
+The interviewer should attempt to weave the following questions
+naturally into the conversation, in simple language. Many of the
+interviews show that the workers have simply sprung routine questions
+out of context, and received routine answers.
+
+1. What did the ex-slaves expect from freedom? Forty acres and a mule? A
+distribution of the land of their masters' plantation?
+
+2. What did the slaves get after freedom? Were any of the plantations
+actually divided up? Did their masters give them any money? Were they
+under any compulsion after the war to remain as servants?
+
+3. What did the slaves do after the war? What did they receive
+generally? What do they think about the reconstruction period?
+
+4. Did secret organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan exert or attempt to
+exert any influence over the lives of ex-slaves?
+
+5. Did the ex-slaves ever vote? If so, under what circumstances? Did any
+of their friends ever hold political office? What do the ex-slaves think
+of the present restricted suffrage?
+
+6. What have the ex-slaves been doing in the interim between 1864 and
+1937? What jobs have they held (in detail)? How are they supported
+nowadays?
+
+7. What do the ex-slaves think of the younger generation of Negroes and
+of present conditions?
+
+8. Were there any instances of slave uprisings?
+
+9. Were any of the ex-slaves in your community living in Virginia at the
+time of the Nat Turner rebellion? Do they remember anything about it?
+
+10. What songs were there of the period?
+
+The above sent to: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Ga., Kentucky, La.,
+Md., Mississippi, Mo., N. Car., Okla., S. Car., Tenn., Texas, Virginia,
+W. Va., Ohio, Kansas, Indiana.
+
+
+
+
+[Document 9]
+
+MEMORANDUM
+September 8, 1937
+
+TO: STATE DIRECTORS OF THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
+FROM: HENRY G. ALSBERG
+
+
+It would be a good idea if you would ask such of your field workers as
+are collecting stories from ex-slaves to try to obtain stories given to
+the ex-slaves by their parents and grandparents. The workers should try
+to obtain information about family traditions and legends passed down
+from generation to generation. There should be a wealth of such material
+available.
+
+We have found that the most reliable way to obtain information about the
+age of ex-slaves or the time certain events in their lives took place is
+to ask them to try to recollect some event of importance of known date
+and to use that as a point of reference. For instance, Virginia had a
+very famous snow storm called Cox's Snow Storm which is listed in
+history books by date and which is well remembered by many ex-slaves. In
+Georgia and Alabama some ex-slaves remember the falling stars of the
+year 1883. An ex-slave will often remember his life story in relation to
+such events. Not only does it help the chronological accuracy of
+ex-slave stories to ask for dated happenings of this kind, but it often
+serves to show whether the story being told is real or imagined.
+
+Sent the following states:
+Alabama Maryland Tennessee
+Arkansas Mississippi Texas
+Florida Missouri Virginia
+Georgia N. Carolina West Virginia
+Kentucky Oklahoma Ohio
+Louisiana S. Carolina Kansas
+ Indiana
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Narratives, Administrative Files
+(A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves), by Work Projects Administration
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLAVE NARRATIVES ***
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