Slave Narrative Cards

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Slave Narrative Cards

• Excerpts from the Library of Congress Slave
  Narratives

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Bill SimmsOsceola, Missouri
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Bill Simms
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Bill Simms
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Bill Simms
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Bill Simms
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Bill Simms Questions

• What happened to Bill Simms mother?
• According to Bill, what happened to slaves on his
  plantation when they got too old to work?
• What kind of work did Bill do during the Civil
  War?
• What did Bill do when the Union army came?
• What promise did Bill make to his wife?

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Bill Simms Answers

• She was sold because his owner needed money. He
  never saw her again.
• When slaves got too old to work, they were given
  a cabin on the plantation and would be given
  victuals (food) and clothing until they died.
  Other slaves would wait on them.
• He was sent to work for the Confederate army. He
  hauled cannons, ammunition, and provisions. He
  also drove mules.
• He ran away and went to work for the Union
  driving mules, working wagons and hauling
  ammunition and provisions (supplies).
• He promised her that he would see that their
  daughters were educated so they had a better life
  than their parents had experienced. They both
  graduated from Ottawa University and became
  teachers. One of the girls bought bill the first
  suit of clothes he ever had.

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Bob Maynard, Age 79Weleetka, Oklahoma
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Bob Maynard
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Bob Maynard
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Bob Maynard
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Bob Maynard Questions

• What jobs did Bob do for his master?
• What did the slaves do for fun?
• How did Bob feel about Abraham Lincoln?
• According to Bob, how did people in the South
  feel about him?
• What proof did Bobs owner have that Lincoln had
  visited his house?
• What did Bobs family do after they became free?

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Bob Maynard Anwers

• He carried the key basket for the owners wife.
  He would accompany her on her rounds every
  morning. He also ran errands for the house help.
• They would go outside after supper to make music
  and sing.
• He liked Lincoln and felt he did a lot for the
  slaves.
• People in the south did not like Lincoln because
  they knew they would lose their slaves when he
  was elected president.

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Bob Maynard Answers, cont.

• 5. He wrote him a letter telling him he had
  visited and that he was going to work to free his
  slaves. He had also carved A. Lincoln on the
  bedstead at the head.
• 6. They stayed another 6 months with their
  former owner.

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Anthony Dawson, 105 years old
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Anthony Dawson
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Anthony Dawson
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Anthony Dawson
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Anthony Dawson Questions

• How old was Anthony when he was interviewed? How
  did he know his age?
• What did they raise on the plantation?
• How did they get their clothing?
• Where did Anthony work on the plantation? What
  kind of jobs did he have?

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Anthony Dawson Answers

• Anthony was 105 years old. He knew this because
  his master kept records for his slaves just like
  he did his family.
• They raised cotton, tobacco, corn and oats. They
  also raised cattle and horses and sheep (for
  wool).
• One woman carded the wool and ran the loom. They
  used the cloth for clothing.
• He wanted them to eat all they could hold. He
  worked in the big house with his mother. He
  would swing the fly brush to keep flies over his
  Master and his wife.

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Sarah Ashley
93 years old Interviewed in Goodrich, Texas
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Sarah Ashley
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Sarah Ashley
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Sarah Ashley Questions

• What kind of work did Sarah do when she was a
  slave?
• What kind of punishments did slaves on Sarahs
  plantation receive?
• How did Sarah and her family get their food?
  What kinds of food did they eat?
• What happened to Sarah when she became free?

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Sarah Ashley Answers

• Sarah picked cotton. She was required to pick
  300 pounds a day.
• Slaves where beaten with a whip until they had
  blisters. After that they could be beaten with a
  paddle with a hole in it which would burst the
  blisters.
• Her family was usually given cornmeal and three
  pounds of bacon in chunk.
• Her master asked his slaves to stay and help with
  the crop no one stayed. He gave each slave a
  bale of cotton and some corn. She then went to
  work for a store owner who said he would pay her
  5 a month. He never paid her, but he did give
  her food and money.

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Aunt Clara WalkerAge 111
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Aunt Clara Walker
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Aunt Clara Walker
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Aunt Clara Walker
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Aunt Clara Walker
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Aunt Clara Walker
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Aunt Clara Walker Questions

• Where was Clara born? Where was her mother born?
• What kinds of jobs did Clara do when she was a
  little girl?
• What kind of job did Clara do when she was a
  teenager? What happened to the money she earned?
• What other kind of work did Clara do?

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Aunt Clara Walker Answers

• Sarah was born in Arkansas. She said her mother
  was born in Africa and was captured by a man
  riding an elephant.
• She had to sweep the yard and go after the cows,
  the pigs, and the sheep. (She said it was fun
  because all the children did this.)
• When she was 13, Clara learned to be a midwife.
  The money she earned went to her owner.
• Clara also learned to cook and weave cloth. (She
  never worked in the fields.)

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Albert HillFort Worth, Texas
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Albert Hill
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Albert Hill
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Albert Hill
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Albert Hill
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Albert Hill Questions

• When and where was Albert born? How large was
  his family?
• How did Albert describe his house and the food
  the family had?
• What job Albert do immediately after he became
  free? What did he earn?
• What other job did Albert have?

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Albert Hill Answers

• Albert was born on a plantation in Georgia and
  was one of 13 children.
• Their houses were made out of logs and had lots
  of tables and benches. They had cornmeal, beans,
  molasses, honey and hog meat. At times, they
  would be given coffee and tea.
• He stays and works for his master until he is
  21. He earned 7 a month and also had clothes, a
  house to live in and all the food he could eat.
• He leaves and goes to Texas where he does paving
  work and eventually goes to work for the railroad
  handling freight. (He has other jobs hosslin?)

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Allen V. Manning Tulsa, Oklahoma
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Allen Manning
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Allen Manning
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Allen Manning
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Allen V. Manning Questions

• What kind of job did Allens owner have?
• What did he teach Allen about his being a slave?
• According to Allen, why do people behave the way
  they do?
• Why was Allens owner troubled when the war
  started?
• What did Allen do when he was free?

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Allen Manning Anwers

• Allens owner was a Baptist minister.
• He taught Allen that he was his property and that
  he could do with him what he wanted to.
• Allen believes people behave the way they do
  because thats what they were taught when they
  were growing up.
• Allens owner was troubled because he believed it
  was sinful to fight and kill to keep his slaves.
  He did, however, feel that it was okay to own
  slaves.
• Allens family stayed and worked with their
  former owner for a share of the money he would
  earn from his farming.

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Susan BledsoeCanton, Ohio
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Susan Bledsoe
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Susan Bledsoe
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Susan Bledsoe
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Susan Bledsoe Questions

• How did Susans parents get their last names?
• What did the slaves do for fun at night?
• Why did Susan think her owner fed them so well?
• How did the slaves on Susans plantation
  celebrate their freedom?

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Susan Bledsoe Answers

• Her parents had the same last name as their
  owners.
• They would get together in front of the cabins,
  sing and play banjo music until the overseer made
  them stop and go to bed.
• He fed them well so they would be strong enough
  to do their work.
• They took long poles and fastened balls of
  cotton to them which they lit and went around
  singing and dancing.