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