Produced by Diane Monico and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.) [TR: ***] = Transcriber Note</p> [HW: ***] = Handwritten Note</p> 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 _Illustrated with Photographs_ WASHINGTON 1941 VOLUME XV TENNESSEE NARRATIVES Prepared by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Tennessee INFORMANTS Batson, Frances 1 Casey, Julia 3 Chappel, Cecelia 5 Childress, Wiley 9 Falls, Robert 11 Gaines, Rachel 17 Goole, Frankie 19 Gray, Precilla 24 Greer, Jenny 27 Grisham, Emma 28 Hudson, Measy 31 Hyde, Patsy 33 Kannon, Ellis Ken 37 Martin, Scott 40 Matthews, Ann 43 Moore, Rev. John 47 Moss, Andrew 49 Moss, Mollie 55 Odell, Andy 60 Parker, Laura Ramsey 62 Reece, Naisy 64 Simpkins, Millie 66 Star, Joseph Leonidas 70 Thomas, Dan 74 Watkins, Sylvia 76 Young, Narcissus 80 INTERVIEW FRANCES BATSON 1213 Scovel St. Nashville, Tennessee "I dunno jes how ole I ez. I wuz baw'n 'yer in Nashville, durin' slabery. I must be way pas' 90 fer I member de Yankee soldiers well. De chilluns called dem de 'blue mans.' Mah white folks wuz named Crockett. Dr. Crockett wuz our marster but I don't member 'im mahse'f. He d'ed w'en I wuz small. Mah marster wuz mean ter mah mammy w'en her oler chilluns would run 'way. Mah oler br'er went ter war wid mah marster. Mah younger br'er run 'way, dey caught 'im, tuk 'im home en whup'd 'im. He run 'way en wuz nebber found." "We wuzn't sold but mah mammy went 'way, en lef' me en I got up one mawnin' went ter mah mammy's room, she wuz gon'. I cried en cried fer her. Mah Missis wouldn't let me outa' de house, fer fear I'd try ter find her. Atter freedum mah br'er en a Yankee soldier kum in a waggin en git us. Mah white folks sed, I don' see why you ez takin' dez chilluns. Mah brudder said, 'We ez free now.' I member one whup'in mah missis gib me. Me en her daughter slipped 'way ter de river ter fish. We kotch a fish en mah missis had hit cooked fer us but whup'd us fer goin' ter de river."