lar about old Aunt Suzy, an
old negro slave who, after the close of the Civil War lived near Mrs.
Sloan's mother. Aunt Suzy was the property of the Southern plantation
owner and had lived on this plantation until she had raised a large
family. One day a northern buyer came there and said he wanted to buy
some slaves as cheap as possible so, aunt Suzy was getting old and not
able to work as she once had, her owner naturally thought that while he
had the chance he should sell her but he wanted to keep her children as
they were young and able to do hard work. So poor old Aunt Suzy was sold
along with some others and taken North. Here she was bought by another
trader and sold to a new master. It seems this new master was kind to
her and felt sympathy for her in her distress. She told him how she had
lived on the old plantation so long and how she had never thought that
when she became old and lonely that she would forever be separated from
her children so the new [TR: owner?] said he would see what he could do,
if anything. He made a trip to her former home and had a talk with the
owner of the plantation. The plantation owner said that he had a bad
crop year and heavy losses and much as he needed all the help possible
to put in more crops he could not afford to buy more slaves, much less
one that was unable to work. At this, Aunt Suzy's new owner being a
generous, kind-hearted man, decided to give the old lady back to him. He
knew he could not get much money for her if he did sell her, for no one
wanted an old slave that was unable to work. Aunt Suzy after all her
traveling got to return to her old plantation and when the slaves were
freed she lived with one of her children until her death.
BREATHITT CO.
(Margaret Bishop)
As told by Scott Mitchell, a former slave:
Scott Mitchell, claims his age as somewhere in the 70's but his wool is
white on the top of his head. Negroes don't whiten near as quickly as
white people, evidently he is nearly 90, or there-a-bouts.
"Yes'm I 'members the Civil Wah, 'cause I wuz a-livin' in Christian
County whah I wuz bohn, right wif my masteh and mistress. Captin Hester
and his wife. I wuz raised on a fahm right wif the, then I lef there.
"Yes, Cap'n Hester traded my mother an my sister, 'Twuz in 1861, he sent
em tuh Mississippi. When they wuz 'way from him 'bout two years he bot
em back. Yes, he wuz good tuh us. I wuz my mistess' boy. I looked afteh
her, en she made all uv my
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