pappy took me to Harrison County and
I've lived here ever, since and Minerva's pappy moves from the Flannigan
place to a jinin' farm 'bout that time and sev'ral years later we was
married. It was at her house and she had a blue serge suit and I wore a
cutaway Prince Albert suit and they was 'bout 200 folks at our weddin'.
The nex' day they give us an infair and a big dinner. We raises sixteen
chillen to be growed and six of the boys is still livin' and workin' in
Marshall.

"I been preachin' the Gospel and farmin' since slavery time. I jined the
church mos' 83 year ago when I was Major Gaud's slave and they baptises
me in the spring branch clost to where I finds the Lord. When I starts
preachin' I couldn't read or write and had to preach what massa told me
and he say tell them niggers iffen they obeys the massa they goes to
Heaven but I knowed there's something better for them, but daren't tell
them 'cept on the sly. That I done lots. I tells 'em iffen they
keeps prayin' the Lord will set 'em free. But
since them days I's done studied some and I preached all over Panola and
Harrison County and I started the Edward's Chapel over there in Marshall
and pastored it till a few year ago. It's named for me.

"I don't preach much now, 'cause I can't hold out to walk far and I got
no other way to go. We has a $14.00 pension and lives on that and what
we can raise on the farm.

420219

[Illustration: Ann J. Edwards]

ANN J. EDWARDS, 81, was born a slave of John Cook, of Arlington
County, Virginia. He manumitted his slaves in 1857. Four years
later Ann was adopted by Richard H. Cain, a colored preacher. He
was elected to the 45th Congress in 1876, and remained in
Washington, D.C., until his death, in 1887. Ann married Jas. E.
Edwards, graduate of Howard College, a preacher. She now lives with
her granddaughter, Mary Foster, at 804 E. 4th St., Fort Worth,
Texas.

"I shall gladly relate the story of my life. I was born a slave on
January 27th, 1856, and my master's name was John J. Cook, who was a
resident of Arlington County, Virginia. He moved to Washington, D.C.,
when I was nearly two years old and immediately gave my parents their
freedom. They separated within a year after that, and my mother earned
our living, working as a hairdresser until her death in 1861. I was then
adopted by Richard H. Cain, a minister of the Gospel in the African
Methodist Church.

"I remembe