has five chillen and five
grandchillen.

420083

[Illustration: Martin Jackson (A)]

[Illustration: Martin Jackson (B)]

MARTIN JACKSON, who calls himself a "black Texan", well deserves to
select a title of more distinction, for it is quite possible that
he is the only living former slave who served in both the Civil War
and the World War. He was born in bondage in Victoria Co., Texas,
in 1847, the property of Alvy Fitzpatrick. This self-respecting
Negro is totally blind, and when a person touches him on the arm to
guide him he becomes bewildered and asks his helper to give verbal
directions, up, down, right or left. It may be he has been on his
own so long that he cannot, at this late date, readjust himself to
the touch of a helping hand. His mind is uncommonly clear and he
speaks with no Negro colloquialisms and almost no dialect.

Following directions as to where to find Martin Jackson, "the most
remarkable Negro in San Antonio," a researcher made his way to an old
frame house at 419 Center St., walked up the steps and through the house
to an open door of a rear room. There, on an iron bed, lay a long, thin
Negro, smoking a cigarette. He was dressed in a woolen undershirt and
black trousers and his beard and mustache were trimmed much after the
fashion of white gallants of the Gay Nineties. His head was remarkably
well-shaped, with striking eminences in his forehead over his brows.

After a moment the intruder spoke and announced his mission. The old
Negro, who is stone blind, quickly admitted that he was Martin Jackson,
but before making any further comment he carried on an efficient
interview himself; he wanted to know who the caller was, who had
directed the visit, and just what branch of the Federal service happened
to be interested in the days of slavery. These questions satisfactorily
answered, he went into his adventures and experiences, embellishing the
highlights with uncommon discernment and very little prodding by the
researcher.

* * * * *

"I have about 85 years of good memory to call on. I'm ninety, and so I'm
not counting my first five years of life. I'll try to give you as clear
a picture as I can. If you want to give me a copy of what you are going
to write, I'll appreciate it. Maybe some of my children would like to
have it.

"I was here in Texas when the Civil War was first talked about. I