on for at least a few days or
weeks in order that they might really feel sure that they were free.

In some way a feeling got among the coloured people that it was far from
proper for them to bear the surname of their former owners, and a great
many of them took other surnames. This was one of the first signs of
freedom. When they were slaves, a coloured person was simply called
"John" or "Susan." There was seldom occasion for more than the use of
the one name. If "John" or "Susan" belonged to a white man by the
name of "Hatcher," sometimes he was called "John Hatcher," or as
often "Hatcher's John." But there was a feeling that "John Hatcher" or
"Hatcher's John" was not the proper title by which to denote a freeman;
and so in many cases "John Hatcher" was changed to "John S. Lincoln" or
"John S. Sherman," the initial "S" standing for no name, it being simply
a part of what the coloured man proudly called his "entitles."

As I have stated, most of the coloured people left the old plantation
for a short while at least, so as to be sure, it seemed, that they
could leave and try their freedom on to see how it felt. After they
had remained away for a while, many of the older slaves, especially,
returned to their old homes and made some kind of contract with their
former owners by which they remained on the estate.

My mother's husband, who was the stepfather of my brother John and
myself, did not belong to the same owners as did my mother. In fact, he
seldom came to our plantation. I remember seeing his there perhaps once
a year, that being about Christmas time. In some way, during the war, by
running away and following the Federal soldiers, it seems, he found
his way into the new state of West Virginia. As soon as freedom was
declared, he sent for my mother to come to the Kanawha Valley, in West
Virginia. At that time a journey from Virginia over the mountains
to West Virginia was rather a tedious and in some cases a painful
undertaking. What little clothing and few household goods we had were
placed in a cart, but the children walked the greater portion of the
distance, which was several hundred miles.

I do not think any of us ever had been very far from the plantation, and
the taking of a long journey into another state was quite an event. The
parting from our former owners and the members of our own race on the
plantation was a serious occasion. From the time of our parting till
their death we kept up a correspondenc