him an' wus his
body guard. Yes, suh, Whare ever young Marse Benehan went I went too. I
waited on him. Young Marse Benny run away an' 'listed in de war, but
Marse Paul done went an' brung him back kaze he wus too young to go and
fight de Yankees.

"Marse Paul had a heap of niggahs; he had five thousan'. When he meet
dem in de road he wouldn' know dem an' when he azed dem who dey wus an'
who dey belonged to, dey' tell him dey belonged to Marse Paul Cameron
an' den he would say dat wus all right for dem to go right on.

"My pappy wus de blacksmith an' foreman for Marse Paul, an' he blew de
horn for de other niggahs to come in from de fiel' at night. Dey
couldn' leave de plantation without Marse say dey could.

"When de war come de Yankees come to de house an' axed my mammy whare
de folks done hid de silver an' gol', an' dey say dey gwine to kill
mammy if she didn' tell dem. But mammy say she didn' know whare dey put
it, an' dey would jus' have to kill her for she didn' know an' wouldn'
lie to keep dem from hurting her.

"De sojers stole seven or eight of de ho'ses an' foun' de meat an'
stole dat, but dey didn' burn none of de buildin's nor hurt any of us
slaves.

"My pappy an' his family stayed wid Marse Paul five years after de
surrender den we moved to Hillsboro an' I's always lived 'roun' dese
parts. I ain' never been out of North Carolina eighteen months in my
life. North Carolina is good enough for me."

N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 1044
Subject: JANE LASSITER
Story teller: Jane Lassiter
Editor: Geo. L. Andrews

[TR: Date stamp: AUG 6 1937]

JANE LASSITER
About 80 years old.
324 Battle Street
Raleigh, N.C.

"I am 'bout 80 years old. I am somewhere in my seventies, don't zackly
know my age. I wus here when de Yankees come an' I 'member seein' dem
dressed in blue. I wus a nurse at dat time not big enough to hold a
baby but dey let me set by de cradle an' rock it.

"All my white folks dead an' all my people am dead an' I haint got no
one to ax 'bout my age. Dey had my age an' my mother's age in de Bible
but dey am all dead out now an' I don't know whur it is.

"My mother an' me belonged to the Councils. Dr. Kit Council who lived
on a plantation in de lower edge of Chatham County, 'bout three miles
from New Hill.[3] My father belonged to de Lamberts. Their plantation
wus near Pittsboro in Chatham County. My father wus named