at him. You see I has been in love
with him fer a long time den.

Atter awhile Frank becomes a butcher an' he am makin' pretty good. I is
thirteen so he comes ter see me an' fer a year we cou'ts. We wus settin'
in de kitchen at de house on Davie Street when he axes me ter have him
an' I has him.

I knows dat he tol' me dat he warn't worthy but dat he loved me an' dat
he'd do anything he could ter please me, an' dat he'd always be good ter
me.

When I wus fourteen I got married an' when I wus fifteen my oldes'
daughter, Eleanor, wus borned. I had three atter her, an' Frank wus
proud of dem as could be. We wus happy. We libed together fifty-four
years an' we wus always happy, havin' a mighty little bit of argument. I
hopes young lady, dat you'll be as lucky as I wus wid Frank.

N. C. District: No. 2 [320210]
Worker: Mrs. Edith S. Hibbs
No. Words: 550
Subject: Story of Isabell Henderson, Negro
Interviewed: Isabell Henderson
1121 Rankin St., Wilmington, N. C.
Edited: Mrs. W. N. Harriss

[TR: No Date Stamp]

STORY OF ISABELL HENDERSON, NEGRO

* * * * *

1121 Rankin St.,
Wilmington, N. C.

I'll be 84 years old come August 9. My gran'-daughter can tell you what
year it was I was born I don' 'member but we has it down in the Bible.

I lived near the "Clock Church" (Jewish Synagogue)[8], 4th and Market.
We had a big place there. My gran'mother did the cookin'. My mother did
the sewin'. I was jus five years old when the men went away. I guess to
the war, I don' know. Some men came by and conscip' dem. I don' know
where they went but I guess dey went to war. I was such a little girl I
don't 'member much. But I does know my Missus was good to me. I used to
play with her little boy. I was jes' one of the family. I played with
the little boy around the house' cause I was never 'lowed to run the
streets. They was good to me. They kept me in clothes, pretty clothes,
and good things to eat. Yes'm we was slaves but we had good times.

Interviewer: "What did you eat?"

Isabell: "Oh I don't 'member 'special but I et jes what the family et."

Maybe my father was killed in the war maybe he run away I don' know, he
jus' neber come back no mo'.

Yes'm I remember when the soldiers came along and freed us. They went
through breakin' down peoples shops and everything.

My mother married again. She married Edward Robertson