ankees, wid pretty blue clothes on come through our place and dey stole
most evvything our Marster had. Dey kilt his chickens, hogs, and cows
and tuk his hosses off and sold 'em. Dat didn't look right, did it?

"My aunt give us a big weddin' feast when I married Tom Adams, and she
sho' did pile up dat table wid heaps of good eatments. My weddin' dress
was blue, trimmed in white. Us had six chillun, nine grandchillun, and
19 great-grandchillun. One of my grandchillun is done been blind since
he was three weeks old. I sont him off to de blind school and now he kin
git around 'most as good as I kin. He has made his home wid me ever
since his Mammy died.

"'Cordin' to my way of thinkin', Abraham Lincoln done a good thing when
he sot us free. Jeff Davis, he was all right too, 'cause if him and
Lincoln hadn't got to fightin' us would have been slaves to dis very
day. It's mighty good to do jus' as you please, and bread and water is
heaps better dan dat somepin t'eat us had to slave for.

"I jined up wid de church 'cause I wanted to go to Heben when I dies,
and if folks lives right dey sho' is gwine to have a good restin' place
in de next world. Yes Mam, I sho b'lieves in 'ligion, dat I does. Now,
Miss, if you ain't got nothin' else to ax me, I'se gwine home and give
dat blind boy his somepin t'eat."

[HW: Dist. 6
Ex-Slv. #4]

WASHINGTON ALLEN, EX-SLAVE
Born: December --, 1854
Place of birth: "Some where" in South Carolina
Present Residence: 1932-Fifth Avenue, Columbus, Georgia
Interviewed: December 18, 1936
[MAY 8 1937]

[TR: Original index refers to "Allen, Rev. W.B. (Uncle Wash)"; however,
this informant is different from the next informant, Rev. W.B. Allen.]

The story of "Uncle Wash", as he is familiarly known, is condensed as
follows:

He was born on the plantation of a Mr. Washington Allen of South
Carolina, for whom he was named. This Mr. Allen had several sons and
daughters, and of these, one son--George Allen--who, during the 1850's
left his South Carolina home and settled near LaFayette, Alabama. About
1858, Mr. Washington Allen died and the next year, when "Wash" was "a
five-year old shaver", the Allen estate in South Carolina was
divided--all except the Allen Negro slaves. These, at the instance and
insistence of Mr. George Allen, were taken to LaFayette, Alabama, to be
sold. All were put on the block and auctioned off, Mr. George Allen
buying every Negro, so that not a single slave family was