and praise Him day and night."
"Old Parson Winborn Lawton used to preach for us after the war until we
got our church organized. He had a daughter named Miss Anna Lawton. At
the white folk's church at Lawtonville they had a colored man who used
to sing for them, by the name of Moses Murray. He'd sit there back of
the organ and roll down on them bass. Roll down just like de organ roll!
He was Moses Lawton at that time, you know.
"You know how old I am? I'm in my 94th year. Ella has a dream book she
looks up my age in and tells me what luck I have, and all that. I
generally had good luck."
=Source:= Rebecca Jane Grant, 93 years old. Lena, S.C.
Project 1885-(1)
FOLKLORE
Spartanburg, S.C.
District No. 4.
May 26, 1937.
Edited by:
R.V. Williams
STORIES OF EX-SLAVES
"Mos' everybody know my name. You gotta help me. Oh, yeah, dat's what I
goes by. It's Brack; dey calls me ole uncle Brack".
"Look out, over dar!" said a negro who was standing nearby. "Uncle
Brack, you know you is got mo' names dan dat. Why, everwhar you goes,
dey calls you a different name."
"Shet up, you sassy-mouth nigger!" Uncle Brack waved his stick as the
younger negro moved out of its reach. Uncle Brack walks with two sticks
nearly all the time. He is bent almost double.
"He de greatest nigger rascal a-gwine," Uncle Brack said. "He jest dream
all de time, and dreams don't nebber amount to nothin'. Dem dreams what
he carries on wid in de daytime, dey is what makes him tell so many
lies. De idea, talking like I has a different name everwhar I goes, when
I don't go nowhar. Why, I can't hardly hobble to de sto'.
"Dey mus' help me. I took down sick in November. Mr. Rice sent me
things. You gov'ment folks ain't sont me much as Mr. Rice and de good
white folks what likes me. I'se bawn ten years when Freedom come out.
Benn seventy-odd years since Freedom, ain't it, Cap?
"Dr. Jim Gibbs was mighty good to me. You sees dat I'se a-gwine about
now. Dr. Gibbs come from Aiken to Union and set up a drug sto' whar
Cohen's is now. Dr. Gibbs was a Charleston man, but I is a Kentucky
darky. Dr. Gibbs brung me from Kentucky to Charleston when I was five
years old. My ma was de one dat dey bought. Dr. Gibbs' wife was a Bohen
up in Kentucky. When Dr. Gibbs fetch his wife to Charleston, he bought
my ma from his wife's pa, and she fetch me along too.
"It ten o'clock befo' I can creep. Dat de reason dat I has to beg.
Wasn't
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