Cobb County, Ga. My parents,
James and Adella Canty, were slaves. I am the eldest of two brothers and
three sisters, who are all living. My father died in the fall of 1895.
Since that time, because of circumstances and inclinations, it has been
my lot to look after the welfare of my mother, who is still living in
Marietta, Ga., a place of about four thousand inhabitants.

At an early age I entered the public school at my home. My father,
however, soon put me to work, so that I grew up quite ignorant of books.
He was a carpenter and butcher, and fairly skilled in working iron. For
a number of years he kept a meat-market. At the age of sixteen I was
doing the principal part of the butchering. Some years later, when
father was appointed street "boss" of the town, I worked as one of the
street laborers. When he changed his occupation from street "boss" to
farmer, mine likewise changed. The rule was, a change from one
occupation to another, working day by day without attention to mental
growth, and having no thought of the future, till I was persuaded to
join several other boys who had decided to form themselves into a
night-class for purposes of self-improvement.

About this time, in compliance with my father's desire, and to my
delight, I entered a carriage factory as an apprentice. It was while
working there that I received a newspaper from a girl student at
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. The paper contained a long
descriptive article, with cuts of buildings, class-rooms, teachers, and
students. The student who had sent the paper was from my home, and with
it came a letter from her stating that she had spoken to Mr. Washington
in my interest, and that if I would come to Tuskegee I would be given a
chance to get an education. I shall never forget the impression made
upon my mind by that newspaper article and the young woman's letter.

[Illustration: IN THE TIN-SHOP.]

My father was consulted, and advised against my going away to school,
saying: "You can continue night-school here at home and at the same time
learn a trade. I never went to school a day in my life." Well, I knew
that my father, nevertheless, could read and write a little and do some
figuring, and that he at one time came within a few votes of being
elected to the State Legislature of Georgia. Contrary to his advice, I
concluded to go to Tuskegee. Looking back now, and connecting the
present with the day on which my decision was made, I thin