guess dey am all gone
'long 'fore now. I has jobbed at first one thing and 'nother and like
pappy tells me, I has trials and tribulations and I has good chillen
what ain't never got in no trouble and what all helps take care dere old
pappy so I guess I ain't got no complainin' 'bout things.

"I dreams sometimes 'bout de peach trees and de pear trees and de cherry
trees and I'd give lots to see de mountains 'gain, 'cause when de frost
come, 'bout now, de leaves on de trees put on pretty colors and de
persimmons and nuts is ready for pickin' and a little later on us kill
de hawgs and put by de meat for de winter.

"De Lawd forgive me for dis foolishness, 'cause I got a good home, and
has all I need, but I gits to thinkin' 'bout Virginny sometimes and my
folks what I ain't seed since I left, and it sho' make me want to see it
once more 'fore I die.

420281

ELI DAVISON was born in Dunbar, West Virginia, a slave of Will
Davison. Eli has a bill of sale that states he was born in 1844.
His master moved to Texas in 1858, and settled in Madison County.
Eli lives in Madisonville, with one of his sons.

"My first Old Marse was Will Davison. My father's name was Everett Lee
and mama was Susan, and he come to see her twict a month, 'cause he was
owned by 'nother master.

"Marse Davison had a good home in West Virginia, where I's born, in
Dunbar, but most of it 'longed to he wife and she was the boss of him.
He had a great many slaves, and one mornin' he got up and 'vided all he
had and told his wife she could have half the slaves. Then we loaded two
wagons and he turned to his oldest son and the next son and said, 'You's
gwine with me. Crawl on.' Then he said to he wife, 'Elsie, you can have
everything here, but I'm takin' Eli and Alex and these here two
chillen.' The other two gals and two boys he left, and pulled out for
Texas. It taken us mos' two years to git here, and Marse Will never sot
eyes on the rest of his family no more, long as he lived.

"Marse never married any more. He'd say, 'They ain't 'nother woman under
the sun I'd let wear my name.' He never said his wife's name no more,
but was allus talkin' of them chillun he done left behind.

"We gits here and starts to build a one room log house for Marse Will
and his two boys. My quarters was one them covered wagons, till he
trades me off. He cried like a baby, but he said, 'I hate to do this,
but its the only way I'll have anything