Smith wanted to marry the young woman, but a difficulty developed; he was free and she was still a slave. He sought her owner. Smith was told that he might have the woman, but he would have to "work out" her cost. He was informed that this would amount to seven years of work on the plantation, naturally without pay.
Within a few days he was back with his belongings, to begin "working out" the cost of his wife. But his work found favor in his voluntary master's eyes; within four years he was being paid a small sum for the work he did, and by the time the seven years was finished, Smith had enough money to immediately purchase a small farm of his own.
Adversity set in, however, and eventually his children found themselves back in slavery, and Smith himself practically again enslaved. It was during this period that Smalls was born.
All of the Florida slaves were soon emancipated, however and the voluntary slave again became a free man. He lived in the Suwannee County vicinity for a number of years afterward, raising a large family.
REFERENCE
Personal interview with Samuel Smalls, ex-slave, 1704 Johnson Street, Jacksonville, Florida
FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
The American Guide, (Negro Writers' Unit)
Cora N. Taylor
Frances H. Miner, Editor
Miami, Florida
May 14, 1937
SALENA TASWELL
Salena Taswell, 364 NW 8th St., Miami, Fla.