Many of the slave families, especially Mrs. Callaway's family, were given the privilege of earning money by selling different products. "My grandfather owned a cotton patch," remarked Mrs. Callaway, "and the master would loan him a mule so he could plow it at night. Two boys would each hold a light for him to work by. He preferred working at night to working on his holidays. My master had a friend in Augusta, Ga., by the name of Steve Heard and just before my grandfather got ready to sell his cotton, the master would write Mr. Heard and tell him that he was sending cotton by Sam and wanted his sold and a receipt returned to him. He also advised him to give all the money received to Sam. When grandfather returned he would be loaded down with sugar, cheese, tea, mackerel, etc. for his family."
When the women came home from the fields they had to spin 7 cuts, so many before supper and so many after supper. A group of women were then selected to weave the cuts of thread into cloth. Dyes were made from red shoe berries and later used to dye this cloth different colors. All slaves received clothing twice a year, spring and winter. Mr. Jim Willis was known for his kindness to his slaves and saw to it that they were kept supplied with Sunday clothes and shoes as well as work clothing. A colored shoemaker was required to keep the plantation supplied with shoes; and everyone was given a pair of Sunday shoes which they kept shined with a mixture of egg white and soot.
The size of the Willis Plantation and the various crops and cattle raised required many different types of work. There were the plow hands, the hoe hands, etc. Each worker had a required amount of work to complete each day and an overseer was hired by slave owners to keep check on this phase of the work. "We often waited until the overseer got behind a hill, and then we would lay down our hoe and call on God to free us, my grandfather told me," remarked Mrs. Callaway. "However, I was a pet in the Willis household and did not have any work to do except play with the small children. I was required to keep their hands and faces clean. Sometimes I brought in chips to make the fires. We often kept so much noise playing in the upstairs bedroom that the master would call to us and ask that we keep quiet." Older women on the plantation acted as nurses for all the small children and babies while their parents worked in the fields. The mistress would keep a sharp eye on the children also to see that they were well cared for. A slave's life was very valuable to their owners.
Punishment was seldom necessary on the Willis plantation as the master and mistress did everything possible to make their slaves happy; and to a certain extent indulged them. They were given whisky liberally from their master's still; and other choice food on special occasions. "I remember once," remarked Mrs. Callaway, "my aunt Rachel burned the biscuits and the young master said to her, "Rachel, you nursed me and I promised not to ever whip you, so don't worry about burning the bread." My mistress was very fond of me, too, and gave me some of everything that she gave her own children, tea cakes, apples, etc. She often told me that she was my mother and was supposed to look after me. In spite of the kindness of the Willis family there were some slaves who were unruly; so the master built a house off to itself and called it the Willis jail. Here he would keep those whom he had to punish. I have known some slaves to run away on other plantations and the hounds would bite plugs out of their legs."
The Willis family did not object to girls and boys courting. There were large trees, and often in the evenings the boys from other plantations would come over to see the girls on the Willis plantation. They would stand in groups around the trees, laughing and talking. If the courtship reached the point of marriage a real marriage ceremony was performed from the Bible and the man was given a pass to visit his wife weekly. Following a marriage a frolic took place and the mistress saw to it that everyone was served nice foods for the occasion.
Frolics were common occurrences on the Willis plantation, also quilting parties. Good foods consisting of pies, cakes, chicken, brandied peaches, etc. "Dancing was always to be expected by anyone attending them," remarked Mrs. Callaway. "Our master always kept two to three hundred gallons of whisky and didn't mind his slaves drinking. I can remember my master taking his sweetened dram every morning, and often he gave me some in a tumbler. On Christmas Day big dinners were given for all of the slaves and a few ate from the family's table after they had finished their dinner."
Medical care was promptly given a slave when he became ill. Special care was always given them for the Willis family had a personal interest in their slaves. "On one occasion," remarked Mrs. Calloway, "the scarlet fever broke out among the slaves and to protect the well ones it became necessary to build houses in a field for those who were sick. This little settlement later became know as "Shant Field." Food was carried to a hill and left so that the sick persons could get it without coming in contact with the others. To kill the fever, sticks of fat pine were dipped in tar and set on fire and then placed all over the field."
Religion played as important part in the lives of the slaves, and such [TR: much?] importance was attached to their prayer meetings. There were no churches, provided and occasionally they attended the white churches; but more often they held their prayer meetings in their own cabins. Prayers and singing was in a moaning fashion, and you often heard this and nothing more. On Sunday afternoons everyone found a seat around the mulberry tree and the young mistress would conduct Sunday School.
Concerning the Civil War, Mrs. Callaway related the following story:
"When the war broke out my mistress' home became a sewing center and deifferent women in the neighborhood would come there every day to make clothes for the soldiers. On each bed was placed the vests, coats, shirts, pants, and caps. One group did all the cutting, one the stitching, and one the fitting. Many women cried while they served [TR: sewed?] heart-broken because their husbands and sons had to go to the war. One day the Yanks came to our plantation and took all of the best horses. In one of their wagons were bales of money which they had taken. Money then was blue in color; of course, there was silver and gold. After taking the horses they drank as much whisky as they could hold and then filled their canteens. The rest of the whisky they filled with spit. The master didn't interfere for fear of the long guns which they carried."