"That's why my services were valuable, any place I worked, whether as a slave or free, and I still stand by that idea. I have done laundry work so satisfactory that I got $5.00 for doing up one white dress, 50¢ each for embroidery skirts and 25¢ a piece for vests. I never did work for nothing but wealthy white people."
[Marilda Pethy]
Interview with Marilda Pethy,
Montgomery City, Missouri.
Sold At 6 Weeks Old
Marilda Pethy, a former slave now living in Montgomery City, Mo., is a coal black woman with distinctly negroid features. Her voice and manner of speaking are vividly reminiscent of the negro of the "Old South". She lives with her daughter, Polly, and numerous grandchildren whom she tries to rule with an iron hand. This does not work so well with the younger generation which largely disregards the irate old woman. All this lends quite an air of belligerency to the tumble-down building that houses them.
Polly and Marilda sat in the shade of a mulberry tree where the former was ostensibly doing her washing not far from the big iron kettle where she heated her water.
"Yas'sum, I sure remembers dem days", Marilda replied as the questioning began. "Why, I seen people handcuffed together and driv 'long de Williamsburg road like cattle. Dey was bought to be took south. I had two brothers and two sisters sold and we never did see dem no more. I was born in 1857, April first, on a farm two miles south of Williamsburg, on a farm dat belonged to William Hayes. My mother was Louisa Hayes from Memphis. She never seen her mother or father and didn't know her name, so she just went by de white folks' name. You know dat's how dey done in dem days with names. She never had no brothers or sisters here. She was sold when she was six weeks old. Father, he belonged to Billy Martin and he was Sam Martin. He run off to de war 'cause he was tired of bein' whipped and slashed. So he jes' run off and joined de army.
"I was sold with mother when I was six weeks old. We went back to see de old place after we was free. Dat place has been sold and torn down. It had a tall white double log house. Dere was three cabins, it was a large place. De John Bain place, dey calls it de Jeff Jones place, ten miles north of Williamsburg, had de same kind of a house but dey had just two cabins. De Bain place was not so large but dey had a right smart of land.
"We done right well. Dey give us cornbread and buttermilk in a tin can. We crumbled de cornbread up in de buttermilk and dat's all we ever had to eat. Yas'sum, we generally had 'nough. Well, on Sunday mornings we had biscuits made out of dis stuff dat dey feed cows—shorts, dat's it. We had biscuits made out of shorts and sorghum. Dey was plenty of it. We had meat once in a while. Dey was dead oodles of prairie chickens and patridges den but de wild pigeons was hard to kill. We never did get none of dat meat. Christmas never meant no more to us dan any other day. Dey give mother sorghum and shorts to make gingersnaps.
"Dey had a big back log in de fireplace and a forestick and we put de wood in between. It was my job to take care of de dog irons. Dey was kept shinin' with grease. De missus would say, "Marilda, grease de dog irons!' I had to grease dem all over, too. I taken care of de children. Mother done everything. Dey had two cooks but both of dem done all kinds of work. Mother was de regular cook for Mrs. Hayes.
"Old Miss sold de other four children end sent 'em south. Mother and me brought $1,200. When I was nine or ten years old I was put up on de block to be sold. I 'member dat just as well. Hit was just a piece cut out of a log and stood on end. Dey was offered $600 but my mistress cried so much dat master did not sell me. Freedom come soon after dat.