This year is the 57th Anniversary of the Wadsworth Colored Baptist Church of which Julia Williams was a charter member. She is very close to 100 years old if not that now and lives at 160 Kyle Street, Wadsworth, Ohio.
Lees
Ohio Guide, Special
Ex-Slave Stories
August 17, 1937
JULIA WILLIAMS
(Supplementary Story)
"After de War deh had to pick their own livin' an seek homes.
"Shuah, deh expected de 40 acres of lan' an mules, but deh had to work foh dem."
"Shuah, deh got paht of de lan but de shuah had to work foh it.
"After de war deh had no place to stay an den deh went to so many diffrunt places. Some of dem today don't have settled places to live.
"Those owners who were good gave their slaves lan but de othahs jus turned de slaves loose to wander roun'. Othahs try to fine out where dere people were and went to them.
"One day I seed a man who was a doctor down dere, an' I says, 'You doktah now?' An says 'No, I doan doktah no mow.' I work foh him once when I was slave, few days durin de war. I say, 'Member that day you gonna lick me but you didn', you know I big woman an fight back. Now de war ovah and you can't do dat now'.