William M. Thomas
I farms till 1910 and den comes to Fort Worth, and dey am buildin' de Purina Mills Elevators on East 4th Street and I works dere at mortar work. Den I works at cement on lots de big buildin's in dis city, till 'bout ten year ago, when it git too hard for me. I has de back misery.
"I gits married to Phillis Wilson when I's twenty-nine, in Galveston, and us don't allushave lots, but us gits by and raises de family. Now us have to live on de pension from de State, what am $13.00, and sometimes us am awful short, tryin' to pay de rent and buy de rations and what clothes us needs, but us am glad to git it. Ten chillen am what us raises and five am dead and four am scattered and us don't know where, and one live here.
""Ain't it diff'rent how peoples lives? Us used to travel with de ox and now dey flies in de sky. Folks sings in New York and us sets right here and hears dem. Shucks! De way things am gwine, I's all fussed up and can't understand whether I's gwine or comin'."
[Mary Thompson]
Mary Thompson was born a slave 87 years ago, in Denton, Miringo County, Alabama. Her mother, Viney Askew, and father, Wesley Jones, belonged to Green Askew, a Georgian. She was 15 when she was freed. Mary now lives at 1104 East Avenue, Austin, Tex.
"I was bo'n in Alabama and my mother was Viney Askew. She belonged to Marster Green Askew. My father was Wesley Jones, 'cause he took his marster's name.
"My mother was a good cook and she cooked for de marster. She had a great big stove and she made salt-risin' bread, too. We and all de slaves lived in cabins near de big house and some of de slaves would have chillen by de marster.
"When we come home from de fields at night, de women cooked de food and den dey was so tired dey jus' went to bed. We didn' have fun in de evenin's, but on Christmas mornin' de marster give us eggnog and sich. Den we'd sing but I don' 'member de songs now.