avidson was shot while ducking
on the South River by one of the duck hunters, dying instantly.

"Mrs. Davidson assumed full control of the farm and the slaves. When
father wanted to pay off the balance due, $40.00, Mrs. Davidson refused
to accept it, thus mother and I were to remain in slavery. Being a free
man father had the privilege to go where he wanted to, provided he was
endorsed by a white man who was known to the people and sheriffs,
constables and officials of public conveyances. By bribery of the
sheriff of Anne Arundel County father was given a passage to Baltimore
for mother and me. On arriving in Baltimore, mother, father and I went
to a white family on Ross Street--now Druid Hill Ave., where we were
sheltered by the occupants, who were ardent supporters of the
Underground Railroad.

"A reward of $50.00 each was offered for my father, mother and me, one
by Mrs. Davidson and the other by the Sheriff of Anne Arundel County. At
this time the Hookstown Road was one of the main turnpikes into
Baltimore. A Mr. Coleman whose brother-in-law lived in Pennsylvania,
used a large covered wagon to transport merchandise from Baltimore to
different villages along the turnpike to Hanover, Pa., where he lived.
Mother and father and I were concealed in a large wagon drawn, by six
horses. On our way to Pennsylvania, we never alighted on the ground in
any community or close to any settlement, fearful of being apprehended
by people who were always looking for rewards.

"After arriving at Hanover, Pennsylvania, it was easy for us to get
transportation farther north. They made their way to Scranton,
Pennsylvania, in which place they both secured positions in the same
family. Father and mother's salary combined was $27.50 per month. They
stayed there until 1869. In the meantime I was being taught at a Quaker
mission in Scranton. When we come to Baltimore I entered the 7th grade
grammar school in South Baltimore. After finishing the grammar school, I
followed cooking all my life before and after marriage. My husband James
Berry, who waited at the Howard House, died in 1927--aged 84. On my next
birthday, which will occur on the 22nd of November, I will be 95. I can
see well, have an excellent appetite, but my grandchildren will let me
eat only certain things that they say the doctor ordered I should eat.
On Christmas Day 49 children and grandchildren and some
great-grandchildren gave me a Xmas dinner and one hundred dollars for
X