EX-SLAVES

"I works on de shares and makes a fair living on a rented farm; don't
own no land. I was born in Newberry County, near de old Longshore store,
about 12 miles northwest of Newberry Courthouse on de Henry Burton
place. My parents belonged to Henry Burton in slavery time. He was our
marster. I married Betty Burton, a nigger girl whose parents belonged to
Marse Henry Burton, too.

"We had a good marster and mistress. Dey give us a good place to sleep
and lots to eat. He had a big four-acre garden where he raised lots of
vegetables fer his slaves. He had plenty meat, molasses and bread. We
ground our corn and wheat and made our own feed.

"Marster wouldn't let anybody bother his slaves. He wouldn't 'low his
overseers or de padrollers to whip 'em. He never whipped one.

"We had no school and no church; but was made to go to de white folks
church and set in de gallery. When Freedom come, de niggers begin to git
dere own church, and built small brush huts called 'brush harbors'.

"We didn't do work on Saturday afternoons, but went hunting and fishing
den, while de women folks cleaned up around de place fer Sunday. De
marster liked to hunt, and he hunted foxes which was plenty around dere
den. Now dey is all gone.

"We danced and had gigs. Some played de fiddle and some made whistles
from canes, having different lengths for different notes, and blowed 'em
like mouth organs."

Source: C. B. Burton (79), Newberry, S. C.
Interviewer: G. L. Summer, Newberry, S. C. (9/10/37)

Project #-1655
Phoebe Faucette
Hampton County

Folklore

GEORGE ANN BUTLER
Ex-Slave 75 Years

West of the paved highway at Garnett one may reach, after several miles,
the old Augusta Road that follows along the Savannah River from Augusta
to a landing point a little south of Garnett. Miles from the busy
highway, it passes, in quiet majesty, between fields and woods, made
rich by the river's overflow and heavy dews. Nature has done her best in
producing beautiful evergreen trees of immense size and much luxuriant
shrubbery of many kinds. Live oaks, magnolias, yellow slash pines,
hollies, and many evergreen shrubs keep the woods even in winter, a
fascinating wilderness to hunters and nature lovers. On this road George
Ann Butler lives, and has lived for the seventy-five years of her life.

"I was born an' raised on de Greenwood place. It belonged to ole man Joe
Bostick. He owned all dese places 'long d