Code No.
Project, 1885-(1)
Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis
Place, Marion, S. C.
Date, August 4, 1937
No. Words ----
Reduced from ---- words
Rewritten by ----

SYLVIA CANNON
Ex-Slave, Age 85.
Florence, S. C.

"I lives here by myself cause my husband been dead three years. Moved
here fore my chillun went to de war. I go to work en buy dis here home
en get whe' I can' pay tax en people tell me not to move. Say, rent me
bed en catch me a dollar, if it ain' a sin to rent your bed for a
dollar. One of de big officers of de town tell me dat last week en he
die next day. Government take my house en when dey carry sick peoples
from de jail, dey bring em here fore dey die. It ain' but one night
journey. Ain' gwine let dem be live enough to run away. Ain' got no kin
to leave de house to en dey tell me stay on here. Dey say I work so hard
to get dis house dat dey ain' gwine make me leave here."

(Aunt Sylvia has a sign in her front yard. It seems she took the frame
of a large picture and inserted a piece of pasteboard into it. She
explained that this sign is a warning to evil doers not to molest her.
She says that they must not come past this sign. The words on the sign
are somewhat illegibly written. The interviewers were able to make out
these words: "This is a house of the Lord. Don't go pass. This is a
house of the Lord...." Sign is dated March 1, 1937).

"I don' know how old I is, but I remembers I was 8 years old when
freedom come. I born down dere in de Effingham section on Mr. Gregg
plantation. My half-sister say I must always remember de Christmas day
cause dat de day I was born. Father en mother belong to de old Bill
Greggs en dat whe' Miss Earlie Hatchel buy me from. After dat, I didn'
never live wid my parents any more, but I went back to see dem every two
weeks. Got a note en go on a Sunday evenin en come back to Miss Hatchel
on Monday. Miss Hatchel want a nurse en dat how-come she buy me. I
remembers Miss Hatchel puttin de baby in my lap en tell me don' drop
him. Didn' have to do no work much in dem days, but dey didn' allow me
to play none neither. When de baby sleep, I sweep de yard en work de
garden en pick seed out de cotton to spin. Nursed little while for Miss
Hatchel en den get free."

"I see em sell plenty colored peoples away in dem days cause dat de way
white folks made heap of dey money. Coase dey ain' never tell us how
much dey sell em for. Just stand em up on a bl