istant thunder, immediately
followed by the swaying of the church and a cracking sound from the
joists and rafters of the building. The women folks set up a screaming.
The men folks set up a hollering: 'Oh Lordy! Jesus save me! We believe!
Come Almighty King!' The preacher tried to quiet us, but we run out the
church in the moonlight, men and women crying and praying. The preacher,
Rev. Charlie Moore, continued the services outside and opened the doors
of the church, and every blessed soul come forward and joined the
church.

"I married Fannie Irwin, and God blessed us all the days of her life. My
daughter, Maggie, married a Collins and lives in the Harlem section of
New York City. My daughter, Sallie, lives also in Harlem, Greenville
Village. Malinda, named for my mother, lives and works in Columbia, S.
C.

"On the death of my wife, Fannie, I courted and married the widow Lizzie
Williams. The house we live in is her own property. She had two children
when we married, a boy and a girl. The boy got killed at the schoolhouse
two years ago. The girl is working in Columbia, S. C. I am a
superannuated minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and
receive a small sum of money from the denomination, yearly. The amount
varies in different years. At no time is it sufficient to keep me in
food and clothing and support.

"I have taken nothing to do with politics all my life, but my race has
been completely transformed, in that regard, since Mr. Roosevelt has
been President. Left to a popular vote of the race, Mr. Roosevelt would
get the solid South, against any other man on any ticket he might run
on. He is God Almighty's gentleman. By that, I mean he is brave in the
presence of the blue-bloods, kind in the presence of the common people,
and gentle to the lowly and despised Negro."

Project 1885-1
Folklore
Spartanburg, Dist. 4
Dec. 1, 1937
Edited by: Elmer Turnage

[~HW: (Dorroh~]
STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

"I live wid my daughter in a four-room house which we rents from Doc
Hunter. He got it in charge. My husband died several years ago.

"My daddy was Harvey Pratt, and he belonged to Marse Bob Pratt in
Newberry. My mammy was Mary Fair, and she belonged in slavery to marse
Simeon Fair. When dey married dey had a big wedding. Marse didn't make
slave women marry men if dey didn't want to. Befo' my mammy and daddy
married, somebody give a note to take to Mrs. Fair, her mistress.
Mistress woul