long time,
and all of our chillun's daid 'cept three, and two of 'em is done gone
up north. Jus' me and my Callie and de grandchillun is all dat's left
here. Soon I'se gwine to be 'lowed to go whar Julie is and I'se ready
any time, 'cause I done been here long 'nough."

When the visitor arose to take her departure Robert said: "Good-bye
Missy, come back to see me and Callie again 'cause us laked your
'pearments (appearance) de fust time you was here. Jus' trust in de
Lord, Miss, and He will take keer of you wharever you is."

PLANTATION LIFE, AS VIEWED BY AN EX-SLAVE

TOM SINGLETON, Ex-Slave, Age 94
Athens, Georgia

Written by:
Sadie B. Hornsby
Research Worker
Federal Writers' Project
Athens, Georgia

Edited by:
Leila Harris
Editor
Federal Writers' Project
Augusta, Georgia
[Date Stamp: APR 27 1938]

Uncle Tom lives alone in a one room cabin, about two and one half miles
from town, on Loop-de-Loop road, not far from the Brooklyn section of
Athens. He states that he lives alone because: "I wuz raised right and
de Niggers dis day and time ain't had no raisin'. I just can't be
bothered wid havin' 'em 'round me all de time. Dey ain't my sort of
folkses." Uncle Tom says he will be 94 years old on May 15th of this
year, but many believe that he is much older.

When asked if he felt like talking about his experiences and observances
while he was a slave, he said: "I don't know, Missie; I got a pow'ful
hurtin' in my chest, and I'm too old to 'member much, but you ax me what
you want to know and I'll try to tell you. I wuz born in Lumpkin County
on Marster Joe Singleton's place. My ma wuz named Nancy Early, and she
belonged to Marster Joe Early what lived in Jackson County. My pa's name
wuz Joe Singleton. I don't 'member much 'bout my brothers and sisters.
Ma and Pa had 14 chillun. Some of deir boys wuz me and Isaac, Jeff,
Moses, and Jack; and deir gals wuz: Celia, Laura, Dilsey, Patsey,
Frankie, and Elinor. Dese wuz de youngest chillun. I don't 'member de
fust ones. I don't ricollect nothin' t'all 'bout my grandma and grandpa,
cause us wuz too busy to talk in de daytime, and at night us wuz so
whupped out from hard wuk us just went off to sleep early and never
talked much at no time. All I knows 'bout 'em is dat I heared folkses
say my gran'pa wuz 107 years old when he died. Folkses don't live dat
long now-a-days.

"De slave quarters wuz in rows and had two rooms and a shed. Dey had
beds made out of po