ceased) Mary Lou Rivers of Macon, Georgia, and Augustus
somewhere-at-sea.

"Parson" does not believe in taking medicine, but makes a liniment with
which he rubs himself. He attributes his long life to his sense of
"having quitting sense" and not allowing death to catch him unawares. He
asserts that if he reaches the bedside of a kindred in time, he will
keep him from dying by telling him: "Come on now, don't be crazy and
die."

He states that he enjoyed his slavery life and since that time life has
been very sweet. He knows and remembers most of the incidents connected
with members of the several Conferences of the African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Florida and can tell you in what minutes you may
find any of the important happenings of the past 30 or 40 years.

REFERENCE

1. Personal interview with Samuel Simeon Andrews in the dormitory of
Edward Waters college Kings Road, Jacksonville, Florida

FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT
American Guide, (Negro Writers' Unit)

Martin Richardson, Field Worker
Greenwood, Florida
March 18, 1937

BILL AUSTIN

Bill Austin--he says his name is NOT Williams--is an ex-slave who gained
his freedom because his mistress found it more advantageous to free him
than to watch him.

Austin lives near Greenwood, Jackson County, Florida, on a small farm
that he and his children operate. He says that he does not know his age,
does not remember ever having heard it. But he must be pretty old, he
says, "'cause I was a right smart size when Mistuh Smith went off to
fight." He thinks he may be over a hundred--and he looks it--but he is
not sure.

Austin was born between Greene and Hancock Counties, on the Oconee
River, in Georgia. He uses the names of the counties interchangeably; he
cannot be definite as to just which one was his birthplace. "The line
between 'em was right there by us," he says.

His father was Jack; for want of a surname of his own he took that of
his father and called himself Jack Smith. During a temporary shortage of
funds on his master's part, Jack and Bill's mother was sold to a planter
in the northern part of the state. It was not until long after his
emancipation that Bill ever saw either of them again.

Bill's father Jack was regarded as a fairly good carpenter, mason and
bricklayer; at times his master would let him do small jobs of repairing
of building for neighboring planters. These jobs sometimes netted him
hams, bits of cornmeal, cloth for dresses