ff
all de meat in de smokehouse, an' de blanket an' quilts, an' every thing
dey wanted, dey he'ped deyse'ves. None of de slaves went wid' em.

"When Marse Cassedy come home he had de oberseer blow de horn 'bout ten
o'clock and tol' 'em all dey was freed. He said he'd work 'em fer wages,
an' nearly everyone of 'em stayed fer wages. I stayed wid Miss Mary
'bout ten years. Den I mar'ied. No, Jake an' me rid horse back an' went
to Magnolia an' got mar'ied. I doan know who mar'ied us--somebody in de
cou't house.

"Me an' Jake went to Summit ter live'. We had to work mighty hard.
Sometimes I plowed in de fiel' all day; sometimes I washed an' den I
cooked, an' afte' 'while, we moved down to de new town. I come here when
dis town fust started. I cooked fer Mrs. Badenhauser, while he was
mayor of de town. Dey worked me hard. Me'n Jake's had some hard ups an'
downs. I had fo' chullun, none of dem livin' dat I know of. I might have
some grandchulluns but if I do, dey live up North.

"I'm old an' can hardly git about. I'se got a cancer. De doctor done cut
my lef' brest clear offen me, but dat hurts me somtimes yit.

"I niver jined any church 'til 'bout 20 year ago, right here in
Berglundtown. My church is Flowery Mount Baptist Church, an' my Brudder
Washin'ton is my pastor, an' he is de best preacher what ever lived. No,
Marse Cassedy didn't have no church fer de slaves. Dey went to de white
folks' church.

"How do I live? Well I gits a pension of fo' dollars a month, an' I try
to wash a leetle fer de colored folks, an' den I beg. I can't stay here
long but God won't low me to starve. Bless God, he's comin' fer me some
day."

Wayne Holliday, Ex-slave Monroe County
Mississippi Federal Writers
Slave Autobiographies
FEC
Mrs. Richard Kolb

[WAYNE HOLLIDAY
Aberdeen, Mississippi]

"I was born an' raised in Aberdeen an' I'se been a railroad nigger fo'
mos' of my days. I'se retired now 'cause dey say I too old to work any
longer, but shucks, I ain't half dead yet. I was born in 1853 right here
close to whar I live now. My folks b'longed to de Hollidays--you know de
grand folks of Miss Maria Evans? An' we stayed right dere in de lot whar
de white folks lived.

"My pa an' my ma was named Frank an' Sarah Holliday an' de Cunel brung
dem wid him frum North Car'lina. Dey was lot niggers an' never worked in
de fiel' or lived in de Quarters. My pa was one of de best carpenters in
de country. I was too young to work much but