ned safely at
the end of the war.

She did not feel that her Master and Mistress had mistreated their
slaves. At the close of the war, her father was given a house, land,
team and enough to start farming for himself.

Several years later the Ku Klux Klan gave them a ten days notice to
leave, one of the masked band interceded for them by pointing out that
they were quiet and peacable, and a man with a crop and ten children
couldn't possibly leave on so short a notice so the time was extended
another ten days, when they took what the Klan paid them and came north.
They remained in the north until they had to buy their groceries "a
little piece of this and a little piece of that, like they do now", when
her father returned to Kentucky. Mrs. Preston remained in Indiana. Her
father was burned out, the family escaping to the woods in their night
clothes, later befriended by a white neighbor. Now they appealed to
their former owner who built them a new house, provided necessities and
guards for a few weeks until they were safe from the Ku Klux Klan.

Mrs. Preston said she was the mother of ten children, but now lives
alone since the death of her husband three years ago. Her white
neighbors say her house is so clean, one could almost eat off the floor.

Federal Writers' Project
of the W.P.A.
District #6
Marion County
Harry Jackson

WILLIAM M. QUINN (EX-SLAVE)
431 Bright Street, Indianapolis, Ind.

William M. Quinn, 431 Bright street, was a slave up to ten years of
age--"when the soldiers come back home, and the war was over, and we
wasn't slaves anymore". Mr. Quinn was born in Hardin County, Kentucky,
on a farm belonging to Steve Stone. He and a brother and his mother were
slaves of "Old Master Stone", but his father was owned by another man,
Mr. Quinn, who had an adjoining farm. When they were all freed, they
took the surname of Quinn.

Mr. Quinn said that they were what was called "gift slaves". They were
never to be sold from the Stone farm and were given to Stone's daughter
as a gift with that understanding. He said that his "Old master paid him
and his brother ten cents a day for cutting down corn and shucking it."

It was very unusual for a slave to receive any money whatsoever for
working. He said that his master had a son about his age, and the son
and he and his brother worked around the farm together, and "Master
Stone" gave all three of them ten cents a day when they worked.
Sometimes they wouldn