"Marse Henry was just a little boy bout three or four years old. Come
bout halfway up to me. Wanted me to say Massa to him, a baby!"

"How did you happen to go to Beaufort, Auntie? You told me you were
raised right here in Hampton County on the Stark Plantation."

"I was, Miss. But my mother and four of us children (another was born
soon afterwards) were sold to Mr. Robert Oswald in Beaufort. I was de
oldest, then there was brother Ben, sister Delia, sister Elmira, and
brother Joe that was born in Beaufort. My father belong to Marse Tom
Willingham; but my mother belong to another white man. Marse Tom was
always trying to buy us so we could all be together, but de man wouldn't
sell us to him. Marse Tom was a Christian gentleman! I believe he seek
religion same as any colored person. And pray! Oh, that was a blessed
white man! A blessed white man! And Miss Mamie, his daughter, was a
Christian lady. Every Wednesday afternoon she'd fill her basket with
coffee, tea, sugar, tobacco and such things, and go round to de houses
where dere was old folks or sick folks. She'd give um de things; and
she'd read de scriptures to um, and she'd kneel down and pray for um.
But we had to leave all de folks we knew when we was took to Beaufort.

"All of us chillun, too little to work, used to have to stay at de
'Street'. Dey'd have some old folks to look after us--some old man, or
some old woman. Dey'd clean off a place on de ground near de washpot
where dey cooked de peas, clean it off real clean, den pile de peas out
dere on de ground for us to eat. We'd pick um up in our hands and begin
to eat. Sometimes dey'd cook hoe cakes in a fire of coals. Dey'd mix a
little water with de meal and make a stiff dough that could be patted
into shape with de hands. De cakes would be put right into the fire, and
would be washed off clean after they were racked out from de coals.
Sometimes de Massa would have me mindin' de birds off de corn. But 'fore
I left Beaufort, I was doin' de Missus' washin' and ironin'. I was
fifteen years old when I left Beaufort, at de time freedom was declared.
We were all reunited den. First, my mother and de young chillun, den I
got back. My uncle, Jose Jenkins come to Beaufort and stole me by night
from my Missus. He took me wid him to his home in Savannah. We had been
done freed; but he stole me away from de house. When my father heard
that I wasn't wid de others, he sent my grandfather, Isaac, to hunt me.
When he find m