"Dey did ’low us to go to church on Sunday about two miles down de public road, and dey hired a white preacher to preach to us. He never did tell us nothing but be good servants, pick up old marse and old misses’ things about de place, and don’t steal no chickens or pigs and don’t lie ’bout nothing. Den dey baptize you and call dat, you got religion. Never did say nothing ’bout a slave dying and going to heaven. When we die, dey bury us next day and you is just like any of de other cattle dying on de place. Dat’s all ’tis to it and all ’tis of you. You is jest dead dat’s all. De old lady dat raised my mother, she was a black mammy. She done all de burying of de niggers, said de funeral sayings by herself. She knew it by heart. Dey swapped my grandmother away ’cause she didn’t bear children like dey wanted her to, so de man dey swapped her off to come back two months later and told our owner dat grandmamma was heavy with child. Den he wanted to buy her back ’cause she was a good worker, but her new owner would not let him have her back and she had thirteen children after dat. Our old owner surely was sick of dat swap. My mother was only three years old when dey sold her mother to another master and she never saw her agin ’till she had all dem thirteen children.
"Dis is how mother found grandmother. Our owner bought a slave what come off of a plantation dat my grandmother was on. She was turned over to dis slave owner to satisfy a gambling debt left unpaid by de dead husband. So she told my mother all about de deal and all de children mother had never seen. My mother had three children of her own, at dat time. De slave dat brought de news name was Elsie. So Elsie had lots of relatives on dis plantation she was sold off of. Well she had to have a pass everytime she want to go visit her folks. So she tells my mother next time I git a pass to go see my people, you ask old boss for you one too so you can go see you mamma and sisters and brothers you never seen. Mamma did and when mamma got to old John Beasley’s plantation on Lime Creek mother didn’t know grandmother Sallie and grandmother Sallie didn’t know her daughter Rhoda till Elsie introduced ’em to each other. Dey was so glad dey just hugged and kissed plenty. De war was going on den and dey fought four years and two months.