"My owner raised mostly cotton and corn, my mother wove all de clothes we wore, she even done all de spinning. During de Civil War, my old Miss use to hide us niggahs in de woods to keep de Yankees from seein’ us. Dey pass through our place and got most all our stock just de same and all dey wanted to eat besides. But dey never found a one of us. After dey pass by we all go on back home.
"Dey sent us to church reglar and de preacher say to us, any you all see anybody stealin’ old Miss chickens or eggs, go straight to old Miss and tell her who ’tis and all about it. Any one steal old Marse hogs or anything belong to old Marse, go straight to him and tell him all about it. Den he ask us, what your daddy bring home to you when he come, and what he feed you chillun at night. We scared to death to tell anything 'cause, honey, if we did de niggah get a killin, and our mammy tie up our feet and hang us upside down by our feet, build a fire under us and smoke us, scare us plum to death. We swear mammy goin’ to burn us up. Lord, child, dat was an awful scare. Yes, mam, it was. De old preacher told us go on work hard, tell old Miss and old Master de truth and when we die God going let us in heaven’s kitchen and sit down and rest from all dis work we doin’ down here.
"We believe dat den. We didn’t know no better, honest we didn’t, honey. Our old Miss used to tell us, I want all my niggers to always tell de truth. If dey kill you, die telling de truth. But bless your soul, our mammy done smoked ’nough of us up side down, to not tell dem white folks nothin’, a lie, nor the truth. No sir’ree. Who want to get smoked up likely to burn up hanging there as not. Now ain’t dat so? No, sir, tell dem white folks, dey find out anything, they jes’ find out by themselves, dat’s it. I never did read or write. I been married three times. My last husband I married October 31, 1901 and moved right out here in dis house November 6, 1901, been here ever since. My husband been dead now 18 years. My children all died while dey was babies. I had six children. I wear glasses sometimes, but I praise God I can see good without glasses.
"De government gives me a pension and I git along fairly middlin’. Since peace been declared I made my living doing laundry work and cooking. I nursed right smart in Memphis. My mother died in 1893 here in St. Louis. Her name was Eliza Mullin, but I never did know how old she was. She didn’t neither. I am a Baptist and go to church reglar as I kin, but I suffer so hard with indigestion. I can’t go no place much. Guess dat’s 'bout all I can remember worth ’membering, hope it helps de book out."