My life in the South

Introduction

Salem, August 4, 1879.

I have read the manuscript from which this little work by Rev. Mr. Stroyer is printed and found it both interesting and instructive. It is in simple style and words, the autobiography of an emancipated slave, born and raised on an extensive plantation in central South Carolina, the owner of which had on his own several plantations, nearly 500 negroes of varying shades of complexion, all becoming free men by the Proclamation in 1864. The writer, now (1879), minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in this city, tells of his own severe training and experience, of some of the customary ways of owners and of slaves — of the severity of plantation discipline, and of the burdens of a life of involuntary servitude. Hints are not wanting that the importation of slaves was not, in the time of the author, wholly discontinued.

The hope of Mr. Stroyer is that he may be able, by the sale of his work, to raise means to enable him to add to an education already attained with very great difficulty and long and patient toil and waiting, his whole object being to devote his services and attainments to the good of his race.

Henry K. Oliver.

In this book Mr. Stroyer has given us, with a most simple and effective realism, the inside view of the institution of slavery It is worth reading, to know how men, intelligent enough to report their experience, felt under the yoke. The time has come when American slavery can be studied historically, without passion, save such as mixes itself with the wonder that so great an evil could exist so long as a social form or a political idol. The time has not come when such study is unnecessary ; for to deal justly by white or black in the United States, their previous relations must be understood, and nothing which casts light on the most universal and practical of those relations is without value to-day. I take pleasure therefore in saying that I consider Mr. Stroyer a competent and trustworthy witness to these details of plantation life.

E. C. Bolles.

0*)

City of Salem, Mayor's Office, )

This is to certify that since the year 1876 I have known Rev. Jacob Stroyer, as a preacher and minister to the colored people of this city. He is earnest, devoted and faithful.

He is endeavoring by the sale of this book to realize the means to enable him by a course of study, to better fit himself as a minister to preach in the South.

I most cheerfully commend him in his praiseworthy efforts.

Wm. M. Hill, Mayor. (5)

City of Salem, Mass.,) Mayor's Office, Jan. 20, 1885. j

Such tales as Mr. Stroyer's are now no longer required to enlighten the community and show the few lights and many shadows of American slavery. We may be thankful that the subject has now simply an historical interest.

Although it does not possess the dramatic incidents of Mrs. Stowe's famous story, it has the advantage of being a true sketch of Southern life. It is a simple, readable production, and shows what education will do for the race.

Mr. Stroyer will do good work among his people, and deserves encouragement and support.

Mr. Stroyer's book is a setting forth in a fresh and unique manner of the old and bitter wrongs of American Slavery. It is an inside view of a phase of our national life which has happily passed away forever. Although it concerns itself largely with incidents and details, it is not without the historical value which attaches to reliable personal reminiscences. The author has made commendable progress in intellectual culture, and is worthy of generous assistance in his effort to fit himself still more perfectly for labor among his needy brethren in the South.

E. S. Atwood.

Preface

THIRD EDITION

The author, in presenting the third edition of his book to the public, would take occasion to thank his patrons for the very liberal manner in which they have appreciated his efforts. When the work was first projected, the necessity for another edition was not thought of; but the unexpected favor which the work has met at the hands of those interested in the author and his object, has constrained him to offer a second and now a third edition of this little story of the trials and sufferings of himself and his once oppressed brethren, to their kind consideration.

J. S.

Chapter I

My father was born in Sierra Leone, Africa. Of his parents and his brothers and sisters, I know nothing ; I only remember that it was said that his father's name was Moncoso, and his mother's Mongomo, which names are known only among the native Africans. He was brought from Africa when but a boy, and sold to old Colonel Dick Singleton, who owned a great many plantations in South Carolina, and when the old colonel divided his property among his children, father fell to his second son, Col. M. R. Singleton.

Mother was never sold, but her parents were ; they were owned by one Mr. Crough, who sold them and the rest of the slaves, with the plantation, to Col. Dick Singleton, and mother was born on that place. I was born on this extensive plantation twenty-eight miles southeast of Columbia, South Carolina, in the year 1849. I belonged to Col. M. R. Singleton, and was held in slavery up to the time of the emancipation proclamation issued by President Lincoln.

THE CHILDREN.

My father had fifteen children : four boys and three girls by his first wife, and eight by his second. Their names were as follows : of the boys, — Tony, Aszerine, Duke and Dezine ; of the girls, — Violet, Priscilla, and Lydia. Those of his second wife were as follows : Pooty, Embrus, Caleb, Mitchell, Cuffey and Jacob ; and of the girls, Catherine and Retta.

SAND-HILL DAYS.

Col. M. R. Singleton was like many other rich slave owners in the South, who had summer seats four, six or eight miles from the plantation, where they carried the little negro boys and girls while they were too small to work.

Our summer seat, or the sand-hill, as the slaves used to call it, was four miles from the plantation. Among the four hundred and sixty-five slaves owned by the Colonel, there were a great many children. If my readers had visited Col. Singleton's plantation the last of May or the first of June in the days of slavery, they would have seen three or four large plantation wagons loaded with little negroes of both sexes, of various complexions and conditions, who were being carried to this summer residence, and among them they would have found the author of this little work, in his sand-hill days.

My readers would naturally ask, how many seasons these children were taken to the summer seats ? I answer, until, in the judgment of the overseer, they were large enough to work ; then they were kept at the plantation. How were they fed ? There were three or four women who were too old to work on the plantation, who were sent as nurses at the summer seat with the children ; they did the cooking. The way in which these old women cooked for 80, and sometimes 150 children, in my sand-hill days, was this, — they had two or three large pots, which held about a bushel each, in which they used to cook corn-flour, tirred with large wooden paddles. The food was dealt out with the paddles into each child's little wooden tray or tin pail, which was furnished by the parents according to their ability.

With this corn flour, which the slaves called mush, each child used to get a gill of sour milk, brought daily from the plantation in a large wooden pail on the head of a boy or man. We children used to like the sour milk, or hard clabber as it was called by the slaves ; but that seldom changed diet, namely the mush, was hated worse than medicine. Our hatred was increased against the mush from the fact that they used to give us molasses to eat with it instead of clabber. The hateful mixture made us anxious for Sundays to come, when our mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers would bring something from the plantation, which, however poor, we considered very nice, compared with what we had during the week days. Among the many desirable things our parents brought us, the most delightful was cow pease, rice, and a piece of bacon, cooked together ; the mixture was called by the slaves "hopping John."

THE STORY OF GILBERT.

A few large boys were sent yearly to the sand-hill among the smaller ones, as guides for them. At the time to which I am referring, there was one by the name of Gilbert, who used to go around with the smaller boys in the woods to gather bushes and sticks for the old women to cook our food with.

Gilbert was a cruel boy. He used to strip his little fellow negroes while in the woods, and whip them two or three times a week, so that their backs were all scarred, and threatened them with severer punishment if they told it ; this state of things had been going on for quite a while. As I was a favorite of Gilbert, I always had managed to escape a whipping, with the promise of keeping the secret of the punishment of the rest, which I did, not so much that I was afraid of Gilbert, as because I always was inclined to mind my own business. But finally, one day Gilbert said to me, " Jake," as he used to call me, " you am a good boy, but I'm gwine to wip you some to-day, as I wip dem 'toder' boys." Of course I was required to strip off my only garment, which was an Osnaburg linen shirt, worn by both sexes of the negro children in the summer. As I stood trembling before my merciless superior, who had a switch in his hand, thousands of thoughts went through my little mind as to how to get rid of the whipping. I finally fell upon a plan which I hoped would save me from a punishment that was near at hand. There were some carpenters in the woods, some distance from us, hewing timber ; they were far away, but it was a clear morning, so we could hear their voices and the sound of the axes. Having resolved in my mind what I would do, I commenced reluctantly to take off my shirt, and at the same time pleading with Gilbert, who paid no attention to my prayer, but said, " Jake, I is gwine to wip you to-day as I did dem toder boys."

Having satisfied myself that no mercy was to be found with Gilbert, I drew my shirt off and threw it over his head, and bounded forward on a run in the direction of the sound of the carpenters. By the time he got from the entanglement of my garment, I had quite a l;ttle start of him ; between my starting point and the place where the carpenters were at work, I jumped over some bushes five or six feet high. Gilbert soon gained upon me, and sometimes touched me with his hands, but as I had on nothing for him to hold to, he could not take hold of me. As I began to come in sight of the carpenters, Gilbert begged me not to go to them, for he knew that it would be bad for him, but as that was not a time for me to listen to his entreaties, 1 moved on faster. As I got near to the carpentirs, one of them ran and met me into whose, arms I jumped. The man into a\ hose arms I ran, was Uncle Benjamin, my mother's unci* As he clasped me in his arms, he said, " Bres de Lo, my son, wat is de matter." But I was so exhausted that it was quite a while before I could tell him my trouble ; when recovered from my breathless condition, I .told him that Gilbert had been in the habit of stripping the boys and whipping them two or three times a week, when we went into the woods, and threatened them with greater punishment if they told it. I said he had never whipped me before, but I was cautioned to keep the secret which I did up to this time ; but he said he was going to whip me this morning, so I threw my shirt over his head and ran here for protection. Gilbert did not follow me after I got in sight of the carpenters, but sneaked away Of course my body was all bruised and scratched up by the bushes. Acting as a guide for Uncle Benjamin, I took him to where I left my garment.

At this time the children were scattered around in the woods, waiting for what the trouble would bring ; they all were gathered up and taken to the sand-hill house, examined, and it was found, as I have stated, that their backs were all scarred up. Gilbert was brought to trial, severely whipped, and they made him beg all the children to pardon him for his treatment to them. But he never was allowed to go into the woods with the rest of the children during that season. My sand-hill associates always thanked me for the course I took, which saved them and myself from further punishment by him.

MASTER AND MISTRESS VISITING.

When master and mistress were to visit their little negroes at the sand hill, the news was either brought by the overseer who resided at the above named place, and went back and forth to the plantation, or by one of master's house servants, a day ahead. The preparation required to receive our white guests was that each little negro was to be washed and clad in the best dress he or she had. But before this was done, however, the unsuccessful attempt was made to straighten out our unruly wools with some small cards, or Jim-crows as we called them.

On one occasion an old lady, by the name of Janney Cuteron attempted to straighten out my wool with one of those Jim-crows ; as she hitched the teeth of the instrument in my unyielding wool with her great masculine hand, of course 1 was jerked flat on my back. This was the common fate of most of my associates, whose wools were of the same nature, but with a little water and the strong application of the Jim-crow, the old lady soon combed out my wool into some sort of shape.

As our preparations were generally completed threequarters of an hour before our guests came, we were placed in line, the boys together and the girls by themselves. We were then drilled in the art of addressing our expected visitors. The boys were required to bend the body forward with head down, and rest the body on the left foot, and scrape the right foot backward on the ground, while uttering the words, " how dy Massa and Missie." The girls were required to use the same words, accompanied with a courtesy. But when master and mistress left, the little African wools were neglected until the news of their next visit.

Our sand-hill days were very pleasant, outside of the seldom changed diet, namely the mush, which we had to sometimes eat with molasses ; the treatment of Gilbert and the attempt to straighten out our unruly wools.

I said that my father was brought from Africa when but a boy, and was sold to old Col. Dick Singleton ; and when his children were of age, he divided his plantations among them, and father fell to Col. M. R. Singleton, who was the second son.

On this large plantation there were 465 slaves ; there were not so many when first given to Col. M. R., but increased to the above stated number, up to the time of emancipation.

My father was not a field hand ; my first recollection of him was that he used to take care of hogs and cows in the swamp, and when too old for that work he was sent to the plantation, to take care of horses and mules, as master had a great many for the use of his farm.

I have stated that father said that his father's name in Africa was Moncoso, and his mother's Mongomo, but I never learned what name he went by before he was brought to this country. I only know that he stated that Col. Dick Singleton gave him the uame of William, by which he was known up to the day of his death. Father had a surname, Stroyer, which he could not use in public, as the surname Stroyer would be against the law ; he was known only by the name of William Singleton, because that was his master's name. So the title Stroyer was forbidden him, and could be used only by his children after the emancipation of the slaves.

There were two reasons given by the slave holders why they did not allow a slave to use his own name, but rather that of the master. The first was that if he ran away, he would not be so easily detected by using his own name, as if he used that of his master instead. The second was, that to allow him to use his own name would be sharing an honor which was due only to his master, and that would be too much for a negro, said they, who was nothing more than a servant. So it was held as a crime for the slave to be caught using his own name, which would expose him to severe punishment. But thanks be to God that those days have passed, and we now live under the sun of liberty.

MOTHER.

Mother's name was Chloe. She belonged to Col. M. R. Singleton too ; she was a field hand, and never was sold, but her parents were once.

As I have said, that one Mr. Crough owned this plantation on which mother lived, and he, Mr. C, sold the plantation to Col. Dick Singleton, with mother's parents on it, before she was born.

The family from which mother came, the most of them had trades of some kind ; some were carpenters, some blacksmiths, some house servants, and others were made drivers over the other negroes. Of course the negro drivers would be under a white man who was called the overseer. Sometimes the negro drivers were a great deal worse to their fellow negroes than the white men.

Mother had an uncle by the name of Esau, whom master thought more of than he did the overseer. Uncle Esau was more cruel than any white man master ever had on his plantation. Many of the slaves used to run away in the woods from him, instead of from the overseer. I have known some of the negroes to run away from the cruel treatment of Uncle Esau, and to stay off eight or ten months. They were so afraid of him that they used to say that they would rather see the devil than to see him ; they were glad when he died. But while so much was said of Uncle Esau, which was also true of many other negro drivers, yet the overseers were not free from their portion of cruelty practised upon the defenceless slaves in gone by days.

I have said that the family from which mother came, most of them had trades of some kind ; but she had to take her chance in the field with those who had to weather the storm. But my readers are not to think that those whom I have spoken of as having trades were free from punishment, for they were not ; some of them had more troubles than the field hands. At times the overseer, who was a white man, would go to the shop of the blacksmith or carpenter, and would pick a quarrel with him, so as to get an opportunity to punish him. He would say to the negro, " Oh, ye think yourself as good as ye master, ye — " Of course he knew what the overseer was after, so he was afraid to speak ; the overseer, hearing no answer, would turn to him and cry out, " ye so big ye can't speak to me, ye — ," and then the conflict would begin, and he would give that man such a punishment as would disable him for two or three months. The merciless overseer would say to him " Ye think because ye have a trade ye are as good as ye master, ye — ; but I will show ye that ye are nothing but a nigger."

I said that my father had two wives and fifteen children ; four boys and three girls by the first, and six boys and two girls by the second wife. Of course he did not marry his wives as they do now, as it was not allowed among the slaves, but he took them as his wives by mutual agreement. He had my mother after the death of his first wife. I am the third son of his second wife.

My readers would very naturally like to know whether some of the slaves did not have more than one woman ; I answer, they had ; for as they had no law to bind them to one woman, they could have as many as they pleased by mutual agreement. But, notwithstanding, they had a sense of the moral law, for many of them felt that it was right to have but one woman ; they had different opinions about plurality of wives, as have the most educated and refined among the whites.

I met one of my fellow negroes one day, who lived next neighbor to us, and I said to him, " Well, Uncle William, how are you, to-day ?" his answer was " Thank God, my son, I have two wives now, and must try t ^ make out with them until I can get some more. But while you would find many like him, others would rebuke the idea of having more than one woman for wife. But, thanks be to God, that the day has come when no one need plead ignorance, for the master and slave are both bound by the same law, which knows no man by condition or color.

I did not go to the sand-hill, or summer seat, my allotted time, but stopped on the plantation with father, as I said that he used to take care of horses and mules. I was around with him in the barn yard when but a very small boy ; of course that gave me an early relish for the occupation of hostler, and I soon made known my preference to Col. Singleton, who was a sportsman and had fine horses. And, although I was too small to work, the Colonel granted my request ; hence I was allowed to be numbered among those who took care of the fine horses, and learned to ride. But I soon found that my new occupation demanded a little more than 1 cared for.

It was not long after I had entered my new work before they put me upon the back of a horse which threw me to the ground almost as soon as I reached his back. It hurt me a little, but that was not the worst of it, for when I got up there was a man standing near with a switch in hand, and he immediately began to beat me. Although I was a very bad boy, this was the first time I had been whipped by any one except father and mother, so I cried out in a tone of voice as if I would say, this is the first and last whipping you will give me when father gets hold of you.

When I got away from him I ran to father with all my might, but soon found my expectation blasted, as father very coolly said to me, "go back to your work and be a good boy, for I cannot do anything for you."

But that did not satisfy me, so on I went to mother with my complaint and she came out to the man who whipped me ; he was a groom, a white man whom master hired to train his horses, as he was a man of that trade. Mother and he began to talk, then he took a whip and started for her, and she ran from him, talking all the time. I ran back and forth be. tween mother and him until he stopped beating her. After the fight between the groom and mother, he took me back to the stable yard and gave me a severe flogging. And although mother failed to help me at first, still I had faith that when he took me back to the stable yard, and commenced whipping me, that she would come and stop him, but I looked in vain, for she did not come.

Then the idea first came to me that I, with my dear father and mother and the rest of my fellow negroes, was doomed to cruel treatment through life, and was defenceless. But when I found that father and mother could not save me from punishment, as they themselves had to submit to the same treatment, I concluded to appeal to the sympathy of the groom, who seemed to have had full control over me ; but my pitiful cries never touched his sympathy, for things seemed to grow worse rather than better ; so I made up my mind to stem the storm the best I could.

I have said that Col. Singleton had fine horses, which he kept for racing, and he owned two very noted ones, named Capt. Miner and Inspector. Perhaps some of my readers have already heard of Capt. Miner, for he was widely known, and won many races in Charleston and Columbia, S. C, also in Augusta, Ga., and New York. He was a dark bay, Avith short tail. Inspector was a chestnut sorrel, and had the reputation of being a very great horse. These two horses have won many thousand dollars for the colonel. I rode these two horses a great many times in their practice gallops, but never had the opportunity to ride them in a race before Col. Singleton died, for he did not live long after I had learned so that I could ride for money. The'custom was, when a boy learned the trade as a rider, he would have to ride what was known as a trial, in the presence of a judge, who would approve or disapprove his qualification to be admitted as a race rider, according to the jockey laws of South Carolina at that time.

I have said that I loved the business and acquired the skill very early, and this enabled me to pass my examination creditably, and to be accepted as a capable rider, but I passed through some very severe treatment before reaching that point.

This white man who trained horses for Col. Singleton was named Boney Young ; he had a brother named Charles, who trained for the colonel's brother, John Singleton. Charles was a good man, but Boney, our trainer, was as mean as Charles was good ; he could smile in the face of one who was suffering the most painful death at his hands.

One day, about two weeks after Boney Youngiand mother had the conflict, he called me to him, as though he waSjin his pleasantest mood ; he was ^singing. I ran to him as if to say by action, I will do anything you bid me willingly. When I got to him he said, "go and bring me a switch, sir." I answered "yes, sir," and off I went and brought him one; then he said, "come in here, sir ;" I ansvertd, "yes, sir ;"

and I went into a horse's stall, but while I was going in a thousand thoughts passed through my mind as to what he wanted me to go into the stall for, but when I got in I soon learned, for he gave me a first class flogging.

A day or two after that he called me in the same way, and I went again, and he sent me for a switch. I brought him a short stubble that was worn out, which he took, beat me on the head, and then said to me, " go and bring me a switch, sir ;" I answered, "yes, sir;" and off I went the second time, and brought him one very little better than the first ; he broke that over my head also, saying, " go and bring me a switch, sir ;" I answered, " yes, sir," and off I went the third time, and brought one which I supposed suited him. Then he said to me, " Come in here, sir," I answered, " yes, sir." When I went into the stall, he told me to lie down, and I stooped down ; he kicked me around for a while, then making me lie on my face, he whipped me to his satisfaction.

That evening when I went home to father and mother, I said to them, "Mr. Young is whipping me too much now ; 1 shall not stand it, I shall tight him." Father said to me, "You must not do that, because if you do he will say that your mother and I advised you to do it, and it will make it hard for your mother and me, as well as for yourself. You must do as I told you, my son ; do your work the best you can, and do not say anything." I said to father, •'•' but I don't know what I have done that he should whip me; he does not tell me what wrong I have done, he simply calls me to him and whips me when he gets ready." Father said, " I can do nothing more than pray to the Lord to hasten the time when these things shall be done away ; that is all I can do." When mother stripped me and looked at the wounds that were upon me, she burst into tears, and said, "if he were not so small I would not mind it so much ; this will break his constitution ; I am going to master about it, because I know he will not allow Mr. Young to treat this child so."