Slave interviews give us insight into the experience of being an African American servant in the South. The interviews of Isom Moseley from Gee’s Bend, Alabama and Mrs. Laura Smalley from Hempstead, Texas give voice to a difficult life during the nineteenth century.
Each slave had a job that contributed to the entire plantation. There were different positions that a slave could hold such as house servants, field hands, and overseers. Isom Moseley worked around the master’s house. Moseley called himself a “houseboy who kept cool water around”. (Sonkin) Many slaves in Gee’s Bend, Alabama were skilled workers. There were weavers, carpenters, soap makers, molasses makers, and leather tanners. The leather tanners made shoes. Moseley stated that he would provide water for the workers and for the ash hopper for the soap maker. The carpenters would make wooden mills for molasses. (Sonkin)
Mrs. Laura Smalley talks about women and men in Hempstead, Texas working in the fields and an older woman who took care of the children in “the slop room”. (Faulk) From her interview, it is not clear if Smalley held a position as …show more content…
The slaves were not made aware of their freedom for quite some time. Like Isom Moseley, Mrs. Laura Smalley tells of a delayed emancipation by their master. Smalley says that after her master returned from the Civil War, he didn’t tell them they were free. On June 19, 1865, Laura Smalley received her freedom. The slaves of Hempstead, Texas were worked for an additional two and a half more years after the abolishment of slavery! (Hearing Voices) Whereas, Moseley’s freedom in Alabama was delayed by a year. Smalley relates that after being set free, her mother didn’t know where to go. “Just turned, just like you turn something out, turned us out just like, you know, you turn out cattle”. (Faulk) In Alabama, Moseley said many stayed and continued to work by sharecropping, rented land or became wage
Each slave had a job that contributed to the entire plantation. There were different positions that a slave could hold such as house servants, field hands, and overseers. Isom Moseley worked around the master’s house. Moseley called himself a “houseboy who kept cool water around”. (Sonkin) Many slaves in Gee’s Bend, Alabama were skilled workers. There were weavers, carpenters, soap makers, molasses makers, and leather tanners. The leather tanners made shoes. Moseley stated that he would provide water for the workers and for the ash hopper for the soap maker. The carpenters would make wooden mills for molasses. (Sonkin)
Mrs. Laura Smalley talks about women and men in Hempstead, Texas working in the fields and an older woman who took care of the children in “the slop room”. (Faulk) From her interview, it is not clear if Smalley held a position as …show more content…
The slaves were not made aware of their freedom for quite some time. Like Isom Moseley, Mrs. Laura Smalley tells of a delayed emancipation by their master. Smalley says that after her master returned from the Civil War, he didn’t tell them they were free. On June 19, 1865, Laura Smalley received her freedom. The slaves of Hempstead, Texas were worked for an additional two and a half more years after the abolishment of slavery! (Hearing Voices) Whereas, Moseley’s freedom in Alabama was delayed by a year. Smalley relates that after being set free, her mother didn’t know where to go. “Just turned, just like you turn something out, turned us out just like, you know, you turn out cattle”. (Faulk) In Alabama, Moseley said many stayed and continued to work by sharecropping, rented land or became wage