Betty Forman Chessier
Age 94 years
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Page 30 –32
I was born July 11, 1843 in Raleigh, N. C. My mother was named Melinda
Manley, the slave of Governor Manley of North Carolina, and my father was named Arnold Foreman,
slave of Bob and John Foreman, two young masters. They come over from Arkansas to visit my master
and my pappy and mammy set and got married, ‘thought my pappy only seen my mammy in the summer wen
his masters come to visit our master and dey took him right back. I had three sisters and two
brothers and none of dem was my whole brothers and sisters. I stayed in the Big House all the time,
but my sisters and brothers was gived to the master’s sons and daughters whey dey got married and
dey was told to send back for some more when dem died. I didn’t never stay with my mammy doing of
salvery. I stayed in the Big House, I slept under the dining room table with three other darkies,
The flo’ was well carpeted. Don’t remembah my grandmammy and grandpappy, but my master was they
master.
I waited on the table, kept flies off’n my mistress and sent for mail.
Never made no money, but dey did give the slaves money at Christmas time. I never had over two
dresses. One was calico and one gingham. I had such underclothes as dey wore then.
Master Manley and Mistress had six sons an’ six darters. Dey raised dem
all till day was grown too. Dey lived in a great big house ‘cross from the mansion, right in town
before Master was ‘lected Governor, den dey all moved in dat mansion.
Plantation folks had barbecues and “lay crop feast” and invited the
city darkies out. When I first come here I couldn’t understand the folks here, ‘cause dey
didn’t quit work on Easter Monday. That is some day in North Carolina even today. I donesn’t
remember any play songs, ‘cause I was almost in prison. I couldn’t play with any of the darkies
and I doesn’t remember playing in my life when I was a little girl and when I got grown I didn’t
want to. I wasn’t hungry. I wasn’t naked and I got only five licks from the white folks in my
life. Dey was for being such a big forgetful girl. I saw ‘em sell niggers once. The only pusson I
ever seen whipped at dat whipping post was a white man.
I never got no learning; dey kept us from dat, but you know some of dem
darkies learnt anyhow. We had church in the heart of town or in the basement of some old building. I
went to the ‘piscopal church most all the time, till I got to be a Baptist.
The slaves run away to the North ‘cause dey wanted to be free. Some of
my family run away sometime and dey didn’t catch ‘em neither. The patrollers who’ watched the
streets. But when dey caught any of master’s niggers without passes, dey jest locked him up in the
guard house and master come down in the mawnin’ and git ;em out, but dem patrollers better not
whip one.
I know when the War commenced and ended. Master Manley sent me from the
Big House to the office about a mile away. Jest as I got to the office door, three men rid up in
blue uniforms and said, “Dinah, do you have any milk in there?” I was sent down to the office
for some beans for to cook dinner, but dem men most nigh scared me to death. They never did go in
dat office, but jest rid off on hourseback about a quarter a mile and seem lak right now, Yankees
fell out of the very sky, ‘cause hundeds and hundeds was everywhere you could look to save your
life. Old Mistress sent one of her grandchillun to tell me to come on, and one of the Yankees told
dat child, “You tell your grandmother she ain’t coming now and never will come back there as a
slave.” Master was setting on the mansion porch. Dem Yankees come up on de porch, go down in
cellar and didn’t tech one blessed thing. Old Mistress took heart trouble, ‘cause dem Yankees
whipped white folks going and coming.
I laid in my bed to many night scared to death of Ku Klux Klan. Dey would
come to your house and ask for a drink and no more want a drink than nothing.
After the War, I went to mammy and my step-pappy. She done married again,
so I left and went to Warrington and Halifax, North Carolina, jest for a little while nursing some
white chillun. I stayed in Raleigh, where I was born till 7 years ago, when I come to Oklahoma to
live with my only living child. I am the mother of 4 chillun and 11 grandchillun.
When I got married I jumped the broomstick. To get unmarried, all you had
to do was to jump backwards over the same broomstick.
Lincoln and Booker T. Washington was two of the finest men ever
lived. Don’t think nothng of Jeff Davis, ‘cause he was a traitor. Freedom for us was the best
thing ever happened. Prayer is best thin in the world. Everybody ought to pray, ‘cause prayer got
us out of slavery.
Contributed by M. Dawson, May 2002