Description
Mr. Charlie Thomas, age 92
(Name of state and county in which they were slaves)
1. Missouri, Platte County, served there until war.
(Name or names of owners)
2. Master Joe Clymer, Owner William Jack.
(The type of slaves which they were, that is, house or field slave)
3. Outdoor slave.
(The home and family life of the slaves, especially marriage, etc.)
4. Marriage encouraged by master.
(The food of the slaves)
5. Well fed.
(Punishment of the slaves)
6. Whipped
(The working conditions of the slaves)
7. Well clothed.
8. Working long hours.
(Amusements of the slaves)
9. Dancing, corn shucking.
(Religious life of the slaves)
10. Allowed to attend church with whites.
(Superstitions and customs of slaves)
11. Very superstitious.
(How they liked slavery)
12. Did not like slavery.
(Plus any other pertinent information which they could give.)
13. Blind and lame. Depends on old wife who is able to do very little for a living.
(Researcher’s note: Depending on the date of the interview, Mr. Charlie Thomas was born between 1838 and 1843.
Between 1929-1930 John B. Cade and his team of 36 Southern University interviewers compiled 299 reports of ex-slaves from 17 states and 1 country. Cade assigned each student the task of asking standard questions to each former slave. The questions were:
Name of state and county in which they were slaves
Name or names of owners
The type of slaves which they were, that is, house or field slave
The home and family life of the slaves, especially marriage, etc.
The food of the slaves
Punishment of the slaves
The working conditions of the slaves
Amusements of the slaves
Religious life of the slaves
Superstitions and customs of slaves
How they liked slavery
Plus any other pertinent information which they could give.
The Southern University John B. Cade Library has published the collection entitled "Opinions Regarding Slavery: Slave Narratives. 1822-1865.” The results of those interviews were also summarized in Cade's article "Out of the Mouths of Ex-Slaves” published in The Journal of Negro History, Volume 20, Number 3 (July 1, 1935), pp. 294-337.)Date(s) of Creation
7/1/1935
