During the 1930s, the Federal Government interviewed hundreds of elderly African Americans who had formerly been enslaved. The Government desired to preserve the lived experience of those who lived under the brutality of enslavement.
Many of the people interviewed had been enslaved in Burke County.
The narratives below can be found at the Library of Congress Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938.
Willis Bennefield, born in 1835, enslaved by Baldwin B. Miller. Willis describes his life pre and post-emancipation. He states that after the Civil War, he refused to sign a labor contract with his former enslaver, indicating that he believed it to be fraudulent or heavily swayed in Miller's favor. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, Volume 4, Georgia, Part 4, Telfair-Young, page 168-175, 235-244, and 316
Ellen Campbell, enslaved in Richmond County, Georgia but she mentions events in Waynesboro. She describes her kids and grandkids, then discusses her life on William Eve's plantation. She recalls that Eve's daughter Eva rented her to a boarding house, presumably in Augusta or Waynesboro, and that while there she dropped a plate of food. Ellen states that the lady running the boarding house "got so made she picked up a butcher knife and chop me in de haid." Ellen says that Eva "wrote a note to de lady and she say, 'Ellen is my slave...I wouldn't had dis happen to her no more dan to me." Ellen also describes enslaved people's rations, whippings on Eve's plantation, and enslaved peoples building breastworks in Waynesboro during the Civil War. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, Volume 4, Georgia, Part 4, Telfair-Young, page 221-225, 315-316, 320, 336, 341, 346
Fannie Fulcher, Willis Bennefield's sister, enslaved by Baldwin B. Miller. She describes the orientation and accommodations of the enslaved quarters and the overseer's quarters. She also describes children's religious training, as well as parties that the enslaved peoples on the plantation held. Fannie remembers that enslaved people on Miller's plantation grew vegetables in their own personal plots and were allowed to keep the profits of their sales. She states that enslaved peoples on the plantation also made baskets and quilts. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, Volume 4, Georgia, Part 4, Telfair-Young, page 311-312, 316-317, 321, 336
Aunt Easter/Easter Jones, enslaved by Lawyer Bennet. She remembers that her enslavers only taught her to churn butter and clean house. Easter often had to work, even on Sundays, and recalls that the only thing enslaved peoples learned in church was to obey their master. Easter also states that her enslavers would make her take boiling hot dishes out of the sink and would whip her if she dropped any. "Dey whip you so hard your back bleed, den dey pour salt and water on it. And your shirt stick to your back, and you hadder get somebody to grease it 'fore you kin take it off." Easter recalled that "dey had me up fer sale once, but de horse run away and broke de neck o' de man whut gwine buy me." Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, Volume 4, Georgia, Part 4, Telfair-Young, page 218-219, 315, 318, 340, 345
While the people in the above video were not from Burke County, Georgia, they do paint an emotional image of enslavement in the United States. Far from the written word or photographs from the era, these are the actual voices of people who experienced enslavement first hand. These are people that we can imagine conversing with today. Their voices serve as a reminder that African American enslavement is a much more recent tragedy than many people think.
Eliza Morris, enslaved by William Morris. Eliza was one of Morris' most trusted enslaved peoples. She recalls that Morris had her bury the family silver as Sherman's army came through Waynesboro. She states that many of her fellow enslaved peoples were jealous of the favoritism Morris showed to her, and that they tried to persuade the Union soldiers soldiers to shoot her when she would not disclose where she buried Morris' silver. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, Volume 4, Georgia, Part 4, Telfair-Young, page 344-345
Mary Smith, enslaved by Mr. McNorrell. She describes enslaved cooking practices and childcare on McNorrell's plantation. Mary states that the first job she had was putting wood on the fire. She was seven years old at the end of the Civil War. "My ma tek me to de fiel when I wuz 'bout sever years ole and teach me to chop cotton, I dont member what happen when freedom come, tings wuz 'bout de same, fur as we chillun knowed." Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938, Volume 4, Georgia, Part 3, Kendricks-Styles, page 286-287