My ancestors were slave holders from Perquimans Co. and I would like to know where the manuscripts for this are located and where can the published version be found. Thanks for your help. Janie S. Hill On Wed, 24 May 2000 11:18:37 -0400 "Dr. Gordon Trueblood" <zenith@intranet.ca> writes: > I have received a few requests for information/data contained in a > narrative > taken from Simuel Riddick in the 1930s. I thought it might be > worthwhile to > share this information with the Discussion Group. > > The information I have was taken from manuscripts produced in the > 1930s and > published in 1984 under the title "My Folks Don't Want Me to Talk > About > Slavery" edited by Belinda Hurmence and published by John F. Blair, > Publisher, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. > > First, a little background information: during the depression years > the > Federal Government initiated the Federal Writers Project...primarily > to > create work for writers without jobs. An important focus of this > initiate > was to interview as many former slaves as possible - an important > but > long-neglected soure of information about the institution of slavery > in the > United States. As you can appreciate, by the mid 1930s, there were > considerably fewer ex-slaves from whom oral histories could be > taken. > Hence, the importance of the interviews. > > Among those interviewed was a former slave living in Raleigh, but > from > Perquimans County. He was 95 when he was interviewed. The essence > of his > interview is as follow: > > His name was Simuel Riddick. He was born on Feb. 4th, 1841 in > Perquimans > County. His mother was Nancy Riddick and his father was Elisha > Riddick. > > Simuel Riddick's master and mistress were Elisha and Sarah Riddick. > They > had three daughters: Sarah, Christine, and Mary; and one son named > Asbury > Riddick. > > Simuel Riddick reports he had good food and clothes and was well > treated by > his master, who owned about 25 slaves. Simuel Riddic was foreman of > the > plantation and "looked after things in general. I had charge of > everything > at the lots and in the fields. They trusted me." > > Although Elishas Riddick treated his slaves well, his son, Ashbury > was > described as a "rangtang" who loved liquor and "colored women". > Asbury > Riddick married Mary Marmaduke from Gates County. > > "I have seen lots of pattyrollers. They were my friends. I had > friends > among them because I had a young missus they run with. That's why > they let > me alone. I went with her to cotton-picking night. They came but > they > didn't touch me. My young missus married Dr. Perry from the same > neighborhood in Pequimans County. Bill Simpson married her sister. > He was > from the same place. Watson White married the other one. He was > from > Perquimans County". Simuel does not identify in his narrative which > daughter was married to which man. > > When the Civil War broke out, Simuel Riddick reports, "I remember > Marster's > brother's son Tommy going off to war. Marster's brother was named > Willis > Riddick. He never came back." > > When the wark broke out, Simuel left his marster (runaway?) and went > to > Portsmouth, Virginia. He says General Miles captured him and put > him in > uniform and Simuel waited on him as a body servant and private in > the U.S. > Army. He stayed with General Miles until Gen. Lee surrendered. > After the > war, he stayed on with Gen. Miles as a servant. He broke service > with > General Miles when the General was ordered to the plains in the > west. > > At the end of his narrative, Simuel reports that after he moved to > Raleigh, > he received a letter from his missus (Sarah Riddick). He does not > say what > was in the letter, only that she was a fine woman and always good to > him. > > The above information has been taken directly from Simuel's > interview. I > can not vouche for the accuracy of it, but assume it is correct. > > The narrative is a good source of genealogical information and gives > a rare, > first hand description of a Perquimans County family during the > ante-bellum > period by a former slave. > > Gordon Trueblood > > > ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.