"One day de odder slaves of Marse Thomas wuz all run off, en I won-

dered what fur none de folks tole me.  So one day I goes over ter Isham

Hubbard's en he say:  'Anna, aint Marse Thomas done tole you dat you is

free?' I tole him, 'No he diden' tole me nothin but all de odders is 

done gone."  So he says fer me ter tell Marse Thomas dat he wuz wuking

me 'thout pay, en dat I wuz free; en ef he diden' pay me somethin' I was 

goin'."

	"I went home an tole Marse Thomas what Ishum Hubbard done tole me,

en he says: 'Anna, ef you wanna stay on here you kin, but I aint gwineter 

pay you nothin'."

	"When Miss Patsy got er chanct she talk ter me en say she diden'

tole me 'fore bout being free kaze Maese Thomas dared her to; but fer me

ter go up ter Monticello, Kentucky en she ud give me some money en my

close.  I went en made de trip alright.  I got wuk with er white lawyer

named Christie, en he paid me fifty cents er week."

	"i went ter church in Monticello, en dere I met en finely married

Henry Coffee.  Henry he'd been in de war, en belonged ter de 6th Kaintucky

Cavalry.  Us wuz de third cullud couple ter git marriage license in 1868,

en Monticello.

	"Den us moved ter London, en Henry farmed en done first one thing

en ernother ter mek er livin'.  We bought er nice little place en lived 

real nice, en wuked en de church.  What good meetin's dey uster have.

Dey sung all de good ole time songs like, "Wnat Ter Go Ter Heaven When

I Die"; "Wuz I Born Ter Die En Lay Dis Body Down"; 'en more'n I k'aint

mention.  Folks done er lots o' dancin' den, en dey ud dance ef dey had

ter pat en dance; but dey mos' gen'rally used de fiddle."

			

Works Progress Administration (WPA) Ex-Slave Narratives

Anna Maria Coffee, Ex-Slave Narrative