File                                                        District #6
Copied                                                         Clark County
1-15-41                                                     Racial Group
bw




                               19/3/270


                           HENRY BEDFORD

                           Ex-slave- 78 years old


       I wuz eight years ole when de slaves wuz freed, en I mem-

ber lots.  I wuz  bawn en Millersburg, Tennessee.  My fam'ly dey

belong ter Dr. John Bedford.  He had 800 slaves en 1,000 acres of land.

       "Dey wuz six of us chillun, Laura, Emma, Alex, Gaston, Pat., en

me; en I'se de on'y one left."

       "Dr. Bedford wuz good ter all his slaves; he fed em good en clothed

 em good.  Dey wuz so menny cabindat it look like er little town, wid

 er long dirt road fer de main street.  When de fam'lies got bigger, dey

jus  added on ter de cabins, so de fam'lies ud have nuff room.  De

mothers of de diffu'nt fam'lies done de cooking fer dey own set of
 chillun."

       "Dey wuz er great big fire place, and us used big logs ter burn

 en it, en when one dem big logs wuz trowed on de fire it done light up de

 room  fine.  De food wuz plent'ful, en us had pork, fresh en cured meat,

 en wild meat sich as rabbits, possums, en coons.  Dey wuz plenty of

 fish, tu'key en de winter, en all kines veg'tables, en us wuz fed well.

       "De big house of Dr. Bedford's wuz real pretty en furnished what

 you call fine; big high ["fine" crossed out] beds, bookcases, tables en cabinets, en dey had

 er fine pianny."

       "None of us Bedford slaves ebber wuz shipped; he didn'  stand fer

 dat, even fum de patrollers.  Ef you say you wuz Dr. Bedford's slave




			

Works Progress Administration (WPA) Ex-Slave Narratives

Henry Bedford, Ex-Slave Narrative