slavery in navasota, texas

We got layed-onto(whipped) time on time, but gen'rally life was goodjust as good as a sweet potato. Dat's what my old mother told me 'way back in slavery, before I was ever sold. The Gudlows started us out on a ranch. In 1908, Navasota was still a Wild West boomtown: according to one source, "shootouts on the main street were so frequent that in two years at least a hundred men had died". She wore silk hose with the heels completely worn out of them. They went right on giving us food just the same. I was plenty sick and Dr. Brennen, he took good care of me. All was white in jail but one, and he was cullud. My mem'randum not so good like 'twas. http://www.navasotaexaminer.com/news/article_69301b7c-bb21-11e1-a35b-0019bb2963f4.html, June 23, 2012. Dey got dey glass. Sometime he fiel' han' on de plantation, too. Not long afterward, the town was struck by a deadly cholera epidemic. Dey was one Mef'dis' Chu'ch and one Baptis' Chu'ch in Jasper. There am embers in de fireplace and she fills a pail with dem and when de Klux busts in de door she lets dem have de embers in de face, and den out de back door she goes. In the city, 30.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.6% were between 18 and 24, 26.7% were between 25 and 44, 18.0% were between 45 and 64, and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. I 'vides (divide) my time 'tween my daughter here and de one in Houston. I 'members dat. "Soldiers, all of a sudden, was everywherecomin' in bunches, crossin' and walkin' and ridin'. The census of 1850 reported 58,161 slaves, 27.4 percent of the 212,592 people in Texas, and the census of 1860 enumerated 182,566 slaves, 30.2 percent of the total population. But he never punish nobody 'cept dey done somethin'. Navasota sits approximately 20 miles south of Bryan-College Station. Us all stay and it sho' am tough times. And I said, 'Sister Johnson, dat's 'cause I keep faith with de Lawd. Li'l befo' she die her husban' come. Dat one of de chillun' hats. And there was the key note to the old Negro's character and temperament. "Somebody run 'way all de time and hide in de woods till dere gut pinch dem and den dey have to come back and git somethin' to eat. Daughter, I don' want dat hat you got dere. 'Bout 20 year since us come here from Georgia and works de truck farm. She lives in Woodville, Texas, with her husband, Josh, to whom she has been married 13 years. Some of 'em was bigger dan others and dey put a big family in a big cabin and a li'l family in a li'l cabin. Me and my father stuck, stuck close as a lean tick to a sick kitten. The Navasota Rattlers were 3A Div. "I only 'members after de war, and most de cullud folks stays with Massa Buford after surrender and works de land on shares. When it's over, de Marster comes home and dey holds a big celebration. I dunno 'bout wedder dey come back or not 'cep'n' I 'member dat Crab Norsworthy he come back. Sometime dey brung lil' white chillen to dinner. I know 'bout de time he comin' home when he go to town and I wait down by de big gate. De nearest I comes to gittin whupped, 'twas once when I stole a plate of biscuits offen de table. Later, Stephen F. Austin gained an exception to the law from the Mexican government to entice more Americans Washington County is in the Blackland Prairies region of southeast central Texas. [1] Of the "How did you know the end of the war had come?" Dere am cornbread and cornmeal mush and corn hominy and corn grits and parched corn for drink, 'stead of tea or coffee. De sojers done took de rations. Ol' marster gin' and bale' he own cotton. The museum itself is housed in a historic building. The Horlock Art Gallery and History museum has history exhibits relating to the citys past. He won a seat in the Texas Senate in 1869. Dey has de power, and it am done for to show dey has de power. I 'most forgot it myself till you got round me jes' den. She does not know her age, but thinks she was about seven when she was freed. "Like I jes' say, I knows what I's talkin' 'bout, 'cause I use to be a slave myself and I don't know how to read and write. We had our li'l go'ds (gourds) pretty and clean and white. WebThe key to African Americans political ascension in Texas was Reconstruction, the federal governments post-Civil War effort to rebuild the South and protect the rights of The city is also home to the Willy 98.7 FM and 1550 AM radio stations, which are owned and managed by Bryan Broadcasting in Bryan, Texas. Slavery was integral to the local economy. I 'member though, dat my pa uster drive a team for ol' marster. "Den one night I 'member jes' as well, me and my mother was settin' in de cabin gettin' ready to go to bed, when us hear somebody call my mother. I heerd my gramma and ma say dey ol' marster wouldn' sell none of his slaves. "Three days after de celebration, de marster calls all de slaves in de house and says, 'Yous is all free, free as I am.' We soon found out that freedom could make folks proud but it didn't make 'em rich. Hallelujah broke out, "'Abe Lincoln freed the nigger Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. "Mr. Swanson use to own de big plantation in Palestine. WebSlavery in Texas is a co-curricular project sponsored by the History Department and Center for Community Engagement at Sam Houston State University. This resolved a long investigation by Local Police. All de ole folks, cullud and white, was cryin'. ", "Dey had a big smokehouse. WebOld Slave Cemetery Fannin County Hosted at Fannin County Texas TxGenWeb Oakhill Cemetery Annex St. Marks Cemetery Union Cemetery Fayette County Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery (hosted at TexasEscapes) Gonzales County Hosted at Gonzales County TXGenWeb Project Denton Creek Cemetery Ellis Cemetery Elm Slough Cemetery After numerous voyages, explorations of the Mississippi River valley, and trading ventures and several mutinies, La Salle's bones are believed to have found their resting place in the Navasota Valley. The population was 6,789 at the 2000 census. I can't do much and lives on de $10.00 de month pension. Fust dey is all blowed full of air and tied tight and dry. Navasota Weather Forecasts. Us all eat outer one big pan. High Point Elementary exceeded state targets in Student Progress, Student Achievement, Closing Performance Gaps, and Post-Secondary Readiness.[22]. "I heered 'em talk about some slaves what run barefooted in cold weather and you could trail 'em by blood in the snow and ice where they hurt their feet. I never hear of him breakin' up a family. Visit our sister site at Grimes County, TXGenWeb Table of Contents Maintained By: I buys goods for sheets and table kivers and one nice Sunday set dishes. I went there after the war for a while and then I looked 'round and decided to get back. Marster never crowded us 'bout de wo'k, and never give any of us whuppin's. One day she tell us, 'De war am on us. Washington on the Brazos Historical Foundation is hosting a Texas Independence Day Celebration Saturday, Feb. 29, from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m., 2400 Park The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. De whol side of my lef' leg mos' bu'n off. WebSlavery grew faster after Texas became a U.S. state in 1845. He had to stay in the woods and travel at night and eat what he could find, berries and roots and things. #3. Dey sings diff'rent songs and dis am one when deys gwine to work: "'Old cotton, old corn, see you every morn, ', 'Kitty, kitty, Dat half a day off on Sadday was for de slaves to wash and clean up deyselfs. He hid for his life in Galveston, and filed charges against many of the men, who were later fined but their murders were never prosecuted. "When freedom come my mudder and me pay no 'tention to it. I 'member de first time de Yankees pass by, my mother lift me up on de fence. He settled on the south side of the Navasota River near Bur Oak Springs and developed a cotton plantation and cattle ranch that extended at one time over about 5,000 acres. WebOn the banks of the Navasota River, Civil War veterans met for reunions from 18891946. Once, dey bang two whole days 'thout hardly stoppin'. Mos' de niggers 'have theyselves and when dey don't massa put dem in de li'l house what he call de jail, with nothin' to eat till deys ready to do what he say. Sometime he hab a wagon load of watermilion haul' up from de fiel' and cut 'em. Then they knocked their brains out and threw 'em in the river. Dere am three women what do dat, and give us de meals in de long shed with de long tables. She use' to let me bump on her pianny and didn' say nothin'. Willy 98.7 is a classic country station with local programming that includes the Navasota News and live broadcasts of Navasota Rattlers football games. I tell my chillen we didn't know no more about pants than a hawg knows about heaven; but I tells 'em that to make 'em laugh. WebNavasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. All during the Civil War, all the marketable goods produced in the region were brought to Navasota, then the furthest inland railhead in Texas, to be shipped south to Galveston, where it could be transported by steamboat from the Texas coast and up the Mississippi River to the war effort, or exported to Mexico or overseas to Europe. "Then when I was eight years old they sold me. He told me once he lived in New York and, "I's borned in Grimes County, ninety years ago. I lubs my co'nbread. I heerd of slaves bein' whip' but I ain't never see any git whip. I allus did obey jis' like I was teached to do and dey didn' hafter whip me. William now lives at 910 E. Weatherford St., Ft. Worth, Texas. "It's a funny thing how folks always want to know about the War. ", "I was bo'n up here in Jasper. She was Mrs. Ella Thompson, Felix' youngest sister, who had known only seven years of slavery. But he never give 'em a patch to work for deyself. We'uns cullud folks jined in and was singin' out in de back, 'Massa's in de Col', Har' Groun'. "No one knowed when de Klux comin'. With the gun and the trigger; January 2002, Navasota city council default on revenue bonds, withdrawing the city from financial participation in the project known as the Pecan Lakes Golf Course, located near the citys airport off of Highway 105. Dibble, Fred, P.W., Beehler, Rheba, P.W., Sometime dey mek 'em in co'n sacks and sometime dey put 'em in a tick what dey weave on de loom. Fear, uncertainty, and Mother allus say dose free niggers make de hardes' masters. The gov'ment give me $30.00 a month for drivin' a four-mule wagon for the army. He use to live in a plain, wood house on de Palestine road. He come two mile every Sunday and us go to Lugene Baptist church. Give us plenty of meat and bread and greens and t'ings. The war weren't so great as folks suppose. All we had to do was to walk, but walk South, and we'd be free as soon as we crossed the Rio Grande. He was congressman and the white people looked up to him just like he was white. My wife died three years later. He treat dis lil' darky jus' like he own chile, 'cause he never hab any chillen of his own. They didn't have no school for slaves and I never learned to read and write till after freedom. [19], The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the O.L. [20] In addition, the Pack Warehouse is located in an unincorporated area near the Pack Unit. ", "Atter he dead I wash and iron and cook out and raise my chillun. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. Leavin' the thicket, De boys and girls took tu'ns stirrin' de cream. That was cheap for a boy. "Durin' de War, things was 'bout de same, like always, 'cept some vittles was scarce. And shirts! "The masters couldn't whip the slaves there. It gits so bad round dere, dat de menfolks allus eats supper befo' dark and takes a blanket and goes to de woods for to sleep. My father, he'd round up cattle, unbranded cattle, for the whites. De year 'fore surrender, us am short of rations and sometime us hongry. My gramma toted de key to dat smokehouse and ol' mistus she'd tell her what to go and git for de white folks and de cullud folks. It swelled up my head and stuff came out. By 1860, the vast majority of enslaved Black people in Texaswho made up 30 percent of the states Brule Elementary exceeded state targets in Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps, and Post-Secondary Readiness. "I seed a lot of Southern soldiers and they'd go to the big house for something to eat. On her feet she wore men's bedroom slippers much too large for her, and to prevent their falling off, were tied around the ankle by rag strings. Dey uster hang asafoetida 'roun' us neck in a li'l bag to keep us from ketch' de whoopin' cough and de measles. The kids didn't know War was happenin'. Daddy come by when I was cleanin' the yard and said, 'Pierce, go 'round side the house, where nobody can't see us.' Them shirts wouldn't rip no more'n buckskin. He open de blacksmith shop and buy some slaves. The city of Navasota earned a 2011 Gold Leadership Award from the Texas Comptroller's Office for efforts in transparency. Well, that's how it was with us. Sure 'nough, dere was trouble, heaps of it. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. I's made de mistake of takin' de plate. Old cotton, old corn, hoe you till dawn, Dey comes sev'ral times to Alex' house but never cotches him. ", "I never git marry 'till way atter freedom come. Dey had fruits of all kin's put up. Dey hab big hog killin' time, and dey dry and salt de meat in a big long trough. Den us jis' play 'roun' lots of times anyt'ing what happen to come up in our min's. WILLIAM HAMILTON belonged to a slave trader, who left him on the Buford plantation, near Village Creek, Texas. PAULINE GRICE, 81, was born a slave of John Blackshier, who owned her mother, about 150 slaves, 50 slave children, and a large plantation near Atlanta, Georgia. Some cullud people started to farmin', like I told you, and gathered the old stock. Some dem cullud folks grandchillen still on dat land, too, de Parkers and Farrows and Nelsons and some others. Washington County. I jus' always asks that question for fun. ", "Me? WebBuilt in 1834 by Henry Fanthorp as a home for his third wife, Rachel Kennard, the Fanthorp home and Inn has been closely connected with events of early Texas history. Her figure is generous in proportions, and her hair snow white, fixed in little pig tails and wrapped in black string. He was nice one day and mean as Hades de next. Many men were left dead and many were wounded after this little known battle, perhaps the greatest race battle ever fought in Texas. De ol' mistus she a pretty good doctor. John was my father. Us sees no battlin' but de cannon bang all day. When I git disable' to wuk in de time of de 'pressure (depression) I git on my walkin' stick. An Anglo-Texas man of Scots-Irish descent who suffered being kidnapped from his natural family at the age of five by a Native American raiding party, he returned to the Native American people of his own free will after being ransomed back from the Comanche. He wasn't no eddicated man, but he was what he calls himself a piano man. The slaves "Bout gittin' married, after I quits de Gran' Hotel I marries and we'uns has two chillen. A statue of Mance Lipscomb is now a part of Mance Lipscomb Park, near downtown. Shoutin' the battle cry of freedom.'. But we didn't do it. He came to Galveston, Texas, in 1877. Now, Will, dat de man I's marry to, am younger'n me but he don't know it. Planters depended on enslaved African Americans to provide labor for their large cotton plantations. Onct or twict he sell de nigger what won't do right and do de work. The gov'ment builded school houses and the Klu Klux went to work and burned 'em down. Local artist and sculptor Russell Cushman designed and built the bronze statue. The house was built by Alabama native Robert Augustus Horlock in 1892. Dere some old men dat too old to work so dey sot in de sun all day and holp with de light work. Nobody knew how it was to lack food. I hab purty long, black hair and a veil with a ribbon 'round de fron'. ", "My ma she was jis' a fiel' han' but my gramma and my aunt dey hab dem for wuk 'roun' de house. WebNavasota Map Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. In de corner, She jus' walk 'round de yard and twist de hands and say, 'Dey sho' git kilt. I ain' been gone to de sawmill town very long when she sen' for me. e. The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its Ma tell 'em to write him he neenter (need not) come. They got together and organized the militia and had leaders like reg'lar soldiers. But de slaves some of 'em uster had family prayer meetings to deyselfs. I'd hear dem comin' when dey hit de lane and I'd holler, 'De Klux am comin'.' ", "Us gals wo' plain, long waisted dress. It was my job, after dark, listenin' for dem Klux, den I gits under de bed. If I live till December, I'll be 102 years old, and dis ole heart have been pumpin' and pumpin' all dem years and have missed nary a beat till dis las' year. '", "Land sakes, Felix!" In 1865 a warehouse filled with cotton and gunpowder exploded after it was torched by vagrant Confederate veterans; the blast killed a number of people and started a fire that destroyed much of the original downtown, and damaged many buildings, including the post office. They gits de idea de white folks should give dem land and mules and sich. Some dem niggers on other plantations ain't keep de head and dey gits whupped and some gits kilt, but us does what massa say and has no trouble with dem Klux. Dey go in de stables and turn out de white folks' hosses and run off what dey don't take for deyself. Marster says, 'If you did, de houn' got 'em.' "If you's lookin' for Ann Hawthorne, dis is me. He tell de overseer, 'If you can't make dem niggers work without de whup, den you not de man I wants.' Over in de valley, Massa Moses owns lots of land and fifty nigger families, and he gives each family a deed to 'bout fifty acres. They didn't care what color you was, black, white, yellow or blue. In February 2004, the Texas Rangers again probed the Navasota Police Department. "Sometimes someone would come 'long and try to get us to run up North and be free. Us hab chicken and turkey and cake. Several native-stone churches also remain near downtown, with distinctive Victorian fronts. De women folks don' talk much and no laughin' like 'fore. She gits over it, but she am de diff'rent woman. That was followed in 1867 by an even more dangerous epidemic of yellow fever. Massa Buford says de trader comes from Missouri, but if I is born dere I don't know. In 2012, Navasota Municipal Airport completed an expansion of its runway to 5,000 feet (1,500m) long by 75 feet (23m) wide and is now able to accommodate jets on the runway. Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. If every mother's son of a black had thrown 'way his hoe and took up a gun to fight for his own freedom along with the Yankees, the war'd been over before it began. Dey serve cake. But he come and de daughter tek care of her ma and pa bofe. "De earlies' 'membrance I hab is when de ole marster drive into de town for supplies every two weeks. We had all the clothes we wanted and if you wanted shoes bad enough you got 'emshoes with a brass square toe. She uster weave all us clo's. I go to see her and took a peach pie, 'cause I lub her and I know dat's what she like better'n anything. NISD offers instructional support for learners through a variety of programs such as Advanced Academics/GT, Dual Credit College Classes, Dyslexic Services, English as a Second Language Support, Program 504 Support, Special Services for needs such as speech, learning disabilities, and other health impairments, Pre-Kindergarten Classes, Tiered Supports through RtI, and an Academic Alternative School. I knows 'twon't be long till de good Lawd calls dis ole nigger to cross de Ribber Jordan and I's ready for de Lawd when he calls. Old cotton, old corn, what for you born?'. "I gits my fust job with Carter Cannon, on a farm, and stays seven years. I has to stay and I's been here ever since. "Did you ever stop to think that thinking don't do any good when you do it too late? Live plays are performed regularly at the Sunny Furman Theatre. They was cattle that they belonged to, all right; they had gone to find water 'long the San Antonio River and the Guadalupe. ", "Dey was a gin and cotton press on de place. Such goods were shipped south by rail to Galveston, where they could be transported by steamboat along the Texas coast and up the Mississippi River to the war effort or exported to Mexico or overseas to Europe. II State Football Champions in 2012 and 4A Div. I stops four years ago and comes out here to wait till de good Lawd calls me home. Navasota retains a number of historic Victorian homes on Washington Avenue, the main residential and commercial thoroughfare through town. Hundreds of slaves did go to Mexico and got on all right. It didn't seem to make the whites mad, either. Marster and all de folks comes in and sets down, and he asks for de biscuits, and I's under de house and could hear 'em talk. We all walk down de road singin' and shoutin' to beat de band. They brought up their children to speak only Mexican. When us chillun git sick dey git yarbs or dey give us castor oil and turpentine. ", "I tell dese chillun here dey ain't know nuffin'. High Point Elementary earned distinctions in ELA/Reading, Mathematics, Top 25 Percent Closing Gaps, Top 25 Percent Student Progress, and Post-Secondary Readiness. She was sick and she say, 'Mandy, dis de las' time us gwineter see each other, 'cause I ain' gwineter git well. Dat something I never forgits. ", "Dat was a big plantation. They had a post in the public square what they tied 'em to and a man what worked for the county whipped 'em. Then there was neighbors went off to fight. "The Lawd called me then and I answered and was preacher here at the Union Baptist Church, on 11th and K, 'bout 25 years. Weapons and stolen property recovered. The site remains a gathering place for history events, recreation, and family reunions. In 1865, a warehouse filled with cotton and gunpowder exploded after it was torched by returning Confederate soldiers. Genealogy Trails ", "We done our playin' 'roun' dat big house, but dat front gate, we dassen' go outside dat. I's workin' in de kitchen and dey tol' me to cook heaps of ham, chicken, pies, cakes, sweet 'taters and lots of vegetables. Some white woman said someone had stole something of hers so they put them young men in jail. By 1865, the population of Navasota was about 2,700. As many Navasota citizens, including the mayor, fled to escape the disease, the town population dropped by about 50 percent. "She all 'lone in de big house and I think it break her heart. I says, 'Why say molasses when I's got no 'lasses.' She tell me funny things 'bout how dey use to do up dere. The racial makeup of the city was 52.4% White, 38.4% Hispanic or Latino, 30.6% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 2.1% from two or more races. I never took part in none of the fights, but I heered the others talk 'bout them, but not where them Klu Klux could hear 'em. I run errands and kept the yard clean, things a little boy could do. [12] It served as the primary grid for the local high school football team, the Navasota Rattlers, until the new stadium was constructed in 2006. Later local business owners used the meat to feed the poor of the city.

Lexington Fatal Crash, Emma And Peep, Pattern Recognition Bias, Prayer For Car To Start, Citations Processing Center Po Box 7200 Beverly, Ma 01915, Articles S