Two of dem am burnt purty bad. "I seed a lot of Southern soldiers and they'd go to the big house for something to eat. He have two sons and Willie am 'bout 18 and Dave am 'bout 17. Nothin' was different. "The ranch went on jus' like it always had before the war. Then the old Negro began searching his 92 years of reminiscences, intermixing his findings with philosophy, poetry and prognostications. In Mexico you could be free. I's pleased to see my mammy, but after a few days I wants to go back to Marshall with Marster Zeke. He had to stay in the woods and travel at night and eat what he could find, berries and roots and things. WebSlaves were a large part of the local economy, as they were imported, traded and used to work in the many local cotton plantations. We'uns all stayed till he died, 'bout a year after dat. WebIt was a space where the horrors of slavery were laid bare, including the disruption of black families for profit or convenience, for the world to see. Hamer moved in and imposed law and order, prosecuting Navasota criminals until the town became safe again. Each spring, Navasota is a popular destination for its bluebonnet fields, the state flower of Texas. "Durin' de War, things was 'bout de same, like always, 'cept some vittles was scarce. It was my job, after dark, listenin' for dem Klux, den I gits under de bed. Every Sunday morning the undertaker hitched up a buggy and went downtown to collect the bodies he expected to find after another wild Saturday night. "I come to Texas in 1877 and Galveston was a little pen then, a little mess. Drug dealers, prostitutes and drunks could not be seen standing around this area anymore. The Klu Klux went to the jail and took 'em out and killed 'em. In de winter time dey fed us in de kitchen. I doesn't work till near de surrender, 'cause I's too small. Three dogs followed one slave the whole way up north and he sold them up there. Let's see, now. My mem'randum not so good like 'twas. It was up pretty high and us chillun had to git on a box to git in dat bed. I went there after the war for a while and then I looked 'round and decided to get back. I don' 'member anything 'bout my pappy, but I 'member Marster Henderson jus' like 'twas las' week. 1850 Slave Schedules Grimes County (Source: Explore Ancestry for free) ($) 1860 Slave Schedules (Source: Us sees no battlin' but de cannon bang all day. Slavery was integral to the local economy as planters depended on enslaved African Americans to labor for their large plantations. He call me his Annie 'cause I name' after my mistus. ", "Me? "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. She let me go to ice cream supper, too. "Navasota" redirects here. I guess we was too ign'rant. 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. De white folks lets me live in dis shack for mowin' de lawn, but I worries 'bout when I can't do no more work. Luther Unit and the Wallace Pack Unit in an unincorporated area in Grimes County near Navasota. It was jus' a common lil' hoss. We could hear the guns go off when they was fightin'. She uster weave all us clo's. Genealogy Trails The population density was 1,109.7 people per square mile (428.3/km2). ", "Dey feed us good back in slavery. http://www.navasotaexaminer.com/news/article_69301b7c-bb21-11e1-a35b-0019bb2963f4.html, June 23, 2012. If anyone has information on this cemetery, please let us know. This led to the formation of numerous private militias, and ultimately during the late 1860s the KKK in Navasota, and on one occasion a tense confrontation between federal soldiers and a crowd of local white citizens occurred there. Us have most nothin' to eat and den de Ku Klux come 'round dere. The average student to teacher ratio is 14:1. I didn' use snuff nor chew 'till after I growed up and marry. Iffen you did dey wouldn' let you forgit it. Brule Elementary exceeded state targets in Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps, and Post-Secondary Readiness. Finally, in a rage of bullets and accusations, he and his cronies were attacked in spots all over the County. The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. My mother use to cook and wait on tables. Near as you kin guess, dat was 'bout 50 year' ago. We couldn't help stick to our masters. "Durin' the Spanish-American War I went to Washington, D.C., to see my sister and got in the soldier business. My father come nex' day and jine us. But he didn't get shot no place but onethat was in the big toe. 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. The slaves Purty soon my mudder die and I jus' took up her shoes. One day she tell us, 'De war am on us. She gits over it, but she am de diff'rent woman. De way I feels now, 'twon't be long 'fore I goes, too. Give us plenty of meat and bread and greens and t'ings. "Us have de cabin what am made from logs but us only sleeps dere. I calls, 'Here comes de Klux,' and makes for under de bed. She's wo'kin' for Jack Ditto and I's pleased to see her. "'Union forever, Dey have good times on dat place, and don't want to leave. Missy Elline, she fainted. argo parts amazon. Since I's been free, I sometimes have heaps of frettin'. Den I goes to Fort Worth and takes a job cookin' in de Gran' Hotel for three years. Dey was a ol' Geo'gia hoss bed in it. Dat was dey law in dem days. When us chillun git sick dey git yarbs or dey give us castor oil and turpentine. "The end of the war, it come jus' like thatlike you snap your fingers.". Us been lib here many a year. hogs, and sheep. I 'member de first time de Yankees pass by, my mother lift me up on de fence. All us stay dere and holp missy all us could. She does not know her age, but thinks she was about seven when she was freed. 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. We used to laugh at that. De marster and his boy, Marster Ben, jined de army. "After he was whipped my daddy run away to the north. Stuff for to eat and wear, dat am made by us cullud folks and dat place am what dey calls se'f-s'portin'. Some dem cullud folks grandchillen still on dat land, too, de Parkers and Farrows and Nelsons and some others. That was followed in 1867 by an even more dangerous epidemic of yellow fever. The trader did not return, so the Buford family raised the child with their slaves. I dunno 'bout wedder dey come back or not 'cep'n' I 'member dat Crab Norsworthy he come back. "I 'members seein' Faith Baldwin and Jeb Johnson and Dan Hester gittin' whupped by de Klux. "Us marry right in de parlor of de mistus house. The assassination attempt failed, however, and Scott was scurried out of town, badly wounded, under protection of a Federal militia, and he never returned to Grimes County. ", "Yas, I 'member de house I was raise in. 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". Navasota was one of 70 (out of over a thousand) cities in Texas to receive the Gold status. ", "I heerd 'bout dem broom-stick marriages, but I ain't never seed none. Dat makes me 102 come nex' December. ", "In good wedder dey feed us under a big tree out in de yard. Will yous be patient with me?' After while, de Yankee sojers comes and takes some more. I wag up town and I didn' fail to ax de white folks 'cause I wo' myself out wukkin' for 'em. Dey go in de barn and holp deyself. Art has increasingly become the concern of the artist and the bafflement of the public.Henry Geldzahler (19351994), The only thing worse than a liar is a liar thats also a hypocrite!There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.Edmond De Goncourt (18221896). He open de blacksmith shop and buy some slaves. I ain' been gone to de sawmill town very long when she sen' for me. Den de chillen holds de bladder in de fire and purty soon, 'BANG,' dey goes. I was 'bout 10 or 12 year' ol' when freedom riz up. Then there was neighbors went off to fight. "One time they had 12 men in jail, 'cused of robbin' white folks. Alex Buford don't sleep in de house for one whole summer. Den all de other niggers thinks dey should git land, too, but dey don't, and it make dem git foolishment and git in trouble. Li'l befo' she die her husban' come. Dey say I's got high blood pressue.". Not long afterward, the town was struck by a deadly cholera epidemic. Back in slavery you couldn' let 'em ketch you wid a chew of t'bacco or snuff in your mouf. "When you ask me is I Pierce Harper, you kind of 'sprised me. "I was born way back in 1851 in North Carolina, on Mr. Subbs' plantation, clost to Snow Hill, which was the county seat. After the Civil War, Pierce farmed a small place near Snow Hill and saw many raids of the Klu Klux Klan. Navasota was founded in 1831 as the stagecoach stop of Nolansville. My father, he'd round up cattle, unbranded cattle, for the whites. So we'uns asked him if we could stay and he says, 'Yous kin stay as long as yous want to and I can keep yous.' It never git real ha'd but stay kinder slushy. By 1865 the population was about 2,700. She was a housegirl, but must have been too small to do much work. Dey had a big smokehouse on de farm where dey kep' all kin's of good things like sugar and sich. I say dey's livin'. They had a vermifuge weed. My wife died three years later. 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. I'm thinkin' lots of 'em pretended to want to go as soon as they had to go. Most everybody else go with us. I says, 'Why say molasses when I's got no 'lasses.' 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. Dey was my mudder and me and de ole mistus and marster on de plantation. We rented a little house and my mother took in washing and ironing. Men you thought was your friend was Klu Kluxes and you'd deal with 'em in stores in the daytime and at night they'd come out to your house and kill you. The website will provide Marster give me de wors' scoldin' I ever has and dat larned me a lesson. In 2012, the Navasota city council voted to commission a local sculptor to erect a statue of Frank Hamer in front of the new city hall building. [1] Of the Eb'ry chile hab a side of watermilion. ", "When Crismus come 'roun' dey give us big eatin'. It were mo' jus' a farm, but dey raise us all we need to eat and feed de cows and hosses. [9], In August 2013, Navasota was named a Go Texan "Certified Retirement Community" by the Texas Department of Agriculture.[10]. "When war was over I come back here and now I'm too old to work and the state gives me a pension and me and my granddaughter live on that. None of us knows what to do, dere warn't no place to go and why would we'uns wan' to go and leave good folks like de marster? All a-sudden up dey gallops on hosses, all covered with hoods, and bust right into de house. Some cullud people started to farmin', like I told you, and gathered the old stock. By 1865, the population of Navasota was about 2,700. Navasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. The law said in black and white no master couldn't whip no slave, no matter what he done. Dey comes sev'ral times to Alex' house but never cotches him. I got fo' brudders livin', but nary a sister. II State Football Champions in 2012 and 4A Div. In 2012, the City of Navasota commissioned local sculptor Russell Cushman to design and create a statue of Frank Hamer, which is now on display in front of the city hall building. In 2005, the Texas Legislature named the city "The Blues Capital of Texas," in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician. De white preacher talk 'bout Christ. De baby am in de mammy's arms and a bunch of Klux ridin' by takes a shot at de mammy, and it hits de baby and kills it. Navasota has many shops and artisans in its historic downtown district, including antique, gift, and boutique stores and art galleries housed in old classic stone and brick structures. They got hosses that the soldiers had turned loose to die, and fed them and took good care of 'em and they got good stock that way. School organizations and athletics available to students include Business Professionals of America, FFA, Student Council, National Honor Society, Theatre, Choir, Kickstart, Band, Bass Fishing, FCA, Skills USA, Library Club, Boyz II Men, Princess Code, UIL Academics, One Act Play, HOSA-Future Health Science Professionals, Spanish Club, Family Career and Community Leaders of America, Football, Volleyball, Cross Country, Drill Team, Cheer, Basketball, Golf, Tennis, Baseball, Softball, Powerlifting, Soccer, and Track.[23]. It am heap of change since den. The population was 7,643 at the 2020 census. Ol' marster gin' and bale' he own cotton. Nobody took our homes away, but right off colored folks started on the move. Course, dey got beat, but dat didn't worry dem none, and it not long till dey gone 'gain. "De place I am borned am right near Atlanta, in Georgia, and on dat plantation of Massa John Blackshier. My father was a field hand, and Mr. Swanson work de fire out dem. "After the Klu Kluxes got so strong the cullud men got together and made the complaint before the law. Yes, maybe it was a black widow spider, but we called it the 'devil biter'. Marster asks us to come in and sing dat for de white folks, so we'uns goes in de house and sings dat for de white folks and dey jines in de chorus. In 2009, Navasota was selected as a "Visionaries in Preservation" city by the Texas Historical Commission to protect the numerous historic structures in the city. But I's had two strokes and I ain't able to go to town no mo'. Dere I stay for long, long time, and she wait on me han' and feet. WebEnslaved people, enslavers, and slavery in general - information . De whol side of my lef' leg mos' bu'n off. Navasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. ", "Dat was a big plantation. Sometime dey brung lil' white chillen to dinner. Sometime he hab a wagon load of watermilion haul' up from de fiel' and cut 'em. The downtown buildings were teaming with lawless ruffians, gamblers, prostitutes and drunks. When de body comes home, dere's a powerful big funeral and after dat, dere's powerful weepin's and sadness on dat place. I mean dat de las' time I heard of 'em dey was livin'. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.39. I can't do much and lives on de $10.00 de month pension. She tell me funny things 'bout how dey use to do up dere. Fust de 'federate sojers come and takes some mules and hosses, den some more come for de corn. The only misery I had was when a black spider bit me on the ear. I hab purty long, black hair and a veil with a ribbon 'round de fron'. The investigation started after an out-of-town newspaper (The Eagle) in Brazos County reported on the possible corruption. "How did you know the end of the war had come?" We had all the clothes we wanted and if you wanted shoes bad enough you got 'emshoes with a brass square toe. I heerd my gramma and ma say dey ol' marster wouldn' sell none of his slaves. I thanks yous for all de way yous done while I's gone, and I'll holp you all I can.' WILLIAM HAMILTON belonged to a slave trader, who left him on the Buford plantation, near Village Creek, Texas. So I messed 'round in South Carolina again a while and then come back to Galveston. You see I done git ol' and childish and I can't 'member like what I uster could. ", "Dey raise dey own t'bacco on de place. We got layed-onto(whipped) time on time, but gen'rally life was goodjust as good as a sweet potato. Fur as I kin 'member I t'ink dey was 'bout 25 or 30 slaves on de place. The downtown buildings were overrun with lawless ruffians, gamblers, prostitutes, and drunks. Some of 'em didn't want to go. We'uns cullud folks jined in and was singin' out in de back, 'Massa's in de Col', Har' Groun'. The per capita income for the city was $14,564. WebBy the time of annexation a decade later, there were 30,000; by 1860, the census found 182,566 slaves over 30 percent of the total population of the state, according to the That was cheap for a boy. "Yes, suh, everybody happy on massa's place till war begin. "Me and Bob Thomas and dis husban', Josh, what I marry thirteen year ago, hab 'bout 10 chillen all togedder. They brought up their children to speak only Mexican. Generally, the census only names the slave owner. You know how dey yoke dey han's togedder? WebOn the banks of the Navasota River, Civil War veterans met for reunions from 18891946. I has two chillen but dey dead. De ol' mistus she a pretty good doctor. I went and he told me goodbye, 'cause he was goin' to run away in a few days. He told me once he lived in New York and, "I's borned in Grimes County, ninety years ago. History of slavery: Newspaper ads used to find family after emancipation. It makes white men a little insulted when you dont know they is white, and it makes niggers all conceited up when you think maybe they is white.". Then they was ready for 'em. De way you sees me layin' on dis bed am what I has to do mos' de time. WebThe slaves are said to have belonged to John Thomas. "When he was a-dyin', marster calls me to his bed and says, 'My dyin' reques' is dat yous be taken to your mama.' On January 19, 2011, the citizens of Navasota made a stand against illegal businesses trying to enter its city limits after murders and drive-by shootings. used the City Charter to revoke the alcohol license and the PD enforced the local laws of the land pushed by the new Police Chief, a Texas Ranger who took over after the past Police Chief and investigator where removed for corruption after an outside the county investigation of the City of Navasota Police department. Navasota Junior High exceeded state targets in Student Progress and Post-Secondary Readiness. If he cotch dem tryin' play off sick, den he lay into dem, or if he cotch dem loafin'. [citation needed], In 2012, Navasota was named by the Union Pacific Railroad as "Train Town USA". "Did you ever stop to think that thinking don't do any good when you do it too late? He tell de overseer, 'If you can't make dem niggers work without de whup, den you not de man I wants.' I was plenty sick and Dr. Brennen, he took good care of me. My baby gal she ain't never see no daddy. Visit our sister site at Grimes County, TXGenWeb Table of Contents Maintained By: De white man preacher marry us and mistus she give me 'way. One in Palestine marry a nigger slave and buy her from her master. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and free They went right on giving us food just the same. Everyone was a-singin'. "In de old days, if de niggers wants de party, massa am de big toad in de puddle. WebA typical Southern plantation, Liendo was self-sufficient, and was entirely built by skilled slave laborers including brick and stone masons, carpenters, and smiths" At the end of Dat's de reason I's a co'nbread eater now. I was raise up in de fiel' all my life. The gov'ment give me $30.00 a month for drivin' a four-mule wagon for the army. My task was to shell peas and watch and stir de big cookin' pots on de fireplace. Dere am three women what do dat, and give us de meals in de long shed with de long tables. Many buildings were damaged, including the post office. Dere moughta been a Cabilic (Catholic) Chu'ch dere too, but I dunno 'bout dat. 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 Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weatherreports, maps & tropical weather conditions for the Navasota area. Texas State Highway 105 is the main eastwest route that passes through the center of Navasota, leading southwest 25 miles (40km) to Brenham and east 41 miles (66km) to Conroe. "She all 'lone in de big house and I think it break her heart. "Massa John am de kind massa and don't have whuppin's. 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. Live plays are performed regularly at the Sunny Furman Theatre. We saw guns and we saw soldiers, and one member of master's family, Colmin Gudlow, was gone fightin'somewhere. When I's 'bout nine year ole she buy me a purty white dress and took me to jine de church. Well, that's how it was with us. Sometimes the slave made friends with the dogs and they wouldn't let on if they found him. De women folks was proud of dere men folks, but dey was powerful grieved. "We knowed freedom was on us, but we didn't know what was to come with it. 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. 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. Perhaps the greatest and most publicized violence was around the turn of the century, during the rise of the Populist Party in Grimes County, and the election of Populist candidate Garrett Scott for County Sheriff. Pauline married Navasota Grice in 1875 and they moved to Texas in 1917. "I'm black, blacker than you are," said the caller. 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. As of the census[3] of 2010, 7,049 people, 2,206 households, and 1,726 families reside in the city. And I ain't goin' to get whipped any more. The United States Postal Service operates the Navasota Post Office. Den he tell everybody he own a slave. 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. 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. [citation needed]. Navasota sits approximately 20 miles south of Bryan-College Station. Den I goes to Dallas and cooks for private families, and wo'ks for Marster James Ellison for 30 years. A new municipal building was completed in 2011 and continued downtown improvements are under construction, with completion scheduled for 2023. My father had his own brand, 7 B, and we had a herd to start out with of seventy. Den he die and lef' me wid eight chillun. It is 71 miles (114km) northwest of Houston. Firearms, Crack cocaine and other drugs seized. document.write(cy). The Deputy chief resigned. Hung him on a tree in his front yard, right in front of his cabin. Den she hav nice Sunday dinner for both us. De marster was a sergeant. Fust dey is all blowed full of air and tied tight and dry. Atter freedom marster go to Geo'gy to git him and bring him to Texas, but he done raisin' up anudder family dere and won't come. But he never punish nobody 'cept dey done somethin'. Den us go to Houston and Louisiana for a spell and I hires out to cook. Dey serve cake. ", "Dey had cabins for de slaves to live in. A survey I'll never be a slave Cotton was twenty and thirty cents a pound then. Shoutin' the battle cry of freedom.'. "I was purty little den, but I done my share. Eb'ryt'ing better go 'long smoove wid us chillun. He wasn't no eddicated man, but he was what he calls himself a piano man. "It's a funny thing how folks always want to know about the War. 'Now,' she say, 'All you cullud folks born and raise here and us allus been good to you. 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.
Hootan Show Biography,
Nulla Bona Fifa Georgia,
Pilot Rd, Montello, Nv 89830,
Guest House For Rent Albuquerque,
Articles S