The market place was in Snow Hill on the public square near the jailhouse. All we had to do was to walk, but walk South, and we'd be free as soon as we crossed the Rio Grande. She cry right 'long with me when I cry, 'cause I hurt so. She weave all de time for ol' marster. And there was the key note to the old Negro's character and temperament. Pauline But, first, let me ask you this: Is you all a white man, or is you a black man?". Dey say I's got high blood pressue.". When dey gits through, dey ain't much more tookin' to be done. Slaves were a large part of the local economy, as they were imported, traded and used to work in the many local cotton plantations. They didn't have no school for slaves and I never learned to read and write till after freedom. James, known as Uncle Jim, seems happy, still stands erect, and is very active for his age. He was congressman and the white people looked up to him just like he was white. He tol' us we'uns could go if we'uns wanted to. CHURCHES 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. Ole mistus giv me my bedstead, one of her purtiest ones, and de set dishes and glasses us eat de weddin' dinner outta. His autobiography is a colorful contribution, showing the philosophical attitude of the slaves, as well as shedding some light upon the lives of slave owners whose support of the Confederacy was not accompanied by violent hatred of the Union. Dey was a ol' Geo'gia hoss bed in it. Will am 'bout de laziest one in de bunch. 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. Run, kitty, run.'. And dey never dassent tek de other feller's piece of meat. A survey Exportation in the slave-owning areas of the state surpassed that of the non-slave-owning areas. Reported by the Navasota Examiner. When dey took her away, I's powerful grieved. "But the War didn't change nothin'. I don't know what am dat blockade, but she say it. 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. Shoutin' the battle cry of freedom.'. I 'member de first time de Yankees pass by, my mother lift me up on de fence. We rented a little house and my mother took in washing and ironing. "No one knowed when de Klux comin'. Horse mint breaks the fever. I works till us come to Galveston 'bout ten year ago. Throughout the Civil War, all the marketable goods produced in the region were brought to Navasota, which at the time was the furthest inland railhead in Texas. NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Large numbers of Federal Law Enforcement ATF Agents move in on Armed drug dealing gangs. I didn' use snuff nor chew 'till after I growed up and marry. "It's a funny thing how folks always want to know about the War. "Three days after de celebration, de marster calls all de slaves in de house and says, 'Yous is all free, free as I am.' Mistus was so lil' she couldn' lif' me but she fin'ly git me to bed. Washington County is in the Blackland Prairies region of southeast central Texas. I heerd of slaves bein' whip' but I ain't never see any git whip. argo parts amazon. Dey give us milk in a sep'rate vessel, and dey give eb'ryone a slice of meat in our greens. Some dem cullud folks grandchillen still on dat land, too, de Parkers and Farrows and Nelsons and some others. I has two chillen but dey dead. Den word come Willie am kilt. 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. But he never punish nobody 'cept dey done somethin'. De fus' preachin' I heerd was atter dat. The house was built by Alabama native Robert Augustus Horlock in 1892. ", "My ma she was jis' a fiel' han' but my gramma and my aunt dey hab dem for wuk 'roun' de house. "Most of the time the master gave us castor oil when we were sick. It's my heart. Hallelujah broke out, "'Abe Lincoln freed the nigger He calls his son, Zeke, in and tells him dat I should be fotched to my mamma. The blast killed a number of people and started a fire that destroyed much of the original downtown. She's wo'kin' for Jack Ditto and I's pleased to see her. That same year, according to a report in the Jewish South newspaper, the "De earlies' 'membrance I hab is when de ole marster drive into de town for supplies every two weeks. 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 marry Hyman Hawthorne. Mother allus say dose free niggers make de hardes' masters. 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. "Don't you tell nobody dat I use to be a slave. Dat how come I 'member ol' mistus name so good. [13] A statue of Frank Hamer stands in front of city hall, honoring the time he served as city marshal. Ann related her story in a deep voice and a jovial manner. They seemed to want to get closer to freedom, so they'd know what it waslike it was a place or a city. "The masters couldn't whip the slaves there. Many buildings were damaged, including the post office. Dey had a big smokehouse on de farm where dey kep' all kin's of good things like sugar and sich. Seasonal festivals attract crowds each year, with live music being a large part of the draw. 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. Den I goes to Dallas and cooks for private families, and wo'ks for Marster James Ellison for 30 years. WebNavasota Jews first began to organize in 1874, when they bought land for a Jewish cemetery. Cotton was twenty and thirty cents a pound then. An 1860 census reported 182,566 slaves, making up 30 percent of the states population, according to the Texas "I knowed Wright Cuney well and he held the biggest place a cullud man ever helt in Galveston. Dey wasn't so bad after women. John was my father. Massa Buford says de trader comes from Missouri, but if I is born dere I don't know. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males. "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. But he wasn't hard on dem like some masters was. Back in slavery you couldn' let 'em ketch you wid a chew of t'bacco or snuff in your mouf. Weapons and stolen property recovered. Dey give us plenty of co'nbread. "How you carries on! The old Negro was growing very tired, but, at a request, he instantly got up and tapped his way out into the scorching sunshine to have his photograph taken. The population density was 1,109.7 people per square mile (428.3/km2). During these days, Navasota was considered a wild and wooly place, where it was not considered safe for women and children to go downtown in broad daylight. "I's never been sick abed, but I's had mo' misery dis las' year dan all my life. It didn't seem to make the whites mad, either. Although born and raised in Jasper county, she speaks boastfully about having been to Houston. Luther Unit and the Wallace Pack Unit in an unincorporated area in Grimes County near Navasota. The Yankees beat and settled down there and the cullud folks flocked down on them and when they got to the Yankee lines they was safe. Old cotton, old corn, what for you born?'. They played marbles, see-saw and rode. "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. So I come back to San Antonio and I got a job through Colonel Breckenridge with the waterworks. Dey git oak and ash and hick'ry wood and mek a fire under it and smoke it. We listen and de overseer whisper under de door and told my mother dat she free but not to tell nobody. The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. 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. My mother and sister run away to the Yankees and they paid 'em big money to wash for 'em. "I was born way back in 1851 in North Carolina, on Mr. Subbs' plantation, clost to Snow Hill, which was the county seat. He was a good man. We better eat and shut our mouf. Den she make me say de Lord Prayer for her jus' like she allus make me say it for a night prayer when I lil' gal. Drug dealers, prostitutes and drunks could not be seen standing around this area anymore. [citation needed]. He came to Galveston, Texas, in 1877. "There used to be a man who raised bloodhounds to hunt slaves with. WebSlavery grew faster after Texas became a U.S. state in 1845. I had a aunt what was de weaver. 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. We could hear the guns go off when they was fightin'. Dat ledder was hard and lots of times it mek blister on us feet. ", "Dey had a big smokehouse. She was a little, white-hair' woman, what never los' her temper 'bout nothin'. If dey sick, dey didn't habe to work and he give dem de med'cine hisself. We was free. "In 1897 I marries Effie Coleman and has no chillens, so I is alone in de world now. But it didn't turn out that way. But we'uns had plenty to eat and us slaves didn' know what de War was 'bout. Fust de 'federate sojers come and takes some mules and hosses, den some more come for de corn. If anyone has information on this cemetery, please let us know. De whol side of my lef' leg mos' bu'n off. ", "Ol' marster he was good to his slaves. After learning about her experience, Willing After September 1859, when the Houston and Texas Central Railway built into the town, Navasota became important as a shipping and marketing center for the surrounding area. A white man with great charm and political skill, he enjoyed a great deal of the black vote, which made up almost half of the population, and managed to get himself elected along with a number of black candidates. They went in droves of 25 or 50 to the Yankees and they put 'em to work fightin' for freedom. Dey carry grub and water to de field hands. Ole mistus he'p me make my weddin' dress outta white lawn. As the interviewer scribbled down a note, the door to the little shanty on Arabella Alley opened and a backless chair was carried out on the porch by a vigorous old colored woman. After a timid "How-do-you-do," and a comment on the great heat of the June day, she went back in the house. WebOn the banks of the Navasota River, Civil War veterans met for reunions from 18891946. The United States Postal Service operates the Navasota Post Office. The website will provide [4] In 2005, the Texas Legislature designated Navasota as the "Blues Capital of Texas" in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician.[5]. They didn't meet 'cept when they heered the Klu Kluxes was coming to get some cullud folks. One day I's makin' a bonfire in de yard and ketch my dress on fire. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.1km2), of which 0.04 square miles (0.1km2), or 0.47%, is water.[6]. I never did git no lickin's when I was a li'l slave. She use' to let me bump on her pianny and didn' say nothin'. Navasota Weather Forecasts. Horlock Art Gallery History Museum is one of the best things to do in Navasota Texas. Later local business owners used the meat to feed the poor of the city. My daddy was a field hand and my mother worked in the fields, too, right 'longside my daddy, so she could keep him lined up. came through the window from sister Ella. Mid 1860s skirmish between Navasotan disgruntled freedmen and Confederate veterans broke out in the Brazos Bottoms near Millican, after a race riot there threw the whole region into a panic. I t'ink some of ol' marster's boys went to de war but de ol' man didn' go. 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. They was took away (conscription). ", "We done our playin' 'roun' dat big house, but dat front gate, we dassen' go outside dat. After de ole marster die dey both work in de fiel' and raise plenty vegetables to can and eat. "White man, dis old cullud woman am not strong. 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. Ol' marster Woodruff Norsworthy and Miss Ca'lina, dey was my ol' marster and mistus. ", "Atter he dead I wash and iron and cook out and raise my chillun. ", "Yas, I 'member de house I was raise in. High Point Elementary exceeded state targets in Student Progress, Student Achievement, Closing Performance Gaps, and Post-Secondary Readiness.[22]. By 1865, the population of Navasota was about 2,700. We thought we was goin' to be richer than the white folks, 'cause we was stronger and knowed how to work, and the whites didn't and they didn't have us to work for them anymore. WebSlaves were 40 percent of Virginias population. He come two mile every Sunday and us go to Lugene Baptist church. WebTexas Lynching Victims Memorial Share Special Exhibits The Freedom-Lovers Roll Call Wall Stories Behind the Postcards: Paintings and Collages of Jennifer Scott Portraiture of Resistance Memorial to the Victims of Lynching Freedom-Lovers Pledge Explore Our Galleries African Peoples Before Captivity Kidnapped: The Middle Passage Nearly Three That's when we all wakes up that somethin' had happened. Its name was changed in 1858 to Navasota, a name perhaps derived from the Native American word nabatoto (muddy water). Then he laughed: "No, you ain't. WebSlavery in Texas is a co-curricular project sponsored by the History Department and Center for Community Engagement at Sam Houston State University. Then the old Negro began searching his 92 years of reminiscences, intermixing his findings with philosophy, poetry and prognostications. I had old Buster, a ox, and he took me about plenty good as a horse. Texas State Highway 6 passes northsouth through the eastern side of the city as a four-lane bypass, leading northwest 22 miles (35km) to College Station and south 21 miles (34km) to Hempstead. FELIX HAYWOOD is a temperamental and whimsical old Negro of San Antonio, Texas, who still sees the sunny side of his 92 years, in spite of his total blindness. Lawmen had to hide and watch, and often were afraid of the streets at night. I ain't no flour-bread eater. De nex' night back dey comes and asks where Jane am. Navasota retains a number of historic Victorian homes on Washington Avenue, the main residential and commercial thoroughfare through town. I State Football Champions in 2014. 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. The slaves We'uns all stayed till he died, 'bout a year after dat. He won a seat in the Texas Senate in 1869. There were many saloons and gaming halls to entertain the cowboys, railroad men, and others on the loose. When he git here dey tek care of him 'till he die right dere at Olive. ", "I tell you I never hear nuthin' 'bout chu'ch 'till way atter freedom. The Gov'nor told the law to give 'em the old guns in the com'sary, what the Southern soldiers had used, so they issued the cullud men old muskets and said protect themselves. Genealogy Trails Navasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. "When freedom come my mudder and me pay no 'tention to it. "Us marry right in de parlor of de mistus house. Just like that, we was free. 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. #3. Dere moughta been a Cabilic (Catholic) Chu'ch dere too, but I dunno 'bout dat. The population was 6,789 at the 2000 census. She have to 'pend on de overseer and it warn't like massa keep things runnin'. Dat am when missy go tech in de head, 'cause massa and de boys in dat battle. African American Texans or Black Texans are residents of the state of Texas who are of African ancestry and people that have origins as African-American slaves. As of the census[3] of 2010, 7,049 people, 2,206 households, and 1,726 families reside in the city. Later, Stephen F. Austin gained an exception to the law from the Mexican government to entice more Americans He enjoy dat. I holp my mother dust and clean up de house and peel 'tatoes. Den de chillen holds de bladder in de fire and purty soon, 'BANG,' dey goes. Yes, maybe it was a black widow spider, but we called it the 'devil biter'. 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. Many men were left dead and many were wounded after this little known battle, perhaps the greatest race battle ever fought in Texas. "We was 'fraid of them Klu Kluxes and come to town, to Snow Hill. Then there was neighbors went off to fight. Plenty of everything and corn am de mostest us have. She gits over it, but she am de diff'rent woman. When it's over, de Marster comes home and dey holds a big celebration. "De only thing I 'members 'bout all dat, am dere am lots of cryin' when dey tooks me 'way from my mammy. Even as he did so, he seemed to smile with those blurred, dead eyes of his. WebNavasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. Far as I cares, you is free now, and can stay here and tough it through or go where you wants. But de slaves some of 'em uster had family prayer meetings to deyselfs. Us have singin' and 'joyment all day. Molly lives at 3218 Ave H., Galveston, Texas. He told me once he lived in New York and, "I's borned in Grimes County, ninety years ago. De white man preacher marry us and mistus she give me 'way. When I's de. No mam. "Right over on Massa Ditto's place, am a killin' of a baby by dem Klux. Li'l befo' she die her husban' come. The gov'ment give me $30.00 a month for drivin' a four-mule wagon for the army. I's treated kind all de time and had no frettin' 'bout how I gwine git on. Not long afterward, the town was struck by a deadly cholera epidemic.
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