
Former slave Willis Winn, Near Marshall, Texas,
LC-USF33- 012186-M2 [P&P]. Holds the horn used to call slaves to work every day.
The Slave Interviews comprise over 2,000 interviews of former slaves that were made in (primarily) the 1930s.
An Underutilized Source
Mostly gathered by the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program, these interviews comprise one of the richest sources about enslaved people.
I should mention that black sociologists Charles S. Johnson and Ophelia Settle Egypt at Fisk University, and John B. Cade at Southern University did the first interviews of this kind in the late 1920s. Their work predated these national-level interviews.
More genealogists should revisit this source, which now is easily accessible in digitized form at the Library of Congress’ website.
Slave interviews have weaknesses that we should understand. For example, white people did most of the interviews. In the South especially, where behavior and speech could lead to a lynching, this may have kept former slaves from being entirely truthful.
They were also mostly elderly and many were children during slavery, so memory could be a barrier. And in the depths of the Depression, interviewees may have had a rosier view of slavery than those who were adults when it ended. The Library of Congress’ website has excellent background articles you should read about this source.
Even still, they remain powerful testimony by those who lived through slavery.
I believe so strongly in this source that I began a new blog called Slave Narratives Uncovered. In it, I explore the genealogy of selected interviewees. I’ve seen no extensive effort to unpack the family histories of these amazing individuals.
Although I don’t plan to post there quite as frequently as here, take a look when you can. My hope is that this can be authored by myself and others, so if there are any experienced genealogists who are interested in contributing to this project, please email me through the ‘Contact Me’ link above.
Ways to Use Slave Interviews
Most researchers look for their ancestors in the interviews, and finding none, they move on. But as I always emphasize in Reclaiming Kin, we should always broaden our gaze to the community. Our ancestors lives can only make sense when we put them in context; when we place them properly in the time and place they lived.
The interviews help us understand the experiences of our ancestors and add the much-needed social history to our research. I have spent many hours reading these narratives for the stories they tell.
Reading through narratives from your research county (and nearby counties) can reveal the similarities and also differences in slavery at the state and local levels. When you read through narratives from Mississippi, they are different in some ways from those in, say Maryland.
For example, in Maryland, several people spoke of the dreaded nine-ninety-nine, a specialized whip that had a ball on the end. This type of whipping, as Dennis Sims described, “was usually a flogging until [we] fell over unconscious or begged for mercy.”
Another idea for excavating these records is to download the PDF files for each state, which are available at the LOC website. Then you can do a search and find (Control-F for Windows users) and search for various topics: places, slaveholders, topics such as abuse.
Reading locally relevant interviews can reveal practices such as:
–if passes were often provided to see nearby relatives,
–if the masters often oversaw wedding ceremonies,
–what folklore, songs, and mourning practices were common,
–if slaves were allowed small patches for gardens, and
–what holidays the slaves were allowed.
It is only when you read through multiple narratives that you are able to get a better sense of the experiences in that state.
Library of Congress Website
There are several important links at the LOC website for these records that I want to highlight so you won’t miss them. There’s an index of how many interviews exist for each state. Each state project was independently run and there were huge differences. For example, Arkansas has a whopping 677 interviews while Virginia submitted only 15.
Many of the state interviews later were published into various state collections, and the references bibliography at the LOC site is very thorough. It also includes links to other websites that may have more collections.
One of the big weaknesses in these records is that only a few states used black interviewers. It has been shown that the widespread use of white interviewers influenced how fully and truthfully respondents answered questions about slavery. In fact, some of the white interviewers were reportedly descended from the slaveholding families that owned the person they were interviewing!
Because of this, I appreciate that LOC provides the states and names of the black interviewers that were used.
I also like that they post some of the interviews that included photographs and recordings. You can listen to the interviews at this page.
A Big Surprise
Recently, I had a thrilling discovery when I decided to read through some of the narratives I’d saved many years ago. One narrative was that of Edward Bradley, who was interviewed in 1936 while living in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. I previously discussed how I used this same narrative in my writing, since this was one of the only interviewees who lived in Hardin County, Tennessee.
Last year, I blogged about how a census misreading led me to miss an entire branch of my BARNES family. Maggie Barnes married in Hardin County, TN, and by 1910 she and her family were living in Arkansas. Her descendants never returned to Tennessee to live, but I was able to make contact with several of her descendants.
Maggie was a first cousin to my great-great-grandfather Doss Harbour:
They joyfully shared that they were just as excited as I was to have found lost family. They provided some oral history and I shared my research on the family’s Tennessee past.
Maggie Barnes husband was…Edward Bradley! I almost fell out of my chair when I realized this.
It took me awhile to realize it was the same person. The reason is somewhat embarrassing but I’ll tell you anyway;) Most records of Maggie’s husband record him “Ed” Bradley and not Edward. DUH.
Edward’s Narrative
In the rich narrative, Edward names his parents and describes his life in Hardin County. His migration to Arkansas and the various jobs he held over the decades were also covered. He named his parents, including his mother’s surname in slavery:
“My mother was named Mary Bradley and my father was named Hilliard Bradley…They originated in Alabama and was sold there, and they was free when they came to Tennessee… Bradley was the last man owne’d em…of course, my mother wasn’t a Bradley fore she married. She was a Murphy.”
I found Hilliard and his wife Mary in Hardin County, TN, 1870, as he stated:
Using the birthplaces of Charles and Edward, we can more closely guesstimate that Hilliard’s migration into Tennessee occurred between 1866-1868. This is in line with other African-Americans and other branches of my family there.
I’ve done research in the Freedmen’s Bureau records of Alabama. My working theory for why so many freedmen left Alabama is that the level of overall violence during Reconstruction in many Alabama counties.
Edward provides details on his life in farming and his pride in educating his family. Here’s one more passage:
“I went from Hardin County, Tennessee to Blytheville, Arkansas by land. Drove a team and two cows. I think we were on the road four days. My wife went by train. You know that was too wearisome for her to go by land.”
“I had been runnin’ a five-horse crop in Tennessee and I carried three boys that used to work with me…I’ve educated four of my brothers and sisters after my father died and four of my wife’s brothers and sisters, one adopted son and my own six children–fifteen in all.”
He seems to have done better economically than many black men of the era, but it was indeed a hard life.
What’s interesting is that if you do the math, Edward technically was born after slavery. I wonder why he was chosen as an interviewee? Whatever the reason, I’m thankful!
A Useful Resource
There is a wonderful book I highly recommend you use alongside these interviews. It’s called “A Comprehensive Name Index for The American Slave,” compiled by Howard E. Potts:
I am so thankful for authors like Potts; he spent over 2,000 hours creating this book.
It’s expensive to buy, but usually readily available in the reference section of many libraries (Use Worldcat to find a copy near you.)
Former slaves’ interviews went into the state volumes where they currently lived. But, that may not have been the place where they lived as slaves. This book indexes the interviews by the county and state where they were enslaved.
For example, I’d like to read interviews of former slaves from Colbert County, Alabama since that is where a branch of my family resided. Using Potts’ County index, there are two interviews in the Arkansas collection, one in Mississippi, and one in Georgia.
This book also indexes by Master. If you have already discovered the name of the slaveholder, you will want to examine those interviews. You may be able to find the interview of someone who was enslaved with your ancestor. There is also an index by Interviewer, if that interests you.
Closing Thoughts
Few sources give us a firsthand look at the lives of the enslaved. Whatever their weaknesses, I have always preferred sources such as these interviews, and the published slave narratives. In them, we find joy and sorrow, humor and anger, destitution and desperation, pride and defiance, pain and love.
I hope you enjoyed this post, and in the comments, let me know if you found information useful to your research in this incredible resource.
I am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. I have been a researcher, writer, lecturer and teacher for over twenty years. This blog is where I share family history methods, resources, tips and advice, with an emphasis on slave research, slavery and its aftermath. This lifelong quest has helped me to better know my family’s past. I’ve taken back– reclaimed– some of that lost memory, especially that of my enslaved ancestors. I hope you’ll sign up to receive my posts—if you do, you’ll get a free PDF with some of my favorite tips! And please do share posts that interest you.
Great job Robyn, I tell folks who attend my presentations that they are an extremely valuable resource for understanding the experiences of your ancestors, even if your folks were not interviewed. I sit and read them frequently also, I read in one narrative how small children were fed meals in a trough like pigs. I thought maybe this was an exception until other narratives mentioned the same practice. The was definitely widespread in Mississippi.
Franklin!
I am so glad you wrote her, because when I saw you in Philly last year, I could not recall getting your contact information. I’d like to talk to you more about your AMAZING book. I too, sit and read slave narratives quite often. I’ve also copied some great scholarly articles about them that have helped me greatly; I’d be glad to share them with you. That comment you made about troughs really did resonate with me as well.
Thanks for writing and I’ll be in touch,
Robyn
How do I sign up for your post.
Hi Leona,
On the right hand side of my blog, scroll down until you see “Optin Form”. You can submit your name and email address there to receive future posts.
Thanks for your interest,
Robyn
A long time ago I found an interview that mentioned their slave holder used to keep mean dogs he used to track run-a-ways. This was in Alabama. My great great grandfather was enslaved by someone who did that, and he escaped and was tracked by dogs. I didn’t bookmark it or keep any identifying info and I now can’t find it.
Congrats on your find!
Thanks Kristin. If you download the PDF file for the entire state (Alabama) you can do a search and find on the name of the slaveowner. You can download the files for each state at the LOC site. One of these days, I will find our DNA connection.
Robyn
Excellent post (as always), Robyn! I haven’t forgotten my commitment to write at least one post for “Slave Narratives Uncovered”. Stay tuned; I will definitely be submitting the one I started, sooner than later! 🙂
Renate
Hi Renate, I totally understand! I think I found which one will be my next one, but its a bit of a cheater since I kinda know some of the story. Whenever you have the time the blog will be waiting for you.
Robyn
Well, your post has certainly motivated me to revisit the narratives. Yes, I was one of this people who after not finding any odd my ancestors in them moved on.
Hi Mavis,
I am glad the post motivated you! There’s so much more to learn. I’m actually going to add a few more ideas to the post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Robyn
An awesome discovery and a great post! This illuminates the fact that if one takes the time to thoroughly dig, one never knows what genealogical goldmines they’ll find.
Thanks Melvin! You are so right. This truly rates as one of my very favorite discoveries.
What a great story Robyn ! An amazing find for you in your research.
Thank you for your recent email with all the helpful information – I am going to pass it on to my cousin Cindy in Bermuda and my other cousin in Ohio. I am sure that they will be very interested.
with best wishes,
Rosemary
Rosemary, thank you for taking the time to read and I appreciate very much you spreading the post.
Robyn
I took a quick look at those Slave Narratives. That’s some very interesting stuff. I want to find more time to read through those.
Hi Laura,
I warn you that its easy to get lost in these–as in, looking up and two hours have gone by! I say I’m going to read one but that never pans out. Thanks for sharing your comment.
Robyn
Robyn, this post is really useful–new ways for how to use the Slave Narratives and a reference book to provide better access to them! One of my embarrassing mistakes–being really excited to find out a man’s mother’s name when on a research trip and coming home and finding I already had it on a death certificate. Thank you for posting and I’ll follow your new blog.
Peggy,
I have had the same thing happen to me, so you are not alone in that. It might be worse when you PAY for a record you already have, LOL! I am glad you found this post on the narratives insightful.
Robyn