Interview: Tidmore, Dora Brown
Item
Identifier
Mss-0282, Tape 85
Title
Interview: Tidmore, Dora Brown
Type
Sound
Format
.mp3
Language
English
Source
Black Heritage in the Upper Piedmont of South Carolina Collection
Rights
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives. All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives.
Date
1990-07-27
Description
Dora Brown Tidmore was born in Anderson County, SC on May 22, 1917. She died on February 4, 1997.
Side 1
00:45--Her grandparents owned and farmed their own land near the Oak Grove community. Her grandparents were well known throughout the county because they had twenty-one children [their names are not provided].
2:07--Her family is buried in an area called Mountain Springs. Mrs. Tidmore states that this land is now owned by Clemson University.
4:05-4:27--Mrs. Tidmore briefly discusses her parents and grandparents farms, and the crops that were commonly grown before turning to aspects of her own education and employment.
6:08--Her mother's involvement with Bethel Grove is mentioned, as well as the fact that many of the local houses in her neighborhood in Pendleton were constructed with the help of her father.
7:34--Mrs. Tidmore gives the impression that she lived away from South Carolina [in NewYork?] for many years before retuning after retirement.
7:53--Education--She attended Anderson County Training School, Sterling High in Greenville, Union High in Belton, and Morris College in Sumter.
9:30--Church--Tidmore was the Vice President for the Council of Matrons [SC] for eleven years.
12:05-20:00--Mrs. Tidmore makes short comments on a variety of topics: shopping at Hunter's Store, white/black relations, lynching incidents, slavery, camp meeting and singing conventions, and hot suppers.
21:01--Mulattos--although she states that she would never speak for how the mulatto community actually felt, her belief is that they may have thought that they were a little higher socially than blacks. She doesn't feel that many of the relationships were mutual or romantic in nature; rather she feels it more likely that the black women were being taken advantage of by whites.
23:25-31:35--Mrs. Tidmore discusses celebrations and holidays in the black community, talks briefly about her marriage, and states that she would have like to have had the opportunities that are available to the current generation.
31:40--Audio ends.
Side 2
**NOTE** this side contains a short interview with a woman identified as Prudence Idlett who was staying with Mrs. Tidmore at the time of this interview. This interview does not pertain to the scope of the Black Heritage in the Upper Piedmont Project.
00:07--Prudence Idlett states that she was born in 1893 in Suwannee Florida.
00:43--The only older relative she can recall is her grandmother Mary Dance, who was raised in Knoxville, Tenn. Her grandmother's experiences of slavery were not all negative; her master and his family were "church people" who apparently treated their slaves with respect. She worked as a mid-wife.
2:25--Her father was a blacksmith.
2:43--Education--in the old days, things regarding education were simple. Prudence states that from lunch to curriculum, things were not as "fancy" as they are today but the children enjoyed it nonetheless.
3:50--She had several brothers and sisters [not named] who have all predeceased her.
4:10--Clothes were both store-bought and handmade.
5:52--After she finished school, she did domestic work for the C.W. Rodgers family. She enjoyed working for him.
6:44--Prudence states that she moved to South Carolina with her husband on account of his work.
7:19--As a youth she was a member of Shiloh Methodist Church. She can recall camp meetings where services consisted of singing and the confirmation of new members to the church. She didn't attend singing conventions.
8:42--Hot suppers were a popular way in which communities would celebrate with food and dancing. These events would sometimes get rowdy, however.
9:22--During Christmas, family and friends would have parties and decorate trees.
9:51--Funerals were carried out in a much simpler way when she was a youth.
10:44--Youths often made extra money by picking cotton. It was hard work though; she didn't enjoy it.
12:01--When she moved to South Carolina, she worked as a cook in a local Clemson boarding establishment.
12:31--Prudence states that she has enjoyed her life and wouldn't change anything.
13:14--Audio ends.
Side 1
00:45--Her grandparents owned and farmed their own land near the Oak Grove community. Her grandparents were well known throughout the county because they had twenty-one children [their names are not provided].
2:07--Her family is buried in an area called Mountain Springs. Mrs. Tidmore states that this land is now owned by Clemson University.
4:05-4:27--Mrs. Tidmore briefly discusses her parents and grandparents farms, and the crops that were commonly grown before turning to aspects of her own education and employment.
6:08--Her mother's involvement with Bethel Grove is mentioned, as well as the fact that many of the local houses in her neighborhood in Pendleton were constructed with the help of her father.
7:34--Mrs. Tidmore gives the impression that she lived away from South Carolina [in NewYork?] for many years before retuning after retirement.
7:53--Education--She attended Anderson County Training School, Sterling High in Greenville, Union High in Belton, and Morris College in Sumter.
9:30--Church--Tidmore was the Vice President for the Council of Matrons [SC] for eleven years.
12:05-20:00--Mrs. Tidmore makes short comments on a variety of topics: shopping at Hunter's Store, white/black relations, lynching incidents, slavery, camp meeting and singing conventions, and hot suppers.
21:01--Mulattos--although she states that she would never speak for how the mulatto community actually felt, her belief is that they may have thought that they were a little higher socially than blacks. She doesn't feel that many of the relationships were mutual or romantic in nature; rather she feels it more likely that the black women were being taken advantage of by whites.
23:25-31:35--Mrs. Tidmore discusses celebrations and holidays in the black community, talks briefly about her marriage, and states that she would have like to have had the opportunities that are available to the current generation.
31:40--Audio ends.
Side 2
**NOTE** this side contains a short interview with a woman identified as Prudence Idlett who was staying with Mrs. Tidmore at the time of this interview. This interview does not pertain to the scope of the Black Heritage in the Upper Piedmont Project.
00:07--Prudence Idlett states that she was born in 1893 in Suwannee Florida.
00:43--The only older relative she can recall is her grandmother Mary Dance, who was raised in Knoxville, Tenn. Her grandmother's experiences of slavery were not all negative; her master and his family were "church people" who apparently treated their slaves with respect. She worked as a mid-wife.
2:25--Her father was a blacksmith.
2:43--Education--in the old days, things regarding education were simple. Prudence states that from lunch to curriculum, things were not as "fancy" as they are today but the children enjoyed it nonetheless.
3:50--She had several brothers and sisters [not named] who have all predeceased her.
4:10--Clothes were both store-bought and handmade.
5:52--After she finished school, she did domestic work for the C.W. Rodgers family. She enjoyed working for him.
6:44--Prudence states that she moved to South Carolina with her husband on account of his work.
7:19--As a youth she was a member of Shiloh Methodist Church. She can recall camp meetings where services consisted of singing and the confirmation of new members to the church. She didn't attend singing conventions.
8:42--Hot suppers were a popular way in which communities would celebrate with food and dancing. These events would sometimes get rowdy, however.
9:22--During Christmas, family and friends would have parties and decorate trees.
9:51--Funerals were carried out in a much simpler way when she was a youth.
10:44--Youths often made extra money by picking cotton. It was hard work though; she didn't enjoy it.
12:01--When she moved to South Carolina, she worked as a cook in a local Clemson boarding establishment.
12:31--Prudence states that she has enjoyed her life and wouldn't change anything.
13:14--Audio ends.
Subject
African Americans -- History. -- South Carolina -- Anderson County
Interviewer
Lawrence, Audrey
Interviewee
Tidmore, Dora Brown; Idlett, Prudence
Spatial Coverage
Pendleton, Anderson County, South Carolina, United States, 34.64916, -82.78135, SC, 7172313, [34.64916, -82.78135] [id:7172313]
Publisher
Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository
