Cassette 1 Side 1
Media
Part of Cornelia Alexander Interview
Identifier
1:1
Title
Cassette 1 Side 1
Type
Interview
Source
Cornelia Alexander Interview, January 30, 1990
Rights
Description
Cassette 1
Side 1
00:21--Cornelia Thompson Alexander was born on August 11, 1900 in Pendleton, SC.
00:46--Ms. Harrell asks about her parents James and Lilly Grant Thompson. James Thompson's parents were Reuben and Betty Jackson Thompson. Reuben was a successful carpenter who worked for both whites and blacks. Lilly Grant's parents were Sam and Rosa Grant.
5:15--Rosa Grant was a local midwife; she came to live with the family after Mrs. Alexander's mother died. After a few years she moved to Atlanta, GA.
7:26--Ms. Alexander's siblings are: J.B. (died in 1973), Madeline (never married--died in 1964), Amelia, and Benjamin.
9:27--Alexander explains that they did not own their own home at first; her father was a sharecropper and did carpentry work on the side. Uncle Willie Thompson had no children; he bought the family a two-story house after their mother's death. James then went into carpentry full time.
10:31--There was a gentleman named Uncle Wash who helped her father with sharecropping (he lived with her family); she believes his name was Washington.
11:21--Harrell asks about older family members, and what their lives were like many years ago. Rosa Grant was seven when emancipation came. She and Ruben were slaves. Betty Jackson was also a slave; she worked in the master's house. When the family was free from slavery they stayed in the Pendleton area near Highway 88 and Greenville highway.
15:08--Ms. Alexander's grandparents did not have bad slave stories. They had clothes, food, etc.,--but low pay. Master's would occasionally let their slaves attend church; they had to sit in the gallery. She states that the AME church was founded by Richard Allen of Philadelphia, PA who tried to take communion at a white church. He was not allowed; this led Allen to seek out a means by which blacks could worship freely, without boundaries or segregation. [After consultation with other concerned leaders, a General Convention was called in April 1816 in order to form the AME Church]. AME stands for African Methodist Episcopal.
18:37--Alexander's family members are buried in Pendleton. The graves are marked.
19:06--Alexander dislikes funerals. She went to her mother's funeral as a young child. She did not cry at her funeral but felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Funerals were long; they regularly lasted one to one 1/2 hours. There was much shouting and singing.
22:13--Mrs. Alexander recalls how her mother was sick the night before she died. She had all of her children come to say goodnight and give her a kiss.
23:02--Marriages were carried out in simple church services.
24:32--Alexander has a brother living in Long Island, NY. Willie Mae Thompson lives and Greensboro, NC, and Frieda Thompson lives in Atlanta, GA.
27:39--While Mrs. Alexander's father was a sharecropper, the family house burned in a fire. The family moved to the Old Grove Community until her Uncle Willie bought them a house. James stopped sharecropping when Ms. Alexander was eight years old.
29:59--Her father James had many brothers. They all moved to Birmingham, AL. in order to find better employment opportunities. They eventually returned except for Eddie, whom Ms. Alexander never knew.
31:54--Audio ends.
Side 1
00:21--Cornelia Thompson Alexander was born on August 11, 1900 in Pendleton, SC.
00:46--Ms. Harrell asks about her parents James and Lilly Grant Thompson. James Thompson's parents were Reuben and Betty Jackson Thompson. Reuben was a successful carpenter who worked for both whites and blacks. Lilly Grant's parents were Sam and Rosa Grant.
5:15--Rosa Grant was a local midwife; she came to live with the family after Mrs. Alexander's mother died. After a few years she moved to Atlanta, GA.
7:26--Ms. Alexander's siblings are: J.B. (died in 1973), Madeline (never married--died in 1964), Amelia, and Benjamin.
9:27--Alexander explains that they did not own their own home at first; her father was a sharecropper and did carpentry work on the side. Uncle Willie Thompson had no children; he bought the family a two-story house after their mother's death. James then went into carpentry full time.
10:31--There was a gentleman named Uncle Wash who helped her father with sharecropping (he lived with her family); she believes his name was Washington.
11:21--Harrell asks about older family members, and what their lives were like many years ago. Rosa Grant was seven when emancipation came. She and Ruben were slaves. Betty Jackson was also a slave; she worked in the master's house. When the family was free from slavery they stayed in the Pendleton area near Highway 88 and Greenville highway.
15:08--Ms. Alexander's grandparents did not have bad slave stories. They had clothes, food, etc.,--but low pay. Master's would occasionally let their slaves attend church; they had to sit in the gallery. She states that the AME church was founded by Richard Allen of Philadelphia, PA who tried to take communion at a white church. He was not allowed; this led Allen to seek out a means by which blacks could worship freely, without boundaries or segregation. [After consultation with other concerned leaders, a General Convention was called in April 1816 in order to form the AME Church]. AME stands for African Methodist Episcopal.
18:37--Alexander's family members are buried in Pendleton. The graves are marked.
19:06--Alexander dislikes funerals. She went to her mother's funeral as a young child. She did not cry at her funeral but felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Funerals were long; they regularly lasted one to one 1/2 hours. There was much shouting and singing.
22:13--Mrs. Alexander recalls how her mother was sick the night before she died. She had all of her children come to say goodnight and give her a kiss.
23:02--Marriages were carried out in simple church services.
24:32--Alexander has a brother living in Long Island, NY. Willie Mae Thompson lives and Greensboro, NC, and Frieda Thompson lives in Atlanta, GA.
27:39--While Mrs. Alexander's father was a sharecropper, the family house burned in a fire. The family moved to the Old Grove Community until her Uncle Willie bought them a house. James stopped sharecropping when Ms. Alexander was eight years old.
29:59--Her father James had many brothers. They all moved to Birmingham, AL. in order to find better employment opportunities. They eventually returned except for Eddie, whom Ms. Alexander never knew.
31:54--Audio ends.