Cassette 1 Side 1
Media
Part of Lucinda Reid Brown Interview
Identifier
1:1
Title
Cassette 1 Side 1
Type
Interview
Source
Lucinda Reid Brown Interview, January 10, 1990
Rights
Description
Cassette 1
Side 1
00:59--Mrs. Reid Brown was born "in the country" between Central and Pendleton on March 11, 1890. Her parents were Butler and Harley Reid.
3:26--Her grandparents were Mimi and Isaac Butler. Isaac actually lived with Mrs. Reid Brown's family when he was an elderly man. He was a former slave of John C. Calhoun.
4:41--Mrs. Reid Brown recalls some of the "older folks" that she knew as a youth. Uncle Vick, Alan Butler, and Aunts Catherine, May Earle, Rena, and Margaret Vance are mentioned. She names the locations of the aforementioned individual's homes. They are all buried at Abel.
10:14--Her older relatives lived through hard times, but took things as they were.
11:00--Slavery--her grandfather shared many stories of his experiences. John C. Calhoun's slave quarters were located near the Clemson College dairy building. When Calhoun would make visits to Fort Hill, his slaves would gather around him and attempt to touch him; expressing some sort of reverence. The slaves were not allowed to go to church, so they would go deep into wooded areas to in order to worship. She states that the old spiritual I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray was influenced by these type experiences.
13:14--All the older members of her family are buried at Abel. There are no written markers on the graves; only stones were used to mark graves in the old days.
14:33--Marriage during slave days--some slaves had religious masters who would perform formal marriage ceremonies. This was, however, not a widespread practice so slave couples just lived together. Mrs. Reid Brown was married to Jack Brown. His parents were Vennie and Wallace Brown of Pendleton.
16:17--Her parents were sharecroppers. Her brother worked on the Southern Railroad and later went to Alabama to do mining and farm work.
19:15--A few additional jobs open to black men involved cutting wood, farming, and digging ditches. She explains the difficulties blacks faced in regards to earning any significant amounts of money.
20:42--As far as shopping, blacks usually would usually trade for items instead of using cash, simply because they never were allowed to make enough money. Clothes were handmade and it was "...barely enough to get by." An individual might have owned exactly one "Sunday dress" type outfit. The wives of slave master's would often teach the women how to sew.
23:53--Any furniture that was owned was usually handmade. Slave master's often taught the men carpentry skills. In addition, men like her grandfather were skilled in weaving fine baskets out of white oak.
27:08--She can recall the older members of her family's discussions regarding hard times. Even after emancipation, things didn't really improve for some period of time on account that the southern economy was completely ruined.
29:36--Medical issues and sickness--there weren't many doctors available after the Civil War, if for no other reason than many of them had been killed during the conflict. Blacks were forced to rely on home remedies. She can remember the flu epidemic of 1917-18. Many families had to deal with sickness and death.
31:42--Audio ends.
Side 1
00:59--Mrs. Reid Brown was born "in the country" between Central and Pendleton on March 11, 1890. Her parents were Butler and Harley Reid.
3:26--Her grandparents were Mimi and Isaac Butler. Isaac actually lived with Mrs. Reid Brown's family when he was an elderly man. He was a former slave of John C. Calhoun.
4:41--Mrs. Reid Brown recalls some of the "older folks" that she knew as a youth. Uncle Vick, Alan Butler, and Aunts Catherine, May Earle, Rena, and Margaret Vance are mentioned. She names the locations of the aforementioned individual's homes. They are all buried at Abel.
10:14--Her older relatives lived through hard times, but took things as they were.
11:00--Slavery--her grandfather shared many stories of his experiences. John C. Calhoun's slave quarters were located near the Clemson College dairy building. When Calhoun would make visits to Fort Hill, his slaves would gather around him and attempt to touch him; expressing some sort of reverence. The slaves were not allowed to go to church, so they would go deep into wooded areas to in order to worship. She states that the old spiritual I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray was influenced by these type experiences.
13:14--All the older members of her family are buried at Abel. There are no written markers on the graves; only stones were used to mark graves in the old days.
14:33--Marriage during slave days--some slaves had religious masters who would perform formal marriage ceremonies. This was, however, not a widespread practice so slave couples just lived together. Mrs. Reid Brown was married to Jack Brown. His parents were Vennie and Wallace Brown of Pendleton.
16:17--Her parents were sharecroppers. Her brother worked on the Southern Railroad and later went to Alabama to do mining and farm work.
19:15--A few additional jobs open to black men involved cutting wood, farming, and digging ditches. She explains the difficulties blacks faced in regards to earning any significant amounts of money.
20:42--As far as shopping, blacks usually would usually trade for items instead of using cash, simply because they never were allowed to make enough money. Clothes were handmade and it was "...barely enough to get by." An individual might have owned exactly one "Sunday dress" type outfit. The wives of slave master's would often teach the women how to sew.
23:53--Any furniture that was owned was usually handmade. Slave master's often taught the men carpentry skills. In addition, men like her grandfather were skilled in weaving fine baskets out of white oak.
27:08--She can recall the older members of her family's discussions regarding hard times. Even after emancipation, things didn't really improve for some period of time on account that the southern economy was completely ruined.
29:36--Medical issues and sickness--there weren't many doctors available after the Civil War, if for no other reason than many of them had been killed during the conflict. Blacks were forced to rely on home remedies. She can remember the flu epidemic of 1917-18. Many families had to deal with sickness and death.
31:42--Audio ends.