"De fust things I can recollect de war to free us was gwine on. De darkies as well as de white folks was havin' a time. De slaves was tole dat dey would git land an' a mule an sech things if dey was freed, but dey never did git nothin'. After de surrender Marse Billy let us go right on free. We rented places an' wuked fer wages" Wash Hayes, former slave of Billy Hayes of Simpson County, MS
Freedmen Labor Contract - List of Freedmen
Planter: Calvin J. Brinson
County: Simpson County, Mississippi
Date: August 01, 1865
Freedmen Bureau Labor Contract
Contract Number: 47-050
Slave Narrative of Wash Hayes
All records may be found at Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS.