(Note:I have cut and pasted the extracts from the slave narrative. His name was Van Hook and he was born a slave on the Van Hook plantation in Wilson County, Tennessee. The Van Hooks were related to the Hickmans, and of course the Vivretts and Hickmans have several connections. This account was taken in 1929 when Van Hook was well up in age. It is written exactly as he gave the interview so some of the dialect may be hard to follow, but it is certainly interesting to read.)
"De day ob Freedom, Mammy went up to de Marse's house, an atter a-while she come back an call us all togedder an say: "Well chillun, I'ze got to hunt us a home dis mornin." She lef us an went about four miles to a man, name Mr. Vivrette, an' hired herself as a cook which all de country 'roun know she's de bes what is. When she lef ole Marse's she had us four boys an a bed an' a few clothes. Us tied 'em up an toted 'em to de cabin on de Vivrette place. Four ob us boys was ole enough fer Marse to sen 'em to de War an dey nebber come back. I wukked on de Vivrette farm an' Mammy cooked fer dem an' us. "Us wukked fer de Vivrette family back in Tennessee an when dey took a-notion to come to Texas whar dey folks was, dey brought us all too.
"I wukked at Pilot Knob in Tennessee jes before I come to Waco. Lots of people come to Texas from dere. Mongs dese was Marse Berry Trice, Lee Russell, John Vivrette, an Dick Vivrette. Mammy used to cook fer all dese fore dey lef back dere. I bringed Nelse Vanhook out to Texas along wid Marse John Vivrette when Nelse was jes a little boy. Den I went back an stayed till Mammy an' Marse John Vivrette come here (Texas). I was married an had two chillun when dey come to Texas. Mammy come wid us an I kep her till she died. She said she was over a hunnerd years ole an all de white folks say she older dan dat. She died eight years ago. (1929)
"I was born at Wilson, about thirty miles east from Nashville, March 15, 1849, de year de white folks all rushed 'roun out to Kaliforni fer de gold. My Mammy was Sarah Vanhook. My Daddy was Marse Vanhook a white man what owned Mammy an I don't know no name fer him 'cep ole Marse. Sarah Vanhook was born on a plantation in Virginia an' brought to Tennessee an' sold to Marse Vanhook when she was nothin but a baby. Marse Jim bought Mammy an' one sister. I'ze nebber heard tell of nobody wid my name "Winger", my Mammy found it in a book. She had seven boys.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Durin' de war us made a crop ebery year, but de Yanks took all de corn an'
meat an ebery thing time an agin, an' lef us not a bite of somethin to eat.
I seed de slaves sold on a block lots ob times. Dey'd strip 'em an let de
buyers see ef dey had stripes, 'case de scars 'ud make a servant not worth
so much. Yessum, dey made de wimmen take all dere close off an effen dey
fussed 'bout doin it, dey got de blacksnake whip 'rapped 'roun righ smart.
No'm, warn't none ob us chilluns sold. Ole Marse say dat's his young'uns
an'
dey gwine lib at he home 'twel he die. He allus tole Mammy dat she gwine
hab
a cabin an a patch ob ground' to raise her young'uns on, long as he got a
spot ob land.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"But ole Marse Vanhook had consid'rble lan' an stock an was a big man 'roun
dere, but he got killed in de War an' de family los so much dey couldn't
keep us atter Freedom, 'case dey didn't hab nuttin' deyselves. Us'd stayed
right dere effen dey could, a-keep us. De Vanhooks thought Mammy was de
fines pusson on de airth. Dere wuzn't no oberseer an us nebber was whipped
ceptin by Mammy. Us had good close an cabins as good as eny sarvants eny
whar but ob course dey was home made cloth
.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Us wukked fer de Vivrette family back in Tennessee an when dey took
a-notion to come to Texas whar dey folks was, dey brought us all too.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Yessum, dere was some bad servants, but not on de Vanhook place. Us all
wukked an did as Marse said an' didn't want to run away. On some ob de
places near us, de servants runned way an staid in de woods some ob dem was
shore bad. Dey stole to git something to live on an' fought dere selves an
every boddy. One was an outlaw. He stole a mowing blade from some whar an
put a handle on it. He's jes mow folkses down dat crossed he path. De ole
folks say dey bet he killed someboddy ebry hour. I don't know 'bout dat,
but
he was shore a bad man. All us kids was feared to go fer from whar de folks
tole us case us jes knowed dat outlaw ud git us. Us kids was nacherly wild
as Jack rabbits eny way. I liked to play marbles but us wazn't 'lowed to
play fer keeps.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"When us was little, dey put us down in a floor to eat. De cook ud put a
ham
bone in a pot to boil an' make corn dumplins an' put a pot of dumplins an'
pot licker down in a trough in de floor an' us'd git all 'roun it an eat
like hogs. But us Vanhook chilluns et wid Mammy in de big kitchen an us
shore was taught manners. Us had to turn thanks an us shore didn't drink
our
coffee outen no sasser. Mammy was raised in de big house an she was mos
white an she could read an rite an sech. Yessum she an ole Mistis taught us
Vanhook chillun to read an rite an figger. But de odder sarvants didn't
care
so much 'bout it an dere mammies didn't care neidder. My Mammy got a switch
atter us an made us larn.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Oh, yassum us played lots. Us'd go fishin. Ud git a bent pin an put it on
a
string an fassen a piece ob bacon on it an fish. No, didn't nebber catch
much, but it was fun. Den when us got bigger, us'd fish in a big tank. When
us catched a perch er a cat dat weighed one or two pounds, did us holler!
De
sarvants had lots ob picnics an ole Marse ud gibe us meat fer barbecue.
Dere
was lots ob water melons in de field an us got one when ever us wanted one.
Dere was lots ob apples in de orchard, an' peaches an' plums, jes all you
wanted. Mammy allus put up all dey could eat ob p'sarves an jelly an' sech.
After de War, she did jes de same fer de Vivrettes an dey gibed her lots
fer
her chillun to eat. De bes fruit ob all kinds grows back in Tennessee, I
shore wish I could go dere before I dies.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"For de War an atter, us'd haul cords ob wood an put it on de north side ob
de orchards. Den in real cold weather, us'd build big fires to save de
fruit. De smoke ud keep de fruit from freezin. Black berries, dew berries
an
raspberries all grow wild on wore out hill sides. Dere ud be eight an ten
acres patches ob wild black berries an wild strawberries. Dey didn't plant
dem dey jes growed every whar, in fence rows an ebery whar. Us'd dry fruit
by de bucket fulls. Us'd build big shelves an tables in de yard to put de
peaches an apples on to dry. Dere was fifteen er twenty acres ob grapes on
de Vanhook place an big patches ob grapes on mos all de odder plantations.
Dere was wild grapes but not no mustang grapes like in Texas.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Dere was possums, coons, same as here (Texas), but no Jack rabbits nor no
horned frogs an no prairie dogs, but dere was a groun hog. Dat sayin 'bout
de groun hog seein he shadow, dat's whar de groun hog has he home, back in
Tennessee. Dey didn't raise no cotton, but dey raised Irish potatoes, corn,
wheat, red clover an hay. Hay ud last two or three years an clover ud too,
before it played out.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Back in Tennessee, dey had turnpikes an had to pay toll at de toll gates.
Dey paid ten cents on a horse; twenty-five cents on a wagon an team;
walkers
(persons walking) did not pay; a double rig had to pay a quarter. Dey'd put
a long pole across de road an den no one couldn't git across de bridge.
Dere
was a keeper at bofe ends ob de bridge. De main turnpike was made ob rock
an
dey allus had good bridges an was kep in good condition. De toll gates was
ten or fifteen miles apart.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"De Vivrettes come to Waco an us did too. By den wild turkey an' deer was
scace 'bout Waco, but I went wid de white folks an killed lots ob em on de
Bosque an up north ob Waco on de ribber. Dat was fifty-six years ago. Dey
was raisin cotton on Columbus Street as fer down town as whar Eighth Street
is now. De Suspension Bridge was a toll bridge den. Fer several years I
wukked fer Marse James Baker at his brick yard in East Waco an' hauled
brick. Drove a span ob de meanest black mules to de brick wagon. I farmed
fer fust one an den anodder; wukked fer de Rail road an' jes general work.
I
had been doin yard work fer de pas few years. De ole man gittin de rumatiz
too bad an my jints too contrairy to do much. De white women de say dat I
got "green fingers" as de gypsy folks say. Dat means dat I hab good luck in
gittin flowers an' garden stuff to grow.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Oh, yassum, I members when I got married. Been married three times. Oh,
dat
furs weddin? Well, musta had on a suit ob close. Don't member dat fur, but
I
allus had good close case I wukked hard an dressed an et good. Lordey,
dat's
a powerful long time to member a woman. But dat furst one was shore a good
woman. She been dead dese twenty years now but deres none like her. I'ze
tried it twice sence den an dese young wimmin don't know noddin an won't
work. I'ze de fadder ob seven chillun.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"I belong to de African Methodist church an am a Republican.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"No'm no special song. Effen a song is sung good, I likes it, effen it is
sung like it ought to be. I likes all de 'ligious songs.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Yassum, I members de big house on de Vanhook plantation mighty well. It
was
a big double house an had lean-to rooms on de back. It was two storied an'
had a big porch with big pillars all across de front ob it. It was made ob
weather board dat de sarvants cut an drawed outen de woods. Dere was lots
ob
big trees around in front ob de house to big shade an fer de chillun to
play
in. De Marster had him a little log house in de yard fer an office an' dere
was anodder little house whar de men had dere guns an dey sit in dere by de
fireplace an swop yarns. In de back was de barns an stables an my Mammy's
house an fudder on was de "Quarters" whar de sarvants slep. Each fambly had
'em a little one room log house wid a split palin fence an back ob dese
houses in each yard was a chicken house sometimes a hog pen an' den a few
fruit trees ob various kinds. But mos ob de fruit trees was in de big
orchard. Dere was a smoke house, wash house, an carpenter shop. Dere was
two
gardens. One wus fer flowers an one was fer vegetables. Dat was old Mistis'
special property.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"My Mistis was de real king pin. She allus knowed whar every supply was kep
an how much meat, flour, meal, sugar, coffee an sech was needed to run
things. She knowed jes how much thread de spinners oughter spin in a day an
how many yards ob cloth de wimmin oughter weave. Ebery mornin she us sot de
tasks fer de wimmin whether it was settin eggs, er makin butter, er in de
spinnin room or loom room er kitchen, she knowed jes what she wanted to hab
done an when an who. She was a little bit ob frail woman but she was a
power. She was de bes doctor I eber knowed. When folks got sick she'd take
charge an den effen her medicine didn't do de work, den she'd call a
doctor.
She took keer ob de sarvants as like de fambly. She ud come down in de dead
ob de night to look atter things effen she got a worry 'bout some of 'em.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"My Mammy she was right long side ob ole Mistis. She nussed de chillun an
cooked but she had a couple of gals to hope her in de kitchen. She jes
managed things. She de one dat did de whippin, en case de chillun got to
rambunctious. De Vanhooks held her as a member ob de fambly an effen dey
hadn't los eberything to dem Yankee soljers us'd had a piece ob land 'til
now. Dere was a Butler an a Kerridge Driver an ploughers, an wood choppers
an all like ob dat befo' de war.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"Lan sakes alive, us chillun, white an black had a good time. Us was all
ober de place; robbin birds nestes in de orchard; er fishing an goin in
washin in de deep holes; er riding de plough horses to an from de field
effen us could wangle de ride; runnin de calves; an colts an fightin de old
ganders. All de black chillun wore a long shirt, it come down to de middle
ob de legs an' you couldn't tell a gal from a boy, cepn de white girls. Dey
wore great big bonnets an dey was sewed to dere hair to make em keep em on
to perteck dere faces from de sun.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
"De larger sarvant gals mos' en usual wore blue dresses. Mos all de
servants
ud sing when dey wukked. In de summer, de white folks us go horse back
ridin
any hay rides in de moon light an dances an visits to dere frens. Right
atter de War fer Sev'ral years, I'd go wid crowds ob white men on long
huntin' an fishin' parties an' show 'em what de bes places was. Bof in
Tennessee an' in Texas. I has ranged all ober de Bosque hills an known de
bes fishin pools eny whar."
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
Interview with Winger Vanhook, Waco, McLennan County, Texas.
State: Texas Interviewee: Vanhook, Winger
(Mrs. Ada Davis, P.W., McLennan County, Texas, District No. 8, 30 October
1937, (No)
