Charles Coates Narrative (1 of 2) Viola Muse Transcription, encoding and edition Amelia Dixon

This document was produced as part of the Viola Muse Digital Edition (violamuse.unfdhi.org), based at the University of North Florida.

 USA Florida Jacksonville Jacksonville Historical Society Viola Muse Collection (1959-18) Folder 16, item 1 Narrative based on the Charles Coates Interview Notes

A brief description of the physical object (for example: Handwritten on one side of a single sheet of unruled writing paper, with damage around edges)

Document transcribed and encoded following the criteria of the Viola Muse Digital Edition (violamuse.unfdhi.org), based at the University of North Florida.

Jacksonville, Fla.Florida

Slavery

By Viola B. Muse

Father Charles Coates, as he is called by all who know him, was born a slave, one- hundred eight years ago at Richmond, Virginia, on t the plantation of a man named L'Angle. His early boyhood days spent on the L!'Angle place were filled with duties such as minding hogs, cows, bringing in wood, water, and other such light work. His wearing apparel consisted of one garment,: a shirt made to reach below the knees and wi thwith three quarterthree-quarter sleeves. He wore no shoes until he was a man past twenty. The single garment was worn summer and winter alike, and the change in the weather did not cause an extra amount of clothes to be furnished for the slave. They were required to move about performing the duties given them and to work so fast that the body heat would be suffeciantsufficient to keep them warm. The word Copy is handwritten diagonally across this entire first page.

When Charles was still a young man, Mr. L'Angle sold him on time payment to W.B. Hall, who several years before the Civil War moved to Richmond to Washington County, Georgia, carrying one- hundred thirty -five grown slaves and many children. Mr. Hall immediately made Charles his carriage driver, which kept him from hard labor. Other slaves on the plantation performed such duties as rail splittingrail-splitting, digging roots of trees, and other laborious work.

Charles Coates remembers vividly the cruelty practiced by the over-seeroverseer on the Hall plantationPlantation. His duty was to see that all slaves did their work well and reported their duties on time. The bell was rung at seven every morning by one of the slaves. Charles had the ringing of the bell for three years. This was in addition to the carriage driving. He told with laughter how the slaves would "grab a piece of bread and meat" and rush off to the field , as no time wadwas allowed them Page 2 Jack them to sit and eat breakfast. This was very different from the master hehadhe had before, for Mr. L'Angle was much better to his slaves. Charles said he hated to be sold away from Mr.L'AngleMr. L'Angle, for he was a kind man in comparison to Mr. Hall.

Mr. Hall was a different kind of master in many respects. He always pretended, said Charles, that he did not want his slaves beaten and mistreated, yet all the time the over-seeroverseer was constantly flogging his slaves unmercifully. Charles, being close to Mr. Hall all the time during working hours and having opportunity to see and hear about all that was going on on the plantation, can notcannot believe that his master saw less than he did. He firmly believes that Mr. Hall knew just how cruel the over-seeroverseer was to his slaves. He constantly compared the manner in which Mr. L'Angle dealt with his slaves, and Mr. HallsHall's obvious neglect.

On the Hall plantationPlantation, there was a kind of contraption,whichcontraption, which was similar to a gallows, where the slaves were suspended to be whipped. At the top of the contraption, blocks of wood wi thwith chains run through holes in them were high enough so that a slave, when tied to the chains by his fingers, would barely touch the ground with his toes. This was done so that he could not shout or twist his body while being whipped. The whipping was prolonged until the body of the victim was covered with whelps, and blood trickled down his naked body. Women were treated in the same manner, and a pregnant woman recieved no more relief from flogging than did a man. Very often after a severe flogging, the slave's body was bathed in water containing salt and pepper so that the pain would be more lasting and agravatedaggravated. The whipping was done with sticks and a "Catcat of nine tails," which meant that every lick meant nine. The "cat of nine tails" was nine straps attached to a stick. The straps were perforated so that everywhere a hole in the strap fell upon the naked flesh, a blister was left.

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It seems evidantevident that, from what Charles CoatsCoates remembers about over-seersoverseers, that they were a class of men who thought a Negro slave was not as good as a dog. He related how a slave was put in a room and locked in two, and sometimes three days wi thoutwithout water or food simply because the over-seeroverseer thought he did'n't do enough work in the field. Another minor offenceoffense, but for which a slave was punished with impunity, was crossing the road to another plantation or going off of the plantation where he lived. A whipping and, often in addition to it, the slave was put on a starvation period of a few days.

There was one privelageprivilege given slaves on the Hall plantationPlantation that was appreciated by all of them, and that was the opportunity to hear the word of God. The Whitewhite people gathered in log and sometimes frame churches, and the slaves were permitted to sit about in the church yardchurchyard on wagons, the steps of buggies, and the ground and listen to the preaching. When the slaves wanted to hold church, they had to get permission from the master to do so, and at that time, a slave hut was used for the gathering place. A white preacher would be called in, and he would tell them to not steal, lie, or kill, and be sure to " git"git all dem weeds outen dat corn in de field and your master will think a heap uv yer." Charles does not remember anything else the preacher ever told them about God. They learned more about Him when they sat outside of the Whitewhite church waiting for their master's family to come out.

Charles related an incident of a slave named Sambo, who thought himself smart and who courted the favor of his master. The neighboring slaves screamed so loudly while being whipped that Sambo told his master he knew how to make a contraption which if a slave was put into while being flogged hwould prevent him making a noise. It fitted around the neck tightly, Page 4 See also the related Incomplete Page 4 of Charles Coates Narrative (1 of 2). The device was made so that the head of the slave could be fastened in a hole, and two blocks cut to fit tightly around the neck. When the head was put in, the upper and lower parts were clamped together around the neck so he could'n't scream. It had very much the same effect as choakingchoking. The stomach of the victim was placed upon a barrel, which allowed freedom of movement. When a lash was administered and the slave wiggled, the barrel moved. Now it so happened that Sambo was the first to be put into his invention to be whipped, and the over-seeroverseer applied the lash so forceably that Sambo was compelled to wiggle his body in order to reliefrelieveWe correct here relief to relieve, which is used two sentences later. himself of some of the pain. In doing this, the barrel which was under his stomach rolled a bit, thereby straining his neck. To relieve the strain, he twisted in such a way as to break his neck. After Sambo died, the master at once discontinued the use of the device and had it destroyed. He saw the loss of his property in the death of his slaves.

When Freedom came, Charles was still a carriage driver and got opportunity to hear and see many things which had to do wi thwith the private life of his master. When news of the advance of the Union Army came, Mr. Hall carried his money to a secluded place and burriedburied it in an iron pot so that the soldiers would not find it. The Union soldiers confiscated the property of the southernersSoutherners immediately after the Civil War and often gave the master's goods to the freed slaves, telling them to keep it, as it belonged to them. They were told to fence in property which belonged to their masters, and if the masters took it away from them after their departure, to write and tell them about it.

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"theseThese these Whitewhite people take this property away from you after we are gone, you write and tell us.""There appears to possibly be text missing between the end of the previous page and the start of this one. This page begins with "these," with no indentation, suggesting that at least the word If may be absent. This suggests that possibly this page 5 corresponds to a different copy of the text than the page 4 that precedes it here. The Whiteswhites laughed, for they knew the slaves could not read or write, and there was little chance for them to get any word to the Union soldiers after they had gone on up north. As soon as the ex-master knew that the soldiers had gone, they took back all property that the soldiers had given the slaves, telling them, " youYou give me my property back,. youYou can't have our hogs and cattle."" The timid, scared NegroedNegroes gave up all the soldiers had given them and gave no back talk about it. Some few, and few it was indeed, who were not afraid,had, had fenced in land while the soldiers tarried in the community. After the soldiers marched on, the Whiteswhites tried to take it away, but the Negroes would not give it up. They said they would die first, as they had worked for it, and it belonged to them just as the soldiers had said. They managed to keep quite a deal of property in that way.

The timidity of many of the ex-slaves was exhibited in their choosing to remain with their former masters after slavery was abolished. They worked for small monthly salaries and took whatever left overleftover food stuffsfoodstuffs and cast offcast-off clothing the Whiteswhites gave them. During slavery, the Negroes had such little clothing that a cast offcast-off dress of the" "old missus" or a pair of pants of the master was highly prized by them.

Charles Coates, like many other Negroes, was glad to be free. He was a strong man who had been well preserved and looked younger than thirty-nine at the close of slavery. He had not married and had been put upon the block twice to be sold after Mr. Hall bought him, but he wanted such a high price for him, and would not sell him on time, that he was always left on his mastersmaster's hands. He was tall and robust and very healthy and was worth much money.

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After slavery, when Negro men were being hired to do the work on the farms and other work that the Whitewhite man was not used to doing, Charles was rated a good workedworker, strong, healthy, and able to do more work than the ordinary man. He at once began working and saving his money, and in a short time, — short to him compared to the long years he labored without pay, — he had accumulated a roundaround two hundred dollars.

As stated formerly, he had not married during slavery, and the first sight of a certain young woman caused him to fall deeply in love. He stated that the love was mutual, and after three weeks court-shipcourtship, they were married. Her mother told him that the girl had always been frail, but Charles did not know she had consumption. Within three days after the marriage, she died, and her death caused much grief and heart acheheartache for Charles. He was reluctant to bury her and wanted to continue to look at her face. A Whitewhite doctor and a school teacher, whose names he can not remember, told him to put his wife's body in alcohol to preserve it, and he could look at her all the time. At that time, Whitewhite people who had money and wanted to see the face of a deceased relative used this method.

A glass casket was used, and the dressed body of the deceased was placed in alcohol inside the casket. Another casket made of wood held the gladdssglass casket, and the whole was placed in a vault which was made of stone or brick. The walls of the vault were left about four feet above ground, and a window and ledge were placed in the front, so when the casket was placed inside of vault, the bereaved person could lean upon the ledge and look in at the face of the deceased. The wooden casket was provided with a gladdglass top part of the way so the face could be easily viewed.

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Although it cost one-jundredone hundred and sixty dollars to preserve his wife in alcohol and have the vault made, Charles did not mind the expense, for said he, " I"I had plenty of money at that time "."

When the death of his wife became just a memory, Charles Coates left with his father and mother, Spencer and Henrietta Coates, and went to Savannah, Georgia. He said they were so glad to go that they walked part of the way, and when they were within thirty miles of Savannah, a man driving a wagon picked them up and carried them into Savannah. It was in Savannah that he met his present wife, Irene, and they were married about eighteen hundred seventy-six. To this union, five children were born, three of whom still live. There are nine grand-childrengrandchildren and eight great-grand childrengreat-grandchildren living, and in March 1936, when a birth-daybirthday party was given in honor of Father Coates, one of each generation of his family was present. The party was given at the Clara White Mission30.332632 -81.664020 by Miss Ertha M. White,The reference is to Eartha M.M. White, founder of the Clara White Mission. and the old man and his wife were there and spoke encouraging words to those present. He is still active for his age and can shout, jumping about a foot and a half from the floor and knocking his ankles together. He does chores about his yard and enjoys good health. His hair is part white, and his face looks many years younger than one-hundredone hundred eight. His memory is good, and he delights in talking of God and his goodness. He has preached God's gospel in his humble way for a number of years, thereby gaining the name Father Coates.