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Willis fared well during the first nine years of his life, although they were spent in slavery. To him it was the same as freedom, for he experienced none of the unplesanttunpleasant __________Muse appears to have left a blank space here, which we represent as a series of underscores. as related by so many ex–slaves. He played base ballbaseball and looked after his younger brothers and sister while his mother was in the kitchen. He was never flogged, but received chasetisementchastisement once from the father of Mr. Heyward. That, he related, was light and nearly so severe asThe sense of nearly so severe as here seeems to be either not nearly so severe as or no more severe than. The word not was perhaps omitted before nearly. many parents give their children to–daytodaytoday.

As was stated formerly, Wilhemina Williams was the cook, and she saw to it that her children were well fed. They were fed right from the master's table, so to speak. While they did not sit to the table with the master and his family, they ate the same kind of food that hesawas servedThe original appears to read hesaserved, we we have emended to was served. them.

Corn bread was baked in the Heyward kitchen, but biscuits also were baked twice daily, and the Negroes were allowed to eat as many as they wished. The dishes were made of tin, and the drinking vessels were made from goards. Few white people had china dishes, and when they did possess them, they were highly prized and great care was taken of them.

The few other slaves which Mr. Heyward kept around the town house tendddtended the garden and chickens, and there were many chickens, ducks, and geese to be tended. The garden afforded all the vegetables necessary for feeding Master Heyward and his family and slaves. He did not object to the slaves eating chicken and green vegetables, and sent provisions of all kinds from his store to boot.

Although Mr. Heyward was wealthy, there were many things he could not buy, for Tallahassee did not afford them. Willis remembers that candles were mostly used for light. Home madeHomemade tallow was used Page 2A technical limitation currently prevents us from right–aligning this header, as well as others on the pages below. in making them. The moulds, which were made of wood, were of the correct size. Cotton string, twisted right from the raw cotton as it was picked, was cut into desired lengths, and placed into moulds first, and heated tallow was poured in until it was filled. The tallow was allowed to set and cool, and then the candles were re–moved, ready for use.

In those days, coffee was a very expensive article, and a sub–stitute for it was made from parched corn. The Whiteswhites used it, as well as the slaves.

Willis remembers a man named Pierce who cured cow hides. He used to buy them, and one time, Willis skinned a cow and took the hide to him and sold it. Sixty–five and seventy years ago, everyone used horses or mules and they had to have shoes. The blacksmith wore leather aprons and the horses and mules wore leather colarscollars. No one knew anything about composition leather for making shoes, so the tanning of hides was a lucretivelucrative business.

Clothing, during the Civil War and early Reconstruction was simple as compared to present daypresent–day togs. Cloth woven from home spunhomespun thread was the only kind Negroes had. Every house of any note could boast of a spinning wheel and loom. Cotton, which was picked by slave hands, was cleared of the seed and spun into thread and woven into cloth by the same hands. It was a common thing to know how to spin and weave. Some of the cloth was dyed afterwards with dye made from indigo and polk berries. Some was used in its natural color.

Cotton was the main product of most southernSouthern plantations, and the owner usually depended upon the income from the sale of his Page 4 yearly crop to maintain his home and upkeep of his slaves and cattle. It was very necessary frofor every farm to yealdyield as much as possible, and much energy was directed toward growing and picking large crops. Although Mr. Heyward was a successful merchant, he did not lose sight of the fact that his country property could yield a bountiful supply of cotton, corn, and tobacco.

Around the town house, Mr. Heyward seemed to maintain the atmos–phere of home life. He wanted his family and servants to be cared for and spared no expense in making life happy.

As Willis remembers the beds in those days, they were made of Florida moss and feathers. Boards were laid across for slats, and the moss mattress was placed upon the boards. On top of the moss mattress a feather one was placed, which made sleeping very comfortable. In summer, the feather mattress was often removed and sunned, andred–A series of letters that appear to be andred– are partially smudged out in the original. We have omitted them on the assumption the author indended them to be struck. and placed again in winter. Goose and the downy feathers of chickens were saved and stored in large bags until enough were collected for a mattress, and it was considered a prize to possess one.

Every family of note boasted the ownership of a horse and buggy, or several of each. The kind most popular during Willis' boyhood was the one seatedone–seated affair with a short wagon likewagon–like bed in the rear of seat. Sometimes two seats were used. The seats were removable and could be used for carrying baggage or other light weights. The brougham, surrey, and landau were unknown to Willis.

Before the Civil warWar, and during the time the great struggle was in full swing, women wore hoop skirts. They were very full skirts held out by means of metal hoops. Pantaloons were worn beneath them, and around the ankle, where they were gathered very closely, a ruffle very often edged with a narrow lace, finished them off. Page 5 The waist was tight fittingtight–fitting basque, and sleeves which could be worn long, or to elbow, were very full. Women also wore their hair high up on their heads with frills around the faces. Negro women right after slavery fell into imitating their former mistresses, and many of them who were fortunate enough to get employment used part of their earnings for at least one good dress. It was usually made of woolen a yard wide or silk.

Money has undergone a change as rapidly as some other commonplace things. In Willis' early life, money valued at less than one dollar was made of paper just as dollar, five dollarfive–dollar, or ten dollarten–dollar bills were. There was a difference, however, in the paper representing '"change'," and not as much care was taken in protect–ing it from being imitated. The paper money used for change was called "shin plastersshinplasters",See shinplaster. and much of it flooded the southlandSouthland during Civil War days.

Mr. Heyward did not enlist in the army to help protext the south'sSouth's cause, but his eldest son, Charlie, went. His younger son was not old enought to go. Willis stated that Mr. Heyward did not go because he was in business and was needed at home to look after it. It is not known whether Charlie was killed at war or not, but Willis said he did not return home at close of war.

When the news of freedom came to Thomas Heyward's town slaves, it was brought by McCook's CalvaryCalvary.See calvary. Willis remembers the uniforms worn by the northernersNortherners was dark blue with brass buttons and the Confederates wore gray. After the calverycalvarySee calvary. reached Tallahassee, they separated into sections, each division taking a different part of the town. Negroes of the household were called together and were Page 6 informed of their freedom. It is remembered by Willis that the slaves were jubilant but not boastful.

The master, Mr. Heyward, had been dealt a hard blow during the war as his store was confiscated and used as a commisary by the northernNorthern army. When the war ended and he was deprived of his slaves, a great portion of his former wealth vanish with their going.

The loss of his wealth and slaves did not have the effect upon Mr. Heyward to the extent that he became bitter;. toTo the con–trary, he was the same kind heartedkindhearted man as in days past.

Mc. Cook'sMcCook's CalverycalvarySee calvary. did not remain in Tallahassee very long and was replaced by a colored compntycompany, the 99th Infantry. Their duty was to maintain order within the town. An orchestra was with the outfit, and Willis remembers that they were very good musicians. A Negro who had been the slave of a white man in Tallahassee was a member of the orchestra. The Negro was named Singleton, and his former master invited his orchestra to come up to his house and play for the family. Of course the Negroes were glad to render service, so they went, and after that many white families had them to come to their homes and entertain them.

The southernSouthern soldiers who returned after the war appeared to receive their defeat as good '"sports'," not as friction between the races existed as would be imagined.Something was perhaps omitted in the typing of this sentence, which possibly was intended as two. The ex–slave, while he was glad to be free, wanted to be sheltered under the '"wings'" of his former master and mistress. In most cases, they were hired by their former owners, and peace reigned around the home or planta–tion. This was true of Tallahassee, if not of other sections of the southSouth.

Soon after the smoke of the cannons had died down and people Page 7 began thinking of the future, the Negroes turned their thoughts toward education. They grasped every opportunity to learn to read and write. Schools were fostered by northernNorthern white capital, and white women were sent into the southlandSouthland to teach the black boys and girls to read, write, and '"figure'.." Any Negro who had been fortunate enough to gain some knowledge during slavery could get a position as school teacherschoolteacher. As a result, many poorly prepared persons entered the school roomschoolroom as tutor.

William Williams, Willis' father,See William Williams. found work at the old Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad yards and worked for many years there. He sent his children to school and Willis advanced ralidlyrapidly.

During slavery, Negroes attended church and sat in the bal–cony and very often log churches were built for them. Meetings also were held under "bush harbors".."See bush harbors. After the war, frame and log churches served them as places of worship. These buildings were erected by white people who came into the southlandSouthland to help the ex–slave. Negro men who claimed God had called them to preach served as ministers of most of the Negro churches, but often white preachers visited them and instructed them concerning the Bible and what God wanted them to do. Services were conducted three times a day on Sunday,—morning at eleven, in afternoon about three o'clock, and at night at eight.

The manner of worship was very much in keeping with present daypresent–day modes. Preachers appealed to the emotions of the '"flock'," and the congregation responded with amens, halleluliahallelulya registers hallelulya (spelled hallelulia in the original here) as a variant of hallelujah. and clapping of hands, shouting and screaming. Willis remarked to one white man during his early life, that he wondered why the people hollowedSee hollow. Page 8 so loudly, and the man replied that in fifty years hence the Negroes would be educated and would not do that. They would know better. He further replied that fifty years ago the white people used to scream and shout that way. Willis wonders now, when he sees both white and colored people responding to preaching in much the same way as in his early life. He remarked that he did not see where education had made much difference in many cases.

Much superstition and ignorance existed among the Negroes during slavery and early reconstructionReconstruction. Some wore bags of sulphur saying they would keep away disease. Some wore bags of salt and charcoal believing that evil spirits would be kept away from them. Others believed in wearing a silver coin in their shoes and even some made holes in the coin and threaded a string through it at–tached it to the ankle, so that no one could conjure them. Some who thought an enemy might sprinkle "goofer dust"See goofer dust. around their door steps swept very clean around the door step in the evening and would not allow anyone to come in afterwards.

The Negro man who spent much time around the "grannies" during slavery learned much about herbs and roots and how they were used to cure all manner of ills. The doctor went about giving practically the same kind of medicine for most ailments. The white doctors at this time had not been schooled to a great extent themselves, and they carried medicine bags around to the sick roomsickroom which contained pills and a very few other kinds of medicine which they had made from herbs and roots. Of course we know that some of them are used to–daytoday, but Willis said most of their medicine at that time was pills.

Ten years after the Civil War, Willis Williams had advanced in his studies to the extent that he passed the Governmentgovernment examina–tion and became a railway mail clerk. He ran from Tallahassee to Page 9 Palatka and River Junction on the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad. There was no other railroad going into Tallahassee then.

The first Negro railway mail clerk, according to Willis' know–ledge, to run out Tallahassee to Jacksonville, was Benjamin F. Cox. The first colored mail clerk in the Jacksonville post office was Camp Hughes. He was sent to prison for riffling the mail. Willis Myers succeeded Hughes, and Willis Williams succeeded Myers. Willis received a telegram to come to Jacksonville to take MyersMyers' place, and when he came he expected to stay three or four days. After getting here he was retained permanately and remained in the service until his retirement.

His first run from Tallahassee to Palatka and River Junction began in 1875 and lasted until 1879. In 1879 he was called to Jack–sonville to succeed Myers, and when he retired forty years later, he had filled the position creditably, therefore was retired on a pension, which he still receives and will receive until his death.

Willis Williams is in good health, attends Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a merbermember. He is in possession of all of his faculties and is able to carry on an intelligent conversation concerning the past fifty years he has spent in Jacksonville.