Dat how come I 'member ol' mistus name so good. Them shirts wouldn't rip no more'n buckskin. Me and my father stuck, stuck close as a lean tick to a sick kitten. "In 1897 I marries Effie Coleman and has no chillens, so I is alone in de world now. Dat's when we was happy and celebrates. It was jus' a common lil' hoss. Sometimes you didn't knowed it was goin' on. He came to Galveston, Texas, in 1877. They didn't care what color you was, black, white, yellow or blue. In February 2004, the Texas Rangers again probed the Navasota Police Department. I hab purty long, black hair and a veil with a ribbon 'round de fron'. He allus brung me somethin', jus' like I he own little gal. And there was the key note to the old Negro's character and temperament. But he never give 'em a patch to work for deyself. II State Football Champions in 2012 and 4A Div. It were mo' jus' a farm, but dey raise us all we need to eat and feed de cows and hosses. As of 2018, the population of the town was an estimated 7,715 people. She let me go to ice cream supper, too. When he git here dey tek care of him 'till he die right dere at Olive. Dey go in de barn and holp deyself. It's my heart. Its name was changed in 1858 to Navasota, a name perhaps derived from the Native American word nabatoto (muddy water). Den de chillen holds de bladder in de fire and purty soon, 'BANG,' dey goes. asked the interviewer. Sometime dey brung lil' white chillen to dinner. Navasota was founded in 1831 as the stagecoach stop of Nolansville. We got our lickings, but just the same we got our fill of biscuits every time the white folks had 'em. De fus' preachin' I heerd was atter dat. De mattress was mek outer straw. http://www.navasotaexaminer.com/news/article_69301b7c-bb21-11e1-a35b-0019bb2963f4.html, June 23, 2012. We decided we was too soft and freedom wasn't goin' to be much to our good even if we had a education.". It never git real ha'd but stay kinder slushy. But I's had two strokes and I ain't able to go to town no mo'. Ma tell 'em to write him he neenter (need not) come. Old cotton, old corn, what for you born?'. "Like I jes' say, I knows what I's talkin' 'bout, 'cause I use to be a slave myself and I don't know how to read and write. When she come in and say, 'Mandy, shine up de knife and fork and put de polish on de pianny, I allus happy, 'cause I lub to see folks come. She was a little, white-hair' woman, what never los' her temper 'bout nothin'. Weapons and stolen property recovered. We all felt like heroes and nobody had made us that way but ourselves. The census of 1850 reported 58,161 slaves, 27.4 percent of the 212,592 people in Texas, and the census of 1860 enumerated 182,566 slaves, 30.2 percent of the total population. "Not long after dat, Marster sol' my mammy to his brudder who lived in Fort Worth. In de winter time dey fed us in de kitchen. I's treated kind all de time and had no frettin' 'bout how I gwine git on. He was nice one day and mean as Hades de next. The Klu Klux went to the jail and took 'em out and killed 'em. If anyone has information on this cemetery, please let us know. But us don't leave Massa John, us go right on workin' for him like 'fore. "De marster takes good care of us and sometimes give us money, 'bout 25, and lets us go to town. Three dogs followed one slave the whole way up north and he sold them up there. "How you carries on! When he 'bout wo' out and ready to die, den he come. Church went on. De year 'fore surrender, us am short of rations and sometime us hongry. Dey git oak and ash and hick'ry wood and mek a fire under it and smoke it. "Me and my mother lef' right off and go to Palestine. Run, kitty, run.'. Now, Will, dat de man I's marry to, am younger'n me but he don't know it. Dat was de fus' time Missy laugh after de funeral. Our master parceled out some land to 'em and told 'em to work it their selves and some done real well. Twenty-four year old Frank Hamer resigned from the Texas Rangers to become the City Marshal and moved in and created law and order. My baby gal she ain't never see no daddy. I don' care so much 'bout leavin' dis yearthly home, 'cause I knows I gwineter see de ole mistus up dere and I tell her I allus 'member what she tell me and try lib dat way all time. I had old Buster, a ox, and he took me about plenty good as a horse. Police seized drugs, money and illegal gambling machines. "De earlies' 'membrance I hab is when de ole marster drive into de town for supplies every two weeks. De shoemaker make all de shoes and fix de leather, too. But he wasn't hard on dem like some masters was. WebOn the banks of the Navasota River, Civil War veterans met for reunions from 18891946. They didn't have no school for slaves and I never learned to read and write till after freedom. [7], Navasota was considered such a "wild and woolly" place that women and children were discouraged from going downtown even in broad daylight. I's settin' hear a thinkin' of dem ole days when I's a li'l nigger a cuttin' up on ole marster's plantation. Den us jis' play 'roun' lots of times anyt'ing what happen to come up in our min's. 'Course, Will ain't so young heself, but he's born after de war and I's born durin' slavery, so dat make me older. High Point Elementary earned distinctions in ELA/Reading, Mathematics, Top 25 Percent Closing Gaps, Top 25 Percent Student Progress, and Post-Secondary Readiness. ", "I tell you I never hear nuthin' 'bout chu'ch 'till way atter freedom. Dat ledder was hard and lots of times it mek blister on us feet. Some dem cullud folks grandchillen still on dat land, too, de Parkers and Farrows and Nelsons and some others. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.1km2), of which 0.04 square miles (0.1km2), or 0.47%, is water.[6]. That was cheap for a boy. De preacher, he was big, jolly man, he come to de house 'bout one Sunday in every month. Several native-stone churches also remain near downtown, with distinctive Victorian fronts. My brudders is Newton and Silas and Willie and Frank. A new municipal building was completed in 2011 and continued downtown improvements are under construction, with completion scheduled for 2023. That was followed in 1867 by an even more dangerous epidemic of yellow fever. ", "I was bo'n up here in Jasper. Nobody knew how it was to lack food. Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. For full functionality please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Before and during the Civil War he was a sheep herder and cowpuncher. Perhaps the greatest and most publicized violence was around the turn of the century, during the rise of the Populist Party in Grimes County, and the election of Populist candidate Garrett Scott for County Sheriff. Ole mistus he'p me make my weddin' dress outta white lawn. In 2012, the City of Navasota commissioned local sculptor Russell Cushman to design and create a statue of Frank Hamer, which is now on display in front of the city hall building. Many Navasota citizens, including the mayor, fled to escape the disease, and the town's population dropped by about 50 percent. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,643 people, 2,661 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. "Den massa come home and say, 'Yous gwine be free. Atter freedom marster go to Geo'gy to git him and bring him to Texas, but he done raisin' up anudder family dere and won't come. Den all de other niggers thinks dey should git land, too, but dey don't, and it make dem git foolishment and git in trouble. [13] A statue of Frank Hamer stands in front of city hall, honoring the time he served as city marshal. About 23.8% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.7% of those under age 18 and 24.0% of those age 65 or over. "I'm black, blacker than you are," said the caller. Washington County. James, known as Uncle Jim, seems happy, still stands erect, and is very active for his age. History of slavery: Newspaper ads used to find family after emancipation. A tree am fix, and some present for everyone. All de time de men's away, I could tell Missy Elline and her mamma was worried. Yes, maybe it was a black widow spider, but we called it the 'devil biter'. There were many saloons and gaming halls, and every Sunday morning the undertaker hitched up the buggy and went downtown to collect the bodies that were anticipated to be there, from another wild Saturday night. Some of 'em was bigger dan others and dey put a big family in a big cabin and a li'l family in a li'l cabin. WebIn 1937 Reynolds shared her memories of slavery with a member of the Federal Writers Project for the WPA Slave Narrative Project. Dat trader was on his way south with my folks and a lot of other slaves, takin' 'em somewheres, to sell. All campuses received a Met Standard rating from the Texas Education Agency. The population was 7,643 at the 2020 census. WebIt was a space where the horrors of slavery were laid bare, including the disruption of black families for profit or convenience, for the world to see. The kids didn't know War was happenin'. I don' 'member anything 'bout my pappy, but I 'member Marster Henderson jus' like 'twas las' week. "There was a cullud man they taken, his name was Jim Freeman. "Somebody run 'way all de time and hide in de woods till dere gut pinch dem and den dey have to come back and git somethin' to eat. He use to live in a plain, wood house on de Palestine road. [4] The industrial sector of the community boasts 23 companies and over 1,200 jobs. MANDY HADNOT, small and forlorn looking, as she lies in a huge, old-fashioned wooden bed, appears very black in contrast to the clean white sheets and a thick mop of snowy wool on her head. Capital murder suspects calls 911 and turns himself in for the July 2009 killing of a Navasota business man in the middle of day in downtown. He camped by Massa Buford's plantation and asks him, 'Can I leave dis li'l nigger here till I comes back?' Us all stay and it sho' am tough times. We'uns all stayed till he died, 'bout a year after dat. The house was built by Alabama native Robert Augustus Horlock in 1892. "Durin' the Spanish-American War I went to Washington, D.C., to see my sister and got in the soldier business. Dat am de fireworks. I guess we was too ign'rant. It was jis' a one-room log house. She jus' walk 'round de yard and twist de hands and say, 'Dey sho' git kilt. My father, he'd round up cattle, unbranded cattle, for the whites. WebBuilt in 1834 by Henry Fanthorp as a home for his third wife, Rachel Kennard, the Fanthorp home and Inn has been closely connected with events of early Texas history. But it didn't turn out that way. WebThe key to African Americans political ascension in Texas was Reconstruction, the federal governments post-Civil War effort to rebuild the South and protect the rights of "We was 'fraid of them Klu Kluxes and come to town, to Snow Hill. "How did we know it! "Who I is, how old I is and where I is born, I don't know. to the Harper family, who lived in Snow Hill. When de body comes home, dere's a powerful big funeral and after dat, dere's powerful weepin's and sadness on dat place. In 1833, a group including the extended family and associates of John Parker, a Baptist minister and veteran of the American Revolution, began to relocate from Illinois to Texas. Generally, the census only names the slave owner. De nearest I comes to gittin whupped, 'twas once when I stole a plate of biscuits offen de table. Reported by the Navasota Examiner. I holp my mother dust and clean up de house and peel 'tatoes. "Us marry right in de parlor of de mistus house. Sometimes the slave made friends with the dogs and they wouldn't let on if they found him. I knowed you was white man when you comes up the path and speaks. I seen the dogs on the trail a whole day and still not catch 'em. After I's 'bout 13, I jus' peddles roun' de house for 'bout a year, den 'twarn't long till I hoes co'n and potatoes. WebSlavery grew faster after Texas became a U.S. state in 1845. I 'member though, dat my pa uster drive a team for ol' marster. Sure 'nough, dere was trouble, heaps of it. ", "Dey had a big smokehouse. ", "We done our playin' 'roun' dat big house, but dat front gate, we dassen' go outside dat. Navasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. She 'longs to Massa John Ditto and am so big everybody knows her, but de niggers won't tell on her. Iffen you did dey wouldn' let you forgit it. I t'ink some of ol' marster's boys went to de war but de ol' man didn' go. document.write(cy). Navasota has many shops and artisans in its historic downtown district, including antique, gift, and boutique stores and art galleries housed in old classic stone and brick structures. The only misery I had was when a black spider bit me on the ear. Hung him on a tree in his front yard, right in front of his cabin. I has two chillen but dey dead. Missy says, 'Don' say 'lasses, say molasses.' I went and he told me goodbye, 'cause he was goin' to run away in a few days. WebName index of slave schedules from the 1860 Census of the United States. One thing about 'em, they get educated, but there's not much for them to do when they get finished with school but walk the streets now. We had our li'l go'ds (gourds) pretty and clean and white. ", "Dey raise dey own t'bacco on de place. '", "Land sakes, Felix!" WILLIAM HAMILTON belonged to a slave trader, who left him on the Buford plantation, near Village Creek, Texas. They never caught him and after he crossed the Mason-Dixon line he was safe. ', 'Kitty, kitty, Ann related her story in a deep voice and a jovial manner. "When war was over I come back here and now I'm too old to work and the state gives me a pension and me and my granddaughter live on that. I l'arn how to hoe, too. "We knowed freedom was on us, but we didn't know what was to come with it. Mister, them was shirts that was shirts! Us hab chicken and all kinds of good things. So we'uns asked him if we could stay and he says, 'Yous kin stay as long as yous want to and I can keep yous.' He enjoy dat. Then the old Negro began searching his 92 years of reminiscences, intermixing his findings with philosophy, poetry and prognostications.