Document text
LIFE DURING CONFEDERATE DAYS
Written By: A
Mrs. Ina B. Hawkes
Research Field Worker
Georgia Writers' Prodect
Athens
Edited By:
Mrs. Maggie B. ?ream=
Editor
Georgia Writers' Project
Athens
WPA Area 6
October 18, 1939
October 3, 1939
Mrs. W.W. Mize (White)
198 Elbert Street
Athens, Georgia
Housekeeper
I.B. Hawkes
LIFE DURING CONFEDERATE DAYS
Mrs. Green's house completely fitted the des-
cription given me by a delivery boy about 15 years
of age. Located on a hill with a front yard practically
covered in green grass with the exception of the front
walk, shrubbery here and there and a few blooming
flowers atout the yard, trees whose leaves are beginning
to show various colors, presented quite a pretty picture
with a two story frame house painted white with green
trimmings in the back ground, seemed a typical place
to find just such a lovely old lady as I found occu-
ping this home.
In answer to my knock a lady appeared in a printed
frock, rather spick and span with quite a puzzldd look
on her face. She probably took me for a book agent since
I carry my writing material etc. and book agents are not
given a very cordial welcome by most people. "Good morn-
ing," she said, "won't you come in?" Introducing myself
I asked, "is there an older Mrs. Green who lives here
than you?" "Yes, come in." I accepted her invitation quite
readily and on entering the living room there was an old
lady with white hair, rocking to and fro with glasses on
and knitting something that seemed very interesting to
her.
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The heater was of medium height, well polished
and displayed cleanliness itself. On this heater a
kettle of water was boiling furiously. Over the mantle
was a picture of very old style with wide frame. In the
corner an old spinning wheel, a settee covered with
worn silk tapestry and little silk balls dangling from
it in another corner. The chairs of antique style were
showing their wear and a large artsquare with a few rugs
covered most df the floor. "Howdy," said the elder Mrs.
Green, before I could tell her my name. The young Mrs.
Green following behind said, "Ma, this is Mrs. Spence,
she wants to see and talk to you a while." "Yes, yes, I
am just knitting some lace for some pillow cases, I am
allus busy at something."
"Don't you want to tell me something about your
life history, Mrs. Green?" I asked. At first she didn't
know what to say, but then she said, I can generally tell
whether I like any one or not time I see them, and I be-
lieve I will like you fine.
"Well, Honey, my troubles and my joys might not be
very interesting to you, but they have proven to be both
interesting and sad to me. I shall be glad to tell you
something of Ow life history if you care to hear it, do you?"
"Of course I do, Mrs. Green."
"Well, I was born 87 years ago, June 22, 1852. My
father was shot in the arm while in action during the first
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year of the Confederate War. He was sent home later
because of illness and finally died with typhoid fever.
He left ma with six chilluns, three boys and three girls.
I was the oldest and I had to help ma raise the chilluns,
but we worked hard, everybody had to work hard then. I
have seen people cry and beg for something to eat. But
I took those chillun and sent them to school, and I made
them help me when they got home. We did all kinds of field
work. Mother and me had to make all our clothes, spin the
cotton and weave the cloth. Child, we have had to sit at
night, apin cotton and weave by a lightlood knot for light
a many a time. Our salt we got from the smoke hou3e. We
have had folks to come to our smoke house a many a time
and get the dirt and boil it for salt. And we didn't have
no sugar either. Ma never let the syrup barrel get empty,
unless, she was cleaning it out to fill it again with fresh
syrup. We sweetened pies, cakes and coffee and liked it as
good as we like sugar today. Yes, sometimes now I make some
old fashion sweet bread, ginger bread and I like it to this
day for coffee. We parched wheat or rye. We didn't make
enough wheat to have biscuits every day, we just baked
biscuits twice a week. My mother would never let us cook
on Sundays, we had to cook enough Saturdays to last till
Monday.
"We was raised to go to church. I allus saw that my
brothers and Sisters had good enough clothes to go. You see
my oldest brother was a preacher and a fine Baptist preacher
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he was.
"My mother's father was a preacher, she had three
brothers and one son that was preachers. I ain't bragging
but my people on both sides were good.
"Well, I began to think that I was grown about
this time, and I married Mr. Green, a fine young man,
too. His father was the richest man in Franklin County.
His land was five miles long authe owned two big stores.
About the time we married, this land was in Franklin County.
It was decided that Franklin County was too large, so it
was divided, and the house that my husband was raised in is
now the courthouse in Stephens.
"I married in 1869, one night by candle light. Times
was a little better now, we could afford candles. Carnesville
was the nearest town to the Green place. There was a lot of
talk about the Greens them days. Don't get me wrong, hears
I mean then they put the courthouse at the Green's place.
My mother was with us, and she wanted to go back to Tennessee.
Mr. Green said he came through Tennessee on his way back from
war, and he thought it was a beautiful country. I could not
let Ma leave me, and we went back with her and stayed four
years. I had two chilluns while I was out there. Mr. Green
was in the war too, and he would sit and tell me lots of
things that happened.
He said, Ione time him and one more of the men hid
behind what they called the breastworks, he says it is
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something built of sticks and brush, just anything
to keep the Yankees from seeing and killing them. One
night it was raining and the trenches was full of mud,
him and this man got sticks and rails and put one end
up on the fence, the other was down in the mud, but they
rolled up in their blankets and stayed till day light on
these sticks, so they could see. Then they crawled out
and saw a mother cat with three little kittens behind the
breastworks. Well, he said, they had not had a bit to
eat in three days, and they was so hungry that they got
the little kittens, but they noticed that a mule had
been shot and they cut a plug out of him and cooked it
and ate it.'
'Oh, he said, he had to do so many things like that,'
but he got back all right and we married.
"Well, Honey, I kept on till I had fourteen chilluns,
eleven boys and three girls. We went back to Franklin County
and Mr. Green's father died. So all his land and stores had
to be divided up in eight parts. I took Mr. Green's mother
to live with us. We was not so well off and I had to work.
Our wheat was not so plentiful either, but his mother had
to have her biscuits three times a day. She had always been
rich, you see, and she had to have anything she wanted. You
see, when Mr. Green's father died, his mother just got a
child's part, but I didn't mistreat her. Mr. Green thought
sometimes that she was overbearing, but she was getting old,
and we both lOoked over it the best we could. She lived with
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us and was 97 years old when she died. My husband
was her baby, too.
"Well, Honey, as I told you we had fourteen
heelthy chilluns, and we were proud of every one of
them. Some of them married before Mr. Green died, in
good families, too. Well, after Mr. Green's death, I
lived with my oldest son till he died. He was taken sick
with pneumonia fever. Then I moved to Athens and have
been here fifteen years. I got settled here and still
sew, and do most anything that I could do, to help out
as a boarder. I get $30.00 a month from Mr. Green's
death.
"I had a daughter to die last year with appendix,
but her husband has plenty, so he and the chilluns are
very comfortable. My son had a bad wreck not long ago
in his car and broke his neck. All this has caused me
a lot of sorrow, but now I take my pension, and rent this
house, because all we had has gotten out of our hands with
all these hard times. My daughter, her husband and son, and
his wife, and grandson and his wife stay here with me. I
could not live if they didn't stay with me. You see they
are here to take care of me, if I get sick; and look after
everything. We have a cow, hog and chickens. My baby boy
lives just a little ways up the road. He comes every Saturday
night or Sunday morning to hug my neck, and my grandchildren
are so much company to me. There are five generations.
"I have forty grandchildren and fifty great grand-
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children. I am al ays getting some kind of little
present because t ere is Mother's Day or Christmas
and my Birthda too. Last birthday I had 116 here,
that's why I like roomy houses. We have right big
rooms and two big porches to sit on."
Her daughter said, °here MA, here's your check".
Mrs. Green's face brightened. The young Mrs. Green says,
"Ma's always glad when her check comes, she wants to go
to town right then and get it cashed."
"Do you go about mucrs. Green?" -I asked.
"Why yes, I don't give up for little things such
as a touch of rheumatism."
The noon train went by so I decided I had better
get to lunch. Mrs. Green got up to go to the door with
me and she said, "I am sorry we didn't know you was
coming out, we would have had our house a little more
in order."
I/
That's all right, everything look's very nice.
It was just fairly furnished but clean.