Document text
Befiliesv* ct;pgypi-oVmiAttfriw;;
UNIT
10090 Folklore Collection (or Type)
Date received Title __So.c.ial..._austoms___af..the_pas_t.....Liangatreat
10/10/40
Consignment no.
1 4sIlecjii
Shipped from Place of origin -10111111/01k S. _Car.. Date -----8-38
Wash. Off. leV
Label Project worker
Amount Project editor
6p,
Remarks
Projeot /18S5
W. W. Dixon,
linnsbero* S. C.
'1'3 ti;
SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF WE PAST
LONGSTREET GANTT
(shite)
82 YEARS OLD.
Ek,. Gantt is a °Jetsam of Winnsboro* Fairfield County* South Carolina.
He resides with his wife and widowed daughter* Evelyn Ferguson* oniest
Liberty Street* which is one block west of Et. John's Episcopal Church*
of which he is a devoted member.
I was born near the courthouse in the town of Barnwell* Barnwell
County* 8. C. July 10* 1885. Ny father and mother were Richard A. Gantt
and Louisa Day Gantt. NY grandfather was Judge Richard Gantt. Edwin J.
Scott* in his 'Random Reoollectionsei, says: 'Judge Gantt with the kind-
est heart in the world always leaned to nercy's side and took the part of
the accused; insomndh that the prosecuting attorney* General Caldwell* used
to say that he kept a tally of the prisoners tried* where he put down all
acquittals on the Judge's side and all the convictions on his own.'
think he was the first public advocate of temperance in the State* in
which he was followed and far outdone by Judge OtNeall. Be was extremely
afraid of fire* and, when holding waft in Columbia, he always lodged on
the ground floor. Sometimes* to avoid the apprehended danger* he stayed
at the home of John Smith* a pious Methodist. Qms night when he was there*
Mr. Smith conducted family prayer* and* when it was over, grandfather said:
'Smith you sure are a swinge oat at prayer.'
Coe when a clergyman spent the night at grandfather's house* the
*Iola household was called in for family worship* and at the minister's
\iv 10090
2.
request the Judge agreed to lead the devotions. While thus engaged* a lit-
tle dog in the roam discovered that something unusual was going on, and
conmenced sniffing, barking, and jumping around the kneeling Judge, who
tried by raising his voice to drown the noise made by the little dog. But
it had the contrary effeab, and, when his Honor could stand the annoyance
no longer* he suddenly changed his tone and turned to a slave* saying*
'Damn that dog; take him out,' then.resumed and concauded his prayer.
There were no graded schools in my boyhood. Wealthy families; had
tutors* but there was a school in Barnwell that charged tuition that I at-
tended. It had but one teacher* the Bev. Havner. There was about one hun-
dred pupils. The beginners were taught their A. B. Ws; these were charged
a dollar per month. The old blue -back speller was the first book. When
pupils reached the column 'Baker,' they were charged one dollar and fifty
oents a month. When. pupils reaohed long division in arithmetic* they were
charged thereafter two dollars a month. At recess the small boys played
marbles, mumble peg, rolly-poleis andI spy: The larger boys and girls
played antony-over. Every pupil, on Fridays, had to get up and declaim.
'Nam) Bossaris' was a favorite; 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' was shouted
by the small boy; 'Good-bye Little Birdie' was murmured by the small girl,
while the more ambitious recited Shakespeare's 'Ronan, Countrynwmtand
Lovers,' 'Brutus' Spaeth*" and 'Regulus' Return to Rona.'
What parties were the most popular? You mean in a social sense?
Well, 'pound parties.' These were assemblies in private homes; each couple
brought a package of something to eat for the table. Some Negro fiddler
was on hand, and steal partners, the Virginia reel, and the cotillion were
danced; but round dancing was so nuoh preached against that our neighbor-
hood didn't dare indulge in it. There were sewing bees among the ladies,
before the war. They would take the slaves who were handy with the needle
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to a neighboring home and make clothing for the household and the slaves.
Some of these 'bees' were oarried on during the Civil War; making garments
for the Confederate Solliers. Oh, yes, we had oandy pullings, before and
after the mar, when I was a boy.
The 4th of July was generally celebrated with a barbecue and a pub-
lic speaking. Christmas was the day of days to the small boy and girl,
mith the hanging up of stockings and socks the night before Christmas;
the joyous shouts of the early morning day; the popping of firecrackers;
and the thrilling cry of, 'See what Santa Claus brought me?' Everybody,
white and black, old and young shouted around, 'Christmas givet,' and ex-
pected something if caught.
my father, Richard Gantt, lived in town but had a plantation in
the country. He had slaves for the farm and special household slaves in
town. My older brother, Richard Plantagenet Gantt, managed, in a great
measure, the plantation and slaves. The blacksmith, the oarpenter, and
the stable man had special privileges. Old Uncle Ransom took care of the
jackass that did service for the surrounding neighbors. Uncle Ransom was
a slave preacher. I remember to this day the words on his pass permitting
him to go about from plaoe to place. They were:
'This is to let Rev. Ransom pass
On his feet or on his ass,
Till sale day December next,
To preach a sermon and a text.
For ten miles through the country 'round
I hope his ass won't throw him down.'
(signed)
R. P. Gantt.
Gen, Johnson Hagood was a cousin of mine. He was the first Confed-
erate soldier. He accounted for it in this may. South Carolina was the
first state to secede from the Union. Governor W. H. Gist called for vol-
unteers to defend the State's action.
General Hagood was authorised to
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raise a regiment and the assembly of volunteers took place near Barnwell
Courthouse. Gen. nagood had long tables of rough lumber in rows. On
these tables were laid out the muster rolls for the signatures of the
men. He dismounted from his horse, on the 000asion, made a speech to
the crowd, explaining the gravity of the enlistment, and, at the conclu-
sion of his talk, stepped forward, took a pen, end was the first to sign
the enlistment papers. Thereafter, when the Confederate States of America
were formed, President Jefferson Davis called for 75,000 volunteers. The
brigade as formed by Gen. Hagood was transferred as a body to the Confeder-
acy and is known in history as let S.C. Brigade (Hagood), to distinguish
it from let S.C.Brigade (Gregg) N.B. (One can see how Gen. Hagood could
justly make this claim).
No one can live on earth eighty-two years and observe the splendor
and lordly lavishness of the old land and slaveholding aristocracy; the
alarming strife; bloodshed and stress of the uncivil war (I call it); and
feel the stings of the outrageous scalawag and carpetbag governments and
the thrills of participations in the Hampton redemption, without a profound
sense of gratitude to such man as Hampton, Butler, Gary, Bretton, Hagood,
Aldither, and HaSkells. And George and Ben Tillman must be remembered,
too, for the part they took in the Ellenton riot.
I had just attained my majority of twenty-one years and was in the
heat of the conflict to redeem the State under sudh Barnwell County lead-
ers as Gen. Hagood, Col. Rubtt Aldrich, Co]. Claude Sawyer, Duncan Bonen- r
ger, and Carroll Simms. At that time I owned a beautiful bay horse, named
'Wade Hampton', and I was a horseback courier. I carried a peouliar banner
in the red -shirt parades. The banner pictured a rascal in flight carrying
a carpetbag and a young boy in pursuit, kicking the carpetbagger vigorously
5.
in his posterior median anatomy. On one side of the banner was emblaz-
oned:
Boy 'Leave here John and steal no more.'
Radical I'm gwiae now don't kick me so.'
On the abserve side of the banner were the words:
We will, of course, vote for F. H. Gantt, and woe to the
Rad who ewe we shan't; and ilampton shall be governorIt
My brother F. H. Gantt WA elected solicitor in this campaign of
1876. I am the only one living now of twelve children. This lady's
gold watch is an heirloom, bought by my maternal grandfather, Frederick
H. Ray, in Liverpool, England, one hundred and eighteen years ago, and
was presented to my grandmother, Susan Cynthia Ray. You can see her ini-
tials faintly engraved on the case, 1S.C.H.' This timepiece descended to
my mother, who lived to be eighty-one years old; next, to my brother, Rich-
ard Plantagenet Gantt, lobo more it all thru the Civil War; and it came to
me on my twenty-first birthday. Its mechanism must be good, as it has
needed no repair nor adjustment in the past forty-seven years.
Other great men I have known were Bishop Ellison Capers and Dr. Ger-
radore. I was admitted to the bar in 1888 and practioed with sly brother,
F. Y. Gantt, until I was elected Probate Judge of Barnwell County.
I am a neither of St. John's Episcopal Church, Winnsboro. I married
Lavinia Skinner in Trinity Church, Columbia. Yr. Class performed the cere-
mony. We have four girls and one boy. Evelyn, Mrs. Ferguson, lost her
husband last sunner and lives with us. Joe lost his life over seas, as a
soldier in the World War, Louise is the wife of State senator, J. M. Lyles.
Annie died, unmarried. Julia, the youngest, Is LaBruce, and her hone
is in Georgetown, S. C. I often visit her and enjoy watching the waves of
the harbor lapping the shores of the beautiful bay of old Georgetown.
"Well, l have rambled a good deal. I guess 1 have tired you, but your
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compensation must be that you have given me great joy by listening so
patiently to an old octogenarian who seldom gets anyone to talk to of
the years that are gone.