Topic: Early Versions - Performers
Lives of Sumter County slaves were circumscribed by Alabama’s state laws. The French Code Noir already was in effect when Mobile was founded. It required slaves be baptized in the Roman Catholic church, [1] and did not allow slaves owned by different men to meet. [2]
When the British took over, they required Negroes carry passes to prove they weren’t runaways. While baptism was permitted, it no longer was encouraged. [3]
The informal prohibitions against slave mobility were codified in the Slave Code of 1833. It was illegal for "more than five male slaves, either with or without passes, to assemble together at any place off the proper plantation to which they belong." [4] Patrols were authorized to hunt for runaways, and a bounty was paid to any white who found a Black hiding in wild lands. [5]
The Alabama law was passed two years after Nat Turner’s rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. Teaching Negroes to read became illegal, [6] and no Black was allowed to preach unless "five respectable slave-holders" were present. [7]
The 1852 code made it mandatory for all able-bodied white men to participate in slave patrols at least once a week. [8] The patrols had the right to enter any plantation to look for slaves visiting without passes. [9]
The consequences of these laws were remembered by former slaves interviewed by Ruby Pickens Tartt in 1937 and 1938. Bettie Tolbert was born in Virginia and a slave on Abner Scarborough’s plantation. [10] She told Tartt:
"No’m, us didn’t go to school none no time, nor learn nothin [11]
. . .
"No’m, us never had no corn shuckins, ’cause Marse Abner was a precher and didn’t alow nothin sinful goin on." [12]
Only a few suggested their masters believed slaves should be exposed to Christianity. Amy Chapman was born in Virginia and a slave on Reuben Chapman’s plantation. [13] She told Tartt:
"Us warn’t learned to read and write, but Mr. Jerry Brown’s slaves were. [14] He owned a big plantation. Us didn’t go to no nigger church, ’cause there warn’t none. I was baptized in Jones Creek, and Dr. Edmonds, a white preacher, joined me to the Jones Baptist Church long before the war." [15]
Few plantation owners allowed slaves to congregate. As a consequence, slaves had to be discrete and practice what they called "praying easy." They all mentioned using iron wash pots to muffle the sounds. For instance, George Young, who was born on the same Chapman plantation, said:
"They didn’t learn us nothin and didn’t allow us to learn nothin. If they catch us learning to read and write, they cut us hand off. They didn’t allow us to go to church, neither. Sometimes us slip off and have a little prayer meetin by usselves in a old house with a dirt floor. They’d get happy and shout and couldn’t nobody hear ’em, ’cause they didn’t make no fuss on the dirt floor, and one stand in the door and watch. Some folks put their head in the washpot to pray, and pray easy, and somebody be watchin for the overseer." [16]
Oliver Bell was born in 1860 [17] on Trezevant DeGraffenried’s plantation, [18] "nine miles west of Livingston." [19] Before the Civil War,
"when they had the prayer meetins they shut the door so won’t let the voice out, and they turn the washpot down at the door—some say to keep it in." [20]
Angie Garrett was born in DeKalb, Mississippi, and was owned by Johnny Mooring. [21] She remembered:
"Us warn’t allowed to learn nothin; sometimes us sing and have a little prayer mettin, but twas mighty easy and quiet-like." [22]
A few people mentioned religious practices that weren’t conducted under fear of discovery. Josh Horn made the difference clear.
"Me and her [his wife Alice] didn’t neither one have no book learnin ’cause us come along in slavery time and warn’t ’lowed to have no school then. But us was all ’lowed to pray, and didn’t never have to stick us heads in the washpot and pray easy, like plenty black folks did. Marse Ike [23] was good ’bout that; twas an old house with a dirt floor in the quarters where us could go and wouldn’t disturb nobody when us got happy and shouted." [24]
Maria White didn’t mention slavery practices because she was too young to remember. She described what her mother sang after emancipation with the term "jumpy up" that suggested something about their use.
"That’s just a jumpy-up song, Miss, one that ain’t in the book, but it’s a cute one, and there’s a heap more of them verses but I’m busy as a cat and I can’t recollect them right now. But here’s a old-time Negro song my mammy used to sing when I was a child after surrender." [25]
. . .
"That’s a pretty one, Miss; Mammy used to get happy when they sang that one." [26]
["Dat’s jes’ a jumpy-up song, Miss, one dat ain’t in de book, but hit’s a cute one, en dey’s a heap mo’ dem verses but I’m busy as er cat and I can’t recollect ’em right now. But here’s a ole-time nigger song my mammy useter sing when I was a chile atter S’rrender.]
. . .
["Dat’s a pretty one, Miss; Mammy use ter git happy when dey sung dat one."]
White lived "’bout ten miles dis here side of Cuba Station on Mr. John Matthew’s place" [27] along a creek southwest of Livingston. Her examples of jumpy-up songs were religious ones that resembled spirituals.
End Notes
Ruby Pickens Tartt’s slave narratives from 1937 and 1938 have been republished in the following collections:
Virginia Pounds Brown and Laurella Owens. Toting the Lead Row. University: The University of Alabama Press, 1981.
Alan Brown and David Taylor. Gabr’l Blow Sof’. Livingston, Alabama: Livingston Press, 1997.
Key words in quotations that relate to ring shouts and other common religious practices are in boldface.
1. Wikipedia. "Code Noir." Article 2.
2. Code Noir. Article 16.
3. Clayton E. Jewett, John O. Allen, and Jon L. Wakelyn. Slavery in the South. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2004. 3–4.
4. Ron. "Alabama’s Slave Laws Relating to Speech and Assembly." US Slave website. 12 June 2012. None of the official Alabama links to the code were functioning when I tried them.
5. "Selections from Alabama’s Laws Governing Slaves." City University of New York. American Social History Project website.
6. James Benson Sellers. Slavery in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1950; reprinted in 1990. 117.
7. Ron.
8. "Alabama Slave Code of 1852." Constitution Reader website. Item 990.
9. Alabama Slave Code, 1852. Item 992.
10. Abner Rasberry Scarborough was a Baptist minister who moved to Sumter County from Edgecombe County, North Carolina. [28] Tom Blake did not include him in his list of men who owned many slaves in 1860. [29]
11. Bettie Tolbert. "Lost to the Refugee Wagons." 127–139 in Brown and Owens. 137.
12. Tolbert. 138.
13. Reuben Chapman was discussed in the posts for 1 September 2019 and 15 September 2019.
14. Jeremiah H. Brown’s father was born in England, and served as a Baptist minister in Darlington, South Carolina. As mentioned in the post for 15 September 2019, Jeremiah was the largest slave holder in Sumter County in 1860. He supported Baptist institutions in Alabama and provided his slaves "with good churches and white preachers on Sunday, and saw that they had a reasonable amount of instruction and religious training." [30]
15. Amy Chapman. "The Masters Good but Overseers Mean. 128–129 in Brown and Owens. 128–129.
16. George Young. "Peter Had No Keys ’ceptin His." 120–122 in Brown and Owens. 121.
17. The 1870 Census for his father said he was ten-years-old. [31]
18. Trezevant’s immigrant ancestor, Christoph von Graffenried, founded the Swiss colony of New Bern, North Carolina, in 1709. [32] The Tuscarora took him captive, and released him only when he agreed to make no settlements without their permission. He returned to Switzerland, [33] and Trezevant’s great-grandfather moved to Virginia. [34] Trezevant’s father moved to Union County, South Carolina. [35] Trezevant, himself, was a doctor who left Sumter County for Mississippi sometime after the war. [36] Blake did not include him in his list of men who owned many slaves in 1860. [29]
19. Oliver Bell. "That Tree Was My Nurse." 134–137 in Brown and Owens. 134.
20. Bell. 134.
21. Johnny Mooring may have been the John Mooring who was living with his son, James Ashley Mooring, in northern Sumter County near Gainesville in 1860. [37] They moved there from Edgecombe County, North Carolina. [38] Their immigrant ancestor, John Mooring, was a tanner transported from England to the Virginia colony before 1652. [39] Blake did not include either in his list of men who owned many slaves in 1860. [29]
22. Angie Garrett. "Turned Lose without Nothin." 140–142 in Brown and Owens. 141.
23. Isaac Wood Horn moved to Sumter County from North Carolina and settled in Brewersville, south east of Livingston. [40] His family had been in Edgecombe County since the late 1600s. [41] Blake did not include him in his list of men who owned many slaves in 1860. [29]
24. Ruby Pickens Tartt. "Alice." Southwest Review 34:192–195:1949. Reprinted by Brown and Owens. 103. Bracketed comment added.
25. Maria White. "Jumpy-up Songs and Songs in de Book." 103–105 in Brown and Taylor. 104.
26. White. 105.
27. White. 103. Jonathan Matthews owned 152 slaves in 1860. [29] I found nothing more about him.
28. Edgecombe County was mentioned in the post for 2 February 2020.
29. Tom Blake. "Sumter County, Alabama: Largest Slaveholders from 1860 Slave Census Schedules and Surname Matches for African Americans on 1870 Census." Ancestry website.
30. T. A. Deland and A. Davis Smith. From Northern Alabama, Historical and Biographical. Birmingham: Smith and Deland, 1888. 219.
31. Amy Caddell. "Edmund DeGraffenreid Bell." Find a Grave website. 15 September 2017.
32. The New Bern colony was discussed in the post for 19 January 2020.
33. David Reese. "Christoph DeGraffenried." Find a Grave website. 2 October 2010.
34. David Reese. "Christopher DeGraffenried." Find a Grave website. 2 October 2010.
35. David Reese. "Christopher Kit DeGraffenried." Find a Grave website. 11 August 2012.
36. meet Virginia. "Dr Trezevant DeGraffenried." Find a Grave website. 22 Feb 2009. Updated by David Reese. Tartt spelled it Tresvant DeGraffenreid. [134]
37. Fran. "James A. Mooring." Find a Grave website. 18 July 2009.
38. Charles Avis. "James Ashley Mooring (abt. 1820 - 1874)." Wikitree website. 31 October 2018; last updated 19 November 2018.
39. Charles Avis. "John Mooring (bef. 1652 - aft. 1703)." Wikitree website. 14 November 2018; last updated 16 November 2018.
40. Fran. "Isaac Wood Horn." Find a Grave website. 17 July 2009. Updated by Elizabeth Hughes Hagwood. Confirmed by Robert Gordon Horn. "Descendants of William Horn." Genealogy website. Last updated 13 April 2003. 33
41. Robert Gordon Horn. 17.
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