Notes for Thomas Rothmahler GRIER

James Eaddy Family JAMES EADDY FAMILY

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Notes for Thomas Rothmahler GRIER

THE PLANTATION

The description that follows of plantation life along the Lynches River
preceding the Civil War was narrated by Judith Grier, who married Zachary
Taylor Eaddy. Judith was the daughter of Margaret Johnson, (Margaret
being the daughter of Captain William Johnson and Sarah Crosby) and
Thomas Rothmahler Grier. Judith Grier Eaddy's reminiscences were
recorded by Elizabeth Waddell Eaddy, Judith's daughter-in-law, in an
unpublished manuscript entitled, "All In A Lifetime".

From a small plantation near the present site of Hemingway where Mr.
White Johnson now lives, Thomas Grier moved to the old home at
Petersfield (near Yauhanna Ferry). He lived there only a few years for
the plantation at Johnsonville was given to his wife by her father. A
fortune in slaves was also given her. They remained at Johnsonville as
long as they lived.

The Johnson plantation was a part of the original grant to John James.
William Johnson, Sr. had bought a part of the grant from the heirs of
John James. He also purchased a portion of the land granted to the
Witherspoons. It was part of the Witherspoon grant that was given to
Margaret Johnson Grier.

The old housed had two stories with the first floor very high off the
ground. There were two large main rooms downstairs with two shed rooms
built off from them at the back. Upstairs were a small room and a large
one. The dining room and the kitchen were connected with the main part
of the house by an open passageway. Here the family generally ate during
the summer and it was the favorite gathering place for the whole family.

Besides running the plantation, the Squire had the largest inland store
between Georgetown and Marion. His store was about seven miles from the
nearest landing; most of the larger stores were closer to the river for
greater convenience in getting their goods. The Squire's biggest
business; however, was money lending. The Squire had the reputation of
being a hard man, and he never did let anyone get anything that belonged
to him. He was considered the wealthiest man in the country. Although
he exacted his dues from all the able-bodied, he never turned a deaf ear
to the widowed or helpless.

Every morning, assisted by his body slave, a "boy" who had belonged to
him since he was a child, he mounted his horse and rode over the whole
plantation. Even though he was very stout and it was a difficult job to
get him in the saddle, he rode as erectly as he ever did. No detail on
the farm was too small to escape his eye, and everything must be in its
proper place. The darkey who had performed his task well and faithfully
was sure to be rewarded with a kind word, while the darkey who had
slighted his was just as sure to be rewarded with a "cuss" word or two.
After his inspection of the plantation, he went to the store where he
spent the remainder of the day.

There were three cooks in the kitchen, or rather kitchens, for in the
summer the kitchen was moved to cooler quarters in the yard. The little
house in the yard was called the summer kitchen. Maum Mary was the head
cook. Venus and Silvia were her assistants. Each of these had her own
helper. There were several little pickaninnies always at the beck and
call of the cooks and their assistants. These were in training to become
cooks themselves.

There were three boys who served the meals and waited on the long table
during the meals. These boys also had their tasks to do about the house
and were known as house boys. The older children had a nurse who had the
general oversight of them, kept their clothes mended and in order, and
trained their Negro girls. The five older girls (Agnes, who was fifteen
when Judith was born; Sarah, Hortense, Julia, and Mary) all had a girl of
their own. These girls, about the age of their mistresses, were given to
them when they were small. Jim and Mitchell, the two boys, had their own
"niggers" from whom they were inseparable, and Judith had a nurse,
Silvia, to herself.

In addition to the cooks, table boys, nurses, and individual servants,
three or four girls were on hand at all times to do anything that Ole
Miss, Missis, or Marster required done. This huge household was fed from
Squire's kitchen. The Missis, as the slaves called the Squire's wife,
was the mainspring that ran the whole household and kept it regulated.
Besides the house she had charge of the supplies for the plantation
Negroes, which was a man-sized job in itself. She also supervised the
spinning and weaving, not only for the household, but for the whole
plantation as well. The loom house stood in the yard and held the
spinning wheels and looms. In summer the spinning wheels were always
carried out under the trees near the house. Three spinning wheels were
kept running from dawn until dark, summer and winter; and three big looms
were kept clacking to furnish cloth for the plantation. Dye, before the
War, was brought from the North or abroad, and the hanks of yarn from the
spinning wheel were dyed before being carried to the loom. The carders,
too, worked in the yard when the weather was pleasant, preparing the
cotton for the spinning wheel and the clickety-clack of the loom was so
constant that at night little Judy sometimes awoke and was alarmed at the
unnatural stillness and silence. Every garment was cut out by the Missis
herself. Cloth was much too precious to allow anyone else to cut it.
The garments were made by the fingers of women who were not strong enough
for active work. On fine days the seamstresses sat out in the big back
yard under the shade of big trees. Each had her stool and work basket.
On days when the weather did not permit this, the most reliable workers
were allowed to carry their work to their own cabins. The others sewed
in one corner of the large loom house under the supervision of a trusty
old woman.

All the Sunday dresses worn by the family were made of "factory cloth,"
so-called to distinguish it from the cloth woven at home. The best
dresses were always spoken of as Sunday dresses as they were worn chiefly
on Sundays. On his trips to Georgetown or Charleston, the Squire
frequently bought the girls a pretty piece of goods for an extra dress.

All other garments worn, even the Squire's suits were spun, dyed, woven,
cut, and made on the plantation. Judith's mother did a great deal of the
family sewing herself at night after the activities of the day were over.

When Judith was a very little girl, not long before the War, her father
bought a family of slaves at an auction of the Collins estate of the Pee
Dee, a woman with several children. On arrival they were brought to the
house for inspection. There was a little girl, Amy, just the age of
Judith. When Amy's mother saw little Judy, she brought Amy forward and
said, "Dis Lettle Missie maid." And Little Missie's maid she remained,
at her side constantly all day and sleeping on a pallet at her bedside at
night. Henry, one of Amy's brothers, was taken into the house as a house
boy and was one of the best, most faithful servants they had. (Henry
planed a part in Judith's later events found in "Love Story".)

The plantation was an eight horse farm before the war. The original
tract given to Margaret (Johnson) Grier had been added to by the Squire
until a large area adjoining it has been taken. Much of it was swamp and
wood land. The house lot itself consisted of three acres. The Negro
quarters took up as much more while there were outhouses innumerable for
every conceivable purpose.

No money crops were planted, but plenty of food for all; corn, peas,
potatoes, and great fields of cane. Cotton was raised only for home
use. Tobacco had not yet been introduced to the Pee Dee.

Great herds of cattle and droves of hogs, goats, and sheep as well as
flocks of turkeys, geese, ducks, and chickens roamed over the uncleared
land. So the plantation was practically self supporting. Sugar, flour,
and coffee were the only things bought and those were just for use at the
big house and the sick among the slaves. Sugar for the slaves was
obtained by thickening of the cane syrup, for if cooked thick, much of it
will turn to sugar.

The overseer had a cottage about a quarter of a mile from the big house.
He had his own garden, hogs, chickens, and barn. The overseer took his
orders every morning direct from the Squire. He, in turn, transmitted
them to the Negro foreman. He had the general supervision and care of
the whole plantation and hands while at work, although there was little
he was allowed to do on his own initiative, for the Squire directed
everything. This was not so on all plantations. The overseer on most
Southern plantations was generally a man of the lower classes who owned
no land or slaves.

All the shoes worn by the family and the slaves were made at home. The
hides from cattle on the place were tanned and cured by the slaves. None
of the Squire's slaves knew the shoemaker's trade, so he hired two slaves
from a nearby plantation. These were kept busy at work every day in the
little shoe shop.

In the fall the syrup mill ground out sugar cane and cooked the juice.
The Negroes liked to be detailed for this duty. The Squire had corn
ground at a mill on the river for his table use, but the Negroes ground
out their own corn on an old hand mill. Usually a large fire was built
on the street of the quarters, furnishing light as well as heat. Around
this the darkies would gather at night after supper with their corn. As
they turned the mill they would sing. They sang all the old familiar
Negro songs; one they were especially fond of was "Wait for the Wagon."
It started off like this:

"Some Sunday morning I'll wait for my love,
We'll jump in the wagon and all take a ride."

The Squire made a weekly inspection of the Negro quarters. Under his
inspection the yards and all outside premises were kept absolutely
sanitary. The cabins inside were inspected every week by the Mistress
herself. Each cabin had two rooms with a clay chimney at one end. Some
of the cabins had lean-tos or shed rooms built on if the family was a
large one. Every building in the Negro quarters received a coat of
whitewash each year. The buildings were whitewashed inside and out.

There were eighteen or twenty families in these quarters. Each family
had its own garden, potato patch, and chickens. Some even had a hog or
two. This was not allowed on every plantation, but at the Squire's the
darkies took great pride in the possession of their own things. The most
industrious had a little patch of hardy annuals blooming in front of the
cabin and a vine growing over the door. The growing of these was
encouraged by the Mistress, for it helped keep the Negroes contented.

The Mistress took entire charge of all the sick and ailing. The Negroes
were much too valuable to neglect them in any way. If one became ill or
did not respond to simple remedies, the doctor was called in. An old
Negro nurse was installed and the Mistress went to and fro constantly,
giving every dose of medicine herself. Many a night did she sit in one
of the little cabins, watching over the sick and suffering.

When a baby was expected the expectant mother was guarded and watched
over carefully. The Mistress cut every garment herself for the layette,
and had the clothing made by the most careful seamstress on the place,
Maum Hagar. All arrangements for the confinement were directed by her.
Afterwards, both mother and baby received the utmost care and attention.
The mother was fed from the Squire's table for several weeks and often
longer if she or the baby proved delicate. Negro babies were highly
prized. They were more valuable than blooded stock is now. Sometimes
there were as many as twelve babies in a year but each received the same
particular attention.

All the Negro babies and children too young to be in the fields were left
in the big back yard under the shade trees. Two Negro women, too old for
regular field work, under the oversight of Maum Hagar, had charge of
them. The women sat on their stools and sewed as they watched over their
charges. The little boys played with their sticks, rode them as horses,
used them as swords, and found countless other ways of diverting
themselves. The little girls made dolls from sticks. They put a rag
over one end of a stick, tying it close to make a head, and then with
charcoal they drew a face. They made playhouses under the trees, using
all the bits of broken glassware and dishes they could find.

* * * * * * *

Christmas morning as soon as breakfast was over the darkies from the
quarters crowded to the back door of the big house. The house servants
had already greeted each member of the family with "Chris'mas gif, Marsa,
Chris'mas gif, Missis." And each servant had been remembered with a
small gift from each member of the family. The personal servants
received some nice gift from their own master or mistress. Now, as the
Negroes came in from the quarter the family appeared at the door amid
vociferous cries of "Chris'mas gif!" There was a present for each one: a
hat or coat for older men, pipes, tobacco, or something fancy for every
one of the others.

Several hogs were barbecued for the Christmas dinner, to which were added
all the other delicacies which the women had prepared. Each night during
the Christmas week there was a big dance. Everything would be removed
from one cabin. A bonfire would be lit in the yard at a safe distance
from the cabin door. A fire was started in the fireplace of the cabin.
At dusk the crowd began to gather and soon the dance was in full swing.
Between dances the crowd around the fire would add their voices to the
music of the fiddle and the banjo in melodies that could be clearly heard
from the big house. While the dancers were resting, often the active
Negro bucks, who seemed never to tire, would indulge in the buck and wing
dance, the Charleston, or a regular jig. These exhibitions were given
mainly to show off before some girl whose attention the dancer wished to
attract. On New Year's Eve the biggest frolic of all was held, the
winding up of the whole year.

* * * * * * *

There were a few colored pastors and a few scattered churches for
Negroes. But the slaves preferred, when they went to church, to go to
Marsa's church. Always the back seats or the balconies were reserved for
those who wished to come. The Negroes joined the white people's church
and were received in by the white pastors. This was especially true of
the house servants. The field hands attended a little chapel not far
from the plantation.

* * * * * * *

The Squire, who was a magistrate, was often called upon to marry couples,
white as well as black. Judith remembered one night when six couples
came to be married. Henry and Dan, the house boys, stood on each side of
the door with great torches to light the scene.

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