Slave Narrative

Robby Green

Slave Narrative

The Jones family:

If you are lucky enough to find this and read it, please let me explain your family history; or at least my part of it.

        My name is Paul Jones and I was a slave in Tyler County, Texas for all my life until the emancipation. My master, Robert Brown, treated me and the 15 other slaves rather well compared to the stories I hear about other plantations. My parents were originally from Louisiana, but were sold to Robert Brown when they were both about 30 years old. If it wasn't for them being moved to the Brown plantation in Tyler County, I would have been born on an extremely harsh plantation in Louisiana. My parents showed me their scars from the constant whippings, and told me stories about the various harsh punishments they had to endure. My birth at the Brown’s plantation also led to me meeting the love of my life, Abigail.

        Life on the plantation was not bad in comparison to that of my parents. We were fed three meals a day that were surprisingly tasteful and were of good portions. The meat was fresh enough that it still had enough flavor to be enjoyed and we usually had enough to drink to stay hydrated throughout the day. The Browns provided houses with either 1 or 2 bedrooms, depending if it was for a family, and we were allowed to build a common room for hanging out at night. My work was almost always tending to the fields. We picked cotton until we reached our quota, which depended on the market at the time, so the harder we worked, the more free time we had at night. I tried to help Abigail with her tasks when I could. This left us more time to be with each other.

        Abigail and I fell in love over the years of working and living together on the plantation. We married and had 3 children, John, Patty, and George. If any of you are reading this now I would like to tell you all one more time that I love you. When John was 5, and Patty was 4, George turned 1. This was when the Browns decided that they could not house any more of us, so they had you sold at auction. I was never told any of your destinations, so I dreamt that you all escaped to the north and were free. I dreaded the thought of you all being separated and put on horrible plantations like the one my parents were on. I could only pray that none of you got whipped as bad as they did.

        September of 1862 was the best month of my life. This was the month that the Abraham Lincoln forced the Browns to free Abigail and I, as well as my parents and all the others. My parents moved up north as quickly as they could to get away from the trauma the plantations of the south reminded them of. Abigail and I decided to come back to the Brown’s plantation after we couldn’t find work anywhere else. We were treated even better know and were payed for our work. Several other slaves from the plantation stayed with the Browns because they treated us as people rather than as objects, like some other plantation owners did.