"I have been told that the Dorseys' farm contained about 3500 acres, on
which were 75 slaves. We had no overseers. Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey managed
the farm. They required the farm hands to work from 7 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.;
after that their time was their own.
"There were no jails nor was any whipping done on the farm. No one was
bought or sold. Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey conducted regular religious services
of the Catholic church on the farm in a chapel erected for that purpose
and in which the slaves were taught the catechism and some learned how
to read and write and were assisted by some Catholic priests who came to
the farm on church holidays and on Sundays for that purpose. When a
child was born, it was baptised by the priest, and given names and they
were recorded in the Bible. We were taught the rituals of the Catholic
church and when any one died, the funeral was conducted by a priest, the
corpse was buried in the Dorseys' graveyard, a lot of about 1-1/2 acres,
surrounded by cedar trees and well cared for. The only difference in the
graves was that the Dorsey people had marble markers and the slaves had
plain stones.
"I have never heard of any of the Dorseys' slaves running away. We did
not have any trouble with the white people.
"The slaves lived in good quarters, each house was weather-boarded and
stripped to keep out the cold. I do not remember whether the slaves
worked or not on Saturdays, but I know the holidays were their own.
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