According to "Parson" Williams, they are both more
than a century old and are in fairly good health. Besides his children
and a brother and a sister, Williams has several grandchildren,
great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren living.
President Lincoln, Williams says, was looked upon by many slaves as a
messenger from heaven. Of course, many slave masters were kind and
considerate, but to most slaves they were just a driver and the slaves
were work horses for them. Only once during his lifetime does Williams
recall tasting whisky, when his cousin bought a pint. It cost three
cents in those days. He said his mother used to make beer out of
persimmons and cornhusks, but they don't make it any more, so he doesn't
even drink beer now. He would much rather have a good cigar. He has
since a boy, smoked a pipe.
By special permission of plantation owners in Prince Georges, St. Marys,
Baltimore and other counties in Maryland, he was often permitted to
visit the darkeys and conduct a religious meeting in their cabins. He
usually wore a long-tailed black "Kentucky" suit with baggy trousers and
sported a cane.
Usually when servants or slaves in those days found themselves happy and
contented, it was because they were born under a lucky star. As for
eating, they seldom got chicken, mostly they ate red herring and
molasses--they called black strap molasses. They were allowed a herring
a day as part of their food.
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