slavery in navasota, texas I 'members dat. "Somebody run 'way all de time and hide in de woods till dere gut pinch dem and den dey have to come back and git somethin' to eat. One day I's makin' a bonfire in de yard and ketch my dress on fire. Navasota retains a number of historic Victorian homes on Washington Avenue, the main residential and commercial thoroughfare through town. "How you carries on! None of us knows what to do, dere warn't no place to go and why would we'uns wan' to go and leave good folks like de marster? "Then when I was eight years old they sold me. Web1 language. June 20, 2012, Federal agents return to Navasota along with Navasota Police and arrest 21 area residents for drug trafficking. Washington County. Firearms, Crack cocaine and other drugs seized. Many men were left dead and many were wounded after this little known battle, perhaps the greatest race battle ever fought in Texas. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Navasota, Texas, "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015", "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Navasota city, Texas", "Navasota, Texas Awarded Membership in Union Pacific's Train Town USA Registry", "Day 68 73: Cleveland to Austin, TX - Vague Direction", "Navasota memorabilia for municipal building", "Frank Augustus Hamer - Navasota, TX - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com", "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin", The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Navasota,_Texas&oldid=1149483302, Articles with dead external links from April 2020, Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from August 2022, Articles needing cleanup from August 2022, Articles with bare URLs for citations from August 2022, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from August 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Articles needing additional references from March 2023, All articles needing additional references, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 April 2023, at 14:42. Dey done took all de rations and us couldn't eat de cotton. Dey go in de barn and holp deyself. It jes' slip out. Den us go to Houston and Louisiana for a spell and I hires out to cook. Old cotton, old corn, hoe you till dawn, He allus like my mother, so I guess he do it for her. "If you's lookin' for Ann Hawthorne, dis is me. Course, I ain't blamin' you for it, but what you done say 'bout all de plantations havin' schools was wrong, so I jes' had to tell you I been a slave myself. "De only thing I 'members 'bout all dat, am dere am lots of cryin' when dey tooks me 'way from my mammy. Ole mistus giv me my bedstead, one of her purtiest ones, and de set dishes and glasses us eat de weddin' dinner outta. Navasota sits approximately 20 miles south of Bryan-College Station. I worked for some white people and then went to Houston and it wasn't nothing but a mudhole. Slavery was integral to the local economy as planters depended on enslaved African Americans to labor for their large plantations. I dunno 'bout wedder dey come back or not 'cep'n' I 'member dat Crab Norsworthy he come back. We couldn't help stick to our masters. The investigation started after an out-of-town newspaper (The Eagle) in Brazos County reported on the possible corruption. Slaves were a large part of the local economy, as they were imported, traded and used to work in the many local cotton plantations. If every mother's son of a black had thrown 'way his hoe and took up a gun to fight for his own freedom along with the Yankees, the war'd been over before it began. Whereas nearby Washington on the Brazos protested the coming of the rails, the old historic town forfeited its geographic advantage, and it began to decline as many of its businesses and residences began a sure migration to the new railhead across the Brazos River at Navasota. Dat am de fireworks. "Mr. Swanson use to own de big plantation in Palestine. De shoemaker make all de shoes and fix de leather, too. When he 'bout wo' out and ready to die, den he come. De white preacher talk 'bout Christ. asked the interviewer. She wore silk hose with the heels completely worn out of them. When us chillun git sick dey git yarbs or dey give us castor oil and turpentine. His place was our home. Navasota was one of 70 (out of over a thousand) cities in Texas to receive the Gold status. Daughter, I don' want dat hat you got dere. He allus brung me somethin', jus' like I he own little gal. [4] The industrial sector of the community boasts 23 companies and over 1,200 jobs. But I's had two strokes and I ain't able to go to town no mo'. I don' 'member dat dey give us no presents. She have to 'pend on de overseer and it warn't like massa keep things runnin'. Us have singin' and 'joyment all day. My sister born dere. We listen and de overseer whisper under de door and told my mother dat she free but not to tell nobody. The bust was donated to the city by the French government in 1978. My ma was name Ca'line after ol' mistus. I can't holp it 'cause rations am short and I'll do all I can for you. "I only 'members after de war, and most de cullud folks stays with Massa Buford after surrender and works de land on shares. ", "I tell dese chillun here dey ain't know nuffin'. Mistus was so lil' she couldn' lif' me but she fin'ly git me to bed. In December 2010 Navasota residents and the town paper reported the appearance of wild hogs in downtown Navasota. Horlock Art Gallery History Museum is one of the best things to do in Navasota Texas. Washington County I seen the dogs on the trail a whole day and still not catch 'em. Dey wasn't so bad after women. "Right after de baby killin', sojers with blue coats comes dere and camps front of Massa Buford's place and pertects de cullud folks. The population was 6,789 at the 2000 census. After de ole marster die dey both work in de fiel' and raise plenty vegetables to can and eat. The house was built by Alabama native Robert Augustus Horlock in 1892. Cook says, 'If a houn' got 'em, 'twas a two-legged one, 'cause de plate am gone, too.' e. The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its I went and he told me goodbye, 'cause he was goin' to run away in a few days. "The ranch went on jus' like it always had before the war. 'Course, Will ain't so young heself, but he's born after de war and I's born durin' slavery, so dat make me older. John C. Webb Elementary exceeded state targets in Student Progress and Post-Secondary Readiness. I can' 'member my fust marster's name, 'cause when I's 'bout two years ole, me and my sis, 'bout five, and our mammy was sol' to Marster John Henderson. ", "I tell you I never hear nuthin' 'bout chu'ch 'till way atter freedom. Weapons and stolen property recovered. She weave all de time for ol' marster. Narratives tagged "Navasota" | Slavery in Texas Lawmen had to hide and watch, and often were afraid of the streets at night. Marster never crowded us 'bout de wo'k, and never give any of us whuppin's. Dere am three women what do dat, and give us de meals in de long shed with de long tables. We thought we was goin' to be richer than the white folks, 'cause we was stronger and knowed how to work, and the whites didn't and they didn't have us to work for them anymore. The Enslaved in Nashville - Tennessee State University They didn't meet 'cept when they heered the Klu Kluxes was coming to get some cullud folks. "I 'members seein' Faith Baldwin and Jeb Johnson and Dan Hester gittin' whupped by de Klux. In de winter time dey fed us in de kitchen. Dey hab a big san' pile for me to play in, but I never play with any other chillen. Nothin' was different. I holp my mother dust and clean up de house and peel 'tatoes. We thought we was goin' to get rich like the white folks. Several native-stone churches also remain near downtown, with distinctive Victorian fronts. We'uns cullud folks jined in and was singin' out in de back, 'Massa's in de Col', Har' Groun'. Dey comes sev'ral times to Alex' house but never cotches him. I lubs my co'nbread. You never knowed what he gwine to do. In July 2009, a successful business owner was killed inside his liquor store by armed robbers. "How did we know it! [Handwritten Note: '?'] I ain't no flour-bread eater. I been always trying to help my people to rise 'bove their station and they are rising all the time, and some day they'll be free.". A tree am fix, and some present for everyone. "Everybody went wild. Alex Buford don't sleep in de house for one whole summer. After while, de Yankee sojers comes and takes some more. My father come nex' day and jine us. She uster weave all us clo's. Cotton was twenty and thirty cents a pound then. My gramma toted de key to dat smokehouse and ol' mistus she'd tell her what to go and git for de white folks and de cullud folks. I's sev'ral times needed a whuppin', but de marster never gives dis nigger more'n a good scoldin'. I stays with dem till 1875 and den marries Navasota Robert Grice and us live by farmin' till he die, nine year since. I had old Buster, a ox, and he took me about plenty good as a horse. Such goods were shipped south by rail to Galveston, where they could be transported by steamboat along the Texas coast and up the Mississippi River to the war effort or exported to Mexico or overseas to Europe. WebSlaves were a large part of the local economy, as they were imported, traded and used to work in the many local cotton plantations. It am heap of change since den. "When he was a-dyin', marster calls me to his bed and says, 'My dyin' reques' is dat yous be taken to your mama.' "De earlies' 'membrance I hab is when de ole marster drive into de town for supplies every two weeks. He wouldn't have you if you did. Its application scored 17 of 20 points. They are unmarked as far as she knows. But we didn't do it. I don't know why he done it. Molly lives at 3218 Ave H., Galveston, Texas. Course, dey got beat, but dat didn't worry dem none, and it not long till dey gone 'gain. Den us jis' play 'roun' lots of times anyt'ing what happen to come up in our min's. ", "I heerd 'bout dem broom-stick marriages, but I ain't never seed none. The police acted on those concerned citizens' complaints by getting a search warrant for the tattoo and nail salon at Lasalle located about 100 yards from the Police Station and City Hall. "'Union forever, Once, dey bang two whole days 'thout hardly stoppin'. ", "Dey was a gin and cotton press on de place. Den when I 'cide to marry Bob Thomas, she he'p me fix a hope ches'. "Why dey comes so many times round dere, am 'cause de second time dey comes, Jane Bensom am dere. The blast killed a number of people and started a fire that destroyed much of the original downtown. I 'member though, dat my pa uster drive a team for ol' marster. When eight years old he was sold for $1,150 [Handwritten Note: '?'] [9], In August 2013, Navasota was named a Go Texan "Certified Retirement Community" by the Texas Department of Agriculture.[10]. De marster and his boy, Marster Ben, jined de army. It was the endin' of it that made the difference. slavery Yes, maybe it was a black widow spider, but we called it the 'devil biter'. "When I's 16 year ole I want to hab courtin'. I was 'bout 10 or 12 year' ol' when freedom riz up. Then they knocked their brains out and threw 'em in the river. It is 71 miles (114km) northwest of Houston. Many Navasota citizens, including the mayor, fled to escape the disease, and the town's population dropped by about 50 percent. But us don't leave Massa John, us go right on workin' for him like 'fore. De weddin' feas' was strawberry ice cream and yaller cake. De year 'fore surrender, us am short of rations and sometime us hongry. De sojers done took de rations. I uster be glad when summer time come so's I could go barefoot. Then there was neighbors went off to fight. John Richard Parker Slavery was integral to the local economy. ", "Dey was a cullud man what mek shoes for de slaves to wear in de winter time. Two of dem am burnt purty bad. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and free She let me go to ice cream supper, too. He served as marshal until 1911. He wouldn' sell him to Marse Norsworthy when he come to Texas. My mother and sister run away to the Yankees and they paid 'em big money to wash for 'em. WebThe key to African Americans political ascension in Texas was Reconstruction, the federal governments post-Civil War effort to rebuild the South and protect the rights of One in Palestine marry a nigger slave and buy her from her master. Eb'ry chile hab a side of watermilion. Everyone was a-singin'. I 'most forgot it myself till you got round me jes' den. ", "You wants to tek my picture? About 23.8% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.7% of those under age 18 and 24.0% of those age 65 or over. Twenty-four year old Frank Hamer resigned from the Texas Rangers to become the City Marshal and moved in and created law and order. Den I goes to Fort Worth and takes a job cookin' in de Gran' Hotel for three years. He was a member of the large Parker frontier family that settled in east Texas State Highway 6 passes northsouth through the eastern side of the city as a four-lane bypass, leading northwest 22 miles (35km) to College Station and south 21 miles (34km) to Hempstead. Massa Buford says de trader comes from Missouri, but if I is born dere I don't know. Dat de way us uster do and go 'roun' and 'roun' singin' our li'l jumped up songs. After the Civil War, Pierce farmed a small place near Snow Hill and saw many raids of the Klu Klux Klan. "It's a funny thing how folks always want to know about the War. Investigators looked into if the Navasota Police Employee falsified government records during the city's hiring process for the dispatcher and police officer positions. James, known as Uncle Jim, seems happy, still stands erect, and is very active for his age. They had a vermifuge weed. Grimes County Unveiling the Stories of Black State Senators in Post-Civil War If dey sick, dey didn't habe to work and he give dem de med'cine hisself. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,643 people, 2,661 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. Dey give us milk in a sep'rate vessel, and dey give eb'ryone a slice of meat in our greens. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males. [4] In 2005, the Texas Legislature designated Navasota as the "Blues Capital of Texas" in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician.[5]. WILLIAM HAMILTON belonged to a slave trader, who left him on the Buford plantation, near Village Creek, Texas. High Point Elementary exceeded state targets in Student Progress, Student Achievement, Closing Performance Gaps, and Post-Secondary Readiness.[22]. One thing about 'em, they get educated, but there's not much for them to do when they get finished with school but walk the streets now. I had a aunt what was de weaver. Dat am when missy go tech in de head, 'cause massa and de boys in dat battle. Sometimes you didn't knowed it was goin' on. I mean dat de las' time I heard of 'em dey was livin'. So I come back to San Antonio and I got a job through Colonel Breckenridge with the waterworks. Navasota, Texas - History - LiquiSearch Den I goes to Dallas and cooks for private families, and wo'ks for Marster James Ellison for 30 years. It swelled up my head and stuff came out. Art has increasingly become the concern of the artist and the bafflement of the public.Henry Geldzahler (19351994), The only thing worse than a liar is a liar thats also a hypocrite!There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.Edmond De Goncourt (18221896). Mr. John Henderson bought the place, six slaves and James and his mother. "She all 'lone in de big house and I think it break her heart. ", "Dat was a big plantation. I has to stay and I's been here ever since. [21], The Navasota Independent School District includes five traditional campuses and one academic alternative school campus. I never see her no mo'. "He lived in a brick house in town and had two-three slaves 'sides me. "Durin' the Spanish-American War I went to Washington, D.C., to see my sister and got in the soldier business. Marster asks us to come in and sing dat for de white folks, so we'uns goes in de house and sings dat for de white folks and dey jines in de chorus. Dey go in de stables and turn out de white folks' hosses and run off what dey don't take for deyself. All us cookin' done in de big kitchen. We all felt like heroes and nobody had made us that way but ourselves. Massa Buford say, 'Yes,' and de trader say he'll be back in 'bout three weeks, soon as he sells all the slaves. In the late 1990s Citizens for Action in Navasota (C.A.N. I can't stan' much sun. Sometime den us go to chu'ch. ", "Dey didn' know nuffin' 'bout preachin' and Sunday School in dem times. "Dat all changed after massa go to war. Dere's six slaves on dat place and I coul' beat dem all a-hoein'. Many buildings were damaged, including the post office. Us place was right near Col' Springs. Marster give me de wors' scoldin' I ever has and dat larned me a lesson. But when dey was livin' in Geo'gy, my ma marry a man name' Hawthorne in Geo'gy. If anyone has information on this cemetery, please let us know. Us hab chicken and all kinds of good things. She jus' walk 'round de yard and twist de hands and say, 'Dey sho' git kilt. Run, kitty, run.'. Nobody took our homes away, but right off colored folks started on the move. He treat dis lil' darky jus' like he own chile, 'cause he never hab any chillen of his own. WebName index of slave schedules from the 1860 Census of the United States. Now, Will, dat de man I's marry to, am younger'n me but he don't know it. My foreman was Tom Flaniganhe must have been a full-blooded Frenchman! A white man with great charm and political skill, he enjoyed a great deal of the black vote, which made up almost half of the population, and managed to get himself elected along with a number of black candidates. Parker In 2005, the Texas Legislature named the city "The Blues Capital of Texas," in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician. Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weatherreports, maps & tropical weather conditions for the Navasota area. I State Football Champions in 2014. FELIX HAYWOOD is a temperamental and whimsical old Negro of San Antonio, Texas, who still sees the sunny side of his 92 years, in spite of his total blindness. If he cotch dem tryin' play off sick, den he lay into dem, or if he cotch dem loafin'. When it's over, de Marster comes home and dey holds a big celebration. Men you thought was your friend was Klu Kluxes and you'd deal with 'em in stores in the daytime and at night they'd come out to your house and kill you. De women folks was proud of dere men folks, but dey was powerful grieved. Pauline married Navasota Grice in 1875 and they moved to Texas in 1917. They'd hide in the cabins and then's when they found out who a lot of them Klu Kluxes was, 'cause a lot of 'em was kilt. "She can't sell de cotton. "In de old days, if de niggers wants de party, massa am de big toad in de puddle. De ol' mistus she a pretty good doctor. "My mistus hav lots of company. I run errands and kept the yard clean, things a little boy could do. We would hear about 'em and how they was goin' to be Mexicans. TSHA | Reynolds, Mary Vaughn This time it is initiated by the Grimes County District Attorney. Reported by the Navasota Examiner. That was followed in 1867 by an even more dangerous epidemic of yellow fever. Slavery was greater in the south because of the lands environmental conditions, which allowed the growth of multiple kinds of WebSlavery in Texas is a co-curricular project sponsored by the History Department and Center for Community Engagement at Sam Houston State University. He mus' still be sellin' 'em, 'cause he never comes back so far and there I am and my folks am took on, and I is too li'l to 'member 'em, so I never knows my pappy and mammy. He mek 'em outer rough red russet ledder. Some of 'em didn't want to go. After September 1859, when the Houston and Texas Central Railway built rails through the town, Navasota became an important shipping and marketing center for the surrounding area. Every Sunday morning the undertaker hitched up a buggy and went downtown to collect the bodies he expected to find after another wild Saturday night. The young folks is makin' their mark now. The 2,805 housing units averaged 435.0 per square mile (167.9/km2). He use to live in a plain, wood house on de Palestine road. "Dey use to have de little whip dey use on de women. All de time de men's away, I could tell Missy Elline and her mamma was worried. I stayed there a while and got married. August 10, 2011 Arrests made for rioting in Navasota, assault of peace officer under investigation. An Anglo-Texas man of Scots-Irish descent who suffered being kidnapped from his natural family at the age of five by a Native American raiding party, he returned to the Native American people of his own free will after being ransomed back from the Comanche. Pierce attended a Negro school after he was grown, learned to read and write, and is interested in the betterment of his race. She's wo'kin' for Jack Ditto and I's pleased to see her. The Klu Kluxes went to the jailor's house and got the jail key and got them men out and carried 'em to the River Bridge, in the middle. Dey was cut straight and wid long waist and dey button down de back. http://www.navasotaexaminer.com/news/article_93b2ddca-bf19-11e1-af8d-0019bb2963f4.html, Read more about this topic: Navasota, Texas, Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit.Matthew Arnold (18221888), The history of modern art is also the history of the progressive loss of arts audience. Navasota was founded in 1831 as the stagecoach stop of Nolansville. Den he die and lef' me wid eight chillun. I uster sneak sugar out de barrel to feed Julie. Washington on the Brazos Historical Foundation is hosting a Texas Independence Day Celebration Saturday, Feb. 29, from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m., 2400 Park Grimes County, Texas: Genealogy, Census, Vital Records Texas Its name was changed in 1858 to Navasota, a name perhaps derived from the Native American word nabatoto (muddy water). This led to the formation of numerous private militias, and ultimately during the late 1860s the KKK in Navasota, and on one occasion a tense confrontation between federal soldiers and a crowd of local white citizens occurred there. Missy Elline, she fainted. NISD offers instructional support for learners through a variety of programs such as Advanced Academics/GT, Dual Credit College Classes, Dyslexic Services, English as a Second Language Support, Program 504 Support, Special Services for needs such as speech, learning disabilities, and other health impairments, Pre-Kindergarten Classes, Tiered Supports through RtI, and an Academic Alternative School. We used to laugh at that. Den I know he almos' home and I holler and wave my han' and he holler and wave he han' right back. We rented a little house and my mother took in washing and ironing. I druv all through Pennsylvania and Virginia and South Carolina for the gov'ment. Perhaps the greatest and most publicized violence was around the turn of the century, during the rise of the Populist Party in Grimes County, and the election of Populist candidate Garrett Scott for County Sheriff. "When you ask me is I Pierce Harper, you kind of 'sprised me. ", "In good wedder dey feed us under a big tree out in de yard. We got our lickings, but just the same we got our fill of biscuits every time the white folks had 'em. I wish I had one of dem ol' time go'ds now to drink my milk outer. John was my father. I says, 'Why say molasses when I's got no 'lasses.' They was cattle that they belonged to, all right; they had gone to find water 'long the San Antonio River and the Guadalupe. Luther Unit and the Wallace Pack Unit in an unincorporated area in Grimes County near Navasota. Lots of white folks comes and dey eats and drinks wine, dey sings and dances. [1] Of the The census of 1850 reported 58,161 slaves, 27.4 percent of the 212,592 people in Texas, and the census of 1860 enumerated 182,566 slaves, 30.2 percent of the total population. Marster and all de folks comes in and sets down, and he asks for de biscuits, and I's under de house and could hear 'em talk. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. In 2013, the British documentary project known as Vague Direction visited Navasota and interviewed local residents Misslette The Singing Cowgirl and hog trapper Steve Stribling.[11]. He was born and bred a slave in St. Hedwig, Bexar Co., Texas, the son of slave parents bought in Mississippi by his master, William Gudlow. As of 2018, the population of the town was an estimated 7,715 people. It was my job, after dark, listenin' for dem Klux, den I gits under de bed. Dere was jis' one room and one family to de cabin. ", "I never git marry 'till way atter freedom come. I knowed you was white man when you comes up the path and speaks. She does not know her age, but from her appearance and the details she remembers of her years as slave in the Slade home, near Cold Springs, Texas, she must be very old. When dey gits through, dey ain't much more tookin' to be done. Hamer faced down, chased down, and beat down the Navasota toughs until the streets were quiet, and children could once again go downtown. The C.A.N. Hamer moved in and imposed law and order, prosecuting Navasota criminals until the town became safe again. When dey took her away, I's powerful grieved. Not long afterward, the town was struck by a deadly cholera epidemic.
