The following story may not belong to this Stubblefield family but ist oo precious to let slip away so is placed here for safe keepinguntil t he proper family can be found.
"Mr. and Mrs. Alex Smith, an eighty-three year old negro couple weresl aves in kentucky near Paris, Tennessee, as children. They nowreside a t 127 North Lake Street, on the western limits of South Bend(IN). Thi s couple lives in a little shack patched up with tar paper,tin, and wo od.
Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, the talkative member of the family is a smallwom an, very wrinkled, with a stocking cap pulled over her gray hair.She w ore a dress made of three different print materials; sleeves ofone kin d, collar of another and body of a third. Her front teethwere discolo red, brown stubs, which suggested that she chews tobacco.
Mr. Alex Smith, the husband is tall, though probably he was a wellbuil t man at one time. He gets around by means of a cane. Mrs.Smith said t hat he is not at all well, and he was in the hospital forsix weeks las t winter.
The wife, Elizabeth or Betty, as her husband calls her, was a slave ont he Peter Stubblefield plantation in Kentucky, the nearest town beingPa ris, Tennessee, while Mr. Smith was a slave on the RobertStubblefield p lantation nearby.
Although only a child of five, Mr. Smith remembers the Civil War,espec ially the marching of thousands of soldiers, and the horse-drawnartill ery wagons. The Stubblefields freed their slaves the firstwinter afte r the war.
On the Peter Stubblefield plantation the slaves were treated very wella nd had plenty to eat, while on the Robert Sutbblefield plantationMr. S mith went hungry many times, and said, "Often, I would see a dogwith a b it of bread, and I would have been willing to take it fromhim if I had n ot been afraid the dog would bite me."
Mrs. Smith was named for Elizabeth Stubblefield, a relative of PeterSt ubblefield. As a child of five years or less, Elizabeth had tospin "l ong reels five cuts a day," pick seed from cotton, and cockleburrs fro m wool, and perform the duties of a house girl.
Unlike the chores of Elizabeth, Mr. Smith had to chop wood, carrywater , chop weeds, care for cows, pick bugs from tobacco plants.This littl e boy had to go barefoot both summer and winter, andremembers the crac king of ice under his bare feet.
The day the mistress and master came and told the slaves they werefree t o go any place they desired, Mrs. Smith's mother told her laterthat sh e was glad to be free but she had no place to go or any moneyto go wit h. Many of the slaves would not leave and she neverwitnessed such cry ing as went on. Later Mrs. Smith was paid forworking. She worked in t he fields for 'wittels' and clothes. A fewyears later she nursed chil dren for twenty-five cents a week and'wittels,' but after a time she r eceived fifty cents a week, boardand two dresses. She married Mr. Smi th at the age of twenty.
Mr. Smith's father rented a farm and Mr. Smith has been a farmer allhi s life. The Smith couple have been married sixty-four years. Mrs.Smi th says, 'and never a cross word exchanged. Mr. Smith and I hadno chi ldren.'
The room the writer was invited into was a combination bed-room andliv ing room with a large heating stove in the centre of the smallroom. A b ed on one side, a few chairs about the room. The floor wascovered wit h an old patched rug. The only other room beside thisroom was a very s mall kitchen. The whole home was shabby and poor.
The only means of support the family has is a government old agepensio n which amounts to about fourteen dollars a month.
Their little shack is situated in the center of a large lot aroundwhic h a very nice vegetable garden is planted. The property belongsto Mr. H arry Brazy, and the old couple does not pay rent or taxes andthey may s tay there as long as they live, 'which is good enough forus,' says Mrs . Smith.
As the writer was leaving Mrs. Smith said, 'I like to talk and meetpeo ple. Come again.'"
By Henrietta Karwowski, Field Worker, Federal writer's Project, St.Jos eph County, District #1, South Bend, Indiana.
Residences & events:
1786-1787 Bryan Station, Fayette Co, KY. They migrated north.
2/4/1799 He was mentioned in the will of William Parker Jr, probablya s his son-in-law.
1838 Washington Co, KY. Robert, at age 89 gave deposition in thematt er of the pension claim of on John Cammach, stating he waspresent at t he marriage between John and Nancy Miller in Caroline Co,VA, long befo re the Revolutionary War.
