Maryann Austin

November 4, 1856 Its been gettin cold an the marses family been stayin mostly in the south room of the big house.  This mornin Olivia and the marses chillen did stay for some time in the kitchen to avoid the cold. Miss Katherine has put me in charge of the negroes workin in the big house.  A woman couldnt ax for a finer posishun.  I will now be scoolin my own Olivia on all I know bout runnin a fine house.  I dont know of a finer mistress than my miss Katherine. February 10, 1857 Some of the negroes right here on this plantashun is talkin real bad about marse and miss Katherine.  Theys usin our church services for such hateful perposes.  But even us slaves who is inclined to think more Godly thogts about marse is scared to tell him for fear of punishment.  Theres a few whos tryin to spread the hateful feelins to the others.  They sayin that marse is an evil man and that keepin negroes, or any man, is the work of the devil.  Lillys marse w...

July 27, 1856 I discovered wot was the cos of marses foul mood last time I wrote.  Seems the tobacco harvest has brot less then marse spected.  I heard him say so to miss Katherine at supper.  He has decided in the spring to sow wheat and sow less tobacco.  He says that they too many planters plantin tobacco fo him to make no profits at it.  He says wheat will be a better choice of crop. July 29, 1856 My good friend Lilly come to visit today.  I was happy to see her, but soon my happiness turned to sorrow.  Her little girl, the one at the Cambell plantashun, is gone.  The marse of that plantashun sold her off with some other negroes that was of little use to him.  By the time Lillys marse did come to send fo the girl, she was sold an gone.  Cambell says the buyer was a company dealin in the buyin and sellin of negroes, and he has no way of noin where the girl could be.  I believe Lillys marse was truly sorry for the loss, but it...

Fifteen years or so ago, I was assigned a project in a college history class.  It was influential for me.  It made me aware of my interest in writing about people and social issues.  But more than that, it made an indelible mark on me.  It forced me, and hopefully my classmates, to examine and recognize a human plight that had been horribly real.  The task was to examine antebellum and Civil War social issues.  And I attempted to tackle the assignment through the construction of a Slave Diary.  My group counterpart would provide a juxtaposing view through the creation of a diary of a white plantation mistress.                                                                                The legal enslavement of people ended many years ago.  But ther...