Vilet's Diary Continued
June 14, 1859
Tonight Solomon and Gorgia jumped ovah the broomstick. Now theys man an wife. It be a good thing when two peeples is in love and they promis to watch ova one another. But when Negroes gets wed, they no it aint real. They do it so they has somebody, but they no that a white man can seprate them at any time and fo no reason. This is what happen to me an my husbin Josef. I did love Josef. He was kine to me and kine to our baby. Josef was a free man. They was a law in Virginia that sed he had to leave o go into slavery. It nevuh was a queston to us if Josef wud stay here as a slave. I cud lose him as much as a slave as I did wid him a free man. We node he had to go.
October 22, 1859
At our church services they was talk bout that John Brown man who was livin in Maryland. Seems he been takin by the soljers. They say that last week he tried to take some guns from a place called Hoppers Ferry. Dis was a white man figtin for us Negroes! They say his own sons died in the figtin. I think the man will be hangin soon. I don’t know much sept what I hear from the otha slaves. But I no how the white folk round here feel bout protectin they property. I magin they think less o that man than they do o the Negroes themselves.
December 22, 1860
Today Olivia an me made Chrismas candys wid miss Katherine and her little girl. Missy gave some o it to us, and I think she gave some to old Kitt. While we was in the kitchen, we got wud that south calina seeded from the union. I aint sho what that means, but I’m pretty sho it means that the people in calina aint happy wid the ideas o the Yankees.
Tonight Solomon and Gorgia jumped ovah the broomstick. Now theys man an wife. It be a good thing when two peeples is in love and they promis to watch ova one another. But when Negroes gets wed, they no it aint real. They do it so they has somebody, but they no that a white man can seprate them at any time and fo no reason. This is what happen to me an my husbin Josef. I did love Josef. He was kine to me and kine to our baby. Josef was a free man. They was a law in Virginia that sed he had to leave o go into slavery. It nevuh was a queston to us if Josef wud stay here as a slave. I cud lose him as much as a slave as I did wid him a free man. We node he had to go.
October 22, 1859
At our church services they was talk bout that John Brown man who was livin in Maryland. Seems he been takin by the soljers. They say that last week he tried to take some guns from a place called Hoppers Ferry. Dis was a white man figtin for us Negroes! They say his own sons died in the figtin. I think the man will be hangin soon. I don’t know much sept what I hear from the otha slaves. But I no how the white folk round here feel bout protectin they property. I magin they think less o that man than they do o the Negroes themselves.
December 22, 1860Today Olivia an me made Chrismas candys wid miss Katherine and her little girl. Missy gave some o it to us, and I think she gave some to old Kitt. While we was in the kitchen, we got wud that south calina seeded from the union. I aint sho what that means, but I’m pretty sho it means that the people in calina aint happy wid the ideas o the Yankees.
