History writer’s work among rare books
By BETTY J. POKAS Times Leader Area EditorArticle Photos
ESSIE COLLINS Matthews, a Barnesville native, undoubtedly was an unusual woman who might be surprised that a book she wrote is now in the rare book section of some universities.
Not familiar with modern technology, she probably would be amazed that the book, "Aunt Phebe, Uncle Tom and Others," has been digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to an Internet archive.
Matthews traveled around the South in a time when women didn't even have the right to vote. Her travels occurred 50 years after the Civil War, and she took photographs in cabins and on plantations and also interviewed former slaves.
The subtitle on her book is "Character Studies of Old Slaves of the South, Fifty Years After."
A University of Virginia Web site (complete with method of capitalization used) notes that Matthews "looks at the issue of slavery in America from a 'Pro-Slavery' perspective. According to the author, this work examines slavery from the 'Southern Viewpoint.' It argues that slavery provided negroes the opportunity to learn a language and become citizens of America. Matthews refers to the relationship between slave and master as a 'tie of love' that could not be understood by those that oppose the institution of slavery. Published in 1915, this rare work includes several photographs of the quality of life for slaves on the plantation."
Dedicating the book to her father, James H. Collins, and to her husband, the Rev. John R. Matthews, she refers to it as a "poor attempt to picture a Truth not understood in the North."
She noted that "thousands of the negroes though slaves no longer lingered with their former masters, working for them and sharing their misfortunes."
According to Matthews, many of the former slaves' "most pleasant recollections (were) of those days before the war when they belonged to somebody and felt no responsibility except for the tasks at which they labored."
One of the former slaves interviewed was Aunt Phebe, who was raised in slavery but became free before the Civil War when her mistresses moved to Fairview on the border of Guernsey and Belmont counties.
Aunt Phebe's picture, according to the book, has been exhibited in photographic salons of Europe and America and has been "admired for the expression of an abiding faith."
Her mother was purchased as a child when a minister and his family were on a Mississippi River steamer, and the minister's two daughters became attached to her and wanted him to buy her. She then was named Prudy Ramsey and lived with the minister's family in Missouri.
Prudy eventually married another slave, and Phebe was one of her children. The minister's daughters moved to Fairview in 1850 but they didn't sell Aunt Purdy and her two daughters (including Phebe) despite straitened circumstances. Although the three women were free, they remained as devoted servants to the Ramsey women.
Matthews also related that Black Mammy was a favorite term of endearment for certain faithful slaves in the Southern households, and her cabin was always within calling distance of the mansion.
Uncle Tom, who lived in Virginia, told Matthews that immense forests of high cane filled the country, which was almost a wilderness, when he arrived in 1840, but now there were fields of oats and alfalfa with other fields broken for cotton and corn.
Of superior intelligence, he didn't remember Halley's Comet or the name of any president, and the only public event that Matthews found fixed in his mind was the "surrender" although it made no substantial change in his life.
Then, there was Uncle Gus, a Confederate soldier, who initially was a bodyguard for his owner's brother during the war. The brother was captured, and Gus entered the fighting lines, sometimes as a teamster and other times in the ranks.
"He tells with pride of having once held General (Stonewall) Jackson's horse and saw General Robert E. Lee come down the line, weeping to see so many of his men slain," Matthews wrote.
Many of those interviewed told of having plenty to eat and everything free "befo' de wah." One added, "Now, we have to pay for eberthing, unless we steals it."
Matthews also noted there no doubt, there were cruel masters but there also are cruel husbands and fathers. She also wrote that on many large plantations, the mistress was the real slave as her life was filled with care and responsibility.
Photos and information about religious life (including some sermons), social life and holidays on the plantations are included in the book.
Although some religious services were in churches, Matthews also tells of a "pray house" where emotions ran high, and the leader too frequently was chosen "not for saintly character but for his ability to lead the crowd in ... emotional excesses."
Matthews includes the courtship and wedding of Miss Flora, who married at the age of 36. It was written by Louise Scott Pyrnelle, and there are "occasional embellishments permitted to all story-tellers."
Miss Flora's master, who was going on a trip, was willing to grant her a favor because of her kindness, and she asked that he bring back a man to marry, adding a "ginger-cake cullud (man) if yo' please."
The courtship initially didn't run smoothly, but a wedding eventually ensued, and Matthews included a picture of Miss Flora dancing in her wedding gown.
Pokas can be reached at timesleader@timesleaderonline.com.
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daddybig8
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02-28-10 3:37 PM
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sounds like life before the civil war was better than now. the south shall rise again. i,m a good ol rebel. the old south had direction. now it,s mass confusion.
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Fizdogg
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02-28-10 2:47 PM
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Highschools should have books such as these on reference in their libraries.
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Katelyn
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02-28-10 11:22 AM
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An absolutely wonderful story, informative and entertaining. Very nice!
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