Her master Lancaster Jamison was a very kind man and never mistreated his slaves.  He was a man of mediocre means, and instead of having a large plantation as was usual in those days, he ran a boarding house, the revenue therefrom furnishing him substance for a livelihood.  He had a small farm from which fresh produce was obtained to supply the needs of his lodgers.  Mary’s family were his only slaves.  The family consisted of her mother, father, brother and a sister.  The children called the old master “Fa” and their father “Pappy.”  The master never resented this appellation, and took it in good humor.  Many travelers stopped at his boarding house; Mary’s mother did the cooking, her father “tended” the farm, and Mary, her brother and sister, did chores about the place.  There was a large one-room house built in the yard in which the family lived.  Her father had a separate garden in which he raised his produce, also a smokehouse where the family meats were kept.  Meats were smoked in order to preserve them.

During the day Mary’s father was kept so busy attending his master’s farm that there was no time for him to attend to a little farm that he was allowed to have.  He overcame this handicap, however, by setting up huge scaffolds in the field which he burned and from the flames that this fire emitted he could see well enough to do what was necessary to his farm.

The master’s first wife was a very kind woman; at her death Mary’s master moved from Pensacola to Columbia County.

Mary was very active with the plow, she could handle it with the agility of a man.  This prowess gained her the title of “plow girl.”

COOKING.

Stoves were unknown and cooking was done in a fireplace that was built of clay, a large iron rod was built in across the opening of the fireplace on which were hung pots that had special handles that fitted about the rod holding them in place over the blazing fire as the food cooking was done in a moveable oven which was placed in the fireplace over hot coals or corn cobs.  Potatoes were roasted in ashes.  Oft’ times Mary’s father would sit in front of the fireplace until a late hour in the night and on arising in the morning the children would find in a corner a number of roasted potatoes which their father had thoughtfully roasted and which the children readily consumed.

LIGHTING SYSTEM.

Matches were unknown; a flint rock and a file provided the fire.  This occured by striking a file against a flint rock which threw off sparks that fell into a wad of dry cotton used for the purpose.  This cotton, as a rule, readily caught fire.  This was fire and all the fire needed to start any blaze.

WEAVING.

The white folk wove the cloth on regular looms which were made into dresses for the slaves.  For various colors of cloth the thread was dyed.  The dye was made by digging up red shank and wild indigo roots which were boiled.  The substance obtained being some of the best dye to be found.