The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not wa
Note: This recording is available upon request. This is the second part of a two part recording; it begins with Mabel Scott singing along with a record playing Little Rosewood Casket. At 8:33 she sings Two Little Children, a sorrowful song about two orphaned children, followed by The Eastbound Train. Afterward, she describes the history of these, plus a couple other, folk songs. She then recounts stories about her childhood and the community where she grew up, including when her family played records on the grafonola, when she and her sister carried five pounds of sugar on the train to Elberton for their aunts fox grape jelly, and a ghost story about her grandfathers brother. At 49:24 she sings a short lullaby that includes Tanny Bogus, the buggerman (commonly called the boogeyman). She also mentions Soap Sally, an urban legend about an old woman who kidnaps runaway children and turns them into soap. She then describes a superstition about how licking ones finger and then making a wish upon seeing a white horse can bring good luck. In the transcript, Shade Hinkle retells a story about a witch originally told by his mother, who traveled from Eastern Tennessee to Indiana in a wagon with her family. The family encountered a strange woman who told her oldest brother to shoot at squirrels in the trees. When he didnt hit any squirrels, he determined she was a witch. The transcript also includes a recipe for Pokeberry wine as a cure for arthritis.
Shade Shadrick Hinkle (1889-1983) was born in Jasper, Tennessee, to William Sherman H. Hinkle (1863-1942) and Nancy Emma Brady (1859-1924). He married Nancy Ellie McQuary (1888-1971), and the couple had three children: Alfred Hinkle (1911-?), Lizzie Elizabeth Hinkle (1914-1995), and Ida Emma Hinkle Graham (1919-2017). Additional biographical information has not been determined.
Buggerman; Family history
Conversation And Some Sentimental Ballads From North Georgia and Tennessee by L.D. Skinkle for John Burrison English 307 9:00am "Well, sit back and take your enjoys." (Mabel) Two Little Children (Mabel sin~s) Two little children, aboy and a girl, was on an old church door. The little girls feLt were as brown as the curls that hung on the dress th't she wore. The 1ittle boys clothes were all tattered and torn, The tears shone in his blue eyes. Why dont YOll go home to your mother my dear? And this was the maidens reply: "Mother's in heaven, tley took her away, left Jim and I all alone. We come here to sleep at the close of the day For we have no mother , nor horne." "Father got drownded on sea l'">ng ago, We waited all night on the shore. But he was a sea loving captain, you know And he neve" came home anymore." The sexton came early to ring the church bell. He found them beneath the snow white. The angels made room for two orphans to dwell, in Heaven, with mother that night. followed by The Eastbound Train r '\ The eastbound train was crowded, , one cold Dec~mber night. The conductor shollted,"Ticketl" In an old time fashioned way A little girl in silence, her head hung down in shame, she says I have no ticket, And then her story told: "My father, he's in prison, he's lost his sight, they say. I'm going for a pardon, This cold dece~ber day. My mother's daily washing, she tries to earn our bread, and my poor, dear, old, blind daddy's in prison, almost dead The conductor could not answer. He could not make reply, but with his shaking rough hand, wi"ed teardrops from his eye. He said God Bless you, little one, just stay right where you are. You'll never need a ticket, while I am on this car. "He's a good ol'man", (Mabel comments dryly) , "We had an 01' wind-up v~ctrola-graphonolas, what we ~alled it--graphonola. We had stacks of those records and that wuz one of 'em. 'You'll never need a ticket, while I am on this car-- just stay right where you air-' air-- that mountain, they wuz from, oh, back in the hills. (The Carter Family, from which this particular song was learned) j).+I-I) fA'. ,r;.1 f oL!/,(f~ )', A "f ~~ +t...In,t ~(L:,. * * * ) ( Mabel continues) "And Aunt Bonnie got Foxgrapes an' made Mamma Jelly, And I nev~r will forget us goin' down on the Elberton train-that was a little 01' local train between here and ~lberton. And honestly, in those days we didnt have cars- nobody had cars and we carried th,t sugar on the train and when we got aWf-Lollella and I, my si~ter, and I went down, wuz gonna carry the sugar for Aint Bonnie to make the jelly and we got awf at Royst,n and we had to walk to Franklin Springs, which uz, I dont know, guess it was about five miles out frbm Elberton- I mean Royston, and we walked miles- it seemed like we walked miles- going in the opposite direction, goin' toward Elberton, c~rryin' our SUitcase and that five pounds of sugar for Aint Bonnie to make Mamma's foxgrll'pe jelly." "Did yo" get lost? (queries L.D. Skinkle) (~label) " DB Yeah, we were lost. We asked somebody an' they told ( us we were goin' toward Elberton, so we turned around and went back to Franklin Springs, Gosh, that wuz the days when Terrell (cousin) stole the watermelons from the man who told Uncle Cliff about it and Terrel said he thought it wuz a wild watermelon . patch. (all chortle) (Mabel reminisces) It wuz fun, it wuz fun. Gosh, you didnt have worries, fast living, debts--all this stuff. Later (Mabel relates) "Granpa Thomas' brother when he died-he disappeared from home for three days-they hunted him allover this mountain up here, and when they fOillld him he wuz, of course- dead, He'd a stroke or hear attack, or somethin' up there on the mountain and they called the brainch where they foun him Dead Man's Brainch an' his daughter told me that-see ther useta be a big 01' house right down here beside the Falls, a big tw~ story house, that some of these Thomases were raised in ..that she went out~non the back porch on Sunday before Uncle disappeared the next week and uhshe saw him sittin' ther in a chair on the porch and said she went up to him and put her hand 0 n his shoulders and said, "come on, Pa , it's time for dinner." an' said ,"When I put my hand on his shoulder" said"it just went down, , there was nothin' there-- he just disappeared. An' the next week he wandered awf and wuz dead. They swore that house wuz haunted, they swore it for the truth, the honest-the Gospell just bad haunte Said you could lock the door and sit down an' you couldn f no more than get seated until the door would fly open- They'd bolt it, they had wooden bolts, Y01' know, that slid down ina slotinstead of door knobs, you know-- an' they'd bolt itan l they'd just fly open.They co ldnt keep the doors closed. I've heard DRddy tell abnut hearin' chainsbein' dragged up and down chose stairs out there-- it wuz haunted out there. (MabeH 1u11aby) Go to sleep, little babies 'fore the buggerman gAts YOU When you .rake,you'll have a little cake, All the pretty little horses, buggies, wagons. I hear some parents n01~. "Tanny Bogus will get youl" (Mabel) "Who's Tanny Bogus?" (L.D. Skinkle) "Tanny Bogusl" ..... '''l'hr buggermanl.., Yo 'd bette be frood or SOllp 3:3.11y'11 get ynul" "I never heard of Soap Sally and Tanny Bogus."(L.D. Skinkle) (Mabel) "Well, They're people--they'll getcha, if you're not good." (intermittant laughter) Stamping The White Horse (according to Mabel) When one sees a white horse, one licks his finger, rubs it on the palm of his hand and then strikes the spot with his fist, while making a wish or immediately afterif you prefer. * * * Song Collected From Mrs. Johnson In the town of Knoxville where I use to live and dwell, and in t~~t little Knoxville town along the'~-------- (tape not clear) I called her at her sisters house at nine o'clock one night. I said we'd have a social walk, and friends we'd never deny it. Well we walked along, we talked along. we came to level ground, and I picked up a hickWood stick, I knocked that fair girl down. She fell upon her bended knees, Oh Lord , have mercy , she cried, Oh Willie, my dear, dont murder me here, for 1m not prepared to die. I took her by her yeller hair, I slung her 'r ound and' round. I drug her to the still water deep, that flows through Knoxville town. And now they're going to hang me, a death I hate to die. They're going to hang me up so high between the earth and sky. l One Dark And stormy N+ght (words not clear on tape ;31--JJJ- recorder used to edit) ( The East Bound Train The eastbound train was crowded, one cold, December Day. The conductor shouted ticket, in an old time fashioned way. One little girl in sadness, her hair as light as gold, She said I have no ticket, and then her story told. My ~other's daily sewing trying to earn our bread, and my poor dear old blind father's in prison almost dead. My brothers and my sisters would both be very glad, If I could only bring back My dear old blind dad. God bless you little one, he said Just staY right where you are. You'll never need a ticket while I am on this car. Busybody ( a song from childhood added at t e request of the singer) Busybody' busybody! always on the wing. Wai t a bit, where you may sit and tell me why you sing Comel just a moment cornel leave your rose so red. mm mm mm mm tthat was a~l she said Now the day is sinking to the golden nest of eaves. She does creep a quiet sleep among the lilly leaves. Comel just a moment come. leave your snowy bed. mm mm mm mm that was all she said. One night as the moon was shinin' a~lbright as it ever had shone, Down to a lonely cottage a jealous lover comes. ( Nelly Darlin' said, Nelly , let us wander out in some lonely grove, and while we stroll togetheE we'll tell sweet tales of love Dear Edward, I a~ tired I do not care to roam, let's turn our footsteps homeward together we may go. Dear Nellie, ellie Darlin', tonight you surely must die, No other one should have vou In this Wide world but I. She kneeled down before him af~leading for her life, but deep into her bosom he pierced a dagge" knife. ~~Ft A short Witch story collected from Shade Hinkle, Jasper Te1nessee. It uz my mother travelled from East tennessee to indiama in a wagon With the wholp family. They'd travel by day and pullover and make camr at night. They met up with a woman on their way who told the oldest boy-see , he had a gun- that he could shoot and ~h~ot and not hit no squirrels. The commenced to shoot a ' he shot several times an' hit no squirrels, so he knew the woman wuz a Witch an' he went to his uncle to have silver put in his bullets to break the spell of the Witch, but his uncle would'nt do it. Recipe for Pokeberr wine collected from Shade Hinkle; A reputed cure for arthritis, among othe~ things Pick several quarts of pokeberries--mash them down, hull and all-add a pound of sugar rer gallon-- let it work for nine days--strain, add 2 poundsof sugar-let work nine more days--drink only fOUT OT five tablespoons pe y day
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Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions.
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