Dorothy Yandle’s interview with Eunice Smith, Willie Jarrell, the Caney Creek Primitive Baptist Church congregation, Curtis Stanley, Iris Stanley, Hazel Rountree, and Eva Williamson (part two)

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 want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. This is the second of a two-part recording. In this part, Dorothy Yandle records Iris Thompson Stanley performing folk songs that her father taught her. The songs are: 00:25: Little Margret 03:40: Silver Dagger 05:28: Jolly Boys 07:09: Little Orphan Girl The recording ends with Iris recalling a popular song by Barabra Allen to which she cant remember the lyrics. Caney Creek Primitive Baptist Church congregation was established in 1813 in Jones County, Alabama, by the Caney Creek Settlement. 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(LOC subiect headinos only) ' .. \,/y:.~ (" ' ';',', db\,',,., Keywords Burrison, John Personal names See sUbject who for additional names 1 (;>4'{\1 ;[\)[\ I'C'(' I 15-\(l ': () i \ \ ! 3 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Corporate names Geographic locations Topics (\In> \ \....f".'(' .. 4 j,11"s, Eunice ,JaaJ~scn1 smith 1[;.46 h'flverll1nu Circle l'k~ con ~ Oa" *Born ill 1895 in the Caney Greek Settlement of ,Jones Oounty, Ga" In my recc;nstruction of the Caney Oreek ~ettletl';ent aD it \".'as 1'lhen my mother HaS s. child there, she hRE' been my major inf'crt'lant. She nU1-de hotatiCil1S on the \!enes GGunty wrAp desi[ns.ting the cpots where certain homes or bUildings stood, and with her s:Lsters shared lt18.ny hal:f-fot2:otten melTIories J assistin[! m,e in e. J1Uluber of useful ,'wys. Like the several hundred peeple HhQ lived in the settlement at the turn of the centu.ry, she has als$ moved away lOllg ago" Thin prcject has furnished goree.t enjo:/ment; 1 have noticed, for her and has been interenting and pleasant for hie, alsI>, She m>"s been pushed to remember m~.ny details that 5he had stored B.l'lay lone oro, tind has found it amusing to ail' them out again. She accompanied me an the trip t. visit Mr. Willie Jarrell, who .till lives in the area. !~\y mether and 1,I:r. Jarrell are the s&me fiF('! r~ncl attended the one-r""m Gch""l in Ganey Creek tc"cether as children. Their reminiscences form the backhone of this }/a.per ~ Mrs. Eunice Jackson Smith 1846 Waver land Circle l~con, Ga. *Born in 1895 in the Ganey Greek Settlement of Jones County, Ga. In my reconstruction of the Caney Creek Settlement as it was when my mother was a child there, she has been my major informant. She made notatiens on the Jones County map designating the spots where certain homes or buildingS stood, and with her sisters shared many half-forgotten momories, assisting me in a number of useful ways. Like the several hundred peeple who lived in the settlement at the turn of the century, she has also moved away long age. This project has furnished great enjoyment, I have noticed, for her and has been interesting and pleasant for me, alse. She has been pushed to remember many details that she had stored away long ago, and has found it amusing to air them out again. She accompanied me on the trip to visit Mr. Willie Jarrell, who still lives in the area. My mother and Mr. Jarrell are the same age and attended the one-reom scheol in Caney Creek together as children. Their reminiscences form the backbone of this paper. The Caney Oreek Primitive Baptist Church is three and three-fourths miles frGm the pr<>perty of Mr, l1i11ie Jarrell, liho is alm0st the last remaining farmer in what Was a thriving rural settlement in the early twentieth century, (I have no pictures of the Jarrell Place, for which I am very Gerry, My Polareid would net function properly while we were there, Mr, Jarrell was mGst willing tG have the various Gpots of interest phetegraphed and has invited me back in the early summer, If you are interested in any particular site menU(Illed in the repert en the visit, I will be glad te n~il yeu a pioture.) The Jarrell family cannet be c<J>nsidered felk in its true ferm, They are unique in the cemmunity and have ahlSYs been se, H'Mever, in some ~Iays the family has stayed ~lith. the old ~Iays" much hnger than any of the ether families in the settlement, The Jarrells have lllany individualistic ~Iays, One matter that sets them apart is that Gf educatiGn, AlthGugh lllSny sf the sId residents educated their children in the early nineteen hundredS, almost none ef them hs:d received mere than the barest rudiments, themselves, The exception 1taS Mr, Jarrell's father who, back in the 1880' s ~Ient to Mercer University in lllUcon, In turn, he educated his ten children, However, Mr, Willio Jarrell chose, like his father, to return to the farm, He has never married, and until last year he Iived ,m the place viith his sister, who taught school. His sister married (at the age of sixty-three, for the first timel) and now he lives there alone, The follewinr is a description of nw visit to Mr, Jarrell on April 27, 1268: The Jarrell Crt'arm is about tVlenty miles frGm my m..ther's h..me on the nGlrth side ef ~~cen, the last half over dirt road, Tw@ wooden bridges built in 1232 cross winding Falling Oreek, and driving a twe-tGln station wagon across them caUses a body te pause and reflect. The roads are comparatively good in dry weather due to the location of the Hitchiti Experimental Forestry Station in this section of the county. After passing the station, the read becomes a bit rougher, Mr, Jarrell's mailbGlx is about one-half mile past the station, and the house is a geod distance from the read, (Please see the sketch of the layout @f the property,) Entering the farm is almGlst a weird experience, The unusual construction of the bUildings seems to place them in a bygGlne time and place. The Jarrell men from r;enerations back built all the structures themselves, using their own quaint dosigns, Tho central house in the CGlmplex of buildings is enormous and constructed of woed. The plank steps leading to the wide front porch are wobbly, and the perch is in need of repair, but the house in general is in excellent shape. My mether's upbringing came to the ferefrent, and she insisted that I "h"ller him cut" (as we've menti0ned in classl), instead af ~Iasting my time tapping at the frent d@or. When calling didn't bring results, she blew the car horn, and in a minute cr two Mr. Jarrell came cut of the trees aoress the way. He ~Ias wearing faded blue (lveralls (If the bib type and a butten en every pecket with SEARS en it, a turned-down strlil.~l hat, and a p<..ir rof reugh, hightopped beets that had been hand-patched on tep with an orange patoh of lea3ther. Outside of the clethes, his appearance doesn't seem that of the ordinary farmer but rather intellectual. He is very tall and slender with finely shaped facial bones and long fingered hands and has the clearest blue eyes I can remember seeing in a pers.,n ef his age. His ceurtesy te us was unfailing, and the enly time he seemed ill Ii. t eaSe was ~'hen 1 asked t .. take a picture of him. (As 1 mentioned before, we found the POlaroid was not functioning, and I didn't get any photos at all. He waS happy te have the farm photographed but didn't want t., be, himfJelf.) Mr. Jartell has for years been clerk of the Caney Creek Primitive Baptist Church, as was his father. He tG~k us inside to shew us the rec@rd b@.,ks that have been kept since the church was established in 181,. (This is discussed in the section @n the church.) While looking @ver the rec@rd bo.,ks, we talked about the c"mmunity as it was when he and my mother were ohildren therel SCHOOL The ene-r@em school in Oaney Creek was the o10sest te the ohuroh of any .,ther building. It was a few hundred yards up the dirt read te Reund Oak. Mr. Jarrell recalls that soheol was held enly in the months when the crops had been "laid by", because the ohildren, espeoially b.,ys, were needed on the farms at ",ther times. (~jy m"ther, h"~lever, stiJl recalls her disgust that when scheel was let cut at Caney Creek, her father always packed her off t@ an aunt in a different part @f the county where scheel was being held, because he B~id he wanted her te be a teacherl) My mether and Mr. Jarrell agreed that they went te Bchecl early and came helme l ..te, ..no. th..t the syrup er 1.. 1'0. bucket was st..ndard fell' lunches. Usually there w.. s Selme syrup in the bottom ef the bucket to help get the cold bisquits dew!!. They recalled playing mumbledy (They called it "mumbly" ) ~ at recess times. This WaS a game like Jackstenes, but they used the materials that were ..vail..ble ..... pecket knife ..no. small rocks. Mr. J .. rrell remembers alm..st n..thing that o..uld be called toys. He says that he can remember making balls by unraveling" stElCkings" (ssx) and ~linding them back up. CHURCH Practic9.l1y every family in the settlement behngedh Caney Creek Primitive Baptist Church, prebably a matter sf convenienoe as much as c..nviction. The church WaS the center of the community, geographically as well as socially. The Jarrell family lived farther frem the church and scheel than any ..ther eutlying farm ~mifY (Please see map.) The services semetimes went en until three in the afternssn or after, depending ..n how many elders were present. The ysunger fslks wsuld sit in the buggies and" cQurt" if they eQuId get by with it. Even then, the services had an informs1 atm..sphere with a geed bit of gcing in and cut. I asked Mr. Jarrell (and also soveral ether peeple who gre~1 up in the Primitive Baptist Ohurch) abcut the traditional structure ef the Primitive Baptist Ohurch inoluding tW0 fr0nt doers. They all agreed that the men sat en ene side of the church and the wemen m the ether but didn I t knew if that waS the reason the deers were separated. Mr. Jarrell and rny mether remembered that the the yeung pe@ple s@metimes sat together when they were of courting age, but the men never sat with their wives and children. As far back as anyene remembers, the cengregatien has met on the fourth Saturday and Sunday of every menth. (Mr. Jarrell gave me the outline of the ordor of things during meeting week-ends and I have incerperated this infermation in the seotion on the ohuroh.) FARMING The farmers in the area grew chiefly cern and grain, aleng with cetten and foed fer family consumption. There were several grist and wheat mills in the general area of Caney Creek, and ene was mn the Jarrell farm. Mr. Jarrell explained that the same type ef mill grinding weuld net produce both meal and fine fleur, but that they ground their own family's fleur en their awn mill because it waS available and they liked the whole wheat fleur it produced. Far~ ers came from neighboring farms to the Jarrell grist mill, and according to one ef my uncles in Round Oak, old Mr. Jarrell was known to be very honest and exacting. "Telling the grain" was a term used to define the pay system ef the miller. Mr. Jarrell said that usually the farmer paid from one_eighth to one-tenth of each bushel to the miller. (My uncle said that if yeu took your cern to old Mr. Jarrell that you wouldn't have "ten grains ever or ten grains under" what Wl3.S due you when yeu leftt) ECONOMY OUTSIDE OF FARMING Certain people in the community performed needed services outside that of milling. Mr. Jarrell's father Wl3.S a wheel-~Iright and lllade ~Iagen e.nd farm cart ,<heels f"r neighbers as ~Iell as doing very intricate carpentering. (He has in @ne @f his barns a cart with wheels made by his father.) "Old Man II Dame "perated a ferry acress the Ocmulgee River, and peeple tell ef the time Mr. Jarrell's father teek a gin te the river te be tewed acress. Mr. Dame t"ld him he th@ught it w0uld sink his ferry, S0 Mr. Jarrell to@k @ut his pencil and paper and asked the weight and length and "ther details about the ferry, then said, "Lead it <1m, she'll take it." 'l'he success "f this "l'aper_figurin"l impressed the unlearned settlers of Caney Creek, and the story is still lm@wn. The members of the community recognized the need for o@operation in matters other than those for which a prioe Was paid. Due to its isolation from any town where servioes oould be bought, the man in the settlement got tegether for 1\ Log_raIlings 1\ when they cleared a field or put up a barn for a neighbor. Tho rocipient of the favor furnished a barbequed pig for the oc~ casion, and the lremenfdk were all invited te come and quilt at the same time. (In the<>1d hllluse on the Jarrell farm, the leather straps still hang from the oeiling from which the qUilting frames were hung. When the wemen stopped working on the qUilt, it could be raised to the ceiling by ropes to get it out of the way.) Mr. Jarrell and my mother discussed various families they remembered in the community, and the subject came up concerning a family who lived in what we called in class a 1\ dog-tnt II heuse. I asked ~lr. Jarrell if he had ever heard it called that, and he laughed and said, II Ne, but it's a geod name fer it. I imagine degs and plenty ef' ether things beside came threughtll He recalled that in tho winter it was se cold that the family Irh.. lived there dreaded the time when they had t .. leave the fire and shoet acr..ss tho breezeIray t .. bod. DRINKING PLACES I had heard about a place that used to bo on the road between Reund Oak and Caney Creek called Fiddler's Rest and I asked Mr. Jarrell if he had heard of it. As I suspected~ he had, and he and my mather enjoyed recalling all the disgraceful rwners abaut it. It was, in Mr. Jarrell's werds, "a dance hall and drinking place where all kinds af carrying-on teak place" There had been a killing there ever "liquer ar maney "and the victim was buried an the spott He remembered another hanky-t,ml{ called Grab-All, (I asked him te spell itt) in a neighbering area called Sugar Hill 8ame distance fram Caney Creek. In our discussion @f the way things used to be, Mr. Jarrell mentioned that g@ing t<ll t"mn (Mac@n) l'1as s@mething that \'1aS n@t taken on lightly. In C1lrder t@ get ch0res dene, the farmer had to be up by two @r three e'cleck in the merning en the day he dreve in te Macen. When he finally g@t there, if he had t@ ge al@ne, it was necessary te g@ t@ the expense @f putting his herse in I!l. livery stable, because" if there tll!l.S ene thing a htl-detln farmer ""uld steal it was geC1ld harness ."r a buggy seat." Therefer", the farmers tried te take seme member of the fl!l.mily with them, in erder te have ene stay with the l1agen. As Mr. Jarrell said, "Y,m didn't ge fer a bex of saltl'~ so the trips were few and far betl1een. (In the course ef our cenversation, an irrelevant subject came up that, I waS interested te see, he had very strong feelings about. The subject was the student strikes that h"d gotten" geed deal "f publicity th"t week. He ~Ias almlllst vehement when he s"id it theught it "disgustingt1 and s"id that he wished th"t they oould only ro~ow hew hard an eduoati"n had been t@ ceme by, in days past.) The yeung felks \HlUld slmetimes lSe ln pesBum hunts as a social event, and my mlther recalled a fex hunt during which the yepng peeple camped evernight near the Jarrell preperty. Mr. Jarrell says that he did very little hunting and seemed uninterested in killing animals f"r sp"rt. He said that they did at times set rabbit traps when the creps were being damaged. His upbringing seems tG have been unusually civilized and nen-vi$lent, s" te speak, f"r his time and environment. My mether's own brothers, in c0ntrast, did a great deal of hunting. My grandfather I s sister, Mary Gresham ,kn0wn to the children as Aint Mary,,; .ias the p0stmistress rar tha settlement. Her past effice, c"mbined with a small stere, was called Hester while the sectien where the Jarrells lived was knewn as Cardsville. Themail came in enly every few days, and it was considered a privilege te be the child asked te g" a mile dewn the read te pick up the mail. My m0ther recalled, at Mr. Jarrell's, the day she and her younger sister forg"t their lunoh pails at home, and she remembers being censidered very enterprising to think up the idea er II oredi t n at the general shre. One member ef the oommunity was kn"wn to be an inventor and WaS m~oh admired by the "ther farmers, partioularly rer a stecl~feeder that ceuld be filled with hay and II set II te trip at a certain time early the next day. BUILDINGS ON THE JARRELL FARM Mr. Jarrell was pleased when I asked him te shew me around the farm. His pride in the buildings and their past history is evident, particularly since every structure "n the place was built either by him er @ne of his ancest@rs. ~~in H@use: This tw@-st@ry structure Was built ever a peried @f several years, aoc"rding to Mr. Jarrell, beginning in the yea.r 1916. It has an enlllrmous sprawling design and waS planned and erected by Jlllhn Jarrell and his Slllns during off-seaslllns when they were not II laying-by II the crops. It has a bizarre upstairs parch feature that I den't recall seeing before. 1895 Heuse: This stands across the drive-in where Mr. Willie Jarrell was born sh~pe. It has twa stlllries. We did read from the main heuse and was It is unpainted but in exoellent not ge inside. ~lid_1800s House: On the left some distance from the large house stands the struoture built by Mr. Jarrell's grandfather. It is unbelievably good conditien and is almest exaotly the way it was eriginally. It is of wide vlew.thered planks and oonsists of three downstairs reoms, a twonem attic, and kitchen cennected h the house by a breezeliay. (This was net added en until indeor steves were easy te acquire, in the 1890s) Before that time, cloking vias done in a "Oook House" away frem the living quarters. The floors in the house were pointed eut as having been hand-hewn. In the attio were TI10 spinning wheels, ene which still had thread on the spindle, and a loom. Mr. Jarrell oan remember seeing his grandmother spin. There was alse an interesting unpainted reeker with very wide. slats, which 1 thought w~s handmade, but Mr. Jarrel pointed aut the turnings and said he theught it had been made by machinery. OUTLYING BUILDINGS "f 1l>gs and tradithnal Directly behind the "ld house is a smoke h"use built partially collaps"d. The c"rners are finished in the diam"nd cut. ::' ,; There is anether small hewse nearby and tWG barns. Between the Hain H",use and the entry t", the Jane leading to the mid-180os house is a well with a r""fed c"ver. Next to the well is a stene SYRUP MILL. Dl>wn the sl"pe fr"m the main h"use is the GRIST MILL. SYRUP ~~KING waS discussed, and ene "r Hr. Jarrell's sisters, who came later in the aftern@en recaUs syrup making day as a time ef great excitement with all the pe@ple @n the farm gathered ar@und the syrup mill. The mill itself was similtir" to an ehngated outd@or co..ldng grill \'Iith a chimney. 'he trays of syrup simmered en the lewer part while the sm..ke escaped thr"ugh the chimney. While we were walking, Mr. Jarrell peinted "ut a place en the r@cks in @ne part ef' the farm where an eld Negre called Uncle Peter used t .. tell the small children ~~ steries abeut the 11 Paddle,.Rellers " whe w@uld get yeu if yeu wandered out ahne at night. He says. that he waS almest grewn befem, he realized that the old man was referring t .. the patr"llers whe hunted slaves wh.. were eff their plantati..n with"ut a pass and carried leng sticksl When we left, Hr. Jarrell invited us tG come tG the Caney Creek Church servioe the f ..llewing day (whioh was nice since we had planned to go an~layl) He impressed me very much as a kind and gentle man, who lives a secluded and quiet life and is happy to do s. At first, when ~Ie entered the big eld rambling hGluse, I thought "f. Rebert Frost's Old Man en a Winter Night, but after the afternc"n WaS "vel', I almost had a feeling of envy rather than "ne "f sympathy. IN ADDITION TO THE INFORMATION Sr~RED AT l~. WILLIE JARRELL'S, my m~ther has teld me many details ef the life ef her ewn family in the community. The Jenes G~unty map contains an indication @f h~w well-populated the c~~ munity was at the turn @f th~ century . M~st families were big. My grandfather, Ge@rge Washington (I) Jacksen had thirteen children, all ~f wh~m lived t~ adulth~~d with the exception of twins who died in infancy. They lived @ne mile fr@m the church (# 7 on the map) and attended it until they died and were buried in the cemetery acrcss the way. One st@ry connected with the church was sad and interest~1 On the preperty next te the church lived Elder J. H. Gresham, who WaS elder ef the churCh f .. r ferty ye"rs. His ~life ~Ias my gr..ndf"ther'8 !lister, "Aint"!" M..ry Gresham, wh.. was als.. the postmistress. 'rhe eldest s,m ..f my grand fa ther h,,<l die<l " preffil1\ture death at the age ef thirty ene. 'rhe dlRY he died, Mr. Jacks,m rede to the Oaney Greek cemetery te supervise the digging of the grave and st"pped cn the l'U"y t~ p;ive the news te his 0ldest sister, Mary, wh" was very huched by the tragedy. When he shpped there latel' "n his return trip h..Dle, she ,,-ls~ ha<l die<l. They held the tw.. funer,,-ls jcdntly in the C,,-ney Cre..k Church and the u,e graves are a few feet apart in the cemetery. * * When lMther \'IIP-e in her teens, the family, being mlilre pr"spercus, bll>ught a large farm "utside ef R"und Oak. She remembers that this was her first enc" unter with ice. S"metimes, as a .special treat, her father weuld bring heme a bleck frem the stati..n at Reund Oak. They w0uld st..re it in "- weeden bex and insulate it with cett@u"seed hulls til ready t .. use it. ! C",n(f.J CN:,e.k .PriM\+ht!Baph'sr Chl4l"c.h CANEY OREEK'S NEW HOPE PRIMITIVE BAPTIsT OHUROH The" hard-shell II ar Primitive Baptist Ohurch is a sect that is shlily dying aut even here in the Seuth where it had its greatest fallewing. Its ferms and custems held little interest fer yeung peeple, whe @ften mave away frem their rural cemmunities te cities where Primitive Baptist Ohurches are few and far between. But to felks in the Oaney Oreek Settlement, Jenes Oeunty, the church is still the heart ef the ceIDmunity, and mest af its spread-aut papulation cemesthere en meeting days, which, as far as anyane kn@ws, have been held continueusly every feurth Saturday and Sunday since the church was established in 1813. In a cemmunity tho.t has gr",duslly been taken ever by g<lvernment agencies (the Ferestry Dept.) it is astonishing to see the large numbers af peeple wh<l o"me t" the ohuroh te ~I"rship. The church is almast the anly building left en a read that fifty years age was inhabited by a dezen large farm families. The building is a typical oeuntry struoture with the distintly Primitive Baptist feature af tw" frent deers. Aoress the s<ilU-surface'relid is its cemetery, its <ilnly O<ilmpany f<ilr several miles in either directien. T<il the left are the tables where the cangrgatien enjeys dinner en the greunds. (I theught it WaS Greund until I was grewn. I was appalled.) Dewn a slepe fr<ilm the dinner tables, in Q mass sf greenery is the eutdeer Baptismal Peel. (See phetes) Electricity is net the enly m<ildern envenience that Oaney Creek lacks. On the eppesite side ef the church. y"u will find Hi". and ~ >utheuses. (~Iy hus-, band, whe is a cellecter sf trivial infermati<iln, tells me that the abselute eriginal is directly behind the" m>dern" ,mes, and that it has .sgusr.e heles II) Many ef the custems practiced by the church seem quaint and a little ridiculeus te "ther sects, but taken one at a time and explained, they have a certain warmth and gentleness like the pe@ple whe attend the ' services here, There is CIne big meeting in a church year, called Ass"ciati,m, when several churches hdd annual meetings t"gether, This is .als" the time vlhen F""t-vl..shing ( a symb"l ef l"ve and humility ),C"mmunien, and ether rare services take place in the individual churches, The rerm af the service itsear is mest infermal. During the sevice I at tended, I WaS surprised to see all the latecomers shake hands with everyene abeut them, Children get up and \~!lndered te the back @f the church ,,here a bucket @f water !lnd three dippers sat en a table. (One man whe came in late even went up and shook hands with the scngleader befcnctaking his seat,) I ncticed tw" tr"mendcus plyweed panels leaning against ene wall, and when the service was ever I discevered their use. Since it was raining, tw@ pews were m@ved back te back abcut ten feet apart, and the plyweed was laid acres" te f@rm a serving table fer the fellewship-type dinner they have each feurth Sunday, We were begged te stay and l~ished \~e ho.d n.. t planned te eat with family in Reund Oak, 1'he >verp<>wering impression of "armth, d",m-te-earth intelligence, and general geed\~ill ameng the members ef the c..ngregfl.ti"n Vias the ..ne vrith which ,"/(, left, It made it w..rthwhile to slip and slide ..ver muddy r"ads to get there, and I'm sure that's why the Caney Creek has had ito d"<:lrs <:lpen fer a hundred a.nd fiftyfive years, TERlIlS 'rhe Elder is the p"ster, In the Caney Creek church, as in mest ethero, prea-ching is net" full-time emphyment fer the p"st"r, He usually fa-rms as Hell; in fact he ceuln't live on the small salary if he didn't h"ve a-- nether eccupatien, Usually in rural c"mmunities, he serves tHe "1' mr~ { churhes that meet en ene Heek-end and visit among themselves on the other " Sundays of the menth, (The Sunday He visited C"ney Creek, several members frem the Mount Pleasant Church in a neighboring c@mmunity Here recegnized by the elder.) In his sermen, the Elder identified himself Hith the farmere in the oengrgatien by using examples te illustrate his remarks that had life en the farm fer their basis, He used a" one example his ceming up"n an "ld grave Hhile pI$Hing en his farm, and he theught heH sa-d it Heuld be sheuld that be ,,11 $f life, I neticed ne strangeness in the doctrine, There is a great deal mere emphasis, hewever, en the fundamentalist~ type teaohing $f the Bible, than there is in most Protest"nt sects teday, The Oler~ is a member ef the oengregaticn Hhc keeps the minutes of the business meeting th"t fell@ws the S"turd"y pre"ching. Mr, Willie Jarrell (see Secthn I) is Olerk @f the C"ney Creek Churoh, "nd he cemmented, "I don't knew why we have business meetings, because He don't usu"lly have any businessl" In the old record beeks, dating back t@ 181:7, ths.t I examined at Mr, J",rrell'g details were kept in beautiful fhvling scrl.pt "nd included Dismissals (when" person moved @r left the church) and Exc@mmun1- c"tions (when the membership voted to exclude a member fer imprcper ocnduct) , Exccmmunic"tions were net rare, and c@uld be voted up@n when" member get drunk, didn't pay his debts, cenitted adultery and numer@us ether sins. There is even Cne c"se reocrded of a man being exc$~nunicabecause he put up " fuss about the church excommunicating his wifel TERMS O@IDmunien is given during the imp@rtant annual meeting in July called Ass@ci-. ati@n Meeting when several churches in the district, @r Ass@ciati@n, meet t- gether. Ohurch members are accepted then als@. The Pri.mitive Baptist Ohurch d@es nQt @ccept children as lnembers. A person desiring ohurch membership must be baptised and entered @n the church rolls as an adult. since my m@ther was a child. One @f her steries is cf the time her uncle was led by the elder into the the pc@l t@ be baptised. Ab@ut the time they stepped in, the children n@ticed a long bl@ck snake lying along the edge @f the water. (When I was a child it WaS a black snake but new it is a water mcccasin, ) They steed in herror while the whale ceremeny WaS campleted, and the snake stayed perfectly still. She never knew if the elder was aware af its presence. Feot-waSh\~S done in conjunotion with Oammunien. The women wash the feet of the wamen and the men wash the feet of the ather men. It's based, @f course, an the New Testament soripture c@ncerning JesuBwashing the feet sf his diBoipIes at the Last Supper. It is dene as an act ef leve and br@therheed and humility. (I remember washing my Grandmether's feet as a child in a great china b0wl, and I realize n0W that the clQseness she created with me during th@se times and the cGnfidences we exchanged were an @utgrQwth @f the impertance she placed Qn the ritual as well as a favor done for an eld lady who found it difficult t@ bend,) F@rmat @f the Meeting Week: Fourth Saturday Fourth Sunday S@ng service: 10;,0 a.m. Preaching Business meeting Song service: 10:,0 a.m. Preaching Dinner @n the Greunds (@r in bad weather, inside) TAPE lh SONG SERVIOE AT CANEY OREEK PRIMITIVE BAPTIST OHURCH APRIL 28, 1968 This tape is to be used in cenjuncticn with the OLD SCHOOL HYMNAL, a shaped-n0tehymns.l used at the" Nevi Hope II Church at Oaney Creek. Due to the tape being almest exclusively hymns, I have listed them as they were sung and made relevant ccnnments cencerning Some cf them. The seng service bcgins very informally, with the seng leader asking for numbers f'r"m the c"ngregathn. The day vie attended, there had been a terrible sterm th~t morning, and alse it was the first day ef Daylight Saving Time, s@ during the first twe er three sengs the crewd was slim. By the end ef the service, there were at least fifty or sixty peeple there. IMPORTANT NOTE: In taping this service, I made ene errer in the technical eperatien ef the recerder. I had a great deal af trluble hcating a battery "pero.ted recorder If gcd quality, (The church has n electricity), and since I had never used a recorder befere, I t@ek much time learning te eperate it,. Hevlever, I misinterpreted your directions concerning speed fer "msic. Theref@re, I changed the speed several times during the service in order to rec@rd music at 7t and talk at 3 and 3/4, not realizing that it would also have to be changed when played back. Since you wanted the original tape, instead @f transferring the original, corrected, onto other tape, I have made notations t@ let yeu knew when te change speed. Begin 3 and 3/4 HYMN {I 296, OLD SOHOOL HYv~~L 7t HYMN {I 456 HYMN # "Shall ~Ie Gather at the River?" HYMN # 445 HYI<lN {I 488 HYMN 1/302 (I theught this rather pretty, with a good message fer people wh@ have net always had such easy lives.) ;I and 3/4 3 and 3/4 (frs.me 802) HYMN If" 398 (Preacher talks here abemt the time change delaying the c,mgregaticn's getting there, and suggests that we sing a few mere. One member ef the cengregati@n was plumb tuckered cut.) HYMN II 169 (The seng leader mentions that this tune is familiar and that he is f@nd ef the werds.) (The tuna, of ceurse, is the same as the "ne used fer "0 Tannebaunl~ ) The Elder' speaks t" the oengregati0n, thanking them f"r ooming en such a bad day, and says,referring to the Primitive Baptist custem ef net using musical instruments in church: "S"mehew I feel like we've been blessed in our seng servioe this m"rning. We had what it takes te sing- the spirit of @ur L@rd. Ne dead instruments whatsoever, but alivel I l"ve te hear the musical instruments ef this werld in their proper place, but they are dead as far as singing praises te eur Lerd." (The last h~llll is a stand-by.) HYMN /I 154 "Amazing Grace II The seng service ends and the f"rmal part ef the wership begins with a very easy transitien. The 1I Pre,,-ching" lasted abcut an h@ur. Tw@ elders participated. At the end ef the service, the church treasurer steed up and made his apclcgies fer being late. (There had been n@ effering.) He said, n If any ef yeu have something f"r these brethren, ceme put it 0n the table after the service. II As seen as church Ifas "ver, m"ney ",,"S put <on the table, quite a l<>t, and he divided it bet11een the t"" elders, tactfully sticking it int" their p0ckets while they chatted. Many btthe cernett'jJ'~$ earliest qrcws ar~ marked onlJ bj heav~ stemes. The Baptismal PODI is \ocated about tmile down Q gre,en pathwa~ trom the; church. The rellewi,ng sengs were sent te me by Iris 'l'hempsen Stanley <l>f Dublin. Her father, Mr. Gasten Allen Thempsen (Gat) <l>f Lyens, Ga. WaS lcnewn in the cemmunity and te his family as a fine singer. Mr. Thempsen died in 1960 when he WaS almest eighty, but befer" his death Mrs. Stanley t"ek several ef his sengs dewn in sherthand as he sang them. She says that he weuld semetimes have te step to remember verses and ge back, but she says that these werds are accurate. TAPE #'2 -==-';~-==" Mrs. Curtis Stanley, 106 Nerth Street, Dublin, Ga. 31021 TRANSORIPT I am Iris Thempsen Stanley ef Dublin, Geergia, and I shall try te sing seme folk s'>I1gs taught me by Oeunty, Lyens, Geergia. father, the late Mr. Gasten Allen Thempsen efTeembs My first sllmg is "Little Margaret '~ (VCilAA, ti/ttj () u Little Margaret sitting in a parlc>r chair, Oembing back her hair. Whe did she see c<>ming riding by? Sweet William and his bride. Back she threw her yelle~1 hair, Dewn she threw her cemb. newn she fell upen the fl<>er, 1U )fever return anymere. That very same night about eight @'cleck; She steed by S11eet William's bed-side "Sweet William, he11 de yeu like yeur bed~ (- Hew d@ yeu like yeur sheets? Hew de yeu like that gay little girl that stands at yeur bed's feet? (At this peint, Mrs. Stanley says that she emitted the fellewing lines by mistake,) ......Very ~lel1, very well, I like my bed. Very well I like my sheets. l~uch better de I like that gay little girl That stands at my bed's feet The very next m@rning abeut eight e'cleck He called his servants up. Leava he get frem his I',,,,-y little wife That V~rgaret he might see. lIe rede and ~ede til he came te the gate, Leudly he rattled the re~ns. Wh@ \~as there t@ let him in/but Feur little brethers of hers. This Where is ~~rgaret, I de pray? Where is she t@da~ Is she in her chamber room? Is she in the hall? Is she in her parl~r r~~m, Where all these ladies are? She's neither in her chamber roem, She's neither in the hall, She's neither in her parler r@em, But she lies under a cald coffin lid. Unfold, unfold it, I d@ prayl Unfeld it, I de say. Once he kissed her lily Vlhite hand, tVlice he kissed her cheek, Three times he kissed her cold clay lips_ His heart did break within, song surely had a title, but I never kneVl it. O.n c, ( Ii A t<J:AJe)/j " Oh, "h.. is that standsat my Vlind@\1, Making of a silent m@urn?" II It's y"ur @ld true 1eve and he lE>ves you dearly, Waiting t@ tell y@u @f'his l@ve." "Den't sing leve sangs t@ wake my mether, Fer leve s8ngs she Vlen't let me hear. If yeu sing leve songs, ge ceurt seme ether, And whisper softly in my ear." ItOh, go and see :"Gur ra.ging mather, And see if she will endure Vlith me. And if' she ,f<>!1' t" cll>me back and tell me- 'fhis shall be th ' last night I'll ever treuble l'hee." "Oh, den I t f@rsake me flllr an@ther, Oh, d@n't forsake me, my dear. Fer the sake af you, I'll forsake all ether, And gill aVlay ;lith yeu, my dear," This Vlas the ailing he sang te the beys in the ~amily, and I'm sure they ceuld do a better j<>b than I. JOLLY BOYS (Other members ef the family remember slightly different words in places. I'm net sure wh@ is right.) 1. There is a soh@ol @f jelly beys, Y@u'd find them hard t@ beatThey always seem s@ jelly Whenever they chance t@ meet. They always seem se jelly 0, S, jolly 0, so jelly 0, They always seem so jelly 0, \Iherever they may be. They sing they play, They laugh ha ha, they laugh ha ha They sine, they play, What jelly beys are theyl (They sing tra la, they laugh ha hal) Slapl Bangl Here they come again, Here.they come again, Here they ceme again, Slapl Bang! Here they ceme again, What jelly beys are they! 2. They study hard from eight to twelve And ane p.m. te four Then qUickly g~ther en the green, When their study heurs're O'er. They always seem so jollyO,. So jelly 0; so Jolly 0, They always seem se jolly 0, Wherever they may be. They sing they play, They laugh ha ha, they laugh ha ha, They sing, they play, What jelly b"ys are they I .M,,-y' ( This seng is very sad, as many ef them were. "Little Orphan Girr' No home, no home, cried a poer little girl At the deer ef a prince's hall, As she trembling stoed en the pelished steps And leaned en the marble wall. My father, alas, I never knew, With tears in her eyes sO bright, My mother sleeps in a newly made grave. 'Tis an orphan who begs tonight. The night WaS dark, and the anew fell fast, But the rich man shut his deer. His pr@ud lips ourled as he rudely said, "N", heme er bread f'H the po@r." The rich man lay en a velvet ceuch, And dreamed of his silver and geld, While the peer little girl @n a bed of snew, Hurmured, "s.. MId, s.. c.. ld." 611/ The h"urs passednand the midnight bell Ohimed eut like a funer.. l knell. The earth seemed wrapped in a winding sheet, And the drifting anew still fell. The morning dawned and the poor little girl Still lay at the rich man's door. Her spirit had flown to a w..rld of love, lihere there's heme and bread for the p'''l,r. There waS one more I especially remember- Barbara Allen- but I don't knew the (PERMISSION F'OIl 'rIlE USE OF THESE SONGS SHOULD BE GO'fTEN F'ROH MRS. STANLEY WHOSE ADDRESS IS GIVEN A'f THE BEGINNING OF THIS SECTION) This little jig was sent to me by Mr, Gat Thompson's daughter, Mrs, Hazel Thompson Rountree of Bruns\1ick, She reca.lls iha t they did a little dance with it, Another little song they sang wa.s Bip-J3op OindI which they called a II Nigger Dance" (please pardon the expression,., ,it's not mine) but she cann"t remember all the ,.,ords. ONOE 'I'HERE \'lAS AN OL' \'IOI-1AN, SHE HAD A LI' L PIG Once there 11aS an 01' w,ennaD, she had a Ii'I pig, Oinkl Oink1 Oink! Once there Was an 01' \'l@man, she had a 11 'I pig, Didn't cast very much 'cause it 11asn't very big, OinIeI Oink! Oink! Li'l pig lived around the farm, Oinkl Oinkl Oinkl Li'l pig lived around the farm, 'rhe pleggid li'l thing did lets of harm. Oink! Oink! Oinkl Li'l pig died for the want of breath, Oink! Oink! Oink! Li'l pig died for the want of breath, N,w N!l,Sn't that an A'lIFUL death? Oink! Oink! Oink! 01' NOman, she sobbed and she sighed, Oink! Oink! Oinkl 01' NClman, she s0bbed "nd she sighed, Then she lay right dONn "nd died. Oink! Oink! Oinkl 01' man died for the grief, Oinkl Oink! Oinkl 01' ma.n died for the grief, Now Nasn't the. t a sweet relief? Oink! Oink! Oink! Here they lie ene two three, Oinkl Oink! Oink! Here they lie ,one; two ,three, 01' woman, 01' man, little pigeeeel Oink! Oinkl Oink! Here they lie upon "- Oink! Oinkl Here they lie upon a If you want any more Oink! Oinkl shelf, Oinkl "helf, yell oln sing Oink! it yo' self INFORMANT: Mrs. Ev... \'lilliams'm 190 Winship Street Mac,m, Ga. (MRS. WILLIA~ffiON1S PERMISSION MUST BE GIVEN FOR USE OF STORIES) GRAVE YARD STORIES: these st@ries were t@ld to me years age by Mrs. Eva Williams@n, wh@ als0 helped me by telling me @f cust@ ms practiced by' Primitive Baptists. I asked Mrs. Williamsen if she c@uld remember the 8t@ries. She c0uld, but she didn't like t@ use the 1Hlrd II 8t"'rie8" because she said that they 1<ere true. I didn't have a rec0rder but tried t<J> take them d"mn in her vT@rds. Stny # 1 My daddy used to tell about il'w"man they buried in the cemetery and she had a deg who stayed by the grave and barked and barked. All that night he barked, and when the men went tll the graveyard the next merning, he had scratched a~Tay at the grave til the t"p "f the ceffin was shewing. 'fhey decided there must be s..mething 1;r,mg, se they unc..vered the c"ffin and ..p"ned it up. The w..man had turned aver and had pulled "ut nearly all her hairl St",ry If 2 (I have se"n a variant of this stery in Buying the Wind, p. 310) a..me y..ung peeple were having a picnic en the church yard and stayed till after dark. They all dared s@meb"dy tll g" inta the cemetery and put 8emething "n a grave t" pr"ve they'd been there, but n@b..dy wanted t@ go. Finally this one yeung girl she wasn't afraid. Well, she really was and the farther she g"t inte the cemetery, the scareder she was, but she didn't want tc back cut. She had a fork she ~laS g"ing t", put "'n the grave, and when she leaned dcvm til stick it into the gr@und, she stuck it threugh her pettic"'at and cculdn't get up. It scared her se bad, she had a heart attack and died. (An interesting thing Came "ut ab",ut Mrs. Williamsen during eur c"nversati",n. ~he said that there used te be an old Negr" <m their place wh<il t01d her h0w til take "ff warts. I asked her what she did, but she just smiled and said she cauldn't tell. Since then tw" "ther people menti"ned that Mrs. Williamsen could take 0ff \'Iarts. I c0uldn't decide if it was all hngue-in-cheek @r nat.) *SUPERSTITIOUS REMEDY My d@mestic helper, Martha J~nette Bry~nt, wh@ grew up near Stene M@untain, Ga. t@ld me this interesting superstitien: Remedy fer s. nlllse bleed: II If yeu have a bad mIse-bleed, y@u can a string.1I HERB REMEDY My uncle, Th@,"",s \lhite, in R@und Oak, asked my m@ther f"r s"me leaves lff ~ big furry-leafed plant in her back ~rd called Mullein. He said that his h@rse WilS lame, and seme,me had teld him that if y,m'd s@"k it in II mullein tea n, it w@uld cure it. The werd, mullein, is pren< l>unced II mull in n. *PLANTING BY THE MOON and HOG KILLING My uncle (abeve) was asked ab@ut hew many farmers used the mo"n as signs fer planting and fer slaughtering hegs. He said that many did, and that there waS @ne fellew in the Reund Oak c@mmunity wh@ used te kill hegs in warm weather even if the m@@n was right (and never had it sp@ill) A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. 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. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.