19

18.

him lick his skillet gave that name to this part of town, so they
say, and the name has stuck throughout many years. Another story
about the origin of this name is that a man give his wife such a
licking with the skillet that it caused her death. To me the first
story seems more logical.''

At this point the daughter-in-law brought the baby and
sat it in Fred's lap, saying: "Do you mind holding him long enough
for me to finish hanging out the clothes?" Fred jostled the child
on his knee. "Now, Miss," he said, "I'm sure I've told you about
all I can remember about my experiences. No doubt there are many
things I've forgotten, and I'm sorry I can't remember better.
It's like this; since I can't get regular work anymore it makes me awful
nervous to sit still long at a time, and my mind ain't as active as
it used to be. I guess I worry too much.

"Oh, hadn't I told you I'm a Methodist? Well, I guess I
joined that church because my parents were of that denomination. You
see they were slaves owned by the Bishop family, and the Bishops were
Methodists. They took their slaves to their own church. Did you ever
hear of a colored man named Matt Davis that used to be postmaster
here? Well, he and his wife belonged to the same family, but he
wasn't any relative of mine. No, mam! I never did understand just
why he ever got as high as he did, for he never went to school a day
in his life. I suppose his white folks taught him what he knew, for
there wasn't any schools for colored folks in slavery time.

"Speaking of my religion again, I Joined the church where
I'd been going to Sunday School when I was around sixteen or seventeen,

1876