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ALEC BOSTWICK
Ex~SlaVe — Age 76.


	All of Uncle Alec. Bostwick‘ s people are dead and he 1 iVe s i1~. hi s t i ny home w I th a y oung Ne gre s s name d ~mma Verga 1. It was a beautiful April morning when his visitor arrived and while he was cordial enough h seemed very reluctant about talking. However, as one question followed another his interest gradually over— c~me his hesitancy and he began to unfold his life‘s story.
t, I wu~ born in Morgan County ‚ an‘ I warn‘ t mo‘ dan

four year old when de/ar ended so I don‘t ricollect nothin‘ ‘bout slav‘ry days. I don‘t know nnich ‘bout my ma, but her name was L~artha an‘ pa‘s name was Jordan Bostwick, I don‘t know wha±‘ dey come from. When I knowed nothin‘ I wuz dar on de plantation. I
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had three brothers; George, John an‘ Ree~be, an‘ dey‘s all dead. I

dis‘inenibers my sister‘s name. Dar warn‘t but one gal an‘ she died when she wuz little.

	“Ain‘t much to tell ‘bout what wuz done in de

quar ter s • Slave s wuz gyarde d all de time ju‘ lak Nigge rs on de chain gang now. De oy~j~s~era1ways sot by widagun.

	“‘Bout de. beds, Nigger boys. didn‘ t pay no ~ tention t~3 sich as dat ‚ cause all dey Iceered ‘bout wuz a ~1ace to sleep ~but ‘pears lak to ~.e dey wuz corded beds, made wid four high POStJ.es, put together wid iron j~egs, an‘ holes what you run de COrdE thoo“, bored in de sides. De cords wuz made out of b‘ar grass woun‘ tight together. ~y put straw an‘ old quilts on tern, an~t called ~ em beds.