Sarah Ford: A Freedwoman

Preface

_{This post is the first of a new category, “70 Years of Freedom,” which will consist of the first-hand accounts of enslaved Texans. These posts will be sourced from the Slave Narratives, a New Deal project completed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1936 and 1938.}

_{These narratives will be dissected to paint a picture of the individual’s life, supplemented by photos, documents, and other records. Lastly, the WPA Slave Narratives are known to contain some bias, as the interviewers were primarily white. When present, that bias will definitely be noted.}

Family

“Massa Charles and Uncle Jake don’t like papa, ’cause ain’t so black, and he had spirit, ’cause he part Indian…”

Sarah Ford was born around 1850 to Mike Mitchell and Jane Christopher, both enslaved on the Kit Patton Plantation in West Columbia, Texas. Mike Mitchell, a tanner by trade, was from Tennessee and purchased from a slave trader. According to Sarah, he was part Native American and was visibly lighter-skinned than his counterparts. A few years later, Jane gave birth to Sarah’s younger sister, Rachel.

Master Patton

“But iffen a bird fly up in de sky it mus’ come down sometime, and Rachel jus’ like dat bird, ’cause Massa Kit go crazy and die and Massa Charles take over de plantation and he takes Rachel and puts her to work in de field.”

Columbus “Kit” Patton and his two brothers, St. Clair “Charles” and Matthew are the only two siblings mentioned in Sarah’s recollection. According to the Texas Historical Commission, Kit actually had at least four brothers and two sisters, America and Margaretta. Originally from Kentucky, the Patton family moved to Texas in hopes of profiting from the lucrative sugarcane and cotton industries. They were successful and became very wealthy as a result.

Kit, judging from Sarah’s recollection and other historical sources, was the outcast of the family. He was married to a Black women named Rachel, who accompanied him from Kentucky. She apparently held the status of a White woman both on and off the plantation. Kit also did not tolerate any mistreatment of her.

Miss Rachel

According to Sarah, everyone on the plantation had to refer to Rachel as, “Miss Rachel.” She also frequently made purchases in town with Patton money and even sat in the White pews in the local church. Naturally, this was vehemently opposed by the Patton family and the local community who balked at the idea of a Black woman having a status other than slave

In one instance, Kit’s nephew, a son of his brother Charles, beat Rachel. When Charles came to his son’s defense, Kit removed both of them from his will.

Shortly afterwards, the Patton family had Kit committed to an institution in South Carolina due to “mental instability.” While some say his committal was the family’s way of getting revenge, historical evidence shows that he may have had a brain tumor. This tumor would have caused vision problems and erratic behavior that far exceeded that of interracial marriage.

Kit died in the facility from typhoid dysentery a few years after his commitment. Upon his death, his will and Rachel’s place in it, caused many issues among the Patton family members.

Big Uncle Jake

“But de overseer was Uncle Big Jake, [who’s] black like de rest of us, but he so mean I ‘spect the devil done make him overseer…”

After Kit’s death his brother, St. Clair “Charles” Patton, took over the plantation. According to Sarah, there were good and bad sides to Charles. The good side was that he took care of his enslaved property in the sense that they were well-fed and clothed. The bad side, however, was that he allowed his overseer, Uncle Big Jake, to whip and punish the slaves as he pleased. Jake was Black, but ruthless, and worked the slaves, “from early mornin’ till night.” Whippings were done often, but Jake’s punishment of choice was dripping hot grease on the backs of disobedient slaves and starving them for 3 days.

Charles and Big Jake despised Sarah’s father, Mike, as he frequently escaped the plantation. In fact, Sarah stated that he was so good at it, he came and went as he pleased, even spending up to a year away from the plantation at times. Mike would slip in and out of the plantation undetected and bring food and gifts for Sarah and her mother, Jane. He was considered a bad influence and any time something went wrong, Uncle Big Jake would immediately blame him for it.

Uncle Big Jake managed to get his hands on Mike only once and it was because Mike intentionally allowed himself to be caught. Jake was interrogating Sarah’s pregnant mother, Jane, about Mike’s whereabouts and threatened to whip her if she didn’t tell him. Mike, overhearing the conversation, revealed himself to Jake in order to protect his wife and unborn child.

He carried the grease scars for the rest of his life.

Freedom and Fate

Upon Emancipation, Charles offered to pay all of his previous slaves an honest wage if they decided to stay on the plantation. Mike, being the bad influence, was the only slave excluded from that offer. He subsequently packed his family up and moved to East Columbia. There, he built a modest cabin and corn crib for his family, who found work as sharecroppers. Sarah claimed they were the happiest they had ever been because, “de bright light done come and dey no more whippin’s.”

In an odd twist of fate, Uncle Big Jake, was shunned by the other slaves due to his cruelty as an overseer. He found Mike’s property and begged him for a place to sleep. Mike, being the bigger man, made a space for him in the corn crib, where he lived until he fell ill and died a month later.

Later Years

“…and I shows you how de Lawd done give and take away”

Sarah lived with her parents until her marriage to Wes Ford. After marriage, they moved into their own cabin in close proximity to that of her parents. One night, in 1875, a violent wind storm ripped her parents cabin apart.

Upon further research, this wind storm appears to be the 1875 Indianola hurricane. During this hurricane, Sarah gave birth to her first child. Sarah, her sister, husband, and newborn survived the storm, but her parents perished due to the destructive forces of wind.

The Ford family and their children settled in Houston 20 years after the death of her parents, around 1895. At the time of Sarah’s interview in 1937, her husband and 7 of their 11 children had already died.

Sarah Ford died in 1945 and had resided at her 3115 Clay Street home for 42 years. The present day location of her home is currently an empty lot at the corner of Clay and Velasco streets.

A current Google Maps Street View is below.

If you want to read Sarah Ford’s story in its entirety you can do so here. If you want a deeper dive, here is a link to all of the Slave Narrative writings.