Plantation Sketches

Plantation Sketches, by Margaret
Devereux

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Title: Plantation Sketches
Author: Margaret Devereux
Release Date: September 19, 2007 [EBook #22673]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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PLANTATION SKETCHES ***

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PLANTATION SKETCHES

BY
MARGARET DEVEREUX
PRIVATELY PRINTED AT The Riverside Press, Cambridge
MDCCCCVI

[Illustration: MAMMY]

COPYRIGHT 1906 BY MARGARET DEVEREUX
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

EDITOR'S PREFACE
The descriptions of Southern life in this little book, as well as the
accompanying stories, were written by Mrs. Devereux during the past
fifteen years, in large part after she had passed her sixty-fifth year.
They are essentially reminiscent, and were prepared originally with no
thought of publication, but merely to be read to her grandchildren, so
that there might be preserved in their minds some conception of the
old-time lives of their grandparents. The sketches thus came to be read
by me to my own children, who are of the third generation. They
brought to my mind so simply, yet so vividly and in so attractive a
manner, a picture of the old plantation life, they showed such
remarkable memory of interesting details, that they seemed to me to
merit publication. The charm of the descriptions will impress all
readers, and the truthfulness of the illustrations of negro character and
habits will be recognized by all who are familiar with the South. The
sketches are simple, homely little tales prepared for children, and they
must be read with this fact in mind; but they have nevertheless an
interest and a lesson for maturer readers, to whom they are now
offered.

Arthur Winslow
18 Chestnut St., Boston, Mass. April 27, 1906

CONTENTS
Letter to my Grandchildren ix
Plantation Life 1
Going to the Plantation 40
My Own Early Home 52
Two Bob Whites 59
Little Dave 74
The Hog-Feeder's Day 85
The Junior Reserve 113
Mammy 119
War Reminiscences 150

TO MY GRANDCHILDREN
As the "New South," with all its changes and improvements, rises
above the horizon, those whose hearts still cling to the "Old South"
look sadly backward and sigh to see it fade away into dimness, to be
soon lost to sight and to live only in the memory of the few. Hoping to
rescue from oblivion a few of the habits, thoughts, and feelings of the
people who made our South what it was, I have drawn from memory a
few pen sketches of plantation life, based upon actual events, in which
are recorded some of the good and even noble traits of character which

were brought forth under the yoke of slavery.
For you, my dear grandchildren, I have tried to fix, before they fade
entirely, these already faint reflections from the "light of other days."
Margaret Devereux.
Raleigh, North Carolina. December, 1905.

PLANTATION LIFE
I am going to try to describe to you something of the lives and homes
of your dear grandfather and of your great-grandfather, because I want
you to know something of them, because their mode of life was one of
which scarcely a vestige is left now, and because, finally, I don't want
you to be led into the misconception held by some that Southern
planters and slaveholders were cruel despots, and that the life of the
negro slaves on the plantation was one of misery and sorrow.
Before I enter upon my brief narrative I want you to realize that it is all
strictly true, being based upon my knowledge of facts; very simple and
homely in its details, but with the merit of entire truthfulness.
Your great-grandfather, Thomas Pollock Devereux, and your
grandfather, John Devereux, were planters upon an unusually large
scale in North Carolina; together they owned eight large plantations
and between fifteen and sixteen hundred negroes. Their lands, situated
in the rich river bottoms of Halifax and Bertie counties, were very
fertile, the sale crops being corn, cotton, and droves of hogs, which
were sent to Southampton county, Virginia, for sale.
The names of your great-grandfather's plantations were Conacanarra,
Feltons, Looking Glass, Montrose, Polenta, and Barrows, besides a
large body of land in the counties of Jones and Hyde. His residence was
at Conacanarra, where the dwelling stood upon a bluff commanding a
fine view of the Roanoke river, and, with the pretty house of the head
overseer,