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Tape [[strikethrough]]WII[[/strikethrough]]WI
MINNIE EVANS 2. 3-5-71  

M.E. girl. My grandmother sat down and told me the story that her grandmother had told her where they came from Trinidad.

C.W. Can you tell me one of those stories about coming from Trinidad? How did they ?

M.E. [strikethrough]] Their [[strikethrough]]Well mother said that her great grandmother Margaret. Her name was not listed as Margaret until after she came to Wilmington but her name was [[strikethrough]] Monia [[/strikethrough]]Manney. And there were [[strikethrough]] herself [[/strikethrough]]sold, her husband therself and five children. They were drove somewhere through the forest, through the woods and her husband taken some kind of a fever and he died. She don't [[strikethrough]] really [[/strikethrough]] think he really just died. He couldn't go and she believe they killed him.

C.W. Was this in Trinidad or North Carolina?

M.E. Yes, this was in Trinidad [[strikethrough]] just [[/strikethrough]] this was before they got to North Caroline a long time and then two or three of her children taken sick with small pox or [[strikethrough]]chlorea[[/strikethrough]] cholerea in the woods and they died but she and her youngest child they survived. They didn't get sick at all. So they came on. They didn't like that master that had them he give them over to another man as far as she could understand and they taken a boat and came on to North Carolina.

C.W. I see and your family has been in North Caroline ever since?

M.E. Un huh, and she said they came to a place called Charles' Town

C.W. Yes, yes

M.E. But this town was Charleston, South Carolina and they were bought on from there to Wilmington. So a man bought them bought her and her little baby from Wilmington from New Hanover County from up in Samson County and that's where they grew up at.

C.W. Now did your mother see slavery times?

M.E. Not my mother, my grandmother

C.W. Saw slavery?

M.E. Yes, she saw slavery. She was five years old in [[strikethrough]] when [[strikethrough]]  freedom [[strikethrough]] came [[strikethrough]] and then there was some other older children and her mistress and master gave her, take her two oldest children from her and gave them to his daughter for a wedding present. And they stayed upmin Samson County and then she stayed down in Long Creek, down with the other man and his family. So after freedom grandmother then saw this freedom. My great grandmother she and two or three other women where their children had been taken from them went up into this county and they were gone for three weeks or more walking through that country to where they got to where the children was and brought her two children back. all together, she had about 12 or 13 head of children from these three different husbands.

C.W. But your mother was the only child of her mother?

M.E. No. Now my mother was the only child [[strikethrough]] of [[strikethrough]] her mother had, that was my grandmother.
Sounder [[?]]
C.W. Right, right and so then you dropped out of school [[strikethrough]] at the end of [[strikethrough]] in the 6th grade?