The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1914-09-05

On our NlslI Win our dear OLD mother
Mrs. Mary Ann Taylor Dixon, in the first
part of May, 1906, at the home of our
sister, Mrs. Jennie Frazier, at Harris
burg. Pa. She gave such vivid ae
count or description of her girl or wo
manhood days which she spent in tn,
house of bondage, that it would max,
an interesting story for the very best
novelist or the most fascinating writer
for in this rapid age it almost sounds
like a fairy tale. 1t is, therefore, be
yond our ability to paint a true per
picture of this product of slavery days
who is fast approaching the one hun,
dred mile stone in her journey through
life, for she celebrated her seth birth.
day Wednesday, August &c. at the home
of our sister already mentioned. The
story runs something like the following
which is reproduced from these columns
June 9, 1906, and it is republished at
this time in view of the fact that she
is living in a new age or world.
Mary Ann Gale was born the 26th
Of August, 1924, on the banks of Smith
Creek near New Market, Va. She was
the property of John Riddle, and while
she was vet a small girl she and her
mother were taken by their mistress,
Mrs. Sally Riddle, to live at Brooks
Gap, which was only a short distance
/ from the place Of her birth. She was
then about ten years old. She grew
up to wOmanhOod while residing in the
last mentioned place, and when she was
near twenty years old she was permitted
to become the wife Of Gilbert Taylor,
who were the parents of fourteen chill
dren, and it might be stated here that
Samuel Cootes, the owner Of our father,
was his father, and John Riddle, the
owner Of our mothers mother, was her
father.
Six out Of the fourteen children she
brought into this world were born at
Brooks Gap, and in time the Riddles
decided to sell their slaves like good
Christians, and remove to the great
or the free State Of Ohio, where slavery
did not exist, and mother, father, our
only brother, Milton, and four sisters,
namely: Margaret Elizabeth, Amanda,
Emma s. and Jennie, were sold to
slave-trader by the name Of Showwalter
who hailed from Georgia or Alabama,
for twenty-five hundred dollars spot
cash. 1t was the intention of the slave
trader to take her, her husband and
five children to Richmond, Va, and keep
them in the slave-pens there with his
three hundred other slaves until he was
able to buy a larger number to journey
South, but in the meantime the cholera
broke out among those already confined
in the slave-pens at Richmond, and
many of them died from its effect. |
which was a great financial loss to their
owner, and the slave-trader was kind
enough to inform her that off he eould
find homes for her and her husband
and the children he would not take
them down South, where they would be |
forced to work all the rest of their
days in the cotton or tobacco fields. -
So he sold her and two Of our sisters.
Amanda and Emma, to William Siebert, |
who owned two small plantations near
New Market, Va, and he was one of |
the most prominent men in Rockingham
county. Ben Hoover bought our other
two sisters, Jennie and Margaret, and
Louis Circle became the new owner Of
our father and brother Milton. For
tunate for them they did not live 80
far apart to prevent them from CO.
mingling with each other at least once
or twice a month, and while living in
the beautiful Shenandoah Valley which
is one Of the finest valleys in the world
she gave birth to eight more children
to add to the wealth of her master.
but like her first child, which died and
was buried at Brooks Gap, six out of
this number died in infancy, and they
were buried in old man Keeps grave
yard near New Market, Va. The names
Of the seven children she lost in slavery
were as follows: Caroline, Aljourney,
Ida, Mile, George, Harriet L. and
William Luther.
On the 11th Of October, 1858. and on
January 7, 1858, she brought her two
last children into this world Of 50
much pain and SORROW, and they were
Hannah Louise Taylor and Julius Frank
i'm Taylor, and she says "that this
name was given to rs in honor Of Julius
Franklin seibert, her masters favorits
on" It might be well to pause right
aere for few moments to state 'that
Ia has Z, II, s,,.~..-f.- . - -