Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-06-27

of manual labor as a slave for man
years and then to be freed only
find her children separated from hel
one of whom she has never found Is
in brief, the life story of Mrs. Mar
Talbert, a colored woman now livin
at 81 South Ash street in this city
Ottumwas oldest inhabitant is TN
doubtedly the pioneer in number O
years she has spent upon earth, il
this part of the state and probably il
all of Iowa. Quiet and unassuming
yet alive and active to everything go
ing on around her, this old lady fur
nishes a veritable gold mine in wa!
of tales and stories of the ante-bellun
days and those which followed tina
great civil strife. Even further bacl
than that can her fund Of knowledge
reach for she has an intimate recol
lection of happenings in the early par
of the nineteenth century. She Is &
bit reticent about referring to hel
story but when questioned shows nc
attempt to take offense at the fdes
which prompts the questioner, that OF
learning of some of the terrible things
through which this oldest inhabitant
has passed and which she recalls with
such vivid recollection that it seems
1t happened only last year instead OF
fifty or sixty years ago and that the
conversation Is being held with a
woman of forty-five and not one who
has lived almost fifteen years over
the century mark.
Being compelled to work when very
young, Mrs. Talbert was denied even
the meager education which was OBJ.
tainable at that time, consequently
she Is able to neither read nor write.
However, that fact la not hindrance
to her in keeping abreast of the times.
She is we'll versed in all of the current
happenings Of the world and enjoys
20 talk Of the everyday events more
than any one thing unless it Is to re-
late her life story when once she has
been coaxed a bit She cannot place
certain prominent events in the exact
day, month and year of their trans
piring but she can adjust them in her
own life history and knows their con-
nection in that manner. Events which
very few people nowadays have any
knowledge of, only as they have
learned them from the history studies,
are wildly alive for this old lady. She
remembers clearly the Mexican war,
the Indian struggles of the early days
and Of course the days of the great
Civil war are clear in her mind for
that meant her freedom from slavery.
She can remember hearing the war
with England in 1912 discussed by her
kindred and the great days before
election of some of the first presidents
are all recalled clearly to her mind.
Born In Kentucky.
Mary Allen was born in Garrett
county, Kentucky, on December rs,
1893, and that state, Missouri and
Iowa have been her home during the
entire period Of her life, now reaching
nearly one hundred and fifteen years.
Mrs. Talbert says that she believes
that she inherits her long period of life
as her mother died at the age of 120
years and she attributes the tendency
toward long life in the family to be
due to the fact that her mother was
part Indian, having been descended
through long line of colored people
from an Indian warrior. Not only as
me daughter obtained distinction for
her long years but the mothers life
has historical trace about it; for
she at one time was slave belonging
to Daniel Boone. This was at time
when Boone was cruising up and down
the Ohio river and the colored girl,
as she was then, was employed as a
nurse girl and attendant to Boone's
daughter. They piled up and down
the Ohio for quite while and then at
ter a time the slave was sold to man
named Johnson. Mrs. Talbert says
that she has heard her mother tell
many times of the days spent with the
81 ~vA oh al
them with pleasure for she was loud
in her praises OF the Boones ana
their treatment of her.
Born \ in Kentucky, she quickly
learned to do part of the work which
was to be hers to do and this little
colored girl, Mary Allen was soon IN
the fields with her mother and other
slaves dong their masters bidding.
Theirs was no easy task and the small
child was carly in life drilled in the
work which she was later to do by
herself. Part Of the time the labors
were inside Of the house but for the
most part out in the fields. She was
trained In all of the methods, prime
val as they were, that were en-
ployed by those early day southern
farmers. All kinds of field work was
done by the slaves from the hrst max
Ing of the ground ready for planting to
the putting away of the harvest in the
tall.
Cared for Fields.
One thing Mrs. Talbert seems to re-
member very vivdly was the work she
did in blowing the ground and pre-
pairing the fields for planting the seeds
In the very early spring time. She has
cared for crops of fax, hemp, corn and
tobacco from the first to the last She
recalls many years that she would pre-.
pare the great bales of tobacco and
carry them on her back to the ship
ping wharf, where they would be load
ed upon the boats and sent to New Or
leans, there to be redistributed. In
the days when the slaves, both men
and women, would be working in the
maple sugar groves, drawing the syrup
from the trees, Mrs. Talbert
worked twelve and fourteen hours
day carrying the buckets of sugar and
syrup from tree to plant, the woman
taking care of three buckets, one on
ZACH shoulder and one on her head. ;