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| De white folks said dat de free niggers was ruinin’ de other slaves. Mammy was called a free woman by her master. Mawster Jack Hamilton brought her to Texas f’om Randolph County, Alabama, Dey come to Texas in 1847. Little befo’ de beginnin’ ob de Civil War mammy left de Hamilton place, and hired out to other white folks. Mawster Jack said dat he wouldn’t hold no claim gainst her ‘cause he didn’t believe in slavery. But befo’ mammy left Mawster Jacks’s place I was bawn in a box cabin near de big house. | White people thought that the existence of free Black people made enslaved people think they should be free. My mom’s enslaver considered her free. He brought her to Texas from Alabama in 1847. Before the Civil War, she took a job working for other white people. Her enslaver did not believe in slavery and said he held no claim over her. I was born before my mom left his place. |
| Mammy was free so when dey passed dat law against free niggers she was put in jail at Austin [1858] until she would choose a gaudeen…I didn’t have to stay wid her ‘cause I was only about four years old…A pusson could name anybody dat he chose, and dat pusson had to come and git him. But dat didn’t cost de guadeen nothin’, cept to feed and car fo’ him. | When the state government passed the law against free Black people, my mother was put in jail and forced to choose a new enslaver. I was about four years old at the time. She could choose anyone as her enslaver. It cost the enslaver nothing to collect my mom from jail. But they would have to feed and care for her. |
| De same day dat she was put in jail mammy chose Aaron Burleson as her guardian. He had a large cotton plantation at which is now de new State Feeble-Minded School… | Mom chose Aaron Burleson the day she was imprisoned. He owned a cotton plantation. |
| Mawster Burleson had about twenty-five slaves, I think. He thought mo’ of his slave dan most anyone I ever saw. He wouldn’t allow no patrols on his place and dey had better not whoop any of his slaves without consultin’ him either. His slaves didn’t have passes to go anywhere, he jus’ give orders fo’ people not to bother his niggers. He was a mighty fine man. | Burleson had about 25 enslaved people. He cared more about his enslaved people than most enslavers. He did not allow anyone to patrol his land or punish his enslaved people without his consent. He did not give his enslaved people passes to leave his land, but he did prevent others from bothering them. He was a good man. |
| Mammy was most of all a nuss [nurse]. Mammy’s job…was to care ob Maggie [Burleson’s daughter]… Mammy now had her guardian and I was wid her; but uncle Henry Perry didn’t choose nobody and he was allowed to leave de state, jus’ got up and left. | Mom was a nurse. She took care of Burleson’s daughter. I lived with her at Burleson’s place. My uncle, Henry Perry, didn’t choose an enslaver, so he was allowed to leave the state. He just got up and left. |
“James Grumbles, Ex-Slave, Interviewed by Alfred E. Menn,” Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
Background
Before 1835, Texas was part of the country of Mexico and enslaved people in Texas had the ability to gain their freedom. This led to the establishment of a fairly large population of free Black people in Texas. But when white American settlers and Tejanos won their fight for independence from Mexico in 1836, the new Congress of the Republic of Texas immediately made slavery a lifelong condition. They also passed a law that banned free Black people from living in the Republic because they feared a large free Black population would encourage enslaved people to revolt. In 1840, they passed another law that threatened to imprison any free Black person who did not leave the Republic by 1845.
Texas joined the United States in 1845, and their laws governing Black people stayed in place. Things got worse in 1858 when the state legislature passed a law that made it legal for free Black people to choose enslavement so they could stay in the state. This left free Black people in Texas with a terrible choice: leave their home and family behind forever, or enslave themselves.
About the Document
In this interview, James Grumbles tells the story of how his mother, Rachel, chose to enslave herself rather than leave Texas in 1858. At the end of the story, we learn that her brother chose exile.
This interview is part of a collection of oral histories of slavery collected in the 1830s. The U.S. government paid mostly white writers to interview formerly enslaved Americans to create a historical record of the slavery and emancipation from the perspective of Black Americans. The collection provides priceless insights into the lived experiences of Black Americans under slavery. But there are also some questions about how the biases of the white interviewers may have skewed the accounts. Click here to learn more.
Vocabulary
- Tejano: Hispanic resident of Texas at the time of the revolution. Today, Tejano is used to refer to Mexican Americans who live in southern Texas.
- exile: Being forced to leave one’s home country.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think Rachel Grumbles chose enslavement over leaving Texas?
- Why do you think her brother chose to leave?
- What does this story teach us about the impact of U.S. expansion on Black communities in the West?
Suggested Activities
- APUSH Connection: 4.13 The Society of the South in the Early Republic
- Include this document in any lesson about the outcomes of the Texas Revolution.
- Ask student to compare this document with Claiming Freedom in Minnesota and write a short response about the opportunities and setbacks created for Black Americans during U.S. expansion.
- To learn more about the lives of Black Americans in the West, see:
- To learn more about white settlers in Texas, see Settling Texas.
- After reading this account, dive into the larger history of the oral history collection that it is a part of. Then ask students to consider some of the limitations of this particular interview. Who is telling Rachel’s story? How did the interviewer choose to write their narrative? How should these facts inform our reading of the document?
Themes
AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP
