Last of the Pioneers, Or, Old Times in East Tenn

Book excerpt: When Pharaoh Jackson Chesney dictated his narrative to John Coram Webster in 1902, he claimed to be approximately 120 years old. Born a slave in Clarksville, Va, Chesney married and had four children. Separated from his wife and children, at age 60, when sold to John Chesney in Tennessee, Pharaoh Jackson Chesney was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation after eighty years of slavery. Narrative contains information about slave and rural life in the 18th and 19th centuries. Much focuses on the economic, societal, and cultural changes that occurred during Chesney's long life, including development of cities and expansion of the west, farming and manufacturing techniques, and the Civil War's impact on the United States. Also includes various rural traditions and customs, such as harvest traditions, quilting bees, religious life, and superstitions. He discusses slavery, primarily to point out that in his experience, slaves were generally well-treated. He also describes the Underground Railroad and what it was like to be a slave working on plantations during the Civil War. Also includes a copy of the bill of sale for Ferry (as Chesney was called) and a memorium to J.C. Webster.