00 to $300.00 a year. This was done the first of
each year by an auction from a "horse block". When Mollie was seven
months old her mother, Clacy Brock, was "hired out" and she was taken
care of by two old Negroes, too old to work, and who did nothing but
care for the little "Niggers". Mollie grew up with these children
between the "big house" and the kitchen. When she was old enough she was
"put to mind" the smaller children and if they did'nt behave she pinched
them, but "when the 'ole Miss found it out, she'd sure 'whup me'", she
said. These children were fed cornbread and milk for breakfast and
supper, and "pot licker" with cornbread for dinner. They slept in a
large room on quilts or pallets. Each night the larger children were
given so many "cuts" to spin, and were punished if all weren't finished.
The thread was woven into cloth on the loom and made into clothes by the
slaves who did the sewing. There were no "store bought" clothes, and
Mollie was free before she ever owned a pair of shoes. Clothes had to be
furnished by the owner for the slaves he "hired out".
Mr. and Mrs. Brock had two daughters, Margaret and Mary Anne, who led
very quiet secluded lives.
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