As before stated, we arrived in Memphis on the
Fourth of July, 1865. My first effort as a freeman was to get
something to do to sustain myself and wife and a babe of a few
months, that was born at the salt works. I succeeded in getting
a room for us, and went to work the second day driving a public
carriage. I made enough to keep us and pay our room rent. By our
economy we managed to get on very well. I worked on, hoping to
go further north, feeling somehow that it would be better for
us there; when, one day I ran across a man who knew my wife's
mother. He said to me: "Why, your wife's mother went back
up the river to Cincinnati. I knew her well and the people to
whom she belonged." This information made us eager to take
steps to find her. My wife was naturally anxious to follow the
clue thus obtained, in hopes of finding her mother, whom she had
not seen since the separation at Memphis years before. We, therefore,
concluded to go as far as Cincinnati, at any rate, and endeavor
to get some further information of mother. My wife seemed to gather
new strength in learning this news of her mother, meager though
it was. After a stay in Memphis of six weeks we went on to Cincinnati,
hopeful of meeting some, at least, of the family that, though
free, in defiance of justice, had been consigned to cruel and
hopeless bondage—bondage in violation of civil as well as
moral law. We felt it was almost impossible that we should see
any one that we ever knew; but the man had spoken so earnestly
and positively regarding my mother-in-law that we were not without
hope. On arriving at Cincinnati, our first inquiry was about her,
my wife giving her name and description; and, fortunately, we
came upon a colored man who said he knew of a woman answering
to the name and description which my wife gave of her mother,
and he directed us to the house where she was stopping. When we
reached the place to which we had been directed, my wife not only
found her mother but one of her sisters. The meeting was a joyful
one to us all. No mortal who has not experienced it can imagine
the feeling of those who meet again after long years of enforced
separation and hardship and utter ignorance of one another's condition
and place of habitation. I questioned them as to when and where
they had met, and how it happened that they were now together.
My mother-in-law then began the following narrative:
"When I was sold from the Memphis trader's
yard I was bought by a man who lived not far from Memphis. I
never heard of any of the children, and knew nothing as to what
had become of them. After the capture of Memphis by the Union
army, the people to whom I belonged fled from their home, leaving
their slaves; and the other slaveholders of the neighborhood
did the same. The slaves, left to themselves, at once departed
for Memphis, and I among the number. When I had been there but
a short time a call was made for nurses to go into the hospital;
and, after thinking of it for a few minutes. I concluded to
answer the call, and was speedily installed in the work. When
I had been there a short time I found, to my great surprise
and delight, my eldest daughter was also employed there. She
had come to Memphis as I had, because her master's family had
fled; and, hearing the call for nurses, had entered the service
at once. I can not tell my pleasure in meeting one of my children,
for I had never expected to see any of them again. We continued
our work in the hospital until Generals Sheridan and Grant said
the city was getting too crowded with colored people —
there was not room for them; some must be removed. So, large
numbers of them were sent to Cincinnati, and my daughter and
I were among them. This is why you see us here together."
When she had finished telling this story my wife
and I were shedding tears of joy. My sister-in-law, Mary Ellen,
whom Boss bought at the same time that he bought my wife, was
with us; thus the mother and three daughters had met again most
unexpectedly, and in a way almost miraculous. This meeting again
of mother and daughters, after years of separation and many vicisitudes,
was an occasion of the foundest joy, although all were almost
wholly destitute of the necessaries of life. This first evening
we spent together can never be forgotten. I can see the old woman
now, with bowed form and gray locks, as she gave thanks in joyful
tones yet reverent manner, for such a wonderful blessing.
IN CANADA
We did not remain long in Cincinnati, as houses
were so scarce we could not get a place to stop in. My wife's
mother had but one room, and we could not stay there. We went
on to Hamilton, but stayed there only two months. I worked at
whatever I could get to do — whitewashing and odd jobs of
any kind. The women managed to get washing to do, so that we got
on very well. Our aim was when we left Memphis to get to Canada,
as we regarded that as the safest place for refugees from slavery.
We did not know what might come again for our injury. So, now,
as we had found some of my wife's people, we were more eager to
go; and, as I could not get any steady work in Hamilton, we made
ready to move on. We went straight to Detroit, and crossed over
the river to Windsor, Canada, arriving there on Christmas 1865.
I succeeded in getting work as a porter at the Iron House, a hotel
situated near the landing. Here my wife also was employed, and
here we remained until spring; when, as the wages were so small
in Windsor, I went over to Detroit to seek for more profitable
employment. After some effort, I succeeded in securing a situation,
as waiter, in the Biddle House, and remained there two years,
when the manager died, and it changed hands; and, much as I disliked
to make a change in my work, I found it necessary. An opportunity
soon offered of a position as sailor on the steamer Saginaw, which
ran from Green Bay to Escanaba, in connection with the railroad.
A CLEW TO MY BROTHER WILLIAM
While I was on this boat, one of the men who
worked with me said to me, one day: "Have you a brother,
Hughes?" I said, "Yes, but I don't know anything about
him. We were sold from each other when boys, "Well,"
said he, "I used to sail with a man whose name was Billy
Hughes, and he looked just like you." I told him there were
three boys of us; that we were sold to different parties, and
that I had never seen either of my brothers since. One brother
was named William, but went by the nickname of Billy. "Has
this man had his forefinger cut off," asked I. "Oh!"
replied he, "I don't know, Hughes, about that." "Well,"
said I "this is all I remember about Billy. I accidentally
chopped off his forefinger one day, when we were small boys in
Virginia. This is the only thing by which I could identify my
brother William." Nothing more was said upon the matter,
and it dropped out of my mind. I did not realize how important
were the words of this man. It never occured to me that he held
the clew that might bring us together again.
WORK IN CHICAGO
When the sailing season had ended, the steamer
tied up at Chicago for the winter. Upon going ashore, I at once
tried to get something else to do, for I could not afford to be
idle a day. One of the first men I met in Chicago was my old friend
and fellow-servant Thomas Bland. He was glad to see me, and told
me all about his escape to Canada, and how he had met Will McGee,
at Niagara Falls. He was working at the Sherman House, having
charge of the coat room. I told him that I had been sailing during
the summer, but the boat was now laid up, and that I was anxious
for another job. He said he would try and see what he could do
for me. He went to the proprietor of the hotel, Mr. Rice; and,
to my surprise and delight, he was so fortunate as to secure me
a position as porter and general utility man. My family were still
at Windsor, Canada; and, when I had secured this place, I got
leave of absence to make them a visit, and went there at once.
Two babies had been born only a day before my arrival. I had hoped
to be there on the interesting occasion, but was too late. However,
I was pleased to find two bright little girls to aid in the family
greeting, which was delightful after the mouths of separation.
My wife, her sister Mary and her two children, her mother and
the sister we found a Cincinnati were all still here living together.
ATTENDING NIGHT SCHOOL.
After a visit of two weeks with my family, I
returned to Chicago, and began my work at the Sherman House. I
was full of energy and hope, and resolved to put forth every effort
to make a man of myself, and to earn an honest living. I saw that
I needed education, and it was one of the bitterest remembrances
of my servitude that I had been cheated out of this inalienable
right — this immeasurable blessing. I, therefore, determined
to do what was in my power to gain something of that of which
I had been cruelly defrauded. Hence I entered the night-school
for freedmen, which had been established in the city, and faithfully
attended its sessions during the months it was kept open.
I SETTLE IN MILWAUKEE
I worked at the Sherman House until August 1868,
and, during this time, saw many travelers and business men, and
made some lasting friends among them. Among these was Mr. Plankinton.
He seemed to take a fancy to me, and offered me a situation in
the Plankinton House, soon to be opened in Milwaukee. I readily
accepted it for I was not getting a large salary, and the position
which he offered promised more. The Plankinton House was opened
in September, and I was placed in full charge of the coat room;
and, after I had been there some time, I had, in connection with
my coat room duties, charge of the bell stand. My wife had charge
of the waiter's rooms, a lodging house situated on Second street,
one door from Grand Avenue. This was a brick building that stood
where the west portion of the Plankinton now stands. The second
floor was used as our living rooms; the third and fourth floors
constituted the sleeping apartments of the hotel waiters. My wife
looked after these apartments, saw that they were clean, and had
a general supervision of them.
BEGIN BUSINESS FOR MYSELF IN A SMALL WAY
After the hotel had been running a little over
a year, I saw there was a chance for me to make something at laundry
work. I was allowed to take washing from any of the guests who
desired their work done privately. In this way I worked up quite
a business. I still continued my coat room duties, as my wife
managed the laundry work. Our laundry business increased so rapidly
I deemed it best to change our quarters from Second street to
216 Grand avenue, which seemed better suited for our purpose.
Here the business continued to grow until it reached proportions
of which we had little idea when we began it.
MEETING RELATIVES OF MY OLD MASTER
One day while I was at the Plankinton I happened
to be coming through the hall, when whom should I meet but Col.
Hunting, son-in-law of old Master Jack McGee, of Mississippi.
We came face to face, and I knew him at once, but he only partially
recognized me. He said: "I know your face, but can not recall
your name." I said: "Don't you know Louis McGee?"
He then remembered me at once. "Why," said he, "my
wife, my brother and all his family are here. There is a party
of us on a pleasure trip through the north." I soon learned
that they had visited at Waukesha springs, and had been at the
hotel only a few hours, waiting for the boat for Grand Haven.
I hastened to bring my wife to see them and get back with her
just in time. They were already in the 'bus, but waited for us.
We very cordially shook hands with them. They asked me why I had
come so far north, and I replied that we kept traveling until
we found a place where we could make a good living. They wished
us success and the 'bus rolled away.
FINDING MY BROTHER WILLIAM
While I was at the Plankinton House many of the
traveling men seemingly liked to talk with me when they came to
the coat room to check their things. I remember one day when conversing
with one of these gentlemen, he asked, all of a sudden: "Say,
Hughes, have you a brother?" I answered: "Yes, I had
two, but I think they are dead. I was sold from them when a mere
lad." "Well," said he, "if you have a brother
he is in Cleveland. There is a fellow there who is chief cook
at the Forest City Hotel who looks just like you." I grew
eager at these words, and put the same question to him that I
did to the man on the steamer when I was sailing: "Has he
one-fore-finger cut off?" He laughed and answered" "Well,
I don't know, Hughes, about that; but I do know this: His name
is Billy and he resembles you very much. I'll tell you what I'll
do, when I go back to Cleveland on my next trip I'll look and
see if that fore-finger is off." Now that the second person
had called my attention to the fact that there was a man in Cleveland
who looked very much like me, I became deeply interested —
in fact, I was so excited I could hardly do my work. I awaited
the agents return with what of patience I could command; and,
at last, one day, when I was least expecting him, I was greeted
with these words: "Hello, Hughes! I have good news for you."
I grew so excited I could hardly stand still. "Well,"
he said, "you told me that you had a brother whose name was
William, but called Billy for short?" "Yes," I
said. "Did your brother Billy have his fore-finger chopped
off by his brother Louis, when, as boys, they were one day playing
together?" "Yes," I replied. "Then I have
found your brother," he said. "I have seen the man in
Cleveland, and he corroborates your story in every particular.
He says that he was born in Virginia, near Charlottesville, and
was owned by one John Martin." I knew now, beyond question,
that this was my brother William.
Words failed me to express my feelings at this
news. The prospect of seeing my brother, lost so many years before,
made me almost wild with joy. I thanked the agent for the interest
he had taken in me, and for the invaluable and comprehensive information
he had brought. He could hardly have done me a greater favor,
or bound me to him by a more lasting obligation.
My first step was to arrange for a leave of absence
from my work, which I found no difficulty in accomplishing, and
by night I was aboard the express going to Cleveland. My excitement
did not diminish as I sped on my journey, and the speed of the
express was too slow for my eager anticipations. Upon reaching
Cleveland I went directly to the hotel where I was told my brother
was employed, and inquired at the office for Billy Hughes. A bell
was summoned to take me around to the department where he was.
When we met neither of us spoke for some moments — speech
is not for such occasions, but silence rather, and the rush of
thoughts. When the first flash of feeling had passed I spoke,
calling him by name, and he addressed me as brother. There seemed
to be no doubt on either side as to our true relationship, though
the features of each had long since faded forever from the memory
of the other. He took me to his house; and each of us related
his story with such feelings as few can fully appreciate. He told
me that he had never heard anything of our mother or brother.
He went back to the old home in Virginia, after the close of the
rebellion, but could get no trace of her.
As we related our varied experiences —
the hardships, the wrongs and sorrows which we endured and at
last the coming of brighter days, we were sad, then happy. It
seemed, and indeed was, wonderful that we should have met again
after so long a separation. The time allotted to my visit with
him passed most pleasantly, and all too quickly; and, as I looked
into the faces of his wife and children, I seemed to have entered
a new and broader life, and one in which the joys of social intercourse
had marvelously expanded. When I came to saying good-by to him,
so close did I feel to him, the tie between us seemed never to
have been broken. That week, so full of new experiences and emotions
can never be erased from my memory. After many promises of the
maintenance of the social relations thus renewed, we parted, to
take up again the burdens of life, but with new inspiration and
deeper feeling.
I came back to my work with renewed vigor, and
I could not but rejoice and give praise to God for the blessings
that I had experienced in the years since my bondage, and especially
for this partial restoration of the broken tie of kindred. I had
long since learned to love Christ, and my faith in him was so
firmly established that I gave him praise for each and every ray
of happiness that came into my life.
GROWTH OF THE LAUNDRY BUSINESS
I continued the laundry work, in connection with
that at the hotel, until 1874. I had been in the Plankinton House
then six years and a half. The laundry business had increased
to such an extent that my wife could not manage it all alone.
I, therefore, gave up my position at the hotel, and went into
the laundry work on a somewhat larger scale than that upon which
we had been conducting it. We were still doing business at 216
Grand avenue, and there we remained until 1876; when we removed
to more commodious quarters at 713 on the avenue. But we remained
there only a few months, when we removed to 134 Fourth street
in the rear. The establishment here was fitted up with all modern
appliances; but I was not so successful as I anticipated. My losses
were heavy; and though the facilities for doing the work were
much better than those which we had before possessed, the location
was not so accessible or inviting. We, therefore, went back to
our former location at 713 on the avenue.
EMPLOYED AS A NURSE
Not long after this, Dr. Douglas, a prominent
physician of the city at that time, was in failing health, and,
wishing a nurse, I was recommended to him for this service by
a friend. I served the doctor in this capacity every night for
three months. I then went with him to McComb, a village in southern
Mississippi, which had been, in the days of slavery, a somewhat
famous resort, but which had lost its prestige, and entered upon
a general decline; the hotel and all its surroundings presenting
the appearance of general dilapidation. I remained here with the
doctor for two weeks—until they succeeded in getting another
person to care for him. I then took a run down to New Orleans.
A TRIP SOUTH
When I arrived at New Orleans I found the levee
filled with fruit. Oranges and bananas were piled in masses like
coal, and the scenes in this portion of the city were very different
from anything one sees in the north. Among the many places of
interest in the city were the cemeteries. Owing to the low level
of the ground and its saturation with water, burials are seldom
made in graves, but instead in tombs built of brick or marble
or other stone, in which are constructed cells running back from
the front and of a size and shape sufficient to admit a coffin.
Then, as soon as filled, they are sealed up. These tombs contain
from two to six or eight, or even more of these cells, and their
general appearance from the front is not unlike that of a section
of mail boxes in a post office. Other places of interest were
the old French market, the public squares and gardens, the old
Catholic churches, and some of the relics of slavery days in the
shape of pens where slaves were exposed for sale. One of these
was in the basement of the Hotel Royal, which would contain several
hundred at once, and from which hundreds went to a bondage bitterer
than death, and from which death was the only relief.
I MAKE NURSING MY REGULAR BUSINESS
I came back to Milwaukee with a new idea. I liked
nursing — it was my choice from childhood. Even though I
had been deprived of a course of training, I felt that I was not
too old to try, at least, to learn the art, or to add to what
I already knew. Dr. Douglas gave me a splendid recommendation,
and had some cards printed, bearing my name and address.
These I distributed, and thus began the business
which I have followed steadily since that time. Dr. Marks very
kindly recommended me to well known men needing the service of
a nurse, and to his professional associates; and through this
means, and through his continued kindness and interest, I have
been almost constantly engaged in this work. I am also indebted
to Drs. Fox and Spearman and other prominent physicians for recommendations
which have resulted in securing me employment which has proved
remunerative to me, and which seemed to give entire satisfaction
to the sick and their friends. This is no small part of the compensation
in the difficult, often wearing, and always delicate duties of
the nurse in the sick room. To every true man or woman it is one
of the greatest satisfactions to have the consciousness of having
been useful to his fellow beings. My duties as nurse have taken
me to different parts of the state, to Chicago, to California
and to Florida; and I have thus gained no little experience, not
only in my business, but in many other directions.
I have endeavored, in the foregoing sketch, to
give a clear and correct idea of the institution of human slavery,
as I witnessed and experienced it — its brutality, its degrading
influence upon both master and slave, and its utter incompatibility
with industrial improvement and general educational progress.
Nothing has been exagerated or set down in malice, although in
the scars which I still bear upon my person, and in the wounds
of spirit which will never wholly heal, there might be found a
seeming excuse for such a course. Whatever of kindness was shown
me during the years of my bondage, I still gratefully remember,
whether it came from white master or fellow slave; and for the
recognition which has been so generously accorded me since the
badge of servitude was removed, I am profoundly and devoutly thankful.
The End.
