Speakers-Cornelia Alexander, Yolanda Harrell

Location-Pendleton, SC

Cassette 1

Side 1

00:21--Cornelia Thompson Alexander was born on August 11, 1900 in Pendleton, SC.

00:46--Ms. Harrell asks about her parents James and Lilly Grant Thompson. James Thompson's parents were Reuben and Betty Jackson Thompson. Reuben was a successful carpenter who worked for both whites and blacks. Lilly Grant's parents were Sam and Rosa Grant.

5:15--Rosa Grant was a local midwife; she came to live with the family after Mrs. Alexander's mother died. After a few years she moved to Atlanta, GA.

7:26--Ms. Alexander's siblings are: J.B. (died in 1973), Madeline (never married--died in 1964), Amelia, and Benjamin.

9:27--Alexander explains that they did not own their own home at first; her father was a sharecropper and did carpentry work on the side. Uncle Willie Thompson had no children; he bought the family a two-story house after their mother's death. James then went into carpentry full time.

10:31--There was a gentleman named Uncle Wash who helped her father with sharecropping (he lived with her family); she believes his name was Washington.

11:21--Harrell asks about older family members, and what their lives were like many years ago. Rosa Grant was seven when emancipation came. She and Ruben were slaves. Betty Jackson was also a slave; she worked in the master's house. When the family was free from slavery they stayed in the Pendleton area near Highway 88 and Greenville highway.

15:08--Ms. Alexander's grandparents did not have bad slave stories. They had clothes, food, etc.,--but low pay. Master's would occasionally let their slaves attend church; they had to sit in the gallery. She states that the AME church was founded by Richard Allen of Philadelphia, PA who tried to take communion at a white church. He was not allowed; this led Allen to seek out a means by which blacks could worship freely, without boundaries or segregation. [After consultation with other concerned leaders, a General Convention was called in April 1816 in order to form the AME Church]. AME stands for African Methodist Episcopal.

18:37--Alexander's family members are buried in Pendleton. The graves are marked.

19:06--Alexander dislikes funerals. She went to her mother's funeral as a young child. She did not cry at her funeral but felt very uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Funerals were long; they regularly lasted one to one 1/2 hours. There was much shouting and singing.

22:13--Mrs. Alexander recalls how her mother was sick the night before she died. She had all of her children come to say goodnight and give her a kiss.

23:02--Marriages were carried out in simple church services.

24:32--Alexander has a brother living in Long Island, NY. Willie Mae Thompson lives and Greensboro, NC, and Frieda Thompson lives in Atlanta, GA.

27:39--While Mrs. Alexander's father was a sharecropper, the family house burned in a fire. The family moved to the Old Grove Community until her Uncle Willie bought them a house. James stopped sharecropping when Ms. Alexander was eight years old.

29:59--Her father James had many brothers. They all moved to Birmingham, AL. in order to find better employment opportunities. They eventually returned except for Eddie, whom Ms. Alexander never knew.

31:54--Audio ends.

Cassette 1

Side 2

00:11--Mrs. Alexander's brother Ben went to New York after attending Hampton College in Virginia. After graduating he made his home up north, where he worked at a hotel, post office, and retired while in the railroad profession.

1:56--Alexander's uncle worked for the Blue Ridge Railroad until he died. Henry Thompson was a wood passer for the steam train. One night after heavy rains, a trestle broke and the train fell into the water below. Henry stayed in the water all night with a broken leg and was rescued the next morning, but died a few hours later.

5:12--The only jobs that were available to black men were blacksmith, railroad, carpentry, or sharecrop related work. Black women were domestics or homemakers. Young blacks were allowed to wash clothes and baby-sit.

6:43--Mrs. Alexander recalls that there were few stores in Pendleton. The first store was Hunter's, which had food, clothes, and anything else. Cash was accepted in all of the stores.

8:46--Alexander's mother made all of her children's clothing. This includes undergarment, suits, dresses, and every day clothes.

9:59--Mrs. Alexander recalls that the only staples such as coffee, sugar, and flour were purchased at local stores. Most of the other items were raised at home.

11:45--She recalls that her sister went to Morris Brown College in Atlanta. She painted pictures for a schoolbook there. Later on she taught in Chapel Hill and then moved to New York. Teaching did not pay very much.

14:42--Her grandmother told her of bad storms and earthquakes that happened before she was born.

16:28--Mrs. Alexander recalls when she was sick with the flu. She was never able to get out of bed. At one point she thought she was going to die, but became better later that afternoon. Her father would go around to other houses and help those who had the flu; he never became ill. Isaac Brown died from it; the Calhoun's both had it and died in bed together.

20:31--Mrs. Alexander's oldest brother J.B. served in France during WWI. He was a signal-man in the Navy.

23:27--Church--Kings Chapel was the AME church in Pendleton. Ministers in the area held no other jobs. Silver Springs was another important church in the area during that time. The churches had cemeteries, but many were not located on the church grounds.

28:59--Alexander recalls camp meetings that were an annual event held in October. The meeting would start on Friday and go through the weekend until Sunday evening. Mrs. Alexander was a teen when she first attended.

32:17--Audio ends.

Cassette 2

Side 1

00:19--Alexander continues to discuss the camp meetings. She attended with friends. There were lectures, singing, food, and good fellowship.

2:20--There was a man in Anderson who directed of a wonderful choir; they attended local camp meetings.

4:05--There were people out of town who would stay with friends or relatives. There were even some who camped out in tents around town. The meetings were held in the Methodist Church in downtown Pendleton until they because too crowded and were moved to a little out of town.

5:15--Mrs. Alexander recalls singing conventions that would take place once a month. She joined a choir when she was in her thirties. They were quite talented; they made appearances on the radio. She sang high soprano. Rebecca Winston Thompson was the choir leader. The musicians were Lorain Goldman, Daphne Williams, and A.R. Moss.

10:35--Harrell asks what other kinds of groups that young people could join. Mrs. Alexander cannot recall very many, but every Sunday they would have Sunday school and AC League in the evenings. The Baptist Club was called BYPU; they met in the evening as well on Sundays.

12:51--Education--Mrs. Alexander describes her school. She attended a two-room schoolhouse until a new one was later built. One room housed a primary school and grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. The other room held grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. After grade 8 there was a formal graduation. The school term was from end of fall to early spring. Then there was a little bit of summer school after planting season. The teachers were black; most attended Allen University in Columbia, SC.

25:20--Ms. Alexander's father was a very successful carpenter. He worked under a white man at first and he taught him everything he knew. James Thompson then went into business for himself. He had one man working for him and they built houses. Sue Reed's house was one of the first ones he built.

29:29--Rosa Grant, the local midwife, and Mrs. Alexander's grandmother could not read or write. Ms. Alexander's parents could, however, read and write.

30:41--Ms. Alexander went to school until 8^th grade. The graduation ceremony followed. There were 10-15 teens in her class. Mrs. Alexander went to Hampton University after school for a month. She became sick and had to come home.

32:21--Audio ends.

Cassette 2

Side 2

00:31--Mrs. Alexander discusses her sibling's education. Ben graduated from Hampton College and he married but he had no children. Madeline graduated from Mars College; she spoke at her graduation. She was the first in the family to attend college in 1922. She taught briefly at Chapel Hill but felt that the pay was not enough. She lived in New York for a while but eventually moved back to Atlanta. JB was in WWI and he finished his schooling in eighth grade, which was as far as one could go. He is married and has nine children. He is a mechanic. Amelia went to Hampton College, but did not finish. She moved to New York and lived there until her death.

6:56--Books/newspapers--Mrs. Alexander explains that the only thing to read at home besides your school books were the newspapers her father would get. The Grit and the Anderson paper were a few of them. The bible was a very important book in the home as well.

9:49--Differences between white and black schools--whites had newer, nicer schools. They attended longer semesters and had many more teachers. The black schools did not improve until a white Jewish man named Rosenwald helped improve schools for blacks.

11:59--Ms. Alexander explains how there were not any specific organized educational groups per se, but there were many others. The PBA society and the Mason societies were a few. There was also the Art Fellows, which her father was a member of; this was a group of men and women who met on a regular schedule. Most of the groups met once a month at the church, a hall, or another location.

14:50--It was not until the 1940s when blacks were allowed to vote in the area.

16:20--Mrs. Alexander discusses how her ancestors were involved with slavery. Treatment of slaves depended on the master. There was a slave trading post down the street from Alexander's house. The owners would look for healthy teeth, strong bones, and personality.

22:35--Mrs. Alexander explains how black people were treated differently by law enforcement, more so then than now.

23:15--Alexander states how family life is different today than it was a few years ago. People would get married, stay together, be happy, and raise a family. They would not separate. Black and whites mixed in the dating scene in the old days, but it is more likely to happen today.

27:28--Mrs. Alexander's mother and father both had traces of Native American ancestry (Cherokee). Alexander would occasionally run across Native American graves in her father's cotton field when she was younger.

30:10--Alexander did not travel to Greenville until her early twenties; she traveled to Anderson very rarely. She first traveled to Anderson by train in order to attend her school's field day events.

32:07--Mrs. Alexander recalls that her easiest job was in Charleston, South Carolina; she was a chambermaid for a very wealthy couple. She took care of duties in the second story of the house.

32:45--Audio ends.

Cassette 3

Side 1

00:07--Mrs. Alexander continues to describe her job in Charleston. She kept the master bed made, and the rooms clean. The family also employed a butler, cook, a washroom lady, and a gardener to help out. Alexander worked there for seven years until the death of the couple.

1:41--Celebrations--Alexander describes how they celebrated Easter Sunday by having fellowship and egg hunts. They also had a school party during Valentines Day where there might be a cakewalk. During the Christmas season there would be a church play and Santa Claus would bring a present for each of the children. Birthdays and anniversaries were not celebrated.

6:02--Mrs. Alexander recalls Rev. Ben Keese and his furniture selling business. He would send out flyers of his upcoming sales. He eventually owned a hotel in town, a café, and in addition would purchase people's houses if they could not afford them any longer. He had two wives, and several children.

13:38--Mrs. Alexander's first husband was James Coleman Hood, whom she married when she was eighteen years old. They were married in Spartanburg and attended school together. He went into the Army and was involved with World War I. After the war he moved away for work and died of a disease before Mrs. Alexander could join him. She had a second husband, John Alexander, who worked at the Clemson University dining hall. They were both in their thirties when they married and stayed so until his death.

18:51--Mrs. Alexander recalls that she had the flu while living in Spartanburg. James Hood's sisters took care of her and prepared her meals. Winston Townes, a cousin, helped Alexander's father take care of the sick during the flu season.

23:30--Mrs. Alexander recalls that her father came up with the name "Queen Street" even before Pendleton named their streets.

26:53--Alexander was fond of Ms. Cora Brown Reed, her mother's good friend. Reed was also her teacher and took care of the family when they were young.

31:40--A happy memory of childhood was her school's field day in Anderson. This was the first time she had been to Anderson and they took a train to get there. The schools played relay races, basketball, and other fun games. There were also hot dogs for sale for five cents.

32:29--Audio Ends.

Cassette 3

Side 2

2:42--Alexander never knew for the longest time that blacks where not treated as equals to whites. She has never hated anyone and never got into any physical altercations like some kids did at school.

5:30--Her father and his Art Fellows friends help build the two-story house that Mrs. Alexander grew up in. The children had the upstairs rooms.

10:30--If she could change something about her life, what would it be? Mrs. Alexander's response was her eyesight and the wish that family would move closer to the Pendleton area. Alexander also explains that she would have not gotten married so young.

16:55--Audio ends.