Interview with Steve Brown,Cape Girardeau, Mo.
"Mista Joe Medley and his wife, Miss Addie was my young master and mistress. Old master John Medley done brung us from Kentucky when he moved from there to Cape County. I was jest a baby den. I never knowed nothin' 'bout my daddy.
"De white folks had a big log-house. It was an awful big house, with a big porch on de north side. They was some cedar trees in de yard and some fruit trees. Dey was a big log barn and split rail fences all around. Us little fellers had to help carry in de wood, and help do de feeding. Dey had lots of hosses, cows, and pigs.
"Dey was a separate house for de spinning and weaving. Cose all our clothes and shoes too, was made on de place. Massa was mighty good to his cullud folks. He never 'lowed none of 'em to be sold and I don't recollect ever seeing anyone getting whupped. No, we never had no gatherin's nor schools, nor nuthing of the kind.
"Massa had a fine big carriage and one Sunday he'd take all de white folks to church and de next Sunday, he put de cullud folks in de carriage and send dem to church. Dat's how come us to be Catholics. We come all de way to Cape, to St. Vincent's Church, down by de river. We lived away off dere in de backwoods and we didn't see much of sojers—jes' a few scattered ones come by after de skirmish at de Cape. When de war ended, we moved to de Cape and work on de college farm.
"When I's little de mostest fun we had was going fishing—we spent most of our time down dar by de branch and I guess de big folks was glad to have us out of de way."
Steve Brown lives at the end of Elm Street, Cape Girardeau.