The Voices of My Ancestors 

The first time I read slave narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project I could almost hear the voices of my ancestors. I felt their presence. Their pain, their fears, their joys leapt from my computer screen. I immediately began to search for recognizable names and places. The three obvious ones were the brother of my paternal great grandfather. 

Emanuel and Washington Armstrong were the brothers of my paternal great-grandfather. Nora was the sister of my paternal great-grandmother. They narrated, in their own words, their lives as enslaved people.

Emanuel "Manuel" Armstrong was born in January 1858 in Jasper, Texas to Zilpah Hadnot and Jackson Armstrong. He married Tempy Byerly and they had eight children together. Tempy died in 1895. Manuel later married Nora Ferrell Brumley in 1897. They had two children together. Manuel died on April 8, 1941, in Jasper, Texas, at the age of 83. He is buried in Hadnot Cemetery in Jasper County, Texas.

Washington "Wash" Armstrong was born enslaved to Zilpah Hadnot and Jackson Armstrong on April 5, 1860 in Cherokee County, Texas. As a young man, he had two daughters, one with Angie Grant and another with Effie Mitchell. Wash later married Lula Seale and together they had nine children. Wash died on September 18, 1942, in Jasper County, Texas, at the age of 82, and was buried in Hadnot Cemetery in Jasper County.

More narratives

Born in Slavery: These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA).