A collection of 36 previously unpublished interviews with African American residents of South Carolina who worked as slaves prior to emancipation; interviews conducted, ca. 1936 and 1937, by employees of the Federal Writers' Project, a program of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Most interviews collected from people living in Columbia, and the South Carolina Counties of Beaufort, Georgetown, Horry, Newberry, Union, and elsewhere. Majority of interviews with former S.C. slaves were published in 1972, 1977, and 1979, and more recently are available online as part of the American Memory project at the Library of Congress. Topics discussed include African American folklore, anecdotes, and family stories, such as an account of "The Stono Insurrection," described by George Cato of Columbia, S.C., identified as "a descendant of the leader" (project #1655) re the revolt in Charleston County on 9 Sept. 1739, also known as Cato's Conspiracy; "Washington's Sick Horse Cured by a Negro Faith Doctor," told by Hampton Fielder of Columbia, S.C., re an incident during George Washington's visit to Columbia, 22-24 May 1791; and other topics.
