political offices in the state of Florida, when Negro tradesmen and
professionals competed successfully and unmolested with the whites. Many
fortunes were made by men who are now little more than beggars. To this
group belongs the man who in spite of reduced circumstances manages
still to make one think of top hats and state affairs. Although small of
stature and almost disabled by rheumatism, he has the fiery dignity and
straight back that we associate with men who have ruled others. At the
same time he might also be characterized as a sweet old person, with all
the tender reminiscences of the old days and the and childish
prejudices against all things new. As might be expected, he lives in the
past and always is delighted whenever he is asked to tell about the only
life that he has ever really lived. Together with his aged wife he lives
with his children and is known to local relief agencies who supplement
the very small income he now derives from what is left of what was at
one time a considerable fortune.


REFERENCE

Personal interview with subject, Frank Berry, 1614 West Twenty-Second
Street, Jacksonville, Florida




FLORIDA FOLKLORE
SLAVE CUSTOMS AND ANECDOTES

MARY MINUS BIDDIE