USA > Rhode Island > Kent County > East Greenwich > History of the town of East Greenwich and adjacent territory, from 1677 to 1877 > Part 21
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Special donations were sent to Lovell Hospital, Ports- mouth Grove, in our own State; to Missouri, and through Miss Dix to the Washington hospitals. The Second,
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LADIES' SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY.
Fourth and Eleventh Rhode Island Regiments, and the First Regiment New York Mounted Rifles, received assist- ance from the Society. Ten dollars were sent to the United States Sanitary Commission through Russell M. Larned, Esq., agent for Rhode Island.
In November, 1862, about thirty young ladies-some of them members of the "Aid Society," organized a Knitting Circle, their special object being to labor for our volunteer soldiers. The officers were as follows :
President-Miss Mary M. Sherman.
Vice-President-Miss Mary H. Brown.
Secretary-Miss Lucy M. Brown.
Treasurer-Miss Emma L. Rhodes.
Directresses-Miss Laura M. Eddy and Miss Lizzie S. Knowles.
Committee of Ways and Means-Miss Mary H. Brown, Miss Lizzie B. Greene, Miss Maria Rhodes, Miss Annie D. Coggeshall, Miss Melissa B. Spooner.
Gentlemen were permitted to attend the evening meet- ings by the contribution of money or yarn.
In December, 1864, Rev. Professor Bernice D. Ames, a former principal of the Greenwich Academy, and agent of the Christian Commission, Philadelphia, visited East Greenwich to make collections for that Society and received $74.00. Mrs. Silas W. Holmes contributed twenty-five dollars of the amount, and thirty-five were accredited to " The Circle." The names of the other contributors are unknown to the writer.
We find in a report by R. M. Larned, Esq., agent of the United States Sanitary Commission for Rhode Island, the acknowledgment from the Knitting Circle of twenty-two pairs of socks for Rhode Island soldiers in Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia. The full extent of the work accom- plished by this Society we are unable to state, as the secre- tary died some years since, and the records, which were in her possession, cannot be found.
Miss Anna Eldredge and others, with some of the members of the Aid Society, were especially interested in furnishing supplies to destitute families of soldiers in the village, with very great acceptance.
Copy of a Letter from Captain B. S. Brown :
"CAMP SECOND REGIMENT, R. I. V.,
Near STAFFORD, C. H., November 27, 1862. 5
" Mrs Sherman :
" Dear Madam-Your note of November 19th came safely to hand last night. I embrace the earliest oppor- tunity of giving you the information required, and of
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HISTORY OF EAST GREENWICH.
replying to such other points of your note as may seem desirable. In regard to the number from East Greenwich, there are at least thirty men in the Company from that place and the immediate vicinity. The whole number of men in the company is ninety-four, but only seventy-five are at present with us, the remainder being, some of them absent, sick, others on detached service.
"The entire company is sadly in want of stockings. Requisitions for them have been sent to the proper persons again and again, but thus far we have failed to receive them. Thus many of the men are to-day suffering for the stockings that government should have furnished them a month ago. Anything the ladies in East Greenwich can do to relieve this want, will, you may be sure, be met with the liveliest expressions of gratitude by us. As you remark, the stock- ings you may send will be double, yes, treble their value in money to us at present. We can do without the money, but without the stockings we must suffer. You may send them by Adams Express, and direct to 'Captain B. S. Brown, Company H, Second Regiment, Rhode Island Vol- unteers, Aquia Creek Landing, Va.'
" Like you, I hope that the war will soon be at an end, and that not only myself, but the whole company may be re- stored to our families and friends. I am very glad that you are so much interested in my children at Sabbath School, and hope they may prove worthy of their teacher. I feel confident that under your care and instruction they will acquire those virtues and graces that are alike the beauty of youth and the strength of age.
" It is true great things are expected from General Burn- side's well known energy and ability, and I think we may safely say, whatever he may do, that he will accomplish all he can. His whole heart is in the work of crushing the rebellion.
" In relation to the funds in your possession, so confident am I that the money will be appropriated properly, that I feel entirely willing to take your statement to that effect. If you wish however to have some one examine your bills of expenditure, any one whom you may select for the pur- pose will be acceptable to me and the company.
" Yours with respect,
"B. S. BROWN."
A box was forwarded to Company H, December 11th, 1862, containing one hundred and ten pairs of yarn stock-
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LADIES' SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY.
ings and thirty pairs of mittens. Forty-six pairs of stock- ings were knit from yarn purchased with the money in the hands of the Treasurer of the Volunteer Fund. Miss Pa- tience B. Cook contributed thirty-six pairs, the Aid Society, the Knitting Circle and others making up the number. The appropriation of all the money received by the Treasurer of the Volunteer Fund, especially for Company H, was agreea- ble to the ladies interested in that company. The ladies ex- pected the box containing the stockings would reach the company in about three weeks, but three months had elapsed before it reached its destination.
Extracts from a Letter from Captain Thomas Foy :
" CAMP SECOND REGIMENT, R. I. V., } NEAR FREDERICKS, VIRGINIA.
" Dear Madam-I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your kind note of 24th ult., in which you inform me that there is a box on board the schooner 'Elizabeth and Helen,' containing one hundred and ten pairs of stock- ings and ten pairs of mittens for Company H, contributed partly by the Society of which you are the Treasurer, and partly by ' friends,' and hoping if it is not too late I will be able to receive two pairs of the stockings and one pair of mittens ; I thank you very kindly for your good will in my behalf, but, although I take pride in claiming to be a 'Greenwich boy,' I fear I cannot claim any of the stockings or mittens. I read your letter to Lieutenant John C. Bev- eridge, who is at present commanding Company H, and he informs me that he received full instructions from Captain B. S. Brown in relation to the contents of the box. I am requested by Lieutenant Beveridge to say, that, in behalf of Company H he thanks you, and when he receives the box, with the letter contained therein he will reply in a suitable manner. I did see the ' published report in the Pendulum of the bills of expenditure of the money collected for Com- pany H, Second Regiment,' and in my humble opinion it was not necessary that they should be 'carefully examined by Mrs. William P. Greene and Mrs Louisa D. Mumford.' Permit me to say, madam, that the report reflects honor upon the treasurer who submitted it.
"It is understood here in camp that the schooner is down at Belle Plain Landing. She arrived to-day, and there has been a 'detail' made of six men and a cor- poral to go from here at reveille to-morrow to assist in un-
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HISTORY OF EAST GREENWICH.
loading her. The corporal is from my company. It is said she contains boxes from various parts of the State for the various companies. Everything is quiet on the Rappahannock. Please convey my respectful regards to the members of your Society, and,
" Believe me your obedient,
" THOMAS FOY."
Copy of a Letter received from Acting Captain John C. Beveridge :
" CAMP SECOND REGIMENT, R. I. V., 1 NEAR FREDERICKSBURG, March 5th, 1863. " Mrs. William N. Sherman :
" Madam-In the absence of Captain B. S. Brown, and as commander of Company H, I take the liberty to inform you of the safe arrival of the box containing one hundred and ten pairs of stockings and thirty pairs of mittens; that I also distributed the articles in accordance with your wish, delivering to each of the original members of the company two pairs of socks and one pair of mittens, to the others one pair of socks. I also embrace this opportunity in be- half of the company of returning their heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the ladies who thus so kindly contributed articles so necessary to their comfort. Although East Greenwich is not my place of residence, yet being so long connected with Company H, both as an enlisted man and an officer, I do fully appreciate the honor conferred on the company, as that their welfare should be so tenderly consid- ered by the ladies. Three hearty cheers were given by the company for the ladies of East Greenwich, which, if they had been present to hear, would have been full compensation for the expense and labor tendered in their behalf. With my best wishes for the welfare of the ladies of East Green- wich, I am, madam, very respectfully, your obedient ser- vant,
" JOHN C. BEVERIDGE,
"' First-Lieutenant Commanding Company H, Second Regiment, R. I. V."
Thus it will be seen that this fruitful subject for much criticism and speculation in regard to the action of the ladies, resulted in a greater and more permanent good than could possibly have been achieved, if the money had been forwarded at the request of the soldiers, to be expended in the purchase of pipes and tobacco.
It was estimated by the " Aid Society," that from the va- rious organizations in which some of the members of that
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LADIES' SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY.
Society were especially interested, that East Greeenwich ladies directly and indirectly aided the soldiers to the amount of more than three thousand dollars. This sum included money, rubber bed blankets, hospital garments, wines, jellies, ice, vegetables and reading matter. Over one thousand yards of bandages and compresses, prepared from surgeons' directions, were furnished by the Society. Among other things which belonged to General McClellan's grand- mother, and given to the Society by his aunt, Miss Lucy McClellan, was old linen, from which, a box of prepared lint was made and sent to the hospital.
The Society existed until October 29th, 1865, when it was unanimously voted, to dissolve the " Soldiers' Aid So- ciety " and form a "Freedmens' Aid Society," transferring all money and materials on hand to that Society.
In closing the records of the "Soldiers Aid Society," the secretary wrote : "The Society met agreeable to adjourn- ment with our indefatigable co-laborer, Mrs. Charles W. Greene, whose unwearied exertions, self-denying efforts and liberality, have been devoted to the interests of the So- ciety from its foundation to the present time. May she live many years to bless the world with her kind benefac- tions."
We cannot refrain from bearing testimony to Madam Anne Ames. This aged friend of the soldiers demonstrated her patriotism by her labor of love. Her hand and heart were alike interested for those who were aiding in the preservation of the "nation's life." Although seventy- eight years old, she knit over one hundred and fifty pairs of stockings for the Society.
A pleasant picture lingers in our memory of Mrs. Frank- lin Greene. Her placid genial face, her social and inter- lectual graces, ever made an atmosphere of sunshine in the cloudiest days. Her presence was always an attractive feature of our gatherings. No fair Penelope of olden time ever labored more assiduously than did she, and the click, click, of her knitting needles made merry music in our ears. Who can estimate the many kindly thoughts of sincere sympathy and patriotic love that were woven in, as stitch by stitch she made rapid progress for the comfort of "Our Boys in Blue."
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HISTORY OF EAST GREENWICH.
NATIONAL COVENANT.
In May, 1864, some ladies, wishing to show still further their loyalty and love for their country, signed their names to "The Ladies National Covenant." The pledge of the Covenant was as follows :
"For three years, or during the war, we pledge ourselves to each other and to our country, not to purchase any imported article of apparel, where American can possibly be substituted."
To this pledge were attached forty-seven names, headed by Madame Anne Ames, the venerable mother of the late Chief-Justice Ames of this State, and aunt of the great his- torian Motley.
NAMES TO THE PLEDGE :
Mrs. Anne Ames,
Mrs. Charles W. Greene,
Miss Abigail Reed,
Miss Mary Reed,
Mrs. Rev. Dr. Crane,
Mrs. Rev. Prof. Bernice D. Ames,
Mrs. H. B. Hart,
Mrs. William P. Greene, Mrs. William N. Sherman,
Mrs. William G. Bowen, Mary Collins, Mrs. Betsey Bicknell, Louisa J. Arnold, Cynthia P. Bolton,
Emma V. Adams, Mattie E. Gardiner,
Miss Susan M. Godding, Miss Sarah M. Clark, A. Anna Keeney, Mary E. Miller, A. A. W. Aikin, Miss S. E. Greene,
Nancie M. Harrrington, Phebe Titus, Emma S. Tabor,
Miss C. P. Greene,
Mrs. Nathaniel Sands,
Mrs. Henry W. Greene, Miss Louisa Sands, . Mrs. Sarah P. Eldredge,
Miss Susan E. Black,
Miss Anna E. Livesey, Kate C. Greene,
Mrs. Lydia T. Hopkins, Sarah A. Vaughn, Mrs. Louisa D. Mumford, Amey A. Simmons, Miss Elizabeth B. Greene, Mrs. Franklin Greene, Miss Ellen E. Eldredge,
Miss H. V. Greene, H. S. Joslin, Maggie Newall, E. P. Gardiner, H. C. Dawley, Annie P. Burdick, Mary Arnold.
"Do noble deeds, not dream them all day long, So shall life, death, and the vast forever Be one sweet song."
CHAPTER XVII.
THE REBELLION-GREENWICH LADIES' FREEDMEN'S AID SOCIETY.
THE Freedmen's Aid Society was organized October 29th, 1865, at the same meeting at which the Soldiers' Aid So- ciety was dissolved. Mrs. William P. Greene, President, occupied the chair, and Mrs William N. Sherman was chosen Secretary. Owing to the ill health of Mrs Greene, she deemed it unwise for her to attempt to hold any promi- nent position in the new organization. Devotion, faithful- ness and zeal characterized her interest for her country as the presiding officer of the former Society. The officers of the Freedmen's Aid Society were :
President-Miss Sarah M. Clark.
Corresponding and Recording Secretary-Mrs. William N. Sherman. Treasurer-Miss Sarah M. Clark.
The names of the members of the Society were as follows :
Miss Sarah M. Clarke,
Mrs. William N. Sherman,
Mrs. William P. Greene,
Miss Mary Pierce,
Mrs. Samuel Arnold,
Mrs. Charles W. Greene, Mrs. Franklin Greene, Mrs. Eleanor Eldredge,
Miss Lucy W. Crane,
Mrs. Henry W. Greene,
Mrs. Gulielma Freeborn,
Mrs. Sarah P. Eldredge,
Mrs. Esther M. Whitney,
Mrs. William G. Bowen,
Miss Susan A. Pierce,
Mrs. Eliza Gardiner,
Mrs. Sheffield Arnold,
Miss Mary Crane,
Mrs. Anne Ames, Mrs. Chetty Ames,
Mrs. Jones,
Mrs. Nathaniel Sands,
Mrs. Judge Joseph Tillinghast,
Mrs. Smith W. Pierce,
Miss Carrie M. Pierce, Mrs. Rev. Charles W. Ray,
Mrs. Thomas Musgrave, Mrs. William Arnold.
Miss Carrie S. Hopkins, Mrs. Thomas Spencer, Mrs. Rev. Dr. Crane,
Mrs. Thomas Mathewson, Miss Anna S. Shaw,
Mrs. Henry
Miss Lizzie B. Greene, Miss Mary M. Sherman, Miss Abbie G. Shaw,
17
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HISTORY OF EAST GREENWICH.
The Soldiers' Aid Society transferred to this Society such materials as remained on hand at its dissolution, in- cluding thirty-five dollars in money. The Society sent sev- eral of its well filled boxes and barrels through the agency of Rev. H. G. Stewart, General Agent of the Rhode Island Association for Freedmen, to Mrs. Josephine S. Griffing, General Agent of the National Freedmen's Relief Associa- tion at Washington, D. C.
We find by reference to the records that the Society was under special obligations for materials for work and money, to Messrs Moses B. I. Goddard, Robert Ives, Frank E. Richmond, Mrs. William G. Goddard, Mrs. Moses Ives and others, of Providence, whose summer homes are in the vicinity of East Greenwich, and to David G. Wilbur, of this village for various favors.
Items from the Records of the Society January 5th, 1866 :
" The Secretary read a circular addressed ' To the Friends of Humanity,' from the Executive Committee of 'The National Freedmen's Relief Association for the District of Columbia,' signed by the committee and several members of Congress, with the Chaplain's statement of the wants of the freed people."
"Received to-day from Miss Amy A. Simmons, the out- side for another quilt, pieced by her mother and grandmother, both of whom were long since numbered with the dead. This contribution was regarded as an evidence of deep interest in that class for whom the Society is laboring."
"January 8th. This day is said to be the coldest for over thirty years ; the thermometer ranging fifteen degrees below zero. This was not a regular meeting of the Society. The weather being so severe and the emergency so great, an extra meeting was called, at which eight ladies were present, Mrs. Charles W. Greene, and Mrs. Franklin Greene at whose res- idence we met, Miss Sarah M. Clark, Miss Susan A. Pierce, Mrs. Samuel Arnold, Mrs. Gorton Burlingame, Miss Lizzie B. Greene and the Secretary, Mrs. William Greene. One bed-quilt was finished and an entire one quilted. No idle hands to-day. Lights were kindly furnished by Mrs. C. W. Greene, who is deeply interested in the object of the Society."
"February 2. The Secretary read a circular from General O. O. Howard, of the War Department, Bureau of Refu- gees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, dated January 26th, 1866, in which he commends Mrs. Josephine S. Griffing as a worthy almoner of the bounties of the Society."
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LADIES' FREEDMEN'S AID SOCIETY.
" December 17th, 1866. Two or three circulars were read asking assistance for the Freed people. Why will the government deny assistance to these poor suffering refugees ? Circulars from different organizations presenting the claims of the Freed people, were frequently received. These ap- peals were soul-stirring and worthy, but the ability to assist all was not within the precincts of the Society, but we did what we could."
" March, 1867. A circular was received by the Secretary and read before the Society, dated New York, January 18th, 1867, headed, ' Famine at Home,' which portrayed the suffering existing in the South and Southwest from the failure of the crops, owing in part to a severe drought, and in part to conditions relating to the late rebellion. As the circular had the names of responsible gentlemen attached to it, Nathan Bishop being Chairman of the Executive Committee, and James M. Brown, Treasurer, the Society at once resolved to hold a festival and appropriate the proceeds to this specific object."
William N. Sherman, Esq., editor of the Pendulum, in order to call the attention of the public, gave a very full and extended notice in his paper of the needs and suffer- ings of the white and colored people in some portions of the South. The posters contained the following notice :
" FESTIVAL FOR THE STARVING. The Greenwich Ladies' Aid Society propose holding a FESTIVAL, In Masonic Hall, Tuesday Evening, March 19th, 1867, In behalf of the suffering poor at the South, whose condition is represented as appalling."
Friends in Providence, whose summer homes were here, sent contributions for the tables, embracing fruits, salads and such like things. We remember that Mrs. Judge Richard W. Greene furnished a very large and nice ham. Mrs Crawford Allen's large oysters were the admiration of those who have a fondness for those bivalves. One gentle- man having been served to a plate of them, returned for more, when a lady reminded him that they were six cents cach. He replied, " Yes, I know, but I want more of them, they are so very nice !" Candace, Mrs. Rufus Waterman's " Ethiopian Queen," afforded great amusement. As we now occasionally look at these specimens of woman's ingenuity
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HISTORY OF EAST GREENWICH.
and skill, presiding over the cradle made and presented by " Friend " Freeborn, in which reposes a nicely dressed doll, a recollection of that "Festival" comes before the mind, imparting a lesson of gratitude to the author of all our blessings, that out of the fearful suffering which our nation, both North and South, then experienced, has arisen the great blessing of freedom to millions who had been in bondage.
The avails of the festival amounted to one hundred and seventy-five dollars, which were forwarded to James M. Brown, Treasurer of the Relief Fund, and in due time its reception was acknowledged by him.
In answer to an appeal in the Summer of 1868, twenty- nine dollars, to purchase necessaries for the sick, were sent to Mrs. J. S. Griffing, at Washington, who was always a favorite agent of the Society. L. P. Brockett, M. D., wrote in relation to her, that "if the most thoroughly unsel- fish devotion of an earnest and gifted woman to the inter- ests and welfare of a despised and down-trodden race, to the manifest injury and detriment of her own comfort, ease or pecuniary prospects, and without any hope or desire of re- ward, other than the consciousness of having been their benefactor, constitutes a woman a heroine, then is Mrs. Griffing one of the most remarkable heroines of our times."
We annex a copy of a letter from Mrs. Griffing as a speci- men of a large number of letters received from her in an- swer to letters and contributions sent from the Society :
"WASHINGTON D. C., April 21st, 1869.
" My Dear Mrs. Sherman :
"Your very interesting letter came two days since, and the barrel yesterday. Again most heartily do I thank you, and this seems very tame language for one who sees as I do, so many who are in such varied suffering for want of clothing. Poor Mrs. Peyton, who lay dying last Sunday, (as I sat in her room, not more than seven by ten feet, and as dark as night), stretched out her bony arm, and almost gasping her last breath, said "see how bare I am; the ver- min eat me, and I am so nervous I shall die; oh, how I want to go!' and she lived but a few hours more, and went to her rest.
" Then, at another house, I found poor Mary Conover, who had lain in rags till her flesh is worn off her bones, with no one to care for her, or her poor clothing. I found her with her head on an old woman's lap-her body on the
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LADIES' FREEDMEN'S AID SOCIETY.
pallet still ; she had no change of clothing, but I sent her one last night from your barrel, and Mary cried like a child for joy, and said it was God who heard her ; he knew how she suffered and had ' nobody to go 'pon'; and wiping the tears off of her bare arms, she said, ' what could I do with- out my blessed Master ? I'se done all I kin; I'se earned my bread and close as long as I could, and now I'se so bare ; how did dey know it, who made dis? Honey, I tell you 'twas my Massa in heaven ; he tole 'em of dis poor creatur ; he'll pay 'em too, honey, dat he will; he's got de man- sion in de skies ; his chillen all going dar; if dey 'member us poor uns here, dey'll have de high seats dar.' How I want you should realize what faith they have in compensation. I was impressed more than ever last week, after a short attack of fever that kept me in bed and out of the office for ten days, when the old women came in and found me at my post again. Hannah Shanklin, one of the finest in organism and spiritual character, took me in her arms and said, 'You is well again, isn't you ? I know'd you would be-you wasn't goin'-you couldn't die, cause we prayed and prayed, and tole our Master in Heaven, if he please let you stay till we go, and we all felt it in here, (laying her hand upon her heart), and Massa above said you wouldn't die.' Old Anna Clifford, ninety years old, responded, 'he knows dem dat do his work; he's goin' to keep his arm tight roun dem; he wont turn dem off like we is-wid nobody to go 'pon.'
" Having learned dependence in slavery, upon the arm of flesh, which has proven a broken reed to them, they never cease to illustrate their firm hold of the loving Friend who has never forsaken them, and seem, as none others whom I have seen, to grasp the object of heavenly disci- pline, and the reward of well doing. They seldom com- plain of their lot, and make keen observations of the sorrows of others, never failing to show that 'God will make it all right,' as they express it.
" You ask me to name the slaves of General Washington now living here: Anna Ferguson is one, and Ambrose Cooper, (now one hundred and eleven years old) is the other. I know of none besides these two. Uncle Ambrose fell into the fire the other day, and was brought in a cart from the poor colored man's house where he had been taken in-two miles on the western suburbs-and dropped down in Fredericksburg, a settlement on the south side of the city, where almost none but freed people who came from
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HISTORY OF EAST GREENWICH.
Fredericksburg, Virginia, first landed in time of the war. The old man was burned on one side, the flesh literally crisped on one limb, so that he could not walk, and he was taken up by some colored women and helped into the nearest shanty, and laid on a pile of rags behind the stove, where he has lain for eight weeks past. When at evening the mother of the family came from her 'service place,' she was sur- prised to find the stranger an inmate of their one-roomed cabin, but began to ask where he came from, and almost intuitively saw that he was something to her; and before long the truth came out that more than sixty years ago, he, the old man, left her and her mother down 'in the country,' and came to this city with George Washington as his body servant. They had not met since, and had no knowledge of each other. Is it any wonder that they see the hand of God in this? The daughter is an uncommon woman, and has lost almost all of her children in slavery, has some grandchildren of fathers who died in the army, and one sickly daughter here. From your clothing I made the old man a complete suit, for he was only half covered, his cloth- ing poor at the best, all burned off. I provide all his food, and carried him your comforter, and he lies there on the floor praising God, that He has raised up such friends for him, when all he knew, or all who had known him were gone and left him with no friend or home on earth. I am going to see him again soon. He has sent for me to talk with me about his dear ' old Massa George,' as he calls him now, to distinguish him from another of the family whom he after- wards served.
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