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More Slaves Speak About Breastfeeding
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Today I decided to join Ancestry.com to help my father-in-law find information about his grandfather. The good news is we found his grandfather in both the 1920 and 1930 census. The other good news is I found a slew of more slave narratives. Unfortunately, these interviews are not audio narratives, but the written interviews are just as good.

After going through a ton of them today I have determined that throughout the rest of the year I will share more personal stories about slave women and breastfeeding. It's rather fascinating, really. I've mentioned before that I had no idea slave women fed their own children. I thought there were maybe four or five lactating women who fed all of the nursing infants, but that's just not the case. I am so glad to know that, in large part, slave women nursed their own.

Interview with George Womble, Georgia
In the winter season the men split rails, built fences, and dug ditches, while the women did the weaving and the making of cloth. These slaves who were too old to work in the fields remained at home where they nursed the sick slaves (when there was sickness) and attended to the needs of those children who were too young for field work. Those children who were still being fed from their mother's breasts were also under the care of one of these old parsons. However, in this case the mothers were permitted to leave the field twice a day (once between breakfast and dinner and once between dinner and supper) so that these children could be fed.

Interview with Mary Reynolds, Texas
"Aunt Cheyney was jus' out of bed with a sucklin' baby one time, and she run away. Some say that was 'nother baby of massa's breedin'. She don't come to the house to nurse her baby, so they misses her and old Solomon gits the nigger hounds and takes her trail. They gits near her and she grabs a limb and tries to hist herself in a tree, but them dogs grab her and pull her down. The men hollers them onto her, and the dogs tore her naker and et the breasts plumb off her body. She got well and lived to be a old woman, but 'nother woman has to suck her baby and she ain't got no sign of breasts no more.

Interview with Betty Curtlett, Arkansas
"White women wouldn't nurse their own babies cause it would make their breast fall. They would bring a healthy woman and a clean woman up to the house. They had a house close by. She would nurse her baby and the white baby, too. They would feed her everything she wanted. She didn't have to work cause the milk would be hot to give the babies. Dannie and my brother Bradford, and Mary my sister and Miss Maggie nursed my name. Rich woman didn't nurse their babies, never did, cause it would cause their breast to be flat.

Labels: breastfeeding history

posted by Jennifer James @ 9:49 AM,

10 Comments:

At November 14, 2007 9:45 PM, Radical Catholic Mom said...: I LOVE these stories. How quickly we forget our history.

Thank you for your important work on disseminating information.
At November 14, 2007 9:47 PM, Radical Catholic Mom said...: Oh, and the Mary Reynolds story from TX: My first thought is profanity so I won't write it. What a SICK SICK SICK world it was. I always am suspicious when people speak of the good 'ol days.
At November 15, 2007 10:27 AM, Jennifer James said...: I'm glad you enjoy them! I do, too. They're so fascinating to me. The Mary Reynolds story is so very heartbreaking.
At November 15, 2007 1:57 PM, Laura C. said...: Wow such sad stories. I'm still glad to hear them though. I can't believe the sagging flat boob theory was what kept woman from breastfeeding back then to.
At November 16, 2007 11:03 AM, winslow1204 said...: What fascinating stories! Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading through them:)
At November 16, 2007 11:06 AM, ShayShay said...: fascinating. and ironic since I didn't breastfeed and am walking around with pancakes anyway.
At November 19, 2007 12:42 PM, Helen said...: I find it hard to get my head round how recently there were survivors of slavery. That story is so awful. Keep telling the stories
At November 19, 2007 12:42 PM, Helen said...: I find it hard to get my head round how recently there were survivors of slavery. That story is so awful. Keep telling the stories
At November 20, 2007 2:15 AM, Azúcar said...: I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this is IMPORTANT and amazing work you're doing, Jennifer.
At December 3, 2007 2:03 PM, Yarngoddess said...: How vital it is that we NEVER forget these stories. Thank you, for keeping these alive, so that we may learn from them.