SWEET CHARIOT SWINGS LOW FOR 'RINDA JOHNSON--FORMER SLAVE DIES BEFORE
REACHING 101; RITES HELD FOR OTHERS.--Miss Marinda Johnson, who could
remember her childhood as a slave died Friday at the home of a niece, Mrs.
Lottie Wright in New Albany.--She would have observed her 101st birthday
anniversary April 15.--Funeral services were held Monday afternoon in the
Tankard funeral home and burial was in the West Street Cemetery [now known
as West Haven Cemetery] in New Albany.--"Aunt 'Rinda" was born in slavery
April 15, 1850. She had 15 brothers and sisters, some younger and some older
than she. Her parents were slaves of a Meade County, Ky., plantation owner
named Norman Johnson. She could remember the whippings the young Negro boys
received when they became unruly. She could remember that the master came to
her parents' cabin and took away her baby sister wrapped in a shawl. The
baby was never seen again. She also remembered when her sister Betty and
brother Jim were sold to a neighbor. She liked to talk about her mistress
who was kind but would reprove the slaves for wrong doing. One expression
that her mistress used made her a "better girl." The expression was, "By
the
great powers, some of these days you might be drinking Mississippi water."
The expression was a warning that slaves could be sold down the river where
"things were not so nice and happy for slaves." Marinda could remember and
talked of the times during the Civil War. When Abraham Lincoln freed the
slaves most of the slaves on the plantation, including some of her brothers
and sisters went to Louisville to work. She said she, her parents and her
brother Ben stayed on the farm. Later they left the plantation and moved to
Laconia taking the name of their master. Her father died in 1880. Later she
and her brother Ben moved to Corydon where they lived for many years. She
cared for some of Ben's children and grandchildren. Many people in Harrison
County remember Ben because of his skill in handling log teams.Two of
Marinda's brothers, John and Floyd saw service in the Spanish-American War
and John was killed in action. Marinda had lived in Floyd County since 1939.
She has been bedfast for a number of years.
Source: -Harrison County Republican 1951
[West Haven Cemetery Records she died 2 Feb 1951, buried 5 Feb 51, age 100
years, buried on Range 23 Plat 2 Single grave #9]
S Carpenter
___________________________
Did you know:
The Southern Indiana Genealogical Society
meets on the first Thursday of each month at the
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library
180 W. Spring Street
New Albany, IN 47150