Portrait: artist's interpretation. No photograph of Annie Williams is known.
Annie Williams
Recorded in Petersburg, Virginia, ca. 1937-1940
Their Story
Annie Williams was recorded in Petersburg, Virginia, around 1937 to 1940 by Roscoe Lewis. The recording is very poor, and much of what she says cannot be made out. She tells little about her own birth or family.
Her clearest memories are of the Civil War. She said she saw the soldiers parading and knew what they sang. She sang parts of songs the Union troops sang, as best they can be heard, and described the band of two drums and a fiddle, with two men carrying the drum. She remembered the soldiers leaving and heading north, and said she knew she could not go with them. She also said people would dance until they could hardly walk.
Near the end, the interviewer asked about the storm remembered as Cox's Snow, but the rest of the recording is too poor to follow.
The Recordings & Transcripts
The recording Petersburg, Virginia, ca. 1937-1940
Transcript
Mrs. Annie Williams[How much (?)] I know who the man who brought the man here to the funeral. But he come from ??? and he told the man ??? was one hundred last April on the third. [steam engine toots in background]. On the third of every April make ??? .
Unidentified Woman InterviewerMhmm.
Mrs. Annie WilliamsOn third of last April I hear a girl, what her name is, [Betsy (?)]—
Unidentified Woman[blurts] A hundred and one.
Mrs. Annie WilliamsThat's right. I've known her since a long time. [a cat meows] Happened long before the ah, that happened long before the war, you know. That's the way this warring supposed to be. Don't even ??? .
Unidentified Woman InterviewerYou see the war?
Mrs. Annie WilliamsI seen the [hooting (?)].
Unidentified Woman InterviewerUhmm.
Mrs. Annie WilliamsI seen the [parading (?)] and know what they sung and all.
Unidentified Woman[Yeah. Going back (?)].
Unidentified Woman InterviewerWhat did they sing?
Mrs. Annie WilliamsThey sang. They sung what? [Mrs. Annie Williams sings]
[ I Dropped Your Pass (?)]
[I dropped your pass along with the wind. Over Union boys ride a home this way. The troop was in a Richmond by they wail mighty whoppers but ??? A horn is ??? (?)].
Two drums. A fiddle. Two drums and a fiddle and everything. Two, take two men and tote the, get them to hold that drum and ??? . And, and I know they can sing that. They knew they were going away. They done cleaned the state of Virginia. Was going away. And the load was, was full, when they pulled away. When they pulled away. ??? . I knew I can't go. Was going away. They was going down the paved road and making to the North. And, and ah, they were being ??? . And when they got in the paved road about four miles, a man hired a ??? , you know, the man on the ??? . They fed him. Hand it to him, you know. Down that way. Go on back beside the road. ??? [recording glitch] He was like ah, dead you know. He found in the road. ??? road. He can't, and the, and he holler and said, “Don't stop.” And then, then when he catch his [breath (?)] ??? and on his head ??? on his way. But then, and then the man playing on the, on the, on the drum. He, he, he hit the [riff (?)] ??? . ??? And, and he, and he said [Mrs. Annie Williams sings]
[ Minor Williams (?)]
[If he was in with Minor Williams might have left them, but I don't want no ??? . And when we was in with Minor Williams might have left them, but ??? (?)].
Unidentified Woman InterviewerWhat?
Mrs. Annie Williams[laugh] When he ??? on the, on the drum and the ??? on the, on the ??? . ??? And that man was hitting, hitting that little, little drum and other was the ??? . [He said that (?)]. I remember [echo] [I remember (?)] we would dance. We would do a dance. All over ??? dance until we [couldn't walk (?)]. ???
Unidentified Woman InterviewerHmm?
Mrs. Annie WilliamsI seen some ??? . ???
Unidentified Woman InterviewerTell us about Cox's Snow. You said you were done before Cox's Snow?
Mrs. Annie WilliamsYeah. The Cox's Snow was [14th of November (?)]. [remainder of recording extremely poor]
END OF SIDE A
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Recorded by Roscoe Lewis, Petersburg, Virginia, ca., 1937-40. From Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories. Bracketed notes and question marks in the transcripts mark sounds or words that are hard to hear.