Andy Anderson skirted through the brush as he did his best to keep out of eyesight of anyone. One slip-up could get him tied to a post, stripped of his shirt, and whipped.
Whipped terribly.
As Anderson, a 21-year-old man who has just gained his freedom from slavery, ran north through Blanco County, the scars already cut across his back from previous whippings reminded him of what waited if he were caught. Though the Civil War was over and his Blanco County owner had told him he was “free,” he knew that wouldn’t mean much to some people.
Born into slavery on the plantation of Jack Haley in Williamson County, Anderson only knew bondage. Now, three years since being sold to a Blanco County man, Anderson was trying to work his way back to the Williamson County plantation where he grew up.
He hoped he would find his parents and the rest of his family. Anderson didn’t know if they were still there or even alive after his former owner went off to fight in the war and hired a cruel overseer named Delbridge to run the plantation. While Haley treated his slaves well, as Anderson described, the new overseer cut rations and was quick with the whip for those who complained or didn’t obey or work hard enough.
Delbridge had sold Anderson to a Blanco County man, who also had a cruel streak. One time, when Anderson was collecting firewood and the wagon struck a stump and broke down, the man punished the young slave by tying him to a stake and whipping him every half-hour for the next four hours.
It took Anderson two days of lying in his bunk to recover from the whipping, and though physically he did, his heart never healed. From then on, Anderson found passive ways to resist. One time, he saw some of the owner’s cattle in a cornfield, but Anderson walked the other way instead of trying to chase them out. Eventually, the man sold Anderson to his brother.
This man, Anderson found, was much kinder and treated him like Haley had.
If only he could get back to the Haley plantation.
Though free, Anderson tucked into the brush and took cover during the day. He only traveled at night, but even that came with risks.
One time, while making his way from Blanco County to Williamson County during the night, the sound of horse hooves beat toward him. He might have heard the voices of the men riding along.
As Anderson tried to will the horsemen away, he feared they were “patter rollers,” patrols who haunted the nights in the South, hunting runaway slaves. If they caught him, even though he was free, he could face a whipping.
As the footfalls came closer, Anderson held his breath. He knew from slaves who had tried to run away from the Williamson County plantation under Delbridge’s watch what happened if patter rollers found you, especially at night, when slaves, even freed ones, weren’t supposed to be traveling.
So Anderson waited.
Though Texas was a slave state after joining the Union, Burnet and Blanco counties had far fewer slaves than counties in other Southern states or even in East and Southeast Texas.
Slaves numbered between 200 and 300 in Burnet County during the years leading up to the Civil War, while there were 70-80 slave owners for the most part.
There are a number of reasons why Burnet County and surrounding areas didn’t have a large number of slaves. First, the area was fairly new for settlers, unlike states such as Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, which had decades and generations of slavery-entrenched traditions.
The land itself was a deterrent. While the area boasted some cotton and crop farms, they weren’t near the number or size of operations farther east. Most slave ownership was in the areas of the Double Horn and Spicewood communities in southeastern Burnet County.
Another factor in the lower slave numbers was the settlers themselves. While Burnet County drew people from states such as Kentucky and Tennessee, there were also German immigrants. Historically and traditionally, Germans held a strong disdain for slavery.
Burnet County was one of the few local counties, along with Gillespie County, that actually voted against secession from the United States before the Civil War.
After the Civil War, many former slaves in Burnet County headed for other areas, though some stayed. Those who didn’t find work on farms and ranches often settled in cities such as Marble Falls.
Despite being free, blacks faced a number of challenges in the Reconstruction years and decades to come from laws aiming to suppress them as well as overt racism.
But blacks in Burnet County often endured the same challenges whites did during the early years after the Civil War, including harsh weather and Indian raids.
The black community, though small, laid down deep roots in Burnet County and Marble Falls. Some of these roots weave back to 1893 to Dicie Yett Johnson’s home, where St. Frederick Baptist Church started. The black congregation formed the cornerstone of the African-American community in Marble Falls and southern Burnet County for then and years to come.
The church, now located at 301 Ave. N, remains a large part of the entire community with weekly services and local mission projects that help the less fortunate.
But Anderson couldn’t even imagine that future, or any future at all if the patter rollers caught him.
Anderson waited, not moving, for even brushing up against a branch could alert the men on horses to his position. They could just be travelers making their way to town or family, but Anderson couldn’t take any chances.
He just wanted to get back to the Haley plantation and, hopefully, find his parents. Of course, there was Delbridge to worry about.
On the third day, Anderson found his former home, but Delbridge was still there and Haley wasn’t back from the war. Anderson found his father, who hid the younger man from the overseer.
After a week in hiding, Haley returned, and upon hearing and seeing how Delbridge treated the slaves and ran the plantation, promptly fired him.
Despite the fact Haley once owned Anderson, when the two men met again, they embraced.
Haley let Anderson stay on the plantation until the young man’s freedom was finally, and without any doubts, ordered.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Federal Writers’ Project from 1936-38 collected as many former slave accounts as they could. Anderson was 94 years old and living in Fort Worth when he shared his story with one of the writers. The stories are part of “A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves.”