TheMirriorOfBensboro: About 1895 the house was burned and today there isnot a remnant left o f this place which for a hundred and fifty years wasa luxurious and exclusive home of the ol d order of Dixie. Some time afterthe old house had been burned, I crossed the river one day f or a ridethrough the fields and met Old Uncle Ben, one of the very few Atkinsonnegroes left i n the community. Uncle Ben was delighted to see me and wehad a long talk about the old plac e and de times befo de war.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: As we neared the place where the old house hadstood I asked him how i t happened to be burned, and he said: Lord! Mr.Bruce, dat is er long story. Fer you ter under stand dat, you'el habe tergo back ter de time when I wuz a suckin5 babe in my mammy's arms.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: You mean to tell me that the causes of this firehad its beginnings bac k when you were a child?

TheMirriorOfBensboro:

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Yes, sar, dats jes what I mean.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: Well, Uncle Ben, I will sit right here and youwill tell me the whole th ing.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: Well, sar, in de fus place, Mr. Bruce, if youthink I au'ter, I would li ke ter say dat in what I's gwine tell you, Idon't mean no 5flection on no white folks. Most 5 ticular I don't mean no5flection on no 5oman folks. Den in de second place, cose you know dat niggers got no edecation, yet niggers know er lot 5bout heap'er thingsdat white folks don't k now 5tall, en if some white folks would listen terniggers, now and den, dey would be heap bet ter off den dey is.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: I agree with you, Uncle Ben, in that and I promiseyou that what you tel l me here along these lines will be held strictlyconfidential, and I will never speak of it t o a soul as long as youlive.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: Well, den I will say to com'ence wid, dat deburning ob dis here house s tarted way back yander when Marse Ben marriedMiss Becca Tunstall en fotched her here as er br ide.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: You see, Marse Ben, up at de springs, he meet MissBecca Tunstall, en sh e

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wuz er mighty pretty young 5oman en powerful rich in niggers en land, ende most sprit'ly youn g 5oman you eber seed. All de rich white gentlemenswuz er-coaten her en where eber she go d e men jes swarm er-bout like beesatter honey. Marse Ben, he say to himself dat he gwine ter m arry her, ena whole pacl'er tothers say dey gwine ter marry her, too, so de coatenwuz might y libely.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: But Miss Becca say dat she like 5em all, en shejes keep de hibe a swarm ing en buzzin5 er-bout. But Marse Ben wuz mightyswasive when it comes ter 5omen folks, en h e mighty sly wid de gals en5sperianced fo dis. So bime-by, sho nuff, he out talk 5em all, e n MissBecca say she gwine marry him.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: He wuz mighty proud when he come home en fix up degarden en de house fe r de bride, den he en Sam went up ter Virginia ferde wedding.

TheMirriorOfBensboro: Atter a while dey come home, en all de niggerswent up ter de great hous e fer ter see de Missis. She come out on depoach en speak to dem all, en pat some ob de chill uns on de head. She

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say she mighty lucky to git Marse Ben en she mighy glad ter see so manylikely niggers 5bout . She was de most beautiful young 5oman you eberseed, en I speck er-bout twenty, while Mars e Ben wuz most ober forty den.

• Married: 1797

1. Peyton Ashley ATKINSON b: 1808