Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Spring/Section25/Eliza Hall

Eliza Hall

Eliza Hall
Born	According to the Federal Writers Papers, her original name was "Matt Wall"
Occupation	Laundress
Known for	Her Profound Love of Gardening; her interview as part of the Federal Writers' Project.

Early Life

Black Washwoman

Eliza Hall was born near Middleton, SC, the daughter of a liberated slave named Pete Hall (who she believes was property of a plantation owner named John Hall - who was said to own a lot of slaves). ¹ Upon being liberated, Eliza's parents, now tenant farmers moved to Middleton, SC (near the Red River), where they had 8 children (Eliza being one of them). ¹ As was normal with the Federal Writers' Project, the author does not go in depth into her exact date of birth (or age at the time of the interview).¹

Adult Life

As soon as she was old enough to work, she quit school and became a laundress. ¹ She married a man named Ed when she was 18 and moved to Axton, VA with him. ¹ He quit his job at the brick-yard as soon as they got married, and tookup a job at a factory, stringing tobacco sacks. ¹ Due to the low salary at the factory, he quit and became a farmer. ¹ Eliza recalls Ed coming in sick from the field one day because it had been raining. ¹ Soon after, what he thought was simply a 'bad cold' got worse. ¹ Eliza borrowed 2 dollars from a neighbor to go to the doctor and from then on he was officially diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia.¹ Shortly after, he passed away. ¹ Eliza's two daughters (Sadie and Elsie) subsequently got sick and died as well (from undisclosed sicknesses). ¹ Eliza had to pay for the medical bills as well as the burying expenses all from her own pocket. ¹ From then on, she went to live with her sister. ¹

At the time of her interview, she lives near Jamesville, NC with her sister and several grandchildren in a dilapidated, three-room house on the highway, which had been her house for 25 years. ¹ At the time of the interview, she had been a laundress for 40 years straight and delves into how technology has hurt her business. ¹ She thoroughly enjoys gardening as a hobby. ¹

Reckin' I'll Be Washin' an Ironin' Till I Drop Daid

Written on April 4, 1939, "Reckin' I'll Be Washin' an Ironin' Till I Drop Daid" is an interview by Louise L. Abbitt (Revised by Claude V. Dunnagan) of Eliza Hall. ¹ The interview serves as a brief overview of Eliza Hall's life and was done as part of the Federal Writers' Project. ¹

'''Original Names/Changed Names''' : Matt Wall / Eliza Hall , Walnut Cove / Jamesville, Edna / Janie , Sam Wall / John Hall , Peter Hairston / Alec Hawse , Dan River / Red River , Rising Star Primitive Baptist Church / Holy Cross Primitive Baptist Church .

The Rise of Female Employment during the Great Depression:

A seamstress (employed by the Works Progress Administration) - FSA labor camp / June 1941

Between the years 1930 - 1940 female employment rose 24 percent from 10.5 million to 13 million. ²This was due to the fact that traditional male jobs in heavy labor were the areas of the American economy that were hit hardest by the Great Depression. ² Whereas socially-defined ‘women's work,’ (ie teaching, clerical work, and domestic service) were less severely affected by the Depression. ² As more women entered the workforce, more African American were displaced, resulting a directly proportional relationship. ²

The Great Migration

African-American plowing field near Wilmington, North Carolina

A painting belonging to "The Great Migration Series" by the African-American painter Jacob Lawrence

The Great Migration was the mass migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. ⁴ This was primarily due to two things: Jim Crow-era segregationist measures in the American South, resulting in little to no upwards mobility for African Americans (recommended reading: the Sharecropping fiasco) and the opening of more jobs in the industrial North (where racism still existed, but it was not part of the law) due to shortage of industrial laborers during the first and second World Wars. ⁴ During the decade of 1910-1920, there was an insane growth of African American populations in Northern cities like New York (by 66%), Philadelphia (by 500%), and Detroit (by 600%). ⁴

One of the clearest examples of the Great Migrations effects in these Northern cities (apart from the exponential growth of its black populations is the effects that these new populations had on not only these cities' cultures, but also in its racial re-distribution. ⁴ The best example of racial redistribution in a Northern city is the Harlem neighborhood in New York City, which was, formerly, an all-white neighborhood that in only 10 years became the home to 200,000 African Americans. ⁴ African American migration to the North slowed down in the 1930's (due to all-around national unemployment - see Great Depression), but picked up again in the 1940's (as there was, again, an increased need for labor due to wartime production). ⁴ The long-term effects of the Great Migration are shown in this graph. In 1900, 9/10 African Americans lived in the South, just 70 years later, in 1970 (just 6 years after the Jim Crow Laws were deemed unconstitutional and thenceforth abolished), less than 50% of African Americans lived in the South. ⁴ It is important to note that by 1940, 1.75 million African Americans had moved from the South to cities in the North and West. ⁴

References

1. “Folder 274: Abbitt, Louise L., and Claude V. Dunnagan (Interviewers): Reckin' I'll Be Washin' an Ironin' Till I Drop Daid.” Federal Writers Project Papers. Accessed March 26, 2020. https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/03709/id/777/rec/1.

2. Rotondi, Jessica Pearce. “Underpaid, But Employed: How the Great Depression Affected Working Women.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, March 11, 2019. https://www.history.com/news/working-women-great-depression.

3. Lynch, Hollis. “African Americans.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., December 4, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/African-American/African-American-life-during-the-Great-Depression-and-the-New-Deal.

4.History.com Editors. “The Great Migration.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, March 4, 2010. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration.