Freedmen's Bureau Records: Statement of Catherine
Cox, February 11, 1867
Summary:
Catherine Cox, Tukey's family servant, gives a statement about the alleged
consumption of government rations in the Tukey household.
Catherine Cox, colored, this day personally appeared before me, a notary public
for the County of Augusta & state of Virginia, & made oath: That
she was employed in F. S. Tukey's family during the winter of 1866, as house
servant, & during the time I recollect distinctly of his going to
Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia on the day the last United States
soldier left here & of his bringing home a supply of commissary stores,
among which were tea, coffee, sugar, soap, [unclear: beef], candles,
& a barrel of pork & salted mackerel, the two last [deleted: ] together. Thats when Mr Tukey left home he did not tell Mrs
Tukey anything about his intent to go, & she was somewhat
[unclear: anxious] consequently about him, & that affiant
& some of the teachers laughed at her, & remarked in a joking
manner that her husband had run away from her. That when the articles already
named were unpacked, it was found that the coffee & sugar, being in the
same box, were mixed, & that said Tukey spent some time in trying to
separate them, one from the other. That one of the teachers, who was present
when the mackerel was taken out from among the pork, remarked that she hated
mackeral, & always did: That
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Mrs Tukey also remarked that she
was sorry they were put together, as she was affraid
the pork would taste of the mackeral. That affiant also recollects distinctly
that Mr Tukey separated them, putting the mackeral into a [illeg.]
barrel, & then putting whole into his cellar, where he always kept the
government rations. That she never knew of Mr Tukey using government rations in
his own family, & that she is satisfied he could not have done so
without affiant knowing it, for he told her which of the rations in the cellar
were his, & what were the government's, and she (affiant) always got the
provisions as they were used, from the cellar herself. And, finally she has been
this particular in naming so many incidents, in order to show how it is that she
is enabled to speak with so much certainty as to how the groceries were received
& used.
Given under my hand, at Staunton, 11th February, 1867
Jno B. Walls, N.
public, Auga
Co., Va., U.S.A.
