Moses Hursey
From:
Texas
MOSE HURSEY believes he is about eighty-two years old. He was born
in slavery on a plantation in Louisiana, and was brought to Texas
by his parents after they were freed. Mose has been a preacher most
of his life, and now believes he is appointed by God to be "Head
Prophet of the World." He lives with his daughter at 1120 Tenth
St., Dallas, Texas.
"I was born somewhere in Louisiana, but can't rec'lect the place exact,
'cause I was such a little chap when we left there. But I heared my
mother and father say they belonged to Marse Morris, a fine gentleman,
with everything fine. He sold them to Marse Jim Boling, of Red River
County, in Texas. So they changes their name from Morris to Boling, Liza
Boling and Charlie Boling, they was. Marse Boling didn't buy my brother
and sister, so that made me the olderest child and the onliest one.
"The Bolings had a 'normous big house and a 'normous big piece of land.
The house was the finest I ever seen, white and two-story. He had about
sixty slaves, and he thought a powerful lot of my folks, 'cause they was
good workers. My mother, special, was a powerful 'ligious woman.
"We lived right well, considerin'. We had a little log house like the
rest of the niggers and I played round the place. Eatin' time come, my
mother brung a pot of peas or beans and cornbread or side meat. I had
'nother brother and sister comin' 'long then, and we had tin plates and
cups and knives and spoons, and allus sot to our food.
"We had 'nough of clothes, sich as they was. I wore shirttails out of
duckings till I was a big boy. All the little niggers wore shirttails.
My mother had fair to middlin' cotton dresses.
"All week the niggers worked plantin' and hoein' and carin' for the
livestock. They raised cotton and corn and veg'tables, and mules and
horses and hawgs and sheep. On Sundays they had meetin', sometimes at
our house, sometimes at 'nother house. Right fine meetin's, too. They'd
preach and pray and sing--shout, too. I heared them git up with a
powerful force of the spirit, clappin' they hands and walkin' round the
place. They'd shout, 'I got the glory. I got that old time 'ligion in my
heart.' I seen some powerful 'figurations of the spirit in them days.
Uncle Billy preached to us and he was right good at preachin' and
nat'rally a good man, anyways. We'd sing:
"'Sisters, won't you help me bear my cross,
Help me bear my cross,
I been done wear my cross.
I been done with all things here,
'Cause I reach over Zion's Hill.
Sisters, won't you please help bear my cross,
Up over Zion's hill?'
"I seed a smart number of wagons and mules a-passin' along and some camp
along the woods by our place. I heared they was a war and folks was
goin' with 'visions and livestock. I wasn't much bigger'n a minute and I
was scared clean to my wits.
"Then they's a time when paw says we'll be a-searchin' a place to stay
and work on a pay way. They was a consider'ble many niggers left the
Bolings. The day we went away, which was 'cause 'twas the breakin' up of
slavery, we went in the wagon, out the carriage gate in front the
Boling's place. As we was leavin', Mr. Boling called me and give me a
cup sweet coffee. He thought consid'ble plenty of me.
"We went to a place called Mantua, or somethin' like that. My paw says
he'll make a man of me, and he puts me to breakin' ground and choppin'
wood. Them was bad times. Money was scarce and our feedin' was pore.
"My paw died and maw and me and the children, Nancy and Margina and
Jessie and George, moves to a little place right outside Sherman. Maw
took in washin' and ironin'. I went one week to school and the teacher
said I learned fastest of any boy she ever see. She was a nice, white
lady. Maw took me out of school 'cause she needed me at home to tend the
other children, so's she could work. I had a powerful yearnin' to read
and write, and I studied out'n my books by myself and my friends helped
me with the cipherin'.
"I did whatever work I could find to do, but my maw said I was a
different mood to the other children. I was allus of a 'ligious and
serious turn of mind. I was baptised when I was fifteen and then when I
was about twenty-five I heared a clear call to preach the Gospel-word. I
went to preachin' the word of Gawd. I got married and raised a family of
children, and I farmed and preached.
"I was just a preacher till about thirty years ago, and then Gawd
started makin' a prophet out of me. Today I am Mose Hursey, Head Prophet
to the World. They is lesser prophets, but I is the main one. I became a
great prophet by fastin' and prayin'. I fast Mondays and Wednesdays and
Fridays. I know Gawd is feedin' the people through me. I see him in
visions and he speaks to me. In 1936 I saw him at Commerce and Jefferson
Streets (Dallas) and he had a great banner, sayin', 'All needs a
pension.' In August this year I had a great vision of war in the eastern
corner of the world. I seen miles of men marchin' and big guns and
trenches filled with dead men. Gawd tells me to tell the people to be
prepared, 'cause the tides of war is rollin' this way, and all the
thousands of millions of dollars they spend agin it ain't goin' to stop
it. I live to tell people the word Gawd speaks through me.
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Charley Hurt
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Lizzie Hughes
