| George Edwards Slave Testimony St. Augustine Florida |
| October 21, 1934 George Edwards, Is 98 Years Old, Holds Record Oldest Person Found in Community; Was born Slave Is Almost Blind Says He Belonged to Lopez Family of This City So far as the management of the Record has been able to judge from names turned in, the oldest person in the community is George Edwards, colored, of No. 59 Oneida Street. He says he will be 98 years old next July Fourth, and has lived here all of his life, being born in a house on Charlotte Street. His story is that he was born a slave, in the family of Nilas Lopez, the grandfather of X. Lopez, of this city. When asked if he had ever seen slaves sold in the old Slave Market on the Plaza, his answer was that he had seen them sold there and whipped too. Edwards is almost blind, but manages to make his way around. He says that things appear as a blurred shadow before him, but declares his mind is as keen as his eyes are dim. WPA Records The Lopez plantation, another large holding on the Southwest edge of the city, was owned by a Spaniard. Here the number of slaves was not as great as on some of he other plantations, but the cruelty to which they were subjected is said to have more than made up for any numerical deficiency. One of the former slaves of the Lopez plantation is still living in St. Augustine. He is George Edwards, one hundred years old " as near as he can figure from what they tell him". Edwards believes that he was twelve or fourteen years old when the Civil War began. He tells of having been tied to a bannister by his master and beaten for hours with a heavy strap of leather. tiring of his sport, Lopez would stop, eat his lunch, smoke his pipe, and then resume the beating. While Edwards' mind is still apparently clear eough to lend credence to his story, verification was obtained from his daughter, who stated that the same story was told to her by the old man more than a quarter of a century ago. |