Background of Ida Mae

       

Hello, my name is Ida Mae Brandon Gladney. I was born on March 5, 1913 in Van Vleet, Mississippi. Growing up I had two brothers and two sisters. My three oldest siblings had a different father from me. Growing up my family knew where we were in the caste system. We were poor and knew how we had to act and where we stood with the white folk. My father always treated my oldest brothers and sister wrong because they weren't his kids. Some nights he would beat them & I would hear the screams thinking I'm having a nightmare. When my brothers and sister got old enough they left right away leaving me with my mom, dad, & little sister. It was kind of miserable. I miss all the fun I used to have with my brothers, always sneaking behind them in the woods. After a couple of months my father passed away; well the doctors said he "was" dead but I know deep down inside he was in a coma and back then they didn't know what exactly a coma was. Life was hard when he passed away. I needed to start working at an early age to help support my family because it was just me my, my sister, & my mother. As soon as I turned 16 I found my true love, his name was George. I loved him so much and  he meant the world to me. I knew he was the one so we got married and we moved together into a cabin in Edd Pearson's Plantation. From there on George and I had to wake up before the crack of dawn and pick cotton. It was so difficult for me to do that, I wasn’t use to it like how George was. I needed to learn new things.  Getting married at a young age; but do I regret it? No.  After a couple of years settling down me and George had four children, but two died. Later on something bad happens at the Plantation that  changed George’s mind on staying in Mississippi. So, George and I start to plan on moving up north where my sister lives at in Milwaukee. Before we moved up north I found out that I was pregnant with my 5^th child. So when we finally got up north we stayed with my sister until we could find a job and support ourselves. Up north is different. Tall buildings everywhere, it’s different than down in the south. We needed to get used everything the to the first couple of month.  I went home to have my baby and when s I went back up north, instead of going to Milwaukee we went in Chicago. That’s how I started my life in Chicago.

Dear Diary,

I have horrible news; I had a miscarriage with my first child. I took it for granted because all I did was ride horses, I feel so stupid I should have took good care of myself. Then I had my first beautiful baby girl name Velma. After a couple of months I had another girl named Elma, but poor Elma died because she was sick. Now I finally had the baby boy I wanted named James. After a couple of months later things had gotten worse. My husband’s cousin Joe Lee (known as a thief) supposedly stole from Addie B. and took her turkeys. Mr. Edd had gotten mad and came to my house asking if I knew where Joe Lee was and I told him that I didn't know, supposedly he sneaked into my house and I didn't know so they barged in my house waking up the kids and chased Joe Lee out to the back. I was scared for him. When George came home I told him about what happened with his cousin. He was shocked that Joe Lee would do such a thing. Later that day Mr. Edd found out that Addie B.’s turkeys just roamed out to the forest, so he didn’t need to beat Joe Lee. That’s when George told me he wants to move to Chicago.

                                                                                                                -         Sincerely

Ida Mae

Dear Diary,

                All of this is too much for me; taking care of the kids, cleaning, cooking, planting out back, picking cotton, & being a wife.  I just need a break from all of this, I’m too young. Making money out here is ridiculous, 100 pounds of cotton is just 50 cents & only 70 cotton dolls equals a pound, so me & George have to wake up at dawn and try our best to pick 7,000 cotton dolls. But through the mist of it at least the family and I are staying strong.