My Grandmother's (Rosetta Riddick) oral history about her Grandfather's (Lewis "Pop" Foster) traveling south to escape from slavery.

My grandmother (Rosetta Riddick) often told the story of her grandfather's escape from slavery. As young black girl growing up in a unique black segregated town of Norfolk, Virginia called Titustown, my grandmother would always listen to her grandfather tell a familiar story. My grandmother said she would often listen to Lewis "Papa" Foster tell his story when her siblings were off playing.

Lewis "Papa" Foster was a former slave from King and Queen County, Virginia which is about 20 miles north east of Williamsburg, Virginia. According to my Grandmother, Papa Foster was well built, standing straight with a very dark complexion.

While a slave in King and Queen, Papa served as a bus boy. He also was responsible for keeping shoes shined and he did some close to the house gardening.

Papa Foster remembers seeing the humiliating sight of his mother, brother and sister sold on the auction block in King and Queen. It is not known who his father was or the name of his mother or sister. Papa Foster brother's name was Squire. The details aren't given, but Papa Foster escaped slavery as a teenager prior to the end of the Civil War. As an escaped slave, Papa Foster, talked about seeing his brother still in bondage. He desperately wanted to talk to him, but he never did for fear of being recaptured.

Papa Foster proceeded to leave the King and Queen County area. He would sleep during the day in the woods. He traveled during the night, smartly avoiding the Confederate and Union soldiers. Papa traveled several months in the southern direction to his eventual freedom.

During Papa Foster's escape he met another escaped slave known to my Grandmother as Uncle Noah Jones. Uncle Noah was also of dark complexion, stocky but not fat, and slightly balding on top with long side burns in his later years.

As Papa Foster and Uncle Noah traveled south to freedom, they encountered the York River in Gouster, Va. Papa Foster and Uncle Noah entered the York River at Glouster Point, which was at that time the lowest point of crossing. They swam to the other side and landed in Yorktown, Virginia.

Papa Foster and Uncle Noah proceeded south east to eventually stop and spend some time in Newport News, Va. that was known as Little Boat Harbor (currently the north end of the Monitor and Merrimack bridge and tunnel). They ate fish and oysters given to them by the fisherman. Eventually, some fisherman would give them a boat ride to their freedom in Norfolk, Virginia. They arrived on shore in an area today called Willoughby.

Papa Foster and Uncle Noah's trip was almost done. They traveled about 15 more miles to a section of town in Norfolk, called Brownstown. The US Marine base in Norfolk occupies that land now. Brownstown was believed to be a section of town that many free blacks were allowed to live and farm. It also became a place that hid escaped slaves until the emancipation was enacted.

Papa Foster got his freedom and eventually married a member of Uncle Noah's family. Papa Foster settled in the Titustown section of Norfolk, Virginia across the railroad tracks from Brownstown. Titustown is one the few black towns in United States. Starting in the early 1900's a white farmer parceled his land and sold the lots only to black families. The stipulation was that the houses couldn't be built until the land was paid for in full. My parents bought one of those lots too. As many escaped slaves traveled north to freedom, traveling south proved to have been a very beneficial route for my family.