The Fiddling Contest

“The Fiddling Contest” is a true old family story transcribed by Ellen Gray Taylor, who had heard the brave story of Mars Henry in the words of the ex-slave who told it to her and to so many other children. Rendered in the vernacular, this story depicts the great love shown within an extended family trying to ensure survival in the dark days after the War Between the States.

Ellen Gray Taylor did her best to render the ex-slave Uncle Joseph’s voice accurately into her transcription. Uncle Joseph told this story with great love and admiration for Mars Henry. But his words also display well-deserved pride in himself as well as in the young Mars Henry that they played such a critical part in ensuring the family’s survival in the poverty stricken days after the War.

This is the first time this manuscript has ever been published.