Sylvester Smith, who was eighty-six years old when interviewed, was born in 1852 at Goldsboro, Wayne County, North Carolina, about forty or fifty miles east of Raleigh, the state capital. His sister, her husband, and he were the only slaves on the estate of Richard Newsom. Newsom lived in a log house for some time, but later he built a frame dwelling. He had three girls and two boys. Sylvester, then quite young, lived with the Newsoms. His sister and her husband, however, lived in a shack that was no better than a coal shed. On Newsom’s farm, Sylvester worked in the corn and cotton fields, cut wood, and gathered feed for the stock during the day. At night he was a house servant, keeping the fires and carrying water. Sylvester said he was treated well enough as a slave to convince him to stay with his former master a year without pay after gaining freedom. His sister, however, left immediately on gaining her freedom.
Sylvester recalled that soldiers leaving for the Civil War said it would be only a “breakfast spell.” He was not old enough to serve in the war but saw a few light skirmishes. Several battles were fought within hearing distance. He said that for seven days and nights he heard the battle at Richmond. He could hear the heavy shooting plainly at night, and during the day he could hear it by placing an ear to the ground. He said that often slaves were stolen, so usually he was not allowed on the road. He was permitted, however, to go a short distance to a spot where trenches and rifle pits were dug. He said traces of these still could be seen.
According to his obituary in the Terre Haute Tribune (December 22, 1943), Sylvester died at the age of 91 in 1943 at his home on 1401 South 14th Street in Terre Haute and is buried in Grandview Cemetery.