Wife to Wilson Gray.
Aunt Sue's Life Is Made Brighter By Her Friends
By J. B. Treacy
Dobson, Aug. 18- Many years ago. Susan Waugh Gray, better known as "Aunt Sue," was an important figure in Surry County households, particularly in old homes in and around Dobson. The negro woman's services were in great demand, for she was a cook par excellence, midwife extraordinary and wash woman deluxe. Today, Aunt Sue sits in a rocker on the porch of her home, an invalid whose legs have gone back on her. It's been ten years since she's walked. "Raising four grandchildren did it," she said in a joking manner. "I plumb wore my knees out washing clothes."
Friends Help Her
People in Dobson go out of their wait to brighten up her declining years. No one goes by her house without passing the time of day or perhaps bringing her a token of their affection. Most of her visitors are children and grandchildren of families she worked for, and many of them were brought into the world by Aunt Sue. She is said to have nursed all the babies in town at one time or another. Aunt Sue's mother, Sultana Waugh, was a slaved owned by James Waugh of Waughtown, now a part of Winston-Salem. Aunt Sue, whose exact age is somewhat of a mystery, but believed to be 90 years, was born about 1861, a few years Lincoln freed the slaves. Harrison Waugh, a distant cousin to James, came to Waughtown and married his cousin's daughter, Mary.
Worked For Many Families
The couple settled in Rockford taking Aunt Sultana and her child Aunt Sue, with them. The Waughs later moved to Mt. Airy, and finally to Dobson, where Aunt Sultana and Susan began working for many families in town, staying two and three weeks at a time with each. Aunt Sue continued to work for families all over the county. after her mother died in 1923 at an age rumored to be 100 years old. Parents trusted her with their children and the children loved her stories. So many doctors were in service during World War I that Aunt Sue was given a license to be a midwife. She nursed all the babies in town at the time and assisted in most of the births in Surry County during the war years. Aunt Sue married a Methodist preacher. They had one girl. Her husband died and she eventually married another preacher of the same denomination.
Reared Four Grandchildren
Her daughter grew up, married and had four young children at the time of her death. Aunt Sue reared her four grandchildren as her own. The children Lonnie, Zula, Sadie, and Elizabeth all live in other states but often return to visit the aged woman, who "wore out her knees" washing clothes to support them. One story about Aunt Sue, which her kinfolk like to tell visitors, concerns the graveyard across the road from Aunt Sue's house. One night Aunt Sue went to visit a neighbor and returned though the graveyard feeling her way through he brush and briars. Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped up a newspaper and blew it into Aunt Sue's face, nearly scaring her to death. She raced to the house and slammed shut the door. The next morning, a neighbor asked Aunt Sultana why she had clothes hanging on the bushes. Aunt Sue had gotten so scared the night before that she had ten off her clothes racing through the bushes and briars.
News and Record
Greensboro, North Carolina
Sunday 19 August 1951
Page 25
Aunt Sue's Life Is Made Brighter By Her Friends
By J. B. Treacy
Dobson, Aug. 18- Many years ago. Susan Waugh Gray, better known as "Aunt Sue," was an important figure in Surry County households, particularly in old homes in and around Dobson. The negro woman's services were in great demand, for she was a cook par excellence, midwife extraordinary and wash woman deluxe. Today, Aunt Sue sits in a rocker on the porch of her home, an invalid whose legs have gone back on her. It's been ten years since she's walked. "Raising four grandchildren did it," she said in a joking manner. "I plumb wore my knees out washing clothes."
Friends Help Her
People in Dobson go out of their wait to brighten up her declining years. No one goes by her house without passing the time of day or perhaps bringing her a token of their affection. Most of her visitors are children and grandchildren of families she worked for, and many of them were brought into the world by Aunt Sue. She is said to have nursed all the babies in town at one time or another. Aunt Sue's mother, Sultana Waugh, was a slaved owned by James Waugh of Waughtown, now a part of Winston-Salem. Aunt Sue, whose exact age is somewhat of a mystery, but believed to be 90 years, was born about 1861, a few years Lincoln freed the slaves. Harrison Waugh, a distant cousin to James, came to Waughtown and married his cousin's daughter, Mary.
Worked For Many Families
The couple settled in Rockford taking Aunt Sultana and her child Aunt Sue, with them. The Waughs later moved to Mt. Airy, and finally to Dobson, where Aunt Sultana and Susan began working for many families in town, staying two and three weeks at a time with each. Aunt Sue continued to work for families all over the county. after her mother died in 1923 at an age rumored to be 100 years old. Parents trusted her with their children and the children loved her stories. So many doctors were in service during World War I that Aunt Sue was given a license to be a midwife. She nursed all the babies in town at the time and assisted in most of the births in Surry County during the war years. Aunt Sue married a Methodist preacher. They had one girl. Her husband died and she eventually married another preacher of the same denomination.
Reared Four Grandchildren
Her daughter grew up, married and had four young children at the time of her death. Aunt Sue reared her four grandchildren as her own. The children Lonnie, Zula, Sadie, and Elizabeth all live in other states but often return to visit the aged woman, who "wore out her knees" washing clothes to support them. One story about Aunt Sue, which her kinfolk like to tell visitors, concerns the graveyard across the road from Aunt Sue's house. One night Aunt Sue went to visit a neighbor and returned though the graveyard feeling her way through he brush and briars. Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped up a newspaper and blew it into Aunt Sue's face, nearly scaring her to death. She raced to the house and slammed shut the door. The next morning, a neighbor asked Aunt Sultana why she had clothes hanging on the bushes. Aunt Sue had gotten so scared the night before that she had ten off her clothes racing through the bushes and briars.
News and Record
Greensboro, North Carolina
Sunday 19 August 1951
Page 25
Wife to Wilson Gray.
Aunt Sue's Life Is Made Brighter By Her Friends
By J. B. Treacy
Dobson, Aug. 18- Many years ago. Susan Waugh Gray, better known as "Aunt Sue," was an important figure in Surry County households, particularly in old homes in and around Dobson. The negro woman's services were in great demand, for she was a cook par excellence, midwife extraordinary and wash woman deluxe. Today, Aunt Sue sits in a rocker on the porch of her home, an invalid whose legs have gone back on her. It's been ten years since she's walked. "Raising four grandchildren did it," she said in a joking manner. "I plumb wore my knees out washing clothes."
Friends Help Her
People in Dobson go out of their wait to brighten up her declining years. No one goes by her house without passing the time of day or perhaps bringing her a token of their affection. Most of her visitors are children and grandchildren of families she worked for, and many of them were brought into the world by Aunt Sue. She is said to have nursed all the babies in town at one time or another. Aunt Sue's mother, Sultana Waugh, was a slaved owned by James Waugh of Waughtown, now a part of Winston-Salem. Aunt Sue, whose exact age is somewhat of a mystery, but believed to be 90 years, was born about 1861, a few years Lincoln freed the slaves. Harrison Waugh, a distant cousin to James, came to Waughtown and married his cousin's daughter, Mary.
Worked For Many Families
The couple settled in Rockford taking Aunt Sultana and her child Aunt Sue, with them. The Waughs later moved to Mt. Airy, and finally to Dobson, where Aunt Sultana and Susan began working for many families in town, staying two and three weeks at a time with each. Aunt Sue continued to work for families all over the county. after her mother died in 1923 at an age rumored to be 100 years old. Parents trusted her with their children and the children loved her stories. So many doctors were in service during World War I that Aunt Sue was given a license to be a midwife. She nursed all the babies in town at the time and assisted in most of the births in Surry County during the war years. Aunt Sue married a Methodist preacher. They had one girl. Her husband died and she eventually married another preacher of the same denomination.
Reared Four Grandchildren
Her daughter grew up, married and had four young children at the time of her death. Aunt Sue reared her four grandchildren as her own. The children Lonnie, Zula, Sadie, and Elizabeth all live in other states but often return to visit the aged woman, who "wore out her knees" washing clothes to support them. One story about Aunt Sue, which her kinfolk like to tell visitors, concerns the graveyard across the road from Aunt Sue's house. One night Aunt Sue went to visit a neighbor and returned though the graveyard feeling her way through he brush and briars. Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped up a newspaper and blew it into Aunt Sue's face, nearly scaring her to death. She raced to the house and slammed shut the door. The next morning, a neighbor asked Aunt Sultana why she had clothes hanging on the bushes. Aunt Sue had gotten so scared the night before that she had ten off her clothes racing through the bushes and briars.
News and Record
Greensboro, North Carolina
Sunday 19 August 1951
Page 25
Aunt Sue's Life Is Made Brighter By Her Friends
By J. B. Treacy
Dobson, Aug. 18- Many years ago. Susan Waugh Gray, better known as "Aunt Sue," was an important figure in Surry County households, particularly in old homes in and around Dobson. The negro woman's services were in great demand, for she was a cook par excellence, midwife extraordinary and wash woman deluxe. Today, Aunt Sue sits in a rocker on the porch of her home, an invalid whose legs have gone back on her. It's been ten years since she's walked. "Raising four grandchildren did it," she said in a joking manner. "I plumb wore my knees out washing clothes."
Friends Help Her
People in Dobson go out of their wait to brighten up her declining years. No one goes by her house without passing the time of day or perhaps bringing her a token of their affection. Most of her visitors are children and grandchildren of families she worked for, and many of them were brought into the world by Aunt Sue. She is said to have nursed all the babies in town at one time or another. Aunt Sue's mother, Sultana Waugh, was a slaved owned by James Waugh of Waughtown, now a part of Winston-Salem. Aunt Sue, whose exact age is somewhat of a mystery, but believed to be 90 years, was born about 1861, a few years Lincoln freed the slaves. Harrison Waugh, a distant cousin to James, came to Waughtown and married his cousin's daughter, Mary.
Worked For Many Families
The couple settled in Rockford taking Aunt Sultana and her child Aunt Sue, with them. The Waughs later moved to Mt. Airy, and finally to Dobson, where Aunt Sultana and Susan began working for many families in town, staying two and three weeks at a time with each. Aunt Sue continued to work for families all over the county. after her mother died in 1923 at an age rumored to be 100 years old. Parents trusted her with their children and the children loved her stories. So many doctors were in service during World War I that Aunt Sue was given a license to be a midwife. She nursed all the babies in town at the time and assisted in most of the births in Surry County during the war years. Aunt Sue married a Methodist preacher. They had one girl. Her husband died and she eventually married another preacher of the same denomination.
Reared Four Grandchildren
Her daughter grew up, married and had four young children at the time of her death. Aunt Sue reared her four grandchildren as her own. The children Lonnie, Zula, Sadie, and Elizabeth all live in other states but often return to visit the aged woman, who "wore out her knees" washing clothes to support them. One story about Aunt Sue, which her kinfolk like to tell visitors, concerns the graveyard across the road from Aunt Sue's house. One night Aunt Sue went to visit a neighbor and returned though the graveyard feeling her way through he brush and briars. Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped up a newspaper and blew it into Aunt Sue's face, nearly scaring her to death. She raced to the house and slammed shut the door. The next morning, a neighbor asked Aunt Sultana why she had clothes hanging on the bushes. Aunt Sue had gotten so scared the night before that she had ten off her clothes racing through the bushes and briars.
News and Record
Greensboro, North Carolina
Sunday 19 August 1951
Page 25
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