Chicago Defender
Chicago, ILL
2-13-1943

Former Slave, 110, Dies In N. Carolina

Goldsboro, N. C. -- Mrs. Cherry Shadden, 110, former slave, reputed to be the oldest person in Wayne County, died last week at the home of her great nephew, Amaziah Lane, in Saulston township.

Her brother, Butler Thompson, 88, the "baby" of the family, is still living here in the same community.

While a slave, Mrs. Shadden belonged to the late George Thompson, white, of Saulston township. Two years ago, prior to Christmas a granddaughter of Thompson, Mrs. J. C. Edwards, drove to Saulston and brought Mrs. Shadden to Goldsboro so she could see the Christmas sights and have a visit in town.

The lights were turned on ahead of schedule so that she could see them and get home before her accustomed bedtime. A motorcycle patrolman accorded her a police escort.

She said she once rode a train, liked automobiles, but had no intention of flying.

When Sherman's army came to Wayne County she was a grown woman and was working in the cornfield. Some of the slaves went off with the Yankees, she said, but she remained because "my white folks were good enough for me."

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