Adelaide J. Vaughn’s interview primarily documents the experiences of her formerly enslaved mother and father. It provides an insight into gender-specific experiences, and how the formerly enslaved family recalls the institution of slavery. As her mother Adelaide Warren, was hired out at approximately aged eighteen, this indicates a somewhat skilled occupation. Enslaved people were hired out only when they acquired significant skills or were deemed successful in their role. As her mother worked as a domestic servant, she must have worked effectively well in order to be hired out for profit.

Warren’s refusal to engage in specific duties, damaging of crockery and her relationship with Miss Candle, highlights a form of everyday resistance on her behalf, it also indicates the complexities of the relationship between an enslaved female and a female enslaver, and female enslavers. This type of ‘everyday’ resistance was the most common, as opposed to outright acts of violence. The event of Warren being able to return home from her hired enslavers is a rare occurrence. Her mother demonstrated further resistance in her refusal to stay and was given the rare freedom to return to her original enslavers. According to the interview transcript, the Hickman’s may have given her mother some preferential treatment (see Michael Tadman’s ‘key slave’ hypothesis), and Mrs Hickman compared Warren to her own kin. With the money earned, Warren was then given a more comfortable lifestyle.

Diana Wagner’s experience, as recalled by Vaughn, highlights the common experiences that enslaved females saw. The threat of family breakdown and separation was a problem that many females encountered. Many mothers saw themselves sold away from their kin. The future communication between Wagner and her son indicates the presence of a continual family network and a strong sense of motherhood among the enslaved community. This reunion was commonplace, as evident in various other WPA interviews.

Vaughn’s father, Peter Warren, experienced the difficulties of living within an inter-racial family. His biological father and enslaver Phillips treated him cruelly. This was widespread, as many enslavers sexually exploited their enslaved females and as a result, still regarded their biological kin as ‘inferior’. Warren’s workload decreased after he suffered a serious accident. This was unusual as many enslaved individuals who were injured were usually deemed ‘unprofitable’ and sold or despite their ailments, forced to engage in heavy labour. It is important to note also that Vaughn’s parents married only after emancipation. Although their cross-plantation relationship (see research of Emily West) was not unusual for the time, it was common for many enslaved people to marry after emancipation as previously marriage among the enslaved had no legal standing. The 1910 census shows that they had five children. However, Vaughn’s name is absent from the census data. A female of the name ‘Dezzie Miller’ is listed as a household member and one of their three living children. Perhaps Vaughn changed her first name later in life. Vaughn’s own personal experiences with the mention her children’s wages being cut etc, emphasize the racial climate in which they live. The era of the 1930s was a period of segregation, Jim Crow Laws and racist attitudes.

The interviewer, Samuel Shinkle Taylor, was one of the few black American federal writers. Taylor collected 17% of the entire Arkansas collection, and is renowned for his realistic approach and relationship with the interviewees. Taylor refrained from recording the interviews using incorrect spellings and dialect. The black American interviewers were perhaps likely to emphasis the negative aspects and feelings of the interviewee towards slavery and their situation, as white interviewers were contrastingly more likely to present the positive aspects of the institution. Nevertheless, some black dialect is still evident within the interview, and the experiences mentioned are both positive and negative. It is unlikely that Taylor had a bias or focused on one narrative, as the interview presents a realistic testimony on the experience of slavery.

Vaughn notes her own forgetfulness. For example, she does not know who sold her mother, the first name/occupations of their enslavers, nor much of her father’s enslaved experiences. There is evidence of editing, as Taylor comments that he believes that Vaughn is nearer the age of eighty, as a result of her eyewitness accounts. Whether she is the correct age given, or older as assumed by Taylor, it would explain the issues regarding her memory. Perhaps her forgetfulness can also be attributed to the information being passed on. When her parents passed on their experiences, she may have misunderstood some information, or recalled the events differently due to her elderly age. The interview allows for a childhood perspective on the experiences of the enslaved, as her parents’ information was passed down a generation. Vaughn may be remembering their experiences correctly, as she remembers the events when she was told at a young age. Many of the WPA interviewees were elderly individuals, and so their accounts must be treated with somewhat caution. As Taylor was a black American however, it is probable that the experiences recalled were truthful as she felt comfortable enough in such an environment.

There is evidence of editing, as Taylor underlines a section on how Warren’s mother was not sold as a result of her children. This was somewhat unusual for the time period, as enslaved families regularly saw separation and a breakdown in the family network. As previously stated, it was normal for females to see their children sold apart from them. Nevertheless, it depends on the enslaver themselves, as they may have had a small plantation and needed further enslaved individuals for their labour force. Also, as Vaughn describes the situation, it seems as if the Warren family treated him and his family fairly.

Although Adelaide Vaughn is not evident on any of the census data, death records etc, it is possible she changed her name. Despite this setback, there is various information available on her parents, Peter and Adelaide Warren. Nevertheless, Vaughn’s female testimony is significant, as many abolitionists previously focused on the male perspective. Vaughn gives an insight into gender specific experiences, which allows us to make gender-based comparisons and to research how men and women differed during their enslaved experiences.