Sis’Ter: An Autobiography

By Rosetta Chatman Davis

In her autobiography, Rosetta Chatman Davis describes her difficult life growing up in the Fifties and Sixties on a farm in Greeleyville, South Carolina. Rosetta gives detailed family history from slavery to freedom, and through the Depression and World War II. Many of their experiences will bring you to tears. This is not just another “Down South” story, but a success story of a Black family who prayed and persevered through the injustice of sharecropping, ‘Jim Crow’ laws, predjudiceness and tough times. All they had to depend upon was their faith in God and their ability to work hard.
Rosetta was born prematurely in 1947 and was not expected to live, but God had other plans and a purpose for her life. At age ten Rosetta and her siblings, were forced to worked alongside their parents in the fields, planting and harvesting cotton and tobacco.
Rosetta’s God-fearing parents demanded that she and her siblings take advantage of the education that was available to them; and each one enjoyed successful lives and careers after leaving South Carolina and moving to New York City and Connecticut and New Jersey.
Rosetta graduated from high school in Greeleyville South Carolina in 1965. After moving to New York City, she attended Hunter Secretarial School and later studied Early Childhood Development at Lehman College in Bronx, New York. She has enjoyed a successful career of Federal Government service working for the United States District Court and the Veteran’s Administration.
Rosetta’s passion and calling is studying God’s word and teaching young children. Rosetta has been teaching the Bible to children and adults for over forty years. Rosetta is currently teaching in the Children’s Ministry Department at Church of the Revelation in Bronx, New York, and serves as leader of the Intercessory Prayer Ministry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664289376

Rosetta Chatman Davis

Rosetta Chatman Davis was born into a family of sharecroppers in Greeleyville, South Carolina in 1947. As a child, experiencing child labor, she learned the value of a family, faith in God, and hard work. After graduating from the CE Murray High School in Greeleyville, SC in 1965, Rosetta moved to New York City, and continued her education at the Hunter Secretarial School and studied Early Childhood Development at Lehman College in Bronx, New York. Rosetta has been teaching the Bible to children and adults for over forty years and she is currently teaching in the Children’s Ministry Department at Church of the Revelation in Bronx, New York, and she also serves as leader of the Intercessory Prayer Ministry. Rosetta is now retired from her duties at the United States District Court and the Veterans Administration in New York City, and she and husband Linton still reside in Bronx New York.

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Copyright © 2023 Rosetta Chatman Davis.

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WestBow Press

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and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard

Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975,

1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8938-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8937-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/27/2023

CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

Chapter 1     Mom and Dad

Chapter 2     A Miraculous Birth

Chapter 3     Growing Up on the Farm

Chapter 4     The Church

Chapter 5     My Childhood Memories

Chapter 6     Family History

Chapter 7     Jim Crow Years

Chapter 8     School Years: Separate but Not Equal

Chapter 9     Leaving Home

Chapter 10   Life in New York City

Chapter 11   Finding Love

Chapter 12   Married Life in The Bronx

Chapter 13   A Child Is Born

Chapter 14   Days of Sorrow

Chapter 15   Healed To Serve

Chapter 16   Deaths in the Family and National Disaster

Chapter 17   Grandchildren

Chapter 18   World Pandemic

Chapter 19   Prayers for the Family

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book first to God: My Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Then to my husband, Linton Davis, my daughter, Aphra and her husband Reggie, and to my grandchildren: Stephanie, Marc, Adia, and Quincy, and to all my Sunday school students.

Linton, you are a loving partner, a great provider, and my closest friend. Linton has been very caring and supportive throughout our 53 years of marriage.

My daughter, Aphra is a loving, caring daughter, and a great wife, and a wonderful mother to my grandchildren.

Stephanie, Marc, Adia, and Quincy, you are a blessing to my life. I thank God for you every day and I am so proud of each one of you. We could not ask for more intelligent and loving grandchildren. I cherish the days and times we spend together.

I pray that this book will enlighten you of your heritage, which are those in our family that went before us and that you now carry their D&A in your bodies that extends all the way back to Africa. In this book, you will learn of your family history from slavery to the present time. You will learn of Grandpa John Rogers, who was born into slavery, and his son, Limus Rogers. His sons were John Rogers Jr., Joseph Rogers and Tyson Rosalie, my grandmother. Tyson Rosalie had one daughter, Lizzie Gertrude who is my mother.

God has touched your lives and I want you to trust God always and know that He will never abandon you. It gives me immense joy to know that my grandchildren have given their lives to God. As a result of your decisions, God has blessed you with wisdom and understanding far beyond your years.

To our beautiful Granddaughter, Stephanie: God placed you in our family when your dad married my daughter Aphra. You were thirteen years old then. Thank you for letting me be a grandmother to you. I love you very much, and I am so proud of you. You are loving, strong, educated, and an independent young woman. I know that God is the main source in your life. He will bless you and keep you all the days of your life.

Like your sister Adia, you are multi-talented, creative, very productive, and fun-loving. Stephanie, you love a challenge, and you are ready and willing to work hard at any project, from the way you styled your hair or made your own clothes.

I love you, Stephanie. My heart and my blessings are with you always, Grandma.

Numbers 6: 24-26

24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord cause His face to shine on you,

And be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His face to you and give you peace.’

To Marc Isaiah, our grandson, born June 27, 2002, you have grown to be not just tall and handsome but equally as strong and intelligent. Marc, you are outgoing and friendly and loved and respected by your peers. Marc you are a very caring and responsible and talented young man. God has given you a natural ability to sing and dance. Your obedience to your parents and your helpfulness to others is an assurance of God in your life. I can see this Marc when you interact with your younger brother Quincy and your sisters, Stephanie, and Adia.

Marc, as you continue in college, seek the wisdom of God to help you to make the necessary decisions that will influence the rest of your life. Marc, you are a significant role model for your two younger siblings, Adia, and Quincy. Marc, you are blessed and highly favored by your Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

I love you, Marc. My heart and my blessings are with you always. Grandma

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 5 & 6)

To our granddaughter, Adia Rose, born February 6, 2006, in Middletown, New York. From the moment you were born, we could see the curiosity in your eyes, which is the first sign of a gifted artist. Adia, you were an adaptive toddler, very talkative and expressive. When we saw your first nursery school painting on your drawing pad, to your first canvas painting in elementary school, we could see your God-given talent and creativity. Adia, you are always eager to learn and try new endeavors. I do not remember a time when you said, I can’t do that. You are always willing to try. You have danced in recitals, performed in Band concerts, acted on stage in plays singing and dancing.

Today, Adia, you are a beautiful, strong, and confident sixteen-year-old with a loving heart. You enjoy having fun laughing with family and friends. I can always count on you to be truthful and honest; these are God given qualities that will carry you through a long happy life. Continue to trust God and study His word and He will direct your path. Add Godly wisdom to your gifts and talent. May God bless you and keep you all the days of your life.

I love you Adia, my heart and my blessing are with you always, Grandma.

Matthew 25: 20 – 21: The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

To Quincy, our second grandson, born May 19, 2012. I was fortunate to be your babysitter and nurturer from your second month until you started preschool at age four. Quincy, you enjoyed my cuddling, comforting, and singing to you. You loved listening to Baby Praise CD’s and videos. Quincy learned to sing before he could talk. Quincy you have grown into a loving, respectful, and obedient child. At age ten, Quincy, you are handsome, strong, intelligent, and outspoken; you are not afraid to speak what is on your mind. I like the way you speak the truth and take a stand for righteousness. You excel in school, and you are loved by your peers and teachers. You love hearing and reading God’s word, the Bible. God has touched your heart at a tender age, and He does and will continue to speak through you.

Quincy, my heart, and my blessings are with you always. I love you. Grandma.

Proverbs 3: 5 – 6:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

I dedicate this book to all my Sunday school students that I have taught over the course of my life. I pray that all my former students and current students continue to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God’s word and maintain a permanent relationship with our Lord Jesus throughout their lifetimes.

PREFACE

In this book, you will take a journey back in time with me as you read about my family and my life growing up in South Carolina from 1947 to 1965. Authors have told comparable stories, but not with the same outcome.

I was born into a period of history when extreme prejudiceness and segregation prevailed in the Southern States of our country. For eighteen years of my life, I lived in the rural area of the small town of Greeleyville, South Carolina where my parents were sharecroppers. My parents and my three brothers and I lived in a white man’s house, on a white man’s land where we worked his land and harvested his crop for a share of the profit. Black people were governed by Jim Crow laws, and laws dictated to us by the local government. According to the United States Government, we were free, but were we? We possessed a slave mentality which would take years for our people to get out from under this grave oppression.

Our days were long and hard, but with the help of God we made it through. Our faith in Jesus gave us the strength to endure. We looked forward