Oral History

I read some transcripts of some oral histories on this web site http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/oral/online.html. The one that struck my eye were recorded in the early 1900s and were given by former slaves. One was by an extremely old woman named Sarah Grudger. She recounts an incredible meteor shower in 1833. She was playing with her siblings when her mom came running out of the house and was terrified. She saw all the stars falling and told Sarah every time a star falls, someone on Earth is gonna die. She said there would be a lot of people dying soon. Shortly after that Sarah and her family were sold into slavery and she never saw her mother again. It is quite interesting that less than 30 years after that meteor shower The United States had its worst and bloodiest war to date. These are the moments that bring history to life for me, the personal interest stories that are very often left out of the textbooks. Which is sad, because there is so much that can be gained from reading and listening to these personal histories. It's a shame that we no longer have anyone alive that can recount the events of this era of American history.