G: I am Rabbi Stanley Garfein, and this begins a series of
 interviews on the early Jewish community in Tallahassee.
 Our first interview is with Tallahassee's longest Jewish
 resident, Ms. Ruby Diamond. We are talking about her
 grandfather, Robert Williams, and his family, who, as far as
 we know, were the first Jewish settlers in this area. [We
 now know that others preceded them.] He came through
 Savannah in Sherman's march to the sea.

D: It was not Savannah then. I do not know whether they came
 here from Savannah. I know they came in the cart, and my
 grandfather walked all the way so it would not be so much
 weight for the horse. My aunt and my oldest took along with
 them a little deer, and so the horse would not have so much
 weight he [the deer] would walk some of the way. My aunt
 had this deer as a pet. I remember hearing about the deer.
 I do not know whether he [my grandfather] came from
 Jacksonville or Savannah. It does not say in any of the
 articles.

G: Well, that story that you told me about the Union officers
 during Sherman's march .

D: Oh, yes. They [your parents] were living in Savannah.

G: And they came here in 1865.

D: Well, they must have come from Savannah, then.

G: What was that story about how the Union officers broke into
 the house? I want you to tell me that one again.

D: Well, you see, they had slaves. One day two drunkards came
 into the house.

G: Were they Union soldiers that were drunk?

D: They were Union soldiers, and the servant followed them when
 they went into the kitchen. She saw that they were looking
 at all of the food and looking into the dishes that they
 had. They had a goose, and nearby there was some schmalz
 [rendered poultry fat],
 so she said to them, "Oh, you can have the goose, but please
 do not take Ms. Williams's schmalz, Like they knew what
 she was talking about. So my grandmother ran out to see if
 she could see any other soldiers. Fortunately, two officers
 passed by, and she spoke to them and told them that two
 drunken soldiers had just come into the house and asked him
 to please protect us. So they said, "Why, certainly,
 madam." They came into the house and put them under arrest
 and removed them right away. They looked around and liked
 the house so well they told my grandmother that she
 certainly had a nice home, and they would like to have
 quarters there for a while. So grandma had guests for a
 while.


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