A term frequently used in the South in addressing or speaking of an old “darkey.”
1835. Nor are planters indifferent to the comfort of their gray-headed slaves. I have been much affected at beholding many exhibitions of their kindly feeling toward them. They always address them in a mild and pleasant manner—as “Uncle,” or “Aunty.”—Ingraham, ‘The South-West,’ ii. 241.
1836. The old gray-headed servants are addressed by almost every member of the white family as uncles and aunts.—Letter of a gentleman of So. Virginia, in J. K. Paulding’s ‘Slavery in the U.S.,’ p. 207 (N.Y.).
1850. Old Uncle Ned (every family in Kentucky has some old family servant bearing this endearing title).—James Weir, ‘Lonz Powers,’ i. 32 (Phila.).
1861. We passed through the market [at Charleston, S.C.], where the stalls are kept by fat negresses and old “unkeys.”—W. H. Russell, ‘My Diary, North and South,’ April 16.
