It sounds like her family was actually well off.
Do you realize that after the Civil War many of the freed slaves did have a horrible time trying to survive. They didn't have the skills to farm and some petitioned the courts to become slaves again.
Do you realize most, perhaps all, of us have ancestors who suffered a great deal, e.g., Armenians, Roma, Jews, Indians, Irish, on and on.
Yes, slavery is a terrible thing. Some people choose slavery because they don't have the skills or the motivation to support themselves. Look at the inner cities today.
This a fact. The dems of 1874 and before were the ones who started the KKK.