Some of mine could not read or write,

Ken the literacy rate in the South was only 80% compared to 95% in New England and over 90% in the rest of the North. I am of course speaking of white people only. Should you include Negroes it would probably be about 45% in the South. However I've been told that the ability to read may have been slightly higher than reported in the South....from reading the Bible, etc... but they were lacking in writing skill, of course it was a southerner who told me that...lol.