This by far has been the most challenging & frustrating part of researching my family's history. Many if not most African American families in the United States, particularly those of us in the south, while researching often locate several persons of european descent in our ancestry.
European ancestry is distinguishable in our outer appearance.
I've traced many of my free black ancestral lines to "white female" indentured servants who arrived from Scotland, England & Ireland!! We as people of color naturally assume that acts of miscegenation were solely perpetrated by white males on enslaved females, however I've found that although there were forced acts of rape against "enslaved" females, there were also consentual relationships between whites & blacks of both "free" & "enslaved" statuses.
Two of my early free black lines, the Goins & the Cornish arrived in Virginia prior to 1625. (source: 1624/1625 Muster of Jamestown). In the commonwealth of Virginia, blacks and whites were allowed to legally marry one another up until the year 1662. Although the punishment was severe for those who chose to break this law; racial miscegenation continued between the two groups on into the present day.
One of the reasons for this grand scale of race mixing was the fact that several of the europeans who entered the early colonies died off quickly from disease, hot climate & harsh living conditions. The African arrivals and the few Indian laborers forced into indenture contracts found themselves living and working in close proximity with europeans of all social classes.
This was fertile ground for racial miscegenation and they took full advantage of it!
A detailed account of these events in early american history are chronicled in Paul Heinegg's, "Free African Americans" which traces the orgins of most Free African American families in colonial America. (Nickens, Bowmans, Pinns, Redmans, Craigs, etc. ) The source information is included.
The task of locating a white ancestor through an "enslaved" line is far more difficult. Usually we depend on oral history for those answers however if you're diligent and patient enough your search may yield all sorts of juicy tidbits of information.
African American elders hate the idea of reliving the past, "Let sleeping dogs lie" or "Ain't no need in diggin' up the past" are among the few phrases I've heard over the years when researching. Don't let their attitudes distract you!
After interviewing countless relatives I was able to piece bits of information together and validate it all by using US Federal Census data, Court records such as Wills, Deeds, Chancery case info to name a few... With that I was able to naildown my white ancestor in question. My gg-grandparents had a consentual relationship during slavery that continued well after that time; and although my family took little pride in their white father, I found evidence that he at least ensured they were well provided for in their early years.
Another story about the complexities of black & white relationships in American history was that of my great-grand aunt Henrietta who "married" the son of Jacob Haight, owner of Sully Plantation in Chantilly, Virginia. Though they were denied the right to marry in Virginia & Maryland, the two were able to successfully marry in the District of Columbia. The couple's marriage was a huge scandal; there were death threats against them & their children, their names were slandered in the papers and warrants were issued in Virginia for their arrest.
Revealing such relationships were very, very dangerous. That is often the reason folks, both white & black passed their children off as having "native american" ancestry. How else can you explain away a very dark, kinky haired person having a child with high to yellow-brown skin tone and wavy or curly hair?
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