Douglas,

In fact, because the writer of the will owned two boys named Henry,
describing the skin color was the way to distinguish between the two and
make sure that the correct individual went with the intended heir.

Martha Katz-Hyman
Curator
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Williamsburg, Virginia

On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 11:24 AM, Douglas Burnett <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I am catching up on transcribing some wills and have run across this
> language for the first time:
>
> "3rdly I give to my son *Thomas *one negro boy by the name of
>
> *Henry* (a black boy) to him and his heirs or assigns forever
>
> 4thly I give to my son *Charles Washington *one negro boy by the
>
> name of *Henry * (a yellow boy) to him and his heirs or assigns
>
> forever"
>
> Does anyone understand the differentiation between the "black boy" and the
> "yellow boy"?
>
> Am I trying to read to much into this and it is in fact just a physical
> description of the coloring?
>
>
> --
> Douglas Burnett
> Satellite Beach
> FL
> As a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the
> National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Florida State Genealogical
> Society(FSGS) and the Virginia Genealogical  Society(VGS), I support and
> adhere to the APG's Code of Ethics.
>
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