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Subject:
Re: Language in 1808 Va Will
From:
Douglas Burnett <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 11:52:32 -0500
Content-Type:
text/plain
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text/plain (96 lines) 
I remeber that term but as a kid(I'm 72) I took that to be bi-racial. Maybe
that wasn't the intent and I was just "listening" wrong.

On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 10:19 AM, Jean Duke <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Although I haven't heard the term used in years (I'm 80 years old), when I
> was younger it was not uncommon for a  light-skinned African American to be
> referred to as  a "high-yellow."
>
> Maurice Duke
>
> VCU.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 2/17/2015 6:22 PM, Martha Katz-Hyman wrote:
>
>> 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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> ______________________________________
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
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>



-- 
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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