Ray,
I don't pay much attention to the enumerator's
designation. One of my greatgrandfather's was an
enumaerator in Sussex County 1910. He enumerated his
wife and children as mulatto and my other
greatgrandfather and his family as black. Looking at
the children of the family that he enumerated as
black you can see they were much fairer than the the
children enumerated as mulatto. As for the mothers, I
know that mother of the black children was probably
only 1/4 African American where the African American
component of the mother of the mulatto children was more.
I have asked if there was a criteria issued to the
census takers as what was considered mulatto or
Negro. I have never received an answer. The 2
families lived next to each other and my
greatgrandfather, the census taker, was a minister.
:)So I figured he was being truthful. The mother of
the black children was known to have a European
father and a mulatto mother.
Linda
------- Original Message -------
From : Ray Terry[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent : 2/13/2011 9:35:32 PM
To : [log in to unmask]
Cc :
Subject : RE: Re: [VA-HIST] Census Enumerator's
Instructions re: race
A question for the ages. Paul Heinegg argues that
folks told the enumerator what they were, race-wise.
My wife's family was not asked. I suspect most were
not. My wife's mixed-race grandparents appeared to
be white but in 1930 were enumerated as "Neg", as was
my wife and her mother. Take a look at my wife with
me at her retirement dinner
http://nativeamericansofdelawarestate.com/Mitsawokett%20Photos/TerryBetty&Ray.htm
Further on down the page she is standing with her
mother, Grace.
What do you think?
Ray Terry
---------------
"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of
all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of
the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that
arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking
around." - G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1908
-----Original Message-----
From: Mitch Lichtenberg <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Sun, Feb 13, 2011 10:45 am
Subject: [VA-HIST] Census Enumerator's Instructions
re: race
In my research on Orange County, I've run across a
number of free black
families, listed in the 1850 census, where there is
mix of black and mulatto
children while both parents are listed as black.
There are some obvious
reasons why this might take place, but I wonder who
exactly is providing
this information. The instructional circular issued
to assistant marshals
of the 1850 census is very brief regarding race: If
White, leave the space
blank, if Black insert the letter "B", if Mulatto,
insert "M." My question
is: who determined the difference between Black vs.
Mulatto. I would
suppose that the person who is speaking to the
enumerator is supplying it.
But maybe the enumerator is making an observation.
Can we say that this is
information about inherited genetic background (i.e.,
a known white
ancestor) or is it merely describing 'skin color,' or
is it evidence of an
'adopted' child in the family, or something else
entirely? I would
appreciate some input from the group on this. Thanks.
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