This is true, as some of the documents may describe a light mulatto with 
straight black hair, or curly red hair. Those descriptions would infer some 
sort of native or European mixture (at least in my mind).

Anita


>From: Pat Duncan <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history         
>      <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: inter-racial sex acceptable?
>Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:30:59 -0600
>
>I believe the term mulatto, as it was used at the time, referred to the
>color of the skin and not a racial mix. The terms bright mulatto, very
>bright mulatto, dark mulatto were used to provide better descriptions of 
>the
>slave. Such descriptions often included notation of scars and other
>identifying marks.
>
>This does not discount the number of interracial sexual relations, but the
>use of the term mulatto should not be used as proof.
>
>Pat Duncan
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Paul Finkelman" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 4:25 PM
>Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] inter-racial sex acceptable?
>
>
> > One measure interracial sex -- crude and not entirely accurate -- is the
> > number of mulattoes that the census recorded.  This only measures
> > interracial children -- and only those interracial children that the
> > census takes notices.  But, that number -- which hugely undercounts
> > interracial sexual activity -- nevertheless shows that there were an
> > awful lot of children of slaves mothers who had white fathers. All
> > evidence from this history of American slavery shows that white men
> > frequently had sex with slave women.
> >
> > Paul Finkelman
> > President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
> >      and Public Policy
> > Albany Law School
> > 80 New Scotland Avenue
> > Albany, New York   12208-3494
> >
> > 518-445-3386
> > [log in to unmask]
> > >>> Heritage Society <[log in to unmask]> 08/18/07 5:55 PM >>>
> > In the current issue of the UVA Magazine, there is an article "Anatomy
> > of a Mystery" which addresses the issue of Jefferson's alleged paternity
> > of slave children. In the article, Lucia Stanton is quoted as saying
> > that Edmund Bacon (the overseer at Monticello who asserted he knew the
> > father of Sally Hemings' daughter and that it was not Thomas Jefferson)
> > had a reputation among Jefferson*s grandchildren as "a great tale teller
> > and exaggerator." Also, in the article, Peter Onuff was quoted as saying
> > that, "What we take as the big taboo*crossing the racial boundary*was
> > the norm in this period. What we think is the worst was then probably
> > the most acceptable behavior. It happened all over the place." Does
> > anyone have any references that Bacon was known as "a great tale teller
> > and exaggerator"? As to whether interracial sex was the "norm" I guess
> > depends on how "norm" is defined. However, there were laws against it,
> > so how was it "acceptable"?
> >
> > Richard E. Dixon
> > Editor, Jefferson Notes
> > Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society
> > 703-691-0770
> > fax 703-691-0978
> >

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