I guess in the case of census information negro was negro and white was white, depending upon what the census informant told the census taker. I can't imagine the reason a free white in Louisiana would attempt to be counted as a free black, for reasons that should be obvious, but I can see where a free black would prefer to be counted as a white. To the extent that census data is skewed, it seems to me it would be with fewer free blacks than actually existed. I would be curious to know if anyone knows of a reason a free white would designate himself as a free black in a US census. JDS To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html