Brian, It is possible that these Free Blacks were attracted by the large creole community in Louisiana. One of my ancestors, an escaped slave, was kidnapped from Pennsylvania, and sold down River to New Orleans. She was eventually purchased by a Creole man, who married her. This tells me that the Creoles were powerful, and influential. Most of my Free Black ancestors left Virginia, and headed north. Happy Hunting!! Anita AMAZON.COM PURCHASE SITE - NOTES AND DOCUMENTS OF FREE PERSONS OF COLOR : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1411603338/qid=1097778584/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8775456-1855815?v=glance&s=books BOWDENS' OF POPES CREEK WEBSITE: http://www.orgsites.com/ca/mpbwdnfnd/index.html "The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people" African Proverb. r ----Original Message Follows---- From: Brian Mitchell <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html