Place and time may be less important in how an interracial couple got along in its neighborhood than the attitudes of the neighbors. Thomas E. Buckley's article, "Unfixing Race," in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 102 (1994): 349-380, discusses just such a case in depth. Joshua Rothman's book, Notorious in the Neighborhood, already suggested, has much good information on this topic, as do Melvin Ely's Israel on the Appomattox, and Henry Wiencek's The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White. All treat episodes and communities in the first half of the nineteenth century. Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Visit the Library of Virginia's web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sally Phillips Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 5:59 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Changing Attitudes East to West? Would it be fair to say that residents of Cumberland County, Virginia, and other counties well west of the fall line, in the 50 or so years following the Revolution, would be more independent-minded, more free-spirited, less bound to the 100-year-old traditions of the more easterly counties? I am trying not to use the word "liberal" as it is used today, because I don't know what "liberal" meant in 1800. But that is what I'm getting at. I am researching an inter-racial family where the father/owner and the mother/slave and the offspring lived publicly as a family. As well as I can tell from the records, they seem to have been at least tolerated. They appear to have functioned well in the community. Although Cumberland County was far from the frontier in 1800-1825, had it been settled by frontier-seekers who simply didn't care that much about traditions? Is there a book that deals with this subject? To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html