Smith and Pocahontas were an early mixed race couple. In the 1920s VA passed its law declaring that any person with ANY non-white ancestry was not white! A few years later the legislature passed an amendment to say that people with less than 1/16th Indian ancestry were also "white." It was known as the Pocahontas law because many FFV's claimed to be descendants of Smith and his Indian bride. Before the Civil War people who were less than 1/4th non-white were considered white. The definition of "white" or "black" has alway been socially and legally constructed. 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] >>> [log in to unmask] 05/07/08 5:53 PM >>> Weren't John Smith and Pocahontas a mixed race marriage in Virginia We quote the late Ned Heite, who wrote about white-Indian couplings 30 Jan 2000: What happened to the Delmarva Indians? Dr. Helen C. Rountree, in her several excellent publications, has given us a picture of those Eastern Shore Indian descendants who have been identified. Many of our neighbors are clearly identified as Indians, and their ancestry is not in doubt. However, I am coming to the conclusion that most of the Indian descendants in the Middle Atlantic region today are identified as "white," and not "mulatto" or "black." There is plenty of unwritten evidence that intermarriage between Indians and whites was the rule, rather than the exception, in the early years of European colonization. In the latest issue of the Archaeological Society of Virginia bulletin is Martha McCartney's insightful analysis of the census records for the Virginia colony compiled in 1619-1620. Most settlers were male; in some plantations, all were male. There simply were no "available" English women. Therefore, we must assume that these fellows were either gay, celibate, or mated with Indian women. Take your choice, but remember that they were largely young and robust single Englishmen, away from home and not terribly well regulated. So only the third choice stands the test of reasonableness. Flash forward nearly a century, and? ---the Virginia legislature passes a law stating that the child of a white and an Indian is a mulatto, but the child of a white and a half Indian (that is, with one Indian grandparent) is white.--- ? This rule seems to have held in Delaware and Maryland, too. Why do legislatures pass laws? Because some constituent believes there is an issue to be addressed. We don't talk about gun laws unless there is gun violence. Clearly there is a reason to enfranchise as "white" anyone with only one Indian grandparent. My suggestion: The legislators, or their constituents, needed to define a difference between "mulatto" and "white" for purposes of the civil law. The logical inference from the Virginia legislature's definition is that there must have been plenty of white planters with Indian ancestry who wanted their franchise protected during a period when racial divides were becoming sharper and sharper. Indian wives would help explain why so many genealogies are easily traced through the male line, but hit dead ends at the female side. If the mother was an Indian, and if the marriage was sanctioned only in the most irregular way, a child's legal record (in cases of probate for example) would refer only to his or her father's side, the mother's family being outside the English legal system. B&R Terry -----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wed, 7 May 2008 3:47 am Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Mildred Jeter Loving (1940-2008), & an apology (was Re: What would Jeffer... Weren't John Smith and Pocahontas a mixed race marriage in Virginia some time before the Loving's decided to make a Federal case out of the whole thing. J South **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) ______________________________________ 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 ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html