No, During that time period they had precise terms to describe a persons race.  In that time period they used many different terms/levels of mixtures to determine that you had Black in you.

Free Mulatto is a freeperson of color.

Mulatto- offspring of one white and one black parent.
Quadroon- 1/4 Black
Octoroon- 1/8 Black
Metissse, Mestee, Mustee- offspring of one white and one Indian parent.


The other side of the coin is that the US Census depended on the census taker to correctly determine a persons race. So yes that census taker could of made a mistake lumped all mixtures in one group do to the rules set forth for that year or what the census taker perceives what race you are.

Copper is usually the term I have seen on earlier census to describe Indian.


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Carole D. Bryant<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
  To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 2:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] status of children born of slave mothers in 1858


  can't "free mulatto" mean Indian ?  or white-Indian mix ?
   
   
  In a message dated 5/29/2012 3:55:51 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
  [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> writes:

  I always  thought that a child of a slave belonged to the slave owner - 
  even if the  child was father by a white man other than the owner.  In 
  researching  my great great grandmother Easter Nelson, I found that  her first 
  child, my great grandmother Edmonia was fathered by a  relative of her owner's 
  wife - Lewis Dulin.  I know amything is  possible - but can it be that a child 
  fathered by a white man in 1858  would be raised as a free child by 
  relatives of the mother? I have found a  census record for a child named Edmonia 
  Nelson born in 1858 living with free  mulatto Nelsons in the same county in 
  1870. Of course I have  no evidence that this Edmonia Nelson is the same 
  Edmonia that Easter  Nelson bore, but is it possible?  

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