Mulatto

When I started doing genealogy I came across the term Mulatto. In Genealogy.com it states A mulatto is legally considered to be an individual with mixed black and white heritage. However, some individuals who were designated mulattos may have a slightly more mixed parentage, perhaps including Native American blood. The 1850 and 1860 censuses only allowed an individual to describe himself as white, black, or mulatto. In 1870, these categories were expanded to include Chinese and Native American as well. The ethnicity selected for your ancestor in one of the censuses may not be completely reliable, however, because often the census takers did not ask about an individual's ethnic heritage. Instead, they put down an ethnicity based on what the person looked like. When I research the census I see where many mistakenly take M in race to mean Mexican - and not Mulatto.

Some individuals would list their race according to where they lived or worked at the time the census was taken. The reasons for this varied, but most of the time the census taker would list what he assumed was the race of the person he talked to, when obtaining the census records. Therefore, one year a family may be listed as black, another year- white and then, yet another- mulatto. So, we can see the frustration and extra effort that researchers are faced with when doing their family history. Personally, when researching, I never limit myself to the particular race of the person I am helping. I understand that somewhere in their family tree, a mixed race probably occurred.

In an African American forum one person wrote:

“What is most discouraging, though, is facing and accepting the fact that my ancestral parentage in the slavery generations and post-slavery generations may never be determined with certainty or proven 'cause folks who knew wouldn't tell or discuss it openly, or the records don't exist, casting those identified as "mulatto" into a no-man's-land of non-identity. In other words, "malatto" not only means "mixed-race", it means for historical purposes "doesn't exist". Those of us who are struggling to get to the bottom of such identity and decendancy are largely lead to a mixed-bag of circumstantial evidence from which only assumptions--dangerous, as was pointed out--may bring us very close to the truth, but which leave us faced forever with a permanent 'brick wall', one that cannot be broached, say, beyond about 1800, unless some documentation, some record, exists in the archives and private papers of white families and comes forth. In this, I encourage--I beg--white researchers to share their findings on forums such as this. (For those who have gotten beyond 1800 in their proven lineage, I salute you!) “

Along with mulatto, other terms are used in naming an African American race. Here are a few terms that might prove helpful:

Black Dutch: Probably, originally white Europeans with pure black features (hair). This term has also been applied to persons with mixed racial heritage.

Free Issue, Free Issue Negro: A Black or mixed-race person free by manumission or birth; especially the child of a White woman and a Black man. Commonly used in Virginia and the Carolinas.

Free Man of Color (F.M.C.), Free Person(s) of Color, Free Woman of Color (F.W.C.), etc.: A Black person, not a slave; a person having one Black and one White parent. Used especially in Louisiana.

Free Mixture: Probably a person, not a slave, being part Black, and being part White and/or Indian.

Griff, Griffe, Griffane, Griffin: Offspring of a White and a Black. Used especially in Louisiana.

Half and Half: A person of mixed blood; a half breed. Part Indian or part Black.

Half Breed, Half Blood, Half Blooded: The child of an Indian and a White parent. May be applied to people who are part Black.

High Yellow: (pronounced, high yalla or high yaller) - A light-skinned black person. Some say “mostly white.”

Maroon: For our purposes, a fugitive or runaway slave, one who joined with the Seminole in Florida. Earlier, this word was applied to fugitive black slaves in the West Indies and Dutch Guiana. Interestingly, the word origins of Maroon in this usage is from certain Spanish words: symeron, > cimarron, > cimarrón, meaning wild, free, a runaway person. It is possible that the term maroon may have been misapplied as a color. Maroon is a very dark brownish-red or chestnut color.

Melungeon: Seemingly, a person of mixed racial heritage. Probably, white, Negro, and Native American heritage. Common usage in East Tennessee.

Mulatto: A person who is one-half Negro, one-half white. The child of one white parent and one Negro parent. From the Spanish and Portuguese word mulato meaning young mule. The mule is of course, one half horse and one half donkey, a hybrid.

Octoroon: A person who is one-eighth Negro, seven-eighths white. The child of one white parent and a quadroon. From the Latin word octo meaning eighth.

Quadroon: A person who is one-quarter Negro, three-quarters white. The child of one white parent and a mulatto. From the Latin quartus; >Spanish cuarto, cuarteron, meaning fourth.





Related Links:
Mulatto.Org
Notable People with Black and White Ancestry
Mixedfolks.com
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