Melungeon-L Archives

Archiver > Melungeon > 2003-03 > 1046625782


From: Brent Kennedy <>
Subject: Re: [Melungeon] Plecker revisited
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 09:23:02 -0800 (PST)
In-Reply-To: <005e01c2e0dd$0faa2bc0$69cb4341@greybird7>


Well, that's one of the points, plus to indicate that Plecker himself himself saw relationships between all these various populations, regardless of which side of the state line they lived on. Another reason for posting it is that this a discussion list, and given the earlier posts regarding "Mulattos" I thought it might have relevance there as well. I am one of those who embraces his African ancestry and places it on an equal footing with all the other ancestries that make me who I am. I thought that some folks, especially the newer subscribers, might find it of interest. We tend to take for granted on this list that all those out there have the historical knowledge background that we do. We also tend to talk in terms of the distant past (pre-1900). 1943 wasn't that long ago and I just felt it added a relevancy to the discussions, especially for some of our "younger" members. So, that's why I posted it.

Barbara Ellison <> wrote:Uhhh..so what's the point in posting this? I mean, what is it supposed to be
telling us other than that Plecker didn't want anyone with Negro blood,
whatever amount, to slip by as an Indian or white person?
B.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brent Kennedy"
To:
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2003 10:38 AM
Subject: [Melungeon] Plecker revisited


>
> Given the earlier interest in the mulatto discussion thread and the fact
that we have some new subscribers, I'll re-post one of the infamous Plecker
letters. This is likely old-hat to some, but may be of interest to newer
subscribers.
>
>
>
> Take a look at Plecker's sweeping declaration of "Mulatto" families by
name in Russell, Scott, Smyth, Wise, and Lee counties. There's no doubt
that Plecker considered ALL the Mullinses, Collinses, Gibsons, and Bolins in
these counties to be "Mulatto" - regardless of what the censuses said. In
short, Plecker was convinced that too many mixed folks had somehow been
"mistakenly" classified as "white" or "Indian." His letter also drives home
the reality that more than a few sympathetic country clerks were
purposefully classifying racially mixed citizens as "white", just as they
had likely been doing since the first censuses. We also know that Plecker
considered these particular families on both sides of the state line to be
related. Anyway, thought his would be of interest.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Commonwealth of Virginia
> Department of Health
> Bureau of Vital Statistics
> Richmond
>
> January 1943
>
> Local Registrars, Physicians, Health
> Officers, Nurses, School Superintendents
> and Clerks of the Courts
>
> Dear Co-workers:
>
> Our December 1942 letter to local registrars, also mailed to the clerks,
set forth the determined effort to escape from the negro race of groups of
"free issues," or descendants of the "free mulattoes" of early days, so
listed prior to 1865 in the United States census and various types of State
records, as distinguished from slave negroes.
>
> Now that these people are playing up the advantages gained by being
permitted to give "Indian" as the race of the child's parents on birth
certificates, we see the great mistake made in not stopping earlier the
organized propagation of this racial falsehood. They have been using the
advantage thus gained as an aid to intermarriage into the white race and to
attend white schoools, and now for some time, they have been refusing to
register with war draft boards as negroes, as required by the boards which
are faithfully performing their duties. Three of these negroes from Caroline
County were sentenced to prison on January 12 in the United States Court at
Richmond for refusing to obey the draft law unless permitted to classify
themselves as "Indians."
>
> Some of these mongrels, finding that they have been able to sneak in their
birth certificates unchallenged as Indians are now making a rush to register
as white. Upon investigation we find that a few local registrars have been
permitting such certificates to pass through their hands unquestioned and
without warning our office of the fraud. Those attempting this fraud should
be warned that they are liable to a penalty of one year in the penitentiary
(Section 5099 of the Code). Several clerks have likewise been actually
granting them licenses to marry whites, or at least to marry amongst
themselves as Indian or white. The danger of this error always confronts the
clerk who does not inquire carefully as to the residence of the woman when
he does not have positive information. The law is explicit that the license
be issued by the clerk of the county or city in which the woman resides.
>
> To aid all of you in determining just which are the mixed families, we
have made a list of their surnames by counties and cities, as complete as
possible at this time. This list should be preserved by all, even by those
in counties and cities not included, as these people are moving around over
the State and changing race at the new place. A family has just been
investigated which was always recorded as negro around Glade Springs,
Washington County, but which changed to white and married as such in Roanoke
County. This is going on constantly and can be prevented only by care on the
part of local registrars, clerks, doctors, health workers, and school
authorities.
>
> Please report all known or suspicious cases to the Bureau of Vital
Statistics, giving names, ages, parents, and as much other information as
possible. All certificates of these people showing "Indian" or "white" are
now being rejected and returned to the physician or midwife, but local
registrars hereafter must not permit them to pass their hands uncorrected or
unchallenged and without a note of warning to us. One hundred and fifty
thousand other mulattoes in Virginia are watching eagerly the attempt of
their pseudo-Indian brethren, ready to follow in a rush when the first have
made a break in the dike.
>
> Very truly yours,
>
> (signature)
> W. A. Plecker, M.D. State Registrar of Vital Statistics
>
>
>
> Page 2 - SURNAMES, BY COUNTIES AND CITIES [illegible] VIRGINIA FAMILIES
STRIVING TO PASS AS "INDIAN" AND/OR WHITE
>
> Albemarle:
> Moon, Powell, Kidd, Pumphrey
>
> Amherst: (Migrants to Allegheney and Campbell)
> Adcock (Adcox), Beverly (this famiy is now trying to evade the situation
by adopting the name of Burch or Birch, which was the name of the white
mother of the present adult generation), Branham, Duff, Floyd, Hamilton,
Hartless, Hicks, Johns, Lawless, Nukles (Knuckles), Painter, Ramsey,
Redcross, Roberts, Southwards (Suthards, Southerds, Southers), Sorrells,
Terry, Tyree, Willis, Clark, Cash, Wood
>
> Bedford:
> McVey, Maxey, Branham, Burley (See Amherst County)
>
> Rockbridge: (Migrants to Augusta)
> Cash, Clark, Coleman, Duff, Floyd, Hartless, Hicks, Mason, Mayse (Mays),
Painters, Pults, Ramsey, Southerds (Southers, Southards, Suthards), Sorrell,
Terry, Tyree, Wood, Johns
>
> Charles City:
> Collins, Dennis, Bradby, Howell, Langston, Stewart, Wynn, Custalow
(Custaloo), Dungoe, Holmes, Miles, Page, Allmond, Adams, Hawkes, Spurlock,
Doggett
>
> New Kent:
> Collins, Bradby, Stewart, Wynn, Adkins, Langston
>
> Henrico and Richmond City:
> See Charles City, New Kent, and King William
>
> Caroline:
> Byrd, Fortune, Nelson. (See Essex)
>
> Essex and King and Queen:
> Nelson, Fortune, Byrd, Cooper, Tate, Hammond, Brooks, Boughton, Prince,
Mitchell, Robinson
>
> Elizabeth City & Newport News:
> Stewart (descendants of Charles City families).
>
> Halifax:
> Epps (Eppes), Stewart (Stuart), Coleman, Johnson, Martin, Talley, Sheppard
(Shepard), Young.
>
> Norfolk County & Portsmouth:
> Sawyer, Bass, Weaver, Locklear (Locklair), King, Bright, Porter
>
> Westmoreland:
> Sorrells, Worlds (or Worrell), Atwells, Butridge, Okiff.
>
> Greene:
> Shifflett, Shiflet
>
> Prince William:
> Tyson, Segar. (See Fauquier)
>
> Fauquier:
> Hoffman (Huffman), Riley, Colvin, Phillips. (See Prince William)
>
> Lancaster:
> Dorsey (Dawson)
>
> Washington:
> Beverly, Barlow, Thomas, Hughes, Lethcoe, Worley
>
> Roanoke County:
> Beverly (See Washington)
>
> Lee and Smyth:
> Collins, Gibson, (Gipson), Moore, Goins, Ramsey, Delph, Bunch, Freeman,
Mise, Barlow, Bolden (Bolin), Mullins, Hawkins
>
> Scott:
> Dingus (See Lee County)
>
> Russell:
> Keith, Castell, Stillwell, Meade, Proffitt. (See Lee and Tazewell)
>
> Tazewell:
> Hammed, Duncan. (See Russell)
>
> Wise:
> See Lee, Scott, Smyth, and Russell Counties.
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, and more
>
>
> ==== Melungeon Mailing List ====
> The Vardy Community Historical Society
> http://hometown.aol.com/vardyvalley/
> ---------------------------------
> Battles in Red, Black and White
> Virginia Racial Integrity Law 1924
> http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/POCA/POC_law.html
>
>


==== Melungeon Mailing List ====
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The MELUNGEON LIST HOMEPAGE:
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~mtnties/melungeon.html



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, and more

This thread: