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Archiver > Melungeon > 2003-03 > 1046632863


From: Barbara Ellison <>
Subject: Re: [Melungeon] Plecker revisited
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 13:21:03 -0600
References: <20030302172302.65299.qmail@web41405.mail.yahoo.com>


Oh..well Plecker's name gets tossed out a lot on this list, and other than
being a nazi-ish racist fool, I don't see where he was wrong in his
asessment of who actually had African blood..I know all my Mullinses,
Collins, Gibsons and Goins had African blood...Don't think I have any
Bolins...not sure..And I also know that a lot of people were listed as white
who were not...
Ok..well thanks for clarifying..
B.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brent Kennedy" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2003 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: [Melungeon] Plecker revisited


>
> 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.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> >
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> > 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
> >
> >
>
>
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