Tri-Racials of the Upper South
- The Tri-Racial People
of the Upper South
(SOURCE: (Book) `Black-Indian Genealogy Research.
African Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribe's, by Angela
Y. Walton-Raji, and published by Heritage Books in 1993.)
Perhaps one of the most valuable pieces
of genealogical research about Africans
and Indians outside the Indian Territory
of the West has emerged from the
work of Dr. Virginia Easley De Marce.
The National Genealogical Society Quarterly of
March 1992 featured an article by Dr. DeMarce
in which she discussed what she referred to
as "Tri-Racial Isolates" of the Upper South.
The Upper South, consisting of Virginia ,
the Carolinas . Kentucky , and Tennessee .
Her work is essential for any African-American
researchers whose ancestors may not be from the
Five Civilized Tribes, but whose family is still
known to have Native American ancestry.
Her piece is entitled, "Verry(sic) Slightly Mixt:
Tri-Racial Isolate Families of the Upper South.
A Genealogical Study."(1)
The work is essential because Dr. DeMarce
closely identifies and examines the
migration pattern of these groups.
It is from this understanding of the Tri-Racial
population that individuals may be able to
penetrate the realm of possible Indian ancestry.
Her work is mentioned here because there are thousands
of African-Americans from Virginia to the Carolinas
who claim Native American Ancestry, yet have no
direction as to where to document this relationship
The effort to trace Indian ancestry from
the Upper South is probably the more
challenging areas of Black-Indian Genealogy.
Unlike the extensive records to be found on the Five
Civilized Tribes, there was a deliberate effort to
eliminate other tribes, particularly the smaller
ones officially eliminating them from the census.
In the 1800s it was not uncommon to
learn that many were simply "terminated".
The result was that Indian families were listed
in the Census as Mulattoes or White, depending
-- in many instances -- on the complexion
of the persons being enumerated.
This official "termination" gave the [false]
impression that the population in many
areas was either "black" or `White', and that
the Indigenous Populations had become extinct.
Marriages and Migration Patterns
Relations between Blacks and Indians have been
known to have occurred as far back as the 1600s.
[T]here were nations that did establish a pattern
of intermarrying with both Blacks and Whites.
For example, on the Eastern Shore area of
Virginia the Gingaskins were intermarrying
into both the White and Black communities.
And both Whites and Blacks were known to have married
into the Nottoway according to the Census of 1808.
This particular Census was made by tribal
trustees who had first hand knowledge.
However, the "black" participants in `legally-recognized'
marriages were primarily free "blacks", thus
allowing them some freedom to intermarry.
After the Civil War, intermarrying continued,
-- even though in many places it was `illegal'.
But when intermarrying occurred there seemed to be
a pattern of selectivity with Bi-Racial offspring, who
usually selected a spouse from other Bi-Racial groups.
This marriage pattern led to the [formerly]
Bi-Racial families (Indian/White, Indian/
Black, White/Black) becoming Tri-Racial.
This need to find "suitable" Mixed-Race
spouses contributed to the need to move
more frequently than the general population.
For example, the Baltrip, or Boltrip family was
commonly found in the central part of North
Carolina , but later appears as a free `Colored'
family in Wilkins County farther to the west.
This comes as no surprise as it has not been
unusual in African-American families to note
that many Mulattos have also practiced the
pattern of marrying exclusively Mulattos.
Certain nicknames are given to describe
Tri-Racial groups and these labels are
used today throughout the South.
Labels such as Brass Ankles, Red Bones,
Lumbees and Turks are among the common
names used in reference to the Tri-Racial people.
Other names are Guineas , the
Haliwas, and the Melungeons.
The families in those groups were Bi-Racial or Tri-Racial
and married as a general rule with other Mixed families.
For example the Goins clan a long standing family of
Tri-Racial people form Tennessee were known to have
lived with and intermarried frequently with other
groups such as the Red Bones, of Louisiana.(2)
Over the years, Indian / White, and Indian / Black
Mixtures existed but there were entire towns
where these Mixed people predominated.
Usually the Mixed population lived in a European
culture, speaking English, practicing Christianity
and giving European surnames to their offspring.
Thus the merger of cultures contributed to
the loss of Indian languages and traditions.
Most Tri-Racial families are
either [socio-politically speaking]
"White"-`identified' or "Black"-`identified'
families, though genetically -- and
historically -- they are Tri-Racial.
Notes on Searching for Tri-Racial Ancestors
DeMarce does make the effort to identify
certain surnames of specific groups.
For example, the Louisiana Red Bones frequently have
the surname Willis, Sweat Ashworth, or Perkins.(3)
It will be helpful to become acquainted with the
surnames from these groups but the challenge
exists in identifying Indian ancestors.
Fortunately there are some leads that
may assist the researcher in this effort.
The researcher is cautioned that this quest
will be extremely since the documentation
just doesn't exist for Tri-Racial groups.
Of course if one has the benefit of an oral tradition in
the family that gives the name of an Indian ancestor,
then one has already moved ahead in the research.
Obviously once an Indian ancestor has been found
one might want to learn the history of that specific
Indian nation, becoming familiar with the common
surnames found in that group, and relate their
family history to the history of that Indian group.
A possible pitfall exists here for the genealogist.
The search for Indian ancestors from the Tri-Racial
might steer the researcher into a frantic search to
prove or to disprove a specific racial composition.
It is essential to keep the focus on the
search for the names of those ancestors,
regardless of their racial composition.
Dr. DeMarce spoke very tactfully of the fact that
her research might not have been published several
years earlier, because many would not have
wanted their Mixed ancestry to be known,
preferring to blend into the `White' population.
This phenomena is common among many
Mixed populations and was known
among African-Americans as "passing".
Among Indian-Whites the practice
was to deny the Indian ancestry,
while with some Mulatto or
Indian / Black populations may have
been to deny the African ancestry.
This is not unlike many immigrant populations
who discouraged their children from speaking
the mother tongue, with the intention to
blend with the majority as soon as possible.
Contributing Indian Tribes
There are many nations among whom [many members
of the African-American Ethnicity] can claim ancestry.
For example it is not unusual to hear many
[members of the African-American Ethnicity]
of the coastal states referring to Pamunkey
ancestors and others referring to the Lumbees.(4)
In such cases, traditional census records will be
essential and careful notation should be made when
one finds the Mulatto ancestor who may have indeed
have been an Indian from one of the `coastal tribes'.
Oddly, it is common to hear many African-American make
references to being descendants of the Blackfoot Indians.
There has not been any indication that the Blackfoot
Indians ever lived outside of the Montana and Canadian
region, and the assertion of family ties to this nation
is perplexing and may be more figurative than actual.
DeMarce points out that the following nations of
Indians contributed to the Tri-Racial isolate groups:
Chickahominy, Gingaskin, Mattapony, Nansemond,
Nanticoke , Nottaway , Pamunkey, Rappahanocks,
Saponi, Weanick, Werowocomo.
There are some specific surname patterns
that appear in the Tri-Racial communities.
But De Marce cautions the researcher to avoid
concluding too hastily that a relationship
exists just because the surname is the same.
On the other hands, she acknowledges that a specific
pattern of name dispersal in a limited population may
indicate which groups might be considered as isolates.
As as result, her illustration of the tendency of the groups to
intermingle among other similarly mixed groups and not on
a regular basis to re-marry into the original racial group
makes them no only isolated, from their original racial
group, but also identifies them as isolate groups.
1. DeMarce, Viginia Easley,
Verry Slightly Mixt: Tri-Racial Isolate Families of the Upper
South. A Genealogical Study National Genealogical
Society Quarterly, March 1992, p 5 - 35.
2. The surname Goins is a variation of the
group name Melungeons or Meleungoins.
3. Mills, Gary B. Tracing Free People of Color in the Antebellum
South The National Genealogical Society Quarterly, December 1990.
In this work, Mills discusses the origin of some families of
free people of color in Louisiana , such as the Goins, Chavis,
Locklear, Hunt, Ivey, Kennedy, Scott and Sampson families.
Some of these names are also those of free non-Whites of Alabama
4 The Lumbee Indians are still seeking official tribal recognition.
(A List of the surnames of the Tri-Racial families appears as
an Appendix in the book, Black Indian Genealogy Research.
African Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes)