Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Investigates the origin of the Lumbee community by examining land grant records, tax lists, census records, genealogical studies, and other documents. Her analysis yields three conclusions: The earliest documented Lumbee families originated in Tidewater Virginia and upper N.C.; the records examined use inconsistent ethnic labels; and the nonwhite labels indicate triracial origins. Discusses the proportion of Black, White, and Indian blood in triracial isolates, and possibilities that individuals or families crossed the color line to avoid “Black codes” and “Jim Crow laws.” She asserts, “researchers must examine every record in the geographic area of interest, no matter what the racial category listed in the census.”