I live 50 miles from the location of the document containing the term
"yellow".
As a matter of fact, I was born here on the La. side of the Miss. River, in what is
known as Delta farm country. You are right in that "quadroon" meant one
quarter
Negro and three quarters white. Also, "octaroon" meant one eighth Negro and
seven eighths white. However, for this location at least, the term "mulatto"
was
used to mean half white and half Negro. If a person was light skinned and did
not know the amount of Negro blood then he would be classified according to
his skin color: yellow (or High yellow which meant very light).
This was never meant to be demeaning in any way (it certainly did not mean one
was a coward, etc.!). But was used for a legal identifying term. Negroes back
then were proud of their light skin!
I understand that in other parts of the U.S. the term Mulatto was often used to
mean any person not strictly Caucasian, but here that was not the case.
Frances Davis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arthur Cagle" <chicory(a)bellsouth.net>
To: <CAGLE-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: [CAGLE] Yellow as Description of Race
Actually, the term "quadroon" was applied only to those of
1/4 African and 3/4 Caucasion blood. Similarly, an
"octoroon" had 1/8 African blood. The term "mulatto" was applied to
any degree of mixed blood, so you therefore could
have a mulatto who was an octoroon or a quadroon, for example.
Arthur Cagle
ecagle1(a)bellsouth.net wrote:
>I agree with Dana, for the time frame and location, this would be the accepted
terminology for mixed ancestry of the
>nature described. When you get into the Louisana area the term "quadroon"
was often applied. Since we have no
>control over our ancestry, this should not be considered a derogatory term but one
that lends itself more to actual
>descriptive information. Earl L. Cagle, Sr.
>>From: Dana Meara <mcmeara(a)sbcglobal.net>
>>Date: 2004/08/22 Sun PM 10:55:42 EDT
>>To: CAGLE-L(a)rootsweb.com
>>Subject: [CAGLE] Yellow as Description of Race
>>
>>I believe in the time period of the marriages listed "yellow" might
refer to mulatto. This Spanish and Portuguese
>>term was first used in the America Colonies to denote a person who was half
African and half European but came into
>>common usage to mean a person of black descent mixed with another race.
"Yellow" or "High Yellow" came to mean a
>>light skinned person with Negro ancestry. One example is "The Yellow Rose of
Texas" who is a heroine of the Texas
>>Revolution. There are songs and poems about "yellow" ladies with no
connection to Texas.
>> Dana
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>==============================
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