Southerners desperately needed! 1960s and 1820s New Orleans and 19th century plantations in Virginia

latourdumoine

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Am researching this, and while there's a lot of great material out there, I also want to talk to people as much as I can. Other than a shout out to all you kind Southerners who'd be willing to answer some questions (e.g. what did your grandparents drum into you as to what constitutes good manners, what kinds of food did you eat, what how were the holidays celebrated in your home, what family scandals / unconfirmed rumors did you hear of in your neighborhood, etc.), I have a few concerns.

1. When emailing former plantations functioning as museums, are they generally open to questions concerning the families that used to run them, or is it best not to mention that and focus on the general info they put up on their websites? My questions would run along the lines of how the weddings were held, who was invited, how the slaves would prepare the food, things like that. Of course, if there's some juicy gossip they're willing to part with (e.g. about duels), I wouldn't say no, but I'm not pressing it.
2. Anything that should never be asked under any circumstances?
3. If you were the love child of an unfortunate union between someone of color and a white person, what was your fate likely to be (death, sold to a plantation, thrown down the river, sold to the Baratarians . . .)?

These might sound weird, but what might be acceptable in some cultures, is anathema in others , so just wanted to make sure. The purpose of this research is to get a very good idea of life in those days, which is also why I'd love to hear from as many people as I possibly can get. Plus, I'm currently in Europe, so travel is a bit restricted. :)

Thanks in advance.

P.S. PM is fine, too.
 
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Mark W.

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I can try my best to answer what you need. I am from/in Nashville, TN if that area and my mom's from South GA... if those areas apply to your questions.
 

latourdumoine

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Thanks so much! So, here's the first batch.

1. What was a typical Southern breakfast when you were growing up?

2. What were the codes of chivalry you were brought up with, in other words, what did your parents teach you were good manners? To illustrate, my dad's best friend was from Alabama. I remember walking down the street with him once, and he deliberately switched sides, so he'd be closer to the street. We were in Germany at the time, and I'd never seen anyone else do that. I know that every culture has different guidelines, so it's interesting to follow up on it.

3. What did you call soft drinks? I remember someone saying that in GA, where she lived, everything was a coke or cola (if I remember correctly).

4. Do you have any suggestions for literature concerning those who could pass for white in the 1820s. From what I gathered so far, many would pass themselves off as Spanish, even going so far as to darken their skin.

5. How would a male like that be able to interact with high society in the 1820s? I mean, what position would he have to have? Or could he have? Masked balls are another idea. If he was "Spanish" that wouldn't be a problem, but wouldn't that also imply that he was from out of state since otherwise people could trace his parents.

6. If this person had an affair with a white woman and she got pregnant, what would the consequences be for all involved? I'm guessing the pregnancy would first get hushed up if she was single (and extremely lucky so her folks would send her somewhere), and if she was married, the earliest you'd find out is when the baby was born. I'm also guessing the guy wouldn't just be challenged to a duel but killed, lynched or thrown in jail, or asked in no uncertain terms to leave the state. As for the baby, I don't think anyone would be callous enough to kill a newborn (though I'm sure that happened as well), so would they have sold or given the baby to an orphanage? And then tell everyone the baby was stillborn or something? And how many cases like that could there be (and in the case of visible people i.e. plantation owners, bank managers, people who couldn't afford to have that sort of scandal because they would lose face)? I'm guessing those would be impossible to trace.

7. If France is associated with wine and Germany with beer (in terms of clichés), what is Louisiana most associated with and when you raise your glasses, what kind of toast do you make? I remember this one scene in Mississippi Burning where the old guy said, "may your soul rise to Heaven before the devil knows that you're dead" and even though I know it's originally Irish, it just fit.

8. What are the things you miss most about the South (foods etc.) when you're in another area.

Thanks in advance.
 
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EngineerTiger

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If you plan to write about liaisons between white men and black women in New Orleans prior to the Civil War and their offspring, you may want to investigate some of the web sites dedicated to the Free Colored Creoles. Their situation was a bit different than those of the plantation slaves in the rest of the South so you want to make sure that you research that disctinction.
 

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1. When we had a full breakfast it usually had: Ham with red-eye gravy, grits, eggs, hashbrowns, sausage or bacon, with biscuit and white gravy. Usually had milk or juice or coffee for drink.

2. Hmm... always open a door for a lady be it building or car. As you said, a gentlemen walks on the streetside of a lady so she does get splashed by the road grime. Never use a lady's first name unless given permission. Hold a chair for her until she is seated. Also, never sit before a lady does. If she rises from the table, a proper gentlemen will rise as well. Always let a lady order from the menu at a resturant first. If she has to walk down stairs, offer a helping hand. Never kiss on the first date. Never ask a lady her age.

Uhm... I'm sure I will think of more after I reply.

3. Everything is coke. If you ask me if I want coke to drink, I will reply, "sure what kind do you have?" Other places in the South use "soda", "cola", or "sodie-pop".

4. Not sure if I understand the question.

5. Are you asking how would someone who is Spanish be able to pass themselves off as white? Generally in the 1820s, being ethnic with dark complexion resembling Spanish would be a bad thing in "High Society". You were looked down upon, barely above a slave.

6. For the male, he would probably be thrown in prison or killed outright and if he was lucky, buried in a shallow grave. For the woman is can be a little more complicated. If she is from a poor family, likely kicked out of the family if not killed herself. The baby would probably be killed by drowning in a bucket or river/pond or left in the woods, or at best left at a church or orphanage. If the woman was of high class, she might get by with a coverup and the child probably sent to an orphanage or at best with out of state relatives or boarding school. Although she would still be greatly shamed and still might not escape severe punishment. I've heard of stories where the parents beat the girl trying to induce a miscarriage back in the day. Not so much now of course.

7. Lousisana is known most for cajun cooking, peppers, gators, swamps, and the Mississippi River Delta. As for alcohol, I would say rum. Toasting.... hmm.... in low society, you probably get something as crass as "Over the teeth, and through the gums, look out belly, here it comes!" In high society, something along the old Irish toasts is actually good. Many Southerners have roots in Ireland and so imported the Irish Culture (i.e. - country music and dancing). So if you find a good irish toast from the time, it would likely fit just as well.

8. When I travelled to Europe, for foods I missed free ketchup, crackers for my soup, iced tea, soft rolls, corn, BBQ, cornbread, and milk that is actually cold. As for other things: I miss the smell of the South in summer. It smells like straw, heat, dirt, and the promise of rain even on a sunny day. I miss the sound of grasshoppers in the day and crickets and bullfrogs at night. Most of all, I miss the "niceness" of people. Everywhere I travel, the people always seem so rude and mean.

In your original post, you asked "Anything that should never be asked under any circumstances?" Besides a woman's age or someone's income, in the South you never talk about the Civil War (or the War of Nothern Agression as we call it). Though in 1820 that wouldn't be an issue I guess.

As for museums or plantations, I would think they would love a chance to talk about their histories (even the juicy bits). Here in Nashville, we have the Belle Meade Plantation that is pretty active in history.Here is their website: http://www.bellemeadeplantation.com/

P.S. - Another thing not spoken about was a woman's pergnancy. A woman would try her best to hide the "baby bump" and it was not spoken of in polite company. It was considered a very personal matter between a woman and her husband.
 
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backslashbaby

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My grandmother's breakfast from the 60's lasted long enough for me and my friends to enjoy it, unchanged, through the 90's:

Country ham (salt cured). Bacon. Eggs scrambled in that grease. Grits. Biscuits. Toast. Jellies and marmalades and apple butter. Sugarcake (a Moravian thing). Orange Juice, milk and coffee.

She didn't like red-eye gravy, but I do, so save some of the grease and coffee and whip some up for those grits :)
 

J'Dubee

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I can help a tad, if you're interested in the southern Ozarks.

For life in New Orleans and Alabama in the 1830's, I suggest Kyle Onstott's series of books. They were written before the political correctness folks started censuring.
 

Dave Hardy

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Notable Mixed-Race Southerners

I've come across some odd things about passing that does go back to the 1800s. In The Pirates Laffite, William Davis traced Pierre Laffite's descendants. The documentation concerning their origins was missing from the cathedral book where births were recorded. Davis discovered the Laffite had married a black woman. The family passed as white though, and became embroiled in some litigation in the 1920s. Davis's theory is that someone tore out the pages to hide the family history. So, while not passing as Spanish, passing as French is recorded.

I've found lots of stuff on mixed-race unions in the South, where there was a mix of acceptance and hostility. Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain concerns mixed-race slaves and masters.

The town of Webberville, TX near where I live was founded by a mixed-race couple back in the 1830s.

The Atakapas Vigilantes of the 1850s, while focusing on cattle-thieves in the Cajun country, also targeted white men who lived with black women.

Jim Beckwourth the noted Mountain Man, was the acknowledged son of a white Englishman, though not without some contradictions. His father "owned" Jim for a while. Leigh Brackett wrote a top-notch novel about Beckourth, Follow the Free Wind.

While not a Southerner, the first governor of British Columbia was a mixed-race gentleman, Sir James Douglas. Douglas was the son of a wealthy Scots trader and a black woman from Guyana.

Kingsley Plantation near Jacksonville, FL (my hometown) was the home of Zephaniah Kingsley. He was a wealthy planter who married an African slave and raised a mixed-race family.

Hell-Roaring Mike Healey was the son of a white Georgia planter and his black wife. I don't know if Healey passed or not. He was a notable Revenue Service captain on the Alaska Station.

There's lots of similar stories you can find. The stereotypical tale of mixed-race outcasts persecuted by society has a strong basis in reality, but there were exceptions. Men might exploit black women and reject their offspring or they might love and provide for them. In general society might reject mixed-race folk, but there were still places for them.
 

latourdumoine

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You guys are amazing! Thank you so much!

If you plan to write about liaisons between white men and black women in New Orleans prior to the Civil War and their offspring, you may want to investigate some of the web sites dedicated to the Free Colored Creoles. Their situation was a bit different than those of the plantation slaves in the rest of the South so you want to make sure that you research that disctinction.
Yes, precisely. I want to look at both though, the slaves and the Free Colored Creoles. Should have specified that in my original post. And I found some great sites. Amazing stuff.

4. Not sure if I understand the question.


5. Are you asking how would someone who is Spanish be able to pass themselves off as white? Generally in the 1820s, being ethnic with dark complexion resembling Spanish would be a bad thing in "High Society". You were looked down upon, barely above a slave.
Yeah, that's what I meant in the fourth question. Sorry about the confusion. I read Patrick Neate's Twelve Bar Blues, which raised some interesting aspects. Not the only book on the subject, but it's the one that got me thinking the most about the whole issue.

6. For the male, he would probably be thrown in prison or killed outright and if he was lucky, buried in a shallow grave. For the woman is can be a little more complicated. If she is from a poor family, likely kicked out of the family if not killed herself. The baby would probably be killed by drowning in a bucket or river/pond or left in the woods, or at best left at a church or orphanage. If the woman was of high class, she might get by with a coverup and the child probably sent to an orphanage or at best with out of state relatives or boarding school. Although she would still be greatly shamed and still might not escape severe punishment. I've heard of stories where the parents beat the girl trying to induce a miscarriage back in the day. Not so much now of course.
Wow, that sounds . . . words fail me. I was thinking of drownings as well, like cats. Or put the baby in a basket and let it sail down the river. Still can't get my head around someone actually killing a baby, but you could get around that by letting the slave do it, couldn't you?

7. Lousisana is known most for cajun cooking, peppers, gators, swamps, and the Mississippi River Delta. As for alcohol, I would say rum. Toasting.... hmm.... in low society, you probably get something as crass as "Over the teeth, and through the gums, look out belly, here it comes!" In high society, something along the old Irish toasts is actually good. Many Southerners have roots in Ireland and so imported the Irish Culture (i.e. - country music and dancing). So if you find a good irish toast from the time, it would likely fit just as well.
I love the "look out belly, here it comes" one :). Come to think of it, I have heard that one before. Love the Irish sayings in general. Glad to know they'd work.

8. When I travelled to Europe, for foods I missed free ketchup, crackers for my soup, iced tea, soft rolls, corn, BBQ, cornbread, and milk that is actually cold. As for other things: I miss the smell of the South in summer. It smells like straw, heat, dirt, and the promise of rain even on a sunny day. I miss the sound of grasshoppers in the day and crickets and bullfrogs at night. Most of all, I miss the "niceness" of people. Everywhere I travel, the people always seem so rude and mean.
I moved back and forth between Europe and the U.S. all through my childhood and teens, I can totally empathize with what you said above. Iced tea was virtually unheard of in some areas in Europe. As for cornbread and soft rolls, forget it. And yeah, compared to my dad's friend, people, especially in some parts, were downright rude and mean. And that's when you were actually living there as a local.

In your original post, you asked "Anything that should never be asked under any circumstances?" Besides a woman's age or someone's income, in the South you never talk about the Civil War (or the War of Nothern Agression as we call it). Though in 1820 that wouldn't be an issue I guess.

As for museums or plantations, I would think they would love a chance to talk about their histories (even the juicy bits). Here in Nashville, we have the Belle Meade Plantation that is pretty active in history.Here is their website: http://www.bellemeadeplantation.com/

P.S. - A woman would try her best to hide the "baby bump" and it was not spoken of in polite company. It was considered a very personal matter between a woman and her husband.
I'm guessing the wife of a high profile person being pregnant would definitely be anathema then. :) So the husband would definitely try to hide it (my guess is, he'd kill it or have it killed). And he could punish her "psychologically".

My grandmother's breakfast from the 60's lasted long enough for me and my friends to enjoy it, unchanged, through the 90's:

Country ham (salt cured). Bacon. Eggs scrambled in that grease. Grits. Biscuits. Toast. Jellies and marmalades and apple butter. Sugarcake (a Moravian thing). Orange Juice, milk and coffee.

She didn't like red-eye gravy, but I do, so save some of the grease and coffee and whip some up for those grits :)
Damn, considering that all I usually have for breakfast is fruit, your breakfasts sound like a much better option. :)

I can help a tad, if you're interested in the southern Ozarks.

For life in New Orleans and Alabama in the 1830's, I suggest Kyle Onstott's series of books. They were written before the political correctness folks started censuring.
Thanks! As for political correctness, couldn't people just accept that this is how things were in those times and keep things as mementos of said times? I get not wanting to insult people, but then I'm also thinking, isn't it equally insulting to sugarcoat it away, pretend it never happened?

I've come across some odd things about passing that does go back to the 1800s. In The Pirates Laffite, William Davis traced Pierre Laffite's descendants. The documentation concerning their origins was missing from the cathedral book where births were recorded. Davis discovered the Laffite had married a black woman. The family passed as white though, and became embroiled in some litigation in the 1920s. Davis's theory is that someone tore out the pages to hide the family history. So, while not passing as Spanish, passing as French is recorded.

I've found lots of stuff on mixed-race unions in the South, where there was a mix of acceptance and hostility. Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain concerns mixed-race slaves and masters.

The town of Webberville, TX near where I live was founded by a mixed-race couple back in the 1830s.

The Atakapas Vigilantes of the 1850s, while focusing on cattle-thieves in the Cajun country, also targeted white men who lived with black women.

Jim Beckwourth the noted Mountain Man, was the acknowledged son of a white Englishman, though not without some contradictions. His father "owned" Jim for a while. Leigh Brackett wrote a top-notch novel about Beckourth, Follow the Free Wind.

While not a Southerner, the first governor of British Columbia was a mixed-race gentleman, Sir James Douglas. Douglas was the son of a wealthy Scots trader and a black woman from Guyana.

Kingsley Plantation near Jacksonville, FL (my hometown) was the home of Zephaniah Kingsley. He was a wealthy planter who married an African slave and raised a mixed-race family.

Hell-Roaring Mike Healey was the son of a white Georgia planter and his black wife. I don't know if Healey passed or not. He was a notable Revenue Service captain on the Alaska Station.

There's lots of similar stories you can find. The stereotypical tale of mixed-race outcasts persecuted by society has a strong basis in reality, but there were exceptions. Men might exploit black women and reject their offspring or they might love and provide for them. In general society might reject mixed-race folk, but there were still places for them.
I love the Lafitte stories. Thank you so much! I also read somewhere that someone claimed they had Jewish-Portuguese blood through Lafitte's grandmother. I guess what we usually get are the general stories, and that's what we stick to. Like in the examples you gave, people did manage to break out of the stereotype. Thanks for sharing. And in any case, I can see those pages getting "lost" along the way.

One more question, any ideas on how to find the Governor's residence in 1820? I tried googling but either I'm not very adept at it, or else Google is conspiring against me . . . Still looking at various historical societies etc. So there's still hope. Just wanted to put the question out there in case someone here turns out to be a history buff, and that happens to be their area of interest. One never knows, weirder things have happened.
 

angeliz2k

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As far as manners go, I would add that men should not curse in mixed company. Even a mild "damn" should be followed by an apology to the ladies. Men wouldn't generally talk politics with ladies, either, if we're talking about the early 19th century.
 

latourdumoine

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As far as manners go, I would add that men should not curse in mixed company. Even a mild "damn" should be followed by an apology to the ladies. Men wouldn't generally talk politics with ladies, either, if we're talking about the early 19th century.
We were talking about that this afternoon, how the men would retire smoking their cigars and the women would . . . I guess if you were the wife of a politician, say the governor, you'd do some charity work. But other than that the only thing I can come up with is some card game that leaves everything to chance, thus showing how weak and fickle you are. While the men discuss real life and political matters over some cigars, rum and a good game of chess.

This one may seem silly, but it's been on my mind for a while. Would you see the governor smoking cigars while a doctor smoked a pipe? Or would they both smoke cigars? I know it sounds trivial, but there is logic behind this question.

Also, would it be your regular doctor who'd see you through a pregnancy? He'd inform your husband of everything, though, wouldn't he? Would it matter if you were a banker or politician? I'm guessing the doctor would be a family friend, too.

And during the pregnancy, when the woman couldn't disguise her "condition" anymore, she'd opt for a family visit out of state, wouldn't she?
 

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Re: 19th century Virginia plantations & the questions you can ask the current curators - if you're talking places like Monticello or Ash Lawn, anything goes. Really, you probably can't come up with a question about Thomas Jefferson that hasn't been asked before.
 

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We were talking about that this afternoon, how the men would retire smoking their cigars and the women would . . . I guess if you were the wife of a politician, say the governor, you'd do some charity work. But other than that the only thing I can come up with is some card game that leaves everything to chance, thus showing how weak and fickle you are. While the men discuss real life and political matters over some cigars, rum and a good game of chess.

And during the pregnancy, when the woman couldn't disguise her "condition" anymore, she'd opt for a family visit out of state, wouldn't she?
What's wrong with the women sitting around, drinking coffee or tea and gossiping? No phones, hard to get around if you're out on wide-spread plantations, this would be a fine chance to catch up on all the local matters.
And, when a woman couldn't disguise her 'condition', I imagine she'd just stay home. No visiting around, etc.
 

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If you plan to write about liaisons between white men and black women in New Orleans prior to the Civil War and their offspring, you may want to investigate some of the web sites dedicated to the Free Colored Creoles. Their situation was a bit lot different than those of the plantation slaves in the rest of the South so you want to make sure that you research that disctinction.

Minor edit for correction. I lived in The Easy in the 1980s, and even as late as then, there remained a huge social divide between black people with ancestry to slaves, and black people with ancestry to free creoles, as well as between both groups and whites. We had a close three-way mayoral race while I was there, featuring a white candidate, a creole black candidate, and a non-creole black candidate (being the now infamous William Jefferson, then much younger and without taint of corruption). The creole candidate won, which may or may not have meant a lot, since he was also the son of a former mayor. But the campaign was probably more vitriolic between he and Jefferson than it was between either of them and the white candidate. And it was damn close, in the end, as I recall.

I am currently writing a novel (~75,000 words along, and stuck) featuring as a major character a free black creole man from New Orleans fleeing north- and westward to escape a murder charge, stemming from a pistol duel over a woman. The character idea fascinates me, lots of opportunity there, it seems. That's not why I'm stuck. Being too crappy a writer is why I'm stuck, but that's another issue.

New Orleans has always been a very special place in American history. If you're going to write about it, or even touch on it in passing, you really need to do some research. It ain't like no other city in the United States, I do garontee.

Further, recognize that the idea of the American South as some kind of monolith is absolutely untrue. Attitudes and culture vary as widely from place to place in the South as they do everywhere else in the United States. Don't generalize. West Texas ranchers are as different from Virginia socialites as San Francisco aging hippies are from Utah Mormons.

For New Orleans research, not so much on factual matters as cultural attributes, read Old Creole Days and The Grandissimes, by George Washington Cable, The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy, and A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, and maybe see some episodes of the excellent recent TV series Tremé. Plays by Tennessee Williams, too.

caw
 
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Mark W.

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I would like to add that my earlier posting which talked about what would happen to the man/woman/child in a mixed relationship is not by any means set in stone. It would not surprise me to hear of mixed children living and making a fairly normal life. I was just generalizing and there are plenty of other factors which could shape the results.
 

latourdumoine

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Re: 19th century Virginia plantations & the questions you can ask the current curators - if you're talking places like Monticello or Ash Lawn, anything goes. Really, you probably can't come up with a question about Thomas Jefferson that hasn't been asked before.
Now here's a challenge, try and come up with a question that hasn't been asked yet :)

What's wrong with the women sitting around, drinking coffee or tea and gossiping? No phones, hard to get around if you're out on wide-spread plantations, this would be a fine chance to catch up on all the local matters.
And, when a woman couldn't disguise her 'condition', I imagine she'd just stay home. No visiting around, etc.
Nothing, if that's what you want to do. I was just thinking of Kate Chopin's The Awakening, where the idea was that women were these cute fluffy things without really much of a thought or thinking process that had to be indulged by men. Though I know that on the Prestwould plantation, Lelia Robertson Skipwith did a lot of interior redesign and was instrumental in keeping the plantation running. And interestingly, she and her husband opted for a very masculine design throughout.

I would like to add that my earlier posting which talked about what would happen to the man/woman/child in a mixed relationship is not by any means set in stone. It would not surprise me to hear of mixed children living and making a fairly normal life. I was just generalizing and there are plenty of other factors which could shape the results.
I was thinking of that very thing though, which is also partly why I posted this. What would happen . . . if the husband was very influential and had a lot of power, if he was a member of New Orleans high society . . . Another point of interest, Thomas Bolling Robertson, the third governor of Louisiana had a wife who was about 28 years his junior (25 if you go by some records). They married when she was 17. If I did my math right, he married her while he was the governor. Imagine that today, a single person wanting to govern the state. They also married on April 12, which was right before Easter and a day before her 17th birthday, which would have fallen on a Friday. Made me think about superstition vs. tradition, can't get married on a Friday, can't get married on Good Friday and definitely not on Friday 13. Slightly obsessed with that story. Fascinating stuff. She went back to her family's plantation after his death and married her cousin.

Blacbird, thanks. Your story sounds interesting. I'm sure you'll get there. Some stories also take more time than others.
 

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A powerful husband who finds his wife cheating with a man of color could make her life as difficult as he chose. Legally, she and the man could be thrown in prison for adultry which was a legal crime until this century. And of course, if he was powerful enough and discreet enough, more extreme measures could be done to the offending couple.

And like Blacbird said, the South is different in different areas so be sure to focus on the specific areas of your story.
 

Dave Hardy

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Mixed-race relationships were a lot more acceptable for a white man and a black woman, and those weren't especially accepted. The reverse was apt to elicit a harsh response. None of the examples I mentioned involved black men in relationships with white women.

Here's a funny thing, my WIP is partly set in New Orleans in 1819. The protagonist is a backwoodsman from the mountains of East Tennessee who has to travel the Natchez Trace & Mississippi on a dangerous mission.
 

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We have an area here in NC that was unusual as far as races go. It still is, to some extent, because it includes Native Americans that are not federally recognized and who are racially mixed. It is called a tri-racial isolate. My maternal grandfather was from this area.

But I don't think the customs there would be recognized at all in Virginia. About the best I could imagine is that folks may say they were from there and really 'White' and that may go over if people know the area at all. White can be pretty dark if you're from there ;)
 

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We have an area here in NC that was unusual as far as races go. It still is, to some extent, because it includes Native Americans that are not federally recognized and who are racially mixed. It is called a tri-racial isolate. My maternal grandfather was from this area.

But I don't think the customs there would be recognized at all in Virginia. About the best I could imagine is that folks may say they were from there and really 'White' and that may go over if people know the area at all. White can be pretty dark if you're from there ;)

The Lumbee folk, right? They have a very distinct history and background, quite worth studying. The Lowry gang is an interesting example of a mixed-race group that were declared outlaws during Reconstruction. Looking at the story of Henry Berry Lowry can show how people reacted to racial conflict & feuding in the South in the 1800s.
 

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The Lumbee folk, right? They have a very distinct history and background, quite worth studying. The Lowry gang is an interesting example of a mixed-race group that were declared outlaws during Reconstruction. Looking at the story of Henry Berry Lowry can show how people reacted to racial conflict & feuding in the South in the 1800s.

It is! The 'white' part of that side of my family is really Lumbee-white-looking and a mix itself. It's a fascinating mix of races and cultures there, historically and even now.
 

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For the OP, I remember reading a (nonfiction) book while researching my own story. There were several stories of illicit affairs, and the results thereof. I think one or two were mixed-race relationships. I will try to find that book, because I can't remember exactly where I read it. Might be informative.
 

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I love you guys!

A powerful husband who finds his wife cheating with a man of color could make her life as difficult as he chose. Legally, she and the man could be thrown in prison for adultry which was a legal crime until this century. And of course, if he was powerful enough and discreet enough, more extreme measures could be done to the offending couple.

And like Blacbird said, the South is different in different areas so be sure to focus on the specific areas of your story.
The way I look at it is the South is the general geographic area, like saying Southern Europe, gives you an idea of placing it on the map :) Then you start looking at the different regions and states / countries, and families. I'm mainly focusing on New Orleans and the area around Clarkvsville, WV (Virginia back then), the Prestwould plantation. Since I'm obsessed with the South in general, I love hearing different stories from different places. The internet's great, as are books and films, documentaries, posters, anything really. Nothing really beats talking to real life people. But yes, I'm always on the lookout for cliches in my writing because it's so easy to slip into. You know, everyone from France (where I'm originally from) eats frogs' legs and snails and drinks wine . . . ;) Then again, cliches can be fun to deliberately play with if done right. I haven't mastered that art yet.

And it's exactly those "more extreme measures" you mentioned I'm after. So far I have baby in the swamp and psychological terror. Virtually untraceable, if done "properly."

Mixed-race relationships were a lot more acceptable for a white man and a black woman, and those weren't especially accepted. The reverse was apt to elicit a harsh response. None of the examples I mentioned involved black men in relationships with white women.

Here's a funny thing, my WIP is partly set in New Orleans in 1819. The protagonist is a backwoodsman from the mountains of East Tennessee who has to travel the Natchez Trace & Mississippi on a dangerous mission.
I am so reading that when it's published!

Yeah, I was thinking of the exact same thing. Slightly simplified, black woman + white man, look the other way if you can. White woman + black man, murdering your own mother would be more easily forgiven. It's interesting though. If I think of some of the more homogenous regions or small towns in some places we lived, a black woman might get accepted, maybe. A black man, not so much.

We have an area here in NC that was unusual as far as races go. It still is, to some extent, because it includes Native Americans that are not federally recognized and who are racially mixed. It is called a tri-racial isolate. My maternal grandfather was from this area.

But I don't think the customs there would be recognized at all in Virginia. About the best I could imagine is that folks may say they were from there and really 'White' and that may go over if people know the area at all. White can be pretty dark if you're from there ;)
You mean they would say they're originally from NC and traveled south? I think I heard that, also about the tri-racial issue. And there's another fascination of mine.

For the OP, I remember reading a (nonfiction) book while researching my own story. There were several stories of illicit affairs, and the results thereof. I think one or two were mixed-race relationships. I will try to find that book, because I can't remember exactly where I read it. Might be informative.
Oh that would be awesome if you could. Because right now all I can come up with is:
Husband forces house slave (female) to help him dispose of the baby. But how?
1. He kills it.
2. He puts it in the swamp, maybe the Baratarians will find it.
3. He "gives it away" to be raised on a plantation or somewhere else, maybe even closer to home if he really wants to torture the wife.
4. Husband gives the baby to an orphanage.

As for the guy. I can't decide what would torture the wife more, if he was in jail or if he was made to leave the state. Of course if he had other women as well . . . (not a racial stereotype here, just the type of character he is. I mentioned this on another thread, the story is about a group of people who draw parallels between their present lives and the lives of people in the past. Someone in the group would make a comment like, "if you'd lived back then, you'd still be the guy who had an affair with a white woman and had quadroons on the side." Then looks at the other character and goes, "and you would have killed that baby and tortured the hell out of your wife to cover up your own impotence.")

And then, too, what about the doctor who delivers said baby? I'd guess his hands were pretty much tied. Or could he get roped into "disposing of the baby" if the husband was powerful enough? Getting carried away here, but this also shows how much you guys are helping me with this.
 

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And then, too, what about the doctor who delivers said baby? I'd guess his hands were pretty much tied. Or could he get roped into "disposing of the baby" if the husband was powerful enough? Getting carried away here, but this also shows how much you guys are helping me with this.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I'm no Southerner of any variety, but I think a slave midwife might deliver the baby, which takes care of that problem.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I'm no Southerner of any variety, but I think a slave midwife might deliver the baby, which takes care of that problem.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
The case I'm building this around there was definitely a doctor coming to the house to monitor the wife's pregnancy (based on stories I remember people telling me ages ago). However, the question is, would he have been around for the actual birth? Definitely a slave midwife there. Imagine her wanting to save the baby (and maybe even the mother) and trying to hide it and then the husband wants to see the baby . . .