The Ashkenazi Jewish Origins of the Native American Levy Family

The Levy family came to Granville County well after the Native community had been established. Before that we find ancestors of the Levy family in Fayetteville, Wilmington, Guadeloupe, London, and Holland. The reason for this is that although the Levys were Native American/”free colored” people, they also were of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. This unique and fascinating aspect of their heritage will be documented in this blog post.

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Jacob Levy (1780-1850)

The story of the Native American Levy family in North Carolina begins in Wilmington. But the Ashkenazi Jewish origins of this Levy family take us back to Holland. It is there that Jacob Levy , progenitor of the Native American Levy family, was born. We know a bit about Jacob Levy’s life from the biography of his great nephew Confederate Statesman Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884) found here. Additionally, Jacob Levy is discussed quite a bit in this text about Jewish American history in North Carolina, so I have also used this for source information as well.

Jacob Levy was living in Holland in the late 1700s when his sister Eva Levy married a Sephardic Jewish man named Solomon de Mendes. They had a daughter named Rebecca de Mendes and the family moved with Jacob Levy to London, England soon after 1790. In London we learn that Rebecca de Mendes married a Sephardic Jewish man named Phillip Benjamin by about 1807. The following year, Phillip and Rebecca Benjamin moved to St. Criox, now part of the U.S Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean and that is where their son Judah P. Benjamin was born in 1811. This was during the Napoleonic Wars and St. Criox which was Danish territory yet British occupied, was under heavy guard by British war ships. As a result, the Benjamin family moved to the United States in 1813.

Map of the Caribbean Islands. St. Criox which is today part of the U.S. Virgin Islands is circled.
Source: http://www.shipdetective.com/maps/caribbean.htm

Rebecca (de Mendes) Benjamin’s uncle Jacob Levy was already situated in Wilmington, North Carolina and it was probably he who persuaded the Benjamins to leave St. Criox. I do not know the exact year Jacob Levy left London to come to the United States and I have reason to believe he also likely came to the West Indies before coming to the U.S. The first records for Jacob Levy in the U.S. are in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1799 when it was published in the paper that he was dissolving his business relationship with Abraham Isaacs. Wilmington was home to a small yet thriving community of Jewish (Ashkenazi and Sephardic) merchants who mostly dealt with West Indian trade goods (nearby Charleston, SC had the largest Jewish population in the U.S.).

Jacob Levy’s announcement of the opening of his store.
Source: The Wilmington Gazette, 24 Dec 1801, Thu, Page 4

In 1819 a fire destroyed Jacob Levy’s store, so he moved up to Fayetteville and his niece Rebecca Benjamin, along with her husband Phillip Benjamin and son Judah Benjamin (and siblings) relocated to Fayetteville as well. Jacob Levy opened a store there and the Benjamins resided on the second floor. Jacob Levy paid for Judah Benjamin to attend Fayetteville Academy and Jacob was a well respected member of the community who was praised for his skills as an auctioneer:

In this letter to the newspaper, we learn more details about Jacob Levy and the Benjamins.
Source: Fayetteville Weekly Observer, 10 Feb 1898, Thu, Page 1

We learn first hand from a letter written by a childhood friend of Judah Benjamin, that Jacob Levy, along with his sister Mrs. Wright (this was actually Phillip Benjamin’s sister Harriet Wright) left Fayetteville around 1826 and relocated to New Orleans so that Jacob Levy could expand his business:

A letter to the newspaper offers information about when Jacob Levy left Fayetteville for New Orleans.
Source: The Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan 1898, Sat, Page 5

I found additional corroboration in a newspaper ad from 1827 which shows Jacob Levy’s trust selling off his Fayetteville property:

Jacob Levy’s property in Fayetteville was sold in 1827 because he relocated to New Orleans.
Source: The Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan 1898, Sat, Page 5

Jacob Levy died on July 19, 1850 in New Orleans and he  is buried at the Dispersed of Judah Cemetery  where his tombstone still stands:

Jacob Levy is buried at the Dispersed of Judah Cemetery in New Orleans. His niece Rebecca (de Mendes) Benjamin and another relative are buried in the same plot.
Source: http://thompsongenealogy.com/2010/12/the-mysterious-hunt-for-the-grave-of-rebecca-de-mendes/

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“French Mary”

From the above records we know much about Jacob Levy’s business life but his personal family life is not as well documented. According to one text, Jacob Levy’s wife was “Maria”, daughter of his Sephardic Jewish business partner Aaron Lopez. I did find family trees which indicate that this Maria died in 1812 back when Jacob Levy was still living in Wilmington and it does not appear they had any children that lived to adulthood. And in reviewing all the biographies about Judah Benjamin, there is no mention of Jacob Levy having children of his own living in the household with the Benjamin family.

However there is one woman who is known to have had at least one son with Jacob Levy, and she was commonly known as “French Mary”. Mary’s origins though are not so transparent and I found numerous conflicting stories about her heritage. In consideration of the many documents I looked over, I believe “French Mary” was Native American (Carib Indian) and was enslaved in Guadeloupe and later freed by Jacob Levy in North Carolina. Below I’ll present the source material for “French Mary” and how I came to this conclusion.

On 4 December 1876, Jacob Levy’s son Lewis Levy submitted a claim to the Southern Claim Commission to be compensated for his losses during the Civil War. He provided testimony that he was a free born person, born to an Indian woman from Guadeloupe who came to this country in 1794:

Excerpt from Lewis Levy’s Southern Claims Commission in which he describes his mother as an Indian woman from Guadeloupe.
Source: Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880

We learn from several newspaper articles starting in the 1890s, that “French Mary” was a well known local woman because she had famously served dinner to General Marquis de Lafayette (namesake of Fayetteville) when he visited Fayetteville in 1825. De Lafayette, a Frenchman, was so impressed with the dinner that he was served, that he knew the cook must have been French. We learn from one article that Mary was a small, dark skinned woman with straight hair and usually wore a turban style head handkerchief:

Excerpt from a newspaper article that describing “French Mary’s” appearance.
Source: Fayetteville Observer, 25 Aug 1897, Wed, Page 2

Mary’s ethnic origins differ with each retelling of the infamous story of her famous meal to General de Lafayette. In the above newspaper article, she is described as being “Moorish” and that she was kidnapped and sold into slavery, where she was first brought to France, then to a West Indian island, and then brought to Charleston, S.C. and finally Fayetteville. I have found that “Moor” when used in the context of the United States does not always mean the historic Moors who were an Arab/Muslim population that inhabited and controlled Spain over many centuries. Instead it usually is meant to signal someone’s non-European physical appearance. I think in the context of “French Mary”, she may have been referred to as a Moor due to her dark physical appearance and her relationship with the Sephardic Jewish Benjamin family. Also, “French Mary” was noted as wearing a “turban” which may have also contributed to the lore that she was a Moor.

In a 1903 newspaper article authored by Mary’s grandson John Sheridan Leary, he described her as a woman named “Mary Ann Willette” who came from France to America and was well regarded as a good cook. Guadeloupe was at that time and still is a French territory, which is why it was referred to as “France”:

“French Mary’s” grandson John Sheridan Leary indicated that her name was “Mary Ann Willett” and that she came from France.
Source: The Charlotte Observer, 6 Sep 1903, Sun, Page 10

And in a 1921 newspaper article, “French Mary” is said to have not been born a slave, but was a free woman who came to Wilmington on a sailing vessel and the captain then sold her into slavery. What’s also interesting about this article is that the author thinks that General de Lafayette visited Phillip Benjamin’s family (including Jacob Levy) and that is why it was “French Mary” who cooked the meal:

Another news article about “French Mary” that describes her origins.
Source: Fayetteville Observer, 9 Mar 1921, Wed, Page 3

What is consistent about “French Mary” is that she had three known documented children: 1. Lewis Levy (who is the subject of the next section); 2. Juliette Memorell who married Matthew Leary and was the mother of Lewis Sheridan Leary (1835-1859) who took part in John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, and 3. John Ochiltree. The fact that her three children all had different surnames suggests that each child had a different father.

Lewis Sheridan Leary (1835-1859) was the son of Juliette Memorell who was the daughter of “French Mary” – an Indian woman from Guadeloupe.
Source: Ancestry

We know that Jacob Levy was a slave owner and we even know the names of some of his slaves from legal transactions. From the Wilmington records we learn that on 28 March 1817 Jacob Levy manumitted his “mulatto” slave named Margaret Allan and her child Jacob. The same year, Jacob Levy purchased a “negro” slave named Isaac. And in the Fayetteville records, we learn that in 1819 Jacob Levy had a “mustee” slave girl name Maria that he deeded to his newborn great nephew Jacob Levy Benjamin (son of Jacob Levy’s niece Rebecca Benjamin). This last record is especially interesting because the slave’s name is “Maria” and she’s described as “mustee” meaning very specifically of mixed Native American/African descent. This slave girl could be related to “French Mary” or could possibly be “French Mary” herself. The newborn baby Jacob Levy Benjamin did not survive childhood, so I’m not sure where the enslaved “Maria” ended up. And when we consider that Jacob Levy was a merchant of West Indian goods, it stands to reason that his slaves also came from the West Indies.

So if Lewis Levy was born to Jacob Levy and his freed slave “French Mary”, then that would explain why neither “French Mary” or Lewis Levy went with Jacob Levy to New Orleans in 1826. We saw that Jacob Levy sold his real estate in Fayetteville in 1827 and I wonder if he left behind any money or property to his son before taking off.

Out of all the evidence presented about “French Mary”, I think the statement made by her son Lewis Levy back in 1876 that she was an Indian woman from Guadeloupe is the most credible. Not only is that the earliest document that speaks directly to “French Mary’s” heritage but it was information given from her own direct son, who would be most familiar with his mother’s heritage. Guadeloupe was during that time period and still today, a French territory and would explain the “French” aspect of Mary’s cultural background and culinary skills. The indigenous people of Guadeloupe are the Carib Indians and there are still recognized Carib people on the island today. So taking all the above information into consideration, I do believe that “French Mary” was a Carib Indian woman from Guadeloupe. She was most likely born a slave and freed at some point by the Levy/Benjamin family where she continued to work and have a child by Jacob Levy.

A Carib Indian woman of Martinique in Native dress, 1902. “French Mary” was most likely a Carib Indian woman from neighboring Guadeloupe island and was known for wearing a “turban”, perhaps similar to this example.
Source: http://kadaotonkao.blogspot.com/2013/03/ktk29-les-antilles-part2.html

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Lewis Levy (1820-1899)

Lewis Levy (1820-1899) was the son of Jewish Jacob Levy and Carib Indian “French Mary”. He was a lifelong resident of Cumberland Co, NC and married to Sarah Jane Scott.
Source: Ancestry, Username:carolaalen53

This brings us to Lewis Levy, whose Southern Claims Commission record we reviewed above. Lewis Levy identifies himself as the son of Jacob Levy the auctioneer from Fayetteville and an Indian woman (“French Mary”):

Lewis Levy identifies his father as Jacob Levy and his mother as an Indian woman.
Source: Southern Claims Commission Approved Claims, 1871-1880

The first record I have for Lewis Levy is when he married Sarah Jane Scott (1825-1898) on 24 Apr 1843 in Cumberland Co, NC with Abram Scott paying the bond. Abram Scott was Sarah Jane Scott’s father who resided in Cumberland Co by 1830. Sarah Jane Scott was a Native American woman of Saponi/Catawba heritage.

Sarah Jane Scott (1825-1898) was the wife of Lewis Levy. She was the daughter of Abram Scott and Quentina Scott (maiden name not known) who resided in Cumberland Co.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

We first find Lewis Levy with wife Sarah Jane Scott and children living in Fayetteville, Cumberland Co in the 1850 census. The entire family was enumerated as “mulatto”” and Lewis is listed as a saddler and harness maker. In 1844, Lewis Levy opened his shop in Lumberton and advertised it in the newspaper:

Lewis Levy was a saddler and harness maker and advertised his new shop located in Lumberton.
Source: Fayetteville Weekly Observer, 18 Dec 1844, Wed, Page 1

However something serious must have happened to the family because in 1851 Lewis Levy announced via the newspaper that he was trying to leave Fayetteville as soon as possible and so he was hoping to wrap up all outstanding business. I don’t know exactly why Lewis Levy suddenly decided to leave but it could be that the “Free Negro” laws were ruining him financially. After the Nat Turner slave rebellion in Southampton Co, VA, North Carolina in 1835 passed a new constitution that rescinded the rights that “free people of color” had and instead began to strictly enforce “Free Negro” laws. The last couple of decades leading up to the Civil War were incredibly oppressive times for all “free people of color” in North Carolina.

In 1851, Lewis Levy is shown making haste to close his shop and leave Fayetteville. I do not know why. but he ended up staying.
Source: The North-Carolinian, 23 Aug 1851, Sat, Page 4

But, Lewis Levy did not leave Fayetteville and in the 1860 census, his family was enumerated again in Fayetteville. This means Lewis Levy stayed in the South during the Civil War and we learn a little bit about his experiences during the War from his Southern Claims Commission (#16083) record from 1876. The full file is available on fold3.com. Lewis Levy stayed loyal to the Union and aided General Sherman’s troops with food and transportation so he sought to be compensated for his expenses. He filed a claim for $1592.65 and supplied a detailed list of exactly what he provided to the Union soldiers and the associated cost. In return, the commission allowed him to claim $723. Within the 75 pages of this claim, Levy provides testimony that he was assaulted and abused by the Confederate soldiers and because Levy himself was so fair skinned and could “pass” for white, the Confederacy tried to force him to enlist. Friends and family of Lewis Levy provided additional testimony to corroborate his claims.

Lewis Levy made his mark during the post-Civil War Reconstruction politics of the South. Unlike most “people of color” (both free-born and freedmen) who were members of the Republican Party (the “Radical Republicans”), Lewis Levy was a member of the Democratic Party – specifically the “Colored Democratic Club of Wilmington”.  And this put him at odds with his neighbors and community as seen in this news article:

Lewis Levy was involved with Reconstruction politics and was a member of the Democratic Party which put him at odds with his Republican neighbors.
Source: The Daily Journal, 22 Apr 1868, Wed, Page 3

Cumberland County continued to be Lewis Levy’s home until his death in 1899. A newspaper article relays the news that Lewis Levy’s died en route while visiting his son Matthew Levy in Virginia:

Lewis Levy’s death announcement in the newspaaper.
Source: Fayetteville Weekly Observer, 1 Jun 1899, Thu, Page 4

Lewis Levy and Sarah Jane Scott had the following children (some may have been grandchildren):

1. Eiza Levy (b. 1842) Died in childhood.

2. Robert Levy (b. 1844) married Celia Scott and continued to live in Cumberland Co. Descendants enrolled with the Lumbee Tribe.

3. Lewis Levy Jr. (1846-1945) married Josephine Holliday and later settled in Philadelphia.

Lewis Levy Jr (1847-1945) was the son of Lewis Levy and Sarah Jane Scott. He later moved to Philadelphia.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

4. Matthew Levy (1850-1913) married Elizabeth Merrick and moved to Virginia.

Matthew Levy (1850-1913) was the son of Lewis Levy and Sarah Jane Scott. He moved to Virginia where he was a preacher.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

5. ***James W. Levy (1852-1936) married Martha Freeman and moved up to Granville Co. He is the subject of the following section.

6. (William) Henry Levy (1854-1938) married Tempie Young and remained in Cumberland Co. Descendants enrolled with the Lumbee tribe.

7. Edward Levy (b. 1858) Died in childhood.

8. Mary Jane “Jennie” Levy (b. 1861) married James Pearce

9. William L. Levy (b. 1863) Died in childhood.

10. Charlotte Levy (b. 1870) Died in childhood, birth date suggests granddaughter not daughter.

11. Anna Levy (b. 1872) Died in childhood, birth date suggests granddaughter not daughter.

12. Aurelia Levy (b. 1876) Died in childhood, birth date suggests granddaughter not daughter.

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James W. Levy (1852-1936)

Reverend James W. Levy (1852-1936) was the son of Lewis Levy and Sarah Jane Scott. He moved up to Granville Co and married Martha Freeman.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

So this brings us to the Granville County part of the Levy history and that begins with James W. Levy, son of Lewis Levy and Sarah Jane Scott. James was the only child of Lewis Levy that moved up to Granville Co. I don’t have an exact year for this move but it occurred in the mid 1880s because James is last enumerated in Cumberland Co in the 1880 census. James moved to to the township of Kittrell, which is situated right next to Fishing Creek. Up until 1881 Kittrell was part of Granville Co and due to political maneuvering, Vance Co was created in 1881 from a small section of Ganville Co which included Kittrell.

It is there that James married a woman from the Native community named Martha Freeman (1865-1944). Martha was the daughter of John Freeman and Elizabeth Hayes and is descended from the Native American Freeman, Hayes, Taborn, and Epps families. Though she was raised in Kittrell, most of Martha’s family came from neighboring Person Co in the High Plains community that is today the Sappony Tribe of Person County. I have not located James Levy and Martha Feeman’s marriage record yet but according to census info, they married around 1887.

Martha Freeman (1865-1944) was the wife of James Levy. She was the daughter of John Freeman and Elizabeth Hayes of Kittrell, Granville/Vance Co.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

James Levy was a popular minister at A.M.E. Zion Church and was active and well known in the Native community and throughout Granville/Vance Co. James served on the Board of Directors for the Colored Orphanage in Oxford, Granville Co.  The orphanage was situated a very short distance from the Native community, so community members took a strong interest in the institution and did a lot to support its efforts. For example, I’ve found that my 2nd great-grandfather James E Howell and his first cousin James A Howell volunteered their services and often took in children from the orphanage.

Reverend James W. Levy is listed in the annual report of Board of Directors for the Colored Orphanage in Oxford.
Source: http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/asyl1910/asyl1910.html

James Levy remained in Kittrell until his death in 1936. His wife Martha (Freeman) Levy also remained in Kittrell until her death in 1944. And what I think is a bit uncommon for the times, James Levy and Martha Freeman only had two children: a son named Dr. James W. Levy Jr and a daughter named Bessie Levy.

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Dr. James W. Levy Jr. (1893-1975) – Medical Doctor, Bureau of Indian Affairs

Dr. James W. Levy was the son of Reverend James Levy and Martha Freeman. He was a physician employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

James Levy Jr was the son of James Levy Sr. and Martha Freeman and early in his life, left North Carolina to assist other Native American communities. James was born and raised in Kittrell and enrolled in Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County. He earned his medical license in 1915 as seen in a newspaper article that listed people who passed the North Carolina medical examination:

James Levy Jr received his medical license in 1915.
Source: Greensboro Daily News, 17 Jun 1915, Thu, Page 7

In Winston-Salem, NC he met and married a woman named Christina Dykes on 21 Jan 1916. They had one son together named Ulysses Levy (1916-2003) but it appears the couple divorced soon after they wed.

We next find Dr. James Levy Jr in 1917 living all the way out in Minnesota. According to his WW1 draft record, James was working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (then called the U.S. Indian Service) as a medical doctor on the Leech Lake reservation. He is described as single, Indian, and that his mother was his dependent:

Dr. James W. Levy’s WW1 draft card which shows he was employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“U.S. Indian Service”).
Source: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls.

The Leech Lake reservation is the reservation for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota where the Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for carrying out treaty obligations between the United States government and the tribe. These treaty obligations include access to healthcare and so Dr. James Levy’s patients were all from the reservation.

Dr. James Levy also developed a relationship with a woman from the Leech Lake reservation named “Marie”, her surname is unknown. She accompanied Dr. James Levy on a trip back home to Kittrell, NC to meet his parents:

From left to right: Marie (girlfriend of Dr. James Levy who was Ojibwe), Dr. James Levy, Martha (Freeman) Levy, and Reverend James Levy. Dr Levy brought his girlfriend Marie home to Kittrell to meet his parents.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

American Indians served in high numbers during World War 1 and a result many returning Indian veterans of the World War came back to the U.S. with little support from the federal government. Thus in 1920 Dr. James Levy along with several other American Indians from other tribes formed the “American Indians of the Wold War” (AIWW) in Minneapolis:

Dr. James Levy along with several others founded the “American Indians of the World War” to assist Indian veterans. Here Levy is called “Cherokee” which was a term applied to and used by Indians in North Carolina who were not Cherokee.
Source: Bitten, Thomas A. “American Indians in World War I: At Home and at War”. Page 166

Unfortunately I have not found Dr. James Levy in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses. I get the feeling he moved around a bit, likely working on different projects for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And if he was living on reservations, he may not have been counted in the general U.S. census. If the Bureau still has records of James Levy’s employment, that would be worthwhile to look at.

By 1931, James Levy was living in Miami, OK and married an Arkansas-born woman named Dorothy O’Connor. By the 1950s onward, the couple is consistently listed in the Sioux City, Iowa city directories where James Levy is listed as a medical doctor.

James Levy died in September 1975 and is buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Sioux City, IA in the same plot as his wife Dorothy who predeceased him in 1969:

Source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=120045173

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Bessie Levy (1888-1980)

Bessie Levy (1888-1980) was the daughter of Revered James Levy and Martha Freeman. She is pictured here holding one of her children. Bessie’s headband is a reflection of the family’s Native American identity. Source: Shirley Hines (granddaughter of Bessie Levy)

Bessie Levy was the daughter of James Levy Sr. and Martha Freeman, and sister to Dr. James W Levy. Unlike her brother, Bessie stayed local and married within the community.

On 24 September 1913 in Kittrell, Bessie Levy married George Huley Tyler from Fishing Creek of the Native American Tyler, Guy, Kersey, Day, Anderson, Bass, Evans, Walden, Taborn, Chavis families.

George Huley Tyler (1886-1961) was the husband of Bessie Levy. He was from Fishing Creek, Granville Co and the son of John Thomas Tyler and Mary Etta Guy.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

In the 1920 census we find Bessie Levy with her husband George Tyler and their children, living with Bessie’s parents in Kittrell. She is listed as a teacher so we know she was an educated woman like her brother Dr. James Levy. Her husband George Tyler was a photographer who had his own studio. They had 8 children who lived into adulthood (including 1 who is still living) and at least 2 children who died in infancy.

Robert Guy is pictured here with Bessie Levy at her home in Kittrell, Vance Co (formerly Granville Co). Robert Guy was the son of Miles Guy and Susan Taborn. His nephew George Huley Tyler was the husband of Bessie Levy. Source: Shirley Hines (Bessie Levy’s granddaughter)

In 1948, Bessie Levy and husband George Tyler moved up from Granville/Vance Cos to Boston, MA where some of their children had already settled. They both remained in Boston until their deaths – Bessie died in 1980 and her husband George predeceased her in 1961.

Marie Sarah Elizabeth Tyler (1916-2004) was the daughter of Bessie Levy and George Huley Tyler. She is pictured with her son Charles at the family home in Kittrell. Marie relocated up to Boston.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

James “Jimmy” Joseph Tyler (1918-1998) was the son of Bessie Levy and George Huley Tyler. Jimmy Tyler was a jazz saxophonist who had a successful career in the jazz scene from the 1940s onward. He was in the Boston (legendary “Wally’s club”) and New York jazz clubs and later moved to Florida. You can listen to one of his recordings here.
Source: Ancestry, Username: ShirleyHines73

Goldie Tyler (1922-2011) was the daughter of Bessie Levy and George Huley Tyler. She relocated up to Boston and was a songwriter. Her son Steve Johns is jazz drummer carrying on the family’s musical legacy.
Source: Ancestry, Username: carolaallen53

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Final Thoughts:

By taking a close look at the Levy family, we see that the European heritage of some Native American families did not just include Christians. European Jews were also settlers in the Carolinas where they had many opportunities to intermarry with local Native Americans and blacks. As “minority” populations in Europe, it stands to reason that in the Americas they may have also faced discrimination from their Christian European counterparts, thus at times placing them on a social level that was in close proximity to that of “free people of color”. So as we explore the diverse heritage of these families, we should keep an open mind about the contribution of other “minority” European groups.