Mixing It Up

Abstract

Prior to the 19th century, African American settlers founded a number of productive communities in northwestern Ohio. During this time period, there were a number of intermarriages and couplings between indigenous people, European explorers, ethnically diverse shipmates, and free and enslaved Africans in this section of the country. Descendents of these unions were dubbed Melungeon, mulatto, or colored, depending on the discretion of oft-illiterate census takers. Though much is written about the hostilities free people of color faced in the South, descriptive documentation of their experiences in northwestern Ohio is scarce. An examination of primary and secondary sources offers evidence of their agency as they struggled with structural barriers that led to disenfranchisement and descent into the racially identifiable category of African American. White resistance to these diverse settlements and settlers challenges America's collective memory of a racially tolerant North.