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The Harris Family of Orange County, North Carolina: 318 Years of Black-American Indian Culture
Resource ID: 23698
Type: non-fiction, book
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- UPDATED: 6.17.2025
- status: in progress
- mixed ancestry peoples, regional
- mixed ancestry
editor:
n/a
publisher:
date:
2019
ISBN:
9781684703661
pages:
95
notes:
. . .
contents:
description:
"The Harris Family of Orange County, North Carolina" documents the survival of a black-American Indian family in the slaveholding southeastern United States.
Beverly A. Scarlett, who became intrigued with her family history after discovering a photo of an American Indian in her parent's attic (a photo that turned out to be her great-grandmother), draws upon census records, historical documents, and oral histories to trace her lineage.
Her research supports the idea that her ancestors settled along the Roanoke River in Virginia and the Eno River in North Carolina - a territory where conflict arose between Europeans and Indians.
The family's matriarch, Sallie Ray, was born in the mid 1840s, and records indicate she was born in Orange County, North Carolina. There is no confirmed information regarding her parents, but the author presents several hypotheses.
She also traces the history of Frank Harris, who was listed as being mulatto. On the 1860 census, he was recorded as a free inhabitant. He was once charged with purchasing a pound of wool from a slave. He pleaded guilty and was fined $200, but as a "freeman of color" was not lashed.
This family history presents a fascinating account of one family's struggles, survival, and successes.
Beverly A. Scarlett, who became intrigued with her family history after discovering a photo of an American Indian in her parent's attic (a photo that turned out to be her great-grandmother), draws upon census records, historical documents, and oral histories to trace her lineage.
Her research supports the idea that her ancestors settled along the Roanoke River in Virginia and the Eno River in North Carolina - a territory where conflict arose between Europeans and Indians.
The family's matriarch, Sallie Ray, was born in the mid 1840s, and records indicate she was born in Orange County, North Carolina. There is no confirmed information regarding her parents, but the author presents several hypotheses.
She also traces the history of Frank Harris, who was listed as being mulatto. On the 1860 census, he was recorded as a free inhabitant. He was once charged with purchasing a pound of wool from a slave. He pleaded guilty and was fined $200, but as a "freeman of color" was not lashed.
This family history presents a fascinating account of one family's struggles, survival, and successes.
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