Carmen,
I think part of the problem when discussing free vs. freed is the time period. When discussing free what date do we start with? 1619? That may differ based on location. Also for me a person would only be designated as free if they came to America as a free person, not as an indenture and certainly not as a slave. OR if they were here in America prior to colonization. Everyone else had to be freed at some point. I'm talking about pre Civil War, not post Civil War.

As for freed and free living in different communities, I don't know if that was the case in VA and NC. My experience has shown they lived together along with the always free Native people.

Also, could we use the word freed when pertaining to convicts who came to America? We know that prisoners were given the choice of coming to America to escape imprisonment. Do we know if all prisoners were of European descent? Would they be considered free or freed if they were people of color?

I haven't looked much at head rights. Does anyone know if ethnicity was specified in these documents?

Linda