In Virginia, the status of the child followed that of the mother. My maternal line begins in Charlotte Co., VA. Oral history mentioned surnames that I was able to find listed in the census, definitely, as far back as l850. While those ancesters did not reveal the whole story, it seems that they had a white mother. There is a published list of "Free Blacks and Mulatoes" recorded in the book, "Charlotte County, Rich Indeed" in which the Lindseys are listed, and I was able to find members of the family in the 1850 Census.