Paul, I am assuming that when you say the "colonial period" you are taking about the period before the Revolutionary War. This relates to the question I asked you a couple of months ago to whether or not you could estimate the number of "free blacks" in VA prior the American Revolution, Although there were any number of emancipations due to the "revolutionary" fervor, and "religious" concerns, I think most of the individuals we see "free" in the late 1700's and early 1800's are the descendants of these early relationships that you noted.

Selma

"From the records I have read, I estimate there must have been well over 1,000 mixed-race African American children born to white women in Maryland and Virginia during the colonial period, but I have heard of only one or two cases in which the story was handed down to modern times."

Selma