hey, i wondered about that myself. John Shives appears on the 1792 Opelousas census of free mulattos and negroes as a mulatto born around the time period you cite. He is listed as being single. I found him in the cuban papers on microfilm. I wonder if he migrated to Louisiana from North Carolina during the Spanish period. His wife is a mystery. I also find John Cheves in the 1810 census of atakapas country(st. martin parish). Probarly the same one. Have you looked into the catholic records or any courthouse records starting from the colonial period???

rodney