I agree the term "Portuguese" has been abused, and misunderstood. We have case of another Moody-line who claimed to be related - supposedly, they were "Portuguese-Indian". Upon further research, I discovered per your "Northampton County (NC) Slaves Marriages" the "Portuguese-Indian" line assumed my surname around 1860. Furthermore, our oral history states this line of Moody's is not related.

On the flip-side, my grandfather who was accepted as "white" - however, he preferred to be called "Portuguese". However, the bulk of his relatives were only considered as white w/in the community. It should be noted, our Moodys are not listed in your books - therefore, I am a bit confused on their true origins - perhaps, they were simply of French and/or Spanish ancestry.

Louis