"THE BLUE VEIN CHURCH." My great-aunt, Ann Smith,(who was born in the Negro settlement of NEW CANAAN, ONTARIO, CANADA,) was a "QUADROON". She was near white-skinned and, as a young woman, she went to visit friends in Washington D.C. (late 1880s-1890s) and became involved in a church that was one of the most outstanding churches of that time, but where only light/white-skinned Negros could attend.

These churches were nation-wide, although the name "Blue Vein" was not publically mentioned. The qualification for attendance and membership was based on whether an individual was light-skinned enough so that the person's "blue veins" could be seen. In other words, if when one's wrist (palm up)was examined, if the skin was light enough to see blue veins, then that person was eligible.

Not long after Ann returned home to New Canaan, she met a white man from Detroit, Michigan with the last name "Clarke." She left her home, and passing for white, never contacted her family again.

I WANT INFORMATION ABOUT "THE BLUE VEIN CHURCH."

(PLEASE NOTE AT MAIN FORUM: "GRANDMOTHER'S 100-YEAR-OLD DIARY" AND ALSO "EARLY 1900s COMPOSER, SHELTON BROOKS." ALSO NOTE AT MILITARY RESEARCH: "REUNION FOR DESCENDANTS OF 1ST MICHIGAN COLORED TROOPS". PLUS, AT FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR - "LEWIS, CLANTON, SMITH, HALL, WILLIAMS...".)

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thread relocated from main forum at 7:15 CST on 11 Feb 2004