The Legacy of Identity, Lineage and Inheritance: A Historical Study of Matrilineal and Patrilineal Societal Genealogies and the Use of Term Mulatto on the United States Census

Loretta Tillery, UMBC

Throughout history, familial identity, lineage and inheritance has played an important role in determining an individual’s societal status, heritage and generational wealth. Patrilineal communities trace descent through the father’s line and have dominated patriarchal history. Matrilineal communities track lineage through the mother’s line, often providing women with greater economic autonomy and community power. The use of matrilineal or patrilineal lineage can have a profound impact on an individual’s prospects in life. The term “Mulatto” became common during the slavery era. It often described people born to enslaved African women and white men, including slaveholders. The term “mulatto” historically had important implications for inheritance, legal status, and property rights in the United States, especially during the colonial period and the era of slavery. Laws governing people labeled as “mulatto” were tied closely to racial classification systems that determined whether a person was free or enslaved, and therefore whether they could own property or inherit wealth. This study examines the historical intersection of identity, lineage, and inheritance through a comparative analysis of matrilineal and patrilineal genealogical systems and the use of the racial classification “mulatto” in the United States census. Situating U.S. racial categorization within broader anthropological and legal traditions of kinship, the study investigates how systems of matrilineal and patrilineal shape social identity, property transmission, and legal recognition of ancestry. By examining census data, legal statutes, and historical documents, the study explores how the classification of individuals of mixed African and European ancestry intersected with legal doctrines governing lineage. By situating the census category “mulatto” within a broader comparative framework of descent systems, the paper contributes to scholarship on race, genealogy, and state classification practices, offering new insights into how institutional logics of lineage and inheritance have shaped the construction and regulation of racial identity in modern societies.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 114. The Demographic Legacies of Slavery