SUMMARY"Persons of colour may have descended from Indians on both sides" (Louisiana, July 1, 1810) [Connections: Gulf, Louisiana, Texas & Mexico, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDIn Adelle v. Beauregard, 1 Mart. 183, the court (listed as the Supreme Court of Louisiana; opinion "By the Court") wrote that "Persons of colour may have descended from Indians on both sides," and that "they ought not to be deprived of [liberty] upon mere presumption." In the same opinion it said "negroes brought to this country being generally slaves," so "their descendants may perhaps fairly be presumed to have continued so."
PATTERNThe court said in writing that a person recorded as "of colour" might be fully Indian. It also set up a split presumption: "negro" meant presumed enslaved, while "person of colour" did not. Whoever wrote down the label decided which presumption applied
LENS (WW9)A court in 1810 admitted that "colored" could mean Indian on both sides: renamed Black, born Aboriginal
OPENAdelle's own ancestry is not stated in the summary, and the full opinion text needs a read
SOURCEAdelle v. Beauregard (counselstack), 1 Mart. (o.s.) 183 (La. 1810).